Club Profile
The Club Profile screen gives you a simple and quick look at their key information. Club Details, League History, Staff, recent Results, Kits, Stadium information and Club information are all present and displayed for your perusal.
The General view takes the Profile screen and expands upon it with more detail – such as rival teams and favoured members of staff - and greater depth in each area.
Information
The ‘Information’ sub-tab displays all the information about the club’s stadium and training ground, and any other facilities they may have, such as a youth academy.
Training Facilities, Youth Facilities and Data Analysis Facilities all operate on a scale of ten as follows, from best to worst (if the facilities are rented, this will be displayed in parentheses):
State of the Art, Excellent, Superb, Great, Good, Average, Adequate, Below Average, Basic, Poor
The Stadium Condition and Pitch Condition fields exist on a scale of seven:
Perfect, Very Good, Good, OK, Poor, Very Poor, Terrible
There are also five types of ‘Youth Level’, with 1 being the highest, 4 the lowest, and 0 representing that the club holds no audited status. Improving the Youth Level will result in your developmental teams being allowed to play against other teams attaining that grade as well as increasing the likelihood of being able to develop more talented youngsters and bring them through the academy ranks.
What benefit does increasing quality of various facilities have for my team?
Facilities directly affect player development. An increase in quality of training facilities allows player attributes to develop more, allows them to become more likely to realise their full potential, improves the rate at which they progress, and also improves the coaching staff working there, which in turn benefits the players again.
The same applies to youth facilities; the players and coaches working in this part of the club will reap many of the same benefits at a markedly more important time in their careers. Increasing the standard of Youth Recruitment, for example, each time will boost the quality of potential ability amongst players coming through into your annual youth team intake.
Each time the board decide to an aspect of the club’s infrastructure, it increases in number closer to 20, like the player attributes model, and so jumping between levels roughly represents a 2-3 digit change on an average scale size of six to seven definitions. If the number of definitions is fewer, the leap between them is bigger, and vice-versa.
If technology elsewhere improves at a pace you can’t keep up with, you’ll be notified that your facilities have been downgraded in their grading; they haven’t physically changed, but the standard at which they exist will have been re-evaluated.
The cost of each stage of improvement depends on the standard of existing facilities, starting out smaller for minor improvements, and then into several millions for high-end adjustments.
These sums are slightly more expensive when dealing with training facilities as additional investment is required for the scale of the work being done and staff requirements, and they are adjusted depending on the financial state of the country where the work is taking place.
Affiliate Clubs
Teams are increasingly seeking arrangements with others in order to create mutually beneficial situations both on and off the pitch. From local relationships to international partnerships and corporate groups, the footballing world is connected like never before, and affiliations are a major part of that.
Any club affiliated with yours are displayed on this screen and you are also able to begin the process of a new affiliation from the Board Requests screen by selecting ‘Networking -> Affiliate Club’. Depending on the size of your team, you may also request that the board ‘Look for Senior Affiliate’ to which you will act as an affiliate and benefit accordingly; primarily from the ability to receive players on loan from them, but also potentially through shared scouting, finances and facilities.
There are a number of types of affiliation which each have their own benefits.
A local partnership in which players are loaned.
- Players will be made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate.
A local partnership in which facilities are shared.
- The teams will share training facilities, typically mostly to benefit the lower affiliate.
A national partnership in which players are loaned.
- Players will be made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate.
Financial benefits for both teams.
- A commercial link-up, usually with an overseas team in a ‘new market’, that will boost club finances.
Benefits for the youth setup for both teams.
- A link-up with a foreign academy whereby players from the affiliate may appear in youth intakes.
The senior affiliate has first option on the affiliate club’s players.
- The senior affiliate has the right to match any transfer offer accepted for a player at the lower affiliate.
An international partnership in which players are loaned.
- Players will be made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate.
To avoid work permit regulations.
- Players are loaned from the senior affiliate until they’re able to acquire a nationality that doesn’t require them to qualify for a work permit. These deals are usually struck with teams in countries where the naturalisation period is shorter than average.
The senior affiliate will send youth players to the affiliate club to gain experience.
- Youth players at the lower affiliate will spend time training with the senior affiliate.
The senior affiliate will send reserve players to the affiliate club to put them in the shop window.
