Bassett Becomes Zookeeper
Tykes manager begins challenge for Premiership honours at least four months early.
Dave Bassett abandoned Barnsley and the challenge for promotion from the First Division last week, to return to the Premiership at the helm of a squad comprising the best players from the Nationwide League. Tykes fans can rest easy, however, as Bassett's defection was only temporary and confined to the realm of computerised simulation.
This latest twist in Bassett's event-filled managerial career came about as a result of a quest began by journalists from the Zoo Football website to find the best 11 players currently playing outside the top flight. When the team was finally selected, the Zoo Football crew were keen to test their selection and
turned to Sports Interactive (SI), creator of the best-selling Championship Manager football management simulations, to make this possible.
With a little careful reprogramming, the SI team were able to oust Watford from the Premiership and replace them with the new team, christened Zoofootball FC
(apologies to Hornets fans, but someone had to go and their team was bottom of the league at the time). The original 11 was then bolstered with 11 substitutes
and the stage was set for Bassett's return to the top flight.
"We have always been confident that Championship Manager provided an accurate simulation of real-life management, but we were intrigued as to how it would bear up to the close scrutiny of someone who has 'been there and done that', so we were very pleased to help out when Zoo Football asked us to provide a team for Dave Bassett to manage," says Oliver Collyer, Managing Director of Sports
Interactive. "And judging by Mr. Bassett's reactions and emotions during his virtual season, we're now even more convinced that Championship Manager is as close to the real thing as you can get without incurring the wrath of the FA's fourth official."
"I would be the first to admit that my knowledge of computers would happily fit on the back of a floppy disk, but that didn't seem to matter too much when the digital studs started flying," adds Dave Bassett, now safely returned to his position of Barnsley FC Manager. "With a bit of luck, the experience might even
stand me in good stead next season."
"It's been a fascinating experiment and it's certainly saved us countless wasted hours arguing the toss down the pub," offers Alex Lee, Editor of Zoo Football. "A few things stood out for me... the game's realism, the way our squad
performed and, most of all, how Dave Bassett got into the spirit of the thing. With his level of passion and player knowledge, it's easy to see how he's enjoyed so much success in his career."
The Championship Manager games have been developed by Sports Interactive since 1992. The latest in the series, Championship Manager: Season 99/00, sold 117,153 copies in its first six weeks of release (figures from the Charttrack report dated January 8th 2000). Charttrack figures also show that Championship Manager games occupied the number one position in the UK PC CD-ROM charts for a total of 16 weeks during 1999.
Since their first release, Championship Manager games have sold in excess of 1,500,000 copies world-wide (CM is published globally via Eidos Interactive,
which also publishes the Tomb Raider games).
To find out how Bassett's boys fared against the cream of the Premiership, follow Zoofootball FC's fortunes on www.zoofootball.com.
Goalkeepers:Richard Wright (Ipswich) Roy Carroll (Wigan).
Defenders:Gary Rowett (Birmingham), Darren Barnard (Barnsley), David Challinor (Tranmere), Richard Rufus (Charlton), Jeff Whitley (Man City), Richard Edghill (Man City), Chris Coleman (Fulham), David Holdsworth (Birmingham).
Midfielders:Damien Duff (Blackburn), Mark Kinsella (Charlton), Mark Kennedy (Man City), Sean Gregan (Preston NE), Craig Hignett (Barnsley), Lee Clark (Fulham), Matt Holland (Ipswich), John Robinson (Charlton).
Forwards:David Johnson (Ipswich), Marcus Bent (Sheff Utd), Ade Akinbiyi (Wolves), Marcus
Stewart (Ipswich).
____
Bastion contact:
Sonia O'Keeffe sonia@bastion.co.uk
Telephone: +44(0) 171 490 1323
This latest twist in Bassett's event-filled managerial career came about as a result of a quest began by journalists from the Zoo Football website to find the best 11 players currently playing outside the top flight. When the team was finally selected, the Zoo Football crew were keen to test their selection and
turned to Sports Interactive (SI), creator of the best-selling Championship Manager football management simulations, to make this possible.
With a little careful reprogramming, the SI team were able to oust Watford from the Premiership and replace them with the new team, christened Zoofootball FC
(apologies to Hornets fans, but someone had to go and their team was bottom of the league at the time). The original 11 was then bolstered with 11 substitutes
and the stage was set for Bassett's return to the top flight.
"We have always been confident that Championship Manager provided an accurate simulation of real-life management, but we were intrigued as to how it would bear up to the close scrutiny of someone who has 'been there and done that', so we were very pleased to help out when Zoo Football asked us to provide a team for Dave Bassett to manage," says Oliver Collyer, Managing Director of Sports
Interactive. "And judging by Mr. Bassett's reactions and emotions during his virtual season, we're now even more convinced that Championship Manager is as close to the real thing as you can get without incurring the wrath of the FA's fourth official."
"I would be the first to admit that my knowledge of computers would happily fit on the back of a floppy disk, but that didn't seem to matter too much when the digital studs started flying," adds Dave Bassett, now safely returned to his position of Barnsley FC Manager. "With a bit of luck, the experience might even
stand me in good stead next season."
"It's been a fascinating experiment and it's certainly saved us countless wasted hours arguing the toss down the pub," offers Alex Lee, Editor of Zoo Football. "A few things stood out for me... the game's realism, the way our squad
performed and, most of all, how Dave Bassett got into the spirit of the thing. With his level of passion and player knowledge, it's easy to see how he's enjoyed so much success in his career."
The Championship Manager games have been developed by Sports Interactive since 1992. The latest in the series, Championship Manager: Season 99/00, sold 117,153 copies in its first six weeks of release (figures from the Charttrack report dated January 8th 2000). Charttrack figures also show that Championship Manager games occupied the number one position in the UK PC CD-ROM charts for a total of 16 weeks during 1999.
Since their first release, Championship Manager games have sold in excess of 1,500,000 copies world-wide (CM is published globally via Eidos Interactive,
which also publishes the Tomb Raider games).
To find out how Bassett's boys fared against the cream of the Premiership, follow Zoofootball FC's fortunes on www.zoofootball.com.
Goalkeepers:Richard Wright (Ipswich) Roy Carroll (Wigan).
Defenders:Gary Rowett (Birmingham), Darren Barnard (Barnsley), David Challinor (Tranmere), Richard Rufus (Charlton), Jeff Whitley (Man City), Richard Edghill (Man City), Chris Coleman (Fulham), David Holdsworth (Birmingham).
Midfielders:Damien Duff (Blackburn), Mark Kinsella (Charlton), Mark Kennedy (Man City), Sean Gregan (Preston NE), Craig Hignett (Barnsley), Lee Clark (Fulham), Matt Holland (Ipswich), John Robinson (Charlton).
Forwards:David Johnson (Ipswich), Marcus Bent (Sheff Utd), Ade Akinbiyi (Wolves), Marcus
Stewart (Ipswich).
____
Bastion contact:
Sonia O'Keeffe sonia@bastion.co.uk
Telephone: +44(0) 171 490 1323
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