FM18 - Who will you manage?

[Bigpapa42]

4 minutes ago, mrdanbartlett said:

Never managed in either, can you sell it to me?  I was put off Brazil/Argentina by the number of games  they have to play, not played in those 2 leagues for about 5 FM's

Challenge accepted. Assuming you mean Colombia and Mexico, not Russia and The Netherlands. Please let me know if I'm wrong.

Both Mexico and Colombia have an Apertura/Closura structure, with a playoff after each. So you get 2 champions every year, which is kinda cool. The Copa Libertadores is a pretty awesome tournament, and Mexican clubs do participate in it (outside of the 2017 edition). Both have unique cup setups that include group stages rather than a straight elimination setup. Both countries produce some fantastic youths, and many clubs there have good facilities to produce top level newgens.

Colombia: the league is 3rd in South America behind Argentina and Brazil, but its really a full step behind (even if Atletico Nacional won the Copa Libertadores in 2016). The top clubs have good players but few really outstanding ones. The bottom clubs can have a real dearth of quality (not uncommon in leagues below the top where there isn't big money). A cool aspect to that is you can rely on younger players a bit more without having to sacrifice points to do so. The foreign player restriction is 4 foreigners (3 in the match squad) so while you can attract players from the smaller South American nations, you can't load up on them. But Colombia produce so many players you don't really need to. Like Brazil and Argentina, there are a lot of matches (especially if you are playing continentally too), but even when I lost some key players to internationals at a bad time, I still found it a fun challenge to work around. Its not the easiest place to make money, but the league and club reputations generally mean you can sell the players you develop for pretty decent money. The predatory nature of some big clubs (South American and European) was the most frustrating aspect of the two saves in Colombia. You often end up with a squad with a few veteran players (over 30) and a lot of younger players, but not too many quality players in their mid-20s prime, because if they are good, bigger leagues come calling (this dynamic happens in Brazil and Argentina too).

The club I picked, Envigado, is because they are a younger club focused on youth development. Fredy Guarin started there, as did James Rodriguez, Jhon Cordoba, and some others. With the Add Players to Active Clubs option active, any new save has them starting with a few great newgens from day one. I also like orange, and they have a funky stadium. The quality of the squad isn't fantastic, so those newgens can play first team football from day one in many cases. It was fun to see them rise to be a bigger Colombian club. But there are plenty of other options that would be awesome, including Once Caldas (won the Copa Libertadores a decade ago), America de Cali, Millionairos, Junior, Tigres, Tolima, Jaguares..... A variety of options for starting quality, facilities, crests, colors, etc. But with almost any of them,  you should be able to find some world class prospects and then its a race to see if you can develop them into world class players before you have to sell them on.

Mexico: I haven't got as far into a Mexico save as I did in Colombia, but I'm currently managing there. Its a relatively different dynamic than Colombia as Mexican clubs are much richer as a whole. Sponsors are bigger, clubs have their own TV deals (which can be upwards of 10m per yea), and attendances are pretty solid for many clubs. With a bigger league and more money, its a bit easier to hang onto young players for longer and to attract players from better locations. There are loads of good Argentinians, Colombians, and some Brazilians in the league already. Whether or not you can snap up the absolute top prospects from those leagues will depend on the club you pick. The foreign player rules are that you must have 8 players who are considered "Mexican born", so someone with Mexico as a second nationality still counts as foreign. It makes those Mexican youngsters a bit more valuable. With the money and the existing talent already in the league, Liga MX is quite competitive. Each club has the first team, an Under 20 side, and Under 18s, and a "Premier" side, which is similar to how II sides work in Germany. Most play in the third division so having an editor file to activate the third division can be useful. And the default continental competition is the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where you get to compete against sides from leagues like Guatemala and Costa Rica.

