Is promotion always a good thing?

[chucklehead]

Hi folks

I was just after people's opinions on whether promotion is always a good thing. Specifically in this case promotion to the Prem.

I'm in my 9th season with Barnet, and am in my fourth season in the Championship. We've performed way above expectations for the last few years, finishing just outside the playoffs when we were predicted to be relegated. This year I'm predicted to finish mid-table but am currently sitting 2nd. My squad is decent, in particular it's packed with promising youngsters that I've snapped up from all over Europe.

My concern is that if I get promoted, I'll get battered by everyone. Everyone's promotion pay rise will kick in, and my decent players will get annoyed at trying to avoid relegation and head elsewhere.

Would a couple more seasons of consolidation in the Championship be useful, or shall I go full steam ahead and try for promotion?

Thanks for looking folks

[Magicz]

I don't think promotion is 'always' good.

I got promoted with Blackpool when I was only expected to finish mid-table in the Championship and really struggled. I got given £20m to spend but it wasn't enough, as I needed to totally upgrade every player in my squad.

I ended up resigning in December because we were getting battered every week. Another season in the second tier would have been helpful but it depends on the quality of your squad at the moment.

I also got promoted ahead of expectations with Nott'm Forest, spent £10m, and finished 12th.

[MeesterCat]

I would say go for promotion as the financial rewards long-term will be very beneficial.

However, I would say to be pragmatic in your first season. Don't over-extend yourself. Plan as if you are going to get relegated.

[atherton93]

I was in a similar situation in the Swedish Second Division with Ange IF. Was 2000/1 to win the league and it came down to the last game of the season. I was 2nd and was playing the team that was top and I had to win to gain promotion. I lost 2-1 and as gutted as I was I think I'd have got destroyed the season after. Last season I was 200/1 and came 4th so here's hoping I'm not predicted to finish bottom next season!

[waitsfornone]

I would say that if you don't think you can cut it without a whole new roster of players, don't go full steam for promotion.

I am currently getting a weekly beat down after promoting 3 seasons in a row with P/T players and staff.

I should have tanked the end of last season. All it would have taken was 1 match of playing some youngsters for development.

[kris0710]

In answer to your question - No, not always.

But i would say go for it. In my long term save with Cambridge we got into the Championship as League One Champions in 2027/28 but only last three seasons in the next level (finishing 21st, 19th and then 23rd). That relegation changed things and we came up as Champions fro League One straight away with record points and breaking a 70 year old record goals too. We were a different animal this time in the Championship this time finishing 4th and losing in the Play Off Final after starting the season unbeaten until Christmas. The following year we finished 3rd and won the Play Off's this time. I looked through my squad and not one of them i thought i was PL class. Went into the PL with the idea of just taking the money and getting relegated but we survived in 16th then finished 5th! Once that happened i decided all the good things from the last 5 seasons wasn't good enough and totally changed the way we played, attempted a tactic that the players just weren't good enough for. That resulted in an 12th placed finish then worst still, 18th. Spent two years in the Championship coming back up as Champions. In that time managed to build a much better and balanced squad, went back to a tactic i trusted and fitted the players. Since then it has been 12 seasons in the PL finishing no lower than 11th.

Going up helped massively with finances but in the first year in the PL we still had our rubbish 8,600 stadium. Quickly enough we moved to a 17,500 stadium that year after year has been improved to it's max, 34,500. I also found that the two relegations gave me a better perspective and we always came back stronger and better than before.

[Kenco]

In the OP's situaution I'd say yes, go for it. You've had 4 years in the Championship and plenty of time building a decent squad, so it's time for the next challenge.

[baronia]

Of course there are benefits but if you, as Manager, aren't confident that your squad will hold up in the Premiership then I can only imagine it'll end badly.

First season in a new league is always tough - especially if you've overachieved in the previous season.

[Bluebird123]

I got Peterborough promoted twice in a row and although the money was great I ended up resigning around November just because of the beatings we constantly took. I know I could have rode it out but I just didn't have the patience for it. We were promoted far too early, the squad was never good enough despite the 20m we got to spend. In hindsight I should have purposely lost some games to drop out of the playoffs but I was tempted by the Premier League.

