So, I just realised I might be really weird

While I can't say I have ever gone to those lengths, I like creating worlds and putting them into writing, as opposed to into Football Manager. I've also considered playing a save in real-time but I've come to the conclusion that I am too impatient to pull off such a thing.

So it may be eccentric but I admire your dedication and patience. Immersing yourself in another world can be a great escape.

Props if you call it the Universal Football Association, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Universal_Baseball_Association,_Inc.,_J._Henry_Waugh,_Prop.

Everyone's a little bit mental.

Once you've descended into someone's basement and witnessed a room-filling perfect recreation of someone's hometown, complete with model train yards, working street lights, a running river and a hand-crafted model of their childhood home...or watched your daughter spend hours crafting wings and a unicorn horn to perfectly match the size and color of an anime character for a cosplay convention...I mean, there's precious little normal around these parts. As you pointed out, you were in a rut, you lost your job, you found something to engage yourself, and whether or not anyone else understands, you've made something you can point to with pride.

One of these days, I'm really going to start working on my Westeros/"Game of Thrones" FM database.

What podunkboy said. Props for going for it full-scale. Cute story. My bro and I had our own alternate universe as well growing up, and your post kinda made it all come back to me.

When I was in the (mandatory) army some 15-20 years back, I jotted down an entirely made-up league system and made up results in my head, scribbled down league tables along with media predictions etc.. all to make the guarding duty at night to go a bit faster. If I could do that without a computer game in somewhat adult age, I'm crazier than you are, you at least used FM to calculate the results.

That sounds brilliant and actually sounds like something I would do! Being a kid obsessed with Lord of the Rings (read the book before the films had even been announced), Star Wars and other fantasy novels, I was into making my own worlds. Never thought about combining it with FM though. Given that I could be moving to Switzerland soon where I know nobody and a pint is upwards of 4/5 quid, that may be my next FM project

Is there a way in the editor that you can force clubs to not buy players from outside the country and force clubs to not sell to outside the country. That way, the league stays enclosed and the club's futures rely on either transfers between each other or developing their own youth?

This is brilliant. I love stuff like this.

I don't have the patience to go through databases and do it myself though.

Nice one LewisQ

Thanks guys!

I can't remember if I did as MBarbaric suggested, but my league is pretty much cut-off from the outside world. Of course, I have a stipulation of zero foreign players allowed for each club and tournament. Very occasionally, clubs sign free agents from other countries, but can never actually play them and just let their contracts lapse. However, I do sometimes get foreign (real-life) managers taking up jobs in the league. The advantage of using the Virgin Islands is they have few international fixtures, but most newgens have U.S.A. second nationality and sometimes get called up to the US youth teams.

MBarbaric, I have taken things a step further the past few months and started constructing the various cities, town and villages of my country in Sim City (or simplified versions of them, really), so I can visualise them better in FM. I've found this great fun and not too time-consuming.

Like a lot of people, I had an imaginary country when I was young.

Lots of people did this?

Lots of people did this?

That sounds brilliant and actually sounds like something I would do! Being a kid obsessed with Lord of the Rings (read the book before the films had even been announced), Star Wars and other fantasy novels, I was into making my own worlds. Never thought about combining it with FM though. Given that I could be moving to Switzerland soon where I know nobody and a pint is upwards of 4/5 quid, that may be my next FM project

Thanks guys!

I can't remember if I did as MBarbaric suggested, but my league is pretty much cut-off from the outside world. Of course, I have a stipulation of zero foreign players allowed for each club and tournament. Very occasionally, clubs sign free agents from other countries, but can never actually play them and just let their contracts lapse. However, I do sometimes get foreign (real-life) managers taking up jobs in the league. The advantage of using the Virgin Islands is they have few international fixtures, but most newgens have U.S.A. second nationality and sometimes get called up to the US youth teams.

MBarbaric, I have taken things a step further the past few months and started constructing the various cities, town and villages of my country in Sim City (or simplified versions of them, really), so I can visualise them better in FM. I've found this great fun and not too time-consuming.

Do you not sometimes get foreign youth products come through?

Let me know if you do, maybe we can play an "international"!

Haha of course. It'll be a database influenced by lotr/Game of Thrones/Star Wars etc and knowing my luck with I'll get a regen centre back with the physical qualities of Tyron Lanister!

I have a few months before I go to Uni and you've now given me an idea on what I could do. Thanks

LOL! I love this thread, nice one LewisQ. I don't think its weird, I think it's brilliant! Gotta say though, your OP is a bit of a tease because you don't tell us anything about your country! What's it like? Who are the teams and what do they stand for/represent? Where should I live if I enjoy the arts and who would be my local team? Who is their best player?

I had a close encounter with a map maker when I was at school. He and I occupied totally different roles in the stereotypical breakdown of school life. We didn't interact but still had negative opinions of each other. I thought he was a snob, he considered himself sophisticated. I thought I was a revolutionary, he considered me an anarchist, etc. Anyway, there was one class in which I had to sit next to him for a year, and during this time I got a great insight into his lands and his peoples. The region was called Noahide (religious reference intended) but seeing as it was over 10 years ago I only remember the odd detail aside from that. Anyway, over that year we bonded quite a lot, and I grew a huge liking for him and admiration of his imagination, eventually helping to play a role in the development of Noahide.

As it began I would come into class and see him already sitting there with his maps and legends splayed out on the table furiously scribbling away trying to come up with a policy to transcend the class divide in the Middle District, or a solution to the carrot famine in East Ingenia. Apparently, drawing more carrots was not an option.

So after 2 or 3 weeks of watching him draw these maps I began asking him questions about the area, where it would be nice to live, if there were any good sports teams etc, and he would answer in pretty good detail. So it became to clear to me that Noahide was THE rising nation and that I should move in. So I asked this guy to take me on a tour with a view to buying a house, which he did. He made it clear which was the best area with the most intelligent people and highest standard of life, but when I said I wanted a house there he simply told me that I couldn't afford it.

