How do - first time writing about a save on this forum. Hopefully, you'll enjoy my FM-inept ramblings!
I read something interesting about football in the Faroe Islands a few days ago and I had never realised how much football is played in such a small place.
Naturally, that inspired me to research further and I was very pleased to find a database on Steam that went down to Div 4. Then, when digging around to learn more about football on the islands I discovered what is always my favourite part on Wikipedia - the defunct football clubs list.
And that led me to Gøtu Ítróttarfelag - the now defunct multiple winners of the Faroe Islands Premier League - or the Betri deildin menn.
In 2008, GÍ merged with LÍF Leirvík who had barely played in the top division to create Víkingur Gøta. The new club has won the top flight twice since, making you wonder whether it was worth it, really - GÍ won it on their own six times (though not since their four-season dominance of the early to mid 90s).
Anyway, I am in danger of digressing already. Keeping it simple, I love a defunct football club and I love bringing them back to life at the bottom and seeing how far they can be taken. I did this once with Haarlem of the Netherlands years ago and had great fun. It's time to do it again in a nation I have never managed in before - and it ticks another one of my favourite FM boxes being a country I don't see many people having a stab at.
I have rebooted GÍ in the 3. Deild - a 15-team 4th Division of Faroese football. Because I love a challenge, I have made them always-Amateur, meaning they will never turn semi-pro or pro - just purely out of interest to see whether I could one day get a proper Amateur side playing in European football.
The lower reaches of Faroese football is mainly made up of B, C and D teams of the top-flight clubs. In fact, outside of the top flight there are only X independent teams in the other three divisions - 4 in 1. Deild, 3 in 2. Deild and 0 in 3. Deild (other than the now-reformed GÍ).
But one of the cool things about this database is that all teams seem to be fully populated and there's a crazy-healthy amount of free agents available too. Considering I have a completely blank piece of paper to start with, that means squad building should be fun.
Other than seeing how far I can take an Amateur football club, I'd like to get something interesting happening tactically. I was reading "Tackle Soccer" by Dave Sexton (former English football coach who led Chelsea to their first-ever European trophy many moons ago) and in an early chapter he spoke about "The Spirit of the Counter Attack". If you say counter-attack to many 'football fans' in this day and age and they'd probably tell you that's a boring, negative way of playing football. I guess if you are watching Crystal Palace when Roy is in a particularly defensive mood then it can feel a bit negative. But the way Sexton described it made perfect sense to me. Given that no team in history has ever had 100% of possession, every football team plays counter-attack - it just depends on where and when that counter-attack starts. And to do it, you have to have players who are willing to get into the shape from which you want to start again and win the ball back.
Whilst musing this today, I saw a post from View from the Touchline's Twitter feed which was basically a 4-5-1 shape defensively which I liked the look of immediately and will be the base from which I start (see attachment). We will recruit to that and see where it takes us.
I am tempted to go it alone initially with no staff and base every decision on what I see myself (I can find myself too easily led by scouts, assistant managers and the like - plus I've never, ever noticed more injuries at a club when I don't have a physio in place). To do that, I will either be signing players blind initially (they are amateur, I can release them again if I hate them) or bringing many in on trial and picking the best.
Wish me luck - I'll try and post regular updates in here and would welcome any questions, suggestions or general FM chit chat.