But as Kenco said, you should have built a good side by now so I say why not go for promotion? I mean it isn't as if you taken say Scunthorpe up 3 times in a row, because then you will obviously struggle but now you should have a side good enough to be competitive in the Premier League. Even if you don't you'll have a lot of money in the bank and should build a good enough squad to bounce back in 1/2 seasons. Good luck regardless of what happens.

[deltablue]

Never be afraid of promotion, you'll often find you'll survive a lot more comfortably than you expect (at least at first, might struggle after), and certainly that's often my experience. While not quite the same thing, I've occasionally thought the same about qualifying from a CL group and thinking 'I sort of wish I'd been 3rd instead so I could get a decent Europa league run, I'm going to get easily beaten now' and doing fine. It'll also hopefully help with turning your talented youngsters into a good side (I'm far from certain, but I do think the league rep makes a difference) and when it comes to the Premier League, you'll have plenty of money to get the required quality in since you clearly know how to find it, the financial boost (which is often important, rarely do you have much money to spare in the Championship, at least for long) will far outstrip the wage rises (and will also raise significantly raise everyone's values so you can get decent fees for the players who aren't good enough any more), and as they say 'success breeds success'.

[DizzyPenguin]

Paul Heaton, on Sheffield United:

Would you rather get to the FA Cup final or get promoted this year?

The cup final without a doubt. I understand the excitement of going up and I understand the awful feeling of relegation more than most as a Sheffield United fan but I'm happy where we are. That's an unusual thing for a fan to say but the higher we go, the more grief there is. Let's stay where we are and play teams that we can beat! I'd like to win every match but not go up because suddenly expectations are higher and players who looked brilliant are suddenly these awful figures of hatred for half of the crowd.

[johnhughthom]

I didn't know Paul Heaton was a Blade, would have thought he'd be a Liverpool/Everton or Hull fan.

[Chronicmarmalade]

As a Blade, Paul Heaton's comments there are a bit daft. I would love to be out of this god awful league. I got Sheffield United promoted to the prem back to back, 2 games in victories over Man Utd and Swansea, then BOOOOM. File gets deleted. Devastated.

By all means go for promotion as soon as possible, the point of the game is to succeed, why would you not want to give it a go?

[smp20]

The money you gain from going up to the Premier League is well worth it. Massive TV money, and if you were to get relegated you'll get substantial parachute payments. All it needs is 2/3 quality signings in key places that can keep you up there anyway.

[chucklehead]

I appreciate all the responses folks. I just beat Swansea in the playoff final, heading to the prem!

[JenniferGarnersEars]

After the first season Ive just been promoted to the Premier League with Charlton and although the transfer budget of 16M was great, the wage structure could not be altered no matter what I tried (boardroom finance button greyed out, altering wage and transfer budget made no difference) therefore couldn't get premier league level players on a championship wage structure, needed to clear out the majority of the squad....just coming to the end of August and finally the Finance button in the boardroom screen is no longer greyed out and they have increased my wage budget by 80K per week, why wasn't this available straight after promotion??

Gonna struggle this year I think

[JR866Gunner]

In answer to your question - No, not always.

But i would say go for it. In my long term save with Cambridge we got into the Championship as League One Champions in 2027/28 but only last three seasons in the next level (finishing 21st, 19th and then 23rd). That relegation changed things and we came up as Champions fro League One straight away with record points and breaking a 70 year old record goals too. We were a different animal this time in the Championship this time finishing 4th and losing in the Play Off Final after starting the season unbeaten until Christmas. The following year we finished 3rd and won the Play Off's this time. I looked through my squad and not one of them i thought i was PL class. Went into the PL with the idea of just taking the money and getting relegated but we survived in 16th then finished 5th! Once that happened i decided all the good things from the last 5 seasons wasn't good enough and totally changed the way we played, attempted a tactic that the players just weren't good enough for. That resulted in an 12th placed finish then worst still, 18th. Spent two years in the Championship coming back up as Champions. In that time managed to build a much better and balanced squad, went back to a tactic i trusted and fitted the players. Since then it has been 12 seasons in the PL finishing no lower than 11th.

