The New FMCU General Discussion Thread

[OlivierL]

Love that list, thanks !

I'll try to update below list if the release from FM23 gets closer.

[deez0r]

I think we might have our first couple of challenges! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Haha. What have I started! 

Brilliant stuff. 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 17/06/2022 at 22:20, OlivierL said:

Love that list, thanks !

I'll try to update below list if the release from FM23 gets closer.

@OlivierLBrilliant data but would you mind explaining a few bits to me please? 

1. Do you need a custom database? Surely you don't need a custom database to manage FC Vaduz in Switzerland? 

2. Playable for Youth Only save? Why are the white highlighted rows now suitable for playing a Youth Only save? What am I missing? 

3. Caledonian Braves are new to me and really liking the look of them.  Newgens from a Nation so much better than the host Nation almost seems like cheating though. I'm used to making things more difficult rather than easier. 

[OlivierL]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

@OlivierLBrilliant data but would you mind explaining a few bits to me please? 

1. Do you need a custom database? Surely you don't need a custom database to manage FC Vaduz in Switzerland? 

2. Playable for Youth Only save? Why are the white highlighted rows now suitable for playing a Youth Only save? What am I missing? 

3. Caledonian Braves are new to me and really liking the look of them.  Newgens from a Nation so much better than the host Nation almost seems like cheating though. I'm used to making things more difficult rather than easier. 

Hey ,

1. I think the yes next to Vaduz is my mistake, i'll change that. thanks.

2. Suitable for youth only save = suitable according to the youth challenge rules (picking a team that promotes to the lowest playable tier after year of holiday).

3. Before they were named Edu Sport. I did ten season with them in FM20 and afterwards becase follower and 'member' of the club. Tried it again this year and started a topic but stopped after some minor bugs (and was tempted to start with Africanos).  You can find all the information in my intro in this topic: they also have a youtube documentary and a nice app.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

10 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

Hey ,

1. I think the yes next to Vaduz is my mistake, i'll change that. thanks.

2. Suitable for youth only save = suitable according to the youth challenge rules (picking a team that promotes to the lowest playable tier after year of holiday).

3. Before they were named Edu Sport. I did ten season with them in FM20 and afterwards becase follower and 'member' of the club. Tried it again this year and started a topic but stopped after some minor bugs (and was tempted to start with Africanos).  You can find all the information in my intro in this topic: they also have a youtube documentary and a nice app.

 

It's been a long time since I managed in Scotland. Is there auto-promotion from the Highland Leagues now (irl) or do you have to edit it so that there is promotion? 

[OlivierL]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

It's been a long time since I managed in Scotland. Is there auto-promotion from the Highland Leagues now (irl) or do you have to edit it so that there is promotion? 

One team plays a promotion final against the number last from league 2. You have to reload it many times before you get Caley Braves but on the last FM they came 'fast' (20/25 reloads).

Scotland - 25th June. Save on April 30th then holiday for 1 day to see who is the promotion playoff team

[OlivierL]

I'm going to do a journeyman in a specific region and do the head coach challenge @coady thanks for the inspiration. Going to start my own career topic about this , should be my last save till FM23

[karanhsingh]

What a list! 

I love the Las Palmas idea. African players don't count as Non EU in Spain right?

[Jimbokav1971]

As we've already had 2 phenomenal lists compiled, is there anyone who happens to have compiled a list of playable B Teams? 

[karanhsingh]

11 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

As we've already had 2 phenomenal lists compiled, is there anyone who happens to have compiled a list of playable B Teams? 

There are B teams that can be managed independently?

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

There are B teams that can be managed independently?

No, but I like the idea of starting off a save at a B Team or B Teams plural to build your reputation. To be completely honest I think you should be able to manage age group teams too, (like U19's and U23's). 

[karanhsingh]

Just now, Jimbokav1971 said:

No, but I like the idea of starting off a save at a B Team or B Teams plural to build your reputation. To be completely honest I think you should be able to manage age group teams too, (like U19's and U23's). 

I believe you can manage international youth sides, but yes I get where you're coming from. 

One of the most fun little spells I had in the past was winning the Olympics with the Ivory Coast U23 team.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

I believe you can manage international youth sides, but yes I get where you're coming from. 

One of the most fun little spells I had in the past was winning the Olympics with the Ivory Coast U23 team.

You can manage International Youth sides, (and it's possibly more fun than the senior sides), but it would be nice to start as an U19's manager, move on to U23's and then B Team before taking on the senior role. 

