Junkhead

Leading the way into the New Year As 2025 hits, the boys have maintained their fantastic start, and I remain hopeful of a promotion in my first full season to get the ball rolling. I'm in a bit of a financial mess, which I assume will happen a fair bit on these early rungs of my ladder. The reason for this is two fold - first of all, the level of finance in these relatively smaller (in football terms) leagues is lacking. Couple this with the fact that I'm not intending to stick around for long, and it's a perfect storm. Not that I'm being too irresponsible, but then the board clearly aren't impressed as they accepted a couple of bids because it was "best for the club". Star right winger & club captain Mbaye Dia was allowed to leave for £9.5k which was especially disappointing given his excellent form for the club both last season & at the start of this. He's making the cut at the top level in Senegal too, so fair play to him I guess. The second player to leave was back-up left winger Erasme Konte who the board got £8.5k for, which I felt was great business at the time, however he is absolutely smashing it at HLM, who play in the same division as me; Performance wise, we've smashed some teams out of the park, but also carved out some results when not playing particularly well. We were very unlucky in the one game we lost, and I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it - particularly as it was to the team now in 2nd. My hope now is that we maintain this, and then I can concentrate on building a side that can complete in the division above. Still enjoying this so far, but God knows how I will feel when I inevitably stop winning every week

Squad building & a fantastic start Summer breaks in Senegal are loooong. 5 months long, in fact. It wasn't as bad as it sounds as I had some serious work to do building a balanced squad, particularly in central midfield as there was no depth there at all. A series of trials left me with a number of players signed, and things are a lot better now, with experience & depth added. Pick of the bunch was attack minded midfield player Gora Mbaye who has absolutely hit the ground running; Tactically, I am playing a patient, positive short passing game to appease the board's want for attacking & entertaining football, although this is not my usual style. I tend to me more of a kick & rush manager, but the lack of strength within my squad - coupled with the fact that I'm one of the better sides in the division thanks to the signings I've made - mean that the shorter style is the way to go for the moment. Our preseason didn't start particularly well with a 4-1 hammering by our own u21's - but at least the future seems bright. Eventually we picked up though, and after slogging to a draw in our first game before a narrow defeat against a top division side in the League Cup, we have started absolutely battering some of the mid-table/poorer sides in the division; Striker Alpha Faye has been an absolute star, with 5 goals in 5 games, but we have very little in the way of backup should he get injured. Still, with goals flying in from all over the pitch, this should hopefully be a non-issue. Overall, the squad has really started to take shape, with only really the central defensive positions needing an extra player in for depth. With the transfer window open & decent youth options - as well as two consecutive clean sheets, I won't be rushed into this - particularly as I am over on my wage budget by £200. Five players are currently transfer listed, with all but one attracting interest from elsewhere, so I will move some on before signing one of the three trialists who are currently playing for the u21's. Sitting proudly top of the league, although it's early days, Otto will be hopeful of an early career promotion to the top level of Senegalese football to help him on his way up this impossible ladder - a climb that I am thoroughly enjoying so far!

Something tells me I might win my next match...

Think it's this one, puts Russian/Belarusian clubs back in continental competition and Russia/Belarus back into international competition from 24/25 season https://sortitoutsi.net/content/65513/russia-and-belarus-back-to-life-before-war