So I had to settle for a 1 bedroom studio in an impoverished area where my life expectancy would only be 21. But my friend failed to realise that social conditions such as these along with the rampant corruption and racism in the area was only serving to disillusion and marginalise the populous. And so Noahide saw its first terrorist. I rallied some of the other disaffected youngsters in my slum, waited until nightfall and then marched onto the millionaires row in the Middle District, torching all of the houses while the owners slept.

Every time we had a lesson together I had a new heinous act ready. It became the strangest game of cat and mouse that I have ever participated in.

One day I came into the lesson and he was sitting there as usual, looking at me to see what the order of the day was. I handed him a folded up piece of paper and said "I have this many men about to storm your government buildings. Write down a number, and if it is smaller than that then it will be costly for you." We both know that I have around 1,000 followers, and he has a huge but slightly less mobile army. So he writes down 1,500 and shows it to me. I put on a disappointed face and tell him to open the paper I gave him. It has the number 1 on it. He realises the intelligence was incorrect. Fear takes hold of him. I point at the dam that controls his nations largest river: "Boom!" It explodes.

He credits me with the deaths of tens of thousands of people from that move.

Anyway my point, LewisQ, is: can I move in to your nation?

Love this topic. And you know what? You've given me my own ideas for making some edits. I always used to make up little worlds when I was younger (although nowhere near the detail that the OP exhibits) and I've continued to have an overactive imagination in terms of writing. Pottering about in the FM editor might be the first step to me building a detailed (and ultimately pointless) virtual world.

LOL! I love this thread, nice one LewisQ. I don't think its weird, I think it's brilliant! Gotta say though, your OP is a bit of a tease because you don't tell us anything about your country! What's it like? Who are the teams and what do they stand for/represent? Where should I live if I enjoy the arts and who would be my local team? Who is their best player?

I had a close encounter with a map maker when I was at school. He and I occupied totally different roles in the stereotypical breakdown of school life. We didn't interact but still had negative opinions of each other. I thought he was a snob, he considered himself sophisticated. I thought I was a revolutionary, he considered me an anarchist, etc. Anyway, there was one class in which I had to sit next to him for a year, and during this time I got a great insight into his lands and his peoples. The region was called Noahide (religious reference intended) but seeing as it was over 10 years ago I only remember the odd detail aside from that. Anyway, over that year we bonded quite a lot, and I grew a huge liking for him and admiration of his imagination, eventually helping to play a role in the development of Noahide.

As it began I would come into class and see him already sitting there with his maps and legends splayed out on the table furiously scribbling away trying to come up with a policy to transcend the class divide in the Middle District, or a solution to the carrot famine in East Ingenia. Apparently, drawing more carrots was not an option.

So after 2 or 3 weeks of watching him draw these maps I began asking him questions about the area, where it would be nice to live, if there were any good sports teams etc, and he would answer in pretty good detail. So it became to clear to me that Noahide was THE rising nation and that I should move in. So I asked this guy to take me on a tour with a view to buying a house, which he did. He made it clear which was the best area with the most intelligent people and highest standard of life, but when I said I wanted a house there he simply told me that I couldn't afford it.

So I had to settle for a 1 bedroom studio in an impoverished area where my life expectancy would only be 21. But my friend failed to realise that social conditions such as these along with the rampant corruption and racism in the area was only serving to disillusion and marginalise the populous. And so Noahide saw its first terrorist. I rallied some of the other disaffected youngsters in my slum, waited until nightfall and then marched onto the millionaires row in the Middle District, torching all of the houses while the owners slept.

Every time we had a lesson together I had a new heinous act ready. It became the strangest game of cat and mouse that I have ever participated in.

One day I came into the lesson and he was sitting there as usual, looking at me to see what the order of the day was. I handed him a folded up piece of paper and said "I have this many men about to storm your government buildings. Write down a number, and if it is smaller than that then it will be costly for you." We both know that I have around 1,000 followers, and he has a huge but slightly less mobile army. So he writes down 1,500 and shows it to me. I put on a disappointed face and tell him to open the paper I gave him. It has the number 1 on it. He realises the intelligence was incorrect. Fear takes hold of him. I point at the dam that controls his nations largest river: "Boom!" It explodes.

He credits me with the deaths of tens of thousands of people from that move.

Anyway my point, LewisQ, is: can I move in to your nation?

Glorious. Just glorious.

LOL! I love this thread, nice one LewisQ. I don't think its weird, I think it's brilliant! Gotta say though, your OP is a bit of a tease because you don't tell us anything about your country! What's it like? Who are the teams and what do they stand for/represent? Where should I live if I enjoy the arts and who would be my local team? Who is their best player?

I had a close encounter with a map maker when I was at school. He and I occupied totally different roles in the stereotypical breakdown of school life. We didn't interact but still had negative opinions of each other. I thought he was a snob, he considered himself sophisticated. I thought I was a revolutionary, he considered me an anarchist, etc. Anyway, there was one class in which I had to sit next to him for a year, and during this time I got a great insight into his lands and his peoples. The region was called Noahide (religious reference intended) but seeing as it was over 10 years ago I only remember the odd detail aside from that. Anyway, over that year we bonded quite a lot, and I grew a huge liking for him and admiration of his imagination, eventually helping to play a role in the development of Noahide.

As it began I would come into class and see him already sitting there with his maps and legends splayed out on the table furiously scribbling away trying to come up with a policy to transcend the class divide in the Middle District, or a solution to the carrot famine in East Ingenia. Apparently, drawing more carrots was not an option.