[Jimbokav1971]

If Gareth Bale goes to Cardiff then some sort of Welsh save could be interesting. 

[Makoto Nakamura]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

You can manage International Youth sides, (and it's possibly more fun than the senior sides), but it would be nice to start as an U19's manager, move on to U23's and then B Team before taking on the senior role. 

If you use the Japan file over in the Editors Hideaway then you can actually manage High School sides.  

[Makoto Nakamura]

Also, for B Teams from what I remember the ones in Spain & Portugal are definitely manageable, I don't know about elsewhere though.

[Jimbokav1971]

No offsides? 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61808907

[SinlessCity]

On 01/07/2022 at 09:39, Jimbokav1971 said:

No offsides? 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61808907

Imagine how many goals Pipo Inzaghi would have scored without an offside rule.

Or Timo Werner in more recent times.

[SteinkelssonFM]

I am flirting with starting an Athletic Club save, has anyone done one and what would be ideal challenge to achieve over three seasons? Given how close we are to the new cycle.

[Rikulec]

On 01/07/2022 at 10:39, Jimbokav1971 said:

No offsides? 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61808907

The story about Santos playing in Europe is even more incredible when you consider that Tromso got relegated the season before, which meant there was an Europa League qualifier between a 3rd tier Estonian side and a 2nd tier Norwegian one.

[Rikulec]

So, uh, completely out of the blue it turns out that from this season I'll be managing Legia women's first team. Granted they're nowhere near the level their male equivalents are at, we're either going to be in the 4th or 5th tier depending on some formalities that are still up in the air. It's still a huge step for me though, working as a head coach at a senior team at just 25. Our pre-season starts on 1st August, I couldn't be more excited!

[RoguPL]

On 20/07/2022 at 20:28, Rikulec said:

So, uh, completely out of the blue it turns out that from this season I'll be managing Legia women's first team. Granted they're nowhere near the level their male equivalents are at, we're either going to be in the 4th or 5th tier depending on some formalities that are still up in the air. It's still a huge step for me though, working as a head coach at a senior team at just 25. Our pre-season starts on 1st August, I couldn't be more excited!

Wow congrats ! Lech has created Womens team only last year and they started in 4th tier. They did manage to get promoted in their first season.

Good Luck and all the best  hope that your path will get you back to mens football at some point. are you doing any qualifications?

There is a trend in polish football now to give chances to younger coaches, so you never know where you might be in next 5 years.  Dawid Szulczek being the prime example  

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, RoguPL said:

Wow congrats ! Lech has created Womens team only last year and they started in 4th tier. They did manage to get promoted in their first season.

Good Luck and all the best  hope that your path will get you back to mens football at some point. are you doing any qualifications?

There is a trend in polish football now to give chances to younger coaches, so you never know where you might be in next 5 years.  Dawid Szulczek being the prime example  

Thank you! I've heard about Lech joining forces with the UAM team and getting promoted, well done.

I definitely want to manage in the men's game in the future, although I'm not completely moving away from that as I'll still be working with my U13 team that I also worked with last season. I have the UEFA B licence at the moment, but I'm going to apply for the UEFA A course which starts in February I think. I've already tried to make this step up last year, unfortunately I got rejected despite passing the exam (most likely because of insufficient experience). Here's hoping that managing a senior team can get me over the line this time!

I sure hope that I can do well with this team and then get noticed higher up, it's Legia after all, so we're bound to get some attention. Szulczek is a great example of a young coach who also, like me, doesn't have a lot of playing experience. I'm happy to see him doing well, a part of me was even hoping that he'd get the Lech job after Skorża left. You know, eighteen months ago I would never imagine that I'd be at Legia come July last year. Then I wouldn't have thought I'd get a chance at the senior level after only one season. There were also some things that didn't quite work out for me in the meantime, primarily the side gig I had with Admira, but in general it's all moving so fast that it's impossible to guess what happens next. Let's all hope for the best!

[RoguPL]

9 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Thank you! I've heard about Lech joining forces with the UAM team and getting promoted, well done.

I definitely want to manage in the men's game in the future, although I'm not completely moving away from that as I'll still be working with my U13 team that I also worked with last season. I have the UEFA B licence at the moment, but I'm going to apply for the UEFA A course which starts in February I think. I've already tried to make this step up last year, unfortunately I got rejected despite passing the exam (most likely because of insufficient experience). Here's hoping that managing a senior team can get me over the line this time!