Tier 1 - One small step for man.... With a start date of 6th May 2024 (thank you Iceland!), and after a LOT of interviews, Otto has now taken his first step & accepted a job in Senegal! Yeggo Foot are a small team based in Dakar who, in the late 90's, scaled the heights of Senegalese football & won the cup. They then tumbled back down the leagues and, after a bit of yo-yo-ing, now find themselves in the second tier. I interviewed for jobs in Ghana, mostly, but the wages offered for the two jobs I was offered there were £85-100 per week, whereas Yeggo offered me £500. At first glance, the squad appears to be pretty average, with my better players being offensive ones rather than defensive. Striker Alpha Faye along with wingers Ababacar Fall & Mbaye Dia are the stars, and 15 year old 'keeper Abdoulaye N'Doye appears to have a fair amount of potential. As you can see, I am using the absolutely excellent Statman FM24 skin by @_Ben_ which is a game changer. The focus of this save will be playing in many leagues that I don't know, and I want to base signings, tactical decisions & team selection on form rather than attributes & star ratings. In my opinion, the Statman skin is absolutely what the default skin should be mirroring going forwards, and would let us all finally move on from 1-20 attributes. I join Yeggo with 1 match of the season left - at home against already relegated Demba Diop FC. I picked my team based on season performance (I currently have no Assistant to hand selection over to - I started the job on the morning of the game), and the performance was pleasing to say the least, although left me with a bit to think about defensively; This result means that Yeggo finish the season in 6th, albeit with a real gap between there & 5th; I now have 5 months until the season starts in October to sort out a decent backroom staff (there is currently just me & the chairman!), and build a shortlist of potential targets to have a go at promotion next season. I wouldn't normally aim for that this early at a club, but this challenge is going to be long enough as it is - I haven't got time for a slow build. Besides, assuming the signings I make improve things, finishing above 6th has to be my aim which would put me in the mix. So with that, Otto's step towards legend status begins!

Are they doing what you want them to?

If a player accepts mutual termination it will be at a lower, negotiated amount, usually about 60% of what the full loyalty bonus/contract would be. Unlikely to work in this case since it seems that the players have no intention of leaving.

Another day, another absolutely insane concept that I probably won't finish. After being at the stage where my laptop nearly visited the garden via the window following a third consecutive 11th placed finish in the National League South with St Albans, I decided that it was time to begin anew. For inspiration, I spent a bit of time in the Careers & Challenges forum when @Rick87's post about a European "Jacob's Ladder" caught my eye. This was one hell of a challenge, encompassing an entire continent with a very clear path to the top of the football world - this was the challenge for me! However, being an absolute masochist - and no doubt a little bit insane - I decided to expand this challenge further: Not only would I conquer Europe - no - I would set out to conquer the entire world! Global domination through football, working my way up from ridiculously humble beginnings. The Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A - a mere pipe dream - I mean, the rules of this challenge mean I've got to have won 10 different national leagues before I'm even allowed to apply for jobs in Kazakhstan! What could possibly go wrong? Except, probably, everything. Now I feel it's important from the get-go to make clear that I have insane ideas like this very often, start a game, and don't follow said ideas through. It's also important to make clear that every single time I start an insane challenge, I am absolutely determined to see it through. Well, this is an insane challenge which I am absolutely determined to see through. Again. The Concept I have loaded leagues, at various levels, from a nice, round 100 countries. The additional nations I am using have been created by various different users who I thank for their hard work (I can't remember all of them - for which I apologise - but I downloaded some of these leagues months ago). I am also using @Daveincid's Realism Pack - which frankly I cannot live without and which is an absolute game changer. I am also using a file which allows Russia back into international & continental competition from the 24/25 season. I have divided these countries up into 20 groups of 5 based on the reputation of their top division within the game (bearing in mind that the Realism Pack slightly alters some reputations). The groups - or tiers of the ladder - are listed below. The idea is that I start at the bottom of that ladder, gradually working my way up the leagues towards indisputable glory and an untouchable status as the greatest manager the world has ever seen. The steps are as follows; - Start Unemployed with no badges (but semi-pro footballer reputation - I needed to get my adaptability up) - Apply for jobs ONLY in the 5 worst nations playable in the save - or tier 1 of the ladder. - Win the league in one of these nations - I can move jobs within the tier, but cannot move up a tier until I've won the league in one of those 5 nations - Move up to tier 2 - Repeat until I complete the challenge by winning the league in one of the top 5 nations in the world - tier 20. I'm not setting myself any rules about having to resign straight after completing a tier (although sometimes I might) as I quite fancy having a bash at the continental cups too. It's not part of the challenge, but I am known to get distracted with side quests and lose focus on the main mission. The tiers - or rungs of my ladder to the top - are below (note - where reputations between countries are equal, I have decided on which tier those countries go into by looking at continental coefficients or, if the nations are on different continents, by using the FIFA World Rankings as the decider); My Manager is a gentleman by the name of Otto Kenteris, a 19 year old Greek born on the isle of Lesbos. I've gone with this after reading a number of fascinating articles recently about Greece's 2004 European Championship victory which I am unfortunately old enough to remember as if it were yesterday. Otto is of course named after the victorious German coach Otto Rehhagel, and he was born the day after the night before. Kenteris is the surname of a former Olympic Athlete from Lesbos, so maybe this guy is his son. Or maybe not. I don't think that matters. Anyway, lucky old Otto has packed his bags, knowing that it will be at absolute best 14 years until he returns to his homeland (the Greek League is a tier 15 league), although I think we all know it will be far more. He's off to seek his "fortune", and will be applying for jobs in Ghana, Angola, Singapore, Indonesia & Senegal. Lucky him. And lucky them.