So after 2 or 3 weeks of watching him draw these maps I began asking him questions about the area, where it would be nice to live, if there were any good sports teams etc, and he would answer in pretty good detail. So it became to clear to me that Noahide was THE rising nation and that I should move in. So I asked this guy to take me on a tour with a view to buying a house, which he did. He made it clear which was the best area with the most intelligent people and highest standard of life, but when I said I wanted a house there he simply told me that I couldn't afford it.

So I had to settle for a 1 bedroom studio in an impoverished area where my life expectancy would only be 21. But my friend failed to realise that social conditions such as these along with the rampant corruption and racism in the area was only serving to disillusion and marginalise the populous. And so Noahide saw its first terrorist. I rallied some of the other disaffected youngsters in my slum, waited until nightfall and then marched onto the millionaires row in the Middle District, torching all of the houses while the owners slept.

Every time we had a lesson together I had a new heinous act ready. It became the strangest game of cat and mouse that I have ever participated in.

One day I came into the lesson and he was sitting there as usual, looking at me to see what the order of the day was. I handed him a folded up piece of paper and said "I have this many men about to storm your government buildings. Write down a number, and if it is smaller than that then it will be costly for you." We both know that I have around 1,000 followers, and he has a huge but slightly less mobile army. So he writes down 1,500 and shows it to me. I put on a disappointed face and tell him to open the paper I gave him. It has the number 1 on it. He realises the intelligence was incorrect. Fear takes hold of him. I point at the dam that controls his nations largest river: "Boom!" It explodes.

He credits me with the deaths of tens of thousands of people from that move.

Anyway my point, LewisQ, is: can I move in to your nation?

Epic! Made me reminise about the times I used to make maps, and then draw charts next to them describing whether each country was a republic/monarchy, the capitals name, religion, population, trade, a brief history etc etc. might dig one of these out, adapt it to just 1 country and make a league system out of it! You lot have got the creative juices going now!

awesome!!!

yeah lewis, tell us more about your nation, i want to know all about politics and what kind of economy there is. are there any football clubs on the coastline supported by the workers? you know, that is where i live, in a coastal town with shipyard, industry and a lot of people who would get mighty angry if they lost their jobs! and what is the name of the club in that city,again?

There's a team exactly like that! Terecuda City, a dockworkers' club from the port town of Terecuda in the Southern province. The Southern province is largely pastoral and genteel, and the weakest in footballing terms (they prefer cricket and rugby). But Terecuda is a working-class enclave on the southern coast, known for its vibrancy and radical politics. Terecuda City is the town's most popular team, but they're currently mid-table in the Pro League First with ten games to play (pretty much safe from relegation but six points off the promotion play-off place).

However, the team I initially created to be their weaker, middle-class rivals S.S.C. (Southern Sports Club) have gained the upper hand in recent years. They've won two southern provincial cups in recent years and are currently holding their own in the Pro League Premier. They've also moved out of their 3,000-seater stadium into a swanky new modern arena. This was completely unplanned and organic; I always thought Terecuda would be the premier club in the city, but they've very definitely swapped places in recent years. One of the little quirks of this save which makes it such fun to play. South, traditionally the weakest province, did surprisingly well in the interprovincial National Trophy, reaching the semi. The funny thing was, a couple of their star players based outside the province signed for Southern clubs afterards, as though the clubs were deliberately looking to sign local marquee players (but this is impossible, as the interprovincial competition is a separate database and save!)

There's also a third club in Terecuda, Rousters, a very old club founded by local actors back in the day. But they're one of the worst clubs in senior football and have hardly any support.

That's an amazing story, YKW! You know, the wealthy landowners in the Southern province are demanding more autonomy to escape my progressive government, maybe we could use your "skills" there. But we never had this conversation.

I don't want to drown people in detail about my completely fictional universe, but I may update more info (football, elections, media, culture etc) if people are interested. I should point out, I work in TV and film and this universe has been quite useful to me. One of my programme pitches that almost made it to TV was based on one of the most popular shows in Avrilia (my country's name)...:o

You've inspired myself and Generation-Next into doing this for ourselves.

Since you guys were asking, here's a look at Terecuda City's roll of honour: http://s16.postimg.org/j8a10l4yd/terec3.png and its facilities: http://s16.postimg.org/w0y50igk5/terec2.png

And a helicopter view of match-night at South City Docks (stadium centre-right): http://s16.postimg.org/gcwxtq0yb/terecuda.png

Terecuda is pretty much a one-horse town when it comes to politics: Five of its six parliamentary representatives are from the ruling Social Radicalist Party, with the sixth from the affiliated Southern Dock-Workers' Party.

Since you guys were asking, here's a look at Terecuda City's roll of honour: http://s16.postimg.org/j8a10l4yd/terec3.png and its facilities: http://s16.postimg.org/w0y50igk5/terec2.png

And a helicopter view of match-night at South City Docks (stadium centre-right): http://s16.postimg.org/gcwxtq0yb/terecuda.png

Terecuda is pretty much a one-horse town when it comes to politics: Five of its six parliamentary representatives are from the ruling Social Radicalist Party, with the sixth from the affiliated Southern Dock-Workers' Party.

What is it you're using to build the view of the city? SimCity/CitiesXL or similar?

Yep, SimCity. I use the basic "soccer field" park to represent the stadia, as there's only one stadium model in the game and it takes up a lot of space (the size of the city plots in the game is really small).

Excellent. Top thread. Escapism rocks in whatever form. Well, most forms.

Mate this is awesome

You aren't alone my friend.

Every year, about half way through my FM experience (May-June time), I create a league system similar to the English pyramid with a 170-odd teams in there- cups and all. Replace smaller countries and such with my new created country and make the <insert country name here> Premier League the same standard as League One in England.

I actually find it more fun and challenging to try and get my league's reputation up, competing in the Champions League and making my new nation one of the best in the world.

It's a challenge and can be tedious on the database, but it's worth it and I find it the most fun on FM.

If you're creative and that, it's worth a go.

