Decided to take the plunge and buy FM22 at the weekend despite not having enough time in my life and having got bored for FM21 pretty quickly. Each year I think I am done and yet each year I come back for more.
Rather than whack this journey on a website I'd thought I'd go for a forum this time as I've never done that before - might be fun.
My typical rule for a save (which I don't always stick to, admittedly) is to go to a new country that I've not managed in before.
I was surprised at how many football-mad places I've not done yet - Poland, Bulgaria, Austria to name just three.
When looking for a club, I like there to be some history that can hook me into a save. It doesn't have to be a massive fallen giant, just enough to get me interested.
I like to have some long, medium and short-term aims when I get cracking too.
So, following a fair whack of research ruling out a couple of interesting second-tier clubs in Austria and Poland I have settled on where I am going.
The Who: Septemvri Sofia - Bulgaria
The Why: Other than being a second-tier club in a country I've not managed in before, I like these boys because they are a smaller side in a city that is dominated by other clubs and the fact they won their FA Cup all the way back in 1960 and nothing at all since. A bit of Wiki research told me that they also finished 5th in the top flight that season, clearly a golden age for them.
They merged with CSKA in the late 60s then unmerged decades later and have had a couple of recent seasons in the top division. Looking at the squad, there's a few decent young players for this level, so something to work with.
The How: Or, more a case of what is the vision?
Naturally, I want to get the club promoted as quickly as possible but to challenge myself a little I want to do it in the simplest way possible. I'm taking it back to the days when there used to be a manager, an assistant, a trainer, a physio and a scout. Nothing more than that. That is how we will roll throughout our time here - no DoF, no analysts, no sports science. None of that, we are going old school.
The aim, as ever for me, is to recruit well on the cheap, develop and sell on. The early signs suggest there are some good young Bulgarian freebies out there and the current process is to get them in on trial and see if I like them - ala Brian Clough back in the day.
The financial side of FM is often overlooked, so once I get my feet under the table in Sofia I want to make sure the club is being run sensibly - living within it's means. I know for a fact that it is already spending more on wages than it should be, so will dive into that once I've seen what a few normal months look like income-wise.
Longer-term, I want to turn this little club into a regular European qualifier with a reputation for selling players on to a higher level and reinvesting that money wisely in better signings. I want to compete with the Sofia big boys, CSKA (x2), Levski and Lokomotiv and also topple Ludgorets from their place at the top of the league currently.
It'll take time, but could well be fun!
Rather than whack this journey on a website I'd thought I'd go for a forum this time as I've never done that before - might be fun.
My typical rule for a save (which I don't always stick to, admittedly) is to go to a new country that I've not managed in before.
I was surprised at how many football-mad places I've not done yet - Poland, Bulgaria, Austria to name just three.
When looking for a club, I like there to be some history that can hook me into a save. It doesn't have to be a massive fallen giant, just enough to get me interested.
I like to have some long, medium and short-term aims when I get cracking too.
So, following a fair whack of research ruling out a couple of interesting second-tier clubs in Austria and Poland I have settled on where I am going.
The Who: Septemvri Sofia - Bulgaria
The Why: Other than being a second-tier club in a country I've not managed in before, I like these boys because they are a smaller side in a city that is dominated by other clubs and the fact they won their FA Cup all the way back in 1960 and nothing at all since. A bit of Wiki research told me that they also finished 5th in the top flight that season, clearly a golden age for them.
They merged with CSKA in the late 60s then unmerged decades later and have had a couple of recent seasons in the top division. Looking at the squad, there's a few decent young players for this level, so something to work with.
The How: Or, more a case of what is the vision?
Naturally, I want to get the club promoted as quickly as possible but to challenge myself a little I want to do it in the simplest way possible. I'm taking it back to the days when there used to be a manager, an assistant, a trainer, a physio and a scout. Nothing more than that. That is how we will roll throughout our time here - no DoF, no analysts, no sports science. None of that, we are going old school.
The aim, as ever for me, is to recruit well on the cheap, develop and sell on. The early signs suggest there are some good young Bulgarian freebies out there and the current process is to get them in on trial and see if I like them - ala Brian Clough back in the day.
The financial side of FM is often overlooked, so once I get my feet under the table in Sofia I want to make sure the club is being run sensibly - living within it's means. I know for a fact that it is already spending more on wages than it should be, so will dive into that once I've seen what a few normal months look like income-wise.
Longer-term, I want to turn this little club into a regular European qualifier with a reputation for selling players on to a higher level and reinvesting that money wisely in better signings. I want to compete with the Sofia big boys, CSKA (x2), Levski and Lokomotiv and also topple Ludgorets from their place at the top of the league currently.
It'll take time, but could well be fun!
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