I sure hope that I can do well with this team and then get noticed higher up, it's Legia after all, so we're bound to get some attention. Szulczek is a great example of a young coach who also, like me, doesn't have a lot of playing experience. I'm happy to see him doing well, a part of me was even hoping that he'd get the Lech job after Skorża left. You know, eighteen months ago I would never imagine that I'd be at Legia come July last year. Then I wouldn't have thought I'd get a chance at the senior level after only one season. There were also some things that didn't quite work out for me in the meantime, primarily the side gig I had with Admira, but in general it's all moving so fast that it's impossible to guess what happens next. Let's all hope for the best!

I heard few interviews with Szulczek, he is really reasonable guy and I want to see him do well, but I think it might be a bit too early for Lech, despite his good entrance to Ekstrklasa. Warta is also my home team so I do try to keep myself up to date what is going on around the club. 
I remember my dad used to work for ambulance services and they were sort of 'supporting' the home games, ie. if any one required hospital transport or first aid, he would be the point of call. I would always go with him to Droga Debinska, watch the games from behind the goal and pass the balls back over the fence (that stadium only has 1 stand) . That was when the likes of Tomasz Magdziarz (currently football agent)  and Alain Ngamayama were playing.  My heart is blue white and green  I do want what is the best for Lech and Warta, however because of poor management of Warta by owners over the last years Lech was my primary choice to go to. 

Sorry went on a tangent there. 

Anyway good luck ! I will keep fingers crossed. You never know, you might be managing Lech in a decade if all goes well  I bet we will still not make CL group stages in the next decade.

[Rikulec]

14 minutes ago, RoguPL said:

I heard few interviews with Szulczek, he is really reasonable guy and I want to see him do well, but I think it might be a bit too early for Lech, despite his good entrance to Ekstrklasa. Warta is also my home team so I do try to keep myself up to date what is going on around the club. 
I remember my dad used to work for ambulance services and they were sort of 'supporting' the home games, ie. if any one required hospital transport or first aid, he would be the point of call. I would always go with him to Droga Debinska, watch the games from behind the goal and pass the balls back over the fence (that stadium only has 1 stand) . That was when the likes of Tomasz Magdziarz (currently football agent)  and Alain Ngamayama were playing.  My heart is blue white and green  I do want what is the best for Lech and Warta, however because of poor management of Warta by owners over the last years Lech was my primary choice to go to. 

Sorry went on a tangent there. 

Anyway good luck ! I will keep fingers crossed. You never know, you might be managing Lech in a decade if all goes well  I bet we will still not make CL group stages in the next decade.

No worries, that's a great story. That's also something I love about football in Poznań, the positive relationship between Lech and Warta and how many people support both teams, perhaps even more so after Warta's promotion to the top tier. Not really something you see in Poland.

Unfortunately I can't see the standard of football in our dear country improving anytime soon. The direction we're going in with youth coaching is counterproductive, it's like we're trying to produce the exact opposite of what is required in the modern game with all this focus on 1v1 situations all the way through every phase of development and hardly anything beyond that (oh, and high pressing of course, that's also fashionable). Last month we travelled to Hungary for a tournament with my then-U12 team and faced Ujpest and Debrecen among others. That was an amazing experience, they were so far ahead of anything I've seen in Poland in terms of playing like modern football is played. The way they were able to keep possession as a team and try to create and exploit space, how quick and decisive they were in their play. Kind of what I'm trying to achieve with my boys, but much more advanced and clearly they had been trained this way for far longer than any of my players. At the same time you'll see the Legia academy (and many others) either trying to have one guy run the whole length of the pitch with the ball or getting three or four players forward and hoofing it behind the opposition's defence. Maybe there's something I don't get here.

Managing Lech would be a dream come true for me. Who knows, maybe one day.

[RoguPL]

23 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

No worries, that's a great story. That's also something I love about football in Poznań, the positive relationship between Lech and Warta and how many people support both teams, perhaps even more so after Warta's promotion to the top tier. Not really something you see in Poland.

Unfortunately I can't see the standard of football in our dear country improving anytime soon. The direction we're going in with youth coaching is counterproductive, it's like we're trying to produce the exact opposite of what is required in the modern game with all this focus on 1v1 situations all the way through every phase of development and hardly anything beyond that (oh, and high pressing of course, that's also fashionable). Last month we travelled to Hungary for a tournament with my then-U12 team and faced Ujpest and Debrecen among others. That was an amazing experience, they were so far ahead of anything I've seen in Poland in terms of playing like modern football is played. The way they were able to keep possession as a team and try to create and exploit space, how quick and decisive they were in their play. Kind of what I'm trying to achieve with my boys, but much more advanced and clearly they had been trained this way for far longer than any of my players. At the same time you'll see the Legia academy (and many others) either trying to have one guy run the whole length of the pitch with the ball or getting three or four players forward and hoofing it behind the opposition's defence. Maybe there's something I don't get here.