That's brilliant SuperDan! It's very rewarding to see the structures you've painstakingly concocted in the editor played out in-game, isn't it?

I have a game tonight (might play it after the World Cup matches and before bed). It's the first match of the Municipal Cup group stage against the smallest team in the capital, Balladge Road Lawn Tennis & Football Club. This is basically a fitness/social club run by the players' union for the benefit of its members, to keep out-of-contract players in touch with the game. (At the start of the season, I add a manager to take over this club and sign up a bunch of uncontracted players on amateur terms, to stop them falling off the database). The club has a squad of about 75 registered players but attracts attendances of barely 100 to its tiny "stadium".

Normally, I'd field my C or D team for a match like this, but we haven't had a league game for two weeks, so I'm going to pick most of the regulars, including my lethal 40-goal-a-season striker. Could be carnage.

You aren't alone my friend.

Every year, about half way through my FM experience (May-June time), I create a league system similar to the English pyramid with a 170-odd teams in there- cups and all. Replace smaller countries and such with my new created country and make the <insert country name here> Premier League the same standard as League One in England.

I actually find it more fun and challenging to try and get my league's reputation up, competing in the Champions League and making my new nation one of the best in the world.

It's a challenge and can be tedious on the database, but it's worth it and I find it the most fun on FM.

If you're creative and that, it's worth a go.

Am so tempted to do something like this. Maybe it's time Atlantis rose from the depths

If anyone is thinking of following in my demented footsteps, this is the structure of football in Avrilia. The regular season runs from early February to late September, although the NPO-level clubs don't start their mini-leagues until the beginning of June. I might do a breakdown of the major clubs and provinces later, and then seek professional help.

LEAGUE STRUCTURE

Pro League Premier: 16 teams, 30 games each, two relegated, 14th plays off against 3rd in Pro League First

Pro League First: 16 teams, 30 games each, top two promoted, 3rd to play off, four relegated.

Qualifying Groups 1-16/National Play-Off Round (known as NPO): 16 mostly regional groups of 7, twelve games each, top two in each group qualify for three rounds of knock-out play-offs, last four promoted.

NATIONAL CUP COMPETITIONS

National Football Association Cup: Main cup competition. All 144 senior teams compete. Eight rounds, no replays, final at National Football Stadium.

Avrilian Christmas Cup: Eight groups of four, followed by four knockout rounds. Played after the end of the regular season. Structurally a league cup, but highly prestigious and seen as effectively the "winter championship". Final on Christmas Eve is a huge national occasion.

ForceSport Super Cup: Two-legged pre-season supercup between the reigning champions and a national-team selection, sponsored by main satellite channel. Big cash prize.

NFA Club Challenge: Two-legged knockout tournament for the senior clubs outside the Pro Leagues. Hasn't really captured the public imagination, although the final is a big deal. Seven rounds in all.

PROVINCIAL CUP COMPETITIONS

Sakatar Grand Provincial: Provincial championship for Sakatar province (formerly Capital province). Ten groups of six, five games each, followed by four knockout rounds. Like all provincial cups, played in the early stages of the season.

Northern Championship Trophy: Provincial championship for Northern province. Six groups of four, six games each, followed by quarter-finals etc.

Western Province Football Combination Cup: Four groups of four, six games each, followed by quarter-finals etc.

Southern Football Authority Elimination Cup: Four groups of four, six games each, followed by quarter-finals etc.

North West Province Gold Cup: Four groups of four, six games each, followed by quarter-finals etc. Dominated by local giants Gold Swords, who have won in 31 times.

Eastern Premier Trophy: Three groups of four, six games each, followed by two-legged semis and final.

REGIONAL CUP COMPETITIONS

Eastern Football Association Northern Plate: Two groups of three, four games each, two-legged semis and final. Played at end of regular season, before Christmas Cup. Contested by the six senior teams from the northern end of the Eastern province.

Eastern Football Association Southern Plate: Same format as above. These cups are played because the Eastern province stretches from the northern coast to the southern coast, and the two halves of the province have distinct cultures. Also, it ensures the smaller clubs from the province with the fewest teams get enough home fixtures throughout the season.

Four Villages Cup: Played between the clubs of the four "sister villages" of Trotleigh, Packsbury, Skarmwell and Nubbleston in the remote western part of the Northern province. Straight knockout, semis and final, no replays. Played at end of regular season in September/October. Senior status for historical reasons and because of fierce local rivalry.

MUNICIPAL CUP COMPETITIONS

Municipal Cup: Played between the 30 senior clubs from the capital, Sakatar. Five groups of six, five games each, followed by knockout quarters etc. Largely exists to ensure the smaller Sakatar clubs get at least one big fixture against one of the city's Pro League sides each season. Used to be a reserve-team competition, now a senior tournament and often won by the Pro League sides.

New Year Trophy: Pre-season tournament between the four senior clubs from the major northern city of Collington. Straight knockout. Contested by Pearsons, traditionally the biggest team in the country, and their three tiny city rivals. Despite its name, now played in early February.

The Challenger Goblet: Pre-season knockout between the eight senior teams from Insford, Sakatar province (the Challenger is the local paper which founded the tournament). Although Bluestripes are one of the country's traditional giants and by far the city's biggest club, they've only won this once in the five years since it gained senior status.

MISCELLANEOUS CUP COMPETITIONS

Services Trophy: Early-season competition between the six senior teams currently or historically associated with national services (North West Naval, Naval Veterans and Recruits of Sakatar, Police Sports Club, Civil Service, Army, Eastern Naval). Two groups of three, two games each, group winners to final. None of these clubs have been in the Pro Leagues for some time.

Midnight Football Festival: Played in late spring. Avrilians being a nocturnal people, the satellite channel ForceSport organises an invitational late-night competition (kick-offs are 23:45) for nine teams from Sakatar (city and province). While most of the entrants are smaller clubs, this tournament is hugely popular with viewers and fans (because of the concerts, parties and events arranged before and after the games). Three groups of three, four games each, followed by semis and finals.

