A team for life, a dying breed ??

Upon reading a lot of threads/posts etc, it would seem that not many people stick to staying in the same team (for life).

Are 1 club only managers a dying breed ?

I played Cambridge United for twelve years (not literally) and now I've started a globe-trotting mega-save.

There's a lot to be said for both. On balance, I think the one club save is more satisfying.

My Spurs game is into it's sixth season. Even turned down a lucrative offer from Man Utd.

If you mean 1 team for every incarnation of FM then no I like to mix it up and find a team that suits me on each release.

I normally try to stick with one club, but often I find that I hit a spot where I can no longer take them any further, or I've achieved everything there is with that team.

Not being like Alex Ferguson and happy to collect trophies with the same team, I then tend to resign and move on to an underachieving, medium sized club in a different country and try and repeat the feat.

i like to stay with one club but sometimes after many seasons it can get a bit stale, so I will leave for a new challenge. But it will be in the same save game, I'm not one of these who will start a new game from the beginning with a new team.

I've seen it happen but its very rare. There's too many teams in the FM world and therefore too many challenges to possibly achieve.

I'm currently into 2019/20 with Sangonera, who I've taken from the Spanish Second Division B4 to three consecutive La Liga titles.

The problem is that I lost a Champions League final two years ago and I have a burning ambition to win it with this club.

However, I want to take the Everton job in the near future, because Liverpool have won the Premier League SEVEN years in a row and it sickens me xD

i like to stay with one club but sometimes after many seasons it can get a bit stale, so I will leave for a new challenge. But it will be in the same save game, I'm not one of these who will start a new game from the beginning with a new team.

I do this too. WHen I get bored/it gets too easy I resign and find a new challenge.

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

i once had a game in FM 08 which i started with Arsenal, won everything pretty much every year and ended up with them moving to a new stadium named the McIntosh Stadium (my last name) with a statue built outside of which i was most proud, my greatest achievement to date, alas how i wish i still had that PC to continue that game

I try and stick with a club until sacked (though usually I resign when my position seems bad enough for me to expect it in a short while anyway), though if I end up achieving all I can for a while I do tend to lose motivation sometimes, but the rarity of that level of success in a job helps me appreciate it while I have it. Switching clubs is not something I really do as a habit.

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, still in his first managerial role.

It doesn't happen because as soon as a manager proves himself to be half decent at a lower level he gets a better offer at a bigger club and it's impossible to refuse. FM is different because we all know it's possible to take a lower league club all the way to the top, but IRL it just isn't a realistic achievement, so they take the bigger job. Some do stay long-term, such as Dario Gradi at Crewe, but not sure if that was his only job or not.

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

Didn't Bob Paisley spend his only managerial years at 'pool before retiring ?

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

The closest I can think of is Dario Gradi, but checking wikipedia, even he spent a couple of years at Palace before taking over at Crewe.

A dying breed? No chance. Each edition of FM I always have my monster Spurs save, neither hell nor high water would get me out of that job. In my other saves I very rarely move much either, mainly because I am generally always trying to build a legacy.

speople - I must say this is a good thread for once, good work. And you're right about Paisley.

I'm going for a lie down now

Sorry for double posting but I completely forgot to mention that the late great Bill Nicholson only ever managed one club. The Mighty Spurs!!

I am currently with St. Mirren in my 4th season and will stay with them until sacked or not offered a new contract, which may happen this season even though I am in 6th place and on a 6 game unbeaten run AND my players want the board to give me a new contract.

Phantom9in

St. Mirren--4th Season

I'm usually a one club man. I don't feel I can manage somewhere else after building up a team and continually investing in youth at a club.

I'm a one-man team in extremis. I used the new editor to create 10-tier league and started in the 10th tier. I just want to see how far I can go before moving on to FM11, creating the same league and doing it all over again! I want to see my youths through, create club records, have a stadium named after me, become an icon etc etc.

I'm a one-man team in extremis. I used the new editor to create 10-tier league and started in the 10th tier. I just want to see how far I can go before moving on to FM11, creating the same league and doing it all over again! I want to see my youths through, create club records, have a stadium named after me, become an icon etc etc.

Those are the kind of things that keep me going.

- Develop youth

- Bring players through the academy

- Get a new stadium

- Win everything

- Go unbeaten as long as possible

- Break as many records as possible

For instance, as Wolves in FM09 I made it an aim to get a new stadium (ended up with 2 ), to have academy graduates in the first team (had 3/4 at one point which wasn't bad), break the club appearance record (Robbie Gore signed at 16, retired at 35 a legend)...

When I make lower league saves, I will stick with that club. I've never moved around much.

It's more fun playing with more teams imho.

I just quit my job at Sevilla after 5 years there, winning 3 titles and a CL, before that I've played 3 years at Ajax (3 titles ) and a year at Leverkusen.

