_______ _ _ _
(_______) _ | | | || |
_____ ___ ___ _| |_ | |__ _____ | || |
| ___)/ _ \ / _ \(_ _)| _ \ (____ || || |
| | | |_| || |_| | | |_ | |_) )/ ___ || || |
|_| \___/ \___/ \__)|____/ \_____| \_)\_)
_______
(_______)
_ _ _ _____ ____ _____ ____ _____ ____
| ||_|| |(____ || _ \ (____ | / _ || ___ | / ___)
| | | |/ ___ || | | |/ ___ |( (_| || ____|| |
|_| |_|\_____||_| |_|\_____| \___ ||_____)|_|
(_____|
______ _____ _____ _______
(_____ \ (_____) (_____)(_______)
____) )_ __ _ _ __ _ _
/ ____/| |/ /| || |/ /| | / )
| (_____| /_| || /_| | / /
|_______)\_____/ \_____/ (_/
Walkthrough/FAQ for PC by Inferno (Greg Beckett)
Also known as Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007
E-mail: Englandtowineuro2004 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Version 1.00 - Last Updated 06/01/07
_______________________________________________________________________________
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Version History
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-------------------------
"Version 1.00" - 03/01/07
-------------------------
The original, basic version of the FAQ posted up on GameFAQs and Neoseeker.
Contains the following sections with information in:
- Introduction
- Clubs
- English, Spanish, Italian
- Players
- Transfer Tips
- Tactics
- Team Talks, Tactical Diagnosis
- FAQ
- Fake Files, Rooney Bug, Work Permits, Currency Converter
- FM Resources
- Forums, Official Site
The guide will receive its next big update by April. Sporadic ones will take
place during the time between now and April, but seeing as I have key A-Level
exams in January it is likely they won't be substantial.
-------------------------
"Version 1.01" - 06/01/07
-------------------------
Quick update with no new content, just ironing out mistakes. The more
significant changes are paragraphs being broken down and a search function
being included. Now posted as well on www.footballmanagerforums.com and
www.fmunderground.net.
_______________________________________________________________________________
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Table of Contents
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
1. Introduction [Starters]
2. Clubs [Mile-high]
2.1 English [Jaguar]
2.2 Italian [Alfa_Romeo]
2.3 Spanish [Matador]
3. Players [50_Cent]
3.1 Basic Information [John_Kemeny]
4. Formations and Tactics [Christmas_Tree]
4.1 General Guide to Tactics [Sun_Tzu]
5. Training [Fartlek]
6. FAQ [Acronym]
7. FM Resources [URL]
7.1 Forums [Invision]
7.2 The Official Site [Rector]
8. Contributor Recognition [Sam_Malone]
9. E-Mail Policy + Copyright Information [Michael_Baigent]
10. Au Revoir [James_Blunt]
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Navigating the Guide | It's pretty simple - if you want to go to a certain |
+----------------------+ section, press CTRL + F. Next enter the code for the |
| appropriate section, and you'll be taken straight there. Simple, yeah? |
| Creating the code was hard, as pretty much every combination of letters are |
| used in names etc. As a solution, I've used words that won't appear in the |
| guide, but do pose some relevance to the title of the section. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 1. Introduction | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Starters]
Hello to everyone, and welcome to the guide. This will hopefully be regarded as
the best free source of information regarding FM 2007 on the net in due course,
so you've come to the right place. This is my second FAQ, written a good 4
years after my first. Why this game? Well, I was drawn into writing one for
this game as I am thoroughly addicted to it, and there is no other guide that
covers it in any in-depth detail. It was a challenge that I couldn't resist.
When considering whether to write a guide for this or not, I faced the obvious
problem - there is no plot, it isn't linear in the slightest and people's
experiences of it varies from game to game. So I came up with the concept of a
guide, an FM (abbreviation of Football Manager) Bible if you will, on all the
aspects of the game that you can't learn from the Manual or Tutorial. You can
find team guides, player recommendations, tactical breakdown, examples of
formations and tactics that are useful, training explained and good schedules,
FM Resources and other miscellaneous bits of information once this guide is
finished. To see what is in the current version of the guide, check the version
history.
I've put in a find function now, with codes relevant to the title of sections,
but not to the game. Some are tongue-in-cheek, some because I couldn't think of
anything else, and some just to see if you can pick up what I mean by them – if
you can grasp the meaning of all of them, I'll be impressed. If you wish to
search for a specific team though, just enter the name and you'll come to the
section almost immediately.
Well, that's about it from me now. So good luck with all that is FM, and I hope
this FAQ/Walkthrough helps you.
Greg Beckett (Proud Aston Villa Fan).
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 2. Clubs | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Mile-high]
Before starting the game, if you're like me, you'll spend a little while
considering which club to choose. It maybe the team you support, you might go
for a challenge and select a lower league team, or you may simply want to buy
the Ronaldinho's of football immediately, and choose one of the biggest clubs
in the World. To help you decide which team to choose if you're in a dilemma,
this section gives details on teams from the major footballing leagues status
at the beginning of the game. Each team will have the following information
about them in this FAQ:
---------------------
Team Name (obviously)
---------------------
League
Continental Competition (if applicable)
Reputation
Stadium + Capacity
Media Expectations
Board/Fan Expectations
Squad Size
Training Facilities
Youth Facilities
Estimated Value
Finances
Transfer Budget
Wage Budget
Current Wage Total
Key Players
Top 3 Earners
Top 3 Most Valuable
Good young/reserve players
Difficulty (/10)
Notes
NOTE: THE TRANSFER BUDGET/WAGE BUDGET IS BASED UPON YOU GOING INTO THE GAME AS
A PERSON WITH NO EXPERIENCE, NOT AN EX-FOOTBALLER. ALSO ALL INFORMATION IS PRE-
PATCH OBTAINED.
How to use the above information
--------------------------------
The inclusion of the league the clubs are in may seem like a stupid addition,
but it's their for anyone who uses ctrl + f and searches the teams. As the
guide grows into the future, the amount of leagues will too, so it'll help. The
media expectations are more realistic in the first season - afterwards they
seem to be based on the year before. Compare these with the Board/Fan
expectations, and see if the club is aiming a little too high. The squad size
is the first team squad and doesn't contain the reserves. It should normally be
23 first team players, so if it's underneath it may suggest a lack of players
to fill the first team.
You can also make many inferences from the financial information I give you. Is
the person who earns the most way ahead of other wages? Give him a cut. Is the
team as a whole over budget? Give the top 3 (or even 5) earners a cut. Is
someone earning loads, or worth a bit, but isn't key to the team, or a hot
prospect? Ditch them. You'll notice that with loanee's I include them in the
top earners but not the most valuable. Simple reason - you still, most of the
time, pay their wages, but as you don't have ownership of them they are not an
asset to the club, so their value is meaningless to you in asset terms.
The 'good young/reserve players' works like this: young player, young
player/reserve player, reserve player. That's why there's a hash, to divide
between the two. Sometimes you may have a good young player who isn't in the
reserves you see. Basically, it provides you all the important factors to give
you a picture of the club you're going to manage, and the notes that go with it
will help you in your first season and beyond.
Clubs will be listed alphabetically and placed under the league they are in.
League rules will also precede team information for the given nation.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
2.1 English Leagues
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Jaguar]
The English leagues are the regular starting place for a new menu with the
majority of players, therefore I have put these first. The game in England is
focused on attacking, pace and flowing football, and the leagues are highly
competitive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ English Premier League ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The EPL is undoubtedly one of the best leagues in the World, if not numero uno.
It's seen some of the greatest teams to walk the Earth - Busby's Babes in the
60's, Leeds United in the 70's, Liverpool in the 70's and 80's, Forest in the
80's and recently Manchester United and Chelsea. The rules are as follows:
- Starts 21/08 and ends 15/05 the following year (approx)
- 20 teams in the league
- 38 games - Home and Away versus each team
- 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw
- Bottom 3 relegated to the English Championship
- If points are level teams are sorted by: Goal Difference, Goals Scored
- Matches are 90 minutes, two 45-minute halves. Players whose nationality is
that of a non-EU country requires a work permit. 5 names subs are allowed, a
maximum of 3 can be used.
- Top 4 qualify for the European Champions Cup, 5th gets into the EURO Cup, and
6th into Euro Vase. If the winners of the league cup or both finalists of the
FA Cup qualify for Europe through the Premiership, then an extra place for
each will be added i.e. 5th - 7th could get the EURO Cup, and 8th could
qualify for the Euro Vase.
- A player is banned for a match for every 5 yellow cars or one red card they
receive during a season.
- Teams can loan 5 domestic players during the season, but only two at a time.
- Transfer Window is open between: 01/07 to 31/08 and 01/01 to 31/01
Now, the teams...
-------
Arsenal
-------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Ashburton Grove, 60000 seated
Media Expectations: 4th
Board/Fan Expectations: Challenge for the Title (both)
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £263m (Loan debt: £210m)
Finances: £15.23m
Transfer Budget: £20m
Wage Budget: £700,000k
Current Wage Total: £521,000k
Key Players: Henry, Fabregas, Toure, Helb, Silva
Top 3 Earners: Henry (65k), Gallas (60k), Baptista (49k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Henry (35m), Fabregas (11m) ,
Toure & Gallas (10.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Gilbert, Denilson, Muamba, Song, Vela,
Bendtner, Walcott, Fabregas, Diaby, Clichy,
Hoyte, Lupoli... JUST TOO MANY TO
LIST!/Almunia
Difficulty (/10): 3
Arsenal is a fairly difficult team if it's your first game in FM, but for
regular players this will be a breeze. Expectations are high, and it's an
extremely young squad that you take control of (average age is just 24). You
also begin with Clichy, Senderos and Lauren injured for 2-3 months each,
leaving a major hole in the defence. It's worthwhile to spend the majority of
that money on a strong, experienced, central defender. You can afford a hefty
wage demand too. A cheap extra striker would be good as well, but Van Persie
and Baptista can fill in if Adebayor or Henry succumbs to an injury. An
attacking 4-5-1 would suit this team. The main positive with Arsenal is the
amount of great youngsters they have, which is an immense amount. Players like
Hoyte, Adebayor, Fabregas, Van Persie - in fact, most of the teams stars are
under 24. With the right guidance of these youngsters you can have the best
team in the Premiership in a few seasons without spending hardly any money.
Arsenal tend to get a takeover too, normally during the second season, which
could bring even more benefits to the club.
-----------
Aston Villa
-----------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Villa Park, 42548 seated
Media Expectations: 15th
Board/Fan Expectations: Stay clear of Relegation/Achieve Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £40.5m
Finances: £11.88m
Transfer Budget: £5.5m
Wage Budget: £401,000
Current Wage Total: £352,000
Key Players: Sorensen, Mellberg, Barry, Davis, Petrov, Baros,
Moore
Top 3 Earners: Angel, Petrov, Barry (all £35k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Moore (£7m), Petrov (£6.5m), Baros (£6m)
Good young/reserve players: Whittingham, Gardner, Agbonlahor
Difficulty (/10): 5
Well if it isn't the best club in the World, Aston Villa. Not that I support
them or anything. Villa have gone through a huge transformation this year, with
the new owner Randy Lerner stepping in, bringing a massive bank account with
him. IRL O'Neill signing as manager is immense, but of course you take his job
here. The team does need strengthening though, especially in the attacking
midfield area, and depth needs to be added. As you need to bring in a number of
players, it is advisable to try and get some players to accepts wage cuts to
loosen the wage budget. A strong hitman striker would be good as well.
The players are pretty good though, and you can easily achieve the clubs
expectations of you, making them one of the easier clubs to start with. Selling
Djemba Djemba in the reserves would increase funds as well. Try to loan out
Agbonlahor - he has great potential. Moore is one for the future as well. You
could get top 8 with this team, and you're lucky as they start with absolutely
no injuries. A 5-4-1 or 4-3-3, with Moore and Baros on the wings, would work
well.
NOTE: Using Villa after version 7.0.1 is even easier. Their Transfer Budget is
massively increased, to the £15-20m range, allowing you to bring in who you
want.
----------------
Blackburn Rovers
----------------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Ewood Park, 31367 seated
Media Expectations: 7th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-table/Respectable Position
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £35.5m (£3m loan debt)
Finances: - £2.05m
Transfer Budget: £5.5m
Wage Budget: £422,000
Current Wage Total: £369,000
Key Players: Friedel, Neill, Savage, Pedersen, McCarthy, Reid
Top 3 Earners: Savage (£48k), Nelsen, McCarthy, Emerton, Roberts
(all 25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: McCarthy, Bentley (both £4.8m), Pedersen (£4.7m)
Good young/reserve players: Bentley, Taylor, Derbyshire/Enckelman, Gallagher
Difficulty (/10): 9
Blackburn are a tough team to choose - they have overly high expectations, bad
finances and an aging squad. When you start off with them, they're already in
the red, and spending ANYTHING will make that worse. Now although I've put him
down as a key player, it is worth selling Savage. He is eating up the wage
budget, can get you 3-4million, and is 31 anyway, so time to cash in. Loan in
someone else as his replacement (I recommend Noble or John Obi Mikel), and
you'll sort out the finances for January. While you're at it, Wille, the player
on loan, is pretty useless. You may as well terminate it.
As a club Blackburn are pretty physically strong, so it is worth setting the
tackling to hard in your matches to injure the opponents. Bring Enckelman out
of the reserves, as he is better at the moment than your second GK Jason Brown.
Whether you sell the other good reserve player Gallagher is up to you, as he
can bring in some extra funds and you have 4 players who can play AMR. It is
worth trying to loan in an AMC too. When you do eventually buy someone, make
sure they are pretty young. It is worth noting the Neill and Mokoena both have
one year left on their contracts too, so try and tie them down ASAP. This squad
is an aging one, and if you don't rectify that in about 2-3 seasons time you'll
face a few problems. A standard 4-4-2 would suit the Rovers.
----------------
Bolton Wanderers
----------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Reebok Stadium, 28500 seated
Media Expectations: 9th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £37m (loan debt £30m)
Finances: £445k
Transfer Budget: £250k
Wage Budget: £283k
Current Wage Total: £226k
Key Players: Jaaskelainen, Campo, Hunt, Diouf, Nolan, Vaz-Te,
Anelka
Top 3 Earners: Anelka (£30k), Speed (£20k), Tal (£19k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Anelka (£8m), Diouf (£6.75m), Nolan (£5.75m)
Good young/reserve players: Smith, Sinclair, O'Brien, Vaz-Te, Teymourian
Difficulty (/10): 5
Bolton is one of the easier EPL clubs to manage. As long as you can handle not
splashing the cash, there is a good enough squad for you to work with already.
The only positions that need working on are AMR and a back-up striker. Bolton
has quite a few good youngsters, in a variety of positions, most notably Vaz-
Te, who can turn into a great player with the right training/experience. The
relatively average expectations means you won't be under too much pressure
either. It's worth selling Alex Perez (AML), as he is pretty redundant, and try
to get rid of Walker from the reserves as well.
The only notable thing of difficulty is the amount of players whose contracts
run out in the first year. You may as well let go of Speed after the first
season, as he will be 37, but the other ones you'll have to be disciplined with
when conducting contract negotiations, as your wage budget is wafer thin. Try
and get them to go lower than their demands. Gardener starts off injured for 3
months, but it's no worry as you already have Fortune as cover. A recommended
formation is 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 attacking, with Vaz-te and Diouf as wingers.
-----------------
Charlton Athletic
-----------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: The Valley, 27111 seated
Stadium Expansion: 30900 seated (01/08/07)
Media Expectations: 16th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £37.5m (loan debt £6m)
Finances: £900k
Transfer Budget: £15k
Wage Budget: £327,000
Current Wage Total: £333,000
Key Players: Carson, Diawara, Holland, Ambrose, D Bent
Top 3 Earners: Hasselbaink (£30k), D Bent, Young (both £25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: D Bent (£6.75m), Thomas, Ambrose (both £4.3m)
Good young/reserve players: D Bent, Sam/Andersen, Hughes, Fortune
Difficulty (/10): 8
This is another team that is hard to succeed with. The board have realistic
aims, the fans are a tiny bit ambitious. You start off with Jerome Thomas, a
good winger, out injured for 3 months, and Cory Gibbs, a DLC backup, out for 4.
You can't bring anyone in either because of a measly £15k transfer budget.
Trying to get a wage cut out of Hasselbaink would be a good idea. They haven't
got a terrible squad though - no area is particularly weak, and Hasselbaink and
D Bent should work off each other up front. Use Jimmy as a hold-up player,
allowing D Bent to slice through the oppositions defence on the counter. A lot
of your attacking players are pacey, especially Rommehdahl, so it's worth
playing a defensive 4-4-2, counter-attacking the opposition.
-------
Chelsea
-------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: Stamford Bridge, 42360 seated
Media Expectations: 1st
Board/Fan Expectations: Win The League (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £288m
Finances: £155m
Transfer Budget: £76.8m
Wage Budget: £1.87m
Current Wage Total: £1.22m
Key Players: The Whole First Team
Top 3 Earners: Ballack (£125k), Shevchenko (£120k), A Cole, Terry
(both £90k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Shevchenko (£32m), Lampard (£25m), Terry (£19.75m)
Good young/reserve players: Mikel, Ben Sahar, Mancienne, Sinclair,
Younghusband, Johnson, Diarra, Smith/Crespo
Difficulty (/10): 2
This is why any football managing games exist. Nearly everyone will at one
point manage a huge team, and Chelsea is just amazing. The strength of the
squad is immense; you could play any formation you like. They're a bit short on
strikers, but you get Crespo back in the second season. I'd still recommend you
sign a striker though, but that's up to you. Nearly £77m can get you anyone,
but there is one thing - Abramovich expects a big name signing, and if you
don't deliver he'll buy someone himself. I'm not talking a few million, but
Torres, Klose, Villa - players of that stature. It's worth loaning out Mikel
and Sahar as they're real stars for the future, and can learn a lot if you get
your players to tutor them. The only tough thing is that you are expected to,
at the least, win the league, and then even challenge for Europe. But with your
own dream team, how hard can it be?
-------
Everton
-------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Goodison Park, 40569 seated
Media Expectations: 10th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £52m (loan debt £30m)
Finances: £1.52m
Transfer Budget: £1.5m
Wage Budget: £393k
Current Wage Total: £393k
Key Players: Howard, Yobo, Arteta, McFadden, Johnson
Top 3 Earners: Neville, Johnson (£40k), Van Der Meyde (£36k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Johnson (£8.5m), Cahill (£7m), McFadden (£5.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Anichebe, Turner, Vaughan/Naysmith
Difficulty (/10): 5
Everton are a pretty decent side. You could certainly achieve the board and fan
expectations. They could do with a new DM, as it is best to play Neville as a
DR, and maybe a young defender as cover. It'll be tough to bring in good
players with the budget, but there isn't much need to spend on the squad, and
you can loan in whatever players you need. Bringing Naysmith out of the
reserves though will help provide extra cover at the back. Up front Everton are
impressive too, with the mix of Beattie's strength and Johnson's power.
Everton's best players are mostly attacking midfielders, so it'd be worth
playing a 4-4-2 diamond attacking, with AMRL's in MRL positions, and arrows
going forward bringing them up the wings. Anichebe's worth loaning out too, as
he can be a future star for the club.
------
Fulham
------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Craven Cottage, 22500 seated
Media Expectations: 14th
Board/Fan Expectations: Stay Clear of Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £33.5m (loan debt £33m)
Finances: £346k
Transfer Budget: £3.37m
Wage Budget: £333k
Current Wage Total: £287k
Key Players: Diop, Routledge, Boa Morte, John, Bullard
Top 3 Earners: Bullard (£25k), Boa Morte, Jensen (both £20k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: John (£6.25m), Boa Morte (£6m), Diop (£3.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Warner, Zakuani, James, John/McBride
Difficulty (/10): 7
Fulham have always been a team that deserve to be in the bottom half of the
table. Their defence seems a bit shaky in the middle, as there is no standout
player. The Left Back position is fine, as both Jensen and Quedrue cover it,
and the RB's are adequate, so this is where you need to focus the transfer
budget. The midfield is good, Diop, Brown, Bullard and Boa Morte providing good
foundations, and Fulham have one of the best young strikers in the game in
Collins John. A 4-1-3-2, with the 3 midfielders across the centre going
forward, would be the best tactic to use for this club. Also try clearing out
the reserves - it's saturated with no hope players who are clogging up the
team. It's worth keeping McBride encase John gets injured, and he's a better
aerial threat than Helguson. Try to limit your spending though or you'll push
them into the red and even more trouble.
---------
Liverpool
---------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Anfield, 45362 seated
Media Expectations: 3rd
Board/Fan Expectations: Qualify for Europe/Challenge for the Title
Squad Size: 21
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £145m
Finances: £10.2m
Transfer Budget: £7.98m
Wage Budget: £1.08m
Current Wage Total: £888k
Key Players: Reina, Carragher, Agger, Alonso, Gerrard, Garcia
Top 3 Earners: Gerrard (£100k), Kewell (£65k), Carragher, Alonso
(both £60k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Gerrard (£25.5m), Alonso (£11m), Kuyt (£9.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Carson, Antwi, Anderson, Sinama-Pongolle,
Le Tallec/Fowler, Kirkland, Cisse, Warnock
Difficulty (/10): 3
Liverpool have a brilliant squad, most notably the midfield. Gerrard, Alonso,
Garcia, Sissoko, Gonzales and Kewell help make it one of the most solid
midfields in the Premiership. Reina is a great goalie too. Liverpool do have a
low transfer budget, but this can be resolved by selling off the reserve
players. It's worth bringing Fowler (who if you're a Liverpool fan you're more
likely to keep) and Cisse out of the reserves, as they're both good strikers
who'll add depth up front. Perhaps the RB position needs someone quality, but
most of the squad is well covered. Carragher is an extremely useful player too,
because of his versatility, so don't neglect him. Whilst Kirkland and Carson
are both good keepers, you already have two quality first team keepers. Keep
one as a third, but sell the other.
The board surprisingly only want top 4, so the expectations aren't high, but
the fans will be disappointed if you aren't in the race for the title. There's
no reason why you shouldn't be either. Anderson is a great youth player, so
keep your eye on him, ensuring that you tutor him first then loan him out.
Kewell, Finnan and Dudek's contracts all run out in the first season, so be
sure to renew these as well. Another thing worth noting is that Liverpool are
usually subject to a takeover a few seasons into the game. Just a standard 4-4-
2 would do for this team.
