Who starts as a world beating side?

After looking around the forum for a while you read about people who have achieved great things with already great clubs so really you've only just continued how good they already were? I personally don't see any point in starting out as someone like Man United or Barcelona because it would be too easy, I think the most rewarding place to start is unemployed and beg for a job. This seems the most realistic job and anything you do achieve you will have earned and will feel better about bringing in your own players, creating your own strike partnership rather than smile over how by some strange way you've managed to get a lot of goals out of Eto, Messi and Henry which isn't exactly a chore. I'm looking to start a new game over the summer and am just wondering if anyone could convince me to the benefits of starting with an already good team? Also whether many other people start out as unemployed and their successes/failures with it?

Not everyone does, there's a whole sub-forum dedicated to 'Lower League Managers', and in the 'Challenges, Sign Ups and Ideas' forum the most popular challenges are the ones were you start off as a previous unplayable club in all of the different Leagues.

the biggest clubs iv started a game managing are:-

Everton

Man City

Aston Villa

Arsenal (92/93 mod)

Fiorentina

Motherwell

everyone else iv managed have been lower league teams or bottom half predicted prem clubs

While I agree with you, some people might like working with high quality players to create beautiful football. Get off your high horse.

Not everyone does, there's a whole sub-forum dedicated to 'Lower League Managers', and in the 'Challenges, Sign Ups and Ideas' forum the most popular challenges are the ones were you start off as a previous unplayable club in all of the different Leagues.

Yeah I consider myself to be a LLM aswell, I'm just wondering if there is any fun in being a manager of a top team to begin with at all.

While I agree with you, some people might like working with high quality players to create beautiful football. Get off your high horse.

Didn't really think about that, I'd much rather score a beautiful goal with a team I've built up rather than a Ronaldo wonder goal personally though.

Not everyone does, there's a whole sub-forum dedicated to 'Lower League Managers', and in the 'Challenges, Sign Ups and Ideas' forum the most popular challenges are the ones were you start off as a previous unplayable club in all of the different Leagues.

the problem with the Lower League Managers section is that you have to have done 10 seasons before you can post your progress, which is stupid! by the 10th season the 1st is that far gone you crnt recall it

Yeah I consider myself to be a LLM aswell, I'm just wondering if there is any fun in being a manager of a top team to begin with at all.

I think there definitely is. Obviously for people that support the big clubs it's always natural for them to take over the club they support and try and match their manager irl, and even if it is an 'easier' game like you said, it is for me just as exciting as managing in the lower leagues, if not more because I know a lot of the players, whilst when I start off at say, Dartford or Dover Athletic, I don't really know any of them. I think they're both fun/challenging in different ways

the problem with the Lower League Managers section is that you have to have done 10 seasons before you can post your progress, which is stupid! by the 10th season the 1st is that far gone you crnt recall it

I completely agree and personally never post in LLM, however each to there own etc

I see the point about being able to sign people you have heard of, I once took over Derby after they got relegated into League 1, was simple to take them up into the Championship again but when I was there I was able to sign quite a few premiership players that really made my team. In that sense I remember feeling more confident seeing Jack Wilshere running down my left flank rather than an unknown player. But if you have managed LLM for a long time you will soon get to grips with your players and know them just like you would a premiership squad and have faith in them (if you have good ones anyway) (:

in my current save i started off with man city just so that i could leave them after winning the quadruple only to go to man utd and wrestle the league back off them. it was worth it, manchester had the league for 14 years or something.

the problem with the Lower League Managers section is that you have to have done 10 seasons before you can post your progress, which is stupid! by the 10th season the 1st is that far gone you crnt recall it

who really cares about how other ppl's progress or how many CL they won?:confused::confused:

i always start as Manchester United

i always start as Manchester United

Starting as a big team is fine when they are the team you support! personaly i never start a game with the same team twice, if i do its only after real life transfers, promotions/relegations etc

I think the challenges are different, for example trying to win the Champions League three times in a row or whatever. And buying players. In the lower leagues you can just get a whole load of frees and if they turn out naff then oh well, but if you're a top team you have to make sure the players you get are going to improve your team, you can't get away with spanking 30mil on absolute rubbish.

gazwefc who do usually start as then?

