Mackem742

Hi all, Ive decided to take a step out of my comfort zone and started a save in Austria with Austria Vienna, has anyone had any experience in managing in the Austrian league? My overall goal is to stop RB Salzburg's dominance and to gain regular European competition experience. No title win since 2012/13 means that its safe to say this will be a challenge, there is next to no money and a squad that is okay but not great. I will update this with my progress so far later today when Im at home. Ill also add that I holidayed the first season as I dont like starting when the in game season starts, I holidayed until June 2024 before adding myself in as manager of Austria Vienna. They do have Europa League qualification to go through as they won the Austrian FA Cup in season 23/24 so that is a bonus.

Here I am yet again with yet another save! Ive decided to give Valencia a go with their terrible finances and an upcoming move into a new stadium. 3 games left to go in my 1st season and Im currently on course for a top 4 finish which is way above expectations, I was only expected to finish in the top half. Qualification for Europa League has already been secured but it could be much better. Ive also just gifted the title to Real Madrid after I beat Barca 1-0 away to leave them 7 points behind Madrid with 3 to go. The only disappointments I have is a quarter final Copa Del Rey exit to Espanyol and Im yet to find a tactic to get my strikers scoring, I brought in Gabigol in January but he has been poor, so Im in 2 minds to either stick with him or give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he has a good pre season. It really depends on my transfer budget, Im not expecting a lot even if I qualify for the Champions League so I may need to sell to buy. Ive got Barco coming in during the summer so Gaya may be sold to fund other signings, there is interest in him and his value is £52 million. The problem with that is I only get 60% of transfer revenue, hopefully I can get that increased in the summer. Fingers crossed I can stick with this save as Im desperate to get fully invested in a save like I did with Lens last year.

Ill try and post an update into my Mallorca save when I have a bit more time but as a summary Ive now completed 2 full seasons. Season 1 - Finished 7th, just outside the European places after a bit of a collapse later in the season. Season 2 - Finished 4th and qualified for the Champions League which was unexpected. Ive been given £9 million as the financial side of the club isnt the best. Ive had a massive turnaround of players and I do have a much younger squad now and star players are Bardghji and Beto. Beto came in the January transfer window and was fantastic. Just about to start season 3 and currently looking for bargains to improve the squad and to give the Champions League a good go.

Mine went up automatically at the start of my 3rd season with Mallorca. It was £500,000 last season but now its £1.1 million.

Sunderland AFC Sunderland Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six top-flight titles (1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936) in the First Division, and has finished runners-up five times. The club has also won the FA Cup twice (1937 and 1973) and been runners-up twice (1913 and 1992), as well as winning the FA Charity Shield in 1936 and being finalists the following year. Sunderland have also been Football League Cup finalists in 1985 and 2014. Nicknamed the Black Cats, Sunderland play their home games at the 49,000-capacity all seater Stadium of Light having moved from Roker Park in 1997. The original ground capacity was 42,000 which was increased to 49,000 following expansion in 2000. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Newcastle United, with whom the Tyne and Wear derby has been contested since 1898. The club has played in red and white-striped shirts and black shorts for nearly the entirety of its history. Current squad Stand out players Anthony Patterson – Young goalkeeper who has come through the ranks at SAFC and has well established himself as the clubs No 1. Excellent shot stopper, maybe needs to command his box more but is more than a decent keeper for the Championship. Daniel Ballard – Central defender brought in from Arsenal, a commanding figure in the heart of the defence. Luke O’Nien – Has become known as “Mr Sunderland” after we signed him from Wycombe a few years ago, good squad player who has played central midfield, right back and currently playing in central defence. Not the most spectacular player but makes up for it in passion. A real character. Timothee Pembele – Right back brought in from PSG, has been injured in real life so has not played a first team game yet but is highly rated. Trai Hume – An unknown player (to us in England at least) when he was signed from Linfield but has gone on to be a quality addition at right back. Adil Aouchiche – Another young Frenchman brought in from Lorient, haven’t seen much of him yet but another player thought to be highly rated. Pierre Ekwah – A bit of a beast in central midfield, started the season really well and was a commanding figure in our 5-1 win over Southampton earlier in the season. Jobe Bellingham – Younger brother of superstar Jude, brought in from Birmingham. Has shown some good qualities so far but he is only 18. If he can become half the player his brother is then we will have one cracking player. Chris Rigg – Another youngster brought through the ranks, has had some Premier League clubs scouting him and in his few cameo appearances so far he has looked an excellent player. Played well against Fulham in the FA Cup last season and scored the 5th in the win against Southampton. Dan Neil – Yet another youngster brought in through the ranks, another player who has had a few Premier League clubs looking at him. He has become one of the most vital members of our midfield. Jack Clarke – Our best player on his day, his trickery and goals have lit up the Stadium of Light and many other grounds around the country. If this is replicated in the game it may be hard to keep hold of him. Patrick Roberts – Like Clarke he can be one of or best players on his day, has the skills and tricks to open up a defence but he just needs to be more consistent. Nazariy Rusyn – Young striker brought in from Ukraine, hasn’t featured a lot so far but he looked very impressive in the 3-1 against Norwich recently and the signs are promising. I am a Sunderland supporter so my first save is always with my hometown club and I have just begun my serious save with them which I will update the post with soon. I have got off to a bright start with a 3-0 home win over Ipswich. I hope others take on the Sunderland challenge and try to get them back into the Premier League. The Championship is very competitive this year with Leeds, Leicester, and Southampton joining us. As well as the usual contenders Norwich, Blackburn etc. Good luck to anyone taking the challenge on and I hope to see your progress so far. PS – My first ever team thread so I hope it looks okay!

