Where Do You Play?

[Nomis07]

A majority of forum members seem to play in England or Scotland, but I just can't seem to bring myself to play in either of those leagues. Perhaps I feel like I know too much about them or I hate the thought of playing against, and beating, the team I support, so I end up managing in mainland Europe.

I was wondering what leagues everyone else played in, I assume that England, Scotland, Italy and Spain will be the most popular and i'm limited to ten options, so apologies if you think anything has been forgotten.

In 09 I went with Italy, but only because I had a major fail in my FC Bayern game and was struggling in 5th and out of the CL. If it wasn't for that I would always manage in Germany and far prefer it to the other available leagues. The players are of a good standard, there is a decent level of competitiveness between the teams, the winter break makes January transfer window easy and you can achieve decent success with bargain basement buys.

Pick yours and tell us why.

[Daley]

I know that you'll see this as boring Nomis07 but I just have to manage my team which means that I very rarely manage anywhere but the EPL. The reason is that I only realy have time to have one game going at once as I can't spend as much time playing as I would like, I therefore want to bring success to my boyhood heroes! It's interesting to me that you seem to never have taken the challenge of managing the team you support! Is there a reason for that?

[Nomis07]

In all honesty, and this is very sad, i'm such a die hard fan that even losing in the game makes me angry and upset I couldn't live with myself if I managed the team I support and messed up!

[Les Girondins]

What a weird poll. How can you exclude Italy and Spain?

[Nomis07]

What a weird poll. How can you exclude Italy and Spain?

I was wondering what leagues everyone else played in, I assume that England, Scotland, Italy and Spain will be the most popular

Because they would no doubt be in the top four most popular and I wanted an idea of the other nations people managed in. Keep up old boy

[aaberdeenn]

Croatia.

I know too much about them or I hate the thought of playing against, and beating, the team I support, so I end up managing in mainland Europe.

And this as the reason.

[Wee Aja]

England or Spain

[giblets_of_fire]

My first two games will both be in Engalnd (Spurs and Hitchin), but i usually end up moving around Europe after that.

On FM08 i had a really good game with Bayern Munich. I also did stints at Fiorentina and Barcelona.

I find it hard to motivate myself to play with a team i dont have an affinity to

[Nomis07]

I find it hard to motivate myself to play with a team i dont have an affinity to

I find that FM often builds that affinity though and managing a team you felt nothing about could turn you into a fan.

[Mike7077]

Managing in Italy at the moment, as you well know, Mr. Nomis. Wanna know why? It's because I went to Rome in October and it triggered a desire to manage Roma. I don't know why, but I'm glad I did because I love eeet.

[giblets_of_fire]

I find that FM often builds that affinity though and managing a team you felt nothing about could turn you into a fan.

True but it can take a couple of seasons to feel right at a club, whereas with Spurs that is there from the start.

I wound managing Peterborough on fm07 for a few unsuccessful seasons and now i always look out for them on Soccer Saturday. It can go the other way as well, in that FM can make you dislike people and clubs. i particuarlly hate Nathan Jarman (its a long story). Also my Hitchin game on FM09 has made me really resent Merthyr Tydfill, they got a massive takeover in the BSS and bought their way to league one at pretty much the same speed as we got there through hard graft!! I now smile whenever i see they have lost

[Bolognafc1909]

Nomis, about Germany - Isn't there problems with that league in the game, like registration issues and the reserve teams??

I'd like to try Germany but I've been put off with all bugs.

[Nomis07]

I haven't played much of 09 in Germany, but 08 was perfectly fine when patched. Have a look in the the German League issues thread and it will probably detail any issues and whether they have been rectified or not.

[DougyMarshall]

UK-Scotland-SPL-Rangers

Never had a save with any other team thats lasted more than 3 games.

I play them for the reasons you dont play your favourite team.

I cant stand watching the AI lose games, in a few experiments ive run Rangers and Celtic usualy end up mid table also rans by the 2020's.

One of my aims in all my Rangers saves is to keep at least one half of the old firm a competitive force.

[R055]

I mostly like to manage in England. But I also like to manage in Spain,Holland and Italy.

[Nomis07]

I'm surprised no-one has picked Holland yet, I thought the transfer freedom would have been too tempting for some people.

[Mike7077]

The Dutch leagues are confusing. Especially the second tier. I don't understand it.

[Remco]

I'm playing nearly always in Holland. Because it's my home nation. It's a little sad there are only 38 professional teams here, so you won't be able to take a non-league side to Champions League success. (Amateur teams aren't able to promote into a professional league. You'll have to "buy" a license)

It's hard to make good transfers and keep good players at your side because the league standard isn't very high and most teams are short of finances and transfer budget. But I think it will be a challenge for a lot of people to take dutch teams to European success.

The rules of the second league aren't very hard to understand, but they are a bit weird and playoffs suck, I must admit.

[Zoulpain]

Brazil! Força Grêmio!

[Raware]

Hong Kong because i live here, still playing 08 though. Getting my copy of 09 this week so will probably start a game in HK again.....or China or even Ireland. Have also previously played in Sweden and Croatia. Any league that's a REAL challenge.

