What is the deal with Limerick?

[Hrafnsmerki]

I was starting a journeyman challenge (DB: 20.4 update) and Limerick was the first club to offer a job interview and a job offer. Thing is they have no players and no staff but in the club vision they want me to sign players under 23 as well as become the best youth setup in Ireland by the end of 2020, much to ask for by a club with no funds. It made me, however, trigger my interest and started googling around only to realise that Limerick as a club more or less ceased to exist in january 2020. This is definitely a rare opportunity to literally start from scratch with a real club in FM. I'm just wondering if this future Limerick Academy, which seems to be happening irl, is also going to be reflected ingame? Can I expect my youth infrastructure to be improved by 2020? Otherwise I find it hard to achieve a required club vision as the club itself has no money

[Dantè Hicks]

On 18/04/2020 at 05:24, Hrafnsmerki said:

I was starting a journeyman challenge (DB: 20.4 update) and Limerick was the first club to offer a job interview and a job offer. Thing is they have no players and no staff but in the club vision they want me to sign players under 23 as well as become the best youth setup in Ireland by the end of 2020, much to ask for by a club with no funds. It made me, however, trigger my interest and started googling around only to realise that Limerick as a club more or less ceased to exist in january 2020. This is definitely a rare opportunity to literally start from scratch with a real club in FM. I'm just wondering if this future Limerick Academy, which seems to be happening irl, is also going to be reflected ingame? Can I expect my youth infrastructure to be improved by 2020? Otherwise I find it hard to achieve a required club vision as the club itself has no money

Did you end up pursuing this?

I just started a save in Ireland and saw that Limerick had no players or staff. Took it as a great challenge. Have just started it now, and can't seem to sign anyone. Would be interested to know how you went.

[phd_angel]

I played Bohemians in some old FM version. My somewhat outdated experience with the Irish league is that its clubs are just too incredibly poor to enable building anything positive.

I prefer UK Vanarama or Brazil Third division, where even poor clubs have some minimally decent conditions for growing... IMHO...

[Dantè Hicks]

I took the plunge with Limerick.

Never have I seen anything quite like it. You start with no players, no backroom, and next to no money. I have spent the entire pre-season (Jan-Feb 2019 in FM2020) trialing over 150 different players. The most difficult part to begin with was having no 'advice' set on realistic signings for staff or players. I simply had to pluck back room staff based on a rough estimation of the level/stats (eg. I eliminated all high stat staff) and they were always unemployed people. Have managed to recruit a squad gradually including some youth backups, but I'm over my wage budget by £100K. The wage bill allowed to be was £28K. That is despite the fact that 3/4 of my squad are on non-contract deals and just receiving match payments.

One game into the season so far, playing with two variations of a 4-1-2-3. Won the first game away at Shelbourne. 

This is one heck of a challenge, I love it.

[yolixeya]

45 minutes ago, Dantè Hicks said:

took the plunge with Limerick.

Never have I seen anything quite like it. You start with no players, no backroom, and next to no money. I have spent the entire pre-season (Jan-Feb 2019 in FM2020) trialing over 150 different players. The most difficult part to begin with was having no 'advice' set on realistic signings for staff or players. I simply had to pluck back room staff based on a rough estimation of the level/stats (eg. I eliminated all high stat staff) and they were always unemployed people. Have managed to recruit a squad gradually including some youth backups, but I'm over my wage budget by £100K. The wage bill allowed to be was £28K. That is despite the fact that 3/4 of my squad are on non-contract deals and just receiving match payments.

One game into the season so far, playing with two variations of a 4-1-2-3. Won the first game away at Shelbourne. 

This is one heck of a challenge, I love it.

In my first club in my current save I had something similar. It was Linkoping in Sweden, 4th tier, they had 4-5 players and I took them over with more then half of season gone and bottom of the table. Brought some new players also paying them well above my wage limit. In the end, I still wasn't able to help them and got relegated and sacked.

[Dantè Hicks]

2 minutes ago, yolixeya said:

In my first club in my current save I had something similar. It was Linkoping in Sweden, 4th tier, they had 4-5 players and I took them over with more then half of season gone and bottom of the table. Brought some new players also paying them well above my wage limit. In the end, I still wasn't able to help them and got relegated and sacked.

Bugger. Hopefully things go differently with Limerick here.

So far so good. I am two games in so far, and two wins.

I spent just about a week in real time developing the squad during pre-season, playing extra friendlies to quickly get a sense of all my trialists and who was gonna cut the mustard. The most in depth pre-season I've ever partaken in.

[Smurf]

Yeh, Irish league has no money whatsoever, you can blame the FAI and the crooks that were running it. They've all be ousted now so hopefully they can build something more positive.

On a sidenote, I took on my local team of Shamrock Rovers in early FM - think it was 2004 or something and I signed Danny Tiatto from Man City on a free! Couldn't believe it.

I was then playing Inter Milan in the Champions League qualifier, and I was 4-0 down at half time, and came back to win 5-4. It was an unbelievable time. 

God, I love FM, memories of a game I've played all my life. What a pleasure.

[yolixeya]

23 minutes ago, Dantè Hicks said:

Bugger. Hopefully things go differently with Limerick here.

I had more luck on my next job and won promotion. They were also cash-strapped as most of the clubs in lower swedish leagues, but at least they had players.

I bring a lot of trialists in lower leagues and thought that I did enough to avoid relegation but I was mistaken.

Well if you won first 2 then I think you will be fine in terms of results. But if they are cash strapped you will have other problems. Finances will be bad for couple of seasons ant they will refuse to fund coaching coarses or improve training and youth facilites etc. At least, that is my experience. Good luck.

[Dantè Hicks]

Managed to get Limerick promoted. Finished 2nd to Drogheda, who were undefeated all season. I finished 3 points behind them. Defeated Finn Harps in the promotion series. 

I now actually have a bit more money. 890K to spend on wages. A huge boost from the 30-odd thousand I had for the opening season in Div 1. 

It has now ticked over to Jan 1 2020 in the game though, and it looks like semi-pro status of the club has not been upgraded, which is deflating. 

[Urbmiz]

On 02/06/2020 at 20:10, Dantè Hicks said:

Managed to get Limerick promoted. Finished 2nd to Drogheda, who were undefeated all season. I finished 3 points behind them. Defeated Finn Harps in the promotion series. 

I now actually have a bit more money. 890K to spend on wages. A huge boost from the 30-odd thousand I had for the opening season in Div 1. 

It has now ticked over to Jan 1 2020 in the game though, and it looks like semi-pro status of the club has not been upgraded, which is deflating. 

Are you requesting professional status from the board?

[Hrafnsmerki]

On 22/05/2020 at 13:40, Dantè Hicks said:

Did you end up pursuing this?

I just started a save in Ireland and saw that Limerick had no players or staff. Took it as a great challenge. Have just started it now, and can't seem to sign anyone. Would be interested to know how you went.

No, I decided to restart and got a job in Lisburn Distillery in N. Irleand

A friend of mine, however, took up the challenge in Limerick when I told him about it. He made a team completely out of loan players (wages paid by the owner) and free transfers and managed to keep the budget positive that way. He finished mid-table the first season and won promotion in the following season. He's now Managing Galatasaray after a very successful 2 year spell at Dundee FC