---------------
Manchester City
---------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: City of Manchester Stadium, 48000 seated
Media Expectations 13th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 21
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £54m (loan debt £45m)
Finances: £3.01m
Transfer Budget: £2.85m
Wage Budget: £393k
Current Wage Total £349k
Key Players: Isakkson, Richards, Barton, Hamann, Samaras
Top 3 Earners: Barton, Distin, Mills, Vassel (all £30k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Samaras (£5.25m), Vassel (£4.8m), Barton (£4.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Ireland, Miller, Richards
Difficulty (/10): 6
Man City is a team with potential, but they need improvements. The good thing
is you have enough funds for this. They are saturated with DRC's and you may as
well sell one of them, as it's the DL position that needs improving, as Twat
Thatcher isn't good enough. You also need to get in some AM's, but you can loan
them in, as this needs significant strengthening. Don't let go of Richards
either unless you get the right deal - he's a huge future star and you can sell
him for around £30m if you look after him right. Ireland is a good youngster
too, so make sure you nurture his development. A lot of players contracts
expire in 2007 too, so make sure to keep them tied down. A 4-3-3 defensive
formation would do well for Man City, with Richards and Barton as DM's, Reyna
as an MC, and Vassel and Samaras on the flanks by Dickov/Corradi.
-----------------
Manchester United
-----------------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: Old Trafford, 76212 seated
Media Expectations: 2nd
Board/Fan Expectations: Win The Premiership
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: State Of The Art Youth Facilities + Academy
Estimated Value: £308m (loan debt £265m)
Finances: £35.53m
Transfer Budget: £16.9m
Wage Budget: £991k
Current Wage Total: £803k
Key Players: Van Der Sar, Ferdinand, Carrick, Ronaldo, Rooney,
Smith
Top 3 Earners: Ferdinand (£95k), Scholes (£60k), Rooney, Neville,
Carrick, Ronaldo (all £50k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Rooney (£29.5m), Ronaldo (£24m), Carrick (£14m)
Good young/reserve players: Rossi, Martin, Pique, Campbell, Eagles,
Fangzhuo/Howard, Foster
Difficulty (/10): 2
Man Utd are one of the best teams to manage, experienced in FM or new to the
game. They come with a brilliant squad in every position - at the beginning of
the second season, you'll have 3 quality keepers as Howards returns from his
loan. They have a great defence, but it maybe in the team's best interests to
get another player who can play DR, as Neville is old (though he does maintain
his stats for a long time), and Brown isn't up to the job. An extra striker up
front as well would be helpful. This team have some of the best youngsters in
the World, from the obvious ones of Rooney and Ronaldo, to the less well-known
Pique. Pique can be worth up to £30m by 2010, and become one of the best
defenders in the game, so keep that in mind.
It's worth buying Akinfeev or Ustari in the second season as an apprentice to
the ageing Van Der Sar. In attacking terms United are great, and your tactics
should focus on this. Look for a new Assistant Manager as well, as Carlos
Queiroz regularly leaves at the start of the game to take the available
manager's seat at West Brom. Smith and Heinze both start off injured, for 2
months each. Smith is a good player though, so I recommend keeping him.
-------------
Middlesbrough
-------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Riverside Stadium, 35049 seated
Media Expectations: 12th
Board/Fan Expectations: Avoid Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £40m
Finances: £2.2m
Transfer Budget: £5.25m
Wage Budget: £488k
Current Wage Total: £481k
Key Players: Boateng, Rochemback, Downing, Yakubu
Top 3 Earners: Woodgate (£52k), Viduka (£40k), Parlour,
Southgate, Schwarzer (all £30k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Downing (£6.75m), Yakubu (£6.5m), Morrison
(£4.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Wheater, Graham, Kennedy, Downing, Morrison,
Bates, Johnson, Cattermole
Difficulty (/10): 6
Middlesbrough aren't that difficult a team. For the first month of the
Premiership it may be hard, as both Woodgate and Huth will be injured. But you
have £5m to spend on the squad to improve it, which is great help. Even if you
go a little into the red, you'll get it back at the end of the season. It's
definitely worth ditching Southgate - he's not that good at all, and costs £30k
a week. Dispatching Ehiogu is recommended as well, as he takes up £35k a week.
You can do it through mutual termination or free transferring him, and then you
have £75k wages extra for any people you bring in. With the money, it's worth
bringing in a younger keeper, a central defender and a striker to strengthen
the team. The young players are key to Middlesbrough - Downing, Morrison and
Bates will be the foundations of the team in the future, so keep them. As the
team is short of firepower up front, it's best to use a 4-5-1.
----------------
Newcastle United
----------------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: EURO Vase
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: St James Park, 52387 seated
Media Expectations: 6th
Board/Fan Expectations: Respectable League Position/Qualify For Europe
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £70m (loan debt £37.5m)
Finances: £937k
Transfer Budget: £159k
Wage Budget: £667k
Current Wage Total: £687k
Key Players: Given, Taylor, Parker, Solano, Duff, Martins, Owen
Top 3 Earners: Owen (£80k), Duff, Dyer (both £65k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Owen (£11.25m), Martins (£9m), Duff (£6m)
Good young/reserve players: Milner, N'Zogbia, Taylor, Martins
Difficulty (/10): 7
Newcastle are difficult, and easy, in different aspects. They're difficult in
the fact that the finances are wafer thin for a club of their size, and a
couple hundred thousand can't really buy anyone good enough. There is a small
solution to this though. Newcastle really do have some over-paid bastards -
Dyer is not good enough to be earning what he is, so either cut his wages by
over half or offload him. You don't need to replace him either as there is a
lot of AMR's and AMC's. Emre, Parker, Butt, Carr, Babayaro and Luque could also
do with wage cuts. It may not sound crucial, but if you could get a good £70k
reduction (it is possible), that'd save you around £3.5 million a year. Try
loaning in a few players instead of buying them - a striker and central
defender would help.
DON'T GET RID OF OWEN. He may be crocked for the first season, but he comes
back as a fantastic player, and will be crucial in your second season, almost
like a new signing. It's relatively easy because the club don't need much
strengthening. The defence however does. If you save enough money during the
first season, you can use this to get a new DR, DC and DL and make a squad
capable of challenging for the Champions League spots. A 4-5-1 attacking would
be best here, with Emre and Parker in CM positions pushing forward, Duff and
Solano on the wings, and Martins up front. 4-1-3-2 would also work.
----------
Portsmouth
----------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Fratton Park, 20300 seated
Stadium Expansion: 36000 seated (01/07/07)
Media Expectations: 17th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Stay Clear Of Relegation
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £26.5m
Finances: £31.92m
Transfer Budget: £19.9m
Wage Budget: £657k
Current Wage Total: £438k
Key Players: James, Taylor, Campbell, Mendes, Lualua, O'Neil,
Kranjcar
Top 3 Earners: Campbell (£50k), Johnson, Mendes, Cole (£35k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: O'Neil (£5.5m), Krancjar (£5m), Lualua (£4.9m)
Good young/reserve players: Duffy, Keene/Mbesuma, Ashdown, Griffin, Todorov
Difficulty (/10): 5
Portsmouth is a great club to start with if you're new to FM. An OK squad, but
a huge transfer budget and wage budget, contrasting with the low expectations
of the board and fans. The only problem is attracting players to your club due
to its low profile. Johnson starts off injured for 4 months and Fernandes for 2
months (it's worth cancelling the latter's loan as he joins your club anyway in
January). Bring Ashdown out of the reserves so you have the option of a younger
keeper, but it's also best to buy a better youngster like Akinfeev, Ustari or
Green. With the £19.9m you should look at getting in some younger defenders, a
striker with very good finishing, and just all-round strengthening of the team.
You should also aim to improve the facilities to entice the bigger players to
come. With the players you currently have, a 4-3-3 attacking would be the best
option, as you have some good MC's and wingers.
-------
Reading
-------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Madjeski Stadium, 24225 seated
Media Expectations: 20th
Board/Fan Expectations: Avoid Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 24
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £23.5m (loan debt £23m)
Finances: £1.97m
Transfer Budget: £5m
Wage Budget: £206k
Current Wage Total: £158k
Key Players: Sidwell, Ki-Heyon, Convey, Doyle, Kitson, Lita
Top 3 Earners: Harper, Convey (£15k), De La Cruz (£10k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Lita (£4.9m), Convey (£4.6m), Doyle (£3.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Cox, Doyle, Lita, Long, Sidwell
Difficulty (/10): 8
Welcome to Reading, home of the worst looking owner in the Premiership (if you
don't believe me Google Madjeski). They also are predicted to be rock bottom by
the media, and all the fans and the board want, including ugly bastard, is
Premiership football next year. Reading will be a difficult challenge, but it
is not impossible to keep them in the division. Your whole budget should be
focused on the defence, as there is no-one of real Premiership quality there.
Your goalie may be fairly good, but you need to transfer one in for 2 reasons -
a) he's 34 and b) the back up is shit, especially in some key mental stats.
Sodje, Matey, Halls and Murty are all useless, and it's worth getting rod of
them. Golbourne may surprise you, and can turn out a solid player in the
future, so it's worth your time to nurture his growth. So basically, if you can
sell them, you could push your budget up to £6m.
You'll definitely need a GK, DR, DC (maybe 2) and an experienced DL. Don't
worry about going into the red - Premiership survival will bring with it a good
cash windfall. Be careful with who you buy though, as if you don't bring in the
right players, and get relegated, you'll be screwed financially in the
Championship the next year. Also try to restrict wages to £15k max, as Reading
already have done a good job of this. Their top 3 earners altogether earn less
than players like Sol Campbell at Pompey, and half as much as Owen does.
Whereas the defence is a shambles, the attacking unit shows quality and
potential. It's full of young stars - Lita and Doyle operate as quick strikers
with good finishing, Hi-Kyeon has good control, Kitson is your typical strong
English ST and Convey is a great winger. Long also shows promise, but as a
player he hasn't fully developed.
These players will also suit the Premiership because of their physical stats,
suiting the high-tempo, quick football. There are two injured players at the
start, Gunnarsson for a month and Little for up to two months. You'll miss
Gunnarsson the most, unless you bring in some good defenders. Sidwell also
seems to attract some interest from clubs, so try to fend them off. Whatever
formation you play, you should ensure it is quick and attacking - there's not
much of a problem forsaking defence, as there's not much of a defence to
forsake in the first place.
-------------
Sheffield Utd
-------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Bramall Lane, 33000 seated
Stadium Expansion: 38000 seated (30/06/10)
Media Expectations: 18th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 24
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £26.5m (loan debt £13m)
Finances: £886k
Transfer Budget: £2m
Wage Budget: £197k
Current Wage Total: £157k
Key Players: Jagielka, Davis, Tonge, Hulse
Top 3 Earners: Jagielka (£12k), Hulse, Sommeil (both £10k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Jagielka (£3.4m), Webber (£2.9m), Tonge (£2.6m)
Good young/reserve players: Nade, Forte/Montgomery, Kabba
Difficulty (/10): 9
Sheffield Utd's problem is they don't have a star player. The squad is fairly
average, and whilst there are some that stand out - Jagielka is a defender with
a great future and Hulse is an asset upfront, but there really aren't any
exceptional players here. So in the transfer market you should aim to bring in
some older players (because of your transfer budget), who you could acquire at
a lower price. They may have high wage demands, so don't give into them - this
is one of the smallest wage budgets there is, and you can't be affording £30k
per player. The midfield players are thin in numbers, so some expansion is
needed in this area. The defence in contrast is saturated, and it's worth
offloading some of them, as none of them are much better than the other 11
defenders you have. That's right, players like Geary. When selecting the team,
be cautious with your defensive partnerships - you don't want two 32+ old
players playing together, as between them they'll be outpaced by the likes of
Kanu, forget Henry and co. A combination of old and young would be the best
option.
The reserves also have too many players, so selling off some of these will
increase your Transfer kitty. The only real injury at the start is Bromby
who is out of action for about a month, but you have 11 players to help cover
that position! With the current squad, a 5-3-2 is advisable because of only
having 5 midfielders (6 if you bring Montgomery out of the reserves). It's
worth selling Kabba too as you already have 5 strikers.
-----------------
Tottenham Hotspur
-----------------
</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: White Hart Lane, 36267 seated
Media Expectations: 5th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable League Position
Squad Size: 24
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £101m
Finances: £33.91m
Transfer Budget: £19.1m
Wage Budget: £672k
Current Wage Total: £488k
Key Players: Robinson, King, Davids, Zokora, Chimbonda,
Lennon, Keane, Berbatov, Defoe
Top 3 Earners: King (£50k), Davids, Berbatov (both £48k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Berbatov (£10m), Keane (£9.25m), Zokora (£8m)
Good young/reserve players: Routledge, Huddlestone, Lennon, O'Hara, Ifil,
Ziegler, Assou-Ekotto, Dervitte, Dawrkins,
Barnard, Defendi, Yeates, Hallfroesson
Difficulty (/10) 3
Tottenham are one of the easier squads to manage. They basically have it all
there - they have a great squad, and are only second to Arsenal when it comes
to young players. Nearly £20m is a big budget too for a club that needs little
improvements like this. With the money available, it's worth buying a back-up
for Robinson, a good AML and a strong striker up front, as apart from Mido it's
all based on pace with regards to the strikers. Someone like Rob Hulse would
fit the bill (obviously someone better though). If you still have some money
left, a good DC would complete the squad.
It should be relatively easy to achieve the board/fans aims, and you have one
of the best strike forces in the Premiership, so goals should come easy. A 4-4-
2 diamond attacking would be great for this team once you have an AML in. Also,
O'Hara, Davenport and Ziegler's contracts all run out in 2007, so make it your
priority to keep them on. Davids is totally up to you, but if you let him go
you can save £48k a week, and Zokora is easily a good enough replacement.
-------
Watford
-------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Vicarage Road, 19500 seated
Stadium Expansion: 23000 seated (01/07/07)
Media Expectations: 19th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £22.9m (loan debt £3.5m)
Finances: -£1.08m
Transfer Budget: £3m
Wage Budget: £111k
Current Wage Total: £70.24k
Key Players: Foster, Francis, Young, King, Priskin
Top 3 Earners: Francis, Smith (both £6k), King (£5.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: King (£4.2m), Young (£3.5m), Priskin (£3.4m)
Good young/reserve players: Young, Priksin, Bangura, McNamee, Jarret/Bouazza
Difficulty (/10): 9
Watford are possibly the toughest team to manage in the English top flight.
Their wage budget is unbelievable at this level - I mentioned about Reading and
Sheffield Utd earlier, but the top 3 earners of this team put together don't
even match Tainio's wage at Spurs. In fact, Owen amazingly earns more himself
than THE WHOLE ENTIRE WATFORD TEAM. With this in mind, you have to be highly
restrictive when trying to sign a player, not giving an inch to their wage
demands. It's actually best not to sign anyone - Watford start off in debt, and
because of their small stadium they won't get the revenue to support a larger
squad. If you want to bring someone in, do it through loaning them. Areas you
need to bring players in are DL and DM (for the latter I recommend loaning
Denilson from Arsenal).
Watford do have a squad which could survive in the Premierhsip - though you'll
need to be tactically adept to grind out results, especially away. Playing a 4-
3-3, with 1 dm, two MC's, two wingers and one of the three strikers up front
would suit this team. If the team ever does get into debt, some players do have
quite a healthy price tag slapped on them, so try selling them off to get you
out of the red. Relegation though would probably financially crush the club, so
you have to keep them in the Premiership.
---------------
West Ham United
---------------
League: Premiership
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Upton Park, 35500 seated
Media Expectations: 8th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £67m (loan debt £24m)
Finances: £3.04m
Transfer Budget: £1.8m
Wage Budget: £377k
Current Wage Total: £344k
Key Players: Green, McCartney, Ferdinand, Mascherano,
Reo-Coker, Noble, Tevez, Ashton, Mullins
Top 3 Earners: Tevez, Mascherano (both £35k), Benyaoun (£28.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Tevez (£16.25m), Ashton (£7m),
Mascherano (£5.75m)
Good young/reserve players: Noble, Ephrain, Stech, Reid, Ferdinand, Spector/
Zamora, Sheringham
Difficulty (/10): 7
West Ham might seem an easy choice, but they're fairly difficult for various
reasons. They are in takeover talks/speculation for the entire first season,
distracting the players, and if you're unlucky into the second season too. They
don't exactly get a sugar daddy either - it is regularly a board takeover, with
no extra funds made available, and if you haven't preformed well enough up to
that point the new board may replace you. The West Ham defence isn't the
greatest in the league, and Ferdinand and McCartney being injured for a month
and 3 months respectively doesn't help the cause. Spector is injured at the
start too. Then there's the Goalkeeper problem - BOTH your first team goalies
start off injured for 2 months. Therefore it is imperative that you loan out
one - the reserves goalies simply aren't good enough. You don't need to buy one
mind as both GK's will be back in action by September/October.
The tight transfer budget leaves a lot to be desired - you need to bring in
more defenders, better ones too, in both DC and DR positions. If you could loan
out an AMRLC, that'd be extremely useful too. Shaun Newton is pretty useless,
so demote him to the reserves, or even better ship him out. You don't need all
the strikers either - so Cole and Sheringham are not needed. There's only 1
scout in your backroom staff, so make it a priority to hire some more too. At
the end of the first season you'll need to make a big judgement call on whether
to keep hold of Tevez and Mascherano, or to cash in if they've been performing
well. Keep in mind that Mascherano has an 80% SELL-ON CLAUSE. This means if you
had a bid of £10m, you'd only see 2, the other £8m going into Corinthians
pockets. Between Tevez and Mascherano though you can get a combined fee of at
least £35m, enough to fund the entire second season's transfer budget.
Make sure to renew Reo-Coker's contract too, as he has one year left, and
failure to do this could see another club rob him from under your nose. There
is another MC though should you lose him, the talented Mark Noble. Amazingly,
West Ham are also involved in European competition after the success IRL of the
previous season, and it's worth trying your best to progress in this as it can
be quite lucrative, and attract players to your club in January if you're still
in it. West Ham has a squad that would suit an attacking diamond 4-4-2 or a 4-
1-3-2 formation.
--------------
Wigan Athletic
--------------
League: Premiership
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: JJB Stadium, 25138 seated
Media Expectations: 11th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table (both)
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £28.5m
Finances: £1.06m
Transfer Budget: £5m
Wage Budget: £285k
Current Wage Total: £233k
Key Players: Kirkland, de Zeeuw, Baines, Landzaat, Heskey,
Camara, Valencia
Top 3 Earners: Camara (£25k), Heskey (£22k), Landzaat (£16.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Heskey (£5.5m), Camara (£5.25m), Landzaat,
Baines (both £3.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Baines, Cotteril, Cywka, Taylor/Wright
Difficulty (/10): 6
Wigan to me are a little overrated in the game. Kirkland is a great goalie to
have in the team, and Wigan have an agreed fee of £2m for him, so you can offer
this at any time and Liverpool will accept (I recommend to do this
immediately). The defence is quite good, with a back line of Boyce,
Hall/Webster, Scharner/de Zeeuw and Baines being a solid pick. Baines is a huge
talent in the game, so make sure to keep a hold of him, no matter how lucrative
the offer may be. He simply won't be replaceable. Taylor is also a good
youngster, not to Baines standard, but nevertheless keep him at Wigan too. He
starts off injured for 4 months, so you may as well put him in the reserves, as
he'll need them games once he is fit to bring back his sharpness.
Matt Jackson may not have a large price tag, but he is adequate cover - good
strength and jumping, at marking, tackling, and heading, it's just his
concentration that'll let him down. He's extremely determined, a great worker,
brave and good at slotting into the team, so well worth keeping. The attacking
midfield is great for Wigan - they have many quality players, and depth. The
strikers though are short in numbers. Some AM's can double up as a striker, but
it's worth purchasing another out and out striker, someone with a high
finishing stat especially, as Camara has 13 and Heskey only 10. A back-up DC
would be in your best interests too. At the end of November you may be able to
sign Todorov on a free, but he wouldn't help the finishing problem too much. If
you don't bring in someone who can smash it in, expect to be making and wasting
many chances.
Wigan can't loan in any player from an English club though, as they already
have 2 domestic loans. A formation which would suit this would be any which
focuses on the AM's, such as a 4-4-2 diamond (you can play an AML, AMR and AMC
in this), or a 4-2-3-1, but that will leave a gap between your DM's and AM's.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
2.2 Italian Leagues
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Alfa_Romeo]
Italy will, after England, be the second choice nation to start a menu in.
Seasoned FM Gamers may find this more of an attractive league too. Why? Well,
because of the controversy and scandal, leading to point deductions. Can you
keep Reggina in Serie A with a 15 point reduction? Can you achieve promotion to
Serie A with Juventus, albeit a 17 point reduction? It's a great challenge to
any FM player. Italy is a stark contrast to England's approach to football,
with slow build up play and a defensive mentality the norm.
Another unique characteristic of Italian Football is Co-ownership. I need
someone to help me with this by contributing about how the fuck it works, as I
can't grasp it. Having two clubs own a player surely creates a conflict of
interest, and I don't understand what club has authority over the player to
select him for the team.
~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serie A ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~
Serie A is considered one of the Worlds best leagues, but its reputation has
been on the receiving end of a battering in recent times. Without going into
the details, corruption has been rife in the running of the league, mainly with
the selecting of referees, and just before the 06 WC this came to the public's
attention, as the teams involved went on trial. All were found guilty, with
Juve being relegated to Serie C1 originally, but an appeal saw these
punishments reduced. This has made managing some teams in this league harder,
as four of them have point reductions.
It also has made it much more interesting - more of a challenge to get higher
positions with Milan and Fiorentina, avoid relegation with Reggina, and with
what are normally considered mid-table clubs to aim that little bit higher. In
the past some great teams have been produced from here, including Inter in the
60's, Juventus in the 90's and AC Milan recently. It's also full of rivalries,
making the games more interesting, and more at stake than just 3 points - the
teams reputation. The rules are:
- Starts 10/09 and ends 27/05 the following year (approx)
- 20 teams in the league
- 38 games - Home and Away versus each team
- 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw
- Bottom 3 relegated to Serie B
- If points are level teams are sorted by: Results Between Teams, Goal
Difference, Goals Scored
- Matches are 90 minutes, two 45-minute halves. 7 names subs are allowed, a
maximum of 3 can be used.
- Top 4 qualify for the European Champions Cup, 5th and 6th gets into the EURO
Cup, and 7th into Euro Vase. If the winners of the Italian Cup (Coppa Italia)
Finish in the top 7, then 7th will qualify for the Euro Cup and 8th for the
Euro Vase.
- A player is banned for a match after receiving 4 yellow cards. After 8 yellow
cards this decreases to a ban for 3 yellows. After this it decreases to a ban
for two yellows, and then finally a ban for every yellow. A red card is an
automatic 1 match ban.
- There are no loan restrictions.
- Transfer Window is open between: 01/07 to 31/08 and 02/01 to 31/01
- Teams can sign 1 non-EU player every year.
