Reigniting My Interest

[Conflictinbanno]

Well, where do I start, recently I've really struggled to get into FM.

I find it hard to explain why, it could be the duration it takes for me to get things right, it may just be because I'm not great at the game. However I always look at FM and wish, I just played it more. I'm an avid gamer and have been my whole life, from playing a football manager game on my brothers Spectrum ZX, to going through the ages of playing games on consoles like I do now.

I buy FM every year and I try my hardest but I seem to have one game where I get a season or two into and then a couple of games I start but just never really get into. So I wondered if anyone had any tips to try and help me get more into this. I always avoid the team I support simply because I feel disappointed if I don't do well. Last year was probably the closest I got back into FM properly since about 09/10 roughly with a save were I started at West Ham, managed 2 seasons before being let go, then went to Ipswich and was promoted within 1 season and then had a fairly decent season in the Premiership so in total that save lasted 4 seasons, which is probably nothing compared to most people, but for me that was quite successful. On this version of the game I had one save with Ipswich based on how much I enjoyed my save last year where I managed to play a full season being knocked out in the play offs, but I lost the save due to my own personal laptop giving up on me, which I think deflated me a bit.

I would love recommendations from people to help me get back into the game again though. I think I would avoid Ipswich or West Ham, I'd personally like to avoid the best teams in the world too because I think if I fail to win trophies, then I'd become equally deflated. Maybe a team where I don't have too much expectation on myself (although I don't want to put myself in a position where I'm struggling to win any games). I like to think I'm fairly clued up when it comes to tactics in football enough to know what a formations strengths and weaknesses are to an extent, although I'll openly admit I avoid some TI's like closing down and defensive line unless it is something I feel I'm adding every single game and also my skills at picking the right mentality and team shape are some times something I struggle to get right. I'll also admit I'm not brilliant when it comes to picking the right players to sign and have to listen to my scouts a lot and also choosing decent staff and producing quality players from my youth team is also something I'm not great at anymore.

I've read countless threads on here on tactics and spend a hell of a lot of time in there, mainly because I find it interesting and fascinating to see.

Could anyone recommend what could be a good idea for maybe a team to start with and maybe tips on what I find a struggle with like picking the right mentality or shape and how to find decent staff that would realistically come to my side (like at the start should I just go to the staff screen and decide who is good enough to stay and look to replace any who aren't great). Bringing in youth players is probably something I'm less concerned about at the moment as I think that is more likely to come through getting into the game.

Thanks All.

[mrw072]

I'd be tempted to look for a team that doesn't have high expectations, maybe in the second level of football, but with the scope to progress and develop. That way if results go badly in the first season you won't be under any great pressure in relation to your job. But if you do decently you'll secure your position a bit. Lets say you finish 9th in the first season. My aim would be to finish higher than that in the next season. And then the same again the next season, until you get promoted. So I think there are definite benefits to building a team up slowly, as that way you will be able to find out what your players are like over time. and develop your tactics gradually too. The team I took over in FM16 first of all were Valenciennes. And I found them to be a good team to manage for the reasons I mentioned. So maybe try them?

[Conflictinbanno]

I can't say I've heard of Valenciennes, what league are they in? I might prefer to stick to comforts of England as I know it a little better but I guess if I know a similar level it could help me pick a selection of teams to try my luck with.

This is similar to how I decided on Ipswich in last years game, I was sacked by West Ham for an average season and had offers of Everton or Ipswich, I chose Ipswich to go down a division and have less pressure on myself to succeed and ended up getting promoted back to the PL by winning the Championship which for me, was a big success.

Would you have any recommendations on staff?

I'm thinking tactics, I'll probably go with my safer option of building around the players, letting them help me pick my formation and using roles that suit them, rather than trying to impose a style on them (something I don't think I'm so good at)

[TheCowboy]

I can't say I've heard of Valenciennes, what league are they in? I might prefer to stick to comforts of England as I know it a little better but I guess if I know a similar level it could help me pick a selection of teams to try my luck with.

This is similar to how I decided on Ipswich in last years game, I was sacked by West Ham for an average season and had offers of Everton or Ipswich, I chose Ipswich to go down a division and have less pressure on myself to succeed and ended up getting promoted back to the PL by winning the Championship which for me, was a big success.

Would you have any recommendations on staff?

I'm thinking tactics, I'll probably go with my safer option of building around the players, letting them help me pick my formation and using roles that suit them, rather than trying to impose a style on them (something I don't think I'm so good at)

Valenciennes are a team in France i think their in the second tier. Interestingly there the only french team i've ever managed on FM.

I recommend not sticking to the comforts of england, try something different. Italy's a good shout if you get to know it bit the teams are quite similar to england but it's more competitive (that can be good or bad). If you don't like it you can always move back however.

[HUNT3R]

Focus on what you enjoy. I don't enjoy the game when I manage anyone I have real life knowledge of, so that suits my playing style well as I always in the lowest league of a country. By the time I get to the top, if there are real life players, they're at the end of their career so very different from how I know them.

