Promotion To The Premiership

Ive seen allover these forums how people have screen shots and talk about teams from like league 1 and 2 and they have got them in the premiership.

I wan't to know how they do that,

how do you know who to buy, season after season at lower levels?

Well I'm in the Premier League with FC United, and I didn't know who to buy. I'm playing LLM style, so attribute masking is on and no using the player search function... My Scout and assistant manager found/recommended players for me to sign. Sometimes the players are crap, sometimes they're decent. Some of them are still with me from my first couple of seasons.

I wan't to know how they do that,

how do you know who to buy, season after season at lower levels?

Use your scouts, listen to backroom stuff recommendations (I think they're at least half-decent most the time), use the player search (thought some lower league players frown at that). Finding the players is by far the easiest (and most enjoyable IMO) part.

Think you have to have a tactic you're familiar with/know how to use and know what manager shouts to use with it. if you aint got a familiar tactic then its gonna be abit tough!

Well I'm in the Premier League with FC United, and I didn't know who to buy. I'm playing LLM style, so attribute masking is on and no using the player search function... My Scout and assistant manager found/recommended players for me to sign. Sometimes the players are crap, sometimes they're decent. Some of them are still with me from my first couple of seasons.

How many seasons did it take you to get promoted from each division?

Ive seen allover these forums how people have screen shots and talk about teams from like league 1 and 2 and they have got them in the premiership.

I wan't to know how they do that,

how do you know who to buy, season after season at lower levels?

I took Blyth Spartans from BSN to try and win the promotion to premiership. I'm currently stuck in L2, i was 5th last seasin, lost in the play off and for some reason this season after major financial efforts i'm doing worse than last year. I don't think our finances will hold and i think we'll be back in BSP and gather momentum for another attempt. I sign free agents from international U20 or U19 sides and hope to grow them. I have 3 or 4 very good prospects but they are inexperienced. I'm trying again right now.

How many seasons did it take you to get promoted from each division?

League               Season    Finished  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Square North    10/11       1st    Champions
Blue Square Premier  11/12       1st    Champions, FA Trophy Winners
League Two           12/13       3rd    Automatic Promotion
League One           13/14       5th    JPT Winners, Promoted
Championship         14/15       4th    Promoted
Premiership          15/16       14th

As you can see, it got more and more difficult, and getting into the playoffs in the 13/14 and 14/15 seasons were last-day affairs.

I took Blyth Spartans from BSN to try and win the promotion to premiership. I'm currently stuck in L2, i was 5th last seasin, lost in the play off and for some reason this season after major financial efforts i'm doing worse than last year. I don't think our finances will hold and i think we'll be back in BSP and gather momentum for another attempt. I sign free agents from international U20 or U19 sides and hope to grow them. I have 3 or 4 very good prospects but they are inexperienced. I'm trying again right now.

I dont really go for teams too low down, i started with cardiff becuase i wanted a decent team that could probably go straight up, but after a slow start i came 6th and lost in the play-offs i was very annoyed and Roma offerd me the job so i went to them but after a year i realied italian football isn't for me so, after cardiff had been relageted and the manager sacked i have returned to try and get them into the championship once again. currently 3rd much of my old team are still here with a few new additions

League               Season    Finished  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Square North    10/11       1st    Champions
Blue Square Premier  11/12       1st    Champions, FA Trophy Winners
League Two           12/13       3rd    Automatic Promotion
League One           13/14       5th    JPT Winners, Promoted
Championship         14/15       4th    Promoted
Premiership          15/16       14th

.

But still you went up every year, i can never get up once never mind like that :o

But still you went up every year, i can never get up once never mind like that :o

I suspects some cheating maybe involved

Struggling in the Premiership though, I think I needed another season in the CCC to be honest, just for the extra year of development. The promised land is full of riches though, I never realised and took it for granted as Arsenal, but now I can see what a difference that money makes to a smaller club and why they're so desperate to be promoted...