With no delay, here are the teams:
------
Ascoli
------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Cine e Lillo Del Duca, 28430 seated
Media Expectations: 11th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Safe-Mid Table
Squad Size: 24
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £14.5m
Finances: £3.09m
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £178k
Current Wage Total: £136k
Key Players: Pagliuca, Lukovic, Foglio, Skela, Pecchia,
Delvecchio
Top 3 Earners: Delvecchio (£29k), Skela, Pecchia (both £13.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Bjelanovic, Job (both £3.1m), Skela, Fini (both
£2.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Gauracs, N'Siabamfumu, Job
Difficulty (/10): 8
Ascoli are a below average Serie A side. They need extreme strengthening in
defence, with only Foglio being good enough. Defenders in Serie A should have
good Jumping, Strength, Concentration, Heading and Tackling, as it's a slower
tempo league. I'd suggest that you don't loan in any more players, as you
already have 5, and you want some foundations for next season. Pagliuca, the
legend, would be the first choice GK, but he's not much better than your second
choice keeper. Bringing in another one would be wise too, but that could wait
until the second season as you have a limited budget. A DM/MC is needed too. If
you do loan out someone, make sure they're actually developed - youngsters
won't help you here. It's worth offloading some of your defence too for extra
money.
The AM's are technically good, especially Skela and Fini. The fact that they
are good at crossing is vital. Ascoli's strikers aren't great at finishing, but
they do pose an aerial threat, Delvecchio and Bjelanovic in particular, and
they will need good service from the wings. So with these 4 up front you'd have
a great chance of scoring goals in this league. I'd play with a 4-1-3-2, with a
slow tempo. Playing away I'd use the creative Fontana in central midfield,
playing at home the physically better Pecchia as you try to dominate the game.
It'll be hard to achieve anything special with this club in the first season,
but what is crucial for success is using the Bosman ruling in January. If you
can bring in some good players for free you'll be going higher each year. Also
make Delvecchio take a wage cut, as he is only getting older, and will be less
influential in the team after the first year. This will free up the wages for
free transfers. You may also get a takeover after a few seasons, but whether
this is beneficial or not is too be seen
--------
Atalanta
--------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Atleti Azzuri d'Italia, 26542 capacity
(10000 seated)
Media Expectations: 16th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £22m
Finances: £3.31m
Transfer Budget: £1.02m
Wage Budget: £194k
Current Wage Total: £139k
Key Players: Adriano, Donati, Bombardini, Vieri, Zampagna,
Doni, Tissone
Top 3 Earners: Adriano (£20.5k), Doni (£10.5k), Bombardini,
Pinto (both £9k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Tissone (£2.9m), Zampagna (£2.7m), Pinto (£2.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Defendi, Tissone/Bernardini
Difficulty (/10): 7
Well, this is a pretty tough team to analyse. They're not the worst team to
start off with - they have solid finances, and an OK team. Yet they'll still
struggle a little in this division. Yet the looming problem for anyone who
assumes control of Atalanta is the age factor. The players have an average age
of 28, with only two good youngsters coming through the ranks - Tissone, who
you can shove straight into the first team, and Defendi in the reserves, who
requires loaning out to start improving his stats. They have a good forward
line, but Vieri is out for 4 - 5 months at the start. Zampagna is great for his
age - you won't find many 31 year olds with 16 pace and acceleration, and 18
strength. His finishing and heading are good too, and he should be permanently
in your first team.
The defence is fine on the wings, but in the centre you'll need to bring in
someone. Rivalta is the only defender with quality available at the start -
Carrozzieri is good too, but because of his global ban, which was punishment
for his involvement in a gambling scandal IRL, he isn't available until the end
of November. Talamonti is the best player to fill in for him while you find
some DC's to bring in. Whether in the first or second season, you'll also need
to bring in a young keeper - as you're goalies have a combined age of 66, a
younger striker, and a young AM who is technically adept, especially at set-
pieces. Why the last one? Well Pinto is the only specialist set-piece taker in
your squad, and at 33 he's reaching the dawn of his career. If you don't bring
in someone, your corners and free-kicks will be going to waste. Atalanta isn't
that hard in the first few seasons - they have a good enough squad to achieve
the board aims, but the immediate priority should be strengthening the defence,
which will be crucial. Loans are the best way to do this. The transfer budget
may seem low, but if you do well enough, the finances are good, and you should
have a healthy boost in January. Teams have point deductions too, so if you
have a good start to your campaign it'll be a large psychological advantage, as
you'll be at least 16th a few weeks into the season with the worst of starts.
If you want to manage Atalanta long-term, then this will be tougher. You'll
need to constantly bring in youngsters, and they come with a hefty price tag.
The positive thing is there might be a takeover a few seasons in, as the
chairman is willing to listen to offers. A 4-4-2 would work here, but try to be
a little more attacking, as this isn't the best defence to rely on.
--------
Cagliari
--------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Sant'Elia, 37700 capacity (17000 seated)
Media Expectations: 18th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Stay Clear Of
Relegation
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £15m
Finances: £2.96m
Transfer Budget: £1.16m
Wage Budget: £105k
Current Wage Total: £57.68k
Key Players: Chimenti, Canini, Del Grosso, Suazo, Esposito,
Pepe
Top 3 Earners: Chimenti (£6.5k), Colucci (£5.75k), Budel
(£5.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Suazo (£5m), Esposito (£3.7m), Canini (£1.4m)
Good young/reserve players: Semedo, Canini
Difficulty (/10): 6
I don't think Cagliari is that hard a team to manage. They're certainly good
enough to avoid relegation. The central defence is adequate at the start, but
when Canini comes back from his 5 month injury it'll become slightly easier.
Chimenti is a fantastic goalie for his age, but you'll need to find a permanent
replacement if you want the team to have success in the future. You'll need a
DR/WBR too as this is the weakest area of your team. Semedo and Canini are also
young, and with the right development you can have a solid centre partnership
in the future, so you don't need a defensive clear-out. Colucci is your best
DM, but yet again he is an aging player that needs a long-term replacement.
The AM's are very good - Suazo and Esposito are good at the vital stats for a
winger (they also have good finishing which is a plus), and Conti would be best
put in the centre. With Suazo and Esposito's good dribbling and crossing, by
putting Pepe up front, and having him as an aerial threat, you should get lots
of goals. First of all, from the headers, then secondly from the wingers
cutting in. When bringing in players, try to limit it to 1 or 2 more loans in
the first season. £1.16m looks like a tight budget too, but chances are you'll
get more in January - free transfer will be vital to the future of the team as
well. Like the previous teams, they may also experience a takeover at some
stage. A 4-2-3-1 would be best here - with the DM's pushing forwards, and the 3
further up as AM's. With the DM's pushing forwards it leaves less of a gap.
It's best to play defensively, but with your attacking 4 individually set to a
more attacking mentality.
-------
Catania
-------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Angelo Massimino, 35000 seated
Media Expectations: 17th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £18.5m
Finances: £2.95m
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £272k
Current Wage Total: £217k
Key Players: Vargas, Corona, Spinesi, Mascara
Top 3 Earners: Spinesi (£22k), Mascara (£17.25k), Colucci
(£13.75k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Mascara (£4m), Spinesi (£3.6m), Baiocco (£3.1m)
Good young/reserve players: Cesar, Anastasi
Difficulty (/10): 7
Catania is one of the better relegation candidates. As you've seen, all the
past 4 teams are considered relegation candidates, and there are plenty of
other teams in the division who could easily fall into that category. Catania
has a fairly big wage budget for a team of their stature, and some good players
to boot. They definitely need a new GK in, but their defence is better than
previous examples. All positions are covered by someone good, but you could do
with loaning in a versatile defender as extra back-up. Bringing Cesar out of
the reserves would help as well. In the midfield department Millesi and Del
Core are worth selling, but the rest are good. Many of them are determined
players and these will grind you out results. One note to make though is Corona
is better up front than in midfield. Don't put him on the wings, as he can't
cross for shit.
Your two specialist strikers are different to each other. Spinesi is a good at
heading and finishing, but Rossini is more likely to get the goals. He is a
super-strong forward, a retard with his feet, yet a genius in the air. The
stats all fit - great balance, jumping, strength, height, positioning and
heading. The high team-work stat should mean he'll understand where to go to
meet the crosses. If you want to get the best out of him though you'll need to
loan in a winger with a high crossing stat, as there isn't really anyone like
that at Catania. The best formation would be a standard 4-4-2.
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Chievo
------
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Bentegodi, 39211 seated
Media Expectations: 5th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £23m
Finances: £3.56m
Transfer Budget: £1.37m
Wage Budget: £343k
Current Wage Total: £277k
Key Players: Scurto, Mantovani, Brighi, Zanchetta, Marcolini,
Semioli, Pellissier, Tiribocchi
Top 3 Earners: Semioli (£22.5k), Brighi (£16.25k), Godeas
(£14.75k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Obinna (£6m), Pellissier (£4.5m), Semioli
(£4.3m)
Good young/reserve players: Obinna, Scurto, Mantovani, Marchesetti, De
Paula/Luciano, Bruno
Difficulty (/10): 5
In football, you get a natural ascension and descension of teams. Chievo are
one that is on the up. They have a strong all-round team, and are in the ECC
cup. If you progress far enough in this, the financial benefits will be great,
so don't field a weak side. The only real positions that Chievo need
strengthening in are the GK and DM areas. I wouldn't acquire a GK at the start
though - your one at the moment is satisfactory. But for the club to progress
you'll have to buy a much better one in January/Next Summer. It's worth buying
a DC/DM, who'll act as cover for both positions, and allow your DRC's to play
on the right, and back-up your one DM. You may as well sell Sammarco - he has
fantastic mental stats, but with these are some terrible Technical stats. If he
can't even control the ball, he won't be able to fulfil his creativity. This
will free up funds too.
Chievo has some great players in midfield - Marcolini, Brighi, Zanchetta and
Semioli would make a great line-up, all having different strengths and
weaknesses. Zanchetta is fairly creative, Brighi hard-working and determined,
Marcolini a strong winger with a good shot, whilst Semioli should stay out
wide, as he is quick, can dribble well and has good crossing. I'd bring in
another midfielder though - try and buy Brighi at the end of the year, or find
a replacement. Obi Mikel would be a good loanee to bring in. Your strikeforce
is fantastic - Tribocchi should be your main striker, who is as strong as
possible in the game, with either Pellissier, who is extremely fast, or Godeas,
another strong striker with good passing, partnering him.
I haven't put down Obinna as a key player as he hasn't reached his full
potential yet, but don't sell him. Once he has developed in a few years with
good training and has matches under his belt, you'll have one of the best
strikers in the division. He starts with a global ban until 10th December due
to a legal dispute - he signed a contract with two clubs, and therefore this is
his punishment. You have a real chance of top four with Chievo, so aim high. Be
sure to tie up players contracts too to ensure you keep the team going. A 4-4-2
would suit Chievo.
------
Empoli
------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Carlo Castellani, 19847 capacity (12239 seated)
Media Expectations: 10th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £13.25m
Finances: £1.27m
Transfer Budget: £613k
Wage Budget: £104k
Current Wage Total: £90.54k
Key Players: Pratali, Busce, Almiron, Vannucchi, Saudati
Top 3 Earners: Adani (£16.5k), Saudati (£7.25k), Balli (£7k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Vannucchi (£4.3m), Pozzi (£4.1m), Saudati
(£3.6m)
Good young/reserve players: Pozzi, Lodi/Gasparetto
Difficulty (/10): 9
Empoli are a very tough team to manage. They have overly high expectations for
a team with players of their calibre - the aim should be staying in Serie A.
You have a tiny budget to improve the situation and hardly any spare wages.
You'll have to virtually make-do with what you have. A challenge for any FM
veteran. The key area which needs improving is between the sticks - you need
someone better to stop the ball flying in than the current trash you have. Make
that your number 1 priority. Secondly loan in some QUALITY defenders, and lay
off some of your current ones. The problem is that Empoli have many defenders,
but it's quantity over quality here. Busce, Pratali and Tosto are your best
defenders, but two of them are over 30. Adani is good, but not to the same
standard. He also needs a pay cut, as he's earning double more than everyone
else. Make him take the cut or ship him off.
You also have no width hardly in midfield. All the good players are MC's or
AMC's. Busce can play as an AMR, and Tosto as an ML, but you need them in the
defence. Sell one of either Almiron or Vannucchi as one of them will go to
waste anyway, and with the money you should be able to bring in some
midfielders who can play on the flanks. You may as well get rid of your MC's
too - Ficini is worth keeping though. The striking situation is a little
better, but players are missing key stats - Pozzi has bad composure, meaning
he'll likely fluff a chance when you most need it, and Mattenini has bad
decisions and off the ball, which is vital to get into scoring positions.
Saudati is a good all-rounder, and the others could be worse - they both have
good finishing (16 and 17). You have a good reserve ST too called Gasparetto
who's worth bringing into the first team squad. Overall, you don't need any new
strikers.
For the first seasons you should focus on short-term solutions - loans, and
bringing in people on free transfer's. Your chairman is willing to listen to
offers, so if you're lucky you'll get a takeover a few seasons in. Around this
time, if you have been successful, you may be better financially too, but until
then you have to spend meticulously. A 5-1-2-2 would suit this team at the
moment, but you're current squad won't get you anywhere, so try to loan/buy
some wide midfielders.
----------
Fiorentina
----------
League: Serie A
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Artemio Franchi, 47350 seated
Media Expectations: 12th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £57m
Finances: £7.3m
Transfer Budget: £4.53m
Wage Budget: £364k
Current Wage Total: £265k
Key Players: Frey, Ujfalusi, Jorgensen, Mutu, Montolivo,
Pazzini, Toni
Top 3 Earners: Frey (£32k), Ujfalusi (£24.5k), Mutu (£23.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Mutu (£8.5m), Toni (£7.5m), Pazzini (£7.25m)
Good young/reserve players: D'Ambrosino, Montolivo, Pazzini
Difficulty (/10): 6
ORIGINAL VERSION OF FM - 19 POINT REDUCTION
7.0.1 ONWARDS - 15 POINT REDUCTION
Unless you've been under a rock for the past year, you'll know why Fiorentina
start off with a points deduction. The first versions of this FM contained the
point reduction before the appeal, but whichever version you have, there's
little difference. Of course, for those who want a challenge, the 19 point
deduction will be more interesting. No matter how good you do during the
season, you almost certainly won't win the league. Champions League is a
possibility, but you'll have to be in title winning form. The most realistic
target is the EURO Cup.
Fiorentina have a fantastic squad. They have a brilliant goalie, Sebastien
Frey, and Lobont is good enough to be in most first-teams in this division, so
him as a back-up is good signs. The defence is solid in all areas, and doesn't
need improving at all. You could bring in Anton Ferdinand or Kompany for a
future star, but it's solid as it is. If you want to bring in someone, the best
option is to bring in an excellent DM. Your current ones are fine, but it's
somewhere you could put a future star in to complete the team. Not essential at
all though. In the AM's section Fiorentina begin to excel - Jorgensen, Mutu and
Santana are fabulous, and in Montolivo you have a brilliant youngster. Liverani
can play here too. Then we arrive at the best part of the team - the strikers.
Toni and Pazzini are deadly together, but you need to bring in someone else as
Pazzini is out for 4 months. This is where you need to focus your budget. Mutu
can play up front too, so you don't need to bring in loads of ST's - just one
will do.
In the second season try and acquire Bojinov if you have the funds - don't ever
sell your 50% stake in him, to Juve or anyone, as he's one of the best in the
game. If you spend little this season, and bring in a ST on loan, you should be
able to afford him, and have one of the best players in the game. After your
first season, things are back to normal - and with the right layers being
brought in you should aim to fight for the title. So a tough first season will
be worth it, and there's hardly any expectations at the start, just safe mid-
table at the most. An attacking 4-4-2 diamond formation would be best here,
although it may go against conventional Italian football, not many teams will
resist your attacking players, and you have the defence to cope with what most
teams throw at you.
-----
Inter
-----
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: Giuseppe Meazza, 82425 seated
Media Expectations: 1st
Board/Fan Expectations: Win Serie A (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £212m
Finances: £20.94m
Transfer Budget: £15.17m
Wage Budget: £956k
Current Wage Total: £848k
Key Players: Cambiasso, Adriano, Ibrahimovic, Stankovic, Vieira
Top 3 Earners: Vieira (£72k), Crespo (£70k), Figo (£62k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Ibrahimovic (£28.5m), Adriano (£22.5m), Stankovic
(£15.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Aloe, Andreolli, Boumsong/Zicu
Difficulty (/10): 1
Inter are the easiest club possible to take charge of. As a result of the
scandal, two of their title rivals - Fiorentina and Milan, already have to play
catch-up. The only real contender who should stop you in the first season is
Roma. To add to this Inter probably have the best squad in the league anyway
(Milan run them pretty close though). Everywhere is strong, but any additions
should be young, as it is an ageing squad. I recommend bringing in a wonderkid
GK (Toldo is good, but you need an apprentice - Cesar isn't good enough for a
club of this stature), and maybe going for Bojinov. You may as well sell
Choutos and Cesar in the reserves too to raise even more funds. Zicu should
mature as a player, so in a year or two you can bring him in the first team
too. You're focus should be on becoming European champions as the league is a
given unless you royally fuck up. A 4-3-3 defensive (i.e. 2 DM's, stick
Stankovic in the middle pushing forward), would be best for this squad, but
over time it'll change as you buy new players. With Crespo, Ibrahimovic and
Adriano up front, who can possibly stop you?
-----
Lazio
-----
League: Serie A
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Olimpico, 81193 seated
Media Expectations: 13th
Board/Fan Expectations: Stay Clear of Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £153m (Loan Debt £63m)
Finances: £11.04m
Transfer Budget: £6.89m
Wage Budget: £296k
Current Wage Total: £236k
Key Players: Perruzi, Ledesma, Oddo, Pandev, Rocchi,
Makinwa
Top 3 Earners: Makinwa (£25.5k), Behrami, Baronio (both
£18.75k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Rocchi, Behrami, Pandev (all £6.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Arenas, Makinwa, Behrami, Pandev,
Delgado/Firmani, Sereni
Difficulty (/10): 6
ORIGINAL FM: 11 POINT REDUCTION
FM 7.0.1 ONWARDS: 3 POINT REDUCTION
This is based on the original points deduction, of course it's much easier when
it's only 3 points taken away from you. In the first season you should be
aiming for 10th to 7th, as this is a quality team who could overturn their
deduction. If you're good enough you can secure Europe. The GK situation is
fine, with a seasoned regular in Peruzzi, who's the better of the two, and
Arenas, a very promising youngster. You have a third first team GK, Berni, but
to be blunt he's as useful as Teflon when trying to save shots. Terminate his
loan. Here's a good tip though: don't play Arenas yet. Instead, bring Sereni
out of the reserves for your second choice GK, and send out Arenas on loan for
a season or two. When Peruzzi gets too old, Arenas will be reaching his full
potential, otherwise his development will be stunted if you have him as second
choice GK.
Next the defence. Send Diackite to the reserves (or sell him), he'll never be
good enough for the first team, and with your near £7m budget bring in a high
quality DC to add some sparkle to the defence. You have 3 other good DC's for
rotation. Oddo and Zauri are good players for the flanks, but you need a good
player who can play DRL to cover for them, otherwise your team may be
slightly weakened when one gets injured. He won't have to be a superstar
though. It's a shame that your future star WBR/AMRL, Behrami, is out for 5-
6months. Send him out on a short-term loan after he recovers, or put him
straight into a pre-season training program to prepare him for the next
campaign. One thing about Lazio is that they have many DM's - 5 to be precise.
Ledesma is by far the best, whilst the rest are the same in terms of overall
ability, but all better at different things.
My recommendation for this team would be a 4-3-3 defensive, but as you have no
MC's you'll have to put an AM or DM there. The best DM for this would be the
aggressive, hard-working Mutarelli, who'd burst through the middle, and play
simple passes to your wingers. You need to bring in another AMR too, as only
Mauri is any good here. The AML situation if fine, but focus on playing Pandev,
as he's a permanent member of your squad and you'll want to develop him. All 3
of your ST's are good, but lacking somewhat in strength. Makinwa and Rocchi are
pacey and Makinwa a young star, and Tare is a fantastic aerial threat. The
first 2 would suit a 4-3-3 defensive as they'd be good on the counter, and are
also good headerers, making use of your two wingers. Rocchi can play AMR too.
If you want to make good use of these though you can alternatively play a 4-4-
2.
There's only one player whose contract needs tying up and that's Zauri.
Finally, when buying players, buy 1 or 2 and make sure they're young and high
quality - you don't need 5 or 6 squad players, as you have a good team already.
With the right investments, a challenge for a European Champions Cup place is
easily achievable in the second season.
-------
Livorno
-------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Armando Picchi, 12900 seated
Media Expectations: 6th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £14.25m
Finances: £2.81m
Transfer Budget: £613k
Wage Budget: £254k
Current Wage Total: £220k
Key Players: Amelia, Kuffour, Pfertzel, Morrone, Lucarelli
Top 3 Earners: Grandoni (£26k), Morrone (£21.5k), Prates
(£19.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Lucarelli (£6.25m), Amelia (£3.4m), Morrone,
Bakayoko (£2.9m)
Good young/reserve players: Betanin
Difficulty (/10): 7
Livorno have SERIOUS midfield problems. They're devoid of any quantity of good
players here. So straight away, search for some players to bring in, be it
loans or cheap transfers, and put Stefanini, Zappia, Vigiani, Brondi in the
reserves/sell them. Vidigal, Passoni and Morrone are good enough to make the
first team, but the first two are getting on in age terms. There's no real
point in saying about the other areas of the squad that need improving, as this
will take up your first and second seasons budget. Once this is sorted focus on
the defence, as it may have great depth but no real high quality players
(Kuffour, Grandoni, Prates and Pfertzel are all good though), then bring in a
replacement/apprentice for Lucarelli who'll start becoming less important after
about 3 seasons. Getting a European place would help your cause greatly with
this team, as you need an improvement in finances. This will be key in securing
long-term success. Amelia is a fantastic GK, and Lucarelli your talisman, so
these are the two key players in the team. At the moment I'd use a 5-3-2, with
most of your attacking being focused on Lucarelli's talents.
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Messina
-------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: San Filippo, 40200 seated
Media Expectations: 20th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £17m
Finances: £1.42m
Transfer Budget: £1.02m
Wage Budget: £154k
Current Wage Total: £125k
Key Players: Storari, Coppola, Di Napoli, Cordova, Rigano
Top 3 Earners: Luliano (£25k), Di Napoli (£13k), Zanchi
(£10.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Alvarez, Iliev (both £2.6m), Floccari, Cappola
(both £2.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Zoro
Difficulty (/10): 7
Messina is a team that you can work with, and not an impossible challenge, so I
find the media's prediction of 20th harsh. You start in 16th at worst after 1
game anyway, so there's a great chance of surviving the first season. One key
area in need of improvement is the defence - sell some of the worst players,
like Ghosmy and Leke, and loan/buy some better defenders. Your GK Storari is
ok, but you may find you lose possession a lot with his distribution, as his
throwing is 3. Make sure then that his distributions are short, so there's less
room for a wild throw. He has 15 for decisions, so he should throw it to the
player in space the majority of the time. Coppola has fantastic mental stats,
and will make the hard-working heart of your midfield. It's just a shame he
isn't better technically - focus his training on ball control etc to try and
improve this, and he can become the keystone of your whole team.