I think the challenges are different, for example trying to win the Champions League three times in a row or whatever. And buying players. In the lower leagues you can just get a whole load of frees and if they turn out naff then oh well, but if you're a top team you have to make sure the players you get are going to improve your team, you can't get away with spanking 30mil on absolute rubbish.

Exactly, well said mate. winning the champs league 3 times in a row is defo the challenge and then the challenge after that of cousre is retaining the champs league the year after:p

Of cousre not forgetting overtaking liverpool in the all time leagues table and making sure that when you finish your game that they are nothing more than a dim light in the background.:thup:

the problem with the Lower League Managers section is that you have to have done 10 seasons before you can post your progress, which is stupid! by the 10th season the 1st is that far gone you crnt recall it

Make notes as you complete each season and compile them when your ten seasons are finished.

My last 5 saves: Barnet, Cherbourg, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Hibernian (Scotland). So a mix of teams. I used to just play with teams from low leagues but have found the most fun in my saves with Notts Forest and Hibs recently.

I think FM06 was the last version where I started out with a team who was not in the lowest playable league, it was then when I discovered the joy of a long term game with ambitious long term targets.

I'm thinking I might actually now go and try and manage teams from abroad, preferably in the long term. However as it's on my laptop I wonder how much loading more and more nations would really limit me? It would be a great challenge (I'm sure someones made it a challenge already, if not someone should) to win the champions league with teams from as many nations as possible. Obviously England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and then as many others as possible, more points from the littler nation of course. That might be a great break from LLM because of you wouldn't be winning over and over again with same time, once you've achieved all you can achieve at one club going not to just another club but another club from another nation/culture etc with the thrill of seeing how quickly you manage to do it. HA the more I think about it the greater this feels to me it could be. . . does anyone know if it is a challenge? It would be a challenge certainly to start unemployed with sunday league reputation because you'd have to start low and then move up and up the ranks and then hopefully experience LLM and higher league management. Is this a challenge already? If so could you link me to see how people are faring? And does anyone know how far loading extra nations will really limit the speed? cheers

and maybe part of the challenge could include how many teams from different nations you win the champions league with and how many nations you take to world cup glory as of course then you would infact actually have 4 years to build up another team, is this a challenge already does anyone know?

Generally, my first game on any FM incarnation is with my home side (Everton), basically because I know the side inside out and how they "should" play, so I can get to grips with the new game and the match engine.

After that, I very, very rarely play any side in the top two divisions of any major European league - FM is a top class game when you take a side and build it up, whilst for me it's extremely dull if you develop a side on top of a current side of superstars.

Playing 10 years of the game using Manchester United or Barcelona is my idea of a nightmare lol

I think most people play with the team they support irl

I don't have the patience to work myself up from the bottom tier, nor do I like automatic success. I tend to avoid playing in England as the TV money just makes it too easy. Instead I fancy taking bottom-half top flight clubs or perhaps a second tier club with potential. Atalanta is a fun team to play and one I've played a few games as in most CM/FM versions.

I tend to grow tired of the game once I'm in a position where I've won the CL and have a promising squad that will dominate for years Gonna see if I have the time and patience to start in serie C2

Sometimes its good to start as a big team so you can try out the players that you have never had before and that will be retired by the time you get a lower team up high enough. I have managed the following teams on FM09.

Sunderland

Crewe

Nantwich

Getafe

Barcelona

Cruzeiro

I have alos played one season as a few more teams but got bored such as Juventus, Shakhtar, Bayern Munich, Sporting CP. I like to have a bit of variety am currently playing as Barcelona so I can try out Messi, Kaka, Ribery, Tevez and other players I would not be able to buy as my main game is Sunderland because I support them.

