>STILL STUCK ON CM03/04?

For the thousands of you still playing Championship Manager: Season 03/04, this simple guide should help your quest for success as you eagerly await the release of Championship Manager 5.

BACKROOM STAFF
· Make sure you have at least two coaches and a physio.
· Unless you want to manage them yourself, put your Assistant Manager in charge of the reserves.
· Make your best coach the manager of the under-19s.
· Have one scout watching the forthcoming opposition, and at least one trawling various regions for players. The more scouts you have the quicker you can get feedback on a potential purchase.

SQUAD MANAGEMENT
· Ensure that you have cover for every position in the team. This will allow for injuries as well as provide healthy competition.
· Secure lengthy contracts for your best players. This will prevent you losing them for nothing.
· If a player is lacking match fitness, give him a run-out with the reserves to bring him up to pace.
· Always defend your players from media criticism. Dish out the tongue-lashings in private.
· An unpopular player can lower morale. If it becomes a problem, stick him on the transfer list.

BUYING PLAYERS
· Every player you buy should improve the team or at least provide back-up for an established player.
· Listen to scout reports, they are generally right. Get a second opinion if necessary.
· By all means undercut the asking price, but not by a ludicrous amount. This will cause offence and scupper the deal.
· When negotiating contracts, offer a wage in keeping with the player’s ability. Overpaid newcomers may cause dissent in the ranks.

TRAINING
· Establish appropriate schedules for your defenders, midfielders and attackers. Follow the green bar chart for guidance.
· Keep an eye on the ‘Show effects of training’ option in the player profiles. Too many red arrows may require a re-think.
· It may sometime be necessary to administer a specific routine to a player, after an injury for instance. However, players training alone will eventually lose motivation.

MATCH DAY
· Ensure that all players in the starting line-up have at least 90% fitness.
· As a rule of thumb, pick players according to recent form.
· The substitutes bench should ideally have a goalkeeper, a versatile defender, a defensive midfielder, and attacking midfielder and a striker.
· Consider substituting any player who reaches half-time with a match rating of 4 or less.
· Look out for players carrying a knock or struggling with fitness. Get them off. If the game is safe, it’s also worth subbing players on a yellow card.
· Choose formations depending on the opposition. Have a couple saved that you are familiar with.
· Don’t always be tempted to risk everything for the win. A draw away from home is often a good result.

RECOMMENDED PLAYERS

Premiership

Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Dean Kiely
Richard Wright
Tim Howard
Jens Lehmann

Defenders
Mikael Silvestre
Ashley Cole
Stephen Carr
Isaac Okoronkwo
Dean Gordon

Midfielders
Kieron Dyer
Jermaine Jenas
Patrick Vieira
Ryan Giggs
Harry Kewell

Attackers
Craig Bellamy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Michael Ricketts
Robbie Keane
Thierry Henry

First Division

Goalkeepers
Jason Brown
Kelvin Davis
Brian Jensen
Marcus Hahnemann
Russel Hoult

Defenders
Jermaine Darlington
Michael Johnson
Youl Mawene
Chris Carruthers
Steve Elliot

Midfielders
Michael Hughes
Gary Teale
Justin Cochrane
Lionel Morgan
Omar Daley

Attackers
Peter Ndlovu
Danny Forrest
Mutiu
Mathan Ellington
Paul McVeigh

Second Division

Goalkeepers
Steve Phillips
Frank Talia
Billy Turley
Stephen Mildenhall
Aidan Davison

Defenders
Paul Underwood
Danny Sendah
Kevin Amankwaah
Kirk Hilton
John Dempster

Midfielders
David Bell
Marc Bircham
Danny Coid
Curtis Woodhouse
Gareth Davies

Attackers
Onandi Lowe
Leroy Lita
Rodney Jack
Leon McKenzie
Mark Stallard

Third Division

Goalkeepers
Mark Ovendale
Kevin Miller
Kevin Pilkington
Matthew Glennon
Andy Collett

Defenders
Lee Canoville
Mark Warren
Jamie Victory
Jamie Fullarton
Lee Andrews

Midfielders
David Savage
Jason Price
Andy Welsh
Kevin Hill
John Thorrington

Attackers
Shane Tudor
Stuart Elliott
Jermaine McSporran
David Graham
Simon Yeo

Conference

Goalkeepers
Craig Mawson
Leigh Walker
Matthew Baker
Phil Whitehead
Richard Barnard

Defenders
Barry Laker
Stephen Capper
Michael Warner
Ishmail Yakabu
Lee Matthews

Midfielders
Tony Scully
Tony Taggart
Jacques Williams
Steve Watson
Raphael Nade

Attackers
Daryl Clare
Mark Bentley
Simon Atangana
Jean-Michel Sigere
Mark Quayle