Di Napoli and Cordova are your best AM's, both good in technical and mental
areas, but not perfect. You could try and loan in someone who's technically
very good to add variety to your team's strengths, if you can find such a
player. Up front Rigano is a brilliant out-and-out striker, with the only key
stat he's lacking in being first touch. So to get the best out of him play a
wide game, opening up space for him, so his first touch isn't such a let down.
He has perfect composure, so 99% of the time he'll bag them one-on-ones.
Floccari is a good dribbler, but should play second fiddle to Rigano.
I'd use a 4-5-1 system with Messina as they are strongest in the midfield
department. If you loan in another ST or two, then a 4-4-2 diamond is a viable
option. One thing of note - your wage budget is tight, and Luliano is not worth
£25k a week. He is good though and you can't afford to lose him, so don't upset
him - just do the best you can to push him into taking a cut of about £15k.
This is a team that you can survive with, and if you pull in good attendances
you'll have more financial power in the future.
-----
Milan
-----
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: San Siro, 82955 seated
Media Expectations: 2nd
Board/Fan Expectations: Win Serie A (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £140m
Finances: £18.53m
Transfer Budget: £10.64m
Wage Budget: £971k
Current Wage Total: £704k
Key Players: Dida, Maldini, Nesta, Cafu, Pirlo, Seedorf,
Kaka, Gilardino, Oliviera
Top 3 Earners: Kaka (£82k), Nesta (£68k), Oliveira, Inzaghi
(£64k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Kaka (£27.5m), Gilardino (£17.75m), Pirlo
(£17.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Gourcuff/Foggia, Abbiati, Vogel, Donati,
Difficulty (/10): 6
POINTS DEDUCTION: 8 POINTS
Milan is a team reaching the twilight of its era. Legends such as Maldini, Cafu
and Costacurta remain, but are extremely old, and your main job over the years
will be to bring in fresh blood, and start a new age for this team. So with
your £10m budget bring in one or two defenders, no older than 25, who'll have
the task of filling in the boots of these players. A new goalie would be nice
too, as the back-up Kalac is only average. When buying these players wages
won't be a factor as you have a £270k cushion, so don't worry if they demand
£60k a week.
The first season is notably difficult with Milan, as no matter which version
you have the deduction remains unchanged. Now whilst other clubs have altered
their aims according to their penalties, Milan haven't - you are expected to
get 2 wins and a draw more than Inter or Roma and win the league. The first
season is a great challenge for newcomers to FM as with luck and the right
tactics you can win the league, but it'll be tight. Veterans may not find
it as tough though, so if you're looking for a real challenge in this league
try Fiorentina. Milan are a massive club too, so they need to be producing good
youth players - ensure that you encourage the board to invest into their
average youth facilities, so they become a better representative of a club of
Milan's stature.
While the defence is your main concern, you don't need to worry about
overhauling the midfield for a while. A younger replacement for Seedorf may be
recommended for the long-term, but you can afford to leave that for 4-5 years.
As for the strikers, you don't need to bring in any for a few seasons unless
there's someone you particularly want. A standard 4-4-2 would be great here -
you have a fantastic midfield. With this as your line up:
ML - Seedorf
CM - Pirlo
CM - Kaka
MR - Gattuso
Not many teams will break, or withstand, your midfield. Make sure you get the
balance with Pirlo and Kaka right though, so there's not too big a hole in the
centre. As I've already said, the situation up front is fine, but you have to
ask whether Borriello is good enough to be at a club of Milan's aspirations,
and whether he can cut it at this level. Give him a few games to see if he
works for you, and if not sell him. Don't forget about Inzaghi either - he is a
fantastic striker, and will bag you lots of goals.
There's only one great youngster at Milan, which is Gourcuff, so be sure to
loan him out so he gains experience. Also make sure though that you have a
clause to re-call him, as he is essential cover should Seedorf or Kaka get a
long-term injury. So to achieve success with Milan youth investment is key. If
you don't win the league in the first season though, you may be looking for a
new job.
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Palermo
-------
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Renzo Barbera, 38500 seated
Media Expectations: 4th
Board/Fan Expectations: Qualify for Europe (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £47.5m
Finances: £4.86m
Transfer Budget: £3.59m
Wage Budget: £384k
Current Wage Total: £226k
Key Players: Agliardi, Zaccardo, Barzagli, Corini, Di Michele,
Caracciolo, Brienza
Top 3 Earners: Corini (£21.5k), Brienza (£20k), Di Michele
(£19.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Brienza, Caracciolo (both £5.5m), Amauri (£5.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Cassani/Budan
Difficulty (/10): 3
Palermo is a brilliant club for any FM player, especially new ones though. It's
a club with great potential and the foundations in place to reach that
potential. The squad is fantastic, so in the first season I'd only recommend
bringing in a back-up GK (30 years old at most) and loan in a striker for the
bench (someone like Grax?). Palermo also has a large amount of wages available,
but try to restrict the wages - once a few players are getting £50k, the rest
of the team will want this too - so keep it to £35k - £40k max on a players
wages.
This is a team reaching their prime - most of them in their mid-twenties, so
it's a great time to manage Palermo. The EURO Cup will bring financial
benefits, but you should have higher aims - European Champions Cup
qualification. Some teams who'd normally rival you for this are playing catch
up from the first kick, so it's a great opportunity to move the club forward,
don't pass on it. In the first season ask the board to improve both the
training facilities and youth facilities, and if you do get ECC qualification,
and are successful (i.e. reach knock-out stages), ask them for a stadium
expansion. All this will raise the profile of your club, allowing you to
attract better players.
After the first season bring Budan out of the reserves too, as he's good enough
to play for your team. Bovo is out for the first 4 months, but once he comes
back you'll have a great line-up - Pissano, Barzagli, Bovo and Zaccardo is a
good defence. If you want to improve it quality in depth is something to look
at, specifically in the DL position. Also with your training schedules try to
make Barzagli a more all-round player - he has impeccable defensive stats, but
beyond that there's room for improvement. The midfield has a great balance -
there's quality in both the DM's and AM's. It's wise to use Diana as an AMR too
as there are already good DR/WBR's in the squad, and you wouldn't want to waste
your players. With this in mind, a 4-5-1 would be the best option.
The best way to structure it is similar to a 4-4-2 diamond, but instead of the
two strikers you'll have two AM's instead. When defending a lead you can change
this simply to two DM's. The reason for this is you have both Di Michele and
Brienza, who are both too good to neglect, and only two quality strikers (make
sure you tutor Palmiteri though as he can be a good squad player in the future
- make sure too that it's one of your strikers tutoring him), so if one gets
injured this is still a workable system. Your DM's are good too - Simplicio
would be first choice, but you can bring on Guana or Corini (he can play DM
competently) if you want to shut up the defence as an additional DM. Diana and
Bresciano on the flanks of midfield would make this a fantastic line-up.
-----
Parma
-----
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Ennio Tardini, 28700 capacity (28000 seated)
Media Expectations: 7th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £24m
Finances: £5.77m
Transfer Budget: £1.37m
Wage Budget: £300k
Current Wage Total: £212k
Key Players: Grella, Dessena, Morfeo
Top 3 Earners: Morfeo (£25.5k), Gasbarroni (£19.25k), Castellini
(£16.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Dessena (£4.9m), Morfeo (£4.3m), Kutuzov (£3.1m)
Good young/reserve players: Dedic, Rossi, Dessena, Camara/Bolano
Difficulty (/10): 8
Parma is a very tough team. High aspirations from the fans and media, yet the
board are holding you back. For a chairman that loves the club, maybe he could
show this 'love' a little more and increase your budget from the measly £1.37m
that it is. Why not ask him? If he refuses, which he most likely will, try
again in January - this may harbour a higher chance of having more funds at
your disposal. First of all you should buy a new GK - Enyeama is cheap and
would suit Parma perfectly. Then you need some new defenders. You may have some
money left over, so you could buy 1 good one, but it's best to wait until
January before improving this. If you have a good EURO Cup run, your finances
will improve, so you'll be able to bring in 2 or 3 good defenders (ensure that
you get the best deals possible in the transfer market though). Also at this
time look at the free transfers and who is available - try and bring in some if
possible this way, especially strikers.
Strikers in the second season is going to be a problem - your two specialist
ST's are both going back to their clubs at the end of they year. Try to bring
in a few free ones, focus your second season budget on them and if this still
doesn't bear results, loan in Maxi Lopez in the second season. You do have some
AM's that can play in this position, but they are needed in the AM positions.
I'd play a 4-3-3 with this team during the first season - Kutuzov and
Gasbarroni have awesome crossing stats, and with Budan up front he'd finish
most of the chances. Dessena is essential for big games due to his influence
and mental strength, and Morfeo should be used in rotation with Kutuzov and
Gasbarroni to make sure they don't suffer from fatigue. Try to play an
unconventional style for the Italian league with attacking being your focus -
your defence at the moment is simply not up to scratch, and you have quite a
few talented attacking players. European qualification is essential for funds,
otherwise you're going to find that you slip into mid-table mediocrity within a
few seasons, unless you're exceptional with tactics.
-------
Reggina
-------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Oreste Granillo, 27713 seated
Media Expectations: 19th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £15.25m
Finances: £648k
Transfer Budget: £689k
Wage Budget: £163k
Current Wage Total: £143k
Key Players: Pelizzoli, Mesto, Amoruso, Bianchi
Top 3 Earners: Mesto, Leon (both £14.75k), Tedesco (£10.75k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Bianchi (£3.7m), Mesto (£3.2m), Pelizzoli
(£2.6m)
Good young/reserve players: Maccari, Missiroli/Biondini, Vicari
Difficulty (/10): 10
ORIGINAL FM: 15 Point Reduction
FM 7.0.1 ONWARDS: 11 Point Reduction
An incredibly hard team to manage here. I'd reserve this for veteran FM gamers
who are in search of a serious challenge. You take control of what would be a
relegation/mid-table team anyway, who are on an extremely tight budget, and are
handed a double-figure point reduction, varying depending on which version you
have. If you're using pre-patch, then this is as tough as the 1,000 goal career
challenge. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but they're still one of
the toughest teams in the game.
Your GK is fine for the moment, but then we come to the centre of defence. Or
lack of. Lucarelli is the only player worthy of being in a Serie A team in this
position. If he gets injured, it really will be an impossible challenge.
Aronica is ok, but has bad concentration, and will let your team down.
Unfortunately, he's your second best DC, so he'll have to partner Lucarelli. I
cannot stress enough how important it is to bring in some players here. Loan
them, buy them - it doesn't matter, you need some quality. Even if they're 35,
if they can do the job, they're a short-term solution. Try and cut some of your
teams wages too - a £1000 of each could really help give you more space in your
budget. Then you only have 1 player that can play as a DR. Loan in a back up
for him. Sell off as many reserve/youth players as possible.
The midfield is a better situation, so doesn't need your immediate attention.
You don't have any natural DM's, but Amerbini is accomplished there. DM's are
incredibly important players in a squad to sweep in front of the back 4, so I'd
use him for this. You only have two strikers, so loan one in. In the future you
may also get a takeover, but I don't know if this will affect your funds much.
I'd play either a 4-4-2 diamond, or a 4-3-3 attacking with this squad.
----
Roma
----
League: Serie A
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Olimpico, 81193 seated
Media Expectations: 3rd
Board/Fan Expectations: Qualify for Europe/Challenge for Title
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £204m (Loan debt £27m)
Finances: £10.71m
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £554k
Current Wage Total: £514k
Key Players: Mexes, Chivu, De Rossi, Aquilani, Mancini,
Totti
Top 3 Earners: Totti (£83k), Montella (£43k), Pizzaro
(£34.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Totti (£17.75m), Mancini (£13m), De Rossi
(£12.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Curci, Grecco, Galloppa, Aquilani, De Rossi
Virga, Rosi, Cassandra, Okaka/Kuffour, Birghi,
Nonda, Comotto, Zotti
Difficulty (/10): 3
Roma is not much of a challenge to take over. They're fantastic in both defence
and midfield, but need another striker, and an excellent GK. Vucinic and
Montella are both injured for 3 months, so unless you play Totti up front you
don't really have any strikers who can play at this level. Cassandra needs to
go into the reserves and to be loaned out, and isn't ready for first team
responsibilities. You have a plethora of reserve players, some of which aren't
on loan, so try selling them to raise the budget. You don't need 4 average
keepers in your squad, so either Zotti or Curci should go. Loan in some ST's to
start with, as if you're buying one you may as well make it worthwhile. Wait
until January and save your money, and you should have a much bigger budget to
go player hunting with. To match the rest of your squad, you'll also need to
bring in a high-quality keeper within the first two seasons, like Akinfeev.
Roma have some wonderful players in their twenties - this means you'll have a
team that'll be together for a good few years. Players like De Rossi, Mexes,
Chivu, Mancini, Pizzaro, Aquilani will be key to any success you bring. Look in
your U18's too - there's a gem in there. He's called Okaka, and if you train
him up right, and tutor him with Totti, he can become a superstar. What should
you be aiming for with Roma in the first season? Why, the title of course. If
Milan don't have a wonder season, your only real rival will be Inter, and if
you can prevail from this two horse race then the title is yours. At least some
silverware should be gained.
When choosing a formation, it's a pretty tough choice - you have to try and
incorporate all of your midfielders, as its easy to forget about Aquilani and
Pizzaro. You'll either have to rotate, or sell Pizzaro - Aquilani is one for
the future though, and can play DM, so keep hold of him. A 4-4-2 diamond would
usually benefit the side once they're into the season and the strikers have
recovered from injury, but until then you may want to play a 4-3-3, and when
putting Totti up front make sure balls aimed to him are too his feet - he's not
very good in the air. Totti is a God at Roma, and you should build your team
around him - he has great creativity and flair, and can pull off all the tricks
with some of the best technical stats in the game. When playing a diamond 4-4-
2, set him to a playmaker and use his ability well. If teams mark him out, you
can always give more of the focus of play to Mancini, Perotta and Taddei (the
wingers) - this could also increase his effectiveness, as he'll have more space
to get into.
---------
Sampdoria
---------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Luigi Ferraris, 36536 seated
Media Expectations: 8th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 22
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £30.5m
Finances: £5.2m
Transfer Budget: £3.79m
Wage Budget: £312k
Current Wage Total: £196k
Key Players: Palombo, Volpi, Flachi, Bazzani, Bonazzoli
Top 3 Earners: Palombo (£33k), Volpi (£18.75k), Bonazzoli
(£18.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Bazzani, Bonazzoli (both £5.25m), Palombo
(£4.3m)
Good young/reserve players: Foti, Da Mota
Difficulty (/10): 5
Sampdoria are a mid-table team that has the quality to reach the next level.
The problem is that by the time you cement your place there, your players will
be moving on to collect their pensions. The best players here are mostly 30+,
so it's your job to bring in young blood. You don't need to bring in 5+ players
a year, just 1 or 2 good young players. So when the time comes, you've already
moved on. There's no real weak spot with Sampdoria - it's a very balanced
squad. In the first season I'd recommend buying an AMC and loaning in a striker
for 3-6 months, as you start off with Bazzani injured for 4 months and Flachi
having a global ban until the end of November due to his partaking in a
gambling scandal. Quagriarella can double up as a striker to partner Bonazzoli
and whoever you loan in for the first 4 months, so you won't be short of firing
power. The best formation to use would be 4-4-2 diamond - if you bring in an
AMC, you can use both Olivera and Zenoni on the right midfield. A defensive 4-
3-3 is also a formation that is executable with this team. You should be
looking to grab a European spot with Sampdoria, but if you're extremely good an
ECC cup place in fourth is certainly not out of the question. A nice squad to
break beginners into the game with.
-----
Siena
-----
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Artemio Franchi, 15725 capacity (6500 seated)
Media Expectations: 15th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 24
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £16.25m
Finances: £1.49m
Transfer Budget: £689k
Wage Budget: £208k
Current Wage Total: £195k
Key Players: Chiesa, Zajc, Corvia
Top 3 Earners: Chiesa (£22k), Cordea (£20.5k), Cozza (£16.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Corvia (£4.1m), Zajc (£3.8m), Bogdani (£3.4m)
Good young/reserve players: Zajc, Corvia, Molianro, Masiello
Difficulty (/10): 6
Siena has relatively low expectations, and an adequate squad, so with the
circumstances of your first season you can get a top 10 finish. The problem is
that you'll have to go against conventional Italian style, and attack. You have
good full backs, but need a good, all-round DC who has very good physical
stats, as you're current batch are quite slow. This will be hard to find,
especially with your budget, so January might be the best option for this. At
the moment, Berotto and Portanova would be the best defensive partnership.
Siena has a large selection in midfield to choose from, and many of them double
up as strikers. Corvia and Zajc's stats haven't reached their full potential
yet, but with plenty of games and good training they will. As a result of this
a 4-4-2 diamond is the best tactic to use here. I'd also use Chiesa up front as
much as you possibly can, as he should get you a high amount of goals. Loans
and free transfers are key to this club, as it's always going to be a challenge
to keep them going.
Many of the AM's are 30+ too, so keep an eye out specifically in January for
any AM's reaching the end of their contracts. Bringing in a better defence and
GK should be a priority too. Your aim should be after about 3 seasons to build
this team into a mid-table, pushing for Europe team. Ask for a stadium
expansion too to increase revenue, and ensure that you keep Zajc and Corvia. A
few contracts run out in 2007 too, including Portanova, Alberto and Vergassola,
so tie them down to your club.
------
Torino
------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Olimpico, 25370 seated
Future Stadium: Delle Alpi, 69041 seated (1/7/08)
Media Expectations: 14th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Stay Clear of
Relegation
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £26m
Finances: £4.88m
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £299k
Current Wage Total: £199k
Key Players: Abiatti, Rosina, Stellone, Fiore
Top 3 Earners: Barone (£27.5k), Fiore (£26.5k), Stellone (£16k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Rosina (£4.8m), Barone (£4.3m), Abbruscato
(£3.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Rosina
Difficulty (/10): 5
Torino are another team which is a comfortable choice to first enter the World
of FM. They have a squad that is Serie A standard, and shouldn't be involved in
any relegation dog-fight. Also, in a couple of years you move to a stadium just
under 3 times the size of yours - and share it with Juve. You share your
current one with Juve too. The area, which like all teams predicted relegation,
that needs improving is the defence. The handicap you have over these teams is
that you have a decent budget to fill the defence with. Franchescini and Di
Loreto are both DC's that deserve a first-team place, but you need a star
defender in there. You have Abiatti on loan in goal, and he's a fantastic
keeper, so he'll keep your defence well organised. You have a good all-round
midfield, and I'd alternate between a diamond 4-4-2 and a defensive 4-3-3 for
away games.
You have 3 strikers of the same overall quality, but Barone is probably the
better rounded one - Abbruscato has bad composure, so is best used when you're
dominating a game, and Oguro has bad first touch, so use him in any open,
attacking games. The major problem with Torino though is this - a few of your
best players are on loan. You'll lose Abiatti, Fiore, Konan and Comotto at
the end of the year. In January then it is key you find a GK, DR, MC/R and an
ARL in the free transfer market to replace them, to minimize your spending. If
you can't get all of them on a free, but have the majority, your budget should
be big enough to allocate a portion to buying a player in this position. You do
have an agreed price set at £2.1m for Fiore, but it's a tough call at the end
of the year. He'll be 32, and it's up to you to decide whether or not it'll be
a good investment - if he plays well for you in 2006/7, I'd go for it. You
really have a good chance to excel with this team, and a top 10, or even an
outside chance of a European spot, is not out of reach. Aim for 7th/8th, and if
you play to your strengths and rotate the midfield, you'll get it.
-------
Udinese
-------
League: Serie A
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Friuli, 41825 seated
Media Expectations: 9th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 23
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £43m
Finances: £3.79m
Transfer Budget: £989k
Wage Budget: £261k
Current Wage Total: £192k
Key Players: Felipe, Zapata, Ali Muntari, Di Natale,
Asamoah, Schumacher, Iaquinta
Top 3 Earners: D'Agostino (£25k), Felipe (£10.75k), Zapata,
Asamoah (both £8k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Schumacher (£6m), Asamoah, Iaquinta (both £5.75m)
Good young/reserve players: Seriously, way too many to list
Difficulty (/10): 2
Wow, this is one great side. If you don't know much about Italian football,
this is like the Arsenal of Serie A with its wealth of young talent - the
average age is amazingly 22. You may not have a £££ transfer budget but you
don't need one. The best talent in your squad are as follows:
16 Years Old - Laurito
18 Years Old - Sanchez, Surraco, Montiel,
19 Years Old - Morosini, Eremenko, Zapata, Schumacher
20 Years Old - Di Martino, Motta, Asamoah, Siqueria, Baretto
21 Years Old - Ali Muntari, Felipe, Aguilar
22 Years Old - Obbdo, Pepe
You should have a clear idea of what you need to do now. Bring in the best
youth coaches you can find. Try to get the cheapest ones is as possible with at
least 16 in working with youngsters. You need a new GK for back-up, so take a
look at Enyeama for this. This is a squad you could potentially have for years,
and is good enough to win many trophies with. Try to keep the big teams from
poaching your young stars, unless you are given an offer you can't refuse. You
see, this is where you benefit - with the right guidance, and good
performances, most of the above players can in the future command a double
figure transfer fee if you negotiate tough. If you don't sell them, you still
have a quality team. Muslimovic is a player worth bringing out of the reserves
for your second season too.
The problem with this team is it still has to develop, with players like
Schumacher and Zapata needing games to bring up their skill level, but aren't
yet good enough to use week in, week out. Surraco up front is already well
developed, so he's good to use. I'd play a 4-3-3 attacking with this team. You
don't have any DMs in the first team squad, but if you need dome dip into the
reserves and drag Aguilar out, and in the second season Morosini and Pazienza.
