Lower league managers guide FM15

I’ve been playing football manager ever since the champ man days and always love the idea of taking a team from the lower leagues as far as possible. At the moment my current save is Wrexham on FM 15, as you can see here. On FM 14 I took Varzim SC from Portuguese non league to the champions league. I see the lower league saves as a long term thing. My favourite leagues to manage in are England, Portugal & Germany. I am going to break down this guide into simple topics.

Employment status & Reputation

You have two options regarding employment, pick he team you want or start unemployed.

With regards to picking manager reputation I always use the “suggest” option on who I have picked to manage.

Picking a team

How hard do you want the challenge to be? Do you pick Colwyn Bay or Harrogate? Both teams are in the Vanarama North.

Club Profile - Colwyn Bay – Semi Pro, Local reputation, Value 120k, Finances Okay, Stadium 2500 and 500 seated, Basic training and poor youth. Predicted to finish 22nd

Club Profile – Harrogate – Semi Pro, Local reputation, Value 200k, Finances Okay, Stadium 3800 and 500 seated, Below average for training and youth. Predicted to finish 1st

Not that much between each club…

Having looked through all the clubs in the Vanarama North the stand out club would be Stockport County. Why is this?

Club Profile - Stockport County - Semi Pro, Local reputation, Value 900k, Finances Okay, Stadium 10500 all seater, Good training facilities & poor youth.

When picking a club it’s always important to consider each factor of the club, Stockport have a lot already in place such as the stadium and good training facilities to attract better players. Bigger stadium equals more fans through the gates when you’re winning and more money in the pockets.

Finances

This is one of the most important parts when managing in the lower leagues. I have picked Colwyn Bay as my test subject for this guide. Their balance is £20,997. They are spending £2808 a week on wages. My first port of call would be arrange some money spinning friendlies at home as the first few games and get some money in the bank, then when the season gets nearer and I have assembled my squad, the last few friendlies I would play lesser teams to get the tactic fluid and confidence up before the season starts. I was always stay with the wage budget.

Philosophy, tactics and squad

Money will dictate all of the above. There is no point thinking I will set up and play like Barca or Munich, you won’t. Quickly identify your best players and build the team around them. If you don’t have any wingers don’t create a tactic that relies on wingers. The best tools for identifying your best players in the “Squad Depth” and your assistant manager. Build the team around the players you have and the players you can get without breaking the bank.

Signing players

Best tool available is scouts. If you don’t have one, hire the best one/two possible. Set them assignments. Scout the league you are in or the leagues above or below. Look at the free transfer market and always invite players for a trail before signing them. Get them to your club and see what they are all about. Scout the teams in leagues below you, and if their players are on non contract basis then poach them. Once you have scouted around and used the free transfer market the next best thing is the loan market. Don’t blow all your budget on that super striker who’ll score you out of the league. If he gets injured where is the plan B?

Loan Market

Ask your board for a parent Club (if you don’t already have one) and scout their under 21’s/19’s for their best players and offer to loan them, try not to pay any or their wages. Use the loan market to your advantage. That’s what it’s there for.

Squad, training and staff

Once you have signed the players you need and identified the best tactic with the players at your disposal. I always use the “Highlight Key Attributes for Role” tab. For example I have a defensive forward with the support role for a tactic I use. I always try and match the players to their best stats in my tactic. A good defensive forward will have good “strength” “work rate” and “determination” stats. Marry these up with your players and the player roles you are using with your Tactic. Next is training if you have a weak defence, then use defensive training. I always use player training to on the advice of the coaching team. I always like to have as many specialist coaches as my budget will allow such as attacking and defensive. As I move up the leagues I always add more coaches and scouts.

Progress the club

Always keep an eye on Finances! Keep in the black but you need to come up with a strategy to grow the club. Sign young players who your scouts say can play on a higher league that way they get the game experience in the league you’re in and have a chance of playing at a higher level. Also this adds to the saleability of a player. If an offer comes in that’s good then sell the player. There is always another gem waiting to be scouted. Use the start of pre season for money spinning friendlies that’ll see you through the entire season. If there is money in the bank always ask the board to improve the facilities. Better facilities can attract better players.