Best way to setup a new game?

Getting a bit bored with my usual LLM save I'm about to start a new game with my team, Manchester United. I've never really had a long-term save with them so I hope I'll stick at this one. Before I start though, I want to know if there's any general consensus on how exactly is the best way to start a new game in terms of the database, leagues etc. so I can get the most out of my save.

If I hit recommended setup, It'll give me the English, German, Spanish, Argentinian and Brazilian leagues.. It shows a 5 star computer performance and 4 stars for estimated game speed. I don't often go with the recommended, but this might give you a good idea of what I'm dealing with.

Now onto the next screen and you've got the options of whether a league is playable or view-only. This may seem a daft question but what is the difference? I mean obviously, if I don't choose playable then I can't play there, but with view-only can I still see the league and fixtures and results etc? Can I see players coming in and out? Any downsides to view-only?

As for the database size.. small, medium and large are pretty straightforward, but how do the custom databases work? I've seen people in the past use the 'Players from top clubs' option for every continent. Is this wise or would I be best to just choose large?

Basically I want to set my game up so I can play as Manchester United and see other top teams around Europe and their results as well as players... So I guess I would go for the Italian, Spanish leagues etc. I'm aware we can now add leagues at a later date, so it's mainly the database which I'm wondering about. I don't want my game to be gimped years down the line because I chose a crappy setup!

Any advise? What do you find works best?

66 views and nobody has a clue what the best setup is for this kind of game or even wants to share what they use?

Do you plan to stay at Man United for a long time? Would you ever want to move to a team not in the top flight?

If you plan to stay in Europe then I would go for a large database, then England down to League Two along with top flight playable from Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Scotland. That is what I use if you want to see more leagues then add anywhere you do not plan to manage in but would like to view as view-only leagues.

I've already got saves going where I'm doing LLM, so I can't see me wanting to drop down the divisions. If everything goes to plan I could be at Man United for 10 years+ until possibly I do everything I can, in which case I may like to move to manage a top club in Europe. Is it advisable to go for a large database then and also have it set up to include the 'Players from top clubs' option for every continent? Or should I not bother with that?

It's all down to personal choice. I play as Sunderland and usually never leave there and I only have a large database with England then top ones from Spain, Germany, Scotland, France and Germany and sometimes Brazil. I wouldn't both adding players because you are starting with a top club players from other continents probably wouldn't be good enough to play for your club anyway.

Fair enough. Is there anything extra I should choose to make sure I get decent regens coming through? I'd like to focus on developing youngsters as my save progresses with United. Would choosing a few leagues like the Dutch, Portuguese , Brazilian etc. as view-only help matters here?

I am not 100 percent sure but I don't think selecting a league as view-only will produce any more newgens than if the league wasn't there at all. Sometimes it's worth adding Brazil and Argentina as playable because they produce some great youth players.

For most interesting time tick all european leagues to view only (way more competition and transfers happening) and the league i enjoy to have playable are: Holland (great fun to take another team to the top), England, Spain, Italy, Germany and perhaps somewhere like the ukraine or russia *at the start both have great players and finances)

In terms of database go wih large, then customise it to add all international players, doesnt add too many to the game and provides some interesting depth with players available.

True that. One last thing (I think)... It may sound a daft question but what's the difference between computer performance and estimated game speed? Does game speed simply refer to how long each loading session is when I hit 'Continue' so naturally this will take longer if I have multiple leagues and therefore many fixtures to simulate. Game performance obviously relates to how powerful my computer is... But how is this reflected in-game? Say if it says I have 1 star for game performance... how would this be different? Will it take even longer to load? Or will the match animation be choppy or whatnot? Or something else?

Also, thanks very much for your swift replies! I've played FM for many years but I still find myself wondering about these things!

glad I stumbled upon this post, as I have ruined many of my games by not starting with the correct database great post!

I set the top two tiers in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and Holland as playable. I set the top 3-4 tiers in England as playable. Almost every other European nation and Brazil/Argentina/USA are set to view-only. Database size = large. This keeps the game fast and fairly realistic.