An FM08 review of 2014

2013/2014 was a milestone year for Arsenal. We were undefeated in the season in all competitions. We won the quadruple. We were unbeaten in 100 league games. We swept the domestic awards, with Ben Arfa winning the Player's Award, Benzema the Footballer of the Year Award, and Wilshire winning the Young Player's Award.

And Kolo Toure turned 32.

He's an old man now. He lost his first-team place this year to Mamadou Sakho. His pace is starting to go and he's made some terrible mistakes in defence. In the crunch games, I play Sakho and Richards because they're my two most reliable defenders. Kolo's still captain of the side, but he leads from the bench and Cesc Fabregas has become the de facto captain of the side. Kolo's got one more year left on his contract, and the sad thing is that I'm going to have to let him go.

Kolo Toure has been brilliant for Arsenal. He's captained us to 4 leagues, 4 Champions Leagues, and 3 or 4 domestic cups. He's tutored a whole heap of young defenders who've picked up on his loyalty and professionalism. He was a world-class defender in his time, and will always remain an Arsenal legend.

Anyway...

I've wasted so much time on Football Manager that it scares me (and yes, I have a problem). And over the years, I've thought a lot about the game. The most poignant thing about it is the speed with which a player ages. One minute, they're a promising 20 year old who's won a "Young Player of the Month" award. Seven hours later, they're a 31 year old veteran who's being moved on to Barcelona. It happens so quickly.

A life passes by in the blink of an eye. You've only got so much time to make an impression, and you've got to make it count. One day, you're a kid with the world at your feet. Then you get stuck into the world, and the next minute, you've reached the end of the line. You're 32, you're old, you've wasted your youth waiting for a future that never came.

In 2014, the World Cup will be held in Brazil.

In my FM08 game, I'm manager of Argentina. We've won the Copa America, we've won the Confederations Cup and we haven't lost a game in three years. I've found this great kid named Oscar Trejo who scores a goal a game. We're the raging favourites to win the World Cup.

In real life, I haven't got a fucking clue where I'll be in 2014.