[FM21] Immediate Squad Overhaul Clubs

[GegenPressClub]

Probably my most common and enjoyable type of save in FM is taking over a club (usually from the lower half of a first division league) whose squad can be overhauled immediately in order to boost club value, comprehensively change the team personality and playing style, and challenge for a title (all within the first season or two). Suitable clubs tend to be ones that haven't already made many transfers in the starting window or recently resigned existing players, meaning most of the squad should be willing to move, allowing you to raise considerable transfer revenue and free up lots of wage budget to bring in a host of new players with much more upside and better character and/or system fit. With the pandemic significantly impacting starting transfer budgets this year, such a save should be more popular than ever in FM21.

***

For me, it was hard to look past Newcastle United this year.

They're predicted to finish 18th out of 20 in the English Premier Division.
They start with a £71,111,169 overall balance, a £16,500,000 transfer budget, and a £1,394,152pw wage budget (with £60,000pw free).

In my save, by the first match of the season, I sold 13 original players and loan out another one for a fee, for a total of £157.2M in transfer fees and £573k in wages made available. Admittedly, this included being able to sell new players like Wilson, Hendrick, and Fraser (which some may not consider realistic), and some players needed small contract payoffs to accept smaller deals elsewhere (but they were relatively minor). There are also a number of original players who may finally accept leaving the club (or attract a reasonable fee) before the end of the window or in January. Almiron (and his £75k wages) will be leaving to China for £30M (in instalments) in January. Like this deal, in order to receive high fees in a market devoid of cash, many of the transfers out of the club involved receiving no money up front.

Nonetheless, in my attached example, I could still bring in 23 new players for a total of £84.9M (£86.65M) in transfer fees and £470k in wages by the first match of the season. The overall balance is still a healthy £53,983,838, the transfer budget is £14,003,088, and the wage spending is £1,401,712pw (with £114,685pw still remaining in an adjusted budget). The transfer debt owed to the club from others is a massive £65,748,735. My focus for this save was to bring in a lot of youth (with at least a few English), a lot of high character players, and a lot of value players I'm confident I can resell for large profits, and just see how far I can take predominantly inferior players in my playing system.

So while the season preview position for this "upgraded" squad is only 16th (up a mere 2 spots), you could easily choose to bring in a handful of more favourable win-now players (that still have upside and decent character) instead of the vast number of youngsters in the attached example, and likely jump up to 10th or better in the preview standings (and really challenge for the title from the very start).

***

Another club I'll likely experiment with this year like this will be Mainz in the Bundesliga. Which clubs stand out the most to you whose fortunes could be quickly turned around in an immediate and comprehensive squad overhaul?

[dothestrand]

When I fired up an English save, I noticed that basically every Newcastle player is wanted by another club, so selling any players you don't want should be reasonably simple. Plus, I think the good players in that squad should help you easily avoid relegation.

[Ewan0404]

How are you lining up this season then? 

[Brighton123]

Not sure I like that Fraser and Wilson are willing to leave so quickly after signing, especially for such large fees. This is the sort of thing that contributes to players saying the game is too easy. The AI should see the player contract start date and drive a really hard bargain. Or the players should refuse outright to leave. 

When you compare what the AI is willing to pay versus what the human manager can pay, it's extremely unbalanced. 

Sorry, a bit off topic. 

[GegenPressClub]

1 hour ago, dothestrand said:

When I fired up an English save, I noticed that basically every Newcastle player is wanted by another club, so selling any players you don't want should be reasonably simple. Plus, I think the good players in that squad should help you easily avoid relegation.

Exactly. From memory there were about 10 players who had clubs interested in transfers at the start of the game. However, Ritchie ended up refusing a contract from Burnley and Almiron refused one from Wolves. I agree, a user could easily exceed expectations with the squad Newcastle start with. But there is little potential for adding value to the club beyond any limited success on the field. Seventeen players in the first team are 27yo or older. Almost all players are playing to their potential. And let's be honest, how many of these players would we actively pursue if we were managing another club? Not many. This team is the definition of ordinary haha and so why settle with that when you could turn them into a "Wolves" (or even a "Leicester") in the first transfer window (if desired)?

3 minutes ago, Brighton123 said:

Not sure I like that Fraser and Wilson are willing to leave so quickly after signing, especially for such large fees. This is the sort of thing that contributes to players saying the game is too easy. The AI should see the player contract start date and drive a really hard bargain. Or the players should refuse outright to leave. 

When you compare what the AI is willing to pay versus what the human manager can pay, it's extremely unbalanced. 

Sorry, a bit off topic. 

I agree. Before FM20, I don't recall receiving offers for players who'd just signed a contract at the start of the game (and rarely within the first six months). I feel it used to be much more strongly coded into the game. It's pretty absurd that Wolves have essentially paid £68M for two players Newcastle had just signed for a total of £20M (regardless of whether or not they've paid any money up front). That's where the user is forced to use their own restraint for realism. Personally, I'd like to see new players not be able to move in the same window, but I'd like to see existing players who've just signed new contracts with the same club still immediately field offers from other clubs if you put them up for transfer.

1 hour ago, Ewan0404 said:

How are you lining up this season then? 

Lots of options, but this is how I lined up in the first competitive match away vs Arsenal (1-1 draw). Admittedly, it's much more budget a team than the one in the second image with which I won the league in the first season in FM20, but even that one relied on a number of players bought for under £8M and on wages under £35k pw (and playing in unfamiliar positions). In that save, by the start of the third season that Newcastle side was already the second highest rep club in the world and full of top wonderkids though. I was hoping for a slower progress this time around by selecting more "squad-like" players (rather than obvious starters) to make it more challenging, however, I think I may just turn my attention to a Mainz save instead after the full release of the game, and limit myself to the much smaller wage budget (that would take much longer to increase to challenge the size of the world's elite).

I've never tried this system with so little creativity in the CWB roles though. I don't recommend it haha. So if someone wants to really challenge for trophies, they're better off not signing some of the youngsters for the future like Kenneh and Downes (or some other squad players), and instead invest that and the remaining transfer budget into the two CWBs (especially the right one), and then into the BWM roles. But out of all the bottom 3 sides I can think of in FM history, this Newcastle side would have to be one of the easiest to immediately rebuild and challenge for trophies.