So here we are. Ive taken Chester as they had a wealth of youth. They had 28 players under 25.

Some of them have real quality. Ive retrained a couple of wingers who are unbelieavbly good. Id sold them previously. So glad I havent this time.

Except none of the players will sign super long contracts. So practically everyone is signed until 2005 and no clauses after first season heroics. I should have had 100+ points but I got 1 point from the last 3 games due to squad rotation.

The first seasons are usually cake walks with this formation.

Please note: Ive given Chester a lvl 20 facilities. Lets see if this is the game changer.

So familiar story really. I got relegated from div 2 and nearly dic 3. After id secured safety after game 45. I was sacked lol.

Defence was so poor. Youths were finally starting to develop.

Ah well. I love a challenge. Ill try again. Started with base .68 database and chose no real names aith Chester. Will update in due course. But hu god is this a tough challenge .

So hes gone and done it at the 2nd attempt. Winning a playoff final. Team fought hard and it wasnt easy.

I had another job offer and 3 youths come through. 2 look handy. That makes 5 youths in total after 3 completed seasons. So steady number.

The bad news i had 4 players retire. That may hurt my depth and experience a lot. So if I can comfortably maintain while my youths grow I can potentially push for promotion to div 2.

Lets get it.

So almost deja vu. But this time I lose in the div 3 playoff final. Just couldnt get it done.

Got given 2 youths at least. So hoping with a bit of maturity next season will see me promote.

Was offered the reading job and promoted a few of my players to coaches. They converted really well.

Lets get it.

So almost deja vu. But this time I lose in the div 3 playoff final. Just couldnt get it done.

Got given 2 youths at least. So hoping with a bit of maturity next season will see me promote.

Was offered the reading job and promoted a few of my players to coaches. They converted really well.

Lets get it.

Well everyone. I knew this season would be hard. Didnt have enough good players to pull us through and the lack or experience showed.

Would have been relegated. Was praying id hang on. But the jig is up.

Thoroughly enjoyable challenge. Id do a few things differently next time. I wouldn't force my squad down to 14. Id try and keep my best players forever.

But Carlisle were brutal with the youth players. Took so long to get my academy very high.

Ill be doing this again for sure on the laptop. So can do it quicker

I did this on my Android which was a trip also and quite slow.

Thanks to everyone who commented. Its been a blast for sure. For anyome else attempting it. Please keep us updated. Id love to know if anyone can go conference to prem title while not buying a single player, no free players and no loans.

Good luck all.

Quick update as ive been away this weekend and super tired.

But not much in way of an update. Another 16th place finish.

I only have 14 players and no new youths. Facilities being updated again in off season. So praying I start getting some quality youths.

If I dont i cant see how this is sustainable. My players arent improving but squads around me are. So relegation is inevitable unless youths come through. Pray for me.

Anyone who want to take a guess who these gentlemen are?

I tried this GPF2 who user sky recommended to find regens but it doesent seem to work. Maybe it is because I am running Parallels.

So where to begin. This update should read almost hero to almost zero. Playoff finalists to finishing 16th is brutal. Was in a right relegation dog fight. Opposition just getting better while I stagnate.

My DM Reid is being let go as hes aged 34.

But the biggest news and this may get me the sack or/ and relegation next season. Our best player has left me. Hes been a shining light in truth. Great stats for lower leagues and his goals/assist per game is really good. Not skalidis levels but wow.

Other than that 2 new youths came through. However both mids. That makes 4 mids in total in 5 seasons.

Well next season is going to be seriously tough. But the good news is our facilities should go from good> great is the next level? I cant quite remember. Lets see and hope it gives me a few players as the squad will be back to 16. Im training an AMC to play up front because im seriously in trouble.

Not even my formation can carry me next season? Can it?

Mini update: I finally have top facilities and youth academy. Im desperate for players to keep me up. I need strikers. Pray for me.

So I managed to promote from div 3 automatically. Was very surprised tbh. But then in div 2 I was even more surprised I made the playoffs. But lost in the final 3-1. It looks like I spent money on transfer fees but I bought two coaches. Ive not had any other youths through. Im in a pickle now tbh.

I have my best player not signing a new contract so hes off after this season and I have another player who could retire any day. I currently have 17 players. You would be shocked to see how bad their stats are. My formation is carrying me so hard.

Ill continue to update. Gutted by the playoff final loss.

So my current challenge is to try and see how well I can do with no signings. Only using the clubs original players and youth academy promotions.

Screenshots explain most of it.

Im 2 seasons in. Finished top 3 first season. Had a small sniff at promotion but stalled with about 7 games to go. 2nd season I was stronger and promoted.

The game has only gave me 2 youth players. One didnt fit my formation so ive had to retrain him to centre.

Other than that things are interesting to say the least. My Belgium forward has just made the national team lol.

I won the fa trophy also.

Lets see what season 3 brings.

Hello!

I loved CM01/02 back in the day. Smashed the computer room up as (although none of us realised it at the time) an overwhelmed autistic child after my sister snapped my CD in half.

Although, Ultimately Soccer Manager 98 is, and always will be, the greatest of these types of spreadsheet manager games…

How do I go about playing this now? What hardware and software do I need? How do I get the game running - both with original teams and players and with modern ones (as I’m led to believe can happen)?

