Tough decision or easy choice?

Do you find it hard to leave a club that you have moulded into your very own team when a bigger club offers you the job as manager? Or do you jump at the chance of moving onto new pastures?

I just wanted everyone else's views on this because I'm playing as Villa and we finished 3rd after my 3rd season in charge. I finished 3rd last season aswell and we got to the semi finals of the Champs League. However, Man Utd have offered me a job and I'm finding it difficult to leave Villa after turning them into a Champs League team. I have supported Man Utd for over 20 years now but still find it tough to leave my new look Villa side.

The joy's of football management eh?

I wouldn't find it difficult going from Villa, or somebody like City, Pompey or Newcastle to a 'Big Four' club.

What I would, and have found difficult, is leaving a side that I've moulded from the lower leagues, even if one of the 'Big Four' or a big continental side comes calling. It feels more personal, imo, when you manage a lower league club and you have them on the cusp of greatness. After a while of playing with them, I just can't leave them!

If you want to bring some of your better players to united, you can offer them new contracts with lowish release clauses, so you can buy them cheap once you join united..

I find it really hard to leave my clubs. I started a game as Getafe in Spain and thought I would give it a couple of season and then leave but I won the league in my 2nd season and started to bring in some class players. The next 2 seasons I missed the title by 1 point in each season so I am staying with them to get at least one more title and I want the champions league trophy aswell.

I do want to have a career game and move clubs every few years but I always get attached to the team I am playing as.

Yeah i'm the same, currently managing Gateshead who were in BSN. I got them into BSP and lost the playoffs to gain promotion for Coca Cola league 1. I've since had several bigger clubs offer me a position, but i just don't have the heart to "abandon" Gateshead. I'm now in my fourth season and determined to win promotion to CCL1.

It is very tempting to leave and go to a bigger club, but i always find myself saying..."this season i will win another promotion"

If only managers in real life were as loyal as us eh!? Doesn't seem to be much loyalty in football anymore...money talks i guess.

Its the chairmen that are too loyal to us lol.

I find it hard to leave clubs. Given enough time i usually have some sort of success which makes it harder to go. Whether that be taking a lower league team to the verge of cup glory, or winning a trophy with an unfancied team. In fact ive never left a club, only when i achieve that next level of success and get bored of that particular save.

I've been saying since the last few months of FM08 that I'm going to start a career game and take myself to a few different clubs/countries but I always seem to get tied to the club I've built myself and never take the plunge of a new job.

Oh and in reply to Fabregas18's comment - I would never do that to be honest, I class that as cheating and have never cheated in any of my past FM games so not gonna start now

If you want to bring some of your better players to united, you can offer them new contracts with lowish release clauses, so you can buy them cheap once you join united..

I'd class that as cheating, but its your game

I'd class that as cheating, but its your game

Aint reallt cheating mate, its just good thinking do it before you leve the team,

Been in the exact same position as you with Swansea , Man Utd came calling , after long though i joined them , I had one fairly succsefull season in charge and i resigned knwoing that the only job i would accept would then be swansea again , which was about 5 months later!

Don't leave, winning the league with Villa would be a far better achievement than winning it with Utd.

I can never leave, I get too emotionally attached to my youngsters that I'm bringing up.

I've decided to stay with Villa because each year I've been progressing and I think if I manage to keep this same squad of players, with maybe a few additions, I can really challenge for the EPL title next year. Man Utd was tempting but I can't bring myself to leave this team that I've made my own.

Gone from Hyde to Doncaster to Watford al the way back to Workington in BSN (albeit with an iranian tycoon) who i'm now top of L1 with! Along the way went with equador as well. Start unemployed with sunday league status its awesome fun! I'm looking to win the top league in a few different countries though! Leagues laoded are england, france, spain, portugal, italy, holland, usa, scotland

I don't think I've ever accepted another job. Stick with Villa, by the fifth season you should be top dog.

Aint reallt cheating mate, its just good thinking do it before you leve the team,

If you did the same thing in real life, the board would either block it at the time or sue you for it afterwards as an intentional act of bad faith and fraud.

So, yeah it's cheating.

I hate leaving my team for a bigger club. I managed Maidenhead United all the way to the Championship and Everton and West Ham offered me jobs, I rejected both of them and signed a new 1 year contract to stay with Maidenhead. Currently sitting in 9th place in the Championship trying to squeeze into the playoffs.