You may not achieve much in your first two years in terms of silverware, but
you have a team, which should reach Europe, even ECC qualification. Don't
forget about the quality of Iaquinta and Di Natale - they'll be important
players for your team. By 2 or 3 seasons in, with more experience for your
players, you should be aiming to challenge for Serie A. Only Pinzi needs his
contract renewing in the first season. It's worth noting too that D'Agostino
starts off injured for 4 months with a broken foot.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
2.3 Spanish Leagues
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Matador]
Spain is a country known for its skilful football and having some of the
greatest players to grace the planet based there. The reason why it may be
disputed to whether it is the best footballing nation to play in is the lack of
depth in the lower leagues. When Mourinho earlier this year mentioned about a
Chelsea 'B' team being introduced into the Championship, it was meted with a
negative reaction from fans, however this is common practice in Spain. This can
be seen as down playing the importance of these leagues. It's an interesting
place to manage nevertheless, with the La Liga being highly competitive.
~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ La Liga ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~
La Liga is my personal favourite league in FM. In terms of quality I'd put it
at an extremely close second behind the Premiership, but this league is full of
different and wonderful challenges. Every player who has become a big name in
football has played here - Carlos, Beckham, Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul, Ronaldinho,
Di Stefano, Puskas, Cruijff, Romario and Maradona to name a few. The great
rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is also fantastic to participate in.
The rules for La Liga don't differ much from their European counterparts, with
player registration being the only major alteration:
- Starts 27/08 and ends 27/05 the following year (approx)
- 20 teams in the league
- 38 games - Home and Away versus each team
- 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw
- Bottom 3 relegated to Liga BBVA
- If points are level teams are sorted by: Results Between Teams, Goal
Difference, Goals Scored
- Matches are 90 minutes, two 45-minute halves. 7 names subs are allowed, a
maximum of 3 can be used.
- The squad must have no more than 6 players register for a domestic team - in
other words no more than 6 domestic loans
- Top 4 qualify for the European Champions Cup, 5th and 6th gets into the EURO
Cup, and 7th into Euro Vase. If the winners of the Spanish Cup finish in the
top 7, then 7th will qualify for the Euro Cup and 8th for the Euro Vase.
- A player is banned for a match for every 5 yellow cards he receives. A red
card also results in a one match ban
- There are no technical loan restrictions.
- Transfer Window is open between: 01/07 to 31/08 and 03/01 to 31/01
- Player Registration exists in Spain. For a player to be eligible to play in
the league, he must be registered. You can register a maximum of 25 players
between 30/06 and 01/09. There is a second registration period 01/12 to
01/02.You can register a maximum of 25 players again during this period, but
your total amount of registered players can't exceed 25. A total of 3 non-EU
players can be registered for each team - i.e. 3 for the 'A' team, 3 for the
'B' team and 3 for the 'C' team.
- Players who have played more than 5 games for a team in the same division
aren't permitted to be transferred during the second transfer window.
As you know, you can only have 3 non-EU players in your Spanish first team when
you register them. But, luckily, there is a way around this. Spanish clubs 'B'
and 'C' team players are eligible for the first team, so if you buy a 4th non-
EU player, and register him with the 'B' or 'C' team, you can then use him in
your first team. Nice tip eh?
Without any more hold up, I bring you onto the teams:
---------------
Athletic Bilbao
---------------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: San Mames, 40000 seated
Media Expectations: 12th
Board/Fan Expectations: Invest in Players + Rebuild Team/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £62m
Finances: £632k
Transfer Budget: £7.58m
Wage Budget: £456k
Current Wage Total: £409k
Key Players: Gurpegi, Iraola, Orbaiz, Exteberria, Yeste,
Llorente, Tiko
Top 3 Earners: Yeste (£40.5k), Exteberria (£24k), Orbaiz
(£23k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Yeste (£7m), Llorente (£6.5m), Exteberria,
Orbaiz (both £4.6m)
Good young/reserve players: Martinez, Llorente, Garcia, Solabarrieta,
Gutierrez, Tarantino
Difficulty (/10): 9
Now HERE'S a challenge. This is totally unique to all other teams in FM. You
should notice why straight away - all players are Spanish. Upon further
inspection, they're all from Basque too. It's a rule enforced upon you - you
can only sign Basque players. Makes that £7m or so seem pretty worthless eh?
You might be wondering how on Earth can you search for Basque players, but
there's a very simple trick - when filtering players, ask your assistant to
filter out unrealistic targets. This immediately leaves just the Basque
players, about 90 or so to choose from. You can sign other nationality staff
though, otherwise you wouldn't be able to have the job.
Your chairman expects you to invest in new players and rebuild the squad, hence
the budget. First of all you need to 'cut' a few players to lower the wage
budget as you have a massive team, so you need to increase your finances (as
spending all £7.5m now will leave you heavily in debt). The following players
are not good enough: Garmednia, Ustariz, Zubiaurre, Iturriaga, Gonzales,
Danobeitia, Amorebieta, Urzaiz (too old). Sell most of your reserves too.
Sarriegi has some fantastic stats, but you need to train him up. Set his
defending, ball control, aerobic and strength to very heavy, and forget the
rest. This may improve him enough to be a first-team regular, but if he doesn't
make progress sell him too. Seeing as there is limited choice, I'll give you a
few recommendations: Goitia, Ansotegi, Ocio, Ezquerro and Mendieta.
NEVER sell your top players - they truly are irreplaceable. Many of your squad
have specialities too - Yeste is a free kick expert, Iraola great at taking
corners and has a thunderous long shot, Llorente a strong forward that's good
at heading, Exteberria a good all-round player, Adruiz is a creative, quick
dribbler and Orbaiz a composed passer. Gurpegi is one of your better players
too, though he is banned until the end of 2007/8 season after testing positive
for Nandrolone. It's up to you whether to sell him or not - he's worth waiting
two years for, and you can train him heavily seeing as he won't be playing, but
you can save £1.4m approx by selling him, and the chances of finding a club
willing to buy are remote. Zubiaurre is also banned until the end of 2006, as a
result of a messy 15-month legal battle between Athletic and Real Sociedad for
his signature, which is too detailed to go into.
I'd play a 4-4-2 diamond easily with this club, as they have many AM's, no
MC's, and a few DM's to choose from. Martinez is a fantastic youngster too, so
train him up for the first couple of years and tutor him, then loan him out.
With Athletic you can get Europe, and maybe silverware, but it's imperative
that you hold onto key players. The key to success in the future is training up
your own youth players - this team requires a ton of manual work, something
that a few people may revel in.
---------------
Atletico Madrid
---------------
League: La Liga
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Vicente Calderon, 54851 seated
Media Expectations: 9th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £147m
Finances: £4.01m
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £801k
Current Wage Total: £709k
Key Players: Leo Franco, Pablo, Costinha, Rodriguez,
Petrov, Aguero, Torres
Top 3 Earners: Torres (£69k), Luccin (£55k), Petrov (£48.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Torres (£27m), Aguero (£15.75m), Rodriguez
(£11.75m)
Good young/reserve players: Aguero, Torres, Gabi, Jurado, Batres, Valera,
Miguel, Suarez
Difficulty (/10): 3
Atletico are a very good team. I cannot begin to understand why they're
expected mid-table. Attacking wise they're probably best in the league after
Real and Barca, and overall just behind Valencia. Torres, Rodriguez, Petrov,
and the wonderkid Ageuro, who turns out to be one of the best in the game, is
an impeccable line-up. The DM's, Luccin and Costinha, are great, and your MC's
Gabi and Maniche are exceptional too. The squad is adaptable to many situations
because of it's high quality in depth - you can play 4-3-3 defensive, 4-3-3
attacking, 4-4-2 diamond, a standard 4-4-2 - whatever you want. It's best to
try and counter the opposition's tactics with one that will exploit their
weaknesses. However, I would always play high tempo football - many of your
players are extremely quick, so by playing a quick game you'll open up space
for them to run at defenders and latch onto balls.
The defence is quality too, and you have a back-up player for nearly every
position - it's worth looking in January for any high-quality DC's with 6
months left on their contracts for extra back-up, or a first team place. The
best line-up in the centre at the moment would be Perea and Pablo (who can
progress in strides in the game). The only real place that needs investing is a
back-up GK. You only have £2m budget, but this should be adequate enough to buy
a good enough standard GK. Leo Franco is only worth £2.9m, but this may be a
bad valuation. He's a fantastic goalie, and his adeptness at communicating and
commanding his area means teams will find it hard to break through your line of
defence. It's pretty obvious that sooner or later, a big club is going to drop
a large offer into your office for Torres. At the moment he is the key player
in your team, but every player has their price. I'd hold out for around £60m
for him, and if you got that you could build a brilliant team. If you bring
success and trophies to Madrid though he won't get cold feet to go to these
clubs. Plus in Aguero you have a player worthy of replacing him - though it
would be better if you had both.
Top 4 should be within reach of this club, and within a few seasons you could
be challenging for the title. ECC qualification is crucial to bring the team
financially to the next level. Oh yeah, before I forget, Miguel starts injured
for 6 months. Finally, it's worth investing in the youth facilities to bring
through another string of talented youngsters.
---------
Barcelona
---------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup, Club World Championship,
European Super Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: Nou Camp, 98000 seated
Media Expectations: 1st
Board/Fan Expectations: Win La Liga (both)
Squad Size: 25
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £525m (Loan Debt £64m)
Finances: £10.06m
Transfer Budget: £3.44m
Wage Budget: £1.2m
Current Wage Total: £1.04m
Key Players: Ronaldinho, Puyol, Zambrotta, Javi, Messi, Deco,
Eto'o, Saviola
Top 3 Earners: Ronaldinho (£90k), Eto'o (£72k), Puyol,
Gudjohnsen, Deco (all £69k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Ronaldinho (£36m), Eto'o (£34.5m), Messi (£27m)
Good young/reserve players: Messi, Iniesta, Dos Santos, Assulin, Bojan/Maxi
Lopez
Difficulty (/10): 1
Quite simply, this is one of the best two teams in the game. The only dilemma
is that the other one is Real Madrid. However, if you use your squad well
you'll be unstoppable. It's also the richest in terms of assets. Barcelona
isn't like other teams - you may not have to play a 'standard' formation. The
players in this team are the elite of the World, and just under a 3rd are
attacking midfielders. You can lay them out in whatever way you like - even
form new formations. You can experiment with this side as even if you are piss
poor with your selection of tactics, the quality of the players will still
shine through. Three in defence is perfectly fine, though Barca may not be yet
good enough to play without a keeper.
I would play highly attacking with this team, as the defence is an all-star
cast - Zambrotta, Puyol, Marquez and Thuram are just your first team. You have
Olegeur, Edmilson, Van Bronckhorst and Belleti as a reserve back four! Sell
Ezquerro, Olmo and Riera for definite. It's worth selling Giuly too - he's old,
and you can bring in a player for his position as good as him for a lesser
price. Maxi Lopez is a fantastic aerial threat, so bring him out of the
reserves after the first season when he returns from his loan. Also, keep an
eye on your C team - there are some world-class youngsters in there. Bojan,
Assulin and Dos Santos are the main ones, but I may have missed some, so scour
the team for any other up and coming stars. Train these up as bets you possibly
can - don't loan them out, but have your superstars tutor them, and they'll be
the superstars of the future.
You're only given a small transfer budget for a team of this size, but that's
enough to work wonders - look for Cardenas, as he's one of the best in the
game. Millan too would be a good signing, he's a 16 year old, but may not
appear in your database. You should perform clean sweep after clean sweep with
Barcelona - you're expected to win the league, but possibly also the European
Champions Cup, and you have the quality to dominate the game.
-----
Betis
-----
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, 52500 seated
Media Expectations: 14th
Board/Fan Expectations: Invest in Players + Rebuild Team/Safe Mid-
Table
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £75m
Finances: £5.65m
Transfer Budget: £4.13m
Wage Budget: £413k
Current Wage Total: £383k
Key Players: Doblas, Juanito, Assuncao, Rivera, Sobis, Edu
Top 3 Earners: Edu (£40.5k), Sobis (£32k), Rivera (£20.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Edu (£5.75m), Sobis (£5.5m), Rivera (£4.9m)
Good young/reserve players: Israel, Vega, Sobis, Odonkor, Melli/Oscar
Lopez
Difficulty (/10): 7
Betis are a team going through a transformation, and it appears to not be a
good one. They lost their star player, Joaquin, in the summer to Valencia, and
the board expects heavy re-investment and the squad to be rebuilt. The space in
the wage budget is tiny, so give as many wage cuts as possible to players in
the first team and the 'B' team. Terminate the contracts of useless 'B' team
players (try to do it by mutual termination though), or sell them. Sell Angel,
Benjamin, Capi, Lembo, Nano and a few others, and re-invest in the defence, an
AML, a striker (one with high finishing and composure) and a new GK. If you buy
the right quality players, you can create a team capable of finding a European
spot. Don't expect straight success though - it takes time for an overhauled
team to gel. Invest heavily in the youth facilities too.
It's not really possible to recommend a formation for this team due to the
change it'll go through, but if you're not using two DM's in matches cancel
Vogel's loan. Juanito is key in the defence as he is a brilliant leader, and
organises it well, so don't upset him. Melli can turn into a top defender too,
and it's worth playing him alongside Juanito. His versatility will come in
handy if there's an injury crisis too. In your attacking midfield you have some
great dribblers too, so whenever you set your tactics, let players like Sobis,
Rivera, Edu, Maldonado and Xisco run at the opposition defence often, and have
your centre players pushing forwards into the holes they create.
----------
Celta Vigo
----------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Balaidos, 31800 seated
Media Expectations: 8th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table/Respectable
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £35.5m
Finances: £656k
Transfer Budget: £689k
Wage Budget: £540k
Current Wage Total: £456k
Key Players: Oubina, De Ridder, Cannobio, Baiano
Top 3 Earners: Oubina (£36.5k), Baiano (£34k), Garcia
(£27.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Baiano (£6.75m), Oubina (£5.5m), Cannobio
(£5m)
Good young/reserve players: Roberto, Maric, De Ridder, Lucas/Guerrero
Difficulty (/10): 7
Celta are one of the tougher teams in La Liga. They're on a wafer thin budget
for finances, and because of this you can't really afford to invest in players.
Yet they are in the EURO Cup, and success in this will reap financial benefits.
You can also sell off a few players to raise funds if you wish. If you are to
do this, buy some new defenders. There's not much talent in the defence.
Placente, Lequi, Contreras and Angel will do an ok job, but you need some
higher quality players to make ground in Europe and the league against more
prolific teams. Tamas is also a very good defender, but not considerably fast -
so use him against teams with slower strikers. Putting him in the team against
say, A Madrid, will be suicide. Your GK's are of near the same quality too, but
both have different characteristics. Esteban can deal with aerial threats well,
so use him for teams that like to use wingers that cross. Pinto is better at
rushing out and dealing with one-on-ones, so he's more useful against teams
that play a quick tempo and fast strikers.
You only have 2 strikers worthy of playing in La Liga, so I'd use a 4-5-1
diamond system with two DM's, so you defence has less work to do. Seeing as you
have 4 DM's, with Oubina and Garcia being high quality players, this will help
you play to your strengths. Sell Guayre, as he is an expendable player. Nene
can play as an ARL, but it's best to play him on the left side - this is his
natural foot. He is weak with his right foot, so playing him as an AR will make </pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
crossing for him awkward. Baiano is a fantastic striker, so keep hold of him -
he'll get the majority of your goals. You want to be pumping balls into him as
he's got all the key stats to pummel the ball into the net. In the second
season, Guerrero returns from loan - bring him into the first team and he'll be
like a new signing. There's one player in this team who is worth £1.7m, and how
I don't know. Aspas. He is a D/WBR, so he must be alright at defending, yeah? 3
for tackling and the same for heading. Dispose of this abomination immediately.
It'll be tough to achieve the media's aim of 8th, as this division is full of
quality. Instead of aiming for 8th though go for one higher, and a European
place. The board only want you to finish around 10th though, so there's not
much pressure.
---------
Deportivo
---------
League: La Liga
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Riazor, 34611 seated
Media Expectations: 6th
Board/Fan Expectations: Respectable League Position (both)
Squad Size: 28
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £46.5m (loan debt £41.5m)
Finances: - £2.5m
Transfer Budget: £689k
Wage Budget: £555k
Current Wage Total: £510k
Key Players: Andrade, Colochini, Sergio, Valeron, Capdevila,
Munua
Top 3 Earners: Valeron (£39.5k), Andrade (£37.5k), Valeron
(£37k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Valeron (£6.25m), Coloccini (£5.5m), Sergio
(£4.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Adrian, Barragan, Iago, Carril, Xisco/Castro
Difficulty (/10): 7
Deportivo are not an easy team in the slightest, so don't be fooled by their
relatively strong squad. Regularly in the game they go bankrupt and into
receivership/administration. Your job is to cut off the debt while it's quite
low, and turn the finances around. First off all don't buy any new players, at
all. Secondly, go through the team and offer new wages to everyone, giving cuts
all around - don't be afraid to offer big cuts too, as the player isn't going
to disappear if they don't accept. Aim to halve each players wages. Thirdly,
try and sell Scaloni, Rodri, Taborda and most of your reserves - it doesn't
matter if you don't have anyone left there. Fourth and finally, aim for a
European spot, maybe ECC if you can, as this will reap financial benefits. If
you follow the above points you can turn it around within a year, but if you
don't then the second season you'll be in deep trouble, and may lose your key
players.
Once the finances are in a better state you should focus on improving the
facilities, and with this improving again your layers and finances. If you
have a bigger stadium, it's obvious you can pull in more crowds and get more
money. So by the third/fourth season, you should be able to get £4-5m budgets
or more. When signing players during and after the second season, restrict them
to free transfers and loans. You'll reap the rewards in the future. You have
two GK's of what appears to be the same quality, but Munua is a little better.
He's less eccentric, which is not the best stat to have. If you want to know
what it means, then Aouate will be a lot like David James or Barthez. You have
a very good defensive line-up - Capdevila, Andrade, Coloccini and Pablo are
very solid. You'll need to bring in a new DL in the second season if you can as
back-up. Andrade starts off injured for 2 months, but it won't affect you too
much - La Liga starts nearly a month later than its EPL counterparts. He'll
probably miss 3 games in total. Best to replace him with Lopo for these.
I'd play with a 4-4-2 standard formation or a 4-3-3 for the first 5-6 months,
and then you get Valeron back. He's one of your best players, and you should
use a 4-4-2 diamond when he comes back. When playing a 4-3-3, De Gauzman is
vital. He is extremely versatile, and just by switching his position from DM to
MC you can then change your mentality. He can fill in at DR too. If you manage
to sell enough players, buy an extremely cheap AML in the first year, it's best
to buy old for a short-term solution, as Iago is the only one who can play
there. If you have to pay over £500k, then don't bother, it's not worth it.
You'll have to use Perez from the reserves if Iago gets injured. Arizmendi is
more useful as a striker than an AMR, so use him for this, and it softens the
blow of selling Taborda. You also have Castro who is excellent and comes back
from his loan in the second year, so you don't need any new ST's.
Adrian can turn into a player worthy of a first-team slot too if you train him
well, and give him a few games experience. Alvarez starts off injured too for 5
months, but he is less of a loss than the other two injuries. When you do come
into some money after the first 3ish seasons, you'll have to begin
restructuring the midfield, as most of them will be getting on in age terms.
This is an interesting team for anyone who likes to manage more than just
tactics and players, but the growth of a club and its finances as well.
--------
Espanyol
--------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: EURO Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Lluis Companys, 56000 seated
Media Expectations: 13th
Board/Fan Expectations: Invest in Players + Rebuild Squad/Safe Mid-
Table
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £63m (loan debt £28m)
Finances: - £1.46m
Transfer Budget: £137k
Wage Budget: £474k
Current Wage Total: £408k
Key Players: Kameni, Zabaleta, De La Pena, Tamudo, Rufete,
Jarque
Top 3 Earners: Tamudo (£44.5k), Garcia (£40k), De La Pena
(£37k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Tamudo (£8.75m), Garcia (£5m), Zabaleta (£4.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Soriano, Zabaleta, Kameni, Pedraza
Difficulty (/10): 8
Espanyol will be frustrating, as the board is very contradicting. They want you
to invest and rebuild, but give you less than a £200k budget. It's your defence
that needs the most restructuring. Selling off players is the only way to raise
funds. Chica, Sanchez, Moha, Hurtado, Sa and Lacruz should all be sold if
possible, and then you need to bring in some very good defenders. Garcia,
Jarque, Zabaleta and Torrejon are all good enough to be in the first team. You
have too many DM's as well - Ito may be your best one, but the others are all
under 25 whilst he is 31, so cash in while you can. Sell Pandiani too, as Coro
and Soriano can double up as forwards. This should give you enough funds to buy
a better defence. If not, the reserves can be sold off too. With the team at
the moment, you should alternate between a 4-3-3 defensive and a 4-4-2
diamond/standard. If you buy the right players in defence, you can push for a
much better position than 13th.
Up front Tamudo and Garcia are two fantastic strikers, it's probably best to
use Tamudo in a paartnership with Garcia though - he's extremely creative and a
hard worker. Garcia isn't great at heading, so don't use him in a 4-3-3 unless
you set him as a target man, with ball to feet. De La Pena is one of your best
too, which is why you should use a 4-4-2 in some kind of format so you don't
neglect his talents. It's unlikely that whilst you do manage this club, you'll
ever need a new keeper. Kameni is someone who can carry on developing and is
only 22, he'll cement his place as No 1 for years. If he gets injured, Groka is
more than adequate back-up.
------
Getafe
------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Coliseum Alfonso Perez, 17000 seated
Media Expectations: 11th
Board/Fan Expectations: Safe Mid-Table (both)
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £20.5m
Finances: £797k
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £337k
Current Wage Total: £310k
Key Players: Abbondanzieri, Contra, Celestini, Dorado,
Guiza
Top 3 Earners: Paunovic (£26.5k), Guiza (£19.75k), Pachon
(£17k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Guiza (£4.3m), Del Moral (£3.8m), Redondo
(£3.7m)
Good young/reserve players: Albin, Alexis, Alberto, Del Moral, Jaja
Difficulty (/10): 8
Getafe are one of the tougher teams to manage. Their aspirations are above
their stature and quality, and their facilities are poor for a top flight team
to say the least. They need investment in these, and a bigger stadium. Also,
there are some areas where new players are needed. A DL, AML, ST and another
good GK are required. Abbondanzieri is a keeper who'll keep going and going, so
you don't need to replace him even though he is 33, but require a better back-
up encase he is injured. You also only have two good strikers, so a third on
loan wouldn't do any harm. The best formation by far for this team is a 4-3-3,
but have the wingers doing less crossing from the byline and more of what they
want - set their 'run with ball' to often/always. Albin and Del Moral are two
good youngsters who can make an impact in this league, so make sure to keep
them. There are only two contracts that expire in 2007, but one of them is
Pachon, so renew his. Finally, you may want to hire more scouts to increase
your 'World Knowledge', as you only have one at the moment.