Parks Shield: Mid-summer, two-legged challenge match between two of the smallest clubs in Sakatar city - Cathcoate and Prince's. These clubs are based in two tiny adjacent parks in the city centre, surrounded by small housing developments. No-one's entirely sure why this trophy has senior status, but it's televised live and provokes fierce, light-hearted rivalry between Sakataris who temporarily adopt one of the teams each year.

Am so tempted to do something like this. Maybe it's time Atlantis rose from the depths

It is really worth it. If you struggle for names, I use work places or former ones, schools I went to, even include a couple of random teams from abroad (I tend to include a team from the Solomon Islands) just to see whether the growth on the league will have an effect on regen development and in turn improve the national teams chances in the World Cup. It's quite easy to come up with more than 100 names or so, but then its the kit creations and the rivalries after make it more complex.

That's brilliant SuperDan! It's very rewarding to see the structures you've painstakingly concocted in the editor played out in-game, isn't it?

Very rewarding. Especially when you start progressing through the Champions League and then start seeing big names in football taking an interest in the league. As I said, can be painful doing the kit variants and the town creations, newspapers etc in the database, but I would encourage anyone to have a try. It gets addictive and it's something different.

Actually considering going to a shirt design shop and getting my favourite created team's shirt and logo done.

When I was about 5 or 6, me and my brother created a a league with about 8 teams first of all, of which we will make the results and then go in the garden and play them out, Match of the Day style. We continued for quite a while before he started growing up then I continued with it. I grew it to a 120 team structure, some of the weirdest team names and player names and a few seasons were done in real time (I think I still have the folder with all the pieces of paper in somewhere, will have to dig it out.)

It was all down to Sensible Soccer, European Champions edition. They had the custom teams section so we always used to use some teams from there and add our own. Eventually I ended up with a spreadsheet database and stuff, drawings of what their stadiums looked like and their kits. Was such a good get-away from everything else in life and I always thought no-one else was like it so I admire the OP. Always wanted to find the time to implement this into FM but never got round to it. I stick to Sensible Soccer, just easier and quicker to edit!

Love the creativeness btw!

lewis did i read well there are 30 clubs in the capital??? whole region i guess .

anyway, do you have any maps to see the country with it's cities and things?

Nope, 30 clubs in the capital is correct! It's what geographers call a primate city, more than twice the size of the next-biggest. This is the map I work off, it's a scanned copy of the hand-drawn map I made years and years ago with a few bits scrawled in with MS Paint

That sounds so like my childhood, gibbo11! Editors are a curse, aren't they? When I used to play the game "properly", I spent more time tinkering with the Ireland data in the editor than actually playing the game. Once it became full of newgens, I lost interest tbh...

This sounds like a great idea, never done anything like this before personally but i might look into it in the future maybe.

Anyway i'd like to see this thread get updated if that's something you would be interested in doing? Interesting stuff.

This is my confession.

Like a lot of people, I had an imaginary country when I was young. I first conjured mine in about 1995, when I was 14 years old. Having a fairly precocious interest in geography and politics, this hobby involved the creation of maps, newspapers, and an entire cultural and historical backstory. My country reflected my own personality and circumstances, life events etc.

Being obsessed with football, however, it also involved the painstaking construction of an entire sporting ecosystem. I used the fairly primitive, but highly customisable, PC game Striker to create a four-division league, which I played through meticulously for several seasons. Eventually, I grew out of the hobby, but the details, history and narratives of my own private football league remained embedded in some unassailable recess of my mind.

A few years ago, I was enduring a fairly rough time in my life. I'd lost my job and descended into a rut. I no longer gamed much, but bought a copy of FM 10 for old time's sake. Not having the energy or enthusiasm to tinker with the editor and make the League of Ireland realistic enough to be playable, as I'd always done with previous editions, I hit upon the crazy idea of reviving my childhood league.

This was a mammoth undertaking, involving much dredging-up of old memories and filling of blanks. I reconstructed the map of my fictional country, divided it into its six historic provinces and got to work. I was surprised how readily it all came back. The three great clubs which had dominated the landscape, "my own" club from the capital city who had never quite ascended to those heights, our smaller cross-town rivals, the three major clubs from the western province with their age-old rivalries...

8,000+ database changes later (this took a while!), I had carved out a ridiculously-detailed footballing landscape which my even 14-year-old self would have thought excessive. It consisted of a 16-team Pro League Premier, 16-team Pro League First, sixteen 7-team qualifying groups below that and a plethora of national, provincial and municipal cup competitions. I even delved beyond the pyramid to sketch out the larger local parks leagues and the four-team academies league.

This endeavour entailed creating full squads for each league club (I let the non-league sides take care of themselves - I'm not crazy!). Since then, I've played through the entire league season in real-time for four years, controlling the team I'd "supported" as a kid, but drinking in all the goings-on around the country. I used the low-reputation US Virgin Islands in order to create a hermetically-sealed environment with little to no movement in or out.

Last winter, I finally got round to setting up an inter-provincial competition, which involved a new database and a new game based on the best players from the club database (at six squads of 30, including plenty of newgens who weren't in the original database, this was a bit of a slog, but the competition was hugely enjoyable).

It literally only occurred to me the other day that playing a single career in real-time for four seasons might be a tad eccentric. That said, by its nature it doesn't take up much of my time (two games a week or so, and I leave it running on my desktop so I can assess what's happening throughout the league at my leisure). Sad as it seems, playing the season-ending Christmas Cup final on Christmas Eve has become a (private) pillar of my festive period, even when I haven't qualified and am just spectating.

So what's the verdict, doc?

I think you're bats**t mental. I love it.

This sounds like a great idea, never done anything like this before personally but i might look into it in the future maybe.