Managing Lech would be a dream come true for me. Who knows, maybe one day.

I think this is just the nature of Poznan and Grater Poland in general. We are so proud of where we are from and what we do that there is no space for conflicts. On one of my dog walks I met a lady who went to Poznan few times for sightseeing and vacation and she also mentioned that Poznan is much different to other cities in Poland in that respect I remember when Lech was fitting seats from their stadium, to stadium at Droga Debinska, so that Warta can meet the requirements to play in 1 Liga.  

I do worry about this as well, most popular sport in Poland but we cannot improve on any level. I don't know the ins and outs like you do but what I notice is that we are starting to have good infrastructure for developing players but we also need to have coaches who know how to teach these kids to play the correct way. I was watching recently on 'Prawda Futbolu' a chat with Zibi Boniek and Pawel Golaszewski. They did raise all the issues that we have with the coaching system. I think that generations of kids now are way too different to what it used to be, they don't play football unless they go to training. I remember we used to spend all afternoons on the pitches around school, or parks to play football or any other games. nowadays kids are not as active as they used to be. Pawel Golaszewski who is also a coach mentioned that when he was on coaching camp at Jagiellonia, once a week or something the kids had training in the wilderness and the kids have to work out their own pitch with what's available lol. I think this is nuts, everyone done it before with the use of backpacks or whatever was available. I remember building our own goals in back yard with my cousins. From this conversation I also took out that very kids train because their parents are forcing them and not that they want to. When that happens their interest in football is very sporadic.  This is really concerning and not looking optimistic for future. 

 Here is the link for it, they initally talk about teams in europe but then around 30th min go on a tangent and discuss issues with polish youth system.

On the other note the other day I was watching some old matches between Widzew and Juve probably 82/83 season. This was our golden age and our players were so good. Comparing that Widzew to our teams that represent country in europe now is an abyss. I think that our teams will never be able to play like Widzew played back then. 

Hope that you can achieve your dreams  win the title and I will come for celebrations as I missed them this year as my passport ran out of date.   Also I hope that you will not forget FM community when you become any Ekstraklasa team head coach  

 

[Jimbokav1971]

In my career thread I recently went into the last game of the season, (as Belenenses in Portugal), where if we drew with Benfica on the last game of the season, we would win the league but Benfica would have remained unbeaten & invincible for the whole league season. 

I had never heard of this happening before either in-game or in real life so I asked if anyone had ever heard of it before and @Johnny-Trotterposted this brilliant link. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jun/10/football-trivia-liverpool-undefeated-seasons

In it gives the following examples of teams who went undefeated for a whole league campaign but who still didn't manage to win their league. 

Spartak Sofia* of Bulgaria in 1950/51 drew 8 and won 14 games, but were still pipped to the title by 1 point by CDNV Sofia, (who are now CSKA Sofia).
Perugia in Italy in 1978/79 drew 19 of their 30 games, so it wasn't really a surprise that someone else (Milan), won the league. 
Benfica of Portugal in 1977/78 drew 9 and won 21 games, but Porto pipped them on goal difference, (+60 to +45), (and I wonder if that why they now use head to head record before GD?)
Galatasaray of Turkey in 1985/86 drew 16 and won 20 games, but Beşiktaş pipped them on goal difference, (+44 to +37).
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia in 2007/08 drew 12 and won 21 games, but were smashed by a whopping 5 points by Partizan Belgrade.

*Spartak Sofia changed their name to Levski-Spartak when they became an affiliate of Levski Sofia and played in the Bulgarian Regional Leagues, but in 2007 they were dissolved and no longer exist.  In order to complete this challenge you could use Levski Sofia for the Bulgarian leg. 

This is the sort of thing that really appeals to me and if I was doing a save with transfers then I could really get my teeth into this as a challenge I think. For anyone thinking of doing it, maybe the order should probably be swapped around a little to something like this. 

Levski Sofia in Bulgaria. 
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. 
Galatasaray in Turkey. 
Benfica in Portugal.
Perugia in Italy. 