I plan on tring a couple more countries out before FM10 wouldnt mind a save in the Irish or Welsh leagues and want to try Germany, USA and Holland out but will probably only play a season or 2.

Surely the joy in Football Manager is the freedom it gives you. Many people will really enjoy taking their already good team and making them better. And please bear in mind no team is perfect - it's a big acheivement to win the Champions League with any club, for example. So yeah they may not have slaved in LL looking for someone with 15 finishing but at the end of the day does that cheapen a job well done. If Ancelotti comes to Chelsea and wins the Cl in his first season are we going to say he should have managed Stafford for a few years - not likely. The fun is in acheiving things whether thats promotion from league 2 or winning the FA cup it doesn't really matter.

Now I like the realism thing but please remember FM is not real and is in many ways your choice how to play. I don't like the fact that people come on here and treat people as second-class citizens just because they don't conform to your views on the game.

I have managed a wide range of clubs with a wide ranger of abilities.

Sometimes it's nice to manage world class players like Andres Iniesta (the best midfielder on the planet), Messi, Xavi, Toure, Henry, Puyol etc...

I can't be arsed with big clubs. Getting the right player is too easy and winning matches is too unrewarding. I always play ULTRA LLM (where I make my own league from a rubbish Asian nation, therefore all players are crap kids). I always think its more rewarding just to be managing a very small club, whether you win every week or not.

I used to play with big clubs but once I went LLM I was hooked, although I suppose its quite fun to manage your favourite players every once and a while.

INTER MILAN

all the debts be cleared by december

and the next season transfer budget if over £90 million

It's actually quite interesting to see what all your reasons for managing whoever actually are, I noticed AcidBurn mentioned that he played as multiple teams from different leagues, that would surely give a great experience, but may take along time, however then again you could also argue that time is irrelavant. I personally like to see the game progress as its interesting to see who wins the leagues, world cup etc in years to come but I may try out managing teams from all over europe, maybe even further nations come summer, are there any that are particularly hard?

The lowest reputation leagues are the 3rd tiers of the Northern Irish and Indonesian leagues; those look like they would be good challenges.

I personally like stating out as Rostock in Bundesliga 2. They are a challenge & if i feel my time with them is up i move on. To where i dont know.

I am sure there are a few reasons like people like to take control of a big club and sign the biggest stars. People want to play in the champions league but dont want to wait 10 seasons to get there with a lower league team and also pit their wits against the likes of fergie, wenger etc.

Ok some may say "but its too easy with man utd". Maybe for some but there are people that cant spend hours a day on the game perfecting that super tactic to take Chelmsford from the BSS to the prem league in 6 seasons, ok not everyone is an expert manager.

Does taking a small team and turning them into champions make you a big man? Does taking Man Utd to yet another EPL title make you a loser?

The truth here seems to be that you get some people bashing others for starting with a major team as it gives them some sort of superiority, like they want to try to put down the people that start at the top. I dont think people here look at LLM at heroes, just ordinary people playing a COMPUTER game.

Its a game, everyone starts where they want whether its unemployed or not.

For the record I start with West Ham, always will. Why? Cos I couldnt bring myself to manage another team.

The challenge I began to mention further up, I've decided I'm going to make it happen, I'll start it up tomorrow and if it seems to run okay I will run a thread on the forum etc in the challenges section for the rules I'm going to play. It will start where you have to be unemployed except take a different turn on how I normally play, instead of sticking with a team and building them up being a selfish manager always looking for the next higher class job, like I said I'll post full details about it tomorrow if the database I want runs okay on my laptop for me to take part in it alright.

I like building teams up, such as starting as a Blue Square Premier team or a poor Premier League team. Or a mediocre team in different countries. I found it boring starting as a team that can already win everything without building them.

Having fun managing a big team is completely up to your own personality. It still can be a challenge though! I've had more difficulties getting liverpool to win the champs league than I did getting farnborough promoted to the EPL in dafuges challenge.

