andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 I wasn't going to document a save other than the Scotland one. Club management was just suppose to scratch an itch. Then somebody asked me a simple question...Are you going to be supporting St Louis FC when they start? I'm a HUGE St Louis Cardinals fan from the MLB. So my answer was "Hell Yeah" I've not really got a team in the MLS so it felt right to start at the beginning with St Louis FC. So then I got to thinking. Can I manage them on FM? The short answer was YES! St. Louis City SC (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is a Major League Soccer expansion franchise that is expected to begin play in 2023. The club will be based in St. Louis, with home matches at Citypark. I should start this by saying...I've never really properly managed in the MLS before. I have dabbled in a the odd season here or there, but never a long term save like this. So I thought I would document my steady decent into madness trying to keep up with the rules and regulations that come with the MLS. There is no goal per say in this save, obviously I want to win the North American Champions League at some point. The one thing that attracted me to this save (other than the soon to be loyality to this football side) was this... The complete and utter blank slate that I will be starting with. We don't enter the MLS until the 2023 season. That gives me an entire year to build a team that is capable of challenging in the MLS. I have 13m and what looks like roughly 300k worth of wage budget to make a team from near scratch. I have no idea how this save is going to go. It might be a complete non-starter but here goes nothing... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 The first thing I need to do really is get to grips with how this league works... Ok that's very straight forward so far, nothing to worry about here... Ok I know how American Sports work so if a team releases a player they go to waivers and it means anybody can try and sign that player before he becomes a Free Agent. Alright... Expansion draft looks straight forward. All existing clubs "protect" 12 players and the new clubs pick 1 player from each club that isn't protected. Basically means all teams can protect their starting XI but we might get some good players out of it. Ok now...now you are starting to lose me. Maximum squad salary of 82,000 p/w I knew I should have stuck to Scotland. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 I'm scared and I've not even clicked continue once yet in this save. I think this is going to be a very much, learn by doing save. Do not be surprised at any point to see me sign a player to immediately have to sell him because he doesn't meet any criteria. Speaking of meeting shall we take a look at the bare bones in which we have started with. Its a name I recognise. That's a good start. As keepers go he isn't horrible at all and fills a good position I don't need to worry about. The opposite of Scotland so far. Don't recognise this guy. Some MLS teams are interested in him. Might let him go in the interest of a blank canvas. Another name I know. He's done the rounds in Bundesliga most of his career. He looks solid and the fact he plays numerous positions means he will be a keeper. We seem to have a solid base at the back we can build this team around. I am loving it. I wouldn't be upset if we kept him but really don't know. What I need to be careful about is these players are here for a year with no game time coming. Which is why you'll notice all are up for loan. Now this guy I like. He looks very mid range but I think I can get the best of him. He plays the role and duty I like and so he could be a perfect player for me to start this journey with. Like the youth aspect of this geezer. I'll be brutal here and say nope, not for me. I like 1 up front and this guy doesn't strike me as somebody who is going to be good on his own. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 Ok this makes more sense I am really sorry about all the writing. "It was the best of saves, it was the worst of saves" The good news is the long term expectation of this save is to not finish bottom. I think the chairman has seen my previous work. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 I've noticed the place is looking rather empty. Job number 1. Get me some staff in! Coaches, Scouts, Medical. We pretty much need the lot! We have an academy! I like the look of this guy lets move him up. And a few more while we are at it. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 (edited) Ok here we go. First look into recruitment. LA Galaxy don't have space for him. I like the look. Lets bid. I'm joking. I know how American Sports work but its so odd seeing it in FM. This save is going to take some getting used to! I do not blame you. It would have been an awful trade for you. Edited December 2, 2022 by andychar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekluse Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Good luck on this. I tried the same save, a couple times. Been playing FM since CM days and being from St. Louis, first time I've ever had a chance to manage a 'home team'. But FM just doesn't model the MLS well. I started my save with an Icelandic start date that allowed me to start in May 2022 so I had more time to scout. I had to set up series of friendlies mixed with off/on hard pre-season training to keep development going. I blundered my way through the drafts, super draft, half dozen trades, a 101 course on general allocation funds.... All to ultimately be disappointed 2 seasons in as I realized the AI knows how to manage in the MLS even less than I do and it became far too easy and I was only looking forward to international games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 5 minutes ago, rekluse said: Good luck on this. I tried the same save, a couple times. Been playing FM since CM days and being from St. Louis, first time I've ever had a chance to manage a 'home team'. But FM just doesn't model the MLS well. I started my save with an Icelandic start date that allowed me to start in May 2022 so I had more time to scout. I had to set up series of friendlies mixed with off/on hard pre-season training to keep development going. I blundered my way through the drafts, super draft, half dozen trades, a 101 course on general allocation funds.... All to ultimately be disappointed 2 seasons in as I realized the AI knows how to manage in the MLS even less than I do and it became far too easy and I was only looking forward to international games. .............oh.........can't wait! Haha was that on 23 as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 One month in the books and I've been given some good players in the scouting. I'm not 100% sure how much weight each draft pick has so I'm reluctant to touch them. I think this might end up being a case of seeing what the expansion draft give me...in 11 months time..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number seven Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 @Cheez3y did a MLS save wich made me try, he really explained the rules well during the save, might be worth a look: All the best with this save I will follow. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheez3y Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 27 minutes ago, Number seven said: @Cheez3y did a MLS save wich made me try, he really explained the rules well during the save, might be worth a look: All the best with this save I will follow. Ty for the mention. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Some nice humour added in!, Interesting to see how this goes as the MLS is a tricky league Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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