The plan would be to go through each team in turn and win the top domestic league with an unbeaten season. Some clubs would be easier than others but actually Red Star, Galatasaray & Benfica shouldn't be much of a challenge at all, but Perugia, (who are currently in Serie B), would be an enormous challenge. Just getting the jobs would be hard in itself. 

Anyway, just thought I would share because then link from @Johnny-Trotterwas brilliant and it got me thinking. If only Spartak Sofia still existed. 

 

[deez0r]

Anyone come across the issue in custom databases of your youth team playing on the same day as the first team and it forcing you to control both matches?

[deez0r]

Ah seem to have fixed it. Turns out we didnt have an u18s manager and even though it was delegated to another coach it wasnt picking it up!

[Johnny-Trotter]

On 25/07/2022 at 21:39, Jimbokav1971 said:

In my career thread I recently went into the last game of the season, (as Belenenses in Portugal), where if we drew with Benfica on the last game of the season, we would win the league but Benfica would have remained unbeaten & invincible for the whole league season. 

I had never heard of this happening before either in-game or in real life so I asked if anyone had ever heard of it before and @Johnny-Trotterposted this brilliant link. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jun/10/football-trivia-liverpool-undefeated-seasons

In it gives the following examples of teams who went undefeated for a whole league campaign but who still didn't manage to win their league. 

Spartak Sofia* of Bulgaria in 1950/51 drew 8 and won 14 games, but were still pipped to the title by 1 point by CDNV Sofia, (who are now CSKA Sofia).
Perugia in Italy in 1978/79 drew 19 of their 30 games, so it wasn't really a surprise that someone else (Milan), won the league. 
Benfica of Portugal in 1977/78 drew 9 and won 21 games, but Porto pipped them on goal difference, (+60 to +45), (and I wonder if that why they now use head to head record before GD?)
Galatasaray of Turkey in 1985/86 drew 16 and won 20 games, but Beşiktaş pipped them on goal difference, (+44 to +37).
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia in 2007/08 drew 12 and won 21 games, but were smashed by a whopping 5 points by Partizan Belgrade.

*Spartak Sofia changed their name to Levski-Spartak when they became an affiliate of Levski Sofia and played in the Bulgarian Regional Leagues, but in 2007 they were dissolved and no longer exist.  In order to complete this challenge you could use Levski Sofia for the Bulgarian leg. 

This is the sort of thing that really appeals to me and if I was doing a save with transfers then I could really get my teeth into this as a challenge I think. For anyone thinking of doing it, maybe the order should probably be swapped around a little to something like this. 

Levski Sofia in Bulgaria. 
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. 
Galatasaray in Turkey. 
Benfica in Portugal.
Perugia in Italy. 

The plan would be to go through each team in turn and win the top domestic league with an unbeaten season. Some clubs would be easier than others but actually Red Star, Galatasaray & Benfica shouldn't be much of a challenge at all, but Perugia, (who are currently in Serie B), would be an enormous challenge. Just getting the jobs would be hard in itself. 

Anyway, just thought I would share because then link from @Johnny-Trotterwas brilliant and it got me thinking. If only Spartak Sofia still existed. 

 

Because that Guardian reference is about 13 years old, I thought I would check another reference site - RSSSF

They have a specific page for unbeaten league season records - https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/unbeaten.html. You can use this and see where some more teams finished unbeaten but were not champions. Wherever you see 1 beside the team name, they were unbeaten champions and you will then find a few more who did not win the title, despite being unbeaten. For example:

Bangladesh: 

2009/10 2.Mohammedan SC (Dhaka)   24  19  5  0  63-12  62

Gabon:

2009/10 2.Mangasport (Moanda)     26  15 11  0  58-14  56

Libya:

1987    5.Al-Ahli Tripoli         17   5 12  0  13- 6  39

San Marino:

1989/90 4.SP Tre Fiori            20   7 13  0  32-23  27 [regular season and playoffs]

Sudan:

2022    2.Al-Merreikh (Omdurman)  30  22  8  0  56-11  74

[Jimbokav1971]

Sligo Rovers have just beaten Motherwell home and away. Gotta love the Europa Conference. 

[Rikulec]

And Malta has three teams in the 3rd qualifying round. At the same time Poland has only two.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Rikulec

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Sligo Rovers have just beaten Motherwell home and away. Gotta love the Europa Conference. 

Absolutely! All the fans of so called big clubs calling this a pointless competition really have no idea what they're talking about. 