[Trevomac]

italy, ireland or england.

[jptykes]

Started in Iceland, left there for a Greek club, moved from there to Russia and then on to Finland.

Looking to jump to Italy or Germany next.

Managing in England does nothing for me. Too predictable, too safe and too boring.

[iamweesel]

England

I can't stand change

[red rainbow]

I find that FM often builds that affinity though and managing a team you felt nothing about could turn you into a fan.

.... so absolutely true, Nomis, I'm actually managing Vauxhall Motors and, well, I admit I look for their results IRL and feel right if they win
Back IT, this is the 10th CM/FM I play and NEVER managed an italian team (there is a whole week to "live" football here in Italy, let me "breathe" in a game, at least... ), but I can say I travelled across whole Europe (perhaps my favourite choice is France...)

[Quackje]

Currently Turkey, before South Africa and Uruguay. I can't stand the English league, its worse than the Hungarian league cup.

[CaptainPlanet]

You mean this isn't Witton Albion Manager 2009?

[eXistenZ]

France, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Finland. Those are the countries in which i managed a club. not much, but i am very loyal to a club so i can easily stay with a club for 10-15 years

[bieritarier]

I have to choose Germany as I usually start the new game with a longer save with my FC Bayern.

Then I'll start a second save with Ipswich Town, which is my 2nd favorite team and try to lead them to European success (which I normally manage to do).

On 08 I've been managing in Hungary, France and China
On 07 I had a good time in the Netherlands, a bad time in MLS (oh I hate the transfer rules and the roster thing, it's driving me insane), Austria, Russia, Brazil, Argentina.

On demos I usually pick Arsenal or Barcelona.

I'll never ever manage in Italy as that would definitely mean that I'll lose to Inter, AC Milan or in the worst case, Juventus at some stage. I can't say I like any Italian club, but those three are clubs I hate in particular. As FC Bayern supporter you know how much I hate them when I say that compared to these teams I love Man U lol.

[why?]

For the past few years i have always started at Saint-Etienne in France. I have a big soft spot for them, plus the squad is usually pretty threadbare as far as talent goes, so it's a good challenge trying to return them to their former glory.

Not got FM09 yet as i'm waiting for the final patch (and subsequent reaction), but if i do i want to start in either Argentina or the Netherlands, and build up a squad of young, talented players before trying to fend off the poachers when they arrive.

[Scath]

Spain usually.

I get quite bored winning leagues, I get the most enjoyment in signing young players and bringing them through to the first team, and so, Spain's the best place to manage for me, given the ease of getting South Americans there.

I've also had some enjoyable games in Germany, for some similar reasons.

I think in one or two more seasons, I'll start a new game after my Barcelona game, with a more varied league structure. My goal will probably be to take a team in one of the stronger weak leagues (i.e. Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine) and see if I can lead them to European domination. Always a fun way of doing things.

[chopper99]

I'm very boring so usually always play in the big leagues. I like a challenge so will play in the lowest tier of the big leagues, but I also like to have something to aim for. For that I need to know that eventually I might get my team into a league where they can earn good money and a good enough reputation to attract top players.

I recently started a game in the Argentine second division but soon realised that I'd never have them making decent money, and this spoils my enjoyment. So I jumped ship to Derby.

My main long term save will always be Gateshead, as I live there and it's a big challenge getting them to the Prem.

[Nomis07]

Nobody fancies South Africa then? That's wet my appetite for an SA save, although i'd have to use FM08. The thought of trying to suceed in SA with 09, let alone Italy or England, scares me.

[Scath]

The one thing that makes playing outside a big league a pain in the arse is that because of your league's lower rep, players will always eventually decide to **** off elsewhere. In FM 08 I holidayed forward 5 seasons, and took over a Schalke side languishing towards the arse end of Germany's Bundesliga. WIth a bit of luck and some nice signings I was able to turn them into a powerhouse of German football, but I lost a lot of players to other leagues, because they decided that the German champions were less of a draw than relegation battlers in England or Spain. It's a pain really.

[Nomis07]

Very true Scath, but I found it quite easy to attract the best players in Germany because the rep of the surrounding teams was so poor. Because of this, I was always able to sign a good, home grown, replacement with any excess cash from the glory hunting sods who wanted to move on.

[Serdar]

why Spain Italy and England is not in the pool as a seperate item? I think most of the votes for Rest of Europe comes for these 3

[Nomis07]

why Spain Italy and England is not in the pool as a seperate item? I think most of the votes for Rest of Europe comes for these 3

I was hoping that people who played in Spain, Italy or England wouldn't vote. It's obvious that they would be the top three so there was no need to include them and I wanted people to vote on the best of the rest.

[Scath]

Very true Scath, but I found it quite easy to attract the best players in Germany because the rep of the surrounding teams was so poor. Because of this, I was always able to sign a good, home grown, replacement with any excess cash from the glory hunting sods who wanted to move on.

