@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER: SEASON 03/04 @ @ WELSH LEAGUE GUIDE @ @ @ @ @ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ =================================================== || || || Created by Daniel Adams (VillaNZ) || || on 27th December 2003 || || || || VERSION 1.0 || || 28/12/03 || || || =================================================== _______________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS _______________________________________________________________________________ 1 - ABOUT THIS FAQ 2 - INTRODUCTION TO WALES 3 - BASIC RULES 4 - LEAGUES 5 - CUPS 6 - CREDITS _______________________________________________________________________________ 1 - ABOUT THIS FAQ _______________________________________________________________________________ This guide/FAQ is intended as part of a series which will eventually cover all competitions in Championship Manager 03/04. I won't be explaining the general workings of the game, how to use the interface or what tactics will win games. What I will be explaining is how all of the different leagues and cups in the game work - things that the user manual and other FAQ's don't really go into, such as how many foreign players can be used in each league, how many teams get promoted/relegated, things like that. So if that's what you need to know then you've come to the right place. Enjoy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 - Disclaimer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Right now, this guide is only available from www.gamefaqs.com or at ProjectCM (http://projectcm.thedugout.net) so if you found this on some other website, please let me know. Basically, unless otherwise stated, this is all my own work so don't steal it, borrow it, publish it or stick it on your website without asking. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.2 - Contact Me ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you notice any huge errors in this guide or if there is something you'd like me to cover in my next update or if you just want to tell me that this FAQ is total rubbish then feel free to email me, or contact me on MSN or on the forums at ProjectCM (username = VillaNZ). E-mail: dan2003nz@yahoo.co.uk MSN: dan2003nz@hotmail.com Yahoo IM: dan2003nz _______________________________________________________________________________ 2 - INTRODUCTION TO WALES _______________________________________________________________________________ The Welsh league is a small one with only one playable division so there isn't much scope for a 'career game' here. However it does make a good addition to the English or Scottish leagues if you are playing there. The clubs are small and money is tight in Wales so your transfer budget will be pretty tiny who, whoever you manage and even when you have money you won't be able to attract many well known or top-quality players. All this adds up to make the Welsh league quite a tough challenge. And if you do manage to win the league, its always fun to have a crack at the Champions League. Profile ======= CONTINENT: Europe PLAYABLE TEAMS: 17 - Aberystwyth Town - Afan Lido - Bangor City - Barry Town - Caernarfon Town - Caersws - Carmarthen Town - Cefn Druids - Connah's Quay - Cwmbran - Haverfordwest - Newtown - Port Talbot Town - Porthmadog - Rhyl - TNS - Welshpool LEAGUES: 1 - Welsh Premier League CUPS: 3 - Welsh Cup - FAW Premier Cup - Welsh League Cup CONTINENTAL COMPETITIONS: 3 - European Champions Cup - UEFA Cup - Inter-toto Cup _______________________________________________________________________________ 3 - BASIC RULES _______________________________________________________________________________ Here are some basic rules and restrictions that apply in Wales. FOREIGN PLAYER RESTRICTIONS: - There are no restrictions on the amount of foreign or non-EU players you can have in your squad. The only thing that restricts buying foreign players is the work permit rule. TRANSFERS/LOANS: - Work permits are needed for all non-EU players. For a more detailed description of work permits see section 3.1 below. - Unlike many other leagues, there is no limit on how many players you can get on loan, so take full advantage of this if your budget is tight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1 - Work Permits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- European law says that anyone from outside the European Union requires a work permit to work (and play football) in Europe. So when you sign a player from Cameroon, for example, he will only be allowed to sign if he is granted a work permit, and its up to CM4 whether he gets one or not. The decision sometimes takes 2-3 weeks and sometimes just 1-2 days. The rule can be very annoying as CM4 does not say exactly what is required of a player for him to get a permit but here are the main factors: 1. How famous is the player? If the player is world famous, like Gabriel Batistuta or Ronaldo, then it is likely that he will be given a work permit. In lower leagues, eg. English Third Division the player doesn't have to be world famous, he just needs to be a big-name player in relation to that league. 2. How much international experience does he have? If the player you're trying to buy has a ship-load of international caps, he is much more likely to be granted a work permit than someone who has never played for his country and is unproven outside of his home league. 