Series Ashez' Go To Players - Historical Edition

[Ashez]

Ashez' Go To Players - Historical Edition

 

Amazingly Football Manager Handheld is nine years old this month, which means the big anniversary hits with the release of 2016, just think this game is almost a decade old! Anyway with this in mind and with 2015 being a rather nostalgic year for me so far i've decided it would be fun to look back at an eleven of my go to players over the last nine years. Unfortunately my memory isn't as good as i would have hoped but after looking through old threads and reminiscing i've managed to select an eleven which i have fond memories of and i think they'll be a number of players within this article that you guys will also have memories with. To keep the article interesting and relevant i've only included players still in the game that i've stopped using for one reason or another over the years, some maybe more recent than others but most are from back in the day so don't expect any mentions of Vincent Wanyama within this thread!

 

Unfortunately i don't have access to the older games anymore so i can't included older screenshots of the players featured in this article but i hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane with me. 

 

All screenshots taken from a day one save

Formation - 4231

 

Goalkeeper

 

Igor Akinfeev

 

 

For as long as i remember Igor Akinfeev was the go to keeper within the FMH series, one of the first things i'd do on any save was place a bid for the Russian shot stopper! He's always been a fantastic performer and age wise he could easily be on the game for the next decade! However in the last few years i've found him less consistent and not as good as he used to be, it's like he's somewhat fallen off the map in terms of Vibe, i remember when almost every career had this guy behind the sticks but now he's a name people only just remember. He's still got it in him and i'd say he's still worth taking a punt on even though he's generally more expensive these days but he's certainly not my go to keeper anymore which is generally rather sad.

 

Defense

 

Left Back

 

Emilio Izaguirre

 

 

To say Izaguirre was my go to left back is somewhat of an understatement as i used to use this lad all the time, if Igor was my first signing this lad was almost certainly my second! He still does an excellent job as he's a fantastic attacking left back who will bomb up and down the wing all day grabbing assists after assists which is a brilliant asset to any team, unfortunately he's got to the wrong side of twenty five now for my liking and i tend to be drawn to other targets such as Porto's Alex Sandro. He may have lost his place as my go to left back but some of my fondest memories are of this player, seriously he's a legend of FMH in my eyes and he's not even in his thirties yet, give him a try you won't regret it! 

 

Right Back

 

Darijo Srna

 

 

Every FMH player worth their salt has used or at least looked at Shaktar's legendary right back Darijo Srna! From memory Srna was the perfect right wing back who could do everything you'd expect him to do and more, i also remember him being fairly cheap which made him even more appealing! Similarly to Izaguirre the years have caught up with Srna and he's now entering the twilight of his career. Sadly Srna is another player Vibe seems to have forgotten about in recent years but when he does hang up his boosts it will be a sad day for the FMH community! Just think if he was on FMH'06 he would have been around twenty three years of age which would make him an ideal signing for almost any side and he's another player who's simply a legend of the game.

 

Central Defenders

 

Phil Jagielka

 

 

I'll be honest and say i struggled to create a shortlist of central defenders for this team but after some soul searching the name Phil Jagielka sprung to mind! Back when he was with Sheffield United he was a player i really liked the look of and i wanted Liverpool to sign him up, as this never looked likely i took it upon myself to make this happen in game and the rest as they say is history. He's been a solid performer in game for a number of years and his form in real life has been inspiring as he's worked his way into the England team after years of consistent performances. Jagielka is another player entering his twilight and compared with the price Everton would expect for him it's no surprise i moved onto other targets.

 

Micah Richards

 

 

Maybe it was just an English thing but back in the day Micah Richards was the next big thing, everyone was obsessed with him as he had the lot! In his locker he had power, pace, ability and fantastic defensive skills which led to him being hyped beyond belief and we all know this type of thing makes him a must sign in the virtual world! Unfortunately once the money hit Manchester City his career stalled and he seems to have aged while the community forgot about him, however he has since moved to Italy so maybe this move can bring the multiple positioned defender back into the eyes of the community? The main reason i stopped using Richards is because the less he was played in real life the more his ability dropped yet he managed to maintain a rather high buying price from the Manchester based club so it soon got to the point where it was best to move on and find another option for his position, a shame though as he could have been massive within the English game.

 

Midfielders

 

Sebastien Larsson

 

 

Larsson is a player i've always liked in real life and he translated into a great player within FMH, i even remember a comparing him to Modric back in the day in some career which escapes me at this moment in time, Modric came out on top but Larsson's stats and results were very similar to Modric and he soon became one of my go to midfielders. I expect this pick to be one rather unique to myself but he was a player i really enjoyed using and he always delivered results! In recent years i have looked at him from time to time but due to his age and price point i've not signed him as i know i can find younger players who are possibly better but Larsson was one of the first players to come to mind when i decided to do this article. 

 

Keisuke Honda

 

 

Another legend of the game is Keisuke Honda as when he was at CSKA Moscow he really was the go to attacking midfielder for years! Available for around four million and rather easy to attract wage wise Honda was the ideal signing for almost any decently sized club on the game while he could also perform at the highest level, in fairness Akinfeev and Honda were the main reason why i've always wanted Russia on the game so i could unleash these two gods in their own league. However Honda has since left Russia and is now playing for the fallen giants AC Milan, due to this and his much higher value i've not used him anywhere near as much as i used to, hopefully one day soon i'll do a career with Milan so i can feel the power of Honda yet again as i have to admit i do miss him.