I randomly decided to try a save in Mexico after starting to watch the league in real life. I picked Pumas, a university club in Mexico City that are amongst the bigger in the league, so a very different save than Envigado. Great facilities so the same Add Players trick works. Bit of money to spend, but not tons. Reasonable success should see the club (or almost any Mexican side) become fairly rich. There is a lot of strength in depth in the league, but still some varying options of clubs to choose from. The league has strong attendances, and there are 4 stadiums over 50,000 and 12 that are 30,000-plus. Chivas have a policy of only Mexican players, similar to Athletic Bilboa. Club America plays at the legendary Estadio Azteca. Tigres has Andre-Pierre Gignac, who is a star player. Pachuca had Hirving Lozano. Lots of options. The goal with Pumas is to see if I can turn them into a world class side which would be competitive in any of Europe's leagues. Don't think I'll have enough time to see it play out before FM18 happens, hence I'll try again. Might not be with Pumas, though. Lobos are an interesting smaller side that just got promoted.

Both leagues have been enjoyable, though for slightly different reasons. Its not just a different league structure and different clubs, but you are looking for talent in places you might not be delving into depending on where you manage in Europe.

[Bigmonkey79]

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.

First save i play any old way to try and be successful.(that can take a few goes!)

Second save i like to challenge myself to only take in free transfers (including compensation for under 24's)

Third save is no transfers~youth academy only. Ball ache but challenging!

I loose interest in about 5th season of each.  Usually in 3rd save because I'm getting battered!Might try a 4th save where i dont put trns restrictions on myself but tactical ones and try to emulate a playing style of old.

Harder in 2018 as o'kane and viera hernandez is hardly Batty, Dacort, Bowyer!

[Bigmonkey79]

On 20/09/2017 at 16:30, herne79 said:

Pure speculation but I'm calling it now - Leeds Utd to be completely overpowered in FM18.

Hope so! 😊

[DBSC]

I always start with Preston North End. After that probably dafuge or a division 3 Scotland game

[Michael Zorc]

If I buy FM18, it will be Rangers FC as I attempt to win 10-in-a-row. 😀

[karlcole]

Think a Coventry save will be in order for me this year. Probably start the beta with Milan though to test it out 

[mrdanbartlett]

On 9/22/2017 at 22:33, Bigpapa42 said:

Challenge accepted. Assuming you mean Colombia and Mexico, not Russia and The Netherlands. Please let me know if I'm wrong.

Both Mexico and Colombia have an Apertura/Closura structure, with a playoff after each. So you get 2 champions every year, which is kinda cool. The Copa Libertadores is a pretty awesome tournament, and Mexican clubs do participate in it (outside of the 2017 edition). Both have unique cup setups that include group stages rather than a straight elimination setup. Both countries produce some fantastic youths, and many clubs there have good facilities to produce top level newgens.

Colombia: the league is 3rd in South America behind Argentina and Brazil, but its really a full step behind (even if Atletico Nacional won the Copa Libertadores in 2016). The top clubs have good players but few really outstanding ones. The bottom clubs can have a real dearth of quality (not uncommon in leagues below the top where there isn't big money). A cool aspect to that is you can rely on younger players a bit more without having to sacrifice points to do so. The foreign player restriction is 4 foreigners (3 in the match squad) so while you can attract players from the smaller South American nations, you can't load up on them. But Colombia produce so many players you don't really need to. Like Brazil and Argentina, there are a lot of matches (especially if you are playing continentally too), but even when I lost some key players to internationals at a bad time, I still found it a fun challenge to work around. Its not the easiest place to make money, but the league and club reputations generally mean you can sell the players you develop for pretty decent money. The predatory nature of some big clubs (South American and European) was the most frustrating aspect of the two saves in Colombia. You often end up with a squad with a few veteran players (over 30) and a lot of younger players, but not too many quality players in their mid-20s prime, because if they are good, bigger leagues come calling (this dynamic happens in Brazil and Argentina too).

The club I picked, Envigado, is because they are a younger club focused on youth development. Fredy Guarin started there, as did James Rodriguez, Jhon Cordoba, and some others. With the Add Players to Active Clubs option active, any new save has them starting with a few great newgens from day one. I also like orange, and they have a funky stadium. The quality of the squad isn't fantastic, so those newgens can play first team football from day one in many cases. It was fun to see them rise to be a bigger Colombian club. But there are plenty of other options that would be awesome, including Once Caldas (won the Copa Libertadores a decade ago), America de Cali, Millionairos, Junior, Tigres, Tolima, Jaguares..... A variety of options for starting quality, facilities, crests, colors, etc. But with almost any of them,  you should be able to find some world class prospects and then its a race to see if you can develop them into world class players before you have to sell them on.