If tactical changes are your thing, maybe stay at any one club for a maximum of 2 or 3 season only? A new club will have new players and will need different tactics.

Or attempt to change formation every season so that you're never getting bored with just sticking to the same thing.

[SlightlyAwkward]

I sometimes have something similar in that I want to keep playing but I don't know what to do. My most successful solution has always been to try something different. Playing in a different league that I'd never done before worked a few times. Slovakia and Belarus are now two of my favourite leagues. You can also change your style of play. Not so much what you do, but how or why. So, instead of starting at West Ham, instead start unemployed and work your way up to West Ham. Or if you want to start at a club right away,, find something different to do with it like only signing players under 23 or only signing players with the surname Smith. I did that last one once and I probably don't recommend it. My last save broke so now I'm holidaying from the start to 2020 to see if anything happens that could inspire me. A giant falls or a minnow rises or a forever nearly-team.

As I say, just find something a little different to do. If you want some familiarity, try La Liga in Spain. You've probably heard of most of the clubs and a handful of players and a midtable club could be something to work with. They'll never expect you to push too high and the drop shouldn't be difficult to avoid.

[Conflictinbanno]

I think I might take the tip of going to somewhere different, I've always stuck with England, because well I have a knowledge of it. I tried to do a save of starting at the bottom but ended up in Romania where the rules completely threw me based on I think a rule of needing to play 2 players under the age of 21 from Romania which really killed me but maybe a lower league where there aren't bizarre rules could suit me well. I think if I pick someone I know well enough, then I end up thinking I need to play like them. So again this could favour moving away from England or maybe looking lower than the Championship, although I found starting at the bottom is one heck of a challenge as I tried Chelmsford City (where I live) and I did find it difficult! So maybe I'm thinking a couple of divisions below the top. I used to be a big fan of Italian teams, especially because of Del Piero so I may look in the lower divisions there, maybe Serie B as a start.

Thanks guys, hopefully, I can get myself back playing this game and enjoying it like I should!

[bucket]

I've added myself as a wonder kid and started to enjoy the game a lot more. But now I'm playing more I'm running a new save with Woking. My local side. Keeps me interested for a bit.

[Conflictinbanno]

I'll be honest, I don't really want to add myself as I feel all I'd worry about is that one player.

I've ended up taking the advice of a few people and opted for Serie B side Vicenza. I don't know anything about them really other than the fact I have heard of them. I judged it based on them expecting to finish around 10th, so I know they shouldn't be expected to dominate or be hammered. Although looking at the league in general it does look quite close. Although the formations that suit them are probably ones I've tried before, I feel I could experiment with some different formations with them too. Looking at them, they have some pretty decent players, but I won't get to actually play a game until this evening but they look like a fairly interesting side to manage at least!

[South-Side]

I always do a Millwall save in my first game, but lately i got a little bored of it. 2022, 3 season in the premiership, won the Capital Cup,FA and finished neck in neck with Man U (lost PL because of the direct meetings being against me). Doing well in ECC reaching the semi final and building the team with youngsters. But i find myself somewhat stalling...

So i started a save with Gloucester City last night. Doing well for now, a little more challenging than my Millwall save, hard to get used to no money,low or no wages. Going from thinking how to spend 184 mil euro to who should i sell for cheap to free up cap space.

So if you really want a challenge try the Vanarama N/S , especially with 21st place predicted team. It will give you a run for your money,time and nerves

[howhigh1337]

check out some custom data bases

[Soninho]

Also struggeled a bit at first!

So I did what most people here suggested, went completely outside my comfort zone and choose a team with very low expectations!

This worked wonders because I didn't rage when losing and actually found it quite exciting to learn a new league, (very low league).

After playing this and after a while learnt this version better I started a save with my local team and now doing well and enjoying FM16!

[podunkboy]

I always like to pick a country, holiday for a year, take one of the newly-promoted sides in the bottom division and make a run for the top. I don't necessarily keep to every rule of the established LLM challenges, and it's always a hassle to keep the save updated periodically on the forum, but it's fun to build a minnow up from the bottom. And if I get sacked, I just throw up my resume and find another job.

[Nottingham Forest]

Possibly look at the challenges in the Challenges, Sign-Ups and Experiments sub-forum. I've often struggled over the past couple of seasons as I get bored. Recently I've started a save where I can only manage teams in cities, towns or what football grounds I've been to. It means I've got a rather large selection of teams I can be.

[jimmyt86]

I've just downloaded a Nordic league database and noticed some of the teams in the lower divisions have some really good facilities and tempted to try and take these to Nordic domination. Only trouble is the teams still have European qualification from their original countries (so teams in what is effectively the 3rd and 4th divisions are playing in Europe) but I presume this will change after the first season. Also looking at starting a game with my local team down in one of the regional premier divisions and taking them as far as I can