League Structure

In the English system what is the lowest division that you can manage an English club in?

Blue Square North/South.

You'll be able to add a further 4 tiers in the next game, though you'd have to add them manually.

You'll be able to add a further 4 tiers in the next game, though you'd have to add them manually.

Why only four?

Why only four?

I was under the impression you can add in as many as you like (it goes down to 24 I believe, although no computer would be able to handle that)

I was under the impression you can add in as many as you like (it goes down to 24 I believe, although no computer would be able to handle that)

So you won't be able to make the Bristol Downs League then and the leagues needed to get to the Premiership?

So you won't be able to make the Bristol Downs League then and the leagues needed to get to the Premiership?

you could, but it would be very taxing on your computer. There's well over 100 leagues there

By looking at the researcher announcement by SEGA, are they going to include more and more lower division leagues in FM10?!

I recall them looking for people who know US L1 and L2 - my god, that's lots of lousy teams to clutter my laptop memory!

you could, but it would be very taxing on your computer. There's well over 100 leagues there

True there is, but what I was planning to do was just make the ones they need to get to the Premiership.

I don't want to make the other leagues, so there is just the 24 leagues from the Downs League Division 4 to the Southern Premier League South West Division as the ones above are in the game.

It'd be nice to take a Sunday league pub side to the Premiership.

It'd be nice to take a Sunday league pub side to the Premiership.

Yeah, it's something I've always wanted to do since I found out about the Bristol Downs League three years ago

Might take a while mind due, 24 years is a lot in FM time. But I'll take a season at a time.

Plus, I won't have to play 38, 42 or 46 games in the first few seasons anyway so shouldn't take me long to do.

Its only 24 years if you go up every year. It'll be nearer 40 years if you're good, and close to 100 years (ie never) if you're as bad as me:D

Its only 24 years if you go up every year. It'll be nearer 40 years if you're good, and close to 100 years (ie never) if you're as bad as me:D

Might be able to go up the Downs and District Leagues quickly as I'll have a squad (their real squad, making them in the game) and the others won't.

But it'll be difficult to get promotion in the higher leagues, like the BSP to FL2 or FLC to PL.

It'll probably take me about 50.

Surely at a certain level all the players attribute will become indinguishably bad? If you've got a load of players with 1s and 2s everywhere how are you going to know who is good and bad?

I'd take it down to the Unibond North and South, which spread across the board would mean I'd be running 16 divisions total. That would be about my limit.

Surely at a certain level all the players attribute will become indinguishably bad? If you've got a load of players with 1s and 2s everywhere how are you going to know who is good and bad?

That would be my major issue with going down so low as well. It is great that we can add some extra leagues in below BSS and BSN, but too far down it will all be a bit bizarre. Mind you, I guess that would be an interesting challenge. If every club had equally awful players and you couldn't tell who was good or bad then it would all come down to your tactics etc.

My computer would never cope with running it so I won't ever do it, but it'll be interesting to hear how FCUtdWill gets on with it.

Its only 24 years if you go up every year. It'll be nearer 40 years if you're good, and close to 100 years (ie never) if you're as bad as me:D

What I'm thinking is that if we have that many tiers, the last dozen or so will all have to level out at reputation 1, as well as the average player having a CA in single digits. Therefore, with a half-decent tactic it ought to be possible to gain promotion every season until you get somewhere near the BSS/N level.

I think what I'll do is create a youth team with low CA but decent PA and have them blend, grow and develop together as the seasons go by.

I'm going down to Step 6 across the board, and Step 7 in Sussex (Sussex County 3, Mid Sussex Premier, West Sussex Premier, East Sussex Premier and Brighton, Hove & District Premier).

It will allow for some interesting career choices (although I'll mostly be managing the mighty Hailsham Town in County 1 )

That would be my major issue with going down so low as well. It is great that we can add some extra leagues in below BSS and BSN, but too far down it will all be a bit bizarre. Mind you, I guess that would be an interesting challenge. If every club had equally awful players and you couldn't tell who was good or bad then it would all come down to your tactics etc.

My computer would never cope with running it so I won't ever do it, but it'll be interesting to hear how FCUtdWill gets on with it.

Don't think my computer would like it either, but as I only ever load the leagues from England (down to BSN/BSS level), it would go slow. Just the fact of processing all the other league's results.

It's something worth a try to see it how goes early on though.

I don't know anything about english lower league football, but i don't think that it will be possible to make players bad enough. I terms of game play, i think you won't have enough difference in playing level between blue square north-south and 6 levels thereunder.

The league reputation in blue square is also extremely low, so players won't make any difference between signing for blue square team or a local pub team.

I don't know anything about english lower league football, but i don't think that it will be possible to make players bad enough. I terms of game play, i think you won't have enough difference in playing level between blue square north-south and 6 levels thereunder.

The league reputation in blue square is also extremely low, so players won't make any difference between signing for blue square team or a local pub team.

We discussed this in the OTF FM thread. It's certainly doable - if only because IRL, it's not unusual for a player to start the season at Step 5 (Say, Sussex County League Division One) and end up in the Blue Square South the following May. The opposite is also more than possible too - this summer, Jay Lovett, Danny Davis, and Matt Geard to name three, who were playing in the Blue Square Premier last season, signed for SCFL1 side Whitehawk. They are not at the end of their careers either (Whitehawk are throwing some serious dosh around in this case). Others too - Sam Schaaf, Aaron Hopkinson and Jamie Crellin, who were all at Lewes last season, are now in the County League, and they are youngsters who could potentially still make a career out of the game (Hopkinson especially, the Usain Bolt of the Hailsham Town squad!)

I don't know anything about english lower league football, but i don't think that it will be possible to make players bad enough. I terms of game play, i think you won't have enough difference in playing level between blue square north-south and 6 levels thereunder.

The league reputation in blue square is also extremely low, so players won't make any difference between signing for blue square team or a local pub team.

I know what you're saying. I have no intention to make the squads at that level, purely greyed-out players. I do know Stoke Bishop's side so will be putting them into the game.

It will be difficult to try and sign players, but as I'll have a squad of about 35 I should have plenty of players. Plus, there is the option of signing greyed-out players in reserve and youth teams.

Just on the topic of reserve and youth teams, some teams in the Bristol Downs League have 2, 3 and 4 teams. Would I be able to say, make the reserves play in Division 2 and then have an "A" team in Division 3 and so on? Or would I have to make a completely new team for each separate team within a team?