Mexico: I haven't got as far into a Mexico save as I did in Colombia, but I'm currently managing there. Its a relatively different dynamic than Colombia as Mexican clubs are much richer as a whole. Sponsors are bigger, clubs have their own TV deals (which can be upwards of 10m per yea), and attendances are pretty solid for many clubs. With a bigger league and more money, its a bit easier to hang onto young players for longer and to attract players from better locations. There are loads of good Argentinians, Colombians, and some Brazilians in the league already. Whether or not you can snap up the absolute top prospects from those leagues will depend on the club you pick. The foreign player rules are that you must have 8 players who are considered "Mexican born", so someone with Mexico as a second nationality still counts as foreign. It makes those Mexican youngsters a bit more valuable. With the money and the existing talent already in the league, Liga MX is quite competitive. Each club has the first team, an Under 20 side, and Under 18s, and a "Premier" side, which is similar to how II sides work in Germany. Most play in the third division so having an editor file to activate the third division can be useful. And the default continental competition is the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where you get to compete against sides from leagues like Guatemala and Costa Rica.

I randomly decided to try a save in Mexico after starting to watch the league in real life. I picked Pumas, a university club in Mexico City that are amongst the bigger in the league, so a very different save than Envigado. Great facilities so the same Add Players trick works. Bit of money to spend, but not tons. Reasonable success should see the club (or almost any Mexican side) become fairly rich. There is a lot of strength in depth in the league, but still some varying options of clubs to choose from. The league has strong attendances, and there are 4 stadiums over 50,000 and 12 that are 30,000-plus. Chivas have a policy of only Mexican players, similar to Athletic Bilboa. Club America plays at the legendary Estadio Azteca. Tigres has Andre-Pierre Gignac, who is a star player. Pachuca had Hirving Lozano. Lots of options. The goal with Pumas is to see if I can turn them into a world class side which would be competitive in any of Europe's leagues. Don't think I'll have enough time to see it play out before FM18 happens, hence I'll try again. Might not be with Pumas, though. Lobos are an interesting smaller side that just got promoted.

Both leagues have been enjoyable, though for slightly different reasons. Its not just a different league structure and different clubs, but you are looking for talent in places you might not be delving into depending on where you manage in Europe.

Thanks for taking the time to give that overview, actually does sound v interesting.

I've had a look at Mexico and it does look worth a save, started with Puma's too as I agree they are the most appealing, great logo! 

 

[Cougar2010]

10 minutes ago, mrdanbartlett said:

Thanks for taking the time to give that overview, actually does sound v interesting.

I've had a look at Mexico and it does look worth a save, started with Puma's too as I agree they are the most appealing, great logo!

 

In terms of leagues rules Brazil is probably a good place to start in South America.  Instead of having an opening & closing stage tot he league or weird rules like average points over several seasons to decide who is relegated its pretty straight forward.  First half of the season you play the State Championship which is like a local league for that region (Some are small, other larger and more competitive) and the second half you play in a normal national league.

[Lord Rowell]

If I buy it, I'll probably manage my own club, Sunderland, hopefully drag us out of the current mess & give myself relief from real-football misery.

[mralexwalker]

First save will defo be with my club Derby- try and get them back to the prem and make them the biggest team in the world.

 

Second save will try someone like Hoffenheim and try win the Bundesliga then move to La Liga win that then move to the Prem and win that. Probably won't plan out like that but I'll try lol

[Lynch48]

Lower league team with no manager, league 1/league 2 etc.

[mrdanbartlett]

3 hours ago, Cougar2010 said:

 

In terms of leagues rules Brazil is probably a good place to start in South America.  Instead of having an opening & closing stage tot he league or weird rules like average points over several seasons to decide who is relegated its pretty straight forward.  First half of the season you play the State Championship which is like a local league for that region (Some are small, other larger and more competitive) and the second half you play in a normal national league.

I found the number of games brutal in Brazil, I hate really long seasons. 

[karlcole]

1 hour ago, Lynch48 said:

Lower league team with no manager, league 1/league 2 etc.

Such as??