Very true, and I always hated doing that. It ended up in my game with Bayern (as ever) raping all the German teams for their talent, which always made me feel a little guilty. Added to that, it ruined any challenge in the league, so I always looked abroad.

I'm certainly really looking forward to starting a new game in the so called weaker leagues, it can be great fun, and it's quite relaxing if you put together a neat formation. The big leagues can at times be quite stressful. One great factor of 09 I've noticed is that the big teams don't die as quickly as in 08. United Chelsea Liverpool and Arsenal are dominating England in 2012 in my game, whereas at that stage of my 08 games half of them would be in the bottom half of the table by now. That degree of continuity allows the league to maintain a challenge.

As an example, in one of my 08 games, I'd holidayed forward 10 seasons, and took over Barcelona. Despite being a midtable team, tehy still had a rake of cash, so I was just able to buy a team of talented youth and rampage all over the much weaker teams at the top end of the league who had replaced the Barcelonas, Real Madrids and Valencias.

[why?]

I actually really enjoy the challenge of developing youth and then trying to protect them from the big boys. The only problem i've had in the past is when the game doesn't generate sufficient talent to replace them.

It's fun being in charge of a Boca or Ajax and trying to sustain your position as the top team domestically whilst having your best players picked off every now and then.

[JDownie]

I hate managing in Spain, despite the fact that I always upload it.
England is my most used league, but not my favourite.
I like managing in Italy most, as I find it the best form of football, in real life.

Currently, I'm managing in Germany. 1860 Munchen. =)

[AB-forever]

Currently Russia. For some reason I really started liking the league because of FM2005 and I've managed in it in every FM ever since. And now I thought it would be interesting to find out how much you had to do before any non-Eastern-European player based in Western Europe would join

[why?]

I managed Dynamo Moscow in FM07 and loved it, the "smaller" leagues are much more fun.

[pnefc22]

Shakhtar for me as I have never managed them before and a handsome £40mill transfer kitty was too tempting.

[TomHAVFC]

England as the team I support plays there

[chopper99]

Shakhtar for me as I have never managed them before and a handsome £40mill transfer kitty was too tempting.

I've often fancied giving Shakhtar a go as they have some decent players as well. Could be a good challenge trying to win the Champions League with them.

[Micado]

For my career save I start always in Holland (my native country) and form there I just see what comes along, can be anything. Have all UK leagues, Holland, two leagues of Germany, spain and Italy and one random country (this time Brazil). Have France loaded as view only.

[kav]

On FM 09 i've only managed in two countries so far as i'm always Sunderland, team i support. The other team i've managed was Boca, but only lasted just over half a season, as it's quite hard to manage in Argentina.

[glamdring]

I've dabbled in Mexico, Iceland (for a long term game in FM06), Norway, Holland (not for quite a while), Italy and Germany (plus maybe a few others), but most of my major saves have always been in England or Scotland...I just can't stay away from Scotland for too long and England is my home and the leagues I know the best and which provide the richest variety since they have more tiers than any other.

[AMS]

I prefer managing smaller teams in high profile countries, otherwise there are limits to how successful you can become.

[minisav]

I go anywhere a challenge tells me to go

[raffo141]

only two leagues ive managed in are england and italy couldnt be bothered with spain and i tried other leagues like portugal and ukraine and stuff cant bring myself to do it

[glamdring]

Perhaps I feel like I know too much about them or I hate the thought of playing against, and beating, the team I support, so I end up managing in mainland Europe.

Personally I take great joy from beating the team you support

Scunthorpe United 5-1 Manchester United

[Nomis07]

Little amuses the innocent eh Glam

I can't remember the last time the team I support beat the team you support though, hmm, i'll check BBC Sport.

[glamdring]

Hmm...I guess that'd be last night

[Nomis07]

That'll teach you to pour scorn!

[peter-evo]

generally in England but judging by this thread, managing abroard can lead to good challenges.

[BlackPearl]

France with Bordeaux. In FM08, I managed Fenerbahce.

I could never manage in England or Italy or Spain. I just get bored easily and I don't know why this is. On FM09, I started a game with Genoa but I just got bored for a reason that I can't exactly put my finger on. I'd say I don't manage in the EPL because I know enough about the league. I like to gain knowledge in other leagues. Maybe with teams who on their day have teams who can beat the "big giants" of Europe such as Fenerbahce, Bordeaux, Marseille, Standard Liege, etc.

Another thing I've noticed is that I find it very hard to manage a team I know nothing about. I've been watching Bordeaux matches all season and this has really got me into the mood for them. The previous season, I tried to catch as many Fenerbahce matches as I could. Maybe I failed with Genoa because I haven't ever seen them play live.

[small Mac]

I have a bit of a tradition of playing a game as Ajax on each versio. Really enjoy the dutch league as there is a decent quality of players without it being too difficult for my liking. But i always end of with 5+ saves on each version and have had enjoyable games in the past going teams such as Red Star Belgrade, Dinamo Kiev, Dinamo Minsk, Hibs, AIK etc. I never manage outside Europe and rarely in the 'big' leagues.