The Importance of Separating Your Love of Football Manager and Your Football Betting

Football Manager 2020 is arguably the best that we have seen in the last decade and there is no doubt that this coming year we will all be invested an incredible amount of time completing marathon sessions of this year's installment. Something which I was discussing with a friend recently is just how distorted reality can seem after you have come away from a long FM binge, which has at times had quite the negative effect on my football betting. Trying betting on this site after a long session on Football Manager is a recipe for disaster, and here is why it is so important that you learn to separate the two.

Expectation Versus Reality
Whilst the Football Manager algorithm is incredibly accurate when it comes to scouting players and rating abilities, it doesn't of course factor in real life player form. To give you a perfect example of this I have backed Marcus Rashford to score one or more goals on multiple occasions, losing almost every time in the process. Why would you back Rashford given United's downturn in form and his lack of game time? I hear you asking… well that would be because he is fresh off the back of a title winning season where he netted me 40 goals across all competitions. Just an example of how different reality is from Football Manager.

Emotions
It is always a smart idea to completely remove emotions from your bets and to instead base any picks which you make on nothing but cold, hard facts. This can be difficult of course, especially when it comes to the rivals of the team who you support. When Football Manager gets involved however, the number of teams who you like or loathe can multiply rapidly. The FA Cup final where you were beaten by a well trained Watford side, the last day of the season when an inspired West Ham team avoided relegation and scuppered your top 4 hopes, or conversely the last minute winner that Aston Villa scored against Man City which saw you lift your first title. This game completely skews your opinions of teams, and that often doesn't bode well when it comes to placing your bets.

Genuine Confusion
Whilst this has only happened to me on one occasion, it is a tale of woe which I must share with you all. I had a free bet for the game between Manchester City and Burnley last season, a home banker you may believe, but at the time I was hitting FM pretty hard and Burnley were having a sensational time of it. With this in my mind I backed the Clarets to draw or win against City, something which I was pretty  confident about. The 4-1 win by the Citizens served as a quick reminder to me that Burnley were in fact in a relegation dog fight, and had pretty much zero hope against the rampant City. Always check real facts and form guides before you place bets, confusion can be a killer.

Don't forget to take a lengthy break once Football Manager is over, before placing any bets in the real world.