Any Point in playing as a big team?

Denerick

I've never been able to understand it when friends tell me that 'I've just won the Champions league with liverpool/Man United/Real Madrid' etc. Whats the point? Where's the craic in taking a huge club and making them win things?

Some of my achievements in footie manager are winning the Uefa cup with Worcester Town, the FA cup and finally the premiership (Never the champions league, alas) in a career spanning over 20 seasons. My current game is with AFC Wimbledon, who I've won the FA cup 3 times for, the league cup twice, and established as a top 6 team in the premiership over 23 seasons. This season coming up is going to be our year of victory in the premiership!

I have an epic game happening at the moment, I've been playing my Wimbledon game for well over a year now and haven't got bored yet. (Though I only sit down and play the game for a couple of hours every now and then) Nothing can replace the beautiful narrative of leading a conference south/north team to national victory at the highest level. I just don't understand why people bother playing the game as a big team - victory is never as sweet.

Frisbee

Denerick wrote: »

I've never been able to understand it when friends tell me that 'I've just won the Champions league with liverpool/Man United/Real Madrid' etc. Whats the point? Where's the craic in taking a huge club and making them win things?

Some of my achievements in footie manager are winning the Uefa cup with Worcester Town, the FA cup and finally the premiership (Never the champions league, alas) in a career spanning over 20 seasons. My current game is with AFC Wimbledon, who I've won the FA cup 3 times for, the league cup twice, and established as a top 6 team in the premiership over 23 seasons. This season coming up is going to be our year of victory in the premiership!

I have an epic game happening at the moment, I've been playing my Wimbledon game for well over a year now and haven't got bored yet. (Though I only sit down and play the game for a couple of hours every now and then) Nothing can replace the beautiful narrative of leading a conference south/north team to national victory at the highest level. I just don't understand why people bother playing the game as a big team - victory is never as sweet.

Different people like different things.

You like taking teams from lowly beginnings and making them powerhouses.

Some people like playing as they're favourite team.

Also I don't have a huge amount of time to play FM, so I play as Arsenal, my team, to maximize my enjoyment.

cashville

I agree to an extent as well. A lot of the games I play involve 2-3 players online, so what we do is list the top 6-7 teams from each country and draw it from a hat. We have to play the best teams to keep it interesting, thankfully no one has drawn a monster yet in the 2 games I have going on FM 10. One game is Roma/AC and the other was Valencia/Fiorentina/Athletico.
There's no way the lads would go for lower divisions and to be honest I wouldn't either.

On the other hand, I can never sit down and play a game on my own as one of the massive clubs, don't see the point as there isn't much enjoyment. Saying that I would never pick someone from Blue Square etc as I wouldn't have the patience. Also, I hear people saying they won the CL with Burton Albion and stuff like that, sorry but I'm just not that good. I honestly don't see how people do it without some sort of cheating/magic tactic.

Someone posted in another thread he has a game going with Gillingham, asked to pick randomly. I just started one and got Port Vale. Will see how it goes.

Denerick

cashville wrote: »

I honestly don't see how people do it without some sort of cheating/magic tactic.

All you have to do is play the game intelligently, and bide your time.

Winning the BSS is easy and everyone should be able to do it in their first season, no matter what their team is. All you have to do is offer all of your players full time contracts and you've already established a huge advantage over everyone else in the league.

Once your out of the BSS, the game is of your own making. It involves shrewd transfers, intelligent loan deals and a tactic which suits your style of play. It doesn't require cheating or some magic formula, just time and passion. You grow to love your virtual club and genuinelly are upset when they do badly.

I was once relegated from the Championship to League one with AFC Wimbledon. I had to abandon footie manager for at least 2 months, I was so distraught. Eventually I came back after that time, initiated a clear out and built an entirely new team (Mainly talented kids) It was a complete revolution and clear out of the old guard.

Taking on a team like this challenges your judgement and actually takes skill. I doubt the same can be said for managing the Arsenals of this world.

Krusader

I would agree, you have more of a bond with lower league teams and AFC Wimbledon are a good team to start out with 'cause they have a decent fanbase for a BSS team.
Actually my first game of FM2009 was AFC Wimbledon, it was the first time in 3 years I'd played a manager sim and won the BSS in my first season. Jon Main was a goal machine

pablomakaveli

I also prefer playing as small teams or teams from weaker leagues. Theres a lot of satisfaction to be had in taking a small team and building in to a far stronger and more succesful club. However this takes a long time and requires patience but it does give you a game with longevity.