Anyway i'd like to see this thread get updated if that's something you would be interested in doing? Interesting stuff.

Well, you asked for it! Though I don't want to veer too far into FM Stories territory, for obvious reasons.

Here are profiles of the top 10 clubs in Avrilia (descending order, fairly subjective criteria). Refer to the map above for locations, if you can be bothered, and let me know if anyone is actually interested in crazy infodumps like this!

PEARSONS

Colours: White shirts with blue chest band.

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Collington (36,500 capacity, 28,000 seats)

Honours: 10 league titles, 10 NFA Cups, 8 Christmas Cups, 16 Northern Championship Trophies, 4 Collington New Year Cups.

History: Traditionally the biggest club in Avrilia. Hoovers up huge amounts of support in the Northern province, almost total support in the sprawling, run-down, post-industrial city of Collington, and used to command large support throughout the country (though less today, in a more fragmented and localised state). Formerly a symbol of Collington's relatively conservative nationalism, the club now also attracts a younger, more vibrant hardcore which identifies with the ruling Social Radicalist Party.

Currently: Haven't recovered from the retirement of legendary coach Con Maguire in 2010. Won the Northern Championship Trophy and New Year Cup this year, but currently just two points off the relegation play-off. Manager Joe Harrington released thirty-goal-a-season striker Hugo Maher and has filled the team with talented youth products, but the gamble hasn't paid off and he's circling the drain.

GOLD SWORDS

Colours: All-gold.

Stadium: Galanta Hall, Aroa (26,000 all-seater)

Honours: 8 league titles, 6 NFA Cups, 2 Christmas Cups, 31 (thirty-one) North West Province Gold Cups

History: Probably the club with the most romantic and storied history in Avrilia, known for once fielding reputedly the greatest side the country's ever seen, which won six titles in eight years, invariably triumphing in epic tussles with Insford side Bluestripes. Gold Swords inspire near-religious fervour in Aroa, dominating the municipal and provincial landscape. For decades, they were viewed as the "national team" of the North Western province, although markedly less so today, especially with the resumption of interprovincial competition last year. Haven't won the league since 1994, and their quest for a ninth league title has become legendary and increasingly desperate.

Currently: Top of the table, having come close to bridging that infernal gap between championships in 2012 and 2013. Three points clear of Sakatar City, whom they beat comfortably, 2-0, at Galanta Hall in May. Also won the provincial cup, after a shocking defeat to tiny village side Granagh in the 2013 final.

BLUESTRIPES

Colours: White shirts with thin blue stripes.

Stadium: Azier Valley, Insford (22,000 all-seater).

Honours: 9 league titles, 9 NFA Cups, 3 Christmas Cups, 8 Sakatar Grand Provincials, 1 Challenger Goblet (NB: Only became a senior trophy in 2010)

History: One half (although decidedly the lesser-half) of an eternal rivalry with Gold Swords. In addition to their nine titles, Bluestripes have racked up a heartbreaking sixteen runners-up finishes. In the days of their deadly rivalry with Gold Swords, it was by no means unknown for fans from all over Sakatar province to support the club, although this is unthinkable today, when Bluestripes no longer command a monopoly even within Insford. Haven't won the provincial championship since 2001. In addition to their historical "derbies" with Gold Swords and Pearsons, Bluestripes today have an arguably more intense inter-city rivalry with Sakatar City, as well as no fewer than seven city rivals, all of whom (but especially Insford Town and West Insford Challengers) hate their guts.

Currently: Marooned in fourth, well off the pace, which is about average for a squad assembled in a very puzzling and haphazard fashion. Ditched veteran striker Gary Lewis (only 31) to consternation and protests from the fans, and have struggled to score since.

SAKATAR CITY

Colours: Amber with black collars/trim.

Stadium: Municipal Stadium, Sakatar (32,000 all-seater - standing areas converted this season).

Honours: 12 league titles, 8 NFA Cups, 5 Christmas Cups, 12 Sakatar Grand Provincials, 5 Municipal Cups, 3 ForceSport Super Cups.

History: The premier club in the capital city, dominating media coverage and public discourse in a city with thirty senior clubs. Not one of the historic Big Three, but known for the famous swashbuckling side of the mid-to-late 70s who won four titles in five years.

Currently: Aiming for a record-breaking fifth consecutive championship. Last year was the high-water mark in the club's history; despite recent league success, the current side had tended to fall short in cup competitions, but gloriously bucked that trend with a quintuple (everything except the Municipal Cup). The club's recent hegemony has not been uncontested; most notably, a late Knockshepel equaliser against Pearsons won them the title on goal difference in 2011, after a three-way tie. It's a source of resentment amongst Sakatar fans that their remarkable recent exploits, achieved with relentlessly attacking football, have been met with jealousy outside the capital. Everyone seems to be rooting for Gold Swords to terminate City's run of titles this year. Although firmly associated with the leftward shift of Sakatar politics in recent years, the club is controversially co-owned by the city council and a local "philanthropist" whose half-hearted attempts to oust manager Dean Harrper in 2010 made him public enemy no. 1.

BALLINGLIN CITY

Colours: Broad blue and white stripes.

Stadium: Festival Ground, Ballinglin (18,000 capacity, 12,000 seated)

Honours: 3 league titles, 2 NFA Cups, 2 Christmas Cups, 20 (twenty) Western Provincial Football Combination Cups.

History: The strongest and best-supported of the three-way axis of Western football (their fierce provincial rivals being Ballynoun and Knockshepel). Despite their reputation as a big club, Ballinglin have only won three titles, the last in 1997. Their record of twenty provincial titles is impressive, though it should be noted that they've lost twenty-one provincial finals.

Currently: Challenged for the title in 2010, but sleepwalked into relegation via the play-off last year. It's an established pattern with the Western clubs of late (Ballynoun and Knockshepel were both relegated from the Pro Leagues entirely in recent years, although Ballynoun are now back in the Premier), but City's relegation was a seismic event and cost their manager his job. Finally jolted to life in recent weeks, and are safe from an unthinkable second relegation, but these are miserable times at the Festival Ground.

