Those who have been ensconced in the unrelenting grasp of a Football manger addiction will know that it can rob you of time, sustenance and all social interaction for extended periods of time. (But the feeling of winning the Europa League with Aldershot Town in a few seasons is totally worth it.) Fans of the popular management simulation game will be pleased to hear that the man hours skills acquired while playing have finally been validated by some kind of real world application. A 21-year-old named Vugar Guloglan oglu Huseynzade has been working in an advisory position with Azerbaijani Premier League side FC Baku since February. But with only Football Manager experience to his name, Huseynzade succeeded where other have failed by being awarded the manager's job. He told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. According to globo.com, Huseynzade beat candidates such as 1991 European Footballer of the Year Jean-Pierre Papin to the job, even though the Frenchman has actually managed several real teams. The youngster is aiming for Europa League qualification, but will have his work cut out for him with Baku teetering over the Azerbaijan Premier League relegation spots. And with actually having to talk to people and go outside. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/socce...manager-job-fc-baku-based-215813724--sow.html
Amazing how much knowledge you can pick up from games like this and the console footy games. Interesting to see Papin scratching around for a job, another great ex-player but not so good manager.
I was shortlisted for the Hall Road Rangers job when Billy Heath left for Ferriby. Unfortunately the guy that got it turned up. Does anybody know if that bloke from Hull still manages the Turks and Caicos Islands national team?
I played a race simulator game for a a while some years ago. One of the tracks was Thruxton, near me. My daughter bought me a race car experience day for a birthday and I practiced like mad before I went. When we all went into the drivers meeting, we were all asked one at a time if we had any experience first of open and sports clas cars and second of the track. The first couple of blokes said no they had none and the third said he had done a simular race day at Silverstone. Then it came to the lad next to me and he said he hadnt driven a real race car but he had broken the lap record several times on his computer. The look that the instructors gave him was class. It came to my turn and I simply said no. The instructor went back to the lad and asked him what times he had posted. Now I thought that they would take the piss, but in a very calm voice the instructor said that actually the games track was shorter than the real thing, but the corners where accurate and real drivers often used the software to learn the track. I was still glad that I had kept my mouth shut. The lad who was a track record holder, I was unfortunate to be in his group and he wrecked the clutch on the car without getting a full lap in.
Before I go on my annual pilgrimage to the Nurburgring I always practice on Gran Tourismo to try and remember the track. Failing to prepare...
this is why I critisized OLM's Malice Town the other day, if he paid more attention to his team's performance on Fantasy Premier League then he might land himself a proper job.. tut tut..
My best mates uncle and grandad were both moto GP riders, some may have heard of Jay Vincent raced the 250cc 2 stroke class up until he retired just a few years ago, he says all the racers sit in their motor homes on games practicing the track over and over until it was nailed into their short term memory. Apparently they know the track inch by inch before they even arrive there.
Nurburgring, a track I've raced over and over for years of my life on race sims, even this day I still get muddled up which sections next. Can't wait to go there for real, was meant to make my first trip last year but mrs getting preggers took a huge stinking dump on that plan. I'm quite certain I'll never return when I finally make it.
What, when is this happening?! What is it with the world closing off the best things it has to offer? That's 2 things now, the ring and the dams cafes... Can't wait til I'm earning big £££, I'm ****ing off to a better planet where they keep the best stuff available..
It may not, but here's a pessimistic article from someone who works there... http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=26033
F1 drivers practice the circuits on simulators ahead of races, I used to go to one in Hong Kong called Sideways and Nico Rosberg used to practice the China and Macau circuits in there(it was owned by a German racing driver, he'd just won the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series last time I was there).
Alonso has his own simulator where he lives, not something off a Playstation or Xbox but an actual state of the art thing, they can probably race the circuits in their dreams the F1 guys