[Bigpapa42]

5 hours ago, mrdanbartlett said:

Thanks for taking the time to give that overview, actually does sound v interesting.

I've had a look at Mexico and it does look worth a save, started with Puma's too as I agree they are the most appealing, great logo! 

 

No problem. I've managed to get further into the Pumas save and quite enjoying it. Loaded up on young prospects and giving them some match time, but not having to fight off the big clubs for them yet. Got quite a number of quality Mexican youngsters (half of them club-produced) and some others from South American countries. Even got a newgen from Ghana who was willing to join. The Mexican-born restrictions are something to always keep in mind, but its a minimum of 8 Mexican-born players is in the entire match-day squad, so I've yet to have any issues with it. I've also snagged a couple of solid players from Argentina to reinforce the squad. 

Pumas have a great logo, great shirts, and a pretty cool history. Its an interesting club, but there are quite a few in Mexico. one thing I forgot to mention is that you do see some very interesting formations. Club American have been lining up in a 1-2-5-2 Sweeper formation for example. You can really experiment tactically. 

5 hours ago, Cougar2010 said:

In terms of leagues rules Brazil is probably a good place to start in South America.  Instead of having an opening & closing stage tot he league or weird rules like average points over several seasons to decide who is relegated its pretty straight forward.  First half of the season you play the State Championship which is like a local league for that region (Some are small, other larger and more competitive) and the second half you play in a normal national league.

Both Brazil and Argentina are pretty awesome leagues. Tons of talent and they produce tons more. Great clubs that have awesome and interesting history. Decent money, it seems and some newer stadiums, especially in Brazil. I honestly need to give both leagues a try. Probably going to have to wait for 2018 at this point, but both need to happen. I think the biggest thing that has made me hesitate when eying up either nation is trying to decide which club to start at. Doing something like dafuge did and "earning" your way to a big club by starting out in smaller nations is appealing, but takes a long time. But starting out at one of the biggest clubs also seems.... "easy"....

2 hours ago, mrdanbartlett said:

I found the number of games brutal in Brazil, I hate really long seasons. 

Its pretty much the norm in any South American nation. Colombia was quite compressed. Mexico isn't totally free from that. With Continental competition and the big cup process, the fixtures do pile up a bit. Not to the point where you constantly have a match every 2 days. But I have run into 3 matches in 6-7 days a few times. 

[Vali184]

Nottingham Forest like always. A friend introduced me to FM2015 and since then I can't stop!!! 

[FootballManager89]

PSG so I can play wit neymar jr boi.

[Lynch48]

14 hours ago, karlcole said:

Such as??

It could be any team with no manager. Before start the game I tick the option prevent to control a team already have manager, in FM17 I manage shrewsbury and port vale.

[mrdanbartlett]

Some good replies here, I think for Fm18 I'm now going to try:

 

- Pumas of Mexico, looks an interesting league and will be fun to see if I can build a side of good young Mexicans and then push the  national team on a little too

- AFC Wimbledon, quite fancy this one - bringing back the crazy gang etc, does anyone know if on FM18 they will eventually move into a new Stadium, I think IRL its due?

-  Ipswich, standard save to make them a top side etc

- Maybe something using the editor.

[kartavya]

I am going to preorder the game by the end of the week. Already thinking on which club to manage. Would love suggestions. Support Manchester City, but I feel it wouldn't be much fun managing them in game (would it?). Was thinking something in England (wouldn't mind a great challenge) since I am extremely familiar with the players. Had a thought about Girona as well (since owned by the City group). So suggestions?

[ChelseaFan]

Chelsea and someone from National League South.

I like to experience both ends of the spectrum.

[mrdanbartlett]

1 hour ago, kartavya said:

I am going to preorder the game by the end of the week. Already thinking on which club to manage. Would love suggestions. Support Manchester City, but I feel it wouldn't be much fun managing them in game (would it?). Was thinking something in England (wouldn't mind a great challenge) since I am extremely familiar with the players. Had a thought about Girona as well (since owned by the City group). So suggestions?

You could make it a challenge by limiting yourself to signing U21 English players only (whilst trying to actively sell all non-English players at city over the next 2 seasons. 

[mimland]

As per usual I guess I'll go with whatever National south/north team that happen to land in my sight that I can't remember trying before.