[RoguPL]

On 28/07/2022 at 21:25, Rikulec said:

And Malta has three teams in the 3rd qualifying round. At the same time Poland has only two.

not surprised   I can bet that we will not have a single team in group stages. 

[Rikulec]

On 20/07/2022 at 21:28, Rikulec said:

So, uh, completely out of the blue it turns out that from this season I'll be managing Legia women's first team. Granted they're nowhere near the level their male equivalents are at, we're either going to be in the 4th or 5th tier depending on some formalities that are still up in the air. It's still a huge step for me though, working as a head coach at a senior team at just 25. Our pre-season starts on 1st August, I couldn't be more excited!

A decision has finally been made and it's going to be a play-off between us and Kolejarz Łódź on 17 August for a place in the 4th tier. I've only just started working with this team and this is probably going to be the biggest game of my career so far. We're probably the favourites here, let's do it!

[withnail316]

On 25/07/2022 at 20:39, Jimbokav1971 said:

In my career thread I recently went into the last game of the season, (as Belenenses in Portugal), where if we drew with Benfica on the last game of the season, we would win the league but Benfica would have remained unbeaten & invincible for the whole league season. 

I had never heard of this happening before either in-game or in real life so I asked if anyone had ever heard of it before and @Johnny-Trotterposted this brilliant link. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jun/10/football-trivia-liverpool-undefeated-seasons

In it gives the following examples of teams who went undefeated for a whole league campaign but who still didn't manage to win their league. 

Spartak Sofia* of Bulgaria in 1950/51 drew 8 and won 14 games, but were still pipped to the title by 1 point by CDNV Sofia, (who are now CSKA Sofia).
Perugia in Italy in 1978/79 drew 19 of their 30 games, so it wasn't really a surprise that someone else (Milan), won the league. 
Benfica of Portugal in 1977/78 drew 9 and won 21 games, but Porto pipped them on goal difference, (+60 to +45), (and I wonder if that why they now use head to head record before GD?)
Galatasaray of Turkey in 1985/86 drew 16 and won 20 games, but Beşiktaş pipped them on goal difference, (+44 to +37).
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia in 2007/08 drew 12 and won 21 games, but were smashed by a whopping 5 points by Partizan Belgrade.

*Spartak Sofia changed their name to Levski-Spartak when they became an affiliate of Levski Sofia and played in the Bulgarian Regional Leagues, but in 2007 they were dissolved and no longer exist.  In order to complete this challenge you could use Levski Sofia for the Bulgarian leg. 

This is the sort of thing that really appeals to me and if I was doing a save with transfers then I could really get my teeth into this as a challenge I think. For anyone thinking of doing it, maybe the order should probably be swapped around a little to something like this. 

Levski Sofia in Bulgaria. 
Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. 
Galatasaray in Turkey. 
Benfica in Portugal.
Perugia in Italy. 

The plan would be to go through each team in turn and win the top domestic league with an unbeaten season. Some clubs would be easier than others but actually Red Star, Galatasaray & Benfica shouldn't be much of a challenge at all, but Perugia, (who are currently in Serie B), would be an enormous challenge. Just getting the jobs would be hard in itself. 

Anyway, just thought I would share because then link from @Johnny-Trotterwas brilliant and it got me thinking. If only Spartak Sofia still existed. 

 

In 95/96, Celtic lost one league game all season, and still finished four points off the top. Always mad when that sort of thing happens. 

[withnail316]

Evening FMCU, been a while. How're you all getting on?

Whisper it quietly, but I think I've got a save up and running...

[withnail316]

21 hours ago, Rikulec said:

A decision has finally been made and it's going to be a play-off between us and Kolejarz Łódź on 17 August for a place in the 4th tier. I've only just started working with this team and this is probably going to be the biggest game of my career so far. We're probably the favourites here, let's do it!

Congratulations mate, but as a Lech fan, that must sting...

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, withnail316 said:

Congratulations mate, but as a Lech fan, that must sting...

It was weird last year when I first came to the club, but now I've more or less got used to it. Good source of banter with other coaches. Good to see you back!

[withnail316]

14 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

It was weird last year when I first came to the club, but now I've more or less got used to it. Good source of banter with other coaches. Good to see you back!

Thanks, man. Been a while. Even back with a thread...

[Burbian De Bay]

Hi all,

My first post here. This sub-forum is very inspiring, but I am getting depressed when seing everyone being so successful (I'm usually not).
Can you recommend any FMCU threads where things didn't go as planned? Are there any?

