I am getting a new machine next month also...as far as FM goes, you won't regret it.

You don't know much then, mate. Here, read a newspaper:

Huddersfield Town's James Vaughan can go down in Terriers history if he scores today - Huddersfield Examiner

Am interesting true-to-life FM story:

Student lands job running football team thanks to Football Manager on the computer

After reading this thread, I went and grabbed FM13 and checked it out. Mind you, I hate soccer with a passion and know nothing about it....but the game is pretty fun no doubt. After 2 seasons thru, I'm hooked. Now I still feel like they are not comparable aside from how well they present their respective sport as a sim, interface, and features maybe. OOTP is the best baseball sim, FM best in soccer. 2 diff sports though, so that's far as I go. And I hate soccer, if you know the Beavers story, you know why lol so no bias game wise, it's forcing me to learn the sport

I feel the same way! I didn't pop for FM13 myself...but picked up a cheap copy of FM11 on ebay and really do enjoy it. Personally, I think it is the better game when pitted against OOTP on nearly every level. I think, however, for the purposes of this pole that it does a better job of placing you in the seat of the manager.

I wasnt a big fan of soccer, but I bought FM 13 at the start of last year. I have to say that I really enjoy it. I bought OOTP14 and wish I hadn't found FM. For some reason, even though I am a bigger fan of baseball, it has made 14 seem a little bland. I love both games, but FM has so much other interaction, especially in negotiations, that I favor it more now.

It's a really, really good game.

I know their nickname is the Terriers, but calling them by the full name is like saying 'West Bromich Albion The Baggies', we'd just West Brom. Anyway it doesn't matter I'm glad you like the game, FM is brilliant.

It is. I do hope you noted that the newspaper referred to the team as Huddersfield Town and not just Huddersfield.

I agree as far as being in the seat for sure. It's very immersive and baseball is my #1 sport too. I find myself saying, "Only continue one more time," alot lol. If only I knew something about soccer haha might help my chances. I still love OOTP no doubt, amazing game and only will get better, but I just can't pinpoint why FM has hooked me.

I would love to purchase FM14 and jump into it, but I do not know the nuances and intricacies of soccer at all. How much would this hurt my experience with the game?

There are tons of resources online for FM...everything from tactics, to contracts, to training. The first place you might want to start is here:

Guide to Football Manager | FM 2013 Guide

Note the further reading sections at the bottom of each article...very helpful.

Keep in mind FM 14 is streamlining it's tactics creator to make it more realistic, so some of what you read in that section is already outdated. The BETA version for FM 14 is to be made available Thursday. It will only be available to those who pre-ordered...although yopu can pre-order at anytime up until release, and still receive the BETA version.

Here is a basic list of things to understand:


How to Understand Soccer Strategy: 10 Steps - wikiHow

I never understood soccer in my life either, but what makes FM so unbelievable is that you can read articles and watch videos, learning the game, and then apply it to FM, and it makes sense, and works as it would in real life. I had no interest in learning the game until FM came along. It got me hooked on what amounts to "FM crack".

OOTP vs. FM Revisited
 

You also have the ability to delegate your staff to do certain task (not sure how well they improved the AI in this regard from FM12). Like the Director of Football (GM) can assist you or bring in talent for you with the help of scouts. Head of Training can handle training if you don't want to get into that and I think in 14, assistant coaches can suggest tactical changes during the game and you can apply them by selecting a button. It makes having a full staff meaningful and the game less time consuming.

They improved it incredibly last year...you have total control over what you do vs. your staff. You can delegate very specific tasks, or not. You can tell you Director of youth football to look for potential signings and get back to you, or you can have him make the signing himself...or you yourself can scour for youthful talent. There are hundreds of combinations on how you can relate to your staff in terms of responsibilities vs. delegation.

OOTP 14 = 56.79%. Nuff' said.

The immersion factor. It's off the charts.

Well, it is the OOTP forums. If you ran this poll on the FM forums, you'd get 98% votes for FM. I say this as a big an OOTP partisan as there is:

OOTP is probably the second best game made today (though there are some historical/wargames I'd rank as being nearly as good as OOTP). FM is the first, and the closest thing to a perfect game that'll ever be made. Saying that is not a discredit to OOTP at all, it's incredible. FM just happens to be even more more incredible.

FM is awesome, and the people who work on it are awesome too. I know most of the guys (since I've worked with SI from 2004 through 2006, for those who do not know) and they have incredible skills & knowledge.

Here is the difference between OOTP and FM:

FM simulates Soccer, which is incredibly popular in Europe and other parts of the world. And simulation/management games are incredibly popular in Europe and have a rich & long history. The result: FM ships over a million copies per year.

OOTP simulates Baseball, which is incredibly popular in North America, parts of South/Middle America and some Asian countries. Simulation/Management games in these regions are about as popular as Curling action games. The result: OOTP sells a tiny fraction of the volume FM does.

That's why SI employs (my estimate) 50+ people, and we only employ a handful. Enough said. :)

This is why, at the end of the day, OOTP is always my favorite for this reason. There's no huge team, it's a labor of love. You guys do awesome work