FM13: Lower League Management - For Those who can Only Dream of a Trip to Old Trafford

[SRL88]

Cracking work so far cel

[cel1234]

Promoted won it by 4 points Rangers cracked hahaha

[SRL88]

Excellent achievement

[Braundjoh]

My Dartford side just won 1-0 at home against Colchester in the FA Cup Second Round in the first season, rather delighted with that! Still in the play-off places as well, but it's really tight in there.

And my reward is a Third Round tie against either Ebbsfleet or Grimsby away, so I have a real chance of getting through to the Fourth Round!

[cel1234]

My record v Rangers http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag110/mcmillan9-john/Montrose_FixturesNextOpponent.png

The League which shows excellent reading the Mighty Montrose http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag110/mcmillan9-john/ScottishThirdDivision_OverviewStages.png

[Braundjoh]

Argh, fixture congestion is killing me right now. On a sticky patch of form at the moment, I keep drawing games so I'm losing pace with the team at the top. Still in the play-off places, and I have a few games in hand because of the FA Cup and FA Trophy, but it's difficult. Still, got a Fourth Round replay at home against Barnsley to look forward to and if we can get through we have a home tie against Leeds.

[SRL88]

Thats the major gripe I have with the lower leagues. You play so many fixtures, and your players fitness levels arent as good as in the Premiership so you just knacker easily.

[Braundjoh]

Yeah, it gets tricky juggling your players and not exceeding the wage budget. I exceeded the wage budget a bit, but hopefully the cup runs will offset that a bit.

Dear lawdy, we just beat Barnsley on pens after a 0-0 draw in the replay. Now we'll have a home tie at home against Leeds in the FA Cup Fifth Round. I certainly wasn't expecting this.

[Tazzylord]

I went for Vauxhall challenge again this year. Last year I managed to get them to Npower League 2, but I'm really struggling with the wage budget and gaining the interest of decent lower league players. I think Vauxhall start off with a wage budget of like £400ish and you're already spending pretty much over that.

I'm currently sat in 10th at the moment, as we approach Christmas, so I think I'll be pushing for play-offs at most.

[ANUBUS]

I love doing Vauxhall but this year gonna do another team in the BSS this time will keep you up to date with who i picked.

[Braundjoh]

Just won the BSP on the last day of the season, a 2-1 win at home against Nuneaton secured the title! Both goals came from the captain, who plays in central midfield.

In other competitions, I lost in the FA Trophy semi final, and got knocked out of the FA Cup in the Fifth Round against Leeds, so I did pretty well really.

[nickbirdspain]

Alright folks, i had a very successful save with Gateshead on FM12 and i'm keen to dip my toe again into the lower leagues. Are there any teams with a good infrastructure in place that has the potential for promotion? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[LCFCEaves31]

Hello Everyone... getting away from the British Leagues, I hopped across to France to take charge of Paris FC (not PSG) in the French 3rd Div. Enjoying, even though I am in the bottom 5!! However won 5 on the bounce (3 being in the cup though).

I was just wondering if anyone else had managed in the French National (3rd).

And also if anyone else has had an objective from the board to concentrate on bringing youth through, because I think I am going to struggle with that, even though I want to do that. The youth system/facilities are adequate and my scouting network is not great... plus, we have no money, so I cannot go out and buy the better ones around me in France.

and one last point... no one will buy my players!! They are all valued 50-70% lower once ive placed them on the transfer list than there actual valuation, but still receive no offers. I had to release a couple and pay them off as they were causing trouble by not playing first team football (they were just doing my head in to be honest).

[Faramir]

I used to always play Noisy-le-Sec in past versions, but then they drifted out of National and I haven't played in France the last couple of FM editions. I am considering playing there again as I just ran through a season with Noisy in CM01-02 (was fun and uncomplicated- which has a certain appeal given the mounting complexity of FM- though I may have to sample FMC to see how it fares once I receive the game).

[LCFCEaves31]

I used to always play Noisy-le-Sec in past versions, but then they drifted out of National and I haven't played in France the last couple of FM editions. I am considering playing there again as I just ran through a season with Noisy in CM01-02 (was fun and uncomplicated- which has a certain appeal given the mounting complexity of FM- though I may have to sample FMC to see how it fares once I receive the game).