I suspects some cheating maybe involved

Suspect all you like. But I'm totally anti-cheating, and wouldn't have been morally able to discuss my progress in a public forum, nor keep interest in the save if I had cheated.

Suspect all you like. But I'm totally anti-cheating, and wouldn't have been morally able to discuss my progress in a public forum, nor keep interest in the save if I had cheated.

Fair enough, was joking anyhow.

Fair enough, was joking anyhow.

I thought as much, but I do get tetchy when anyone even hints at me cheating because of how much effort I've put into preparing my tactics and sourcing the best backroom staff available as I progressed to maintain the progression of the team and club.

I've only just moved into a new stadium this season, but as it is only 18500 odd capacity, it is sold out most home games already

I'm currently in my second season in the Premiership with Notts. County and by far my best buy was Koki Mizuno from Celtic for 26k in my first season (I had him right up until the end of my first premiership season). It's just a matter of knowing where to look really. when coming through League 1 and into the Championship, Scotland is the best place to look for chea good players thanks to the horrible lack of parity in finances between the English and Scottish leagues.

I ended up with a lot of Irish players.

Oh and also, I went up every year without cheating... It's Nott that hard although to be fair it was by the skin of the teeth from the Championship.

I bloody hate the championship on fm, seriously. Dunno how i'm gonna cope with being sheffield wednesday...

The championship is definitely the toughest league I've played in based on player fatigue thanks to the games coming non-stop...

Got Cambridge to the Championship before my FM uninstalled itself, couldn't get them out of it.

Well I'm in the Premier League with FC United, and I didn't know who to buy. I'm playing LLM style, so attribute masking is on and no using the player search function... My Scout and assistant manager found/recommended players for me to sign. Sometimes the players are crap, sometimes they're decent. Some of them are still with me from my first couple of seasons.

It's not LLM style when you're a frequent poster in the good player guide forum.

I'll post where I like. I said LLM style, not anal LLM like those anorak twats in the LLM forum. I leave RL knowledge behind when I start a lower team save, use my scouts and (for the first few seasons while in the lower leagues) I don't sign anyone who isn't based in England (or say Cornwall if I'm in Manchester) so that they're not unrealistically coming miles for say £90 a week. And if I want to post about my team's progress in the team thread, and player name for other people's benefit, I shall.

I got Oldham promoted to the Championship on the last day of my first season, but it took me three more seasons to get into the Premiership: finished 17th, 11th and finally won the division. It's a slow process building a squad at that level; I lucked out with a couple of regens (who turned into spoilt brats and jumped ship once I was in the Premiership, only to have their careers completely stall at Palermo, ha ha).

It's clearly possible, but I wouldn't say it was easy.

i got fc united too but i started with superbladesman's level 11 patch.

so its 3 years and i am just in BSN

long way to go..

Started with Burgess Hill in Isthmian D1S level 8. Here is my progress report.

2010 - 3rd lost in playoff's

2011 - 2nd Promoted to Ishtman premier

2012 - 2nd promoted to Blue square south

2013 - 5th lost in playoffs

2014 - 4th lost in playoffs

2015 - 6th ooops

2016 - 1st promoted to BS Premier

2017 - 1st promoted L2

2018 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2019 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2020 - 1st promoted to L1

2021 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2022 - 1st promoted to Champ

2023 - 8th

2024 - 7th

2025 - 2nd promoted finally in premiership! 15 years but loved every bit of it. Am now in 2031 and fighting for the title although not won the premiership yet.

Started with Burgess Hill in Isthmian D1S level 8. Here is my progress report.

2010 - 3rd lost in playoff's

2011 - 2nd Promoted to Ishtman premier

2012 - 2nd promoted to Blue square south

2013 - 5th lost in playoffs

2014 - 4th lost in playoffs

2015 - 6th ooops

2016 - 1st promoted to BS Premier

2017 - 1st promoted L2

2018 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2019 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2020 - 1st promoted to L1

2021 - 3rd lost in playoffs

2022 - 1st promoted to Champ

2023 - 8th

2024 - 7th

2025 - 2nd promoted finally in premiership! 15 years but loved every bit of it. Am now in 2031 and fighting for the title although not won the premiership yet.

