BKL1976 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm a US citizen and slowly becoming drawn in to FM2015 (I started with FM2014). There's so much depth and detail. As an American, I'm used to leagues with playoffs so I'm drawn to the MLS League. However, it seems like many people believe some of the best football is played in Europe with the Premier League being widely televised here in the US. I'm just wondering, it seems like working to obtain a playoff birth and then competing in the playoff tournament is exciting part of MLS. What makes the Premier League more exciting to manage, what are the "high points" one is trying to achieve? I realize this is an "American" statement, but it seems like it could be a little boring trying to win the top spot in the league each year; especially since only about 4 teams really seem in contention and often the winner is determined a few games prior to the end of the season. Any thoughts? I'm considering managing a Premier League team, but not sure if I'll get bored compared to the MLS League. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleaner475 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm a US citizen and slowly becoming drawn in to FM2015 (I started with FM2014). There's so much depth and detail.As an American, I'm used to leagues with playoffs so I'm drawn to the MLS League. However, it seems like many people believe some of the best football is played in Europe with the Premier League being widely televised here in the US. I'm just wondering, it seems like working to obtain a playoff birth and then competing in the playoff tournament is exciting part of MLS. What makes the Premier League more exciting to manage, what are the "high points" one is trying to achieve? I realize this is an "American" statement, but it seems like it could be a little boring trying to win the top spot in the league each year; especially since only about 4 teams really seem in contention and often the winner is determined a few games prior to the end of the season. Any thoughts? I'm considering managing a Premier League team, but not sure if I'll get bored compared to the MLS League. Thanks. I don't have much knowledge of the MLS, but being an Arsenal fan the Premier League is my thing Don't forget it's not just the Premier League title you'll be playing for. There is the Carling Cup and the FA Cup. Plus the Community Shield match if you win the previous years FA Cup or Premier League. The main thing to play for is the Champions League of course. Finishing in one of the top four places in the Premier League allows you to play in the Champions League so it's often more fun managing a club with the potential to be a big club (Southampton for example) and trying to get them into the top four. I have no idea what you're knowledge of English football is like, so the paragraph above either makes little sense, is very confusing, or is downright patronising Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhawk Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 American here. MLS will be the most familiar to you if you follow other American sports, but it's not representative of soccer around the world. It's a bit of an odd duck, so to speak. The thing to keep in mind with regard to playoffs is that, while certainly MLS is more self-contained and thus more obviously exciting from the perspective of an American sports fan, if you manage an MLS team, the league is pretty much all you're focused on. OTOH, managing in Europe, particularly in England, gets you the opportunity to manage through the league structure (especially if you start lower than the Premier League), and play in continental competitions (Champions Cup, Euro Cup), not to mention national cups. Essentially, to enjoy managing in England, you need to disassociate the idea of success from being purely league-oriented. Sure, in the NFL, the goal is to win the Super Bowl. There's no competition against the team that wins the Grey Cup. But in England, the league is just one part of it. You're also competing in the FA Cup, which is a big deal. You're also competing to not be relegated, or to be promoted if you're not in the Premier League. You're also, if you can qualify for them, competing against other clubs in Europe in important competitions. Unlike American sports there isn't one all-important goal, there's multiple goals which you can prioritize as you desire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerritos Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm a San Jose Earthquakes fan who attended the very first MLS game back in 1996. Been playing FM about that long. I never play MLS. It's not about the quality of the players, it's about the cockamamie rules under which the league is run. I mean, I've been a fan of MLS since it started, and I still don't understand the rules, much less the rules as FM interprets them. So I play anywhere but MLS ... Europe, Mexico, South America, even tried Australia and Singapore. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 American here. MLS will be the most familiar to you if you follow other American sports, but it's not representative of soccer around the world. It's a bit of an odd duck, so to speak.The thing to keep in mind with regard to playoffs is that, while certainly MLS is more self-contained and thus more obviously exciting from the perspective of an American sports fan, if you manage an MLS team, the league is pretty much all you're focused on. OTOH, managing in Europe, particularly in England, gets you the opportunity to manage through the league structure (especially if you start lower than the Premier League), and play in continental competitions (Champions Cup, Euro Cup), not to mention national cups. Essentially, to enjoy managing in England, you need to disassociate the idea of success from being purely league-oriented. Sure, in the NFL, the goal is to win the Super Bowl. There's no competition against the team that wins the Grey Cup. But in England, the league is just one part of it. You're also competing in the FA Cup, which is a big deal. You're also competing to not be relegated, or to be promoted if you're not in the Premier League. You're also, if you can qualify for them, competing against other clubs in Europe in important competitions. Unlike American sports there isn't one all-important goal, there's multiple goals which you can prioritize as you desire. Good points, but remember that MLS has the CONCACAF Champions League for top clubs as well. Also, American clubs play in the US Open Cup and Canadian Cups have the Voyageurs Cup, both domestic competitions. Given the win by Seattle today and their response, the Supporters Shield has increased in priority as well, especially as its gives an automatic CL spot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aderow Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm a San Jose Earthquakes fan who attended the very first MLS game back in 1996. Been playing FM about that long. I never play MLS. It's not about the quality of the players, it's about the cockamamie rules under which the league is run. I mean, I've been a fan of MLS since it started, and I still don't understand the rules, much less the rules as FM interprets them. So I play anywhere but MLS ... Europe, Mexico, South America, even tried Australia and Singapore. That's been the biggest reason I've always avoided MLS. The rules are just too much for to deal with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The rules don't bother me much. Benefit of MLS vs EPL is that salary cap and drafts mean you're on a (mostly) level field with your opponents. Sure it's fun to build up a Hull City or a West Brom and win the league, but odds are you'll always be massively outgunned financially by the top five. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm a US citizen and slowly becoming drawn in to FM2015 (I started with FM2014). There's so much depth and detail.As an American, I'm used to leagues with playoffs so I'm drawn to the MLS League. However, it seems like many people believe some of the best football is played in Europe with the Premier League being widely televised here in the US. I'm just wondering, it seems like working to obtain a playoff birth and then competing in the playoff tournament is exciting part of MLS. What makes the Premier League more exciting to manage, what are the "high points" one is trying to achieve? I realize this is an "American" statement, but it seems like it could be a little boring trying to win the top spot in the league each year; especially since only about 4 teams really seem in contention and often the winner is determined a few games prior to the end of the season. Any thoughts? I'm considering managing a Premier League team, but not sure if I'll get bored compared to the MLS League. Thanks. I find MLS very different but lots of fun. The annoying thing is the salary caps and the guarantee salary date which can mess up saves (messed a couple of mine before). Trading is vastly improved in FM14 vs other FMs so if you want to Jimmy Johnson yourself to a gazillion draft picks, you can. I find playoffs in FM exciting, because (A) I never seen my MLS team actually make the playoffs (), and (B) it's more nerveracking than a normal league season to me - because it's win or go home. And when the league is nearly over and you clinched a spot you can experiment with different tactics and players. Even with the Supporters' Shield, it's a bit different. No MLS player or fan dreams of winning a Supporters' Shield as the ultimate goal - but I bet they all want to lift the MLS Cup. So in a way it dilutes the regular season. The not-so-fun part of MLS is remembering all the rules and the new stuff FM adds in. I know enough of them though to do a good job in the league - outside of salary cap management. I still have no idea how to lower a player's cap hit with allocation money for example. Europe is definitely where a lot of the fun is at with the UCL vs the CCL (less teams - 4 games vs 6 games because there are only 3 team groups, and it's usually Liga MX vs MLS in the end - last time a non-CAN/MEX/USA won was Saprissa in 2005 iirc). So the CCL can get quite boring if you're having success. To answer your question, I would say MLS - but that's because I've never been much a Premier League fan (or a fan of any English football team). EPL is downright boring because I really have no attachment to any club or player (except the Canadians and Americans - Fulhamerica for example back in the day, and former MLS players). MLS is at least curious to me when a new FM comes out and early reviews are good for FM15 imo (mind there's still that 'sign-and-waive' bug in the beta). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGull8559 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I can't really make a comparison as i know absolutely nothing about MLS. But to answer your question, remember that in the EPL you are not just fighting for the top spot. For some teams they are fighting to get into the top 4, so that they can qualify for the Champions league and play against the best teams in Europe. For many other clubs in the league it's about survival, avoiding finishing in the bottom 3, as in England and many other countries you can be relegated from the division. It's hard to explain, but managing a team that is predicted to finish rock bottom and struggle all season only to survive near the end of the season is as great feeling as getting promoted or winning the premier league. As mentioned above, we also have cups such as the FA cup, which is very popular in England and so it's often a cup many premier league teams want to win. For me personally, the EPL is just the icing on the cake, i might be a bit biased since i am English after all, but i love the English pyramid system. Starting out as little old Torquay(the club i support in real life) It's a truly great challenge to get promoted up through the leagues with the ultimate goal of winning the premier league and champions league. An achievement that will never happen for Torquay in real life but can possibly happen in a game like Football Manager. There is nothing worse than getting to the play-off final only to lose and spend another season in a league you want to get out of. Yet, there is no greater feeling than to win a play off final or to win the league and find your self in a higher division the following season with teams twice your size. It's exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. That's why i love football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKL1976 Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 I can't really make a comparison as i know absolutely nothing about MLS. But to answer your question, remember that in the EPL you are not just fighting for the top spot. For some teams they are fighting to get into the top 4, so that they can qualify for the Champions league and play against the best teams in Europe. For many other clubs in the league it's about survival, avoiding finishing in the bottom 3, as in England and many other countries you can be relegated from the division. It's hard to explain, but managing a team that is predicted to finish rock bottom and struggle all season only to survive near the end of the season is as great feeling as getting promoted or winning the premier league. As mentioned above, we also have cups such as the FA cup, which is very popular in England and so it's often a cup many premier league teams want to win. For me personally, the EPL is just the icing on the cake, i might be a bit biased since i am English after all, but i love the English pyramid system. Starting out as little old Torquay(the club i support in real life) It's a truly great challenge to get promoted up through the leagues with the ultimate goal of winning the premier league and champions league. An achievement that will never happen for Torquay in real life but can possibly happen in a game like Football Manager. There is nothing worse than getting to the play-off final only to lose and spend another season in a league you want to get out of. Yet, there is no greater feeling than to win a play off final or to win the league and find your self in a higher division the following season with teams twice your size. It's exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. That's why i love football. Thanks for the responses. So is it possible to take a small market team that starts in a lower league and move them all the way to the top of the Premier League? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Very possible, not just in FM but in real life too. This is the dream for all 72 of the Football League clubs (outside the Prem - Championship, League 1 and League 2). Swansea City are a perfect example of this - a decade ago they were nearly relegated from League 2, now they've played in Europe and have established themselves as a reputable Premier League club. There are some big clubs outside of the Premier League with a history of being established Premier League club, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest just to name few. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGull8559 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Thanks for the responses. So is it possible to take a small market team that starts in a lower league and move them all the way to the top of the Premier League? Yes it's possible, Our league system goes down pretty far. Although FM stops at Conference south/north, you can have teams much lower than that rise up the leagues and with investment and support could find them selves in the premier league. It's unlikely to see it happen in real life to small clubs, but it is possible and can happen. My team for example, Torquay United play in the conference, 5 leagues below the premier league. With each league below having 24 teams and very limited promotion spots. In 2004 my team was in league 1, now we are in the conference. This is why many people play in the EPL or in English leagues in general, as so much can change in such little time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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