It has been fun, even though I am struggling a bit in the league!! I desperately want to make my own mark on the team next season, as a lot of deadwood will leave on a free. And it is uncomplicated in my opinion.

Different, and fun. Done too many non league games in England and got bored...

[Chip1310]

I'm going to give Lower League Management a try on FM13

however I have to wait until November 26th before I can play

[gotlandskommun]

can someone give some cool team recommend??? a team that can play a 4-4-1-1 =)

thanks in advice

[Purefun]

Metz, Bastia maybe.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Hi guys, playing as Bath City this year with my first save. Actually struggling quite a bit with wages though - signed some staff, and Dali Lopez and I was at my wage limit. Not having much luck offloading any deadwood either. I still went out and bought a few players though - Billy Tsovolos, Mirko Ranieri and Szilard Nemeth (remember him?), in the hope that I'll free up some budget in the near future. Any of you guys have any tips on how to get rid of unwanted players? Tried listing them for £0, offering them to clubs, placing them on the unwanted list etc. Doesn't seem to work.

[Andy107]

Got my game running as Colwyn Bay. Not entirely sure why, but noticed we had Frank Sinclair at the rip old age of 40 and he's absolutely bossing the league. Managed to snatch Stern John from Solihull and two left-sided 16 year old newgens from Wales and Spain who are more than good enough for this level, hopefully make a decent profit on them. Currently 6th: Won 5, drawn 5, lost 1 in my first quarter. Conceded the least goals in the league too (6 in 11 games) which makes me very happy.

Gutted Gifton Noel-Williams isn't around or on my game. He basically took my FM12 Thurrock team to League Two on his own.

[cel1234]

I've got Montrose to 1st Division in my 2 seasons managed same points as Rangers 90 but worse off goal difference went up in the playoffs also got to Scottish Cup Final beat Celtic 1-0 in Quarters but got beat by Hearts in the Final on pens gutted.

[steakfaced]

Starting a save of LLM with Start in the Norwegian Second Division. I wanted to pick a lower team, but they're all semi-professional and with my first bout into LLM I don't want to stress myself. Start are predicted first place finish, as well, so I should do well to get promoted.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - August 2012 - FC Bleid-Molenbeek

Third Division B

A pretty slow start no doubt about it. We did play pretty well in both games though so its just a case of us needing to find the back of the net. Ciney scored on the counter against us just before half time which really knocked us back. Despite pushing hard in the second half, we were just unable to find a goal. It was a similar story against Eisden too. Although both sides had chances, we had the better and more of them, but once again we just failed to score. I fully believe that once we click, we will start scoring.

Belgian Cup 3rd & 4th Round

Two very pleasing performances, despite an exit in the 4th Round. We battered Dilbeek by hammering seven goals past them in my first competitive game in charge. We were draw against higher level opposition in the next round and put in a very pleasing performance. Despite being 2-0 down, we battled on and pulled a goal back late in the game, but just couldnt find a second.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - September 2012 - FC Bleid-Molenbeek

Third Division B

Some may look at this and think way to many draws, but I think they are better than defeats and take it as a positive. Yeah its frustrating, but I would rather take a point than none. We took the lead in the Grimbergen game, but conceeded almost instantly. The game against Ath was rather annoying as we had numerous chances to win the game, but as has been the case already, we failed to take our chances. Despite falling behind in our next game to Union, we battled on and managed a late, late goal to grab a point. In our sixth game of the season we finally tasted victory with a very good display against Verviers. We rounded the month off with a solid draw away to Diegem.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - October & November 2012 - FC Bleid-Molenbeek

Third Division B

October Results

A very solid month which not only see's us remain unbeaten, but also notched us three wins as we finally started to find gear. The month kicked off with a very good win over Huy as Hamza Mourchid popped up with two goals from the wing to give us the win. This was followed up with a good 0-0 draw away to Bertrix. One goal was enough at home to Virton with Enzo Bellia scoring an early penalty. We rounded October off with a brilliant 3-1 win away to Kelmis with Cedric Tuta ripping their defence apart, grabbing a hat-trick.

November Results

November resulted in a little more of a mixed month, but we kicked it off with a solid win at home to Woluwe-Zaventem. Two disappointing results and performances followed, first of all at home to a poor RJSHL side. Despite taking the lead away to FCV Dender we were shocking and we well and truely ripped apart. Luckily, we bounced back in excellent fashion with an unbelievable performance at home to Bocholt, grabbing five goals in the process to put those poor performances behind us. The month was rounded off with an excellent draw away to high-flying Louviere.