Going up helped massively with finances but in the first year in the PL we still had our rubbish 8,600 stadium. Quickly enough we moved to a 17,500 stadium that year after year has been improved to it's max, 34,500. I also found that the two relegations gave me a better perspective and we always came back stronger and better than before.

Hello,

In my second year as Cambridge on FMH (Iphone) I just got Cambridge promoted to L2 and I am dreading it! Only just beat Forest Green in Playoff final.

First year was to learn about the squad and the younger players and after scraping into the playoffs with a late season 4 game surge and sadly lost in the semi's but that taught me that I needed to strengthen. Which I did. I stormed the first 22 games losing 2 times and then it went a bit pear shaped. Lost 8 I think in the end and clung onto second place (3rd matched my points tally) but managed to do it this year.

On FM14 on PC however I ave taken on MKDons and was flirting around the playoffs in L1 only to miss out on the last two games whereby it was not mathematically possible to get in. So now my task is to continue to build up the team which Ive started to in preseason and try again.

Getting promoted too soon is tough but I always try to stick with it, even relegation with a big team the hardest task is keeping hold of the bigger players without risk of bankrupting the club and aiming to bounce straight back.

Always a good sign to consolidate, strengthen and go again. this is the beauty of FM

[JR866Gunner]

I appreciate all the responses folks. I just beat Swansea in the playoff final, heading to the prem!

Top stuff! Congrats!

[Chasing Lamely]

I appreciate all the responses folks. I just beat Swansea in the playoff final, heading to the prem!

Good work mate; if you spend the transfer kitty wisely, you should be okay. I always grab for decent defensive reinforcements; if you can get a couple of decent internationals without breaking the bank, you'll snatch a few otherwise undeserved wins and draws.

[red dragon1978]

Well played chucklehead, and good luck!

In answer to your question, I'm playing as Finn Harps in the Irish Division 1. Predicted to finish 4th, we're sitting 3rd with 5 matches to go and on a 10 match unbeaten run. I was hoping to get us promoted, but recent events have changed my priorities.

When I took over, the club had already achieved everything the board wanted in terms of cup competitions. We'd been knocked out of the League Cup in the first round, but they didn't care about that, and they wanted us to reach the third round of the FA cup, which we had. We were faced with Sligo Rovers, sitting 4th in the Premier. After a 1-1 draw at ours, we somehow managed a 2-1 win at theirs. So now we're in the Quarters, against another Div 1 team who I know we have the beating of. There's only 1 all Prem Quarterfinal, and two all Div 1 matches, and of course one with Div 1 v Prem. So only 1 Prem team is guaranteed to make the Semi's, and at best, it's a 50-50 chance that we'll face a Div 1, assuming we get through the Quarters.

We cannot, mathematically, be caught by the team in 5th. We're 8 points behind the league leaders, again I think that's a little too far ahead at this stage of the season. So now, rather than going all out for promotion, my focus has entirely shifted to the Cup. The prize for 4th is £9,250, for 3rd, £11,000 and for second, £17,250. However, we got £13, 250 for the Third Round win, will get £17,250 if we win the quarters (plus, getting the replay we played in front of a crowd nearly 4 times our normal, gate receipts went orbital). I don't know the semi or final prize money, but I'd expect we'd get into Europe if we won. So from going all out for promotion, it now makes more sense to go for a different competition. And if we achieve promotion at the same time, all well and good...we'll be in a much better financial situation to cope, and in the unlikely event we do win the cup and it does give us European football, that should entice better players. So in this case, promotion isn't a good thing or a bad thing, it's just not, in my case, the most important thing.

[howhigh1337]

same dilemma about qualifying to euro cups. I remember playing save with team expected to relegate. In second season I managed to finish in Europa League zone, and eventually third season end up lower mid table finish due to players tireness and stuff. The only good thing about it was money earned...

[mark1985]

Was expected to finish bottom of the 3rd tier in Spain, got promoted and am just about to start my season in the 2nd tier. The money will be good but I'm prepared for a few spankings along the way. Fingers crossed I can stay up, and even if I don't, hopefully I can get some higher profile players and those that are already at the cup can benefit from the experience

[Jimbokav1971]

I would say it's not always a good thing, but on the other hand I would say that relegation the following season isn't always a bad thing. The key is to keep the focus on player development and long-term goals rather than the immediacy of trying to stay up.