---------
Gimnastic
---------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Nou Estadi, 10000 capacity
Future Stadium: Nou Estadi del Nastic, 16600 seated (10/11/07)
Media Expectations: 20th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £11.5m
Finances: £1.03m
Transfer Budget: £558k
Wage Budget: £229k
Current Wage Total: £183k
Key Players: Manolo, Ruz, Generelo, Juan, Portillo, Campano
Top 3 Earners: Portillo, Campano (both £17.75k), Caceres
(£15.75m)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Portillo (£5m), Campano (£3.4m), Juan (£2.8m)
Good young/reserve players: None
Difficulty (/10): 9
You'd do well to keep this team in La Liga for more than a year. An average
side with few quality players, and a stadium literally smaller than a garden
shed, you can't get much more of a challenge in Spain than this. The fact that
your new, bigger stadium still only holds 16,000 is insulting. It's fine in
goal, with Bizzari and Perez both good GK's, Bizzari the slightly better. Then
it's onto the defence. Llera, Manolo and Caceres will provide decent cover for
the centre, and Ruz is good for the RB position, but there's no natural leader.
Most of these players like Bizzari, so it's bets to play him in goal and having
good understanding amongst your defence.
Buades, Generelo and Morales are the DM's, you should keep so dispose of the
other two. Buades is probably the best nominee for captaincy. Campano is a
fantastic crosser, and Juan is good at set-pieces, so these are your two best
AM wingers. Irurzun is an average AMC who's past it, so you might want to cash
in before his value goes downhill. Gil is better as a forward than an AML, but
again age is taking it's toll. He's terrible with technique, and although he
has immaculate dribbling and finishing his lack of skill at everything else
(apart from technique and passing) makes up for it. He'd be good as a
substitute though, and because of his technique he can pull off some
spectacular stuff as he has high flair - he might go for the odd overhead kick
and try some skill. He's strong on both feet too, which is a plus.
Up front, Portillo is going to have to carry your team, so learn how to
motivate him fast. It's vital that you keep him happy, because if he starts
under performing it may be the end for your survival hopes. He's a determined
player, so he should react well to criticism. Makukula isn't a very good
striker. He has great physical stats, and is good at heading, but that's about
it. His poor off the ball, decisions and team work stats means he will rarely
link up well with anyone.
It's hard to find a formation to suit this team, maybe a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-3-2
would be best. Either way it's going to be a struggle. Sell as much excess
players as you can, and bring in a good DC, DL and ST if possible. Try to avoid
loans, as you already have 5, and when you lose these players you're going to
be in even more trouble next season if you don't have a permanent replacement.
It will be a struggle, and if you can turn this into a mid-table side you're
gifted at the game.
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Levante
-------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Ciutat de Valencia, 25354 seated
Media Expectations: 17th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 31
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £19m
Finances: £2.12m
Transfer Budget: £344k
Wage Budget: £384k
Current Wage Total: £307k
Key Players: Molina, Dehu, Ze Maria, Tommasi, Robert
Top 3 Earners: Luyindula (£26k), Cesar (£24.5k), Ze Maria
(£17.75k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Luyindula (£3.9m), Robert (£3.6m), Dja Ettien
(£3.2m)
Good young/reserve players: Carmelo, Aaron
Difficulty (/10): 7
Levante have, surprisingly for a team just promoted, a good squad. Now the
problem is that most of Levante's best players will soon be hitting Florida in
their retirement homes. Whilst the players in their 20's are ok, once the
golden oldies are gone you're going to have a struggling team on your hands,
one which is worse than Gimnastic. Nothing sums it up more than your
goalkeepers. Molina is your best, who is a good all-round keeper with great
distribution. Second to him is Cavallero, again a trustworthy GK with 16, 17
and 17 in Reflexes, One-on-Ones and Handling respectively, but is not as good
at communicating and distributing as your No.1. He also is not as good under
pressure. He is 32. Goalkeepers can last much longer than other players, even
to their late 30's/early 40's, but you need to start finding replacements for
these players, and grooming them up to be good first team regulars. It's not
going to be easy as you'll never really have a multi-million budget, so improve
your youth facilities and try and find 16/17 year olds (like Stech at West
Ham). These players cost less, and it's more down to you to develop them. Also
keep an eye on free transfers available in January for any players that you can
'rob'.
Dehu is a typical strong centre-back, so it'll be hard for players to simply
run past him. If it's an open game though he may be caught short, as although
he has good acceleration his pace is below average. Make him stay back at
corners. Never partner Dehu with Cesar, as they're both slow players over
long distances. People like Torres, Eto'o and Villa will have a field day if
you do this. Instead partner either of them with Alexis. His tackling, marking
and heading are weaker, but he's fast (16 pace, 16 acceleration), and
aggressive, so it might make less brave players back off. He may now and again
go in for a rash challenge, but if you have the other DC staying back at all
times they'll cover him. Again, the 3 defenders mentioned are your best - Dehu
is 33, Cesar is 29 and Alexis 32. Alvaro is also good for rotation.
Your wings are covered well by Harte and Ze Maria (32 years old) - they're both
not that great at specifically defending, but are good all-rounders, and both
expert set-piece takers. Let them play more attacking roles, especially Harte,
as he has 17 for crossing and is a real threat from distance with his long
shots. Dja Ettien needs to be trained up more. His physical is brilliant, but
he lacks any sort of intelligence, with bad anticipation, decisions, creativity
and composure. If you can train him up to have good technical defensive stats,
he'd be a lot more useful. I'd use him as a sub, bringing him on in the AMR
position at the moment - he is aggressive, brave, and physically fantastic, so
he'll hassle the opposition in the last minutes.
When looking at the midfield and attack, it's again pretty hard to tie the team
down to one formation. Use this to your advantage, as with your players you can
accommodate for different opposition. Tommasi is exceptional (32 years old) - a
driving midfield type player, he's best in DM. You need to bring in an AMR as
well - probably the best option is to get one on loan. Riga is a retard at
controlling the ball, and Carmelo promising, but inconsistent, and needs
developing. The AML side is much better - Robert a veteran winger (32 years
old), one of your best players and lethal from long range - give him a lot of
creative freedom and set long shots to 'often'. He loves to do it, and will
probably get into double figures for you with goals. Courtois is good at
running at people, and Kapo just your normal winger. Up front you have too many
average players, all with different talents - Nino has some awesome stats but
isn't very good at anything else than scoring, so many he is best as a lone
striker. He'll get tired quick too. Luyindula is a clever FC, Manchev quick and
a good finisher and Reggi an aerial threat. I'd sell Reggi and Meyong.
This is a team full of character, but needs youth players NOW. There's not much
cover in DR and DL, you need a standout ST and some good AMR's. A standard 4-4-
2 is best here.
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Mallorca
--------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Son Moix, 23142 seated
Media Expectations: 15th
Board/Fan Expectations: Stay Clear of Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 25
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £30m
Finances: - £2.05m
Transfer Budget: £241k
Wage Budget: £356k
Current Wage Total: £311k
Key Players: Prats, Basinas, Arango, Tristan, Maxi Lopez,
Ibagaza
Top 3 Earners: Basinas (£24.5k), Arango, Ibagaza, Pereyra
(all £17.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Arango (£7.5m), Tristan (£5m), Ibagaza
(£4.4m)
Good young/reserve players: Nsue, Carmona, Ramis, Victor, Moya,
Pisculichi, Jankovic/Peralta, Delibasic
Difficulty (/10): 7
Mallorca, like Deportivo, is another team whose finances need sorting out to
secure their long-term future. It's a little harder here. Do the usual wage
cuts, and trim off the excess players, such as Jose. This is a smaller squad
though than most teams, so you can't make too much money off of that. From the
reserves, it's only worth keeping Peralta, Delibasic and Carmona, so sell off
the rest. You should raise enough funds to go into the blue. In your under 18's
there's a 16 year old with a bright future who's worth keeping tabs on - Nsue.
Let Tristan tutor him during the first season. One positive about Mallorca is
their young talent coming through - it's not up to Arsenal or Udinese
standards, but it's positive nonetheless.
Your GK situation is perfect - you have the old, experienced Prats and the
upcoming Moya. Both will serve you well. The defence is in good shape too - the
majority of your DC's are competent at this level, and Ramis is a promising
youngster, who is already the best DC in your squad. Varela is very useful, as
he can fill in for a number of positions. It's best to use him as a DR, but if
he is needed elsewhere fill in his place with Hector. The obvious tactic to use
for this team is a 4-4-2 diamond attacking. You have some brilliant AM's -
Arango and Ibagaza would walk straight into most first-teams. Using Ibagaza as
a playmaker will work too, as a result of the style of the game in Spain. Up
front you have a partnership that should flourish - Maxi Lopez and Tristan.
With the right service from your AM's, these can be deadly - so focus your team
on attacking. With the rights tactics, and both avoiding injury, you can get a
much higher position than the predicted 15th. Aim for a good cup run too to
sort out the finance.
-------
Osasuna
-------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Reyno de Navarra, 19800 seated
Media Expectations: 7th
Board/Fan Expectations: Qualify for Europe
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Training Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £26m
Finances: £644k
Transfer Budget: £2.06m
Wage Budget: £421k
Current Wage Total: £365k
Key Players: Cruchaga, Cuellar, Juanfran, Raul Garcia,
Soldado, Webo, Ricardo
Top 3 Earners: Milosevic (£32.5k), Valdo (£27.5k), Raul
Garcia (£23k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Raul Garcia (£5.5m), Juanfran (£5.25m), Webo
(£4.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Raul Garcia, Juanfran, Font
Difficulty (/10): 7
Osasuna are a team that came virtually out of nowhere last year to bag the last
ECC spot. If you can get past the group stages of this, you'll really feel it
financially, and by just being entered into the competition you can attract
high-quality players. So don't worry about spending your entire budget if it
puts you temporarily into the red, as you should reclaim it. You also have a
wonderkid in your side, Raul Garcia. Keep hold of him, he'll become your future
talisman and star player (well, he basically is already). He has the quality to
become one of the World's best, so make sure you keep a close eye on how he
reacts to training. Font and Juanfran make up the triplet of young AM stars in
your squad. Like a few Spanish teams, Osasuna have problems with the left side.
The LB position is the most in need of strengthening, but a high-quality AML in
the second season wouldn't go amiss.
Ricardo is a stellar GK, but it's also worth targeting a younger GK to follow
in his footsteps - Elia is just average. You have a brilliant line-up in attack
- use Soldado as much as you can, as he goes back to Madrid after one year. You
can attempt to loan him out again though. Milosevic is a massive aerial threat
to any defence, Webo a quick, pacy striker, and Romeo a player who'll play at
the same level for most of the match, with his high concentration and
anticipation. Plus he's a brilliant finisher and header of the ball to boot.
With all this talent up front, you have to play at least two strikers, so a 4-
4-2 diamond/standard is best, or a 4-1-3-2 with the 3 midfielders across the
middle pushing forward. Aim for consecutive Europe campaigns and this team will
start going through a very encouraging transformation indeed.
------
Racing
------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: El Sardinero, 22124 seated
Media Expectations: 19th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £24.5m
Finances: £323k
Transfer Budget: £172k
Wage Budget: £265k
Current Wage Total: £282k
Key Players: Alfaro, Scaloni, Colsa, Melo, Munitis, Aganzo,
Zigic
Top 3 Earners: Zigic (£30k), Munitis (£26k), Scaloni (£25.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Munitis (£6.75m), Zigic (£4.3m), Melo (£3.8m)
Good young/reserve players: Melo, Vitolo, Jonathan
Difficulty (/10): 9
Racing are a team that will struggle to survive in this league. They lack
quality in goal and defence, and you could be on the end of some major
beatings. You're skills at motivation will be vital. Time for a quick in-depth
look at the defenders. Ruben is physically terrible, Neru only has 10 for
tackling, and shockingly for a professional, it seems like Oriol doesn't know
how to kick a ball. Mora isn't much better, and to top it off is injured for 8
months. Try to rid yourself of all of these. He may be 37, but Alfaro is by far
the best DC in your squad. Despite his advancing years, he has retained not
only his mental and technical stats, but more importantly his physical stats
too. Regragui should partner him, and although he's not necessarily good now
Garay can develop into abetter player.
Loaning in players is vital then, as you can't afford a good DC. The full back
situation is much better, but you need another DL to cover for Fernandez.
Pinillos isn't up to scratch. The midfield is adequate, but again thin in
areas. You have one AMR who is on loan, so look in January to try to find a
permanent replacement for free. Alvarez is the best option to play here, as
Balboa leaves a lot to be desired. Momo is poor too, and you already have two
players who play the exact same positions, so cancel his loan. With the current
players you have, a 4-3-3 defensive (though you don't have to actually play
defensive) or a 4-4-2 standard is the best way to go about tactics.
Your strikers are the best part of your team, so it'll be a case of scoring
more thanyou let in. Zigic is, literally, a massive aerial threat. He is taller
than Peter Crouch, has 20 for heading, 20 for jumping and is strong too. With
the right service he can score many goals for you. If you play a 4-4-2, use him
as atarget man to lay off the quick Aganzo. Aim for him with your corners and
free-kicks too, as you can become deadly at set-pieces. Free transfers are
going to be vital for your team, but that results in people arriving a season
too late.
You need a better defence and a new GK asap, so try to loan in a few. If you
don't, you're unlikely to survive the first year. Also cut the wages, as this
club is too far over its budget. If this means releasing reserves, that's fine,
and make senior players take drops too. With the right transfers though into
the second year, you can start to turn this club around into a safe mid-table
team. It's a tough challenge though, stay away from here if you're new to the
game.
-----------
Real Madrid
-----------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Worldwide
Stadium + Capacity: Santiago Bernabeu, 75328 seated
Media Expectations: 2nd
Board/Fan Expectations: Win The Title (both)
Squad Size: 25
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £383m
Finances: £12.22m
Transfer Budget: £6.89m
Wage Budget: £1.92m
Current Wage Total: £1m
Key Players: Casillas, Cannavaro, Carlos, Ramos, Raul,
Robinho, Beckham
Top 3 Earners: Beckham, Ronaldo, Raul (all £79k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Robinho (£24m), Raul (£18.25m), Diarra (£18m)
Good young/reserve players: Ramos, Robinho, Saldado, Diogo,
Garcia/Woodgate
Difficulty (/10): 2
Real and Barca are just in a totally different league to the rest of this
division. The players here are simply fantastic, but Barca are the better
squad. Regardless of this though it would be a disappointment for this team to
not win the league. Some positions that need strengthening is AMR - only
Beckham is any good on this flank, and younger defenders and a young GK. For
the AMR position, I'd recommend Renato Augusto - touted as the new Ronaldinho.
He can play on the left and in the centre too. Have both Valero and Mata
tutored too to develop them quickly.
It's hard to choose a formation and not have any players go to waste. Maybe a
4-1-3-2, with the 3 midfielders in AM positions, and your DM and Full-backs
pushing up to make sure the attacking players don't get cut off. Also, a 4-4-2
diamond or standard 4-4-2 would work. That's the beauty of the team -
adaptability. If there's one player who is essential to Madrid, it's Raul. A
player who, in the game, is described as a 'born leader', he is a near perfect
footballer, and will unlock many defences. Who you put in attack is up to you -
Van the Man, Ronaldo (who, surprisingly, has fairly good physical stats - his
natural fitness is bad, but because of his low work rate you'll hardly notice
this), Robinho, and Reyes, Cassano and Guti can all play there. Robinho is
probably the best against lower sides, confusing defenders with his skill, but
it may be best to pair the more lethal finishers together against higher
profile teams, to make sure you take your chances.
There's plenty of creativity in the squad - Raul, Guti, Beckham (who is also a
great player in the game) - even your DM Emerson has 17 creativity, and gets
forward whenever possible. True Brazilian eh? Whatever line-up, make sure you
play attacking, as you'll overwhelm many teams, and try to get Carlos and
Cichino running up the flanks as much as you can, as they're two of the finest
full-backs in the World. Set-pieces you're also sorted at - take your pick.
Beckham has 20 for free kicks and corners, Carlos 18 at free-kicks, and many of
them can take corners well. In your reserves it's worth bringing Diogo, Soldado
and Woodgate into the first-team whenever you can, and you also get Baptista
back for 07/08. You can achieve anything with this team, so set your
aspirations high.
-------------
Real Sociedad
-------------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Anoeta, 32000 seated
Media Expectations: 16th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation/Stay Clear of
Relegation
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £33.5m (loan debt £13.75m)
Finances: - £2.04m
Transfer Budget: £68.96k
Wage Budget: £444k
Current Wage Total: £422k
Key Players: Riesgo, Gerardo, Garrido, Aranburu, Uranga,
Stevanovic, Kovacevic, Prieto
Top 3 Earners: Aranburu (£34k), Kovacevic (£24k), Juanito
(£21.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Prieto (£5.75m), Aranburu (£5.5m), Kovacevic
(£5.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Garrido, Stevanovic, Riesgo, Prieto, De Cerio,
Larrea, Oskitz, Agirretxe, Dominguez/Romero
Difficulty (/10): 7
If you can sort out Sociedad's finances, you have a good chance of progressing
with this club. They have quite a few talented youngsters, so the
infrastructure is already in place to progress. Riesgo is a fantastic GK to
have, and is only 22. Goalkeeper's tend to last much longer than their outfield
counterparts, so if you keep hold of him you can forget about the GK area. The
centre of defence could do with improving, but it's not as bad as Racing's
situation. Labaka and Ansotegi are a good partnership, and once Jauregi
recovers from his virus he'll provide good cover. You could do with an extra DC
though, but only loan one in if you don't have to pay much in terms of wages.
Gonzales is just average, and Juanito is poor, so let him find a new club.
You have quality full-backs too. Gerardo is a strong player and a hard worker,
as well as being adept at defending, and Cifu is physically excellent. Rekarte
is good, but because of the other two expendable, so cash in on him before his
value drops. Garrido is another significant young talent on the left, and
through playing games he'll continue to improve. Rossato can fill in should he
pick up an injury, but it's best to use him as an AML - he is skilled at
dribbling, crossing and long shots.
Onto the midfield and there is quite a spread of quality, as you have good
DM's, MC's and AM's. This may seem like a negative aspect, as you can't simply
put your team into one formation and not neglect one of the more talented
players, but it also provides an essential characteristic that teams around you
don't have. If one of your 'big' midfield players do suffer an injury, you can
either replace them with the same position player, or simply switch your
system. It's advisable to do this anyway (rotating your system), as you'll keep
opponents guessing as to what line up and formation they'll face. You can adapt
to all the4-3-3 mentalities, 4-4-2 standard and diamond, 4-1-3-2 and other
formations that may be more obscure.
So who are the key midfielders? Aranburu is a determined, hard-working,
aggressive midfielder who'll help drive the team forward and grind out results,
Rivas a strong-tackling DM, Stevanovic creative and aggressive, Prieto a
highly-talented youngster who has great flair and technique, is fast to
boot too, Uranga who's physically excellent and the creative Novo. Most of
these players, as mentioned in some cases, are aggressive and determined. So
even if you're 2-0 down they can still pull off a result, and shouldn't be too
hard to motivate. Discipline may be a problem though.
Up front Kovacevic is just the player you'd want. He has all a striker's needed
skills, and is lethal with both his feet and head. De Cerio is a promising
striker, and you can tutor him too, so have Uranga do this. In your reserves
you have a 19 year old who can turn out to be a star - Aggriexte. He's a
similar type of player to Kovacevic, so it's logical for him to be tutored by
Kova, and when the latter retires you should have a natural replacement. Bring
him into the first team too, and give him games in cup matches and against
lower opposition. You may as well sell Skoubou - you wouldn't be short of
forwards, as Uranga can play up front too.
I earlier mentioned about cutting costs, but it isn't that hard with a team
like this. Take for instance Juanito. He shouldn't even be in your team he's
that much of a disgrace, yet he's your third highest earner. Felicio takes home
£10k a week. So it should be quite easy to give these players cuts, and if not
just terminate their contracts, or sell them. This combined with normal cuts
should save you a good amount of money. If you sell off the excess players in
the first team too you can make a few million. Also, in your reserves, you have
3 good AMC youngsters, which is a problem. You'll never play with 3 AMC's, and
seeing as Stevanovic in the first team is only 21. So you may as well try to
sell one of these. I recommend Rodriguez, as he is the one of the oldest and
has less potential to become a better player.
This team a few years ago came out of nowhere to claim 2nd. You won't repeat
that, but this isn't a team that should be lounging around near relegation. If
you improve the defence with free transfers for the second year, you can begin
to turn this into a team breaking into the top 10, and eventually get them into
Europe, though it won't happen instantly. Not for those who get bored quickly
of one team.
----------
Recreativo
----------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: Nuevo Colombino, 19860 seated
Media Expectations: 18th
Board/Fan Expectations: Fight Against Relegation (both)
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Average Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £12m
Finances: - £255k
Transfer Budget: £223k
Wage Budget: £206k
Current Wage Total: £145k
Key Players: Vallejo, Merino, Arzo, Moya, Cazorla,
Pongolle, Vazquez, Guerrero, Rosu
Top 3 Earners: Rosu (£22k), Mario (£13.75k), Juanma, Moya
(Both £13.25k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Uche (£3.6m), Rosu (£2.9m), Cazorla (£2.3m)
Good young/reserve players: Cazorla, Uche/Jimenez
Difficulty (/10): 10
If you want a challenge, look no further. This is possibly the toughest team in
the game. Reason #1 - the squad. You have 1 good GK, Vallejo, and after him the
other two will just be collecting the ball out of the net. Then your defence.
With the exception Merino and Arzo, it's deplorable. The problem is, with the
exception of Poli, everyone else's pace is equal to or below 11. This is a
league with players like Torres, Eto'o, Robinho, Saviola and Villa - they'll
simply outrun your players. To combat this, you'll have to sit extremely deep,
so they can't catch you out. Poli would be good on the left, but he isn't great
at the basics of defending - tackling, marking etc. The full-back positions are
a worryingly thin area though - worse than Keira Kinghtley. If you have one of
them injured, then someone will most likely have to play completely out of
position.
The midfield is in a slightly better condition. Viqueira is a worthy DM, and as
a result of his talents at attacking you can switch him to AMC too, making him
useful for when you need to go attacking in the last 10 or so minutes to gain
more points. This means you won't have to bring on a sub to do this. Vazquez is
a rounded central midfield player but doesn't excel in any areas, Cazorla one
of your best players and is extremely promising - the only highlight of the
team, and Aitor is just mediocre. Pongolle may be better as a striker, but in
this team he'd serve more use as an AML. Up front you have Rosu and Guerrero
who are both left footed, so they might not work together very well. If
you do play them together, play Guerrero on the left as he is a better
finisher. Calle is quick and can score easily, so he's useful too. All the
others are verging on/already diabolical. Take Uche. Wow he has great physical
stats, but can't do sweet FA with a football. He suits athletics more, and is
the worse type of player possible for Spanish football. He may fare better in
the Premiership though, so try and sell him to an English club.