[kartavya]

1 hour ago, mrdanbartlett said:

You could make it a challenge by limiting yourself to signing U21 English players only (whilst trying to actively sell all non-English players at city over the next 2 seasons. 

Thats a good idea but I don't want to limit myself once I have a team (probably just me :P). City would get boring without any restrictions put on myself right? I think I might go for a National team or maybe a Plymouth or Portsmouth of sorts. Or would you recommend a Girona like team? 

[RandomUserGr]

S.S. Monopoli 1966: I recently found out that there's a city and a homonymous team with such a cool name(and logo) in Italy. They've been playing in the Italian Serie C for a couple of years now and they've never been higher. What else do I need? I've already started following the team on social media, as well as watching its match highlights and learning the players. 

Tours FC: Well, kinda same story here. I've never played in France except Ligue 1. I like the logo, I like the city(from photos and google street, yeah that can be a bonus), so that's a team I wanna manage too.

 

Then there are some minor wishes, like PAOK, Vardar, pretty much every team in Iceland, maybe Colchester, to revive a FM13 save I had... Ideas are always popping out 

 

[BigRoboCrouch]

If i buy FM18, i'll most likely manage Bari in serie B. Decent team, big stadium and passionate fans, seems like the perfect setup for someone that doesn't like starting from too low.

[Cal585]

Schalke are my usual go to team. I follow them a bit so have an affinity for the club but am not as familiar with all the players as I am with Liverpool, so it's easier to change them as needed.

Then I'll probably try a York City save. Always intrigued me (and a great badge) and now they're right down the bottom.

[robvandam316]

I'll start with Ajax, as I always do. They have some nice talents like De Ligt, Van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong, Dennis Johnsen and Kasper Dolberg. They also should have a fair amount of money. Long-term goal: Making the club a real top contender in Europe again.

[Sir_Liam]

I'm thinking of managing Luch Vladivostok for the 4th time on FM.  Why?  There's nothing cooler than leading a team less than 100 miles from North Korea into European competition. 

[Vane]

Leicester City. Gonna win them back that Premier League!!

[keyzerFAQ]

Deportivo Riestra (Argentina Second Division) will start with -20 points. 

Tournament will be only 24 games, and last 6 will be relegated

and not the last 6 ranked, but the last 6 averages. Since Riestra is playing this division for the first time, the average will be very sensitive to any points you lose. It has been calculated you have to get close to 65 points to maintain in the division, which at the same time, will put you in a promotion stage. 

Really interesting if you ask me

[bigmattb28]

10 hours ago, keyzerFAQ said:

Deportivo Riestra (Argentina Second Division) will start with -20 points. 

Tournament will be only 24 games, and last 6 will be relegated

and not the last 6 ranked, but the last 6 averages. Since Riestra is playing this division for the first time, the average will be very sensitive to any points you lose. It has been calculated you have to get close to 65 points to maintain in the division, which at the same time, will put you in a promotion stage. 

Really interesting if you ask me

Sounds like a proper challenege there amte, may have a go with them myself

[mrdanbartlett]

1 hour ago, bigmattb28 said:

Sounds like a proper challenege there amte, may have a go with them myself

Defo a great shout! 

[bowieinspace]

Well eventually I'll do my main save which is Athletic Club with the addition of only players of existing Basque nationality (e.g. no Spanish under 16s), however I'm going to do an Aston Villa save on the beta and a bit beyond. I'm still playing my Athletic save on FM17 so want to do something different for a while before getting into that one on Fm18

[bruntonpasty]

Pure Lower League Management style and using @lollujo's method of 'nearest ground in lowest league' team selection, I've had the Google Map out and Spennymoor Town in Vanarama Conference North it is (88km away) 

Google Map of Conference North Teams 2017/18

[David_H1997]

On 25/09/2017 at 13:02, Lord Rowell said:

If I buy it, I'll probably manage my own club, Sunderland, hopefully drag us out of the current mess & give myself relief from real-football misery.

As an Ipswich Town fan, I have to agree, Sunderland are in a bit of mess

[dioniz]

My local team NK Maribor from Slovenia.