3. Does the player have an EU passport? This is the easiest way around the permit rule. It shows up in the game if you look at the player's 'information' screen, under 'Other Nationalities'. For example Juan Sebastien Veron has a second nationality of Italian so he is able to bypass the rule and is granted a work permit immediately. *HINT* Many Argentinean players have a second nationality of Italian, and loads of African player have a French or Portuguese second nationality and will therefore be much easier to buy. 4. What do your scouts think? If you're still not sure if it's a worthwhile going after a player, you can always get a scout's opinion. Just select 'Get scout report' in the player's action menu and within a few days one of your scouts will come back to you with a brief report and he'll also tell you if he thinks the player will get a work permit or not. Once you sign the player and he has been granted a conditional work permit you need to make sure he gets his fair share of action in the first team, otherwise his work permit will not be renewed. You'll notice the line in his 'Information' screen that shows the percentage of games that he has played in. NOTE: The player doesn't have to start, he just needs to play some part in the match for it to count. _______________________________________________________________________________ 4. LEAGUES _______________________________________________________________________________ ======================== = WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE = ======================== TEAMS: 17 FORMAT: Normal league format SEASON: August - May PROMOTION: None RELEGATION: Bottom 2 teams CONTINENTAL QUALIFIERS: Champions Cup (1), UEFA Cup (1), Inter-toto Cup (1) FOREIGN PLAYER RULES: - No restrictions on the number foreign players selected. The Welsh Premier League just uses the classic league format. All teams play each other twice (home and away) making 32 games per team. The top team after 32 games are the Welsh Champions and qualify for the European Champions Cup (First Qualifying Round). The bottom 2 teams are relegated to the First Division but this is not a playable league on CM03/04 so if your team gets relegated you'll get the sack :( CONTINENTAL QUALIFIERS: The top teams that finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the league qualify for Europe as follows: - 1st Place = Champions Cup (First Qualifying Round) - 2nd Place = UEFA Cup (Qualifying Round) - 3rd Place = Inter-toto Cup (First Round) _______________________________________________________________________________ 5. CUPS _______________________________________________________________________________ ============= = WELSH CUP = ============= WHO: All Premier League teams plus some Welsh non-league teams WHEN: October - May HOW: Knockout Cup CONTINENTAL QUALIFIERS: UEFA Cup (1) FOREIGN PLAYERS: - No restrictions on the number foreign players selected. Format ====== SECOND ROUND: - 56 teams (13 Welsh Premier League teams + assorted non-league sides) - One-leg matches - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. THIRD ROUND: - 32 teams (28 winners from Second Round + 4 remaining Premier League teams) - One-leg matches - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. FOURTH ROUND: - 16 teams - One-leg matches - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. QUARTER-FINAL: - 8 teams - One-leg matches - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. SEMI-FINAL: - 4 teams - One-leg matches - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. FINAL: - One-leg match - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. - Match played on neutral ground at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. - The cup winner qualifies for the UEFA Cup (Qualifying Round). =================== = FAW PREMIER CUP = =================== WHO: 9 best Welsh Premier League teams plus Cardiff, Wrexham and Swansea WHEN: September - May HOW: Group stage followed by knockout stage CONTINENTAL QUALIFIERS: None FOREIGN PLAYERS: - No restrictions on the number foreign players selected. Format ====== GROUP STAGE: - 8 teams split into 2 groups of 4 - Teams play each other twice (home and away) making 6 games per team. - The top 2 teams from each group go through to the Quarter Final. QUARTER-FINAL: - 8 teams (4 qualifiers from Group Stage + Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham from the English league + the previous season's Welsh League Champion) - One-leg matches. - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. SEMI-FINAL: - 4 teams - One-leg matches. - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. FINAL: - One-leg match - Extra-time and penalties used if a match finishes as a draw. ==================== = WELSH LEAGUE CUP = ==================== WHO: All 17 Welsh Premier League teams. WHEN: August - May HOW: Knockout cup using 2-leg matches. CONTINENTAL QUALIFIERS: None FOREIGN PLAYERS: - No restrictions on the number foreign players selected. Format ====== PRELIMINARY ROUND: - Only 2 teams in this round (so as to cut the total number of teams down to 16 for the First Round. - 2-leg match. - Away goal rule used if the scores are level after both legs. - Extra-time and penalties used if the scores are still level. - The winner goes into the First Round along with the other 15 Premier League teams. FIRST ROUND: - 16 teams - 2-leg matches - Away goal rule used if the scores are level after both legs. - Extra-time and penalties used if the scores are still level. QUARTER-FINAL: - 8 teams - 2-leg matches - Away goal rule used if the scores are level after both legs. - Extra-time and penalties used if the scores are still level. SEMI-FINAL: - 4 teams - 2-leg matches - Away goal rule used if the scores are level after both legs. - Extra-time and penalties used if the scores are still level. FINAL: - One-leg match - Extra-time and penalties used if the scores are still level. - Played on neutral ground at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. _______________________________________________________________________________ 6 - CREDITS _______________________________________________________________________________ Well that's the end of this CM03/04 Welsh League & Cup FAQ by VillaNz. I hope it helped you understand the game a bit better. Look out for the next league FAQ coming soon to GameFAQs.com. Other VillaNZ guides available from GameFAQs.com... - CM:03/04 Australian League & Cup Guide This document copyright Dan Adams 2003.