 

Attacking Midfielders

 

Steven Pienaar

 

 

On Football Manager Handheld 2007 this African attacking midfielder was on loan at Everton from Borrussia Dortmund and due to this loan he was incredibly cheap, in fairness i can't remember the price he was available for but for some reason i want to think around £2 million. My memory might be a bit hazy as that was a long time ago but the point remains that you could buy him at a steal which made him a player i constantly signed for the duration of the year. Once his loan finished and Everton signed him out right he was more difficult to buy but i still returned to his from time to time and he always impressed. I'm sure you've already worked out that i've stopped using Pienaar due to his age and injury issues within the last few years but on that 2007 game he was my main man for sure!

 

Antonio Valencia

 

 

Valencia is the type of direct player i love and i was gutted when we missed out on him to Manchester United of all clubs, i still insist United only signed him to stop LFC getting him! Anyway that's beside the point, Valencia was in a similar situation to my previous entry Steven Pienaar as he was also on loan to the Premier League which also resulted in him being incredibly cheap for what you got compared to buying him directly from a Premier League rival. However Valencia had even more going for him as he was on loan at Wigan for two seasons which meant you had two games worth to sign him up cheap but in fairness he hardly broke the bank once his move was complete either. As i've touched upon he later moved to Manchester United which made him a lot harder and more expensive to sign so i stopped using him, i actually don't think i've used him since his move in fairness but from memory those two years where i could sign him cheap he was my attacking speed demon on the right wing! 

 

Morten Gamst Pedersen

 

 

Who expected this pick? I'll admit this is where the lines can start to get blurred between real life favourites and what works in game. Pedersen is a player i've always rated in real life and it was due to this why i often used him in game, it also helped Liverpool have always been weak on the left and this wonder goal scoring magician was the ideal solution in my playing for fun eyes. As i joined Vibe and started getting more active with challenge based saves Pedersen was the type of player i had to let go of as they weren't as suited to the way i now play the game, it also doesn't help that he's a player that somewhat slipped my mind since his move from English football but when i spotted his name a few weeks back while browsing through players i was hit with a rush of nostalgia. 

 

The Striker

 

Nikola Kalinic

 

 

This spot could have been taken by any number of players as even before Vibe i was striker mad, a few players strongly came to mind but i still use them or they were too obvious with players like Fernando Torres and Babacar holding a strong connection with me. However when i thought deeply into the subject it was Kalinic who came to mind and for good reason as back in the day he was a young, goal scoring powerhouse! Between 2009 and 2011 Kalinic was a team mate of Pedersen at Blackburn and he'd cost you between ten and twelve million if memory serves me correctly, although he never set the Premier League alight he was a fantastic player in game who i could get to consistently score for fun and similarly to now that's all i need in a striker, especially as my formation back then centered around a target man. I did actually use him for a fun career last year but it was a one off where i wanted to see how he did as i spotted he was re-added to the game after a short absence and it's fair to say he didn't live up to expectations i had for him from my previous experiences with the Croatian international, thankfully that one average season didn't ruining my memories or views of this fantastic player i enjoyed using massively. 

 

 That's my reminiscing done for this moment in time and i hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane, as this is a very personal list i'd love to see what you guys have to say here or in your own thread, who knows you might remind me of someone i missed!

 

Download The Scrapbook Files For These Players Here!

 

As always thank you for reading and please remember to leave a comment.

[JustM1kePlays]

Nice idea Ash. Wonder how well this team would do in the Premiership?

[Ashez]

Thanks Mike, haha now that's a good question! It would likely get smashed but it would of had a chance with each player at there best, since the scrapbooks are available hopefully someone try's it out .

Thanks for the comment .

[Dec]

Akinfeev . Nice work Ash, some shocking choices though I must say. Lacks Lulinha, Adu, Vagner Love and Kerlon.

[Ashez]

I think Akinfeev will be my favourite keeper forever, as I said he's not as good anymore IMO but I must have used him hundreds of times back in the day and he was always fantastic .

Lulinha doesn't ring any bells at all if truth be told but I do remember using the rest you mentioned but not as often as the players I featured, Love is standing out the most but I can't place why lol.

My style of play has evolved so much over the years that I wish I had more things record to work with but I only have things for after 2013 which sucks . It was fun trying to think back to those days though, I just can't get over the fact I've been watching these dots run around for 10 years almost , it's really flown by .

[BatiGoal]

Same feelings re Akinfeev. I still remember the very first time I saw him and his stats. I went :blink:

Also used Jagielka, Srna, Richards and Gamst Pedersen a lot over the years.

Great read!

[Ashez]

Akinfeev just sums FMH up over the years to a T in my opinion, he's like the ever lasting legend .

That's awesome to hear though, I thought some of these were too unique to me (due to the lack of comments) so it's great to hear you also used them often .

[leecutler]

Akinfeev was a player I always used to buy on older FMH,but no Lulinha that man was epic,I remember when I used to visit the Neoseeker forum and I'm sure everyone remembers the infamous 3-5-2 tactic well Lulinha was perfect in that tactic

[Ashez]

He rings no bells what so ever with me unfortunately