Football Director: A FM09 Mod!

Ah yes! The ever hated director or board of directors in real life but yet the very thing we wish we could do in game. Personally, I hate doing the day to day running of the club. Picking the squad, tactics, training, etc. In other words coaching or managing. However, I always have loved balancing the budget and dealing with transfers. So why can't we play as the director of football budget? As in deal wit the budget, allocates money for transfers , build the youth academy, pay and take out loans, maybe even transfers and deal with the merchandise. Or do one better and even be able to SACK THE MANAGER! I guess thats just becoming more like Big Boss (Roman) than a director. But what the heck!

So I want to start this mod or maybe just make it an idea for SI to take on. Feel free to discuss anything you would like to see included.

Most of that isn't the director of football's job.

A DOF acts as a link between the manager and the board, in terms of negotiating and managing/sorting out the finances allocated by the board, and then working with (inexperienced) managers to help push deals through. Sometimes they get more freedom from the board, regarding scouting and academy management and budgeting, but largely their main role is merely their influence that they have from their experience in football.

I guess I'll rename it Football Board of Directors?

And create a whole new game.

Sounds similar to the General Manager mode in American sports titles...which would be awesome for those of us more interested in the long-term picture than the day-to-day basics of running a club. I don't think I'm alone in wishing I could just sim through a game (bad stuff happens when you go on holiday!) just to speed things along. I'd love to be able to run the whole show- budgets, transfers, hiring/replacing coaches without having to spend so much time in the actual games, in which I have a very laid-back approach (subbing at the 60 minute mark and adjusting the team mentality slider on occasion) and let things run their course. Plus, you could make the GM responsible for facility upkeep, stadium expansion and filling out the staff for reserve/youth teams.

Look guys, i know its all your opinions, but the game does what it says on the tin. Football Manager, if you know that your not going to want to play it as it is, or going to want to be a Football Director. Why buy the game in the 1st place?

Don't get me wrong- I enjoy the experience of FM. It's just a matter of preference/interest. I'm more interested in seeing how careers play out/develop, but playing through season after season can be VERY time consuming!

You can leave matches to your Assistant if you prefer to get through seasons quicker... I reccomend searching though though this kinda thing has had a lot of discussion in the past and they almost always end up a bit heated.

Have seen the idea banneded about the forums many times, and as always I think it's a poor/bad/ridiculous idea.

The whole point of the game is in the title.

If you want to be the director, go on holiday between transfer windows, however, this takes most of the point out of the game, I could not buy a player and not allow myself to make the decision of where and when i am going to play him.

And this is hard to do on 09, because if the ass man is not getting the best out of the team, its not him who gets it in the neck, its you.

All in all, not a good suggestion at all, I can only say what has been said previously, there is a reason why its called football manager.

I'm not saying for them to scrap FM09 and make FD09. I'm saying there are a lot of people that would like to play something like that as well. And many of us pay this game because there isn't a FD09. Plus FM09 is a great game nothing wrong with me going on vacation for a match.

All I was asking was for suggestions or ideas to make a mod.

It would open the game to the aspect of being able to have a go at transforming your LL club long-term. As a manager, the best you can do is winning games and moving up the table. With luck, you do some great transfers and grow the balance but sooner or later you might find yourself stucked, sacked, bored, or whatever.

As the "CEO" you could get attached to "your" club in a different and long-term way really trying to build and transform it. Being a good "coach" is only one aspect of managing and having the option of fulfilling either role would not hurt if implemented right.

I'm not saying for them to scrap FM09 and make FD09. I'm saying there are a lot of people that would like to play something like that as well. And many of us pay this game because there isn't a FD09. Plus FM09 is a great game nothing wrong with me going on vacation for a match.

All I was asking was for suggestions or ideas to make a mod.

The easiest way I could think of is using the editor to put your name into the database as you club's chairman name. Leave everything of the day to day business to the assman (preferences) and give him the sack if underperforming, then looking for a new one. Whatever the assman can't do in the game you would have to deal with. If you're getting kicked, you always could tell yourself it was a takeover.

big no from me, no point to it, the look at my main opposition to it..

The 'Directors' What do they do Every day? Look at the time frames

You said about loans, 1 every 5-15 years

Allocating money, twice per season

Build the youth academy, once

pay back loans, surely thats covered by taking it out

merchandise, how do you manage that?

Sack the manager, is in no way the DOF role.

What would you do in between?

I'm not saying for them to scrap FM09 and make FD09. I'm saying there are a lot of people that would like to play something like that as well. And many of us pay this game because there isn't a FD09. Plus FM09 is a great game nothing wrong with me going on vacation for a match.

All I was asking was for suggestions or ideas to make a mod.

big no from me, no point to it, the look at my main opposition to it..

The 'Directors' What do they do Every day? Look at the time frames

You said about loans, 1 every 5-15 years

Allocating money, twice per season

Build the youth academy, once

pay back loans, surely thats covered by taking it out

merchandise, how do you manage that?

Sack the manager, is in no way the DOF role.

What would you do in between?

