Over the past year and a half or so, I've discovered something a very large portion of the world already knows.
The sport we Americans call soccer is really, really cool.
That realization, combined with the enjoyment I've always found in sports management simulation games, led me to another discovery that many people have already made.
Football Manager is a really, really fun game.
I've told the stories of several different FM careers on this forum. Usually they've begun with me as the manager of a small club in a lower level, and they've all been fun, for a while at least. The more I play FM, the more I enjoy it, and the more I discover that I'm still learning how to play it. Now I've reached the point where I know what I want the club I manage to be, but I'm still learning how to take it there.
This dynasty will be the story of my attempt to build such a club.
What I Want my Club to Be
One of the things that fascinates me about football (from now on I'll use the British term) is the variety of philosophies and playing styles a club can choose. There are numerous paths to victory. I've decided I want my club to play
attractive, possession football.
While I enjoy buying and selling players, I'd like my club to develop a reputation for
developing and nurturing young players, and bringing them into the first team.
I'm not obsessed with the idea of building them into one of the biggest clubs in the world, but I hope to achieve
a distinguished record of success. Watching your club captain lift a trophy is a very satisfying experience.
The Ground Rules
I will freely admit that I'm going to use the editors that are available on FM 14 to shape my game experience. That's one reason why I'm writing this story here, rather than on one of the forums that's more specifically dedicated to Football Manager. The purists there might be downright hostile to someone who dared to "cheat," even in the limited ways I plan to do so.
I don't want people who read my thread to think "Wow, he's really good at Football Manager." I want the focus of my story to be the players who come through the club.
Here are the "cheats" I'll use:
- I'm going to start my career with a smallish club, rather than a Premier League powerhouse. However, I'm going to give my club top-flight facilities, especially those that will help me develop outstanding young players. I won't max the values out, but I'll make sure talented young lads join the club, and that they have a good chance of becoming stars once they are there. I also reserve the right to create a backroom staff that will be able to help young footballers develop their potential.
- I am currently annoyed, frustrated, etc. at my inability to deliver decent team talks, etc. I will, therefore, create an assistant manager with very good man management skills who will then take that responsibility. That way I won't screw things up by saying dumb things.
- I will make myself unsackable. However, If I am so ridiculously unsuccessful that no board on earth would let me keep my job, I will change this and allow myself to be dismissed. Otherwise, though, I'd like to remain on the job for a long run so I can watch the story of my club unfold. I also don't foresee myself bouncing from job to job, either.
Other than those things, I'll play the game straight. No editing players or finances. No moving players to my club simply because the editor will let me do so.
I'm using Football Manager's updated database, and I've loaded in the English leagues, along with the players from the UK and Ireland and Scandinavia. My mom's side of the family has some Scandinavian heritage.
I'm using "fake names," so the cast of characters we'll come to know will have their own identities.
Like I said, I hope you'll read this story as the history of the club and its players, not as an attempt to brag about how I can "beat" Football Manager. I won't claim the credit for how the story turns out. I'm basically just its chronicler.
Next, I'll choose my club, and the story will begin...