Meadow Fever

1993/94 was Shrewsbury Town’s season. They went up as champions of the Third Division under Fred Davies. The cup was another matter: they came through the first round against Doncaster Rovers after a replay, and went out in the third to Barnsley.

This is the run they did not get. Eight ties, from a non-league side at Gay Meadow in the first round through to Wembley — and the third round is Barnsley again, because that is where a First Division club enters and that is who was actually waiting.

The squad is the real one. Paul Edwards in goal, Dave Walton and Mark Williams at the back, Steve MacKenzie and Kevin Summerfield in midfield, Louie Donowa flying down the right, Wayne Clarke up front. The manager picks the eleven before every tie and there are no substitutions, so a sending-off means ten men for the rest of that game and a suspension for the next one.

The ball is never glued to your feet. A dribble is a series of touches, and what separates the players is what happens when you turn: straight on, everybody’s touch is firm, but through a turn the ball keeps its old momentum and only a good first touch drags it round with you. A poor one lets it run three yards wide with a full back arriving.

Two kick buttons — along the floor, or up in the air — and how long you hold one is how hard it is hit. Winding up slows you to a walk, so a thirty-yard drive costs you something. The keepers defend themselves, but when yours claims it or wins a goal kick he is handed to you to distribute.

Slide in with Z or X when you haven’t got it, or simply run at whoever has: the better the player, the more often he comes away with the ball. Referees book the reckless ones.

THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY

Round	Opponents	Where
First round	Telford United (Conference)	Gay Meadow
Second round	Rochdale (Division Three)	Spotland
Third round	Barnsley (Division One)	Oakwell
Fourth round	Sheffield Wednesday	Hillsborough
Fifth round	Aston Villa	Gay Meadow
Quarter-final	Blackburn Rovers	Ewood Park
Semi-final	Arsenal	Wembley
Final	Manchester United	Wembley

Every round is a stronger side than the last. From the fourth round on, everyone left is in the Premier League. Each tie is two halves of ninety seconds, so a match takes three minutes. If it’s level at full time there’s a period of golden-goal extra time, and if that settles nothing it goes to penalties.

PICKING THE TEAM

Before every tie you pick eleven from the real squad. Every player has six ratings: pace, control, power, accuracy, tackling, and for the keepers, goalkeeping. These are invented for the game. Nobody published attribute scores for the Third Division in 1993. They matter, though:

• Control is the big one for anyone who carries the ball. It decides how well a player brings the ball round with him when he turns.
• Pace is who wins the race to a loose ball. Tackling in this game is mostly that race.
• Power decides how far and how hard a full-strength kick goes.
• Accuracy decides how close the ball goes to where you aimed it.
• Tackling decides how often a challenge wins the ball, and how often it’s reckless enough to get the player booked.

There are no substitutes. If a player is sent off, he’s gone for the rest of the match and misses the next round too. Think about the second half of the cup run when you decide how hard your defenders go in.

TIPS

• Run straight, turn gently. The ball stays close when you run straight. A sharp turn at full pace is when a poor first touch lets it get away. With a low-control player, slow down before you turn.
• Tap to pass, hold to shoot. A tap on Z is a short pass to feet. Hold it to hit the ball harder, but you slow to a walk while you wind up, so make space first.
• Go over the top. X lifts the ball, and a lifted ball can’t be cut out along the ground. It’s the way past a deep defence, and the way to switch play.
• Use the keeper. When your keeper claims the ball, it’s yours to distribute. A long kick upfield can turn a defence into an attack in one move.
• Slide carefully. A sliding tackle wins the ball well, but a mistimed one is how players get booked, and a second booking is a sending-off.

BEHIND THE GAME

Meadow Fever is a top-down football game in the tradition of the early-90s home computer classics: a tall pitch, a camera that follows the ball up and down, both touchlines always in view, and tiny players. The ball is the most important thing in it. It is a separate object, with its own speed and height, and no player ever owns it. A player is only ever near it. Dribbling, tackling, passing and shooting all come from that one decision.

The Shrewsbury names are the club’s real 1993/94 squad, checked against published squad lists for that season. The opposing clubs are real, but their players aren’t: they have plain made-up surnames, so nobody real is given made-up ratings. The pitch has mown stripes, proper markings and a crowd. Throw-ins are thrown, not kicked. The crowd noise, the referee’s whistle and the roar when you score are all synthesised in the browser, like everything else on this site.