[matty_superleeds]

anyone reccomend a couple of decent devensive midfielders for oxford city?

[steakfaced]

Just finished my first season with IK Start i the Norwegian second division. We had an 8 point lead with 5 games to play, and imploded. We needed a win on the final day against the third placed team to win the league, which was our expectation. after going 1-0 down we snaked a 2-1 win and won the league!

But the even better achievement was thanks to an amazing draw that saw us only play two higher level clubs and a 92nd winner in the SF, we won the Norwegian Cup 3-0 over Valarenga.

Not sure on my expectations for next season, and can't make signings yet until I get my new wage budget which is annoying. Losing a lot of players including loanees so we'll do well to stay mid table I'd say

[ANUBUS]

I useually play as vexaull in the BSN and this year im running two lower league games one is salisbury city in the BSS and Sumy in the Ukraine first division . I wanted to give myself a new challenge and play in a league i have no clue about. being in Ukraine has been very diffrent so far the rules make it tougher there so i will enjoy it more now hopefully i can get them to a world class club with rich finances but im sure that will take a long time and im happy about that. It Be a real challenge there as the rules only allow me to have no more then 4 rgn players in the starting lineup. I have played the epl spain italy brazil ireland leagues for the past 4 years so it got borring doing the same thing.

This time im not useing any cheat programs and im useing my own judgment on players . I rather play it right and legit this time to make it more harder and challenge my ability.

Wish me luck

[steakfaced]

Oof, had a rough run of form in my second season with IK Start. We were promoted last year, and with a new 3-5-2 it took some time getting used to and went thru poor results at a bad time. Knocked out of the Norwegian Cup in the second round on PKs, unfortunately, this is what got me into the Euro Cup playoff rounds.

Speaking of, after knocking out three teams (Dinamo Bucharest being one!) we're so close to the group stage. Just need to hold on to my 2-0 lead and we made it. Should be huge. Sitting 3rd in the table, Tromso are lighting everyone up and 12 points clear but there's still abou 18 matches left.

Also, Chelsea lost their home playoff leg 3-2 to Nordsaelland so we'll see who advances there

[KevinLFC]

Ive started a new game, with Chester not sure what to expect

[MartinGregory84]

Do Bradford count in this thread?

[Spireite14]

I'm just about to kick off my first season as manager of Middelfart Fodbold in the Danish Second Division West. I'm expected to try and avoid relegation and my team is made up of players on amateur contracts, so a few of my better players have already been snapped up by bigger teams. I've managed to find a few replacements but seeing as I know nothing about the Danish Second Division West I'm not sure if they're up to the task. My assistants seem to think they're alright though, so we'll have to see what happens.

I've been fairly impressed by performances in friendlies, but really have no idea as to the stature of the opposition I've been up against. Hopefully OB, my parent club, can send a few extra players my way as I embark on the challenge of turning Middelfart into a European footballing giant.

[KevinLFC]

Do Bradford count in this thread?

No is more for non league teams

[daylight]

I started out with Tonbridge and it is a really good LLT,especially for anyone trying LLM out for the first time.(I have always started in the bottom reaches of the leagues)

They are 8-1 to win the league but the board are happy with a mid table finish,you already have a decent squad with a really good striker for this level.

You will need to get a good keeper(I posted 1 in the LL players thread)and buff up your defence,other than that you are good to go.

I also searched and searched and finally got 3 players in on loan,the season was tight until the last few games and we managed to pull away a bit and won promotion.

In the BSP I have quite literally searched the world for new players as the English lads that would improve my team were either not interested or were asking to much.

I now have a great team set up for this level from all over.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=107650468

Made a good start and are sitting in 4th place after 13 games.

[SRL88]

Do Bradford count in this thread?

No is more for non league teams

League 2, I dont see any reason why not.