Now I need a new challenge, I'm thinking of maybe finding a job in the Russian or American league, should be interesting.

I only leave my club if I'm sacked (which never happens) or if an offer from someone better comes along, so I don't tend to have many different clubs. I'm at my third on my current save but that's because changing clubs has allowed me to progress up the ladder more than staying would have done - and I did feel very, very guilty about leaving QPR for Villa after only two seasons.

I do chop and change but I sometimes find it extremely hard to re-engross myself with the new side, connect with the characters of the squad and have that feel of involvement that I had with the original team.

I'm currently into 2019/20 with Sangonera, who I've taken from the Spanish Second Division B4 to three consecutive La Liga titles.

The problem is that I lost a Champions League final two years ago and I have a burning ambition to win it with this club.

However, I want to take the Everton job in the near future, because Liverpool have won the Premier League SEVEN years in a row and it sickens me xD

Impressive. I'm in my 3rd season with Granada C.F. from B4 so its good to hear it can be done. How many seasons did it take you to get to the La Liga and then also to win it?

A dying breed? No chance. Each edition of FM I always have my monster Spurs save, neither hell nor high water would get me out of that job. In my other saves I very rarely move much either, mainly because I am generally always trying to build a legacy.

speople - I must say this is a good thread for once, good work. And you're right about Paisley.

I'm going for a lie down now

Thanks for the compliment. I have had a few threads that have been discussed without any vitriolism and it makes a nice change to see a thread where the posters in any given thread on the board aren't moaning of this, or moaning of that. Will try to do other such thread sin the future too when inspiration strikes.

Im Conwy in 2020 and am never going to leave until I have European dominance

PS. Im still in Welsh 2nd division after 11 years

Im Conwy in 2020 and am never going to leave until I have European dominance

PS. Im still in Welsh 2nd division after 11 years

That's surely an unwanted record for the longest amount of time trying to get out of a division (and still trying) you will def have to start a thread and post us the relavant screenies if you ever manage to escape.

Upon reading a lot of threads/posts etc, it would seem that not many people stick to staying in the same team (for life).

Are 1 club only managers a dying breed ?

i like that i alwyas stick to my team i am playing chelsea which is good and easier really

I always have one save with just one team (per FM release), generally I do about 15-20 seasons.

I've mostly been a one club man on my CM/FM saves, although that was mainly due to having a crappy computer for most of that time, meaning there wasn't much scope to move around.

I tried a career save on FM2008, but I left my first club too early and went on a tour of teams where I didn't stay very long, or failed. I didn't really enjoy that, but it was my poor decision making which probably led to that situation.

On FM2009 I tried again, and had a career lasting around 16 years, although I only took in 2 clubs. I made TP-47 the dominant force in Finland, but I was too attached to them to leave until a Lazio side in Serie B offered me their job. I ended up winning the Champions League at Lazio after 6 years. A brilliant save game, with a fantastic ending, but part of me thought "What if I'd stayed at TP-47?".

Therefore on FM2010 I've taken over at Hammerfest in the Norwegian 3rd Division, and I plan to take them to the top. I won the Champions League with the same club on FM2007, and that was my greatest ever save game.

I prefer a bit of both really then, but I don't believe anything beats building up a club from nothing and achieving success at European level.

It would get boring very quickly being just one club, i like the different experiences/challenges/being out of my comfort zone personally. Good way to test how good you can be at it.

edit: So basically i prefer to have lots of different saved games with different clubs going depending on which mood i'm in.

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

He did have a couple of years at the end of his career at Lens, but Guy Roux spending 44 years in charge of Auxerre is pretty impressive.

I stick to the same team, mainly R. Madrid. I've won everything there is to win with them but i don't think i could leave them but ive grown an affection for players on the team every season im there. I could not bear to sell Benzema and have him scoring against me, or even think of me leaving Madrid and maybe playing a team i left behind....UNBEARABLE!

Impressive. I'm in my 3rd season with Granada C.F. from B4 so its good to hear it can be done. How many seasons did it take you to get to the La Liga and then also to win it?

Missed out on promotion first year, then went up the second year to Adelante. Survived first year, went up the next year thanks to a guy called Joaquin Calderon who was a God xD

Then I managed to snap up Giacomo Beretta after Milan released him, and the man is my hero. Finished 7th first year due to him and a scattering of good Bosman signings, then improved again in the Summer to finish 2nd, then 2nd again, won La Liga in 2017.

I've actually got a career thread detailing it, and it's quite long! I don't know if I'm allowed to link but don't click the spoiler if you don't want to see it!

Please give examples of real life managers who have spent their entire management career in one role? I have given it thought and failed to come with any!

Four that immediately spring to mind, teams rather than roles...