[Cheez3y]

Does someone now a club with worse finances and status like ADO Den Haag?

 

I now Barca, Benfica, Trabzonspor and Besiktas got some major debt, but they are all to "big" and boring for a midterm save.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Cheez3y

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Cheez3y said:

Does someone now a club with worse finances and status like ADO Den Haag?

 

I now Barca, Benfica, Trabzonspor and Besiktas got some major debt, but they are all to "big" and boring for a midterm save.

Schalke, Derby

[Jimbokav1971]

19 hours ago, Cheez3y said:

Does someone now a club with worse finances and status like ADO Den Haag?

 

I now Barca, Benfica, Trabzonspor and Besiktas got some major debt, but they are all to "big" and boring for a midterm save.

Hi @Cheez3yAt the end of FM21 I did a Barca save where we were  given loans of£1.2B that had to be repaid in full by the end of the 4th season, while keeping the club competitive. I never manage a club like Barca but I absolutely loved it and can't recommend it highly enough.

You should do a search for an edited database that has you starting in 2022 with Barca with similar levels of debt. I bet there are some good one's out there. 

In fact.... I bet it has been done on YouTube and they have a link to the database they used. 

[GoesToCheck]

In the most recent FM22 update, this is how Barca start. 

They are £25M overdrawn at the bank at the start of the game. 

And they owe just over £1B in total with 3 different loans outstanding, the payments of which amount to £5.5M per month. 

There is also £0 transfer budget and in terms of available wage budget there is just £472,000 per month available for new signings. The only real issue with this ave is that the debt is repayable over 8, 10 and 19 years and that means that £5.5M repayments is tiny compared to the £25.5M monthly repayments I had to make. 

Depending on how experienced you are at the game, it might still be worth it. 

I have had a look and can't find an edited database for FM22. 

The thing to consider here @Cheez3yis that you are looking at the Overall Balance page and the projection, but the overall balance doesn't tell the whole story and the projection isn't accurate. 

Derby are only  overdrawn at the bank, but they have significant debt with repayments of £375,000 per month until 2031. The bonus is that they start the league campaign with a points deduction so avoiding relegation is going to be pretty tough. 

Signing new players is a problem because they are embargoed while In Administration so can't buy/sell/sign players and in any case there is no wage budget available for new players. 

What you have got is a young, talented squad who are saleable assets, (if you can get out of Administration). 

The only problem with a Derby save is that they start the game "in Administration" so a new club might come in and be able to clear some/all of the debts, which is not what you want at all in a save like this. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Cheez3y]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Hi @Cheez3yAt the end of FM21 I did a Barca save where we were  given loans of£1.2B that had to be repaid in full by the end of the 4th season, while keeping the club competitive. I never manage a club like Barca but I absolutely loved it and can't recommend it highly enough.

You should do a search for an edited database that has you starting in 2022 with Barca with similar levels of debt. I bet there are some good one's out there. 

In fact.... I bet it has been done on YouTube and they have a link to the database they used. 

[GoesToCheck]

In the most recent FM22 update, this is how Barca start. 

They are £25M overdrawn at the bank at the start of the game. 

And they owe just over £1B in total with 3 different loans outstanding, the payments of which amount to £5.5M per month. 

There is also £0 transfer budget and in terms of available wage budget there is just £472,000 per month available for new signings. The only real issue with this ave is that the debt is repayable over 8, 10 and 19 years and that means that £5.5M repayments is tiny compared to the £25.5M monthly repayments I had to make. 

Depending on how experienced you are at the game, it might still be worth it. 

I have had a look and can't find an edited database for FM22. 

The thing to consider here @Cheez3yis that you are looking at the Overall Balance page and the projection, but the overall balance doesn't tell the whole story and the projection isn't accurate. 

Derby are only  overdrawn at the bank, but they have significant debt with repayments of £375,000 per month until 2031. The bonus is that they start the league campaign with a points deduction so avoiding relegation is going to be pretty tough. 

Signing new players is a problem because they are embargoed while In Administration so can't buy/sell/sign players and in any case there is no wage budget available for new players. 

What you have got is a young, talented squad who are saleable assets, (if you can get out of Administration). 

The only problem with a Derby save is that they start the game "in Administration" so a new club might come in and be able to clear some/all of the debts, which is not what you want at all in a save like this. 

Thank you very much for this extended post. You got me thinking.

 

I normally hate to take over big clubs and move one. It gets boring really really fast.

