Lionel Morgan gets class from Wimbledon, Wimbledon go into receivership soon into game so you can get him cheap, Also Nigel Reo-Coker from Wimbledon is also a bargin buy. David Bellion and Richie Partridge 2 right wingers you can get on loan at the start of the game from Man Utd and Liverpool they both become class. Cm 03/04 my imo best ever Cm/fm game, Played on that game more than any of ther others. Just remembered some other buys for Championship(division 1) Leroy Lita from Bristol City Fast striker Robert Earnshaw from Cardiff other than Defoe best striker in that league on the game John Stead - Huddersfield i think? Alan O'hare - a good left back for Division 1, Not sure which club he his at i know its a divison 2 team. Was it 03-04 when lots of the lower league clubs had amazing players??? I remember Mark Smith of Bristol Rovers went on to be one of the best centre halfs in the game.

Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame. I powered up my old CM 03/04 game recently and remembered there was a 'cheat' tactic called 'Diablo' something or other. I DO NOT want to use this tactic although I would like to know what the tactic was exactly (Formation, player and team instructions please) so I can avoid it.

The other one at Bristol Rovers was Jellyman. Just thought of Dean Keates too but cant remember which club he was at! This was the original champ manager 3, mark smith was amazing, but also jamie shore & trevor challis from bristol rovers too.

Dean keates was indeed awesome, im thinking rightly or wrongly walsall in that game? I did love CM3 but having gone back to it not so long ago it does feel a little 'dated' nowadays.

CM 03/04 however is still my fave.! Lots of good players, but being arsenal you should have some cash so diego (now of juve fame) from santos is a good bet (although if robinho isn't there he may also not be), someone's already mentioned cavenaghi & kallstrom, pazzini from atalanta scores goals for fun and jerome rothen is a good performance/cost left winger. Bruno gama as a rw is worth a look, as is steven taylor from newcastle (usually leaves ona free at eofs) and mexes (usually xfers within first few weeks of a new game for 3-4m). Keepers i'd look at stekelenburg, wiese or frey.

Lastly, seems a bit hit and miss but anthony le tallec from liverpool can be a bargain in some games and cack in others. Some random factors to do with his potential i expect.

Just gone back to 03/04. Blackpool in old division 2. Played 12 won 3 drawn 6 lost 3. Razdatochnaya vedomostj gsm blank card.

Fully expect long hard first season possibly with relegation struggle. But already I am getting small reponses/improvements from my players.

And as a supposed football manager, I really do think I will live or die by the way I perform whilst playing the game. Sure, I miss the features of 07/08/09. I miss the lack of 'things to do' between matches. But its only now that I have gone back to it that I remember just how good the ME was. Sure you can still lose in the last minute of a match you should have easily won but it's not 12 times in 13 consecutive matches as you get in the more recent versions. The lack of interaction features with players and press means you have to spend more time scouting and building for the future. And even when you lose, you don't get the impression that it's all part of a plan to destroy your confidence and any enjoyment you may have from the game.