Bob Paisley - Liverpool

Roly Howard - Marine

Jeff King - Canvey Island

Guy Roux - Auxerre

I used to just stick with one club, but I now like to move about, it re-invigorates the game for me. That said, both times I have tried to move about (FM09 and FM10) I ended up having to save Wednesday from relegation and staying with them indefinately. I am into my 7th season with them.

In the game, I've had saves where I've managed clubs (read Billericay on multiple versions) for as many as 27 seasons, and other saves (such as my current one) where it has seen me move from club to club.

He did have a couple of years at the end of his career at Lens, but Guy Roux spending 44 years in charge of Auxerre is pretty impressive.

Guy Roux > *.

He's the one manager I aspire to be like in game tbh.

I am still hanging with FM 07 save with Partizan Beograd, currently at preseason of 2026/2027.

The domestic league is a piece of cake (won 19 out of 20), but conquering Europe was my main aim. After losing 2 UCL finals (2020, 2021) and UEFA Cup (2014) without scoring a goal I almost gave up. But in 2023 we made it, won the Euro Super Cup and World Club Cup.

Once I got bored, I try something new, non-FM (like now), but almost always return here, because as time goes by it is easier to see what you were before and what you are now. How you created a world class academy, how did your financial reputation improve (entering a top 100 rich list). And later it is all about about creating the milestones which make you pleased: 18 games to go and I am to manage my 1000th match at Partizan.

And another thing; I like to compare the games years with the real life anniversaries. In 2045 the club will celebrate its 100th anniversary. My aim is to reach this date someday, to win at least 1 more UCL and to get a new stadium. I think I should make it until FM 2012 comes out!

I'm still with Southend and its 2029!

Won the Premier 6 times and the Champions League 4 times.

Building the biggest team in the World.

I'm only a one club man. Like others have said in here, i find it to hard to leave a club after spending so much building it. The only job that could possibly tempt me away would be the Barca job. Even then its no certainty i'll go.

I'm a one club man. Every edition I do the same thing. Bring a lower division club (England, Belgium, Spain or Italy) to the champions league. In FM 2008 I failed with a Belgian club (Stupid stadium expansion).

I started a save sith Man U and by 2017 had won every thing there was to be won and had built a squad that was way to strong for the rest, so i added a new manager and took over Watford and retired as Man U manager.

U can immagin my pain at seeing what Phelan is doing to my team lol, just took watford to the prem and the challenge of building a new squad is thrilling!

it only makes sense when you can become a legend

In response to all of you who named real life managers with a long history of managing one club, I think we can all agree that apart from being a dying breed it is was always a very very rare breed to begin with.

Unfortuanatly I don't think it is really possible in the modern game. There are a few exceptions of long termers in the EPL, Fergie, Wenger and Moyes, however in the case of the first two it is down to their undoubted skill as managers, the latter is down to that rarer than rare breed 'an ultra patient board of directors'.

dont forget guy roux at auxerre or otto rehagel at bremen

I'm usually a One Club Man...

First and foremost because it's MY favourite club, so I always start a career with them and tend to keep it going until I win some European Cups, or until I get bored with FM altogether.

Then because after having spent plenty of time and effort to build up the team, with solid players and with a very promising youth squad, I find extremely hard just flushing down the toilet all of that to take charge of a random Top Club I don't even particularly care about...

And last but not least, usually the club you take on is in need of a total makeover... So you'll spend an insane amount of time just to get rid of all the overpaid deadwood, from the 34yo striker to the useless youngsters, from the inept AssMan to the terrible coaches.

A final note, the lack of manager turnover in the game just encourages to sticking to your original club.. As long as you don't mess it up royally, you won't get fired and the contract renewal will be almost by default. ANd the same goes for AI managers too...

So a certain degree of fixity is inherent to the game.

Changing team every two years is too much fuss and ultimately won't allow you to win much.

My best saves are with one club that I never want to leave. I get attached to the club and players. Can only really think of one good save, playing since CM 00/01, in which I moved clubs and it lasted. I took Eastbourne Borough to the Prem on FM 06, got sacked and went on to manage Everton, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Charlton. Have tried it on the odd other save but I've eventually just lost interest.

I'd like to do a career one day, have tried it but not many have got going, and the ones that have only last a few seasons.

Well the manager is normally the first person who gets sacked at the first signs of trouble, so it's no surprise that very few stay at just one club.

Me I tend to stick one club saves (though there might be 5 or 6 different saves with different clubs) for the first few patches of a new FM. Then I'll try to get the managers job at my favourite club by starting out unemployed and moving around a lot until I get it on the final patch.

@RBKalle: I've seen my favourite club change manager every single season on my current save. Okay only 6 of them were fired the seventh moved on to a better job, but AI managers do get fired a lot at clubs with high expectations at least.