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unemployed from the start - seeing where you can take your career without the big clubs?


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Does anyone like me, start off unemployed to see what they can achieve with the smaller less fortunate clubs, building your coaching badges and gradually rising to the top, even with the same club you started of with?

I've just managed to get the Port Vale job in 2020/21, they were 23rd in League 2, i started out as a very poor tracksuit manager with Harrogate Town in the Vanarama North, after 3 seasons with them i finally managed to get them promoted to the Conference where i was then saying my goodbyes and working up the ladder, i ended up taking the Grimsby job, it took me 3 seasons to win the league, i then had a successful 5 months of the 20/21 season with Grimsby in League 2 getting to as high as 12th, but decided to help Port Vale out, as it seemed a reasonable challenge with a much bigger budget

currently 4 games in i've lost 2 and won 2, creeping up 1 place to 22nd

anyone else like these kind of games instead of taking the easier route with a top club?

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Yup, this is pretty much the only type of save I do now. I get a lot of satisfaction from working my way up the managerial ladder, in as realistic a way as possible. I've had absolutely no success on FM15 as of yet (not for the lack of trying, believe me), but FM14 I enjoyed a really fun save, going from Weston Super-Mare, Accrington, Wrexham, West Ham, Bradford, West Brom and then finally landing the Arsenal job. There were some big bumps in the road, but I made it to the top, eventually. You hate the bad moments when they happen, but they make you appreciate what you achieved when you finally make it to a big club. That's my idea of fun with this game. I haven't been able to replicate that same enjoyment and success on FM15 yet, but I'm ever hopeful it'll happen soon...

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I normally always start in the lower divisions and have good intentions of building myself up and taking new job offers, the problem I have is I get to attached to the club and it's players and I end up just staying at the one club for the entire save.

I do take the club through the divisions and go on to greater things with them but I just can not seem to break away from what I have built with the first club I manage.

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I normally always start in the lower divisions and have good intentions of building myself up and taking new job offers, the problem I have is I get to attached to the club and it's players and I end up just staying at the one club for the entire save.

I do take the club through the divisions and go on to greater things with them but I just can not seem to break away from what I have built with the first club I manage.

I'm the same way. I start out with an idea of a "journey save" and end up staying at the same club for 20 years.

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Started unemployed. Managed GT38 in French National league. Resigned after a season. Went on to Burgos of Spanish B4 League. 2 seasons there just missing the playoffs. Resigned. Tried Italy, Fiorli in C/B League. Made playoffs both seasons only to lose in gutting fashion. Resigned and tried C.F. Merida of Mexican Promotion League. 2 seasons and more playoff woes. Start of third season was rough, board called me in....I resigned with rep intact. Moved on to Wycombe in League 2. Was 20th at Christmas and just missed the playoffs in the first season. Playoffs season 2 and player revolt season 3 and lost the job. I got Plymouth Argyle in League 1 after that was there 10 months. Horrid start to 2nd season got me sacked. I got my current job Swindon League 1 after that. Rescued then from 19th to finish 9th. Starting my next season now and having a horrible start. I would love to build a winner somewhere.........

I am a journeyman definitely.

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Started unemployed with no badges

Wrexham

2014 - Conference - Playoff winners

2015 - League 2 - 3rd Promoted

2016 - League 1 - Champions 106 pts, JPT winners

2017 - Championship - 3rd after leading most of the season. Lost in playoff semi final

Werder Bremen

2018 - Bundesliga 2 - Champions

2019 - Bundesliga - 3rd

2020 - Bundesliga - 4th

2021 - Bundesliga - 2nd, Europa League winners,

2022 - Bundesliga - 1st, UEFA Super Cup winners, DFL Supercup winners

2023 - Bundesliga - 1st, DFB Pokal winners

Man Utd

2024 - Premier League - Winners

2025 - Premier League - Sitting 1st after 8 games, Community Shield winners

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Started with lowest reputation and badge .

November 14 : Doornik - Belgium third division : started 16th - finished 2th (no playoffs because a known bug..)