Not quite the same thing, but I recently got offered the Spain job after a world cup. I had spent 10 years building and shaping my Liverpool squad. I saved and accepted the Spain job; I guess I can always go back. The cool thing is, 12 of my backroom staff quit after I left.

I allways find it almost impossible to leave a club i have moulded myself, in the past i have left and totally lost interest in the save because of it.

I don't think I've ever accepted another job.

I've played every Champ Manager/Football manager and I've never accepted another job. It doesn't interest me at all. I always stick with the same team until I get bored or sacked.

i couldnt because i usually get young players and wouldnt wanna leave when they are at their best.

I never leave for big clubs. basicly they are no fun.

I have been offered about 10 jobs per season in each league I have been in on my way from Blue Square North all the way to the Premiership, including the club I support, Man United - but I would never accept

If I wanted to manage Man Utd I would start with them from the beginning

I only sometimes leave to go to a big club, United for example, but it rarely happens, on my current save game, i started at York, then Crystal Palace, then Everton, Then Barcelona then finally Manchester United, I am in 2023 though.

haha, if you want to play with man utd, why didn't you choose them from the start, or start a new save? you started with villa so why do you suddenly want to change? rubbish

haha, if you want to play with man utd, why didn't you choose them from the start, or start a new save? you started with villa so why do you suddenly want to change? rubbish

That's just a part of the game.

I'd only accept a new job if it was at a different level to the one I was currently playing at (e.g. managing a relegation-stricken Premiership side and a Europe-hunting Premiership team offers me a job, or managing a Championship side and a League 1 or League 2 side offers me a job). I don't tend to mind moving clubs, but the one thing that irks me is that when I take a new job I want to jump right in and start moulding it into a form that I like...but if they're at the same sort of level then I inevitably end up looking at a lot of players I'd signed for my old club or ones I was planning on buying for the old club.

haha, if you want to play with man utd, why didn't you choose them from the start, or start a new save? you started with villa so why do you suddenly want to change? rubbish

haha, if you want to play with man utd, why didn't you choose them from the start, or start a new save? you started with villa so why do you suddenly want to change? rubbish

That's the thing I never like to start out as a big club or any of the 'big 4' for the simple fact that I want to turn a team that doesn't usually have alot of success into a title winning side. I also have another couple of saves at smaller clubs - MK Dons and Plymouth but haven't got far enough into the game yet for a bigger club to come calling but again I would find it difficult to leave if I were performing well and getting them up through the leagues.

Thanks for the 'helpful' input though.

You should play with a big four team then you wont need to leave haha

I'm currently in 2013/2014 with Bishop's Stortford, sitting atop CCL1 by 12 points, with ~8 games left...I have become very attached to the club, and would find it hard to leave, but at the same time, the stadium is stuck at its original size (4000 w/250 seated) because it can't be expanded. My wage budget and expenses are pushing the limit as far as gate receipts, and the only way I can sustain the club and achieve a positive balance is by getting lucky with cup draws (drew Derby away in FA Round 3, and *drumroll, please* Man Utd at OT for Round 4), much like real-life lower league clubs operate, so I'm quite please with that, but at the same time a bit frustrated that they can't at least expand the place, since I'm selling out constantly. I'm hoping that when I get to the CCC, the board will take out a loan and build a larger stadium, or something...but if the right offer came in, especially from a club that has a good youth set-up and facilities (mine have only been able to be upgraded once to 'Fairly Basic'), I think it would be hard to resist, but who knows!

Definitely loving the game, though!

I'm currently in 2013/2014 with Bishop's Stortford, sitting atop CCL1 by 12 points, with ~8 games left...I have become very attached to the club, and would find it hard to leave, but at the same time, the stadium is stuck at its original size (4000 w/250 seated) because it can't be expanded. My wage budget and expenses are pushing the limit as far as gate receipts, and the only way I can sustain the club and achieve a positive balance is by getting lucky with cup draws (drew Derby away in FA Round 3, and *drumroll, please* Man Utd at OT for Round 4), much like real-life lower league clubs operate, so I'm quite please with that, but at the same time a bit frustrated that they can't at least expand the place, since I'm selling out constantly. I'm hoping that when I get to the CCC, the board will take out a loan and build a larger stadium, or something...but if the right offer came in, especially from a club that has a good youth set-up and facilities (mine have only been able to be upgraded once to 'Fairly Basic'), I think it would be hard to resist, but who knows!

Definitely loving the game, though!

Not to mention that 3 or 4 of my key players keep teetering between staying and wanting to leave the club. All in all, pretty realistic, just the stadium expansion thing is a bit frustrating...hope everyone else is having as enjoyable a time as I am though, I must say.