Wow, nice one mate.

I'm playing with Luton Town at the moment and have managed the following;

2009/2010 - 1st Blue Square Premiership

2010/2011 - 1st League 2

2011/2012 - 1st League 1

2012/2013 - 9th Championship

2013/2014 - 6th Championship (promoted via the play offs)

2014/2015 - 12th Premiership

2015/2016 - 3rd Premiership, FA Cup Winners.

2016/2017 - 2nd Premiership

2017/2018 - 1st Premiership, Carling Cup Winners, FA Cup Winners, Champions League Winners.

I agree with Sean NUFC who posted earlier. Go with a tactic you are familiar with. Use your scouts and remember players that did well in any previous games you may have played.

One final thing I would say is make maximum use of loans deals and free transfers. I always make a point of going through all the players that are released by clubs at the end of each season. There are always good players available here, especially if you are in the middle to lower leagues. Lots of young and/or Premier League/Championship players looking for a deal. If you move fast there is always a possibility they will be willing to drop a division.

I managed to bag Rob Earnshaw and David Nugent up front for nothing when I was starting out in League 1. They absolutely stormed the division. Clearly both players are too good for that league, but just goes to show who you can snap up if you keep your eyes peeled for the free transfers and snap them up quick.

I'm playing with Luton Town at the moment and have managed the following;

2009/2010 - 1st Blue Square Premiership

2010/2011 - 1st League 2

2011/2012 - 1st League 1

2012/2013 - 9th Championship

2013/2014 - 6th Championship (promoted via the play offs)

2014/2015 - 12th Premiership

2015/2016 - 3rd Premiership, FA Cup Winners.

2016/2017 - 2nd Premiership

2017/2018 - 1st Premiership, Carling Cup Winners, FA Cup Winners, Champions League Winners.

I agree with Sean NUFC who posted earlier. Go with a tactic you are familiar with. Use your scouts and remember players that did well in any previous games you may have played.

One final thing I would say is make maximum use of loans deals and free transfers. I always make a point of going through all the players that are released by clubs at the end of each season. There are always good players available here, especially if you are in the middle to lower leagues. Lots of young and/or Premier League/Championship players looking for a deal. If you move fast there is always a possibility they will be willing to drop a division.

I managed to bag Rob Earnshaw and David Nugent up front for nothing when I was starting out in League 1. They absolutely stormed the division. Clearly both players are too good for that league, but just goes to show who you can snap up if you keep your eyes peeled for the free transfers and snap them up quick.

Great work, mate!

Some luck, good players and some alright tactics!

this has me intriuged (sp) ive now downloaded the data files for the 11 leagues of england, i shall have a go at the bottom league wen i finish with my current save.

i cant play to saves now, hav to concentrate on one, not got as much excitement and enthusiasm as i use to

Any tips on how to sort tactics? I am about to start my 2nd season with Newport Co.I was promoted to BSP. Using a normal 442 - balanced philosophy, standard strategy , more direct , more disciplined, zonal marking.. Deep line, slow tempo, wide width.. but it's not really working

im goin to try the tactic i have created with barcelona lol

its a slowwww pace and tries to keep possession though ill so see how it goes

I'll post where I like. I said LLM style, not anal LLM like those anorak twats in the LLM forum. I leave RL knowledge behind when I start a lower team save, use my scouts and (for the first few seasons while in the lower leagues) I don't sign anyone who isn't based in England (or say Cornwall if I'm in Manchester) so that they're not unrealistically coming miles for say £90 a week. And if I want to post about my team's progress in the team thread, and player name for other people's benefit, I shall.

I've never said you can't post where you like. Posting that you're playing in an LLM style though when you are active in a forum that goes against the ethics of LLM might lead some to believe that it is OK to do so. If they visit LLM, that's how disagreements start in there.