2015 : East Stirlingshire - finished 2th and lost playoff semi finals

2016 : Racing Mechelen - Belgium second divison : finished 2th and won the playoffs

2017 : Racing Mecheln - +- 9 games to play and almost rescued..

Now i have reputation : national and the third badge. Should this be enough to be appointed @ championship team ?

Is there a way to see how many reputation points i have ?

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Started with Lincoln of Gibraltar, as I did in FM14, with the intention of making it to the top of the World, starting with the lowest level of management. Europa League title so far, but aiming to beat the record of two Europa League and three Champions League wins that I managed last time.

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I normally always start in the lower divisions and have good intentions of building myself up and taking new job offers, the problem I have is I get to attached to the club and it's players and I end up just staying at the one club for the entire save.

I do take the club through the divisions and go on to greater things with them but I just can not seem to break away from what I have built with the first club I manage.

Yep, I would do exactly the same as well. Start with someone like Cambridge or Macclesfield and end up just staying with them throughout the whole save. Usually due to getting attached to players that I've purchased/brought through and having taken years to ensure the finances are in order.

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well guys it's good to see many others enjoying the starting at the bottom route

update 2021/22 season, took over Port Vale in february 2021 23rd position, by the end of the season we finished 16th

after a rocky pre-season (all be it against tougher teams for a test) we drew 1 and lost 5, we drew 2-2 with Arsenal u21 and lost to liverpool, Leeds, Chelsea, Stoke and Birmingham

after 9 games i am currently 4th in League 2

Won 5 drawn 2 lost 2

i had a major clearout and brought in my new squad over the summer, getting rid of high earners and bringing journeymen freebies in

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I rarely take over a club from the start always start as a tracksuit manager with no badges, over the years I have had a few successes and a few failures on one save I was great at fire fighting and staving off relegation but couldn't push my teams on so ended up being with 4/5 clubs from Nov-sept/oct.

On FM14 I was a Conference South team for 5 months resigned got a job at Conference National for a few months then moved onto Bournemouth who were struggling in League 2 the save didn't last much longer as they were about £4k a week over wage budget with rubbish players on huge contracts!

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This is the first version of the game where I've given it a proper go.. Inspired by someone doing a 'Perfectionist' save file, I decided to start unemployed and load up Argentina, Australia and Austria with a view to working my way through all of the leagues in alphabetical order.

Took ages to get my first job in Argentina's 2nd division, and now I'm onto my 4th Argentinian club who I just got promoted to the Premier division in the year 2021 (ish).

It's actually really satisfying seeing your manager grow and improve - though it is hard work!

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2021/22 update

Port Vale i've finished 4th missing out on auto by 2 points, the more gutting news is i got to the play-off finals and lost 2-1 to Wycombe

2022/23 season will see me taking Port Vale to the next level, i'm gonna keep most of the team that got me to 4th but strengthen in other areas, determined to finish 3rd or above!

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Started unemployed and started with Goyang in the K-League challenge, they sacked me because of the broken player interactions and I've been at a couple of Korean clubs since. Finally settled at the Pohang Steelers and we're on course to win the K League this season

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I just got the game a few days ago and I started with total realism, both unemployed and with a manager style, badges, experience and traits true to life. Semi pro experience, Continental C license (assuming the next one up is equal to the UEFA B), one notch towards a tactical manager with more points towards Defence and GK coaching as well as working with youngsters and a slight lean towards Discipline, Determination and Motivation. Got the job at Hyde in the Conference North. Predicted to finish 11th, I've made a decent start, 9pts from 4 games, 4th place. 2 clean sheets in those 4 games

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I never start unemployed but always choose Sunday league experience and pick the poorest playable local team to where I live which is Elgin City in Scottish League 2 and work my career from there.

Personnally I feel this would be the most realistic route into management in real life in my opinion.

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Yep, being totally new to FM, I chose this approach. I've been playing for seven or eight seasons now and have had jobs at Savoia (Italy serie C), Villarreal B (Spain 2B), Forfar (SL2/1) and currently with Chesterfield (FL2). Doing alright there, but nothing extra-ordinary. I don't think I'll ever get a job in one of the major clubs, so I'm thinking of starting over..