F.C. FREISTADT

Colours: All grey (often silvery-grey)

Stadium: Alterekerstadion, Sakatar ("The Eker")

Honours: 6 league titles, 4 NFA Cups, 2 Christmas Cups, 4 Sakatar Grand Provincials, 6 Municipal Cups.

History: Definitively the capital's second team, although fiercely supported in the east of the city and amongst the Deschen (language-minority) community. Briefly ruled the roost in the very earliest days of Avrilian football, but have degenerated into something of a yo-yo side since, before stabilising in the 21st century. Hadn't won the cup since those dimly distant glory years, until back-to-back triumphs in 2010 and 2011.

Currently: Manager Gavin Sherrard was sacked in late 2011, despite delivering those sought-after cups. The board claimed they wanted a genuine title challenge, but have outraged fans since by cashing in on Sherrard's superb, balanced squad, and releasing only a pocketful of the cash for replacements. Despite an unbelievably thin, skeleton-crew squad, Freistadt (FCF, to their fans) have launched an unlikely title challenge this year, and currently stand four points off the lead. This has been largely attributable to the fine form of brilliant young forwards Taylor and James, who both starred at the interprovincial National Trophy (for North and Sakatar respectively).

FERRES TOWN

Colours: Red and black horizontal stripes.

Stadium: Civic Ironworks, Ferres (12,000 capacity, 6,300 seated).

Honours: 1 league title, 1 Christmas Cup, 6 Northern Championship Trophies.

History: A proud club, fanatically supported by the famously radical and independent people of Ferres, a city known for its iron industry and as an island of progressive thought in the middle of the conservative Northern province. Veteran manager Paul Donovan led Ferres (previously locked in an eternal cycle of relegation and promotion) to their only championship, a shock win in 2000, and has been in charge ever since.

Currently: Mid-table in the Premier, and should have enough quality to stay clear of relegation worries. Recent years have been bountiful for a club traditionally starved of trophies, with provincial titles in 2008, 2011 and 2013, and a first Christmas Cup in 2011.

MABLONDA YOUTH

Colours: Green and red.

Stadium: Mablonda Stadium, Mablonda (10,000 all-seater).

Honours: 2 league titles, 1 NFA Cup, 2 Christmas Cups, 13 Eastern Premier Trophies, 1 Eastern Football Association Southern Plate.

History: Mablonda's wresting of provincial dominance from Malternan at the turn of the millennium echoed a shift of cultural and political power in the Eastern province, away from the conservative and rural north, and towards the radical and urban south. That famous team of the mid-2000s swept over Avrilian football like a green tsunami, with its irresistible 4-2-4 formation and prolific wingers Adam Spencer and Charlie Palmer. Young manager Trevor Milford led the club to two league titles, two Christmas Cups, one NFA Cup and four provincial titles between 2003 and 2008. It was a period of unprecedented success and an exciting time for a young, booming city and their ecstatic supporters, many of them the children of poor Sakataris who had migrated south-east in the 80s and 90s.

Currently: The comedown has been abrupt and brutal. Milford was sacked in 2010, and the squad which had conquered Avrilian football aged and disintegrated. Spencer and Palmer clung on, unrecognisably, until Spencer's departure for Picavella last year (Palmer is still lingering on the books, but hasn't kicked a ball this season). A provincial tile earlier this year has done nothing to disguise the club's decline. With a strict wage cap and an inexperienced squad, Mablonda look doomed to relegation. They have fourteen games to close a seven-point gap, but nothing in their performances to date suggests that will happen.

CHEVALIERS d’AVRIL

Colours: Black shirts with a white diagonal sash, red trim.

Stadium: Victoria Castle, Sakatar (5,400 capacity, 3,000 seated).

Honours: 3 league titles, 4 NFA Cups, 2 Christmas Cups, 5 Sakatar Grand Provincials, 6 Municipal Cups.

History: Everyone’s second-favourite team, and the choice of the wistful romantic for decades. Formed, back in the mists of time, from the personnel of a military honour guard, Chevaliers have been a symbol of youthfulness, fair play and attacking football for decades. Their ground is the most picturesque in the country, with its east stand interrupted by the walls of a famous castle. Chevaliers are particularly associated with the Christmas Cup. They won the inaugural tournament in 1981, and triumphed again in 1990, back in the days when the tournament was played indoors over the course of a fortnight, and was a massive, nationally-unifying TV event. Briefly became a type of national feeder club in the late 90s, used to incubate loan players from the major teams, but have since abandoned that practice.

Currently: Presently enjoying one of the most successful periods in their history, to the delight of neutrals everywhere. Manager Paulie Datson has delivered a Pro League First title and three Municipal Cups since 2008. However, Chevaliers have also lost two Christmas Cup finals, an NFA Cup final, two Grand Provincial finals and two Municipal Cup finals in the same period...everyone's second club indeed. Currently underperforming in the league, and just two points off the relegation play-off.

BALLYNOUN COMRADES

Colours: Green with black trim.

Stadium: Riverbank Row, Ballynoun (12,000 capacity, 6,800 seated).

Honours: 1 league title, 1 NFA Cup, 1 Christmas Cup, 23 (twenty-three) Western Provincial Football Combination Cups.

History: As is evident from their roll of honour, Ballynoun have often been accused of priortising their ancient feud with Western rivals Ballinglin, to the detriment of national competition. The truth is, however, that Ballynoun are a small provincial outfit which has punched well above its weight, and drawn admirable local support in doing so. Their sole title came in 1998, during a truncated season caused by national political crisis, with a direct, formulaic and aggressive game-plan which infuriated the rest of football, but delighted their supporters. Ballynoun is regarded as essentially an overgrown country village, in contrast to their cosmopolitan rivals at Ballinglin.

