Turning a Minnow into a Whale-a Football Manager Odyssey - stench96's Blog

stench96's Blog

Turning a Minnow into a Whale-a Football Manager Odyssey

Posted on November 25, 2008 at 06:46 AM.

(0)

Getting value for money out of your latest gaming purchase can be one of the biggest influences in actually buying a game.All the bells and whistles in the world mean jack if you're you're walking into EB Games with your game and reciept in hand a week later.I buy 4 games a year-Madden,NHL and Fifa from the EA stable and Football Manager from Sega.The EA games are for my 360,I've got the surround sound hooked up,108cm hi-def plasma and modem ready to go for some on-line action.Surprisingly most of my gaming time is spent on my PC.
Now juggling the wife,work and waves can eat into my 360 time considerably,but when the wife is home watching Next Top Model[as she is now]I can peacefully sit in my study,within earshot of her highness[incase she wants some converational value ouy of our marriage]and tinker around with my PC.
This installment of Football Manager[Worldwide Soccer manager in the States] will last me till the next incarnation,and apart from the patch updates and roster downloads,there's more than enough fun and frustration embedded in the disk to keep me occupied for the next 11 and a 1/2 months.
How can one game capture your attention for a whole year you may ask???The answer is simple-start at the bottom!!!
Unlike most,in fact all U.S. pro sports[corect me if i'm wrong]promotion and relegation play a huge part of every season.Infact some of the best games you will witness at the end of the season aren't the Man U. V Chelsea title deciders,it's at the other end of the table where the drama is unfolding.
Take West Ham's relegation battle not so long ago-they need to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on the last day of the season to stay in the most lucative league in the world.A daunting task for any team at any given time of the year-but also factor in at the same time 4 other teams are battling for survival at the same time around England,and you have the recipe for high drama that the best Hollywood scriptwriter couldn't come up with.
Carlos Tevez bangs home the winning goal and the jubilation at the final whistle is evident to not only the West Ham players,but the supporters as well.
Now cut to the teams and supporters who think they've done enough to stay up,then the agony of finding out the score from Old Trafford-the highest of highs to the lowest of lows!!!
This drama is not just unfolding in the Premier league,it's spread all across Europe,right down to the Blue Square North league,where the mighty Reds-Redditch United-play.Whether it's 30,000 fans or 300,the pain evident on the supporters faces is still the same,we're dropped,we're gone!!!
So I start my journey again,log in my name and age,pick my data base size,my favourite team{Wolves of coarse!!]and select the league I want to start in{Blue Square North] and pick my team-Redditch United-and I'm off!!
I'm greeted by the chairman,given a scout report[all my players are pretty lame] and given my wage budget-4,500 pds- probably what Beckam spends on hair care products each week.I go and check my coaches,then scout the youth team for any hidden diamonds-none-and finally set up a coaching plan to get rid of the holiday flab off the lads.
Now the fun really starts-scouting players,hiring staff and getting the most tactically out of my team,last year it took almost 10 years for me to make it to the Premier League,this year won't be any different-i'll keep you updated on how I'm doing!!
So here's some tips for getting the most of of pretty much nothing-
-When adjusting your wage budget go for a middle of the table prediction,you'll get extra coin for player wages,with out the burden of trying to challenge for the title straight away.
-Try player swaps to get rid of any players you can't sell,3 players with combined wages 460 pds can be swapped to a club for a player who wants 25 quid a week!!!
-Coaches are vital to any long term plans-player/coaches are a great asset-always sign them to full time contracts-your players will benefit from the extra work.
-Sign all the players that you want to keep to full time contracts,once again getting the most out of training.
-With a small club you are restricted to an assistant manager and maybe 2 coaches,here's a trick I learnt-offer your assistant manager a new contract as a coach,if he accepts the board won't veto it,and your free to sign a new assistant manger-you can do this till you build up a coaching staff of 6,one to cover each coaching role-but remember the coaches salaries will come out of your wage budget,so one a year is a pretty good way to go.
-Hire 2 scouts straight away and spend a fair bit of time on the free agant market,some players will say they're not interested in playing for your team,but if you scout them they might change their minds!!
-Check the transfer market,I usually have no money to spend for the first few seasons but you can score some bargins by offering to pay nothing up front,instead give the club a share of any money from a future transfers,30% is usually enough to score a player with a value of around 10 grand.
-THIS IS THE CLINCHER-GET A PARENT CLUB!!!This is the biggest decision you'll make,and it'' make or break your season-number one you'll get a couple of players sent to you on loan and number two you'll get paid an annual fee of 12-15 grand and also get a friendly match-worth 35 grand!!!!
I was given the choice of 3 clubs after approaching the board-Birmingham City,Wallsaw and Wolves-no need to guess who I chose!!!Within a week two great defenders landed on my doorstep on 12 month loans-Collins and Little-both of whom would start for any Championship or Division 1 team-are now starting for a team 4 leagues lower!!!Also I can approach any player on the Wolves squad and apply for a short term 3 month loan,great for getting a young striker or attacking midfielder!!
One important thing I've noticed,don't approach the board for a parent club too early,wait till late July/early August,for some reason the say they can't find one if you ask straight away!!!
Remember this is for the lowest league there is,you'll get knocked back by players and staff pretty often,but as your team does better and your rep builds you'll start to get a bit of pulling power.
One more thing-the end of the first season is a veriable smorgassboard of young players coming out of contract,so get rid on any dead wood before the end of the season to free up some salary space!!!
cheers Stench

Attached Images