Take this season for example.

I have never had beatings like that in all my time playing FM. What happened is that a really young team got promoted via the Playoffs the season before and simply were nowhere near ready to get promoted and play in Serie B. Rather than splash the cash and sign new players I actually off-loaded a couple of the guys coming to the end of their careers and instead invested in my own youth. It was a bit of a gamble that I wouldn't get sacked, but when I made the decision I mistakenly thought I would actually avoid relegation.

So although we got hammered, not only did I save money by selling/releasing my big earners, but the development of my youngsters as a result of playing a full Serie B season was huge.

Yes we came back down, and no the money wasn't comparable to your situation in the Premiership, but in terms of my long-term plan it worked well.

As long as you don't scupper your long-term plans by chasing short-term goals then there is nothing wrong with early promotion, (even if it is ultimately followed by relegation), (just as long as the board don't press the eject button).

[mark1985]

I would say it's not always a good thing, but on the other hand I would say that relegation the following season isn't always a bad thing. The key is to keep the focus on player development and long-term goals rather than the immediacy of trying to stay up.

Take this season for example.

I have never had beatings like that in all my time playing FM. What happened is that a really young team got promoted via the Playoffs the season before and simply were nowhere near ready to get promoted and play in Serie B. Rather than splash the cash and sign new players I actually off-loaded a couple of the guys coming to the end of their careers and instead invested in my own youth. It was a bit of a gamble that I wouldn't get sacked, but when I made the decision I mistakenly thought I would actually avoid relegation.

So although we got hammered, not only did I save money by selling/releasing my big earners, but the development of my youngsters as a result of playing a full Serie B season was huge.

Yes we came back down, and no the money wasn't comparable to your situation in the Premiership, but in terms of my long-term plan it worked well.

As long as you don't scupper your long-term plans by chasing short-term goals then there is nothing wrong with early promotion, (even if it is ultimately followed by relegation), (just as long as the board don't press the eject button).

Couldn't have said it better myself! I will also be focussing on long term goals (whilst, of course, trying my best to stay up). The last thing I want to do is go massively overdrawn on my wage budget by signing a load of mercenaries in their last season. I have a fairly young squad for the most part anyway, so their development is a top priority. Unfortunately, most of my promising youngsters are 16 or under, so a bit too early to throw them in, so they're playing in the B team, in the 5th tier. Fingers crossed I manage more than 1 win though Who was it that you beat btw?

[Dagenham_Dave]

Having won League 2 in Scotland with Stirling in my first season comfortably, I now find myself top of League 1 halfway through the second season. How I'm actually managing this is beyond me as I'm normally awful at this game, but I'm riding the crest of a wave just now. The thing is, do I really want to go to the Championship as quickly. We're still part time, and the majority of the Championship clubs are full time, so it'd be a real skelping most weeks in all probability. I've got some great young players coming through, it might be better to have another season in this league.

Probably moot anyway, as I daresay I'll balls it up of my own accord, but it's an interesting topic.

[deltablue]

Having won League 2 in Scotland with Stirling in my first season comfortably, I now find myself top of League 1 halfway through the second season. How I'm actually managing this is beyond me as I'm normally awful at this game, but I'm riding the crest of a wave just now.

There's very little difference in levels between the two leagues, and it's probably no coincidence that the only time I've ever achieved back-to-back promotions (I'm a good-to-middling player most of the time, not bad but hardly great, with the occasional disaster or fairly exceptional success) was going from Scottish League 2 to the Championship (Division 3 to Division 1 back then). In my experience surviving in the Scottish Championship isn't too hard but making progress is far more frustrating.

[waitsfornone]

There's very little difference in levels between the two leagues, and it's probably no coincidence that the only time I've ever achieved back-to-back promotions (I'm a good-to-middling player most of the time, not bad but hardly great, with the occasional disaster or fairly exceptional success) was going from Scottish League 2 to the Championship (Division 3 to Division 1 back then). In my experience surviving in the Scottish Championship isn't too hard but making progress is far more frustrating.