But if I add some rules like "only sign free players", "use La Masia" and "buy kids for under 1 mio"...this could be something.

I could even develop a new tactic at the same time, never really done a 3 ATB.

Maybe like 10 seasons and see if you are close to be technical debt free and stay on the same level. (sadly there no repay button)

 

Damn...I already prepared yesterday evening a new save with some things I never done or saw.

Now I need another day to think.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Cheez3y

[Rikulec]

Remember when I told you about a play-off for a place in the 4th tier of women's football? Well, we won it. An early goal turned out to be the only one in the game despite us dominating and creating lots of good chances, including a missed penalty in the first half. Still a lot of work to do with the team, we definitely need to improve both our finishing and the ability to calm down, control the game and just retain possession at certain times. We definitely have enough individual quality to play this more ambitious, modern style (that's not highly popular in Poland, to say the least ), but that's a long way to go. Until then, let's just sit back and celebrate!

A few pictures in the spoiler for those interested (you can also see the whole gallery here):

Spoiler

And yes, that's the Legia chairman in the middle in the last picture.

Edited August 17, 2022 by Rikulec

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Remember when I told you about a play-off for a place in the 4th tier of women's football? Well, we won it. An early goal turned out to be the only one in the game despite us dominating and creating lots of good chances, including a missed penalty in the first half. Still a lot of work to do with the team, we definitely need to improve both our finishing and the ability to calm down, control the game and just retain possession at certain times. We definitely have enough individual quality to play this more ambitious, modern style (that's not highly popular in Poland, to say the least ), but that's a long way to go. Until then, let's just sit back and celebrate!

A few pictures in the spoiler for those interested (you can also see the whole gallery here):

  Hide contents

And yes, that's the Legia chairman in the middle in the last picture.

Congratulations. Brilliant stuff. 

From a career point of view do you think that your chances of being accelerated have been significantly improved by jumping from coaching children to women, or do you not think it will make much difference or even possibly be hindered? Do you think the crossover of staff between male/female teams will be quite possible/probable?

As I write that I notice that there are no female staff in the picture. Do woman not take many coaching badges in Poland? 

[Rikulec]

5 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Congratulations. Brilliant stuff. 

From a career point of view do you think that your chances of being accelerated have been significantly improved by jumping from coaching children to women, or do you not think it will make much difference or even possibly be hindered? Do you think the crossover of staff between male/female teams will be quite possible/probable?

As I write that I notice that there are no female staff in the picture. Do woman not take many coaching badges in Poland? 

Cheers mate!

I think it's a good move in terms of my career, although I've also remained with my boys' team, so I'm going to have twice as much work this season. What I'm particularly excited about is that the Legia chairman seems to be really invested into the project, he has big ambitions and wants to have a strong women's team at the club. I think it's a good opportunity for me to gain recognition if we can do well and get the team to play the way I'd like to. Another thing is that I might be able to get some interaction with the men's first team as well, for example observing their training or speaking to the staff. And finally, the Polish FA are very likely to introduce new regulations next year that will allow clubs from the top three levels of Polish men's football to start in the 3rd tier of the women's structure. If that goes through, from next season we're obviously going to benefit from that and in that case we'd also become part of Legia Warsaw proper (right now we're still in the Legia Soccer Schools structure, which is formally a separate entity). As you can see, there's a lot to look forward to!

As for female coaches, I'd say Poland is still a few years behind other countries, but I think more and more women are getting started on this path and the numbers are gradually increasing. We have a few female coaches working with younger groups at the club, one of my players also has coaching badges and used to coach a girls' group before she joined the first team's media staff.

[Rikulec]

Our first game of the season was away to the team who came 2nd and narrowly missed out on promotion last year. And well, you can guess the outcome by looking at the photo. It was a proper rollercoaster ride as well. We found ourselves 1:0 down at half time despite dominating, we gave away way too many stupid fouls and finally one of them resulted in our opponents blasting a proper thunderbolt into the top corner after a poor clearance. The second half was much better on our part, we finally managed to break down their congested midfield and started creating chances left, right and centre, eventually racing into a well deserved 3:1 lead. A lead that we promptly threw away by giving away yet another free kick and then defending sloppily after a through ball. To top it off, we missed an absolute open goal sitter in the 93rd minute, somehow allowing the defender to catch up and clear the shot away for a corner. And for even more last minute drama, we scored from that very corner to make it 4:3 and grab all three points. What an absolutely mental game that was!