Reason #2 - the majority of your best players are on loans. The team has no
less than 7 loaned players. When these inevitably depart, it's going to be even
tougher in a year's time. No matter what success you have. So the second season
you'll have to trawl through the big teams reserves, hoping you can get more
loans in, as you won't be able to afford to buy players outright. Free
transfers will be vital to you, as you need permanent men. Yet many of your
targets won't want to come to such a low profile club. Jimenez, in your
reserves, is a good player, so he can take Pongolle's place when he leaves. The
worse situation by far though is in goals. You have two of them leaving to go
back to their clubs, and one who isn't anywhere near good enough to be first-
team GK. So you really to find a keeper or two for the second season.
Reason #3 - the finances. They're on a knife edge, and if you bring in free
players with too high wages, you'll start going deep into the red. Even if you
avoid relegation, the second season will be even harder, and you'll have to
break the cycle of dependency on loans. Only choose this club if you're an
expert at the game or fancy a serious challenge - newcomers should stay away.
Move on to Sevilla. NOW.
-------
Sevilla
-------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: EURO Cup, European Super Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, 45500 capacity
(40000 seated)
Media Expectations: 4th
Board/Fan Expectations: Respectable/Qualify for Europe
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £102m
Finances: £4.45m
Transfer Budget: £3.79m
Wage Budget: £662k
Current Wage Total: £551k
Key Players: Palop, Alves, Adriano, Poulsen, Navas, Fabiano
Top 3 Earners: Poulsen (£35.5k), Renato (£33k), Alves
(£31.5k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Fabiano (£9.25m), Alves (£8.5m), Navas (£8m)
Good young/reserve players: Navas, Adriano, Puerta, Lolo, Kepa, Alfaro,
Vera/Hornos, Antonio, Gallardo, Makukula
Difficulty (/10): 4
If you're new to the game, take a look at this team. It's a comfortable place
to start. If you feel that you're skilled, it's also a challenge - to start
winning the league with them. It's certainly not out of reach. The centre of
defence needs some investment. Whilst Lolo, Navarro, Escude and Ocio are all
good, you need to buy someone who'll stand out and be a rock in the centre.
It's best to go for someone young with great potential, but that doesn't mean
they have to be 18/19 - 23 or 24 will do. This will probably take up most of
your budget, but don't just purchase someone for the sake of it - bide your
time if needs be to bring in the right player. Take a look at Heitinga,
Ayathami and Pique. In the second season, look for a relatively young GK who
can be a nurtured into becoming a long-term replacement for Palop, as he'll be
33 then. Don't drop him though, as he is a brilliant GK.
Whilst the centre of your defence may lack star quality, the full-backs you
have are simply outstanding. Dani Alves is one of the best in the entire game,
and with the right training Adriano can be his equal. Your DR and DL positions
are sorted for about a decade before you'll need to consider replacements, plus
Hinkel and Lopez make excellent back-up. Alves and Adriano are brilliant at
attacking too, so let them have free reign on the wings. The midfield is
perfect for just a standard 4-4-2, with some great DM's that would dominate the
centre of midfield - Renato, Poulsen, and the creative Marseca, and first class
wingers. Jesus Navas will be a major player in your future, but for the time
being you need to whip him into better physical shape. I'd play Renato as an MR
while you do this. On the left side you have Duda and Puerta who can both
deliver brilliant crosses. Jesuli is a player worth selling to increase your
budget, as he is pretty redundant here. Up front you have a splendid selection
of strikers. They're all pretty balanced, so it's useful for rotating and if
one goes off form, but the standout player is Fabiano. Train Kepa and have him
tutored by Kanoute. All of them, apart from Sanchez, are worth playing.
Big teams will probably try to poach your players, but don't give an inch. Some
of them, like Alves, would take millions to replace. In your reserves you may
as well sell players like Antonio and Hornos - their value is above their
ability, so you can make good money. This club can be developed into a title
chasing team with ease, so you should set yourself the target of winning the
title within 3 seasons. Silverware is possible in the first year - even in your
first game! You open your career with a match against Barcelona, in the
European Super Cup. Try to win one of the major cups, and aim for ECC
qualification in the first year. Also, invest in your training facilities so
your club is more attractive to players, and aid the development of your hot
prospects.
--------
Valencia
--------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: European Champions Cup
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: Mestalla, 55000 seated
Future Stadium: Nuevo Mestalla, 75000 capacity (01/07/09)
Media Expectations: 3rd
Board/Fan Expectations: Qualify for Europe/Challenge for the Title
Squad Size: 27
Training Facilities: Good Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £193m (loan debt £34.5m)
Finances: £3.33m
Transfer Budget: £689k
Wage Budget: £551k
Current Wage Total: £474k
Key Players: Canizares, Ayala, Albiol, Miguel, Albelda,
Vicente, Joaquin, Villa
Top 3 Earners: Canizares (£27.5k), Del Horno, Miguel,
Vicente, Joaquin, Morientes, Albelda, Villa
(all £24k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Villa (£24m), Joaquin (£17m), Vicente
(£15.25m)
Good young/reserve players: Albiol, Silva, Gavilan, Sisi, Ruz/Fiore,
Caneira, Estoyanoff
Difficulty (/10): 3
Valencia are a team that's not quite a superpower of Spanish football, but a
stage ahead of all the other teams below Real and Barca. They need a couple of
well thought out investments to push them to the top level. Players like
Canizares and Ayala need to have apprentices coming in that can replace them
when they finally decide to call it a day. You need a younger DM and a striker
in their mid-20's as well. If you bring in 4 quality players in these
positions, it'll help bridge the gap. You can't do this immediately, owing to
your limited budget, but come January should you have had some success in
Europe you'll have more funds at your disposal.
Canizares and Ayala themselves are legends for your team. There's not much I
can say about the first, just look at his stats, but Ayala is VITAL to your </pre><pre id="faqspan-5">
team. He is sometimes described in the game as being a 'born leader', and the
rest of your team look up to him. Don't drop him even if he reaches 36/37. The
only dilemma is he is starting to feel homesick. A way to combat this is
offering him a new contract as soon as you arrive, and when you do buy players,
buy someone Argentinean so he has company. Luckily though, you also have a
wonderkid defender in the pipeline - Raul Albiol. For a few years you'll have a
partnership of tow of the best DC's in the game, but then Albiol will
eventually replace Ayala. Train him well and keep a close eye on how he reacts
to his schedule, as At the moment it's worth loaning in a DL for 6 months, as
Del Horno is injured. You can play Moretti there, but should he pick up an
injury you'll be in trouble, so loan one in.
With the midfield it's best to alternate between a standard 4-4-2 and a diamond
version. You have an absolutely star studded line up here, with Joaquin and
Vicente on the wings, and the choice of Albelda, Barajo, Edu and Tavano in the
centre (Tavano strictly playing in midfield in the diamond version). Try and
play Gavilan and Silva as well to develop them. You have too many AM's, so you
might want to offload Regueiro and one of either Angulo or Lopez, to fund the
players recommended earlier that you require. Try to improve Viana's physical
stats, but if that doesn't work sell him off too. Up front you have one of the
best strikers in the game. Villa is everything you could want from a striker,
with his perfect finishing the pick of his stats. Big teams will come in for
him, but don't sell him whatever the price, as he is irreplaceable. Silverware
will be key to ensuring he doesn't start getting cold feet. There's a good
chance that he'll link up well with Morientes too - Fernando is an intelligent
player, and will open up gaps for Villa, and score himself. You can play Tavano
here too.
Before I move off the players, I need to bring your attention to something.
Valencia have one of the best wage structures in the World. Nearly all the key
players are on £24,000. So, when buying a player, don't give him over £30k - if
you do, everyone will want to match him. Keep future players contracts level
with the squad's.
One element here that you should make a priority is improving the facilities.
At the moment they're extremely poor for an ECC club, so need a lot of funding.
By 2009, you should have cemented yourself as one of the heavyweights in this
division with the right investments in players, improved facilities and a brand
new 75000 seated stadium. Whether you can become the dominant team is the real
challenge here.
----------
Villarreal
----------
League: La Liga
Continental Competition: EURO Vase
Reputation: Continental
Stadium + Capacity: El Madrigal, 23000 seated
Media Expectations: 5th
Board/Fan Expectations: Respectable (both)
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities + Youth Academy
Estimated Value: £40m
Finances: £4.55m
Transfer Budget: £3.44m
Wage Budget: £601k
Current Wage Total: £491k
Key Players: Viera, Pena, Arruabarrena, Tacchinardi,
Riquelme, Nihat, Forlan, Rodriguez, Cani
Top 3 Earners: Nihat (£52k), Riquelme (£34.5k), Rodriguez
(£32k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Riqeulme (£17m), Forlan (£9.25m), Cani (£6.5m)
Good young/reserve players: Jonathon, Enrique, Barbosa, Arzo, Xisvo,
Valencia, Rodriguez
Difficulty (/10): 5
Villareal, despite their ECC adventure, under preformed last year, and now
you're paying the price of only being entered into the EURO Vase. There's one
area that needs focusing on so you can progress to being one of the bigger
clubs in the league. As in many cases, no prizes for guessing it's the defence.
Whilst it is fairly good, you need a star to lighten it up, so go onto player
search, filter out young defenders (17-24) and go for the ones you can afford.
It's a big budget for a Spanish team, so you should be able to bring someone
in. During the second season you'll receive a major boost here as Rodriguez
returns from injury. For veteran FMers you may know him as Gonzalo from
previous incarnations. He's an awesome defender, and even more amazing is the
fact he is only 22. Imagine what he could be like at 29/30! When he returns
from injury in 9 months, ease him back into training for the first couple of
weeks, then put him on a tough pre-season program so he's ready for the 07/08
campaign.
Out of your other DC's, Fuentes and Pena are both good, and Alvarez is fine as
long as you play him alongside a faster partner. You have 2 fantastic GK's -
both are of near enough the same quality, but Viera seems to edge it. Yet the
squad likes Barbosa. You may as well rotate them and see who does best - i.e.
give them 4 or 5 game stints. Cygan is slow and can't keep his focus, and more
importantly bald, and Dani has the attention span of a fish. You don't need
either. You don't need to bring any DR's in as it's a position where filled
with adequate enough players already.
Now onto the midfield, and the undoubted star of the team - Riquelme. He has
the best technical stats in the entire game. Plus his mental stats -
creativity, composure, concentration, are all so high that he'll pull off moves
effortlessly. I don't understand why his strength isn't higher, because if you
watch a real-life match he is incredibly hard to barge off the ball. The only
weakness he has is his effort, but with his ability he'll rip apart any
defence. Nihat is a star too, and has an extremely harsh valuation. He
can work magic in tight spaces with fairly good first touch and excellent
agility, and is an natural finisher. His composure lets him down, so he is
likely to miss one-on-ones, but nevertheless he is one of the stronger payers
in your team. Best to use him in attack though, as know one will be better than
Riquelme in the AMC position.
On the wings you should use Jose Mari and Cani as AMR and AML respectively.
Another star you have in the making is Jonathon. Have him tutored by Riquelme
and train him well, and he'll develop beyond belief. Tacchinardi is a good DM
along with Senna. Sell Josico and in the second season try to buy Denilson from
Arsenal, when Tacchinardi returns to Juve. A 4-4-2 diamond is the only way to
play with this team to get the best out of Riquelme. Set him to being a
playmaker, and give him a free role and as much creative freedom as the game
allows. Up front Forlan is deadly, don't be put off by him failing at Man Utd.
Again though, like Nihat, he suffers from bad composure. You're a little short
on strikers, so search in the free market in January and in the summer
preceding the second season, and bring in some who has good composure along
with finishing, so they can put away all the chances Riquelme creates.
This team has some traits of its recent second division spell, in the fact that
the facilities, including the size of the stadium, are all substandard for a
continental team. Ask the board to improve each one of them. You should aim for
fourth/fifth in your first year, and you need to take this team to being title
challengers. It's unlikely they'll ever match Barca and Real, but that does not
mean you can't have a pop at the title each year.
--------
Zaragoza
--------
League: La Liga
Reputation: National
Stadium + Capacity: La Romareda, 34700 seated
Media Expectations: 10th
Board/Fan Expectations: Stay Clear of Relegation/Safe Mid-Table
Squad Size: 26
Training Facilities: Adequate Training Facilities
Youth Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities
Estimated Value: £34m
Finances: £1.3m
Transfer Budget: £344k
Wage Budget: £403k
Current Wage Total: £348k
Key Players: Sanchez, G Milito, Ponzio, Zapater, Aimar, D
Milito
Top 3 Earners: G Milito (£28k), D'Alessandro (£27.5k),
Movilla (£24k)
Top 3 Most Valuable: Aimar (£7.5m), Ewerthon (£6.75m), Zapater
(£4.9m)
Good young/reserve players: Zapater, Lafita, Longas, Herrero/Generelo,
Corona
Difficulty (/10): 5
This is a team that you can drag up to Europe, but it'll require some work to
progress during the first few seasons. You need to bring in a new GK for the
second season, as beyond Sanchez the squad is devoid of quality here. If you
can loan in someone this season it'd be extremely helpful. This team have
quality in depth in the defence - Milito and Ponzio are stars,, and having
Pique on loan for a year is a boost as well. If you play him regularly, he'll
be totally different in July to the 19 year old you had in September. Sergio is
reliable as back-up as well, but Jimenez is an expendable player. The wings are
covered well enough for this year, but Diogo returning to Madrid will be
somewhat of a blow. For the second season I'd look for a DC, DR and DL on the
free market, or as loans.
Next is the midfield, and a 4-4-2 diamond is the way to go. You have a great
AMC in Aimar who'll prove useful in frequently threading balls through to your
strikers. Zapater should be your first choice DM, though Celades is perfectly
fine to play there too, and Movilla can fill in should the situation arise. Now
I'm going to recommend something which a few people may disagree with. Sell
Ewerthon. He doesn't bring anything special to the team that Lafita can't do,
and he has a huge value. See if any clubs are interested in him, and if not by
August, put him on the transfer list. Set his value to around £8m so clubs
don't try to rip you off. If you succeed in selling him the financial benefits
are huge. You have an agreed price with Genoa for Diego Milito of £3.1m, so you
could easily afford that, and you can purchase either Diogo or D'Alessandro for
a cheap price. If either of them don't appeal to you, with the extra few
million you can dip into the transfer market or scrounge around the reserves of
big clubs.
Up front, Milito, Garcia and Lafita can pose a threat to most opposition, but
for the tougher teams you'll have to rely on Aimar to basically spoon feed them
chances. Try to claim a spot in Europe and it'll help the team massively.
*More Teams To Be Added At A Later Date*
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 3. Players | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[50_Cent]
'The people you want to stay, won't, and the people you want to leave, you
can't get rid of.' - Imhansen, speaking the truth about transfers. Of course,
player recommendations will be found here for replacements for those who leave,
or just to strengthen the squad.
This section is going to be started in the next update. It is pretty tough to
display player information though, so I'd like to know your opinions on the
following elements of what'll make up the Players section. I'm thinking of
taking this format, so any feedback would be great:
Player Name
Preferred Positions (i.e. Natural + Accomplished)
Positions
Age
Nationality
Personality
Starting Club
Starting Value
Contract Expiry
Strengths (i.e. finishing 18, crossing 19)
Weaknesses (i.e. passing 7, bravery 4)
Notes
The strengths and weaknesses are there because, even though over time player
stats tend to change, the best ones/worst ones normally remain that way.
Someone, whose best stat is finishing, will normally always have this as his
best stat.
I'm thinking also of these categories:
WONDERKIDS
NORMAL TARGETS
LOWER LEAGUE TARGETS
TIGHT BUDGET TARGETS
Each will be split up into Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and attackers.
If you think you have a better idea for categories, or wish to do feedback on
the proposed player format, e-mail me here:
Englandtowineuro2004 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Thanks.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
3.1 Basic Information
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[John_Kemeny]
Players have an increased sense of individuality in this version of FM, to go
with the depth already in the game regarding their stats. Over time, this
section will include stat analysis - what each stat means in terms of playing
the game, stat/player relationship - how important the stats are to each
position, how to deal with different personalities and what you can already see
below, transfer tips for maximising your chance of buying the best player.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Transfer Tips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a big world out there, and when you're looking for a certain player there
are many opportunities. Here are some tips on how to get the best player at the
best value:
- This is a MAJOR POINT. Put December 31st/January 1st in you diaries, as this
is when in the game many players contracts become unprotected, 6 months before
expiry. Simply go into Player Search, then filters, then contract status,
expiring. Here you can search for all the players you can get on a free, and
it's especially useful if you're on a tight transfer budget. It can be handy
for the bigger clubs too - now and again a big name can appear on there, I've
snatched up Ibrahimovic in the past for nothing. Don't let any players demand
too high a wage though - it is likely you can get one similar with better wage
demands.
- When offering for a player you desperately want, it is possible to get him
much cheaper. If the club are specifically looking for a player, it will tell
you when you make the offer (i.e. Bayern looking for an ML) at the bottom of
the screen in yellow. If you have a player you want to get rid off in this
position, try offering him as well, and it may knock some of the price off.
- Don't go mad spending money on one player. Set a limit - say £8m for a player
worth £5m, and don't go above that. You can get someone as good for a better
value.
- Look in South America and obscure European Countries. Players values are
worth less here, but the players can just be as good, even better, than their
expensive counterparts.
- When offering for a younger player, the percentage of next sale, money after
international appearances and league appearances will be highly influential in
the offer.
- When offering for an older player, the first two in the above will become
less significant in helping lower the up-front fee in the offer.
- When buying a player, look at the languages he can speak and his teamwork
stat. If he can speak the same language as the nationality of the club, and has
high team work (determination may help too), he'll fit into the team quicker.
If he doesn't speak the language of the nationality of the club, but many squad
players can speak the same language as him, it'll still be helpful.
- When buying South American players, if they have a second nationality that is
an EU one (like Spanish or Italian), they'll be granted a work permit.
- When selling players, don't always offer them to clubs. This makes you seem
desperate, and you'll get ripped off with an undervalue offer. Also, when
setting their status to transfer listed, if you set their squad status to
indispensable or important you may get better offers. Also, clubs tend to offer
a good bit lower than a player's asking price. Set the asking price around 25
percent higher than his value to accommodate for this - clubs should still be
attracted, and their offers should near enough match his value.
- Loaning players in can be incredibly useful. Also, if you look through the
bigger teams and see which players they're not playing (the nearer to 0
appearances the better), they may accept a loan offer for that player.
- Always check through teams like Chelsea's reserves. They may neglect a good
player who'd be useful for your squad. When looking for players, view their
contracts and see if they have the status 'not needed by club' or 'backup to
squad'. They may not be listed but a club will listen to offers for this
player.
- It may seem obvious, but any player who is indispensable to a club is going
to cost a lot more than his value, regardless of if it's a small club or big
club.
- Regularly check the transfer list. Players can become unhappy and placed on
there, and you'll get them at a knocked price the majority of the time. It's
always worth offering a lot lower than the asking price, and the club will
negotiate with you. It's best to do this when offering for any player, but
specially useful for those who are listed.
- The more the managers dislike you in the game, the more they'll charge you.
If they like you, you may get their players for cheaper.
- If the player has your club in his favoured clubs, or a squad member is one
of his favoured personnel, he will be more likely to join.
- It is harder to sell an injured player, but you can use this to your
advantage. See a good player you want who is injured? You may be able to get
him at a knock down price.
- As a lower league team, check the players who's contracts have expired, or
who aren't attached. You can find some golden oldies here, whose experience can
be vital for your team. As they don't have a club they won't be demanding too
high a wage either, and are useful for tutoring talent in your club.
Hopefully that will help you when searching for players. If there is anything
that isn't here that you've picked up on, tell me about it and I'll stick it in
the above list.
*More Player Information to Be Added At A Later Date*
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 4. Formations and Tactics | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Christmas_Tree]
Ah, tactics. The heart of the FM Games. Also, as it is at the centre of playing
FM, it is also one of the more difficult sections to cover. Hence the majority
of contributions in the whole of the FAQ are contained here. This section will
start off with a general guide on the many aspects of the tactics system,
before moving on to give you some custom made tactics submitted by users. With
the latter, any feedback would be extremely helpful, and will also be posted in
the FAQ, so I can get a real sense of which tactics work and any which should
be removed from the FAQ.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
4.1 General Guide to Tactics
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[Sun_Tzu]
So you don't have a clue about what to say at half-time, the relations between
Mentality and Defensive Line, Opposition Instructions or why Drogba just can't
fucking score! Well here is a guide to how near enough each aspect works.
Please note this is a section in construction.
~~~~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Team-Talks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~~~~
*CONTRIBUTED BY ED*
Your side has just triumphed in the most thrilling Cup Final ever played, and
completely outplayed your supposedly superior opponents. When the lads finally
get back to the dressing room, you give them a brief message to go and enjoy
all the success that comes their way, but team talks are never always this
easy, as many managers have found out over the two versions of Football Manager
that have included this feature. Arguably an extremely good addition allows,
this allows you to interact with your squad more, and show your personality to
them, and vice versa at some opportunities.
In FM 2007, the pre-match team talks that are an option to give your players is
new, and may take some getting used to. Of course, there is always the chance
to let your assistant take charge of these pre and post match chats, as well as
the half time talks - but where's the fun in that? Of course each club is a
different situation and had different elements to psyching up the players.
There is no 'one key fits all' way of doing successful team-talks. So
whichever stance you like to take when talking to your players, all can be
right in different scenarios. There is no doubt that a good team talk can prove
the difference between winning and losing a game, and sometimes you have to be
spot on with decisions.
To find out how players react to your team-talks, you need to go to the page
displaying your squad, then in the bottom left you will see 'assistant advice'.
Hover over this and click the second option 'Get Team Talk Feedback'. This will
show how each player is reacting, and whether some players react differently to
praise or punishment. You can also get an idea of your player's personality by
looking at how media comments have an effect on them - some may be made more
nervous before a game, some fired up. The morale shown on the team screen is
also linked to your team talks. For example, if a player is playing
particularly badly, and low on confidence, a bit of encouragement would help
him a great deal, rather than the hairdryer treatment. On the other hand, a
player with high morale may be playing poorly, therefore meriting a harsh word
or two at half time. After one or two friendlies have been played, you might
get a rough idea of what your players respond to well, and not so well. If a
certain player doesn't respond well to something the team usually does, it is
important to address him personally.
So what should be accepted as a decent standard of performance? It completely
depends on the standard of your side, and the opposition, and also, the level
of morale the player has. Generally, a rating of 7 or 8 would be good, with
anything higher exceptional. But if you're side is Chelsea, and you're taking
on a Conference side in the FA Cup, a rating of 9 or 10 would probably only be
acceptable, but maybe a 6 or a 7 would be considered very good if you were the
opposite manager.