Currently: A volatile recent history has seen Ballynoun relegated from Pro League Premier in 2010, relegated from Pro League First in 2011, promoted back to the league at the first attempt in 2012, and return to the Premier in 2013. 2014 will provide a welcome interlude of consolidation, with the side currently 5th and playing out of their skins (although a recent serious injury to star striker Josh Holmes has staunched their gallop somewhat).

Great originality here. A Los Santos edit anyone?

The National Trophy (an interprovincial competition) has been staged five times, at irregular intervals and in a variety of formats. In the "build-up" to the revival of the competition last year, I designed a full set of kits for each previous iteration.

1981 National Trophy kits

1988 National Trophy kits

1989 National Trophy kits

1990 National Trophy kits

1993/94 National Trophy kits

(The kits for the most recent version were obviously designed in-game, using FM 10's limited and ugly selection of templates).

Very cool. While I never did anything to that level, some friends of mine got together and we created a dice game for baseball (this was pre-computer days..lol). You would play a full game using a sheet of paper as your boxscore. 162 games for each of 30 pro teams equating a season. I filled countless notebooks with game sheets and played about four seasons (around 19k games). This took years to do (~1976-1979). I remember one game in particular and actually kept that box score in my "memories box", the lone perfect game ever thrown by the dice.

I look at my kids now and think there is no way they'd have the patience or imagination to do something of that scale so kudos to you for bringing your childhood vision into the modern age.

Nice thread. Great idea and so in depth. Look forward to reading more. Which team are you managing?

Very cool. While I never did anything to that level, some friends of mine got together and we created a dice game for baseball (this was pre-computer days..lol). You would play a full game using a sheet of paper as your boxscore. 162 games for each of 30 pro teams equating a season. I filled countless notebooks with game sheets and played about four seasons (around 19k games). This took years to do (~1976-1979). I remember one game in particular and actually kept that box score in my "memories box", the lone perfect game ever thrown by the dice.

I look at my kids now and think there is no way they'd have the patience or imagination to do something of that scale so kudos to you for bringing your childhood vision into the modern age.

I did something similar, simulating cricket matches (again, using Avrilia), although I largely used my very rudimentary knowledge of QBASIC to model them. But I had the notebooks full of scorecards too! I found one in my dad's house recently and was torn between nostalgia and thinking what a colossal waste of time and effort it was. It's actually much easier to do nowadays, FM performs all the calculation and record-keeping for me.

I guess, with games like baseball and cricket, imposing a narrative upon a set of statistics is much of the fun, so it's a natural impulse. I used to love how one could glance over cricket scorecards from the 19th century and reconstruct the game, in a way that's much harder to do with football.

Nice thread. Great idea and so in depth. Look forward to reading more. Which team are you managing?

I'm Sakatar City. Four championships in a row doesn't reflect my managerial prowess; a couple of them have been very close, and since the prize money for winning leagues is high, and we're based in a large city with a huge potential following, success breeds success. We won 4-2 at Pearsons last night, by the way, while Freistadt beat Gold Swords 1-0. We're now top on 40 points, with Gold Swords second on 39 and Freistadt still in the race on 38.

I've started building something similar (when I say started, I mean I've put some (terrible) country and city names down in a spreadsheet and only put a handful into the editor...) but had one question - when it came to populating your clubs with players, did you add all of these manually? That seems like it's going to be the tough bit, and I thought of just using the "add players to playable teams" part to generate them, but not sure how accurate this would be. Lots of experimenting to come.

I've started building something similar (when I say started, I mean I've put some (terrible) country and city names down in a spreadsheet and only put a handful into the editor...) but had one question - when it came to populating your clubs with players, did you add all of these manually? That seems like it's going to be the tough bit, and I thought of just using the "add players to playable teams" part to generate them, but not sure how accurate this would be. Lots of experimenting to come.

I added at least twenty players manually to each of the 32 Pro League clubs (this was the most tedious part of the process), and a core of players to some of the more high-profile NPO-level clubs. And just a few extra players here and there, where I wanted to create a particular narrative. He's retired and become a scout now, but I remember adding a striker called Dick Graydon to Cathcoate, who was still playing senior football at the age of 50. If it gets really boring, you don't have to give players any attributes, just vital stats, positions and CA/PA.

Generally you'll find the game will load the squads with a standard of player appropriate to the club's resources and reputation.

Love this thread.

Just caught up with the thread. Top stuff LewisQ, really enjoying reading this.

Any chance you could upload the database and post a link?

I'd love to do something similar myself but don''t have the time or knowledge to do so.

Any chance you could upload the database and post a link?

I'd love to do something similar myself but don''t have the time or knowledge to do so.

Hi gonzrulesok, I might do that if people are interested, although to be honest, I'm kind of reluctant to let go of it, as it feels personal and unique to me. Also, I have to say that forming your own db is far more satisfying. I'd love to help out anyone who wants assistance with doing it (mine is based on FM 10, but I assume the editor is much the same in later versions).

Here's some political context and background for anyone who's interested. I've uploaded these documents to scribd for you to read at your convenience, as they're fairly off-topic for the FM forum.

List and description of all parties represented in parliament

Constituency-by-constituency results of 2013 National Election

Composition of current cabinet

Here's some political context and background for anyone who's interested. I've uploaded these documents to scribd for you to read at your convenience, as they're fairly off-topic for the FM forum.

List and description of all parties represented in parliament

Constituency-by-constituency results of 2013 National Election

Composition of current cabinet

Yup, you is crazy.

Yup, you is crazy.

Not disputing that, bro!

Really, though, I just find FM more fun when it's happening within a particular context. I don't have nearly enough patience or time to play an MMORPG, so I like that I can create a virtual gaming environment with the bare bones of FM, and play it at my own pace.