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I've decided to give this a go after seeing this thread last night. I downloaded a database so I have down to Level 9 England but I've landed the St. Neots job in the Southern Premier. 2 wins out of 2 so far, lets hope I can continue!

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i did it i got Port Vale promoted in 3 seasons from 23rd position to league champions, i've now been offered medium sized club jobs all over the place, thinking of going for Real Betis in Spanish Segunda

although apart of me wants to continue the Port Vale journey to the Championship and beyond, i made myself an affiliate with Liverpool and loaned in 4 exceptional youth players that all played over 7.2 average, hoping i can gain them for a 2nd season too

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I started unemployed with no badges.

2014/15 - Sousense - Portuguese National Championship - Finished top of the relegation group after failing to reach the promotion group

2015/16 - Sousense - Portuguese National Championship - Qualified for promotion group but got a new job before season finished.

2015/16 - Leixoes - Portuguese Segunda - Finished 12th after taking over in 19th

2016/17 - Leixoes - Portuguese Segunda - Finised 2nd with 106 points, promoted

2017/18 - Leixoes - Portuguese Primeria - Finished 5th, Europa League qualification

2018/19 - Leixoes - Portuguese Primeria - Finished 4th, Europa League qualification

2019/20 - Leixoes - Portuguese Primeria - Finished 1st, Domestic Treble

2020/21 - Sampdoria - Serie A - Finished 4th (took over in December in 17th), Italian Cup

2021/22 - Sampdoria - Serie A - Finished 2nd, Italian Cup

2022/23 - Real Madrid - La Liga - Finished 1st Domestic Double

2023/24 - Real Madrid - La Liga - Finished 1st Domestic Double

2024/25 - Real Madrid - La Liga - Finished 2nd, Champions League winner

My goal was always to try and manage the best teams in the world, rather than avoid them.

Hands down the most fun ive ever had on all the FM's.

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yeah the title is slightly misleading, i meant starting out unemployed with sunday league rep and building your way up to a top club, i have no problem managing a top club

well guys, in my 1st season in league 1 i got Port Vale to 8th place, missing out on the play-offs by 4 points, but i did win the JPT beating Millwall in the final 3-1

that summer my beloved Leeds Utd approached me, they had just got relegated to League 1 and i couldn't refuse them, practically putting in the media interview "it was my dream job" anyway, Leeds clearly are a power house in League 1 so i've been obviously asked to achieve promotion, and have the largest budget i've had so far wwith some very good players already in my squad

iI've managed to overachieve as an underdog now i have to do it all with a team that will be hot favourites

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you managed 13 clubs in 3.5 years - LOL you never gave any much of chance though I assume you were sacked from the 3 clubs you relegated :D

Keep going!

Players love me, but I have a habit of falling out with the board. Two of the relegations also weren't particularly my fault- I took over when the clubs were already pretty much down. It was the not getting them back up that caused the issues.

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I started out with Haverhill Borough in the Eastern Counties Div 1 (10th Tier) and in my first season I won the league and both Eastern County Cups going the whole season unbeaten in all comps. Next season I was sitting clear top in February whilst guiding the team to the FA Cup 3rd Round, eventually losing to Nottingham Forest 4-2 after knocking out Hartlepool. I've now taken over AFC Fylde who are in a relegation battle in the Conference North. 2 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses so far hoping I can keep up that form to keep them up.

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While not as hardcore as some of you guys, I started a career with Novara in Italy's third tier, and secured consecutive promotions to guide them into Serie A. Had a great start there too; at one point we were fourth with a squad assembled for a mere £8m, beating Milan and Napoli, but then the wheels came off. I couldn't arrest the slump and decided to resign, hoping a new manager would spark them into life, which he did for a spell, and then they slumped again, although not enough for them to get relegated which I was pleased about.

