Making the world more dynamic and realistic using finances, fans and the DOF

[LordKaivalya]

FInances for a long time have been ignored by FM in game. Any seasoned FM player will know that in just a couple years we can turn a club's fortunes around, mainly by signing good youngsters on the cheap, developing them and moving them at a price that seems extortionate when compared to what we signed them for or by moving on any players with value and replacing them with youngster from the academy thereby raising money. Either the clever youth development transfer focus or by actually improving league positions year on end there by giving the club a bigger annual boost via TV money or competition money.

Let's ignore the PL with its inflation of transfer value and gargantuan TV deal for now.

Looking at clubs like Atletico (pre china), Sevilla, VIllareal or Valencia, they seem to be following the classic FM way of raising money. They have remained for the better part of recent times at the tails of Barcelona and Real Madrid, at least on the league table and they've sold player after player and still managed to maintain quality using their academies and scouting. But it seems like they have a place in the footballing universe, that of making a rare unexpected tilt at the title or being contenders for secondary domestic and European honors. 

Look at leagues like the Eredivisie or the Belgian Pro League or the Portuguese league. Top talent has been developed in these leagues and year after year they've remained outsiders and their financial situation remains so that their best are always poached. 

All this would indicate that players shouldn't the only assets that a club owns that gives them financial muscle and flexibility. Grounds, stocks and most importantly a massive and hungry fan base. Unless there's a takeover with an extremely benevolent sugar daddy at some other club you don't see this picture change. FInancial management expansions of fan base in game is not really a thing. When in reality football pretty much has become a huge war amongst massive corporations to attract as many fans to pick up their brand and champion it. Look at PSG, they went out and signed Neymar, quite realistically the heir to Messi and Ronaldo. THey also signed someone who could quite possibly be the heir to Neymar and also a  leader for France for years to come. This wasn't an attempt to secure the league and have a tilt at CL glory. They secured two players who more than anyone today could atract a multitude of international and domestic fans.  They would't be able to attract the same level of notoriety even if they dominated France for the next 20 years. Look at Bayern for example, they've had few moments where they've been remotely threatened in Germany and have had more success than most top English, French or Italian clubs recently. Yet they don't have the same global profile or brand awareness compared to the likes of relatively underachieving clubs like United, LIverpool or Arsenal. This was PSG recognizing the lasting value of a fanbase (regardless of how unsustainable the model is, it does give us an idea of what a club wants!)

FM doesn't exactly offer a transparent way to expand fanbases in game. Fans in real life are the most important RESOURCE a football club has. In FM this is reduced to simple merchandise sales on scout screen of world class players. There is significantly more value to a massive fanbase than just 3 million pounds through shirt sales. Look at LIverpool for example, in the last decade they've been title challengers once and have done little else of note on field. Yet they retain a rabid fanbase even in countries where football is not huge. This is not due to them dominating Europe some 40 years ago. It's due to careful brand cultivation and an enhanced visibility. Visibility leads to increase in a club's prestige, sponsor awareness will net you bigger companies ready to pay you so they can access the huge following you have developed.

Instead of relying on a financial narrative that involves only player trade and TV deals (according to the TV Deal, Spurs have earned as much money as the other teams in the top 6, yet they aren't seen as a financial behemoth nor do they spend like one), FM should enhance the profile of the in game fanbase instead of them being limited to weird social media commentary (Maximiliano Romero,aged 20, scored 6 goals in that game, Regina. What the **** do you mean here comes the overreaction??) and the odd news article, there needs to be a more celebratory tone and a more mutinous tone to the game depicting the real life mercurial and fickle nature of football fans. There need to be new ways to permanently tap into to fan markets. You don't see INTER MILAN fans in India for a reason, even though old Helenio Herrera was a tactical genius when compared to a sweeping attacking football style you wont see many fans of anti football. 

This could be an area where your style of football could play a role in impressing or turning off a fan base. Not only does it give financial benefits but it would lead to increased fan support for a manager. this adds the new enhanced dynamic of FAN PRESSURE. A lot of times in the FM world the BOARD and the FANS are on the same side. The board would prefer someone who gets you good results while the fans could be more about aesthetics. Imagine a fan favorite coach who the board just won't support because their style of football requires more investment and may or may not get you the best results according to your net spend. Not only would it add a new narrative it would also create a quite real life conundrum when most managers have to choose between being realistic or popular (ALA Jurgen KLopp will always have lovers all over the world and I doubt there will be a team that wants to grow who wont look at him. A popular manager = happy constumers)

This is where the quite repetitive press interactions could come into play, Being passionate and sometimes using  your fan base to aggravate a situation will lead to a boast in your contraversial profile and how passionate your fan base see you. Instead of being damp and criticizing your own team and mistakes which would then lead to you having a weaker profile. A little bit like the cool and fiery sytem in FIFA"s journey execpt it would have long term repercussions here. 

Coming to the other financial issues, the narrative of a club being at risk due to massive debts needs to be a more transparent system in place. Same can be said about the awkard default sponsorships which tell you nothing and just seem forgettable. Maybe an option like choosing your sponsors with your own ambition in mind like Motorsport Manager would add more flexibility and more of an element of control. This is where the DOF comes in, most players just fire them or let them exist in the background since using them for deals or contract renegotiations is as close as you get to burning your club to the ground.  Giving them a new financial role would encourage busy players who aren't too into financial management (Much like real life roles of a lot of top top managers) an incentive to hire these DOF's who in real life are expert lawyers and finance people.

I would also like to see a club's reputation being dictated by more factors than primarily success on field. It's just something that in it's current form breaks immersion massively. I managed Watford for 4 years before winning the PL in a season where all other teams fell away and got their managers sacked. Quite similiar to the LCFC story right? Underdog sweeps to the title with 79 points in a year when everyone else sucked. But what happened in real life wasn't close to what happened to me afterwards. Where LCFC were still seen as some kinda fluke happening and went on to sign some upper mid table caliber players. Suddenly my Watford had more reputation than Man CIty, Chelsea, LIverpool, Juventus, Bayern, and most other teams. I was able to sign the football manager god that is Paulo Dybala who rejected Bayern and CIty for Watford. WTF. Predictably the game was fun for another season where i just signed some absolute god for Waford and won the CL. But telingly it was my longest save in the last 3 editions. The game just doesn't maintain the level of challenge once you gain the reputation of these giants, especially makes it less worthwhile to do it when you can just achieve it one year. 

Made me think there was a need to rebalance the reputation system. Even if its a slow build to the title, for example in real life ATM did it in 2012, they had a higher profile, yes, but they were still only a feeder club for the elite and not suddenly an elite club overnight. There should be more to do if yo want to convert a club like Watford into a huge club like Juve than just a couple of trophies.

Maybe use history, fan following, recent successes, financial assessment, league reputation as different metrics to more adequately and realistically tip the scales against clubs like LCFC and ATM still leaving a sense of achievement when you do win something after the first big trophy, Not only will it enhance your experience but it also adds a lyer to consider when starting a new save or picking a new job. Because, for now there is nothing that really makes me want to manage FIorentina over someone like AC MILAN or vice versa other than their attractive jerseys and logo. There needs to be a difference in the experience of managing a perennial underdog in Florence to one of the greatest clubs in football in AC Milan.  

 

 

 

 

I've realized I've taken a long crap and written something quite unreadable but I do hope it helps start a discussion.

[Cint]

Man really gr8 analysis. Like it a lot.

[Neil Brock]

Reviewed so locked.