--------------------
Pre-Match team talks
--------------------
This new feature in FM 2007 can determine whether your side flies out of the
blocks, or looks lacklustre from the word go. The best one to go with here is
'You can win this' - giving a moral boost to your side. Another common
selection would be 'For the fans'. This could be used when playing against big
rivals of the club, or on a big night, such as a Cup Final or European match.
'I expect a win here' - this feature should be used when being particularly
harsh with your side. If you are a super-power of world football playing
against a lower league side then the above selection may well be right. Also,
if in the previous match you had told the players that you expect a similar
performance every week then this could be used. One that you should rarely use
in competitive games is 'Go out and enjoy yourselves.' This could give off the
wrong signal to the players, and when using this players don't play to their
best.
There is a limited amount of options in the Pre-match team talks, as a ball
hasn't yet been kicked. Therefore, you cannot assess the players performances.
----------------------------------
Half time and Full time team talks
----------------------------------
Here, there is a more varied selection of options you can use to get your point
across to your players. Depending on your latest score or result, different
menus will be available to select from. Here is some advice on different team
talk options:
Anger
-----
This feature of the team talks can be used if you're side is trailing by 2 or
more goals at half time, and playing poorly. Give more leniency when playing
away from home however, and look at the form and standard of your opposition
when considering whether to give someone the hairdryer treatment. Some options
that are shown are 'Angry' or 'I expect nothing less than a win here.' However,
using this may result in worse morale of the team, and a news article on your
anger may well flash up in your e-mail inbox after the match. The 'Angry'
option should only be used at full time if both first half and second half
performances have been unacceptable. If improvements have been shown, then the
next option is probably correct.
Disappointment
--------------
At half time, the disappointed option will be there if your side is winning,
but if you are losing, then 'I expect more from you' may well be the desired
option. If you have created many chances in the first half, but have failed to
convert any, this could be used as an individual criticism for your more
attacking players. If losing by a single goal and not playing well, this is
also the correct option. It lets the players know that you're not happy with
them, without completely letting rip into them.
Encouragement
-------------
Probably the safest option to use here, with nothing bad that can come from it
at half time. If the score is 0-0, or a low scoring game in which no side has
dominated, then some encouragement may be what the players need to find the
extra incentive to win the match. Even if you're winning, this option would be
good to let the players know that the game is not yet won. Individual
encouragement for players with ratings of 5 or 6 could also prove useful. Of
course, this option is unavailable at full time, as there is nothing to
encourage.
Sympathy
--------
An option that is relatively redundant, unless a loss or draw has been snatched
from the jaws of victory. We all know about the late goals that the computer
always tend to score against us, and if this is the case, some sympathy at full
time might be a good option. At half time, the closest option to this would be
'One goal is all we need for the win you deserve.' This tells the players that
they are playing well, but could inspire them to a winning goal.
Pleased
-------
A tricky one, especially at half time. If you tell the players that you are
pleased with their performance, it could tell them that they need to do nothing
more and sit back in the second half. This is dangerous, so try to restrict
this to when your side are at least 2 or 3 goals up, depending on opposition.
At full time, some praise would be the right thing to do if the team has won by
1 or 2 goals with a good, solid performance. Individual praise could be given
if a player has a rating of 8 or 9.
Delighted
---------
This should almost never be used at half time, unless in exceptional
circumstances. If your side is 4 or 5 goals ahead and cruising to victory, then
this might not do any harm once in a while. At full time, a win by 3 or more
goals could warrant special praise, but only if it was capped with a highly
impressive performance.
Guarding against complacency
----------------------------
This is good at half time if your side is 1 goal up and not letting the
opposition have a sniff. It shows that you are pleased with the performance,
but know that one mistake could throw it all away. It is advisable not to use
this at full-time though, as most players will react negatively to this sort of
comment from you.
For team-talks you should now be sorted. By following these points you'll get
the best out of your team, otherwise you have the motivational skills of drying
paint.
(The above Team-talk section was contributed by, and is the work of, Ed. Round
of applause for such a good explanation!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tactical Diagnosis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*CONTRIBUTED BY ASMODEUS*
Ever play FM and get that feeling of Déjà vu? Keep letting in last minute goals
every match? Your team been watching too much of Lennox Lewis' videos? Well
you've come to the correct place. Here is where ailments are examined that many
face, and remedies are drawn up to the problems. This will be added to
overtime, so there is an encyclopaedia of solutions to the any problems people
face in the world of Football Manager. This is the tactical diagnosis clinic.
If you have some symptoms showing, please E-mail me at Englandtowineuro2004
[at] hotmail [dot] com, and we'll do the best I'll do the best I can to rectify
the situation.
---------------
The Common Cold
---------------
Not necessarily a debilitating illness, the common cold is more frustrating
than anything else. It can cause lapses in concentration, messy goalkeeping and
leaky defences. If you aren't careful the common cold can be highly contagious,
and spread like wildfire across back fours and threes alike.
Symptoms
--------
- Defenders making errors: giving the ball away, dwelling on the ball for too
long, playing ridiculous back-passes.
- Goalkeeper makes calamitous mistakes, dribbling outside the area, giving the
ball away.
Diagnosis
---------
- Your defenders/goalkeeper have too much creative freedom.
- Your defence have no readily available passing options.
- Your defenders are too hurried in possession.
- Your defence is unable to adapt to your passing system.
- Your goalkeeper/defenders' mentality is too high.
Remedies
--------
- Decrease creative freedom for defence/goalkeeper to 5 or below ("little").
- Make sure mentalities for your midfield are close to or mirror that of your
defence.
- Decrease team tempo, or perhaps adopt a less direct passing style.
- Increase attacking training for your defenders (to improve their passing), or
change their passing style to one less technically demanding
(normal/direct/long- 6 or above).
- Reduce goalkeeper/defender mentality so they are less inclined to hit forward
passes and (for keepers) stray off their line.
- If Defenders dally on the ball and give up possession, reduce try through
balls on DCs.
---------
Impotence
---------
Your build-up is impeccable, your intentions good, but you simply cannot score.
Possibly the most frustrating FM ailment of all; chance after chance spurned
with no end product, only to see your rival march in and finish the job with
the first opportunity he gets.
Symptoms
--------
- Firing blanks: plenty of shots on goal, very few of which are on target.
- One-on-ones: you're clean through, the nerves kick in, and you've blown it.
- Backlash: some other git marches in and penetrates instantly, with
devastating effect.
Diagnosis
---------
- Some self-analysis required here: find out who's getting the chances, and
subsequently spurning them; then consider the following.
- Too many long shots: players are hitting over ambitious thirty-yard
piledrivers into row z.
- Too much creative freedom: can cause the above.
- Your players are too hurried and lose their composure in front of goal.
- Your players are nervous and will miss one-on-ones.
- Your strikers are going through a bad patch, and morale is low.
- Your players are being selfish and shooting when the better option would be
to pass or square the ball.
Remedies
--------
- Watch match highlights comprehensively to find out the type of chances you're
creating (and missing).
- Reduce individual long shot instructions to "rarely."
- Reduce creative freedom for players spurning chances.
- Lower team tempo, particularly if playing a short passing game.
- Keep an eye on a player's personality screen, particularly after your pre-
match media comments. Use individual team talks to relax them, or reassure
them you have faith in their ability.
- Increase shooting training for the player, and see above for morale.
- Lower creative freedom and if they have a passing option available, set
"cross ball" to "mixed" or "often."
----------------
Thatcher's Elbow
----------------
*CONTRIBUTED BY MILLIE*
Every game and a half somebody throws an elbow, a forehead or two feet at the
oppositions' head or/and abdomen, and gets himself a five match ban and the
club picks up a huge fine for ill-discipline. Named after the disease was first
discovered in El Bastardo, aka Ben Thatcher.
Symptoms
--------
- More than half-a-dozen sending off's in a season for violent conduct.
- Every defender seems to bring down the opposition when they're the last
defender.
- Repeated instances of players getting second yellow cards.
- Losses due to a reduced shape and reduced man power.
Diagnosis
---------
- Your players are too aggressive in a bad way.
- Your players are too fired up for the game.
- Your players are getting frustrated in a game they feel should be going their
way.
- Your defenders are getting caught out of position and forced to make last
ditch, unwinnable tackles.
- Your team have no discipline.
- Your players don't calm down after the first yellow card.
Remedies
--------
- Take a note of why your players are getting sent off.
- Violent conduct (throwing some body part at the opponent) should always be
fined and never condoned by appealing.
- Professional fouls are caused by the defence being out of position. Lower
closing down and pull pack the defensive line.
- When a player is on a yellow card it is suicide to leave them on 'hard'
tackling.
- Substitute a player who has been given a yellow and is still being given
yellow cards (the "it's just a warning" commentary should give you an
indicator to bring the sub on)
- Keep an eye on players in the "PR" or team-talk before the game where it says
"is really fired up". If their aggression is high as well they are most
likely to do something stupid.
- Drop, sell or fine anyone who persistently gets their name in the book
- Don't insult Algeria in front of Zidane.
--------------------------------------
Not Performing With The Balls Syndrome
--------------------------------------
*CONTRIBUTED BY SIFRAZMAN AND LAMERIS*
Whenever the opposition spurns a chance, you can't capitalise. Your passes are
always intercepted and you can't hold onto possession. Any balls you play with
are ineffective.
Symptoms
--------
- No matter how hard you try you can not get your passes completed to above 65%
- The match engine consistently shows long highlights in which your team starts
off with the ball and keeps it for a reasonable time before offloading it to
an opposition striker/midfielder who punishes on the break.
Diagnosis
---------
- There is a large gap in the midfield, caused by:
- The passing may be set to being too short
- AM'S and forwards don't have enough creative freedom - they get marked out of
the game, and can't do killer passes
- There aren't enough AM's, leaving the strikers isolated
- Your AM's and ST's have too high an attacking mentality
Remedies
--------
- Make the passing game more direct
- Balance the team's mentalities
- Increase the amount of AM's in midfield/change formation
- Give attacking players more creative freedom
*More Tactical Help to Be Added at a Later Date*
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 5. Training | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Fartlek]
This section is currently under construction. In the future there will be
information on how training works, along with coaching, and some fantastic
training schedules contributed by Seasoned Alcoholic.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 6. FAQ | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Acronym]
Throughout the game there are certain things that pop up that don't really have
a category - the solutions for which are in this section. The majority are bugs
that people encounter, but there are other aspects too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why is Rooney Always Suspended?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a well-known bug, with a simple solution. Go into the editor, delete
his ban and restart a new game, and he'll be fine. The patch fixes it as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why do my German and Dutch National teams have fake players?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a common complaint on many forums, and is because the creators SI
couldn't obtain the license for the national teams. There is a solution though.
You need to go to "c:/program files/sports interactive/football manager
2007/data/db/700/lnc". There will be a file called fake.Inc there. Delete it.
It's worth deleting all files in this section, as they're all unnecessary.
It'll sort out the fake Japanese team too, and in the patch updates the fake
German club names.
For this to have effect though, and the countries to have real player names,
you'll HAVE to start a new game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love Oliver Kahn!! Where is he!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's under the fake alias of Jens Mustermann. To bring him back to his normal
state, follow the above procedures and delete fake.Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Someone has 6 months left on their contract, but I can't sign him. Why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In previous incarnations of this series, SI had consistently been making a
mistake. Whilst under the Bosman ruling, players situated in a different
country can be signed 6 months before their contract runs out. However, you can
only sign players on the Bosman ruling domestically if there is 1 month left on
their contracts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you explain Work Permits?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work Permits are one annoying thing to get around. They are needed in the UK
and Ireland. So how do you get your player a work permit? What does he need to
get one?
Well, if the player you are looking at has one of these nations as either his
main nationality or second nationality (basically the EU + some other nations),
you're fine:
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Including French Guyana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Reunion
Germany
Greece
Holland
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Norway
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK
If it isn't, you'll need a permit.
First of all, the player's calibre is taken into account. If he's a very good
player, has many international appearance's etc then he'll most likely get the
permit first time round. If not you can always appeal the decision, and usually
get the decision in your favour.
If your player was rejected a permit, why did this happen? Well, people are
given Work Permits if they are skilled workers. If your target is not much
better than British players, there is no reason, in the governments eyes, to go
for the foreigner and ignore the English players. Its purpose is to protect the
Economy from being saturated with foreigners, and help give the British people
jobs, no matter what the industry. I used the UK as the example, but the same
would apply to other countries needing a work permit.
There are ways to get around this though. First of all, you can get a European
feeder club. This means that even without a permit, you can still buy the
player. By sending him to the European feeder club for a couple of years, he'll
eventually gain EU Citizenship = instant permit. It's a lengthy process, and
I'd only recommend it for players who are 21 or under. Each country takes a
different amount of time for foreigners to gain EU Citizenship there, so here's
the list:
3 years
-------
Belgium
Poland
4 years
-------
Spain
5 years
-------
Austria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
French Guyana
Germany
Guadeloupe
Holland
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Martinique
Portugal
Reunion
Slovakia
Sweden
Switzerland
7 years
-------
Denmark
Norway
10 years
--------
Greece
Slovenia
As well as loaning out, every so often you can try offering your player a new
contract. He will be reapplied for a permit, and if you're lucky, he may be
granted one.
When searching for a new player too in South American countries, keep an eye
out for his other nationalities. Many Brazilians have Portuguese/Spanish, and
some Argentineans have Italian as a second nationality. If you find players
like this then it means they will get an instant permit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why have you done the prices in pounds sterling? You do know Britain isn't the
centre of the fucking World?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guarantee that someone will bring this up. Well, in all the boards I've been
on, the majority of users are British, so when choosing a currency for my guide
this was the obvious one. Not that I would neglect anyone unfortunate enough
not to be born this great country, so here's some help. Open a new browser
window so you can alternate between that and this guide. Copy and paste this as
a URL:
www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/Calculator.html
Next, go back to the guide, and choose which sum of money you want to change.
Take for example Celta Vigo's estimated value, £35.5m. Insert this into the
calculator, and multiply it by the number next to the currency that you want:
+-------------------+--------------+
| Currency | In-Game Rate |
+----------------------------------+
| American Dollar | 1.88 |
| | |
| Euro | 1.44 |
+----------------------------------+
You can't simply use a real-life currency converter as the rates in real-life
are different, and will give you inaccurate figures. Values and wages may be a
little off, but that's because the rates had to be rounded. For example, the
Dollar is about 1.8786394 and so on. If you wish to know any other conversion
rates, let me know and I'll include it in the next update.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why do I Pay Double Money on Transfers?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This has caused trouble for a few people who have downloaded the new patch.
This only happens if you use a No-CD crack, basically if you've illegally
obtained the game. Find help elsewhere mate, because this FAQ isn't supporting
people who cause SI to lose money.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 7. FM Resources | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[URL]
There are more places than just this that you can visit for Football Manager.
Ranging from downloads to forums to the official website, there are many useful
resources for it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
7.1 Forums
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Invision]
From socialising with others to finding help and taking part in challenges,
forums are extremely popular. There are an abundant number of these for FM for
people to boast their successes and just generally chat with other football and
FM Fans. Here are some of the best:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.fmsb.org.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is one of the best forums out there. A great community with fantastic
users, it's a relaxed, laid-back place for discussing FM and other aspects of
life. The ground rules are very lenient, but that doesn't detract from the
quality of posting, but more so aids it. All that's asked is to avoid serious
racism, use full English whilst posting and to avoid asking silly questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.fmgamer.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A friendly, large, open community, this is also another good forum to go to.
The discussion is of a high standard, and you can get many useful tips there to
further your game. It's also good for just social discussion, with 'The Pub'
being a massive board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.fmunderground.net/fmu/forums
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An affiliate of SI, this is another location to go. Users here are again
helpful and friendly, and it's an active place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.fm-britain.co.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again, I haven't really been here much, but it seems an OK place. It's a forum
specifically interested in the tactical/training side of the game, so if that's
the aspect you love most about FM, it's definitely worth a visit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.footballmanagerforums.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A small community, but this already has some dedicated users, and aims to grow
to be one of the bigger forums around. If you want to become a part of a new,
growing community, come here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.community.sigames.com/eve
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The official forums. As you'd expect, it's an extremely strict place, and
there's too much mod involvement for my liking, but if you need a solution to a
problem you're guaranteed one here. It's also useful in the fact that you can
speak to the people behind the game and is the place for reporting bugs. So
not the best of social places, but the strict rules ensures that there's a lot
to do with FM here. The biggest FM related forums on the net.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=933916
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I like this board, but it's easy to get frustrated. Quite a few arguments can </pre><pre id="faqspan-6">
break out, but if trivial things don't affect you it's not a bad place to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.neoseeker.com/forums/index.php?fn=browse_forum&f=33097
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is another good board to visit. A high number of users, it includes a huge
discussion topic and many challenges. Worth a visit.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
7.2 The Official Site - www.sigames.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Rector]
This is the site where you get all the news from the developers, Sports
Interactive. This includes release dates for future games, patch information
and links to download them, and where you can contact the developers. It also
has a massive forum mentioned above and is THE place to gain help on any
matters
*More links will be added at a later date*
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 8. Contributor Recognition | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Sam_Malone]
I expect to see this section bustling with names, so get contributing!
For Contributions:
-----------------
Asmodeus for the Tactical Diagnosis framework + the first 2 for it
Millie, Sifrazman, Lameris for some more on the above
Ed for the teamtalk guide
For Help:
--------
Kevin Turner, an SI Member. Cheers for clearing up the '0 years' Work Permit
DavidBowie for pointing out a navigation system is possible. Shame it wasn't
the real Bowie though.
r0x0r for pointing out WP's aren't needed for Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
For Corrections:
---------------
For spotting typos or grammatical errors, a mention to the following:
Robertleyland, Son Of Fenix, Imhansen, Ghentee, Arthur Li, Chief
For pointing out inaccuracies:
R0x0r, DirtyJoe, Lux, WingZero Mk II
A massive thank you to everyone who has also given feedback and ideas.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 9. E-Mail Policy + Copyright Information | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[Michael_Baigent]
Please Read.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
E-Mail Policy
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If you wish to E-mail me feel free to do so, but please avoid asking easily
answerable questions. In other words, have a flick through the manual and
carefully read this FAQ before getting in contact. If you wish for a speedy
reply, including Football Manager in the title will help your cause. I'm not
very knowledgeable with network games, so I can't help you there I'm afraid -
try the forums mentioned earlier. Also I am not part of SI, so I can't
technically help you or tell you when the next patch will be out etc.
Any feedback on the guide would be great. Did it help you? Is there anything
else that can be added? Please let me know, as it'll make a better guide for
everyone. If you spot any mistakes too, contact me, and I'll correct it and
stick you in the credits
If you do wish to contact me though, let me stress - via the medium of E-Mail.
I've had people trying to add me on MSN - that's for people I personally know.
There's nothing that can't be explained over an E-Mail, it allows me more time
to prepare an answer, and adding me to MSN doesn't mean you'll have a quicker
reply - I always check my E-Mails when I log on. So in short, don't even
attempt trying to add me to your contacts list.
Another thing I'd like to see is contributions. This is an incredibly deep
games, and it's easy to miss some aspects. If you're adept at network games,
tactics, skins or know some other elements of the game not covered here, any
help would be fantastic. If you wish to do a team guide for one of your
favourite teams with the template provided, that'd be useful too. Recommending
players that you've discovered, or any tricks etc will also be put up in here.
Anything contributed will be credited, although it may be altered to fit the
guide. This does not strip you of your right to credit.
If you want my FAQ on your website, don't even think about doing so without my
permission. You will be breaking the law if you do, and I have my methods of
having them forcefully removed, even if you do not wish to do so.
I won't be accepting any more requests from FM Forums to host my FAQ. Why? It's
because they generally reach a small audience and it helps me maintain the
updates better to have my guide on a small quantity of sites. If you are a
video game website however, I will consider if you ask for permission to host
my FAQ, unless you're on the list below:
- 911 Codes (
http://911codes.com)
- 9 Lives (www.9lives.ru/eng
- Bean's Play station Dimension (www.bean.dk/psx/index.htm)
- Cheat CC (www.CheatCC.com)
- Cheat Database (www.cheat-database.com)
- Cheat Index (www.cheatindex.com)
- Cheat Matrix (www.cheatmatrix.com)
- Cheat Search (www.cheatsearch.com)
- Cheat Stop (www.panstudio.com/cheatstop)
- Console Domain (www.consoledomain.co.uk)
- Dreamland (
http://kirby.pokep.net)
- Game Express (www.gameexpress.com)
- Games Domain (www.gamesdomain.com)
- Mega Games (www.megagames.com)
- SabreTechDesign (www.sabretechdesign.com)
- Square Haven (www.square-haven.net)
- Ultimate System (www.flatbedexpress.com)
- VideoGaming.net
Why are you possibly on this list? Simple. You have a track record of stealing
FAQ's, and my FAQ's won't be associated with sites run by bastards.
This guide is currently available at:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.footballmanagerforums.com
www.fmunderground.net
The address to contact me by is:
Englandtowineuro2004 [at] hotmail [dot] com
===========================================
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Copyright Information
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
website or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
The only sites permitted to host this FAQ are www.gamefaqs.com,
www.footballmanagerforums.com, www.fmunderground.net and www.neoseeker.com
Copyright 2007 Gregory Beckett
Visit www.Nolo.com for more detail on copyright, and how you'll be royally
screwed if you violate it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____ _____ ___ ___
| __| |---------------------------------------------------------| |_ |
| __| | | | 10. Au Revoir | | | | |
|__| |_|_|_|---------------------------------------------------------|___| |_|
[James_Blunt]
Hopefully this guide will have been of some use to you. If not, fuck off for
wasting my time. There will be future incarnations so sections will be filled
which are thin in content at this moment in time. It's a fantastic game, so
don't let yourself be put off if you don't have instant success - once you do
get into it, it's hard to fight the addiction.
Some personal thanks I'd like to make are to SI for making a wonderful game,
CjayC + Sailorbacon for keeping GF running, Mike for doing a sterling job at
FMF, Sherizan for providing gamers the Underground forums and the man who runs
Neoseeker. Sorry dude, can't remember your name! Also I'd like to thank every
member of the FSMB board, for encouragement and help in doing this, and all
being part of a fantastic site. Finally my real life friends and family need a
mention too, but not my A-Level teachers.
Like my work?
Go to this link to find more:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/27784.html
Until another time,
Greg Beckett, aka
_ ___
(_) /'___)
| | ___ | (__ __ _ __ ___ _
| |/' _ `\| ,__)/'__`\( '__)/' _ `\ /'_`\
| || ( ) || | ( ___/| | | ( ) |( (_) )
(_)(_) (_)(_) `\____)(_) (_) (_)`\___/
_______________________________________________________________________________
EOF