I waited until the season was over to see which jobs came up, and the AC Milan post was vacated so I applied for it. Amazingly they said they were flattered by my interest and swiftly offered me the job. Made a decent start (two wins, one loss) but I am still trying to nail down a system, so definitely a work in progress. The board are only expecting Europa League qualification but I'm confident we can compete for the title.

It's been quite fun doing it this way, and I probably would have stuck with Novara to try and build them up to a top team, but the broken player interaction(s) in FM15 mean I never talk to my players unless they come to me first, and when they do that it's only to whine, so I feel a bit cold towards them. I really hope this gets fixed for FM16 (or toned down if there's another patch for this year) because something is not right there. In every previous version of FM I've always been able to cultivate a great bond with my players the way Mourinho does IRL, with lots of them listing me under favoured personnel by the end of our time together. In this version I'm about as good at cultivating bonds as Fabio Capello!

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Is this game a bit too easy then?

It depends how you play it. If you try and exploit the game, by using all the tricks to bring in the best young players ahead of the AI teams, and use super-tactics, then within a few seasons, it's ridiculously easy.

Me, I try and squad build at a similar level to the AI, and use all my own tactics. I have one save where I've taken a side from the Conference North to the Premier League, but I haven't won anything, and now in my fifth season in the Prem, the highest I've finished is 5th, and I'm now staring down the barrel as I can't get any sort of consistency going. Despite all its frustrations, this save gives me more satisfaction than if I'd hoovered up all the best young players and was constantly winning every trophy, every season. But that's just the way I prefer to play.

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Started this year unemployed with no badges, loaded up as many leagues as my PC could take. Got offered the Arroyo FC job in Spain's third tier when they had a mighty 2 points from 8 games. Couldn't save them from relegation and got sacked. A week later got offered the FC Olot job, also in Spanish third tier and had 2 seasons there-finishing 10th and 4th. Walked out on the eve of the play-off final after being offered the Zaragoza job, which was a cold but necessary decision to take. (Who wouldn't join a club 10 times the size?)

Currently in my third season at Zaragoza having led them to back to back promotions, although the second one was a bit of a fluke and currently 16th in La Liga. My manager is currently studying for his continental B licence which seems realistic given the real life time-scales to get these badges. I'm starting to look around, even though I've just signed a three year contract as I'd also like to manage in some of the other European leagues, and not necessarily jump straight to a 'big' club. Really enjoyable so far.

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Do this every version, just started with 15.

Sacked from El Palo in the spanish second div, now at europa for the last 3 seasons and just got promotion to the Liga BBVA :D

Looking for the united job eventually, they havn't won the league since 12-13.

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This is how I've always liked playing the game, although I've not had an fm game in about four years (marriage, house, kids blah blah. Mainly due to not having a pc.) Anyways, how restrictive is the new version? I'll be getting a new pc at some point, I'd like to have as many leagues playable as poss as I like to see where my career takes me. Many years ago a version (maybe in cm days) let you swap leagues midgame if needed, I assume this still can't be done?

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I like starting unemployed but struggle with getting a job. I normally load the main leagues from Europe but only like loading the top leagues from each of the nations I choose and down to League 2 in England.

Trouble is I would prefer to start with lowest rep in the game possible and unemployed but if I do that it means I never get a job! Instead I have to click on the box enabling the attributes for me as a manager to be pre-selected and it always gives me a National reputation with decent qualifications.

I don't want to load lower divisions in Europe or lower than the Football League in England as it just doesn't float my boat and I would have hoped that the game would have allowed me to have any reputation I wanted and then just allow job opportunities with the lowest league possible. Instead I could move through the game for season after season with no job offers which beats the game title, football manager!

Has anyone been able to load the top leagues from Europe, down to League 2 in England, and had the lowest reputation possible and ever got a job??

Kind of spoils how I would like to play the game really, instead I load the leagues I am interested in and then just allow it to allocate me the relevant attributes but I always dislike having a National reputation and a 'Regional Football' history!