Real Club Deportivo Mallorca Royal Sporting Club Mallorca, commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca, is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, they currently compete in La Liga, holding home games at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix with a 23,142-seat capacity. The club had its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reaching a best-ever 3rd place in La Liga in 1999 and 2001 and winning the Copa Del Rey in 2003 following final defeats in 1991 and 1998. Mallorca also won the 1998 Supercopa De Espana and reached the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final. Club overview Best XI Club info Season preview Current squad No signings have been made yet, only got a £850k transfer budget and already over wage budget so Ive put most of my budget into the wages and goal for this season is just to survive which I should be able to manage and see where I go from there. Ill do an update when the transfer window has closed. Wish me luck!

Im sure I will be dipping my toe into a Spanish league save at some point. Im going on a cruise around the Med next year, starting in Majorca and ending in Palamos so Im thinking of a save with RCD Mallorca or Palamos CF. I dont even think Palamos CF are in the game as they play in the Tercera Division Group 5 so I think it may be RCD Mallorca I start with

Im planning on a save in the French League again on this years game. Im just not sure who to go with. I had a great save with Lens on FM23 and managed to build them up into a side that was well capable of taking on PSG, I just couldnt crack the Champions League. Ill have a proper look when Im over my initial beta save with Sunderland but my initial thoughts are Monaco, Lyon or Marseille.

Not as big a deal as some mentioned so far but I sold Bradley Dack to a club in the Saudi league when I got promoted with Sunderland for £8 million.

Is it just my game or is he harder to sign now? Ive tried saves with Inter and Lisbon and he isnt interested in signing, saying he doesnt feel like it would be the best move for his development.

Just started my final save of this years FM cycle with Sporting Clube de Portugal (dont want to insult any Sporting fans by calling them Sporting Lisbon!) I ended my Lens save as I felt like I had taken them as far as I could after 11 seasons, I was consistently battling with PSG for domestic honours but I just couldnt make a dent in the Champions League, regularly getting as far as the Quarter finals but getting knocked out. Furthest I ever made it was semi finals. Same aim as with my Lens save is to make an impact in the Champions League with Sporting, 1st mission is to get there as I start off in the Europa League. Currently sat 2nd in the league behind Porto who havent lost a game yet (at the World Cup break).

Im currently 10 years into my Lens save, the longest Ive gone with any save on the last few versions of FM. PSG are still like a cheat code but Ive won the title a few times and the French Cup a couple of times. You cant afford any mistakes in this league. In my current season, we have both lost 2 games, one of theirs was against me. Ive just had far too many draws. Im still no closer to winning the Champions League and Ive just been knocked out of the Quarter Finals by Man City. Ive got an upcoming away game at PSG and then a semi final against them in the Cup straight after. Im currently 9 points behind them with 4 games to go so its going to take a miracle to win the league this time. Ive got no fears of ever being sacked as im classed as a legend of the team now, ive survived a takeover and we now have a 52,000 seater stadium. My transfer budget is no more than £15 million every season so to even remain in contention with PSG is an achievement. Ive got numerous players that I signed as 19/20 year olds who have now developed into top quality 1st team players but the usual suspects are now sniffing around them. I feel like this current season has been disappointing so I may need to sell one of the youngsters to fund a bit of a rebuild. When I sold Roony Bardghji to Newcastle for around £90 million I picked up an ideal replacement from Copenhagen, a regen called Hjulmand, he has been incredible for me but Bayern, Chelsea and Liverpool are sniffing around. His value is £160 million so Ill see what the upcoming transfer window brings. I do have thoughts of moving clubs too, to a team with a better chance of winning the Champions League.

Coming to the end of season 2028/29 with Lens and due to move into a new stadium before the start of next season. Id like to move into it as back to back champions. Currently 5 points clear of PSG with 4 games to go. I just thought Id share some of the youngsters that I currently have at the club. All of these have been brought into the club as I havent had a decent youth intake yet.

Excellent player, signed him for my Lens side a few seasons ago but unfortunately I've just lost him to Newcastle who came in with an £80 million bid, he wanted to go and I couldn't turn down that amount of money.

