For all you Lower League Managers like myself. I've been browsing the SI Communtity Forums having a look at their LLM section:
Does anyone adhere to these guidelines when playing? Or is SI's stance on Lower League Management too harsh? I've been unknowingly playing along those lines in a few of my saves, and I might give it a go when FM11 comes out. I haven't ever used any 3rd party software or editors, and I prefer creating my own tactics. I'm just interested to see if anyone on FM-Base plays the game this way. Feel free to share your own LLM playing style, or discuss the guidelines above.
SI Community Forums said:For managers that enjoy the challenge of bringing a lower league team to the top - without the need for tipping, cheating or bragging. ]
The following will not be tolerated:
-Player Naming or Tipping - Including all FM, CM from 01/02 onwards, and Real Life Players. (Staff and Ex-Player names may be deleted at the Mods' discretion)
-Tactics naming
-Use of Editors and 3rd Party Updates
-Bragging
SI Community Forums said:The Guidelines to playing an LLM game
The ideology behind playing LLM is to play a game as realistic as FM allows.
·This means doing it yourself, using your own mettle, succeeding or failing, but using no outside help.
·Outside help means anything not included in the game. This specifically includes "real life" knowledge. Just because "Wullie Hackum" is good in real life doesn't mean he'll be good in FM.
For this reason we rely heavily on the Scouts.
·We trust them. They may be rubbish, but they're all we've got for "first hand" experience.
·Players may be identified from media reports...and scouted, from games played against us...and scouted.
·No-one will be banned for scouring the transfer list, but it's generally frowned upon by LLM players. Players found that way would be scouted or trialled by the club, no manager in their right mind would sign a player based on a name on a list.
LLM doesn't mean leaving a team just because it's been promoted.
·A career should be followed like a real life one. Would a manager leave a club just because he's got it promoted? Maybe because another club comes in for him, but not because he's reached the Football League.
Start in the lowest possible division in any given nation
·Default leagues only. As the use of editors is not allowed in LLM, you can not start in a competition that has to be added via the editor
·This can mean the only division in the game (e.g. Wales)
·This does not mean The Championship, League 1 or League 2 in England - you should start in the Conference North or South, Conference Premier at a push.
There's an adage in LLM, "If you have to ask if you're cheating, then you very probably are"
·This is a good way to judge yourself whether what you're doing is LLM, just ask that question (regarding "cheating", signing players, scouting, looking at other teams) and think about what a real-life manager would or could do.
Parent/Feeder Clubs
·Please note, although they seem to be allowed in the game, that in the Home Nations and Germany Parent/Feeder Clubs are specifically banned by the FAs (within and between UK Home Nations), all Clubs must be independent to compete in the Leagues and Cups. This isn't an LLM Rule this is real life.
Does anyone adhere to these guidelines when playing? Or is SI's stance on Lower League Management too harsh? I've been unknowingly playing along those lines in a few of my saves, and I might give it a go when FM11 comes out. I haven't ever used any 3rd party software or editors, and I prefer creating my own tactics. I'm just interested to see if anyone on FM-Base plays the game this way. Feel free to share your own LLM playing style, or discuss the guidelines above.