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This is how I've always liked playing the game, although I've not had an fm game in about four years (marriage, house, kids blah blah. Mainly due to not having a pc.) Anyways, how restrictive is the new version? I'll be getting a new pc at some point, I'd like to have as many leagues playable as poss as I like to see where my career takes me. Many years ago a version (maybe in cm days) let you swap leagues midgame if needed, I assume this still can't be done?

You can add & remove leagues at any time now, when their new season "starts". And there is also FMC for the time-restricted gamer. I like the idea of FMC, it just misses a couple of things that I feel I can't do without like team talks and building a coaching team unfortunately. And the skin is utterly horrific in my opinion lol.

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Continuing my journeyman save from above and in 2029 applied for and got the Liverpool job.(childhood dream achievement) Was able to barely make board expectations with a 5th place finish. AI left a decent team but too many aging 2 star players on the roster. (Raheem Sterling, 18.5 mil/year)My only problem was that NOW everyone wanted gobs of cash for any transfer. The best players left want Champions league and we missed qualifying for it by 6 goals.

My biggest problem is that my team can't win against the relegation fodder.

I was happy building a team up at Swindon Town (got promoted to Championship from League 1) but Liverpool was the only job I'd leave for.

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started FM14 last night

unemployed - 4 months later i've decided to give the AFC Telford job a chance, took them over in 22nd place, 4 games so far and 2 wins and 2 losses

hoping i have a good save again like my fm12 days of over 25 seasons at AC MILAN starting from Fleetwood town :D

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Since FM12, I tried the Youth Challenge Ri916 set up in the.......challenge section. It's a lot of fun and rewarding because you can't buy players, you have to rely on your youth. I play most games to these rules, but have tried a journeyman save before and like others I get attached to the team to much and stay there for 20 odd years.

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Started unemployed with only Sunday League experience(my real life one too) and got CS Balotesti at Second Romanian Division.

5th season we actually won the top level League :D

And in the middle of next season I left for Bordeaux. Stayed there for almost a full season(left them at the 6th place) and left again for Olympiakos - my favorite club(unlocked Achievement in Steam/Childhood Dream! :D).

What I found there was interesting though, a squad with almost no wingers at all and like 6-7 good DMCs. I'm trying to fix stuff up for the next season after I won the league in the final match :)

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I like starting unemployed but struggle with getting a job. I normally load the main leagues from Europe but only like loading the top leagues from each of the nations I choose and down to League 2 in England.

Trouble is I would prefer to start with lowest rep in the game possible and unemployed but if I do that it means I never get a job! Instead I have to click on the box enabling the attributes for me as a manager to be pre-selected and it always gives me a National reputation with decent qualifications.

I don't want to load lower divisions in Europe or lower than the Football League in England as it just doesn't float my boat and I would have hoped that the game would have allowed me to have any reputation I wanted and then just allow job opportunities with the lowest league possible. Instead I could move through the game for season after season with no job offers which beats the game title, football manager!

Has anyone been able to load the top leagues from Europe, down to League 2 in England, and had the lowest reputation possible and ever got a job??

Kind of spoils how I would like to play the game really, instead I load the leagues I am interested in and then just allow it to allocate me the relevant attributes but I always dislike having a National reputation and a 'Regional Football' history!

I always go with no coaching badgets and Sunday league player which is the lowest profile i guess. I get many jobs like Cambridge, Oxford, Dagenham, etc. You should apply after February though.

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Good night ,

My doubt is if I start with a secondary team and no coaching qualifications and as an amateur footballer how long take to get to a great team? By the way how long it takes for the Pro Continental level? thank you

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Good night ,

My doubt is if I start with a secondary team and no coaching qualifications and as an amateur footballer how long take to get to a great team? By the way how long it takes for the Pro Continental level? thank you

it takes seasons to get to a top team, but thats the whole fun, sometimes you do so well with a small team you hate leaving and want to try winning a major competition with them

to get Cont PRO licence also takes a few seasons, it's about 4 months per license early on but the gets longer to a full year, you are probably looking at 5 seasons for full Cont Pro, and it also depends on if your chairman will fund the courses for you

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