I will second delta's response. I have a save with Berwick up in the SPL in 3 seasons (all championships), and we only went F/T after the SPL promotions. If you look at the teams that start in the Scottish Championship and below, you will see that L1 and L2 are almost all P/T teams, and the Championship has a few P/T teams in them. Only the SPL is fully professional. Also, that is where the biggest jump in difficulty lays. I am currently winless in my first SPL season hoping that I can avoid the sack and consolidate back in the Championship.

[mark1985]

I did say promotion was a good thing. After my first 4 games of the season, having lost all 4, scoring 1 and conceding 10, am having second thoughts on this promotion. Cue my standard goalkeeper/bloody ***** centre back/lack of people wanting to sign for me/tactics/game's too hard grumble

[Simply Perfect]

In this particular scenario, promotion is a very good thing. The financial benefits of one year in the Premier League are huge. I took Eastleigh to the Premier League in successive seasons, but couldn't buy anyone when I got there: even average, unwanted Premier League players weren't interested (as it happens, I was offered the Turkey job, without applying, took it in mid-July and ended up doing that before getting the Everton job in November and pulling double duty). Eastleigh, despite beating Manchester City on the opening day, went down with around 15 points.

So, as some of the others have said, don't over-extend yourself. If you can, negotiate out promotion pay rises, and negotiate in relegation wage drops, or at least make sure the wage drop is considerably more than the rise. Be prepared to go straight back down. Strengthen where you need to and where the player coming in is better than you have (without stifling the development of your youngsters). Don't underestimate the benefit of experience if you can get one or two wise, old heads who can still 'do it'. Try to get investment in your facilities, particularly as you have talented youngsters: a season playing against high quality players will be good for them. Take the cups seriously as they're a good way to build momentum, particularly if you're taking a weekly tonking in the league. If you go straight back down, you'll get £11m more than the teams around you for four years (I think). Invest that in facilities and talented youngsters and when you go back up, you'll be in a better position to stay up.

Good luck!

[Hunter Lionheart]

Currently coming up to a situation like this. Preston in 2016/17, loitering nervously close to the top spots. Every time I've played a big club in the cups, they've pasted me!

[conshaldo_bonaldo]

Nothing saying you cant revamp the team enough to survive in the prem. Its a new challenge. Of course you go to win every game you can in the championship. When/if you get promoted this year then just plan to avoid defeat every game instead of going for wins or even balanced. On last years i was Pescara and did extremely well just blocking out teams in the first season then built from there quickly. This year did a similar thing with West Ham in the first season, looking to build from deep, block teams, aim to possibly get a sneaky goal on the break or a set piece, nothing fancy. The money to gain from going up is immense. If the wages are set to rise, then sell the players whom you deem not worthy of a higher level. Always look to the next step; this is just a silly question. Promotion is ALWAYS a good thing. So what if you get pounded next year? You're expected to. If you dont, you've won. And of course, you're not gonna tell the board you can do more than escape the inevitable, so just play safe and you'll be fine job-wise.

There's so much more you can do with a squad by going up than not going up. Higher rep gets a better selection of players willing to come, more money can get them, look to the next few years. Dont be afraid to fall just because you've risen. Rise again, but even stronger.

[scott MUFC]

you will be surprised what happens,if you buy the right players you can do just fine.

[Deego619]

you will be surprised what happens,if you buy the right players you can do just fine.

This.

On FM 13 I got bored after making QPR Word beaters in the 2020s. Resigned and took the first lower league job available, Brighton, just survived by the skin of their teeth in the Championship and financially struggling.

Signed a bunch of loans and freebies to essentially fill in the numbers (talented for the level though) and ended up winning the league on the final day of the season (2 points behind Wigan and Boro, one lost and the other drew with a smaller GD). My star loanees left and my freebies were declining veterans so I adopted a different transfer strategy in the PL.