[setzel]

This year i only took a league 1 club as my first real career in fm , i saw an article about premier league in the early days and i remmember oldham were a founding member , my next one will probably have to be in CFA

[jakobx]

Its my fifth season with Staines so far and im really struggling. My main problem is signing players. I had some luck in my second season since i managed to sign enough players of good enough quality and also managed to get promoted to BSP. Its my third season in BSP and ive lost most of my players since i cant afford their wages. Pretty much no one that is good enough for BSP is willing to sign for my team. Im trying to get some players on loan but best i can find is backup players. So how do you find players to fill your team? Im trying to rely on my scouts but im not getting many results. No one outside of england seems to be willing to sign for me despite me being able to offer pretty decent salaries compared to their home country. Any ideas guys? If i get into a mild injury crisis i wont even be able to field a team.

[KevinLFC]

Its my fifth season with Staines so far and im really struggling. My main problem is signing players. I had some luck in my second season since i managed to sign enough players of good enough quality and also managed to get promoted to BSP. Its my third season in BSP and ive lost most of my players since i cant afford their wages. Pretty much no one that is good enough for BSP is willing to sign for my team. Im trying to get some players on loan but best i can find is backup players. So how do you find players to fill your team? Im trying to rely on my scouts but im not getting many results. No one outside of england seems to be willing to sign for me despite me being able to offer pretty decent salaries compared to their home country. Any ideas guys? If i get into a mild injury crisis i wont even be able to field a team.

Have you tried getting kids between 16-21 on a free transfer?. I normally find a few knocking about and you probably need to use the search filters to find good ones or you can scout them. I normally try and find good players on loan as I believe you can have up to 5 in your match day squad

[jakobx]

Have you tried getting kids between 16-21 on a free transfer?. I normally find a few knocking about and you probably need to use the search filters to find good ones or you can scout them. I normally try and find good players on loan as I believe you can have up to 5 in your match day squad

Tried both. I can rarely find anyone useful. Mostly just half a star potential players. BSP level players arent interest in signing. Loans are a bit better. I can find one or two BSP level players per season and a couple just to fill the ranks.

[psap]

Started of with Worcester City.

Mutual termination with the entire existing staff that was horrid. Board didn't complain.

Added best quality Asst Mgr, 2 Coaches, Physio, and Scout that i could find.

Had $0 budget available to spend so successfully solicited the Board for another $400. Yet to spend it.

Only signing youths, and have brought in 4 mids and 2 defenders on loans.

1 out of contract player i am starting, who wants more than i can afford. He's stuck around so far and is just getting paid appearance fees.

Don't have anyone up front who can put the ball in the back of the net.

Struggling to stay mid-table after 10 games played. I can almost feel the wheels coming off.

Will be modestly in the red this season. Will schedule my own friendlies next year. For whatever reason i always played Worcester in FM11, and I always created The Birmingham Cup and invited Birmingham, Wolves, West Brom, and AV. 3 of the 4 always accepted and that provides about $300-400k that makes my year financially. Curious whether FM13 will allow it in this new version.

Playing a 4-2-3-1 but not happy with my inability to score and when i lose its a blowout.

Will be moving to 4-4-2 shortly I believe.

[psap]

Its my fifth season with Staines so far and im really struggling. My main problem is signing players. I had some luck in my second season since i managed to sign enough players of good enough quality and also managed to get promoted to BSP. Its my third season in BSP and ive lost most of my players since i cant afford their wages. Pretty much no one that is good enough for BSP is willing to sign for my team. Im trying to get some players on loan but best i can find is backup players. So how do you find players to fill your team? Im trying to rely on my scouts but im not getting many results. No one outside of england seems to be willing to sign for me despite me being able to offer pretty decent salaries compared to their home country. Any ideas guys? If i get into a mild injury crisis i wont even be able to field a team.

Have you tried scouting the England Trials games? At the least you can scout the players for whom no clubs have shown interest. Many will not consider playing for you, but i have always had success (FM11 mind you) signing a few after trials.

[CityAndColour]

Thought I'd contribute to this thread. Am currently in my 5th season with my real life team, Forest Green Rovers. Am also documenting my career in this thread.

---

I was pleasantly surprised to see we have been well represented in regards to player data on this version, with a number of key players good enough for league football, and several (such as Oshodi and Stokes) with the potential to play as high as League One and possibly the Championship, which I feel is quite reflective of real life. Klukowski has been ramped up considerably too after a break-out season in 2011/12, in which he scored 18 goals from midfield.