I suppose in the end it just depends on what kind of game the person is looking to play a quick and easy route to success or a long hard slog.

v3ttel

Each to their own, you may not enjoy it, but someone else might. Its up to the person to decide who they enjoy playing as, be it Manchester United or AFC Wimbledon. Different challenges.

I've taken the middle ground and gone to Norwich City!

Ferris_Bueller

As people have said above its different strokes for different folks, but for me anyway the reason I would play with big teams (I'm currently Liverpool) is that you have an idea about the players and what players would be good to sign etc. If I were to play with Wimbledon I wouldn't know any players in the entire league never mind team, and would get bored very very quickly. I have done many seasons with LoI clubs in the past which could be considered "small" teams, difference with these however is that I know the league and what the players are like, plus every season Europe is a challenge to see how far you can progress, downside though is only 2 divisions and 22 teams makes it very repetitive having to play Bohs up to about 6 times in one season.

gingelion

i started a game with sevilla, not a small team i know but i figured it would be more of a challenge having won 10 leagues and 10 champs leagues in a row with arsenal, it was mental. only €600,000 transfer budget and no one would loan me players without at least a 2million fee. club wouldnt let me hire more coaches, no clubs would buy my players. offered me loan deals for them but i wanted to sell to make money for transfers. couldnt even sell villa or silva. very frustrating so i dont think id be good enough to play with a really low down team. pity that, itd cool to do.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

gingelion wrote: »

i started a game with sevilla, not a small team i know but i figured it would be more of a challenge having won 10 leagues and 10 champs leagues in a row with arsenal, it was mental. only €600,000 transfer budget and no one would loan me players without at least a 2million fee. club wouldnt let me hire more coaches, no clubs would buy my players. offered me loan deals for them but i wanted to sell to make money for transfers. couldnt even sell villa or silva. very frustrating so i dont think id be good enough to play with a really low down team. pity that, itd cool to do.

Well it would be difficult for Sevilla to sell them considering that they're Valencia players.;)

Glico Man

gingelion wrote: »

i started a game with sevilla, not a small team i know but i figured it would be more of a challenge having won 10 leagues and 10 champs leagues in a row with arsenal, it was mental. only €600,000 transfer budget and no one would loan me players without at least a 2million fee. club wouldnt let me hire more coaches, no clubs would buy my players. offered me loan deals for them but i wanted to sell to make money for transfers. couldnt even sell villa or silva. very frustrating so i dont think id be good enough to play with a really low down team. pity that, itd cool to do.

Yeah that would be Valencia you're talking about.

But in all seriousness, you don't have to sign players immediately. Keep the squad you have until the January transfer window. By then you will have discovered what areas of the team need improving, and make adjustments then.

gingelion

Whoops.

MonkstownHoop

i always start out in the LOI and eventually get an offer from a league1/championship side, worked my way up to the man city job in my current game, the funds are amazing, just paid £115 million for fabregas

gingelion

115 million? jesus, most i've ever done is 36 million for aguero. that must be some amazing transfer budget. i usually end up buying loadsa different players either really young and cheap or for around 15m when theyre 23 and then ruin the careers of most of them cos ive too many players at the club. im kind of addicted to just buyin new players, same on pro evo.

brian plank

iv been using man city and after 1 season im already bored with them. it is nice though to be just about to spend the last of your budget and get a top up of 75 million.

Tallaght Saint

I agree with the OP. I took St. Pats into the Europa League group stages in my second season, including a credible 1-1 away draw with Atletico Madrid.

I don't see the point of picking Man City and spending €150m. Try €30,000 and see what you can do

Krusader

Its much more rewarding to bring a lower league team up a division or two and then when you now they don't have the resources to match your ambition, ditch them for a higher profile club. After all it is a management sim and this is how 95% of managers start.
Think of the lower leagues as your apprenticeship

AidySevenfold

I started as Rotherham, and just got promoted to league 1 around an hour ago.
signed Merida and Ayala on loan, Merida was a good signing, but none better than Liverpool striker Laura Dalla Valle, 30+ goals in 46 games.
Just signed him again on loan and he scored a hat trick in first league 1 game.

I like signing old premiership players for free, makes it more interesting and fulfilling when you win!

Ballyhaunis

Nottm Forest are my team in FM (However i support Liverpool). Been using them since FM 07 when forest were in League 1 and got used to their players and being able to vary their style of play. Using FM 09 now and ive finally in a prem title race with money bags city:rolleyes: btw chris cohen is a great player...make him captain and hes aka fabregas;)