- The senior affiliate will send unwanted players to the lower affiliate to try to make them more attractive for a transfer offer.
The affiliate club will receive players from the senior affiliate to aid them in their bid for promotion.
- The lower affiliate will be sent players to aid in their promotion challenge.
The affiliate club will receive players from the senior affiliate to aid them in their bid to avoid relegation.
- The lower affiliate will be sent players to aid in their survival bid.
A mutually beneficial relationship.
- All other affiliate links where no specific reason for the relationship exists.
If you have managed a club for a successful period of time your board may allow you to request a specific type of affiliation to benefit your own needs, and over an even longer period of time the board will be willing to allow you to specify a club to approach for a link-up. These options will become available to you as part of your conversations with the Board.
Affiliations may be cancelled for a few reasons; the most common amongst them is if the lower affiliate is promoted to play in the same division as the senior affiliate. Underuse of the affiliation – particularly with regards to loans – is another commonly-seen outcome, whilst a change in reputation between the two clubs can either cancel the deal outright, or see the senior party in the arrangement change.
Board Confidence
If you’re going to be successful in your job, it’s imperative that you satisfy the demands of the Board and the Fans – and they can be quite demanding. The Confidence bar reflects the overall reaction to each facet of your management of the club. The Board and supporters will give you their current thoughts on your progress in competitions, your financial control, individual match feedback, your transfer activity and current squad, any promises you may have made during contract negotiations, the overall dressing room atmosphere and support levels amongst the players, your tactical decisions, and an overall summary with a major highlight and criticism throw in for good measure.
Confidence in your performances in these areas can be gauged by the bar displayed on the Overview screen.
The bar displayed in the screenshot is a neutral opinion and is at the midway marker. As confidence in your performance grows, this bar will fill up towards the right. If confidence disappears and people start questioning your actions, the bar will decrease towards the left. You naturally want to be aiming to have as much of every bar filled as possible.
Fan opinion will be presented to you by a spokesperson from a team supporters group. They are more concerned with the on-field product as well as transfer activity, whilst the Board are more concerned with the long-term security of the club off the pitch, but they will not ignore what happens on the pitch.
The Confidence sub-tab goes into far greater detail in every area of your job. ‘Club Issues’ deals with agreed philosophies, playing styles and general approaches, whilst Competition and Match Performance respectively will cover your team’s on-field performances. Transfer Activity presents a look at how you’ve fared wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, and Tactics provides feedback on your strategy and whether or not you’re getting the best out of the players in your current formation and tactical setup.
How do I ensure the board are happy and that I keep my job?
The most important thing is to ensure you’re constantly aware of board confidence, both on an Overall level and in each contributing area. A brief shortlist of things to always keep at the forefront of your attention also goes a long way to ensuring long-term success:
- Keep your players happy.
- Perform well on the pitch, in terms of both result and performances.
- Manage your finances properly.
- Don’t make excessive or unlikely board requests and demands.
- Understand your status within the club; wait until you’re established before asking for more.
Keep tight control over these areas, follow the advice laid out throughout this manual, and you should be in a good position to move forward in your career.
What are the different levels of board confidence and what do they mean?
Untouchable
In terms of the 1-20 attribute range as seen on player profiles, imagine this to register at around the 16 or above mark. This is the strongest level of confidence you can have and it means your job is as safe as can be.
Very Secure
We lose a couple of marks dropping to Very Secure but you’re still highly impressive and have the board’s full backing.
Secure
Another couple of marks drop off as we’re ‘only’ Secure now; you’re doing a good job, and the board have no concerns with your management.
Stable
Consider this to be just above 50%; you’re trending slightly upwards, but things are finely-poised and the next few results could swing things up or down.
Insecure
We’re now dropping below the mid-point threshold and your job could be in peril if you don’t start to pick up points. It’s at this point that the board might start to consider calling a meeting for you to explain yourself.
Very Insecure
One step down is Very Insecure; your job is now in great peril, and a win in your next fixture is of paramount importance.
Precarious
Anything at this level or below on the comparative attribute scale means you’re almost certainly on the verge of being sacked; the board may take action at any time, and another defeat before then will almost certain result in the termination of your contract.
Under Review
This is used immediately following a board takeover whilst the new Chairman evaluates the managerial situation at the club.