For a newbie player

I was wondering for a new or inexperienced player would you recommend playing with a bigger club or a lower level club?

The reason I ask is that if you manage a bigger club the expectations are higher (top of table or at least competing for competing top of table). I figure with the lower level clubs the players are similar is skill, so tactics and training may make more of a difference.

I am trying to get into figuring out the game, but I at a lost as to the best way to start as I have not had luck either way.

The advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

FWIW, I'd recommend starting at least one step down from the top league, select a team picked to finish mid-table, and set your experience level at "professional footballer" or higher, so the players will at least start out with a modicum of respect for you. And check their finances, you don't want to go into a situtation where the club's almost in receivership and the board wants you to sell off all the players.

Starting at a top-flight club's nice, because you get to play with all the big names, but the margin for error is very slim, and if you're teaching a squad a new tactic, you may be gone before they learn it sufficiently to win consistently.

I would pick a team playing in a league with little competition e.g Celtic or Porto. Celtic have no real competition in the SPL at least not until Rangers climb their way back up and Porto only have Benfica to compete with. Even if you make some mistakes you should still be able to win the league fairly comfortably. There's still the challenge of turning them into a success in the Champions League which should keep you going once you're more familiar with the game.

I'd start with a 2nd-tier team who have a decent set-up but aren't likely to have too much pressure on winning anything, and that equally aren't in danger of being relegated any time soon. That way, you have something to aim towards (promotion), but are more likely to be given a decent amount of time to achieve it. Try looking for a team that used to be in the Premier League but haven't been there for a few years.

Yes, being at a big club will mean everything is already set up for you, but there will also be more pressure on you to succeed in the short-term.

I really don't know why people recommend starting with a bigger club tbh.

Expectations are greater, pressure is greater, you have more players to deal with and more other things to deal with in general.

To start out I would always recommend a smaller club who are expected to finish towards the bottom of league they are in. Your expectations are then low, you are expected to lose a lot of games so you'll generally get more time to understand the game. You have less players to deal with and loaning/training players is generally not worth it due to poor facilities. This leaves you to concentrate on your first team squad.

Pick a club you like. Simple as that. Be that Arsenal, AFC Wimbledon or even Alfreton.

Learning by doing is the best way.

Maybe a 'sleeping giant', a relatively big club in a lower league somewhere. If you've got a strong enough squad and good budgets than it shouldn't be too much of a problem meeting the high expectations, giving you a successful start but still leaving you with enough to do in the longer term that you can learn the game better than you can at a big club when you don't need to do so much.

The problem with picking a team who are expected to lose a lot of games is that you will lose a lot of games and in a bad way. Great if you can handle it as part of a learning process but it's much more likely to be way too frustrating to get any enjoyment out of it. Personally I'd pick a team with decent resources and middling expectations. Preferably lower league so there are less distractions from the media side.

Sometimes it's best to pick the team you support as you will know the players better. Your starting reputation is key too, make sure it's higher then the club you pick to give you an advantage.

Or the suggestion of a big fish fish in small pond, like Celtic, Porto, Anderlecht, Shakhtar, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

As a newbie I would suggest you learn the ropes with a big clu like Barca, Real Madrid, Man C, Man U, Chelsea etc.

Or perhaps even better is a big club with little competition around it like Ajax, Porto or Celtic.

Definitely a big club, or maybe just the one you support.

If you pick a lower side you'd probably initially play as if you're a big, rich club. You'll buy too many or the wrong players, get the wrong staff, and all from a greatly reduced pool. Meanwhile you'll get annoyed as you lose your favourite players and get pummelled by teams that are simply better than you, in cups or if you get promoted. At least as a big club you can make mistakes, and you can sign most players and get to know what attributes you should be looking at and so on, plus you can just sign by name if all else fails until you get used to it.

As you can tell, there's a bunch of different ways to do it..

Personally, I think a team like Wolves is a good shout. They're strong for the league, and you can really test yourself in the cups. If you get promotion it obviously gets a bit more difficult, but at that point you should be well on your way.

I've recently started a Wolves file myself - and though I'm not new to the game, I find it a nice challenge and imagine it'd be good for newbies. The squad itself doesn't need a lot of work doing to it, for what that's worth.

I agree, best to start off at any club, I actually always play lower league as I like the challenge, when the club gets bigger though, I find it hard to "act like a big club" I am always looking for bargains etc on the transfer lists. Makes me good with the finances I guess! football manager

Start low, you get a lot more leeway, can see what is 'poor' for the standard and as you improve you'll be able to notice what is an error and what is just a player being a berk. At the top level, jumping in you'll be under pressure immediately, have to deal with morale, big egos and the difficult issue of recognising what is working and what isn't. The lower stages are a lot more forgiving in this respect. Essentially all the clubs are so close together in ability and talent that you should be able to win on the basis of your own skill (as you learn of course!) The other benefit, is you won't be saddled too much with the media interactions which, are naff but have a psychological affect on your players.

In short, the lower you go the more easily you should be able to pinpoint an issue or cause and effect. The higher, the faster you'll have to 'learn' but there's no guarantees you'll work out which is which.

Big club or small club isn't necessarily easier or harder, but there are different challenges at each level. Learning how to survive and grow as a small club is a different kettle of fish than learning how to win a treble in the top league, which is different than learning how to win in the margins in the middle of the table.

As a big club, it's harder to "screw up" - you've got a ton of money and usually much better players than your peers. It's probably a better place to learn how to create a basic tactical system (e.g. if this setup doesn't work for ManU vs. Maidenhead, clearly it's got some flaws). Lower leagues is a better place to learn how to create a system that works for the players you've got - you're more likely to have players that are only good at one thing, and can create a system that uses that effectively. Mid-table/midl-level wealth and below is a better place to learn transfer efficiency, because you can still find incredible value and can't just throw money at players or clubs.

Pick one and move forward. Make mistakes and learn lessons. And enjoy the ride!