I let my 35 goal 32 year old striker return to his parent club even though I could of signed him for peanuts. Simply because he didn't have the physical or mental attributes I'd need. I thought of Big Sam when he promoted Bolton in real life and how they used Veterans and Loans to keep them up and I adopted a similar strategy as in the Championship but with a difference. The Championship policy was simply "Anyone that's decent", whereas now they all had to be Hard Working, Determined players that gave their all for the team. The attitude was "we may lose, but we'll work harder".

The biggest transfer was a 24 year old regen from Valencia's B team that had 17 Det, 18 Teamwork. 18 Work Rate along with 13+ in every physical attribute for the cool sum of £1.5m, scored in all the big games and finished as the top scorer with 11 goals. I signed a 35 year old Yarmolenko (Manchester United "Legend" in the game) and played him in the hole as a creative hub in the big games, he had no legs but still 15 agility so his creative powers were still world class, especially for direct football. Signed a young keeper released from Boro because I liked some of his attributes, became England's number 1 the following season after a fantastic season of development . Signed perhaps around 15 players, mostly aged PL veterans.

Finished 12th. Playing a direct, rigid game. Being in this situation is probably my favourite one in FM. Every win is celebrated twice as much and losing suddenly isn't so frustrating .

[laBOMBA]

Hi folks

I was just after people's opinions on whether promotion is always a good thing. Specifically in this case promotion to the Prem.

I'm in my 9th season with Barnet, and am in my fourth season in the Championship. We've performed way above expectations for the last few years, finishing just outside the playoffs when we were predicted to be relegated. This year I'm predicted to finish mid-table but am currently sitting 2nd. My squad is decent, in particular it's packed with promising youngsters that I've snapped up from all over Europe.

My concern is that if I get promoted, I'll get battered by everyone. Everyone's promotion pay rise will kick in, and my decent players will get annoyed at trying to avoid relegation and head elsewhere.

Would a couple more seasons of consolidation in the Championship be useful, or shall I go full steam ahead and try for promotion?

Thanks for looking folks

Looks exactly like what I did with Bath in FM11. Got them promoted to Premiership but it was a bit premature as we got relegated straight away. I found the difference in level between premiership and championship huge. My suggestion would be to play for promotion anyway and when you get to the premiership, try to get a few good youngsters on loan from a top european club (the likes of Barcelona, Bayern, Real,...). You might be able to sign a few for a year while your original players can get used to the level of the competition and improve a fair bit.

[MichaelBrown]

I survived by one point with Yeovil when I went up, but my highest wage was 30k pw (Danny Graham, 2 year deal, 50% relegation wage cut)

As Meestercat said, plan for relegation.

Personally, I think promotion to any top league is the best thing you can do, the financial benefits are enormous.

[Scotty Walds]

Just make sure the squad you have when you get relegated is good enough to win promotion back again the next season. Use your increased budget to sign better young players, and let them have the experience of a season in the Premier League. Try and find yourself a striker to score 20 goals, and keep it tight. Go for the 1-0s and 1-1s. Set yourself little targets, like at least one CCC per game - even at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, etc.

I did this with Boston, just kept plugging away in the PL all season, and survived on goal difference on the last day thanks to a 93rd minute winner! Since then, we've not finished below 6th, and I just won my first PL as part of a domestic treble.

Don't be afraid to bring in season-long loans, even from the top clubs.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Promotion is always a good thing, especially to the cash cow of the Premier League or other similar rich top divisions.

[Dan BHTFC]

Make sure your players have a relegation wage cut otherwise it can sting paying big wages for more than 1 season back in the Championship

[RBKalle]

Frankly I have never had a problem with promotion, even when it came unexpected and unplanned.

After a couple of seasons, the general drop in quality is noticeable and you'd be able to avoid relegation most of the time even without having to put your finances in jeopardy to do so...

There are usually more than enough good free agents to strengthen your side just enough to have a relatively quiet season, well above the dropzone.

In my "rags to riches" saves with Byåsen and Lyn a couple of FMs ago, I always managed to have solid transitional season upon promotion, and more often than not I was able to achieve back-to-back promotions as well.

Maybe EPL is a bit more extreme if your side wasn't dominant in the Championship, but then again, good TV money, higher gates revenues and, as said, FREE AGENTS APLENTY are worth the risk.