[keyzerFAQ]

Victoriano Arenas is a team from the lowest division (Primera D), whose stadium is surrounded by a river. 

The place is very poor and dangerous. And to access the stadium you have to walk through a "favela" kind of place. 

some times when the ball is kicked out of the field into the water, it can't be retrieved until the navy police sails the area. The average attendance is below 500 due to these factors. Extremely difficult to improve as a club so definitely a challenge. 

[mrdanbartlett]

Blimey!!

[Viking]

I'll fail horribly with Preston North End with the beta (if I pre-order, that is), then I'll drag Millwall into misery and despair with my sub-par manager skill as soon as the real game is out. 

[Rikl500]

i will be trying a Paris fc save

[bigmattb28]

18 hours ago, keyzerFAQ said:

Victoriano Arenas is a team from the lowest division (Primera D), whose stadium is surrounded by a river. 

The place is very poor and dangerous. And to access the stadium you have to walk through a "favela" kind of place. 

some times when the ball is kicked out of the field into the water, it can't be retrieved until the navy police sails the area. The average attendance is below 500 due to these factors. Extremely difficult to improve as a club so definitely a challenge. 

Does anyone release databases for the Argentine lower leagues?

[DazRTaylor]

I will play several saves, as I always do with FM.  I have currently clocked up 3,456 hours on FM17.

- A career save, starting unemployed, Sunday League reputation and no qualifications.  I will load around thirty nations and their respective leagues down to the lowest out of the box level.  I will document this save on the Careers Forum.
- In time, someone will release the English lower leagues.  I will start with a tier nine side and see where I end up.
- As above, I hope for the same with Germany.
- And Holland.
- Finally, a save from an obscure league.  Iceland is a personal favourite.  So start with a club in their lowest playable division and go from there.

[bigmattb28]

24 minutes ago, DazRTaylor said:

I will play several saves, as I always do with FM.  I have currently clocked up 3,456 hours on FM17.

- A career save, starting unemployed, Sunday League reputation and no qualifications.  I will load around thirty nations and their respective leagues down to the lowest out of the box level.  I will document this save on the Careers Forum.
- In time, someone will release the English lower leagues.  I will start with a tier nine side and see where I end up.
- As above, I hope for the same with Germany.
- And Holland.
- Finally, a save from an obscure league.  Iceland is a personal favourite.  So start with a club in their lowest playable division and go from there.

I always like to start as low as possible. I won't be starting my 'proper' save until the lower league database is out, I usually try to start around level 10 or 11, that's low enough for me  I'd like an Argentina lower league database though as would love to go from nothing there and work my way up.

[keyzerFAQ]

Yes, our community will release a patch to activate the lower leagues as it has been in the past. So stay tuned!

[Statsarefacts]

Strangely although I have played FM for a long time I have never managed a Premier League side I tend to start with Conference or lower league sides. So this year after much real life research I have whittled it down to Southampton or Everton with the plan of selling Van Dyke/Ross Barclay and buying a decent striker or two which both teams lack with Giroud my number one target.

[DazRTaylor]

3 hours ago, Statsarefacts said:

Strangely although I have played FM for a long time I have never managed a Premier League side I tend to start with Conference or lower league sides. So this year after much real life research I have whittled it down to Southampton or Everton with the plan of selling Van Dyke/Ross Barclay and buying a decent striker or two which both teams lack with Giroud my number one target.

Love managing Southampton simply for the youth academy.

[GuitarMan]

For me it will be Tottenham as always  

[nico_france]

The first save will be with Marseille, where i want to bring Ligue 1 trophy in town !

But with PSG crazy summer, might be really tough to compete !

[Gorando]

Juventus or Royal Antwerp

[thim1993]

I have a few saves lined up. Man Utd (team I support) and Saints (my hometown club) are saves I play on every game

i am thinking Rangers as well will be a good challenge. Also I don't like Brendan Rodgers or Neil Lennon so beating their teams would be a pleasure!

A Monaco save appeals to me as well to rebuild and challenge PSG's new galaticos

am open to suggestions for other potential saves. Continuing naglesmanns great work at hoffenheim could be a good hallenge to try and topple an aging Bayern squad while trying to break Juventus' monopoly on the serie a title with Napoli or Milan is also an exciting prospect