I havent done an update on my Lens save for a while but currently going into season 6 and its the furthest Ive got into a save without becoming bored Anyway my league positions so far have been 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd. PSG are just about impossible to overhaul on my save. The only trophy I have won is the Trophee De Champions in season 5 where I beat PSG 1-0, I thought that was going to be the season but unfortunately not. I have made it to the Champions League semi final in season 4 but got knocked out by Arsenal. Its frustrating getting 6 to 8 million transfer budget every season when Im trying to overtake the juggernaut that is PSG. Ive resisted moves away to Italy where I was offered interviews with Roma and Napoli and Ive started season 6 with 4 wins from 4 games. Ive had a big transfer window with some big signings arriving, including a couple of top class regens, 1 which has come in as a starting striker at just 20 years old. Also just got the news that work has begun on a new 58,000 seater stadium which is due for completion in 2029. I have to stay until then and hopefully I can go into it as champions.

Its having an impact on the club vision as the board expects me to get passed the 1st cup game I play! Quite hard when Ive been drawn away at the top team 3 seasons in a row! Ive got a bit of hope this season as Im going toe to toe with them in the league and currently sit top by 2 points after 17 games.

Is there some sort of bug in the French league with the cup competition? 3 seasons in with Lens and for the 3rd time in a row Ive been drawn away at PSG in round 9. Hardly seems fair

I ended up finishing 4th in my 1st season. I only needed a point on the final day to finish ahead of Monaco but they battered Toulouse while I lost away to Auxerre who avoided relegation with that result. A bit disappointed but happy to finish 4th in my 1st season. Already planning for next season and been given just over £10 million. Arsenal came in with a £12 million bid for central defender Danso which I rejected, he kicked up a fuss and was furious so when they came in again with a £15 million bid I asked for £30 million which they accepted, wish Id asked for more now so Ive got a bit of a transfer kitty to improve the side.

Ah okay, thanks for that. I always knew the French league wasnt great when it came to transfer budgets, unless you are PSG. Best I can do is continue to qualify for the Champions League and mould some youngsters into sellable assets. I have just had a 5 star intake come through in the youth intake too with a couple of 5 star potential players so Ill see what I can do with them.

If you dont mind me asking what budget did you get given in season 2 after finishing 2nd?

Openda is a fantastic player. He had about 20 goals in the league for me at the end of February but he got injured and is out for 7 to 8 weeks and likely the rest of the season now. Im hoping I can still cling on to my 3rd place as the team doesnt score that many goals. Ive had so many 1-0 wins. I also agree on Samba and Fulgini, both great players. Samba is on the verge of a clean sheet record for me.

Cheers! Its actually going better than expected. Im just heading into the January transfer window and currently sat 5th.

So Ive made my decision and went for Lens. My choice came down to them or Nantes but Nantes are in the Europa League and I wanted a team with no European competition in season 1 so here goes..... RC Lens start of season 1 Oh and this is a nice news item. Im not expecting it to go through but any extra cash will be welcome!

Not much happening in the English football league thread so Im looking for a French save where I can post my progress. Im not looking for a top team but one with a smaller stadium with the potential of qualifying for European competition, my first thoughts were Nantes or Lens but Im open to suggestions

Sunderland AFC Season 1 review So I started a new save with my beloved Sunderland after the winter update and I had a decent first season back in the Championship but at one point it promised so much more than a 9th placed finish, as at one point I was flying up in 3rd at one point in the season before a mid season slump which saw me fall down to 9th, we rallied a little bit towards the back end of the season to climb to 5th but a terrible end to the season including defeats to Norwich, Sheff Utd, Luton, Huddersfield, Watford and a final day humiliation away at Preston saw me finish in 9th which is where I was expected to finish in the season preview. League table Past positions Transfers I didnt have much money to spend so I only brought one player in and that was striker Rey Menaj on a free transfer, he had a decent season and scored 18 in 26 appearances in the league. A few youngsters were let go on loan and Lynden Gooch was sold at the end of the season as he wanted to go. I got decent money for him though to fund the following seasons play off push. Our goalkeeper Anthony Patterson is also on the verge of leaving as he was pretty poor for me and I think I can sign better, he is in talks with Atletico Madrid and is leaving for 9 million. Squad at season end As you can see we only had 4 players who broke the 7.0 average rating and 2 of those were on loan so it was a very average season and a lot of work is needed to improve on our 9th place finish. Results Apart from a good run from the back end of September and into October we never really put another good run together, winning a couple then going on a bad run. Very inconsistent so this is another thing that needs improvement. The 6-1 defeat to Preston on the final day summed our season up. We still had a chance to sneak into the play offs but we were relying on Watford and West Brom to both lose and us to win but we just collapsed against a Preston side who had to win to stay up. Going into season 2 with a £15 million transfer budget so plenty of money to strengthen.