It could be the continental model, where the director deals with everything but training/tactics. In fact, if all continental European football fans wanted a "realistic" simulation of how the football business is handled here, the last choice should be FM ;-) Unfort. there aren't many other good choices.

so what apart from those things mentioned would he do?

Well, he could decide on almost every business aspect of things but wouldn't have to deal with training/tactics/team. He would spent a great deal of time looking for new players, handling contract negotiations, etc. He would tap his shoulder for having tied down a great sponsorship deal, decides if the club should invest in bigger/better stadium capacities, merchandise, you name it. Sounds like Fifa Manager?

yer i understand that, but again there would be too much time where you would be doing nothing. Just my opinion, might be for some. Maybe it could be integrated into FM and can be turned on or off like managing reserves etc but i wouldnt use it.

Thinking outside the box though, good stuff!

i'd like to have a director of football at some uk clubs to make it more realistic/challenging..

This idea is not so far as some of us may think:

Director of Football: The end of Football Management as we know it?

Also I quote a BBC article about the same issue (actually a view of a Gazzeto Della Sport journalist):

"In England for over 100 years it's all about the manager but in Italy we have a general manager or a sporting director.

"It is an established fact that the transfer market is the domain of the chairman and the general manager.

"The coach has to do with whatever the chairman and general manager bring in. They may be able to say 'I want a striker or a defender' but it is up to the chairman to decide who they get.

"The involvement of the chairman historically has been of primary importance throughout our history."

The whole article can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4015605.stm

Can't speak for countries like Italy, but in England a director game would be a horrendously dull experience.

As such you can already act as Director of Football already, go on holiday for a day on match day and your assistant will pick your team. You still buy and sell who you want!

Well, I don't know if it this DOF or whatever, idea, would add to the gamer's experience. It would probaly turn it into a "strategy" rather than "simulation" game. But as an idea and judging from the world of football (by saying "world" I include more nations than England, if you can understand) is, like the mythbusters say- "plausible".

I think it'd make the game more challenging - i.e. having to reccomend players to your Director of football instead of sometimes flat out buying the, negotiating fees for them, promising the board they'll be a class player etc..

However its just TOO realistic and complicated. If we're going for realism, then managing in Spain you will have no buying power at all!

I for one think that director of football / chairman should become playable positions within the game.

The name of the series is irrelevant, as if it was supposed to be taken literally we would surely be managing a single football.

Doing the director will be:

- Hire the head coach

- Do transfers.

Well, if someone finds FM09 boring, can't imagine what they'll think about this.

To give you an idea, it's FM played going on holiday during every match.

And create a whole new game.

That's the first point to think about it, technically. Quote 100000%

The general manager wouldn't be all that much different, to be honest. What I'm basically looking for would be the ability to sim games -based solely on my tactics and my lineups and not that of the ass man- to get through seasons quicker. Technically you can do this right now, but we've all heard the horror stories about going on holiday only for the ass man/club to dump good players or sign worthless ones. Again, this sort of feature is a staple of American sports games and gives the player the choice of whether or not to play as a GM or simple manager. For some of us, it's the transfer season, scouting of players and handling a wage bill that is more exciting than tweaking sliders or sitting through "...and that's his first goal of the season for..."

To be brutally honest, in America this type of game would be mocked for being so restrictive when compared to the other sports titles...

As such you can already act as Director of Football already, go on holiday for a day on match day and your assistant will pick your team. You still buy and sell who you want!

I do that quite a bit myself. I've tried playing every match, but I get bored doing that and want to keep the seasons moving along. I don't go on extended holidays, just on match day to "sim" the game. I still do everything else as far as buying and selling players, and I still play the important matches myself. For me that strikes a good balance between controlling your team and not getting bogged down too long on one season.

Become an accountant if you enjoy that sort of thing

Just like some of the other suggestions i.e. be a player. Absolubtly rubbish and useless.

Sorry to be blunt but that is what this idea is. It is called FOOTBALL MANAGER for a reason dumbass

Just like some of the other suggestions i.e. be a player. Absolubtly rubbish and useless.

Sorry to be blunt but that is what this idea is. It is called FOOTBALL MANAGER for a reason dumbass

No need to act like that Hamilton

There are people that will enjoy this option but I don't feel that SI will contribute any time to this idea as I am sure they would rather please the 'core'.

If you want to make a mod (if you workout how) then go for it.

Just like some of the other suggestions i.e. be a player. Absolubtly rubbish and useless.

Sorry to be blunt but that is what this idea is. It is called FOOTBALL MANAGER for a reason dumbass

Out of order mate, I don't like the idea either but you don't need to insult the guy, he was just putting his idea forward

Thing is with an assman the team starts to whine about you not being there and assmen are nowhere near as good as Managers. I guess I could clone all the managers and rename them?

What I mostly do is do everything but I go on holiday for matches. I just wish there was more I could do with finances and such. Like its stupid to have half a billion in the bank and not be able to pay off the debt. Or have a tiny stadium, half a billion in the bank and yet not be able to expand or move from that tiny stadium.

Or for the youth academy. If I'm at a club that is about to go into administration, I wouldn't even bother to sign up youngsters. Its just more debt added on.

This time of the month again:rolleyes:

Poor idea, get boring very quick.