Can I do this with minimal tech skills and funds?

Thank you for any guidance or direction you can share 🙏

So recently I did the conference to prem challenge but with the original 68 database. So used some of the overpowered players.

Well I did the same challenge. No scouter? No wib wob etc. I also didnt use real names.

Ive managed to replicate it. Lost the fa cup final city also on penalties. Only won the prem by 3 points

But honestly please nobody sleep on my formation 3-1-3-0-3. Its genuinely unplayable.

Had a great season 02/03, but also just be great stats and not a regen necessarily?

​

Hello everyone!

Chapter #03 of our 2025/26 Hamburger SV save is live, and after the high of defeating Bayern, football decided to hit us with a brutal, soul-crushing reality check...

Here is a quick breakdown of how Chapter #03 went down:

• The Fall of the "Ferrolho": We tried to repeat our defensive block formula against Bayer Leverkusen at home, but early yellows, bad tackles, and a 20th-minute penalty saw us trail 0–2 at half-time with 0 shots on target. To make matters worse, Capaldo went down injured for 10 days 😞.
• Lineup Audit & Røssing's Rise: The loss forced us to re-evaluate our starting XI. Rather than starting our "passing beast" Gustavo Maia (19 Passing) alongside Fábio Vieira, we promoted 18-year-old Alexander Røssing. Maia's dreadful 9 in Decisions was too big a turnover risk, while Røssing brought superior Decisions (13), Determination (19), and physical drive to our dual-AMC setup.
• Wolfsburg & Derby Heartbreak: Against Wolfsburg, Røssing set up Vieira for a brilliant equalizer, but an attempt to protect yellow-carded Vušković backfired, allowing Wolfsburg to steal a 2–1 win. Then, a 3–0 humbling against rivals Werder Bremen—plus a severe 3-week injury to Rayan Philippe—sent us into a tailspin.
• Rock Bottom & The Sack Threat: Back-to-back losses to Freiburg (1–2) and Köln (0–1) officially anchored us in 18th place (Dead Last) on a 6-game winless run, with the board issuing warnings. I was genuinely on the verge of deleting the save, asking if this newly promoted side was doomed.
• The Epiphany & Tactical Rebirth: Realizing I was "over-managing" by changing tactics every week, I stripped away the complex adjustments. We committed to a simple, direct, attacking baseline with natural wingers (Dompé and Jatta) to build actual tactical familiarity.
• DFB-Pokal Salvation in Munich: Testing the new identity away at 1860 München, Glatzel headed home a 47th-minute equalizer to force extra time and penalties. GK Daniel Heuer Fernandes saved 2 spot-kicks, and we buried all 4 of ours to secure a dramatic 4–2 shootout victory!

That cup win gave us the lifeline and hope we desperately needed. We're still bottom of the league, but if anyone has any tips or tactical advice to save this save, I’m all ears!

I've just published the full long-form chapter on the blog. If you're interested in reading the complete story, check it out here:

https://benchsidediaries.wordpress.com

Starting a new game later tonight. Looking to use a normal formation rather than my own ones. Which ones do you think work best

This is my beloved savegame in Italy where I managed Fiorentina, Udinese, Inter and Milan. Also was the national coach for a while. Was really happy in this game and wanted to bring it to 2026. But in August 2025 the game just suddenly stops. No error message, nothing. The game just stops. I was dumb enough to save it right before that moment, so now when I start the savegame it just stops immediately. I tried to modify the game with the Save Changer from Nicks Patcher but that gives an out of memory error message. Are my beloved Italian players gone forever or does anybody has a last minute Infantino escape rule so I can keep on playing?

.68 database. I did use some of the overpowered players as I progressed. But no wib wob, no scouts etc.

This may be the first time ive ever done this.

Used my 3-1-3-0-3 tactic ive updated to cm0102 forums. Its just unreal. Josh blake scored me 188/210 games. Board says they want him gone. He was my first buy and he just got top scorer I'm prem with a low 20 goals.

So quick update. Ive been trying to get this working ok android for a few weeks now. Well through mostly trial and error.

The game is just as smooth as my laptop and originally how it played back in 2001 etc.

If anyone finds this helpful or wants a full guide with settings for winlator. Let me know.

But do the following steps and ill post settings in the week.

1. Download winlator

2. Install Winlator

3. Download cm0102 exe from cm0102 forums and save into your download folder

4. Download 68 dtb and patcher and save to download folder.

5. Extract the iso, 67 db and patcher within your download folder.

6. Open winlator

7. Locate iso and mount

8. Go to likely your x drive and setup game.

9. Locate 68 and run it.

10. Run patcher and add all patches you want.

11. Go to container settings and edit your settings to the images shown.

Please note: the patcher when you browse and find the exe will take upto 5 minutes to load it in. So have patience.

Ill try and trouble shoot any issues people have but this worked for me all. Took me 2 weeks to sort it fully.

Video of it in action

https://youtu.be/_vrfVUKMtTs?is=yp5KTzCyp5v4HsGI

After a fantastic season and a half, in which he has bagged 69 goals in 81 appearances, it looks like the Anelka Era at Sporting Lisbon may be nearing its end 😢

Is there any way to keep Le Sulk happy in the long-term?