[Sikker]

This.

On FM 13 I got bored after making QPR Word beaters in the 2020s.

Yeah, that's about the potential for QPR

[chucklehead]

Guys, thanks for all the advice and encouragement!

I've been in Majorca all week with the gf, so haven't been able to test my team against the big boys. I actually won the Capital One cup last season too, beating Spurs in the final. I've got up to a few days before the 1st game (against City, eeek!) and I think I've made some decent signings. More quality youth, along with some strength, including a quality regen DM from Real.

I'll let you know how I get on!

[Scotty Walds]

Go through each club in the Premier League, and check who they released at the end of the season. You may find a 'name' player, who could help you for the season.

[rotku]

I'll tell you soon as I just got Finn Harps up to the top league in Ireland when I was only expected to finish mid table. Still a part time club with no money (gates of 300 people) trying to get some players with top league experience into the club in the off season. Not looking good for the new season but we shall see.

[soldierblue123]

Enjoy the EPL. I think you'll find it's easier than you think to stay up in that first season. Second season syndrome is what you need to worry about. But good investment in a bit of quality will make all the difference.

[lil ole me]

After hours and hours of scouting i have managed to get Barrow from Skrill North - league one and are currently in top 3. When i was in the Skrill Premier I managed to aquire 7-10 young 16-17 year olds whom were freebies after clubs like Blackburn and West Ham released them. They were classed as decent/good league 2 with potential good/leading championship player and 2-3 of them good premier league players.

After two successful promotions the players are now very good in league one are some are being chased by Arsenal and Man Utd but i`m unwilling to sell for less than 10m and they are offering 7.5 max...I have had a meeting with a few whom said they wanted to leave for a bigger club but i have convinced him to stay as i offered promotion:eek:.

Plus with 4-5 good loaned players you can make any side in the lower leagues decent/good...I just hope i can get promoted as i don`t want to lose my young stars, especially when they will just rot in the u-21`s of the big clubs.

So yes, promotion is a good thing....challenge.

[CityAndColour]

I think a key difference is in real life, if you get close to promotion but don't go up, that opportunity might not come around again for another five seasons. Whereas if you're up competing on FM but don't go up, more than likely you'll stay up there and go up the next time around.

I don't see how it can ever be a bad thing to be honest. Promotion up will always bring more fans, more cash and get you close to or into the top flight. If you don't think you have the squad to stay up, be smart about it. Get young prospects, and sign veterans on one year deals or with relegation wage cuts.

[adhikapp]

Promotion. In FM12 I took over Stoke that got relegated, sold all the high earners (except Begovic, Walters and Huth), signed a few Bosmans and transfer listed players, and managed to get promoted back via playoffs.

When I got promoted, no good player wanted to sign for me and all I had was 7M that I couldnt spend. The quality of the team was horrendous as well and got lucky for promoting in the first place. What I did was sell Huth and Begovic and all the deadwood and signed better Bosmans, loaned youngsters from bigger clubs, while signing players that were too good for the Championship. In the first season I finished 7th, and it was probably the best achievement to avoid relegation like that.

[taylorsmen]

I'm in this scenario now, started a new save with Bournemouth and won the championship to gain promotion in the first season. Even with the 20M budget i know i'm going to struggle, lost the first 2 games to Villa and Arsenal, kind of wished i'd have spent another season in the Championship, won't be long before i'm back there though.

[baronia]

I just got promoted on my save with Wigan, having never actually managed to do so on this version of the game and I've found that keeping faith in your squad generally pays dividends. Admittedly Wigan have a decent squad anyway, but still..

I made a total of 3 signings in pre-season, plugging a couple of obvious gaps but nothing more major than that. Thus far I'm in 7th place, spent a total of £9m on transfers and gained to same amount back in sales. I think it's really important to keep a core of your squad together, beacuse it's easy to overdo it with freebies and new signings from relegated clubs or people whacked on the transfer list on the cheap.

[chucklehead]

Just finished my 1st season in the prem.

Finished 11th in the league. Got to the Cap One cup final (won it last year), Euro Cup semis, FA Cup semis.

Easy this top division lark