I'm currently in 2013/2014 with Bishop's Stortford, sitting atop CCL1 by 12 points, with ~8 games left...I have become very attached to the club, and would find it hard to leave, but at the same time, the stadium is stuck at its original size (4000 w/250 seated) because it can't be expanded. My wage budget and expenses are pushing the limit as far as gate receipts, and the only way I can sustain the club and achieve a positive balance is by getting lucky with cup draws (drew Derby away in FA Round 3, and *drumroll, please* Man Utd at OT for Round 4), much like real-life lower league clubs operate, so I'm quite please with that, but at the same time a bit frustrated that they can't at least expand the place, since I'm selling out constantly. I'm hoping that when I get to the CCC, the board will take out a loan and build a larger stadium, or something...but if the right offer came in, especially from a club that has a good youth set-up and facilities (mine have only been able to be upgraded once to 'Fairly Basic'), I think it would be hard to resist, but who knows!

Definitely loving the game, though!

Must be frustrating knowing that you are selling out the stadium every week but the board are unable to expand the stadium. If the right club does come in with the prospect of a good youth set up and stadium/facilities then i'd snap up the chance mate. On the otherhand promotion might make the board realise that this club has a bright future and they may well build you a new stadium. I hope it's the latter and you can keep the club growing in stature. Good luck

Must be frustrating knowing that you are selling out the stadium every week but the board are unable to expand the stadium. If the right club does come in with the prospect of a good youth set up and stadium/facilities then i'd snap up the chance mate. On the otherhand promotion might make the board realise that this club has a bright future and they may well build you a new stadium. I hope it's the latter and you can keep the club growing in stature. Good luck

Thanks! Just as an update, I ended up winning the league by 12 points (107 total, a personal best!) over 2nd place Huddersfield (95 points), and 3rd was in the 70s somewhere...I keep asking the board for an expansion, but they seem to be getting annoyed with me To be fair, my current balance is right around the 750k mark, and that's only because of a lucky draw of Man Utd at OT, and initial season tickets selling out completely...I have been able to bring in a few solid players, thanks to double the wage budget (I'm now at ~50k/week), and my first 6-figure transfer budget in my 5 years at the club (~300k), so that is nice to see. My club record goalscorer had been unhappy for sometime, so I transfer listed him and got 400k, rising to 600k based appearances and goals, plus 25% of next sale (he's 24)...I sold him to Bradford, in League 1, who is probably the biggest club in the division, and has had some pretty hefty sales in the recent past, so I figure I might get a nice boost from that...My TV money is 1 million for the season (only 375k in L1), so that should give me a nice boost, especially with increased wages...The biggest difficulty is by far the finances, it's really tough to compete with clubs that have significantly more resources, especially the recently relegated ones (about 1/3 of the teams in the CCC have a handful of players on wages that match my entire budget, haha). Unfortunately, I didn't get any good youth this time around, although there are a handful of youngsters from previous seasons that are developing, not to mention several big clubs are after a few of my players, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll postpone their "itchy feet syndrome," as most players seem to get after a rise through the divisions, so I can cash in on them once their value is up to CCC standards. I have been able to expand my facilities for the second year in a row, so we'll see what they are when construction has completed (right now only at Fairly Basic, sad, I know). Sorry for the essay again, I seem to like to blab on and on.

Yeah i'm the same, currently managing Gateshead who were in BSN. I got them into BSP and lost the playoffs to gain promotion for Coca Cola league 1. I've since had several bigger clubs offer me a position, but i just don't have the heart to "abandon" Gateshead. I'm now in my fourth season and determined to win promotion to CCL1.

It is very tempting to leave and go to a bigger club, but i always find myself saying..."this season i will win another promotion"

If only managers in real life were as loyal as us eh!? Doesn't seem to be much loyalty in football anymore...money talks i guess.

League 2 has disbanded has it? Or is it a bug where you skip a league if you win the play-offs?

I find it very tough to leave. I played for a ukrainian side and got offered to go to Byern Munchen, took that and quit after 1 season moving on to Arsenal. Then left that after a few months and went back to ukraine...lol. Powerhouse sides are too easy. I like hte joy of qualifying for UEFA cup or Champ league and the joy of getting that star player. You dont have that when you play for best clubs in europe... well atleast I dont. When I beat Sporting or draw with Aston Villa with my puny ukrainian team i feel proud! When Byern Munchen plows through all kinds of oposition without much management i feel BORED.