LLM posters are bloody weird, too strict for my liking.

what the deuce is LLM

Lower-League Management.

I love playing the lower/smaller leagues, though I admit I personally aim to move clubs rather than stay forever at one. Not that I'm just wanting to go for the big teams, but I think I might have a tendency to want to "improve" things, rather than transform any one team into an all-conquering force.

In a lost save, I brought Darlington from the Conference to the Premier League in God-knows how many seasons, even qualifying to the UEFA Cup. Just before my computer crashed I was on the verge of accepting the job at a struggling Milan side, with Pato-long gone.

Mentioned before, somewhere, about how it would be a dream to win every "top" league (with different clubs, obviously), and to also jump from one rival club to another. Thinking City to United...

It took me a good 19 years to get into the prem from the BSS with Braintree, about 5 seasons in the CC then managed to win the league. Loved the money i got from tv rights in the prem 28 million for a season when it's only 1 million in the ccc. But sadly i got relegated from the prem in my first season finishing 19th. But looking forward to a fun season in the ccc, got some good players. My squad in mainly 18-21 year olds and a few 30 year olds who have been at the club since League 2 football. So just trying to hold onto these players and build a team around them.

It took me a good 19 years to get into the prem from the BSS with Braintree, about 5 seasons in the CC then managed to win the league. Loved the money i got from tv rights in the prem 28 million for a season when it's only 1 million in the ccc. But sadly i got relegated from the prem in my first season finishing 19th. But looking forward to a fun season in the ccc, got some good players. My squad in mainly 18-21 year olds and a few 30 year olds who have been at the club since League 2 football. So just trying to hold onto these players and build a team around them.

These are the kinda stories that inspire me too stick to my curent games rather than always starting new ones.

These are the kinda stories that inspire me too stick to my curent games rather than always starting new ones.

Yeah other peoples stories got me into it, i do have a man city game where i have some fun, but the money kinda ruins it. It make victory oh soo much sweeter when you beat teams you should be smashed by. And heart breakig when your amc you got in league 2 is to old and slow to play when you finally get in the prem league, retires as a coach and don't want to join your coaching team :'(

And i love it when a player releases a comment saying he wants to end his career with you and your assistant manager at your club, sad to seem them two go as now my team is just regens.

Up the Irons

Although it isnt the same, I like to help my local team (Southend) when im in a game (currently in a Man City game) and add manager and sign a few players who I think will be good for them (bad I know, but I gotta help) They got promoted to the championship in the third (maybe fourth) season, at the same time Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves were both released from Man Utd, so I added a manager as them, signed them both up on a free and they were willing to go down a league because I signed them up early, before other premiership teams came knocking.

Anyone got any general tips about playing in the 3rd tier and below? I'm shocked at people managing to obtain successive promotions (makes it even more impressive IRL!). My L2 side, despite bringing in loads of better players than I had, are still getting knocked around a bit.

Finally Got A Promotion, But since i was in league one with a poor cardiff side its only to the championship. No money, A few free transfers and a long season ahead.

Im still pleased. 1st promotion ive ever had, not used to this LLM

I've taken Aldershot from Blue Square Premier to Championship in 7 seasons but in a quandary at the moment as I feel I've taken them as far as I can due to finances and the Premiership champions Chelsea have come calling so would go from 400k/56k for transfers and wages to 52m/2m.

I rely on my scouts and keeping an eye out for potential loans.

Anyone got any general tips about playing in the 3rd tier and below? I'm shocked at people managing to obtain successive promotions (makes it even more impressive IRL!). My L2 side, despite bringing in loads of better players than I had, are still getting knocked around a bit.

Ive only had one promotion myself, but i learned a few things in league one. other people might have done things differently.

1. Dont change your team for different games if you dont have to

2. Find a formation which suites your players and give it a chance

3. Dont waste money on contracts/transfrs etc if you dont need to

There just a few things i learned.