All parts of the game have their own positivies and negatives, which is probably why its so popular. If you approach the game as a big team in the mindset of "this will be easy" or "I wont enjoy this as much as building a team" you probably won't like it at all. However if you take over Man City with a clear goal in mind, world domination, sign certain people etc it can be quite rewarding.

I played for years as a LLaMa and never got to experience the 'other side'. With the 3D engine in FM09 I decided to use the editor to create a 'superteam' to see how the top players would look in 3D. I used editors and scouting utilities to cheat like billy-o! It lasted a couple of seasons before I scrapped it and I thoroughly enjoyed the different experience.

Now I've restarted with the same club (my university) but a more average bunch of players. Next time I might make my university into a lowest-league club with no players and no money at the start. There are so many ways to play the game, not just the way you think it should be played. That's the beauty of FM.

The only large side i ever manage is Liverpool because i support them, i relly never get into any games with other big sides. Playing as a large side is fun as you can buy top players and the best young players and compete in top competitions from the start if you cant be bothered to build up a club from lower leagues. Player development is one of the most enjoyable things about taking a larger team as you can develop young players into world class players. It was a true sense of achievement on 9.2.0 when inter came in with a 20 million pound bid for David N'Gog. But having said that i enjoy playing as small teams too and i'm currently giving gundo's european challenge a go with a small irish team.

I'll usually start a game as Liverpool since I'm a fan - but to be honest my best games by far in terms of enjoyment and longevity are when I start unemployed and attempt (usually unsuccessfully!!) to work my way up.

In older versions (up until FM07) I did always do a game as Real Madrid however, partly due to tradition stemming back to CM03/04 when I had a memorable 20 season save (my longest ever) with Real, but I don't bother anymore as I like to get as far as possible with my Liverpool and LLM saves.

I think this is one of the main problems on the game that it is too easy to win the champions league and top leagues with big teams where in irl it is still actually a very hard challenge.

as well as always starting the game as Man utd i also like the concept of building a team up, as it gives you a great deal of satisfaction, watching the you team that you built up climb the ranks/leagues.

Real Madrid are ridiculously good in the game and they always buy Toulalan and Vagner Love who are class.

Racing Santander are not a big team but they are extremely good as they have 3 or 4 players with very high mental stats (Colsa, Munitis and Pinillos) that inspire the rest and some highly talented young players (Marcano, Canales, Luisma, Bolado).

The last version I played with big teams (besides online games) was FM' 07 - I started with Slavia Prague. I loved that team so that's why I continued, but the most fun thing to do is being a journeyman manager imo.

I play with all different types of teams i prefer bigger teams to lesser sides in the bottom leagues, i try doing BSN and league 2 but dont really enjoy it as i do with League 1 and upwards.

I would'nt say i play with "world Beating" teams i like to play with "nearly there" teams like Aston villa, tottenham, liverpool etc teams that have a good base for improvement. i dont think there are many "world beaters" in the game Barcelona, Man utd and Inter have them most complete squads in the game for me.

Casual players don't always have the time to start unemployed. a lot of people like to play a couple of seasons at a time.

i started as fulham and after 3 tough seasons i finally won the premier league by scrapping past arsenal by 3 points and the carling cup. I am also about to play an fa cup final against man city.

I've started the challenge I briefly mentioned earlier, loaded 10 nations, the top division of Italy, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Turkey, France, Germany, Holland and Portugal and all leagues in England, I aim to win the champions league with a team from every one of those nations. I've started 2 managers as I thought that would be different too, both unemployed as sunday league footballer reputation. Got jobs at Braintree and Hyde, ready to make the climb, this time it's all about buying players with the view to short term success and a better job offer to rise up instead of building up a team from the bottom which alot of LLM like to do.

The last version I played with big teams (besides online games) was FM' 07 - I started with Slavia Prague. I loved that team so that's why I continued, but the most fun thing to do is being a journeyman manager imo.

i was thinking about starting a journeyman save, what leagues did you load?