Miscellaneous instances of Managing the Foot to Ball

[Syt]

Setting up this Football Manager thread to not derail the miscellaneous thread again.

I took over Cordoba when they were almost down in relegation ranks of Tier 3 in Spain, when their goal was finishing top half. It was a bit of a rough start, but two underdog wins in Copa Real against La Liga 2 and 1 teams bolstered morale enough to almost make it to the promotion play offs.




Towards the end of the season, my wage budget, though, was 800k over the 3.2M allotted by the board. I asked for a wage increase .... and it was granted, putting me into the black.

The new season starts off. And my wage budget is "a bit" (400k) over. Reason 1: I signed two many youth players.  Reason 2: a player wanted to leave but agreed to only leave if I find a replacement. I sign a replacement and ... the original player stayed on. I tried to shed bankroll, but not much luck.

So now I have 28 players out on loan at other clubs (including some overpaid second tier ones where the other club is paying their wages now ). And my budget is back on track. 

Meanwhile, the new season ....



I'm kinda worried that when this run crashes it will crash HARD.

I have only a National A licence. But I feel boosting my mental/tactical/motivational stats is a bit gamebreaking?



Meanwhile, my previous club Illescas who scratched at promotion is now fighting relegation to tier 5. My striker who scored 29 goals in my first season is now a shadow of his former self (and has no potential to come to tier 3).

[Norgy]

I like starting in the lower tiers.

But it means you have poor youth recruitment (really poor), no money, often your club is semi-pro, so if you should be lucky and find a good coach, that does not help.

When my Lyn FK was at tier three, I managed to get a striker called Santiago Hoyos. He got a work-permit, and was banging them in. Two seasons later, he is sold under my nose by the board to Heerenveen of all clubs.

I play with only one striker. So I had no back-up. And no-one wanted to join FK Lyn. I am a fan of gegenpress and counters rather than sitting back. I needed a striker. We had money. Lots, to be honest, because I had been selling off much of the first team during our promotion season to the Norwegian premier league.

But the history of Lyn is that they were once one of the greats in Norwegian football. Even played quarter finals against Barcelona and beat them in the late 60s in Europe. The club went bankrupt after the owner just said "sod it". So I felt that I needed to be fiscally responsible. My aim is to always leave a club in a better position than when I came in.

This restricted the opportunities to sign a striker, but a reject from Tromsø was available and keen. And he had better stats than Hoyos. So, 3.5 million NOK (300k Euro) and a deal was done, '

He was scoring so many goals after just a few weeks that I could hardly believe it. Granted, I had upped the attacking line-up with Emil Ceide from Salernitano for 700.000 NOK. He gave the necessary flair and creativity for my 4-3-3.
Oscar Aga scored 35 goals between all competitions.
We did poorly in Europe, lost most matches, but Ceide and Aga between them managed 11 goals.

A new season beckons, and we are still a selling club. I had offers from Fiorentina and Lens for my services. Rejected both.

There is only one job I want other than FK Lyn.

Nottingham Forest.

[Syt]

I  get it, I also like to "work my way up." Dropping myself into the big chair at Bayern or Madrid or PSG something feels a bit like cheating, though I do understand the appeal of the fantasy of it. (I'm the same in CK, I prefer starting as a count to starting as a King or Emperor.)

And there's always something to be said about restoring a previously prestigious club back to old glories. And German tier 3 and 4 have plenty clubs that used to play in 1st Bundesliga or internationally before falling on hard times (usually after sponsors/private financiers jumped ship). And yeah, resources are much more limited.

Unless you have Qatari owners like Cordoba. Board approval A+. "Can I have some more transfer money?" - "Here you go!"

[Syt]

Side note ... you literally have ONE JOB! 

[Josquius]

How on earth do you keep a game going long enough to hop between clubs and have seasons of history 

Its usually dozens of hours per season when I play.

[Norgy]

I usually only have one career game with each version of Football Manager.

I need time to build a team. And while that team mostly will be sold to greener pastures, it is fun, albeit frustrating at times.

When I was in treatment, my only "free space" was playing FM18 in my small room. Carlisle did really well after a few seasons.

I got some Spaniard (this was pre-Brexit) as a playmaker in 4-2-3-1.

I used to be a fan of 4-4-2, but it proved inflexible when going up the leagues. I need a playmaker and some pacey wingers. I've found concentration to be important in players. A decent striker does not need to be 20 in finishing, but if he has work rate and composure, he fits in my team.

Maybe I should start a game and go for a completely different style. Low-block counter-attack and long ball.

[Syt]

 

The agent of my star striker, Antonio Casas, who's setting a goals record for the Primera RFEF Grupo II approached me, saying he thinks his client should have his contract (which still runs for another two years) jacked from €220,000 to €500,000.

Fortunately, I'm close with Casas, so I thought I'd try and ask him to drop his agent, because "he doesn't seem to have his best interests at heart." And he did.

[Syt]

We managed to secure the title and automatic promotion to La Liga 2 with 3 matches still to go, and my contract has been extended till 2028.



Now to focus on building a squad that will keep us on that level. 

[Syt]

My other striker who had a great season and grew a lot in that period comes to me saying he deserves a new contract. I try to stall but eventually give in because I need him focused on his game.

His current salary is 140k. I'm expecting he's going to ask for 300-400k.

No, he's asking for 160-205k.

I tell the agent that that's a lot of money. So he reduces the demand to 140-165k.

Sure, lad, happy to!

[Norgy]

We're talking Euros here, not old pesetas? 

[Syt]

EUR, yes. My La Liga 2 budget is ca. €7M

[Tonitrus]

Side note ... you literally have ONE JOB! 

Solution: Amputate their toes?

[Norgy]

EUR, yes. My La Liga 2 budget is ca. €7M

And I had to break the bank for 200.000 Euro sign-on bonus.
We're in the goddamned Champions League, make some cash available.
What was that? Oh. We only have an average attendance of 4.100. Right, I get you. I'll go back to hearing what moronic extra training the coaching staff suggests during our weekly meeting and try and win the league again.

[Norgy]

I... might want to try a low block in this next match.
We're sitting prettily in 11th position in the UCL. Rupil, a Luxemburg international, cost a small fortune, but has repaid it, as you can see. Aga's goals speak for themselves. Season's over, so I am pondering if we need some friendlies to keep match shape into a long winter.

[Syt]

Meanwhile my assistant manager:

Tactical Meeting: "I think we should remove 'Play for set pieces.'"

20 minutes into the match: "We're doing well on set pieces, so maybe we should play for set pieces?"