Like this idea - currently looking for a new save after coming 11th for 3 seasons running with St Albans and coming close to chucking my laptop out of the window. I usually run 100 leagues from all over the world so may have a go covering all continents and with 20 steps (that I will clearly fail at and never finish) Handy little list on Reddit too with all leagues sorted by reputation; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1979PIHwpxFj6IMvu4hpDIGjWghoVMisIfvI_fWMbnQ4/htmlview

With a playmaker role, he will draw the ball more. If you tend to play a possession based style, with those ppms he will likely be taking more passing risks that the rest of your team, so law of averages says he will give the ball away more often than anyone else. I'd be comparing his passes completed % to your other players - is it that he gives the ball away more than them, or that he just does so in riskier situations due to his role and ppms? Also, think about the roles of the rest of your midfield. If your rpm is on defend and everyone else is more advanced or on attack, he will be hitting even more risky passes, this increasing the likelihood he will give the ball away.

Had this problem when using a GTX GPU some years ago. A driver update caused this to keep happening all of a sudden so I had to roll back.

There are a few other jobs which are exempt, for example bra-fitters

Which setting is it exactly that you want to view?

@oche balboa So after deciding to start a little higher up, I've ditched three of the leagues (but none of the countries);

In the pub (obviously), but will share later

Nah, just lots of patience - worth it for the active world and possibilities

Unfortunately for level 9 club Hucknall Town, I pressed Start Game.

After missing FM23, a weird 6 months, with a day off and finally getting my hands on the additional leagues/mods I was after for FM24, it's time....

That worked - thank you

Trying to create the Sudani Cup, really basic 32 team affair. 18 clubs in the top division, I can get the editor to verify those & pick all 18. When I then attempt to add any clubs from the 2nd division (Sudani Lower Leagues, 28 teams) it only ever picks 3. If I add the two rules at the same time, it picks 21 - so 18 from the top division, plus 3. If I remove the top division rules, it still will only pick 3 from the second division. Any ideas?

Really looking forward to this release. Years since I last used it, but have recently moved to a place whose team is in level 9 (I think?) and itching to see how far I can take them. Itching to start a save now, so this might be my new year's save, but looking forward to it all the same!

Kits are not visible.

Genuine question. SI tend to consider a "release cycle" as completed once the Feb/March transfer update / final patch is out. Given that a number of new features advertised prior to release are not working as intended (or just not working), is it possible that when these features are mentioned pre-release, there is already knowledge with SI that they won't be ready "on release", but will be ready during the release cycle? Because it's pretty clear that the knowledge re. The Japan issues was there prior to release, as admitted by Miles. And if they did know that, and if these things are in by the time the "release cycle" is over, is that ok? As I say, genuine question. That statement has made me feel better after days of radio silence, but what we have been given Vs Miles' statement about this being "the most polished version ever" worries me. I thought he was being transparent when he said that. Now I worry that this version will have a shorter release cycle, and that all the talk of how amazing FM25 is going to be is actually to take focus off this release, which let's be honest, is as messy as anything they've ever released, with the possible exception of Championship Manager 4.

Not that I noticed, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.

I often play with fake players, particularly if I start a save in the summer which makes the squads out of date. Actually had quite a lot of fun with it in the past - it does make things a little more interesting with personality spread. They do replace real players, but there IS some variance to nationalities here & there. Player histories also disappear so after a few seasons it can get quite difficult to identify who players were.