It's a great team to start with, as under Dale Vince, the club has turned professional and is starting to solidify itself after plenty of financial problems in the past. Expectations are also quite low, with a media prediction of 11th and the board only expecting a mid-table finish, and given you inherit a squad that is amongst the strongest in the division, a promotion push without any board pressure is very possible and a great way to increase your job security early.

Star players: Eddie Oshodi, Jamie Turley, Chris Stokes, Kieron Forbes, Yan Klukowski and Magno Vieira.

---

As for my own career so far, we were promoted at the first time of asking, winning the Conference, with Stevenage's Don Cowan the only addition for £5.5K. Vieira scored 24 goals to finish second in the league charts.

We are now into our 4th season in League Two, having notched 13th, 10th and 15th placed finishes. Currently we sit 2nd with 15 games to go, but it is a tight league and even a couple of poor results may see us drop out of the playoff spots.

We have played a 4-3-2-1 the whole way through. The club is captained by Oshodi, while his deputy Klukowski recently broke the club's league appearance record.

Star man is Vince Ruff, who came through as a youth player at Welsh side TNS, before spending just over a season at Gateshead in the Conference. We forked out £325K for him which is a huge sum, but we had sold former Man Utd youth defender Reece Brown to Hartlepool for £550K only a week prior. He duly notched 20 goals in his first season, and has 28 in 36 games to date this campaign.

Our other star is Northern Ireland international Jim Smyth, who arrived at the club in the summer on a free from Cliftonville. Unfortunately he only signed a one year deal and is wanting a wage increase I can't provide. We may need to get promoted to hold onto the young midfield star.

[jakobx]

Have you tried scouting the England Trials games? At the least you can scout the players for whom no clubs have shown interest. Many will not consider playing for you, but i have always had success (FM11 mind you) signing a few after trials.

Tried doing that, but i gave up. Only a couple of them would sign but they arent good enough for BSP. Those that atleast have some potential prefer to be unemployed than to sign for my club. I do find a couple of players by the end of he season but thats kinda late and i lose a lot of them in a few months anyway. It seems to be impossible to sign enough players in preseason.

[Dexter_Morgan]

I plumped for Santa Cruz in the Brazillian Third Division last night.

Currently 3rd in the Pernambuco state championship after 12 games. Board seem all happy. Managed to snag Eric Cantona as Director of Football too.

The Brazillian lower leagues seem easy ish to manage in as there are loads of loans/free transfers available and you can really negotiate low wages.

I have had saves with them on 09' 10' and 11 the debt was a pain in the arse but it was great fun. On 09 I had a lad called Magrao (he was a real player) who could play all down the right hand side, he assisted loads and also got well in to double figures for the 3 years I had him, unfortunately I had to let him get to Internacional for £2M to help clear the debt

Enough rambling i'd like to hear how you get on because i'll be there at some point

[stunimmo1]

random question - managing Salisbury in BSS and at recent press conference was asked who i thought player of the year would be... does it matter who i choose? is there the slight chance that they may start to see me as favourite personnel? i said 'Messi' and am sitting back waiting for his agent to get in touch... =]

[Jolanthustrel]

I took over Altrincham in the BSN to relive some old time memories of when I first started playing football management games. My wage budget doesn't even cover my starting 11 when I get there. £500 a week for my leading striker, whom I'm not likely to be able to afford if\when I get promoted at the end of the season, even if my assistant seems to rate him has being a leading star in League 2.

[Chip1310]

Started a save with Harrogate Town, the budget seems decent and I'm trying to find some good players

I think I've found some really good players, but I'm not used to managing at this level so I'm not sure if I've got good players lol

[psap]

I took over Altrincham in the BSN to relive some old time memories of when I first started playing football management games. My wage budget doesn't even cover my starting 11 when I get there. £500 a week for my leading striker, whom I'm not likely to be able to afford if\when I get promoted at the end of the season, even if my assistant seems to rate him has being a leading star in League 2.

more challenging than running Barca eh?

[psap]

Started a save with Harrogate Town, the budget seems decent and I'm trying to find some good players

I think I've found some really good players, but I'm not used to managing at this level so I'm not sure if I've got good players lol

i'd love some good players. nothing but shiite here at Worcester. but having a blast.

safely in 13th after 16 games and the rumors are flying that they want to sack me!!

[Chip1310]

I've finished pre-season and every single game I drew :|

my squad can't keep a lead, always conceding goals at the end