A British Premier League edit for FM10 that 13 users also could do!

Bamberger

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I've always been tempted to do something with Aberdeen in Football Manager, but due to the limitations of Scottish football and the unfair situation compared to clubs south of the border, I've passed on that one until I discovered how to actually tie up an all-British league. The idea is simple, but a little complicated to make, it's essentially like an American-style franchise system but with four interlocking divisions with promotion and relegation between each other.

I've decided to include 66 English, 10 Scottish, 2 Welsh and 2 Northern Irish clubs, which I think is a fair share if you relate population, football interest and history. The 68 English/Welsh clubs are the current number of teams from PL to League 1, with the 10 Scottish teams being drawn from the SPL in 10, but in 13 you'd obviously like to include Rangers, so by then 9 SPL and one Division Three club is moved south. For Northern Ireland the only two clubs that would obviously ever even stand a chance to reach even the Championship were they to play in England would be Linfield and Glentoran. Therefore they will be sent to League 2 to make all parts of the country represented in the all new British Premier League system.

Here is how I implemented it for FM10, and since the editor at least prior to 10 was very similar between the different games I think it could be applied to 13 too ;)

* Nation rules: England

* Premier League, Championship, League 1, League 2 included. 20 teams each series to allow for convenient season length and to simplify the FA Cup and playing schedules within the franchise league. Also make sure the league checks for all clashes and try to implement a small Christmas break. Regional reserve leagues 10 teams each and national youth leagues 20 teams each was my preferred path. 5, 10, 15, 20 yellow cards for suspension + 3 teams relegated from the PL and four from the rest. League 2 is closed so only has promotion.

* Create a new "ghost" League 3 for current League 2 clubs. Make sure the pitch dimensions are filled and it is rated as the fifth tier with the same reputation as League 2 currently has. Then move all League 2 clubs to the new series immediately to get it over and done with.

* Check the Scottish Cup whether it's still got registered teams. This is to avoid the moved Scottish clubs taking part in Scottish domestic competitions. Then register ten new teams from the junior Scottish leagues in the cup and set them on the lowest seeding tier. Make sure ten clubs are moved up one seeding tier each to avoid craziness.

* After removing Scottish clubs from the cup it's now time to move them south. Preferably two clubs to the Championship, the 3-6 teams of 11-12 to League 1 and 7-9 + Rangers in League 2. Also do the same with Linfield and Glentoran who go to League 2 immediately.

* Now it's important to fill the gaps in the Scottish and Northern Irish league systems to keep them playable. Make sure the SPL is filled with 12 teams, the new ones gotten from Division One. This will see the need for an all-new Division Three, where you just pick the highest seeded non-league clubs from the Scottish Clubs (such as Cove Rangers) and hand them a place in the SFL Div 3. It is however important to replace the Highland Football League etc. level clubs for the leagues to remain functional. Do that by just moving junior sides there.

* Do the same procedure in Northern Ireland. It's important to remember to fill up the highest amateur league since that feeds into Division 2 for some reason. I was caught out by not filling out teams at first which saw Scotland and Northern Ireland become unplayable until I figured out what had gone awry.

* Replace the current Scottish and Northern Irish teams in the European competitions and replace them with the best teams remaining in the systems. Also make sure you get seeding right, making sure the tournaments are not messed up. Just make a direct replacement for all remaining Scottish and Northern Irish sides that have been moved down south and do not touch the seeding and it'll be alright!

* Now head back to the nation rules and England. Make sure you get this equation correct:

£30 million in TV money for PL, falling scale for £20-£1 million between positions 1 to 20. Then add a £15 million parachute for the relegated sides.

£5 million in TV money for the Championship, falling scale £2 million-£100 k between pos. 1-20 same formula. £2 million parachute.

£2 million in TV money for League 1, same falling scale as in the Championship for prize money. £500 k parachute.

£1 million in TV money for League 2, same falling scale in prize money £2 mil-£100 k. No relegation so no parachute.

Also move certain PL and Championship matches for TV broadcast if you wish. The increased finances in the lower leagues is a likely scenario due to increased external revenue by the prospect of the Old Firm in the Premiership and is distributed down to the integrated lower sides to avoid clubs hitting administration.

* Now it's time to get clear of the mess that is currently the league system:

The Premier League sees completely unchanged teams.

The Championship sees the top 15 from 2011-12 remaining along with the three new sides + the two Scottish clubs.

The League 1 sees six extra relegated Championship clubs with the previously three relegated sides + five new Scottish clubs. The remaining six positions are handed out to the four sides promoted from League 2 the year before (an important principle to me is never to relegate a promoted club unjustly). The last two places are handed to the two highest-rated playoff losing teams of the 2011-12 League 1, with the worst rated semi finalist suffering the indignity of being relegated to League 2.

The League 2 then sees three Scottish, two Northern Irish teams and the rest of the former League 1, which would be 15 teams.

* The FA Cup is then created, with 32 teams picked randomly to head into the primary round which then leads to the last 64 (in effect the current 3rd round). Add prize money as you wish, I kept it at £250 k for the initial rounds, then slowly increased it so the final winners got £2,5 million. Make sure the losing teams get what winners of the previous round got too, to further distribute revenue. Also when picking dates, consider international dates as well. My preference is for the lions' share of the tournament to take place in January, Wednesday after Wednesday. To avoid weekends is a sad must, considering those are the dates of the league and nation rules are sadly not that flexible. Then check out for the Champions and Europa League final dates when arranging the semis and the final, to pick those two April and May weeks where there's a free slot.

When all those steps have been taken you should be set and ready to go for the most amazing British league system ever created! I hope someone will get inspired and take up this editing process! To "pull a Swansea" with a midfield SPL or even a Linfield or Glentoran would be a great FM achievement to tick anyone's boxes ;)

Happy to see positive or negative feedback! Thanks in advance //Jesper
 
Here is how it should look in FM13 would it be done correctly:

English Premier League
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Man City
Man United
Newcastle
Norwich
QPR
Reading
Southampton
Stoke
Sunderland
Swansea
Tottenham
West Brom
West Ham
Wigan

Championship

Birmingham
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bolton
Brighton
Burnley
Cardiff
Celtic
Charlton
Derby
Huddersfield
Hull
Ipswich
Leeds
Leicester
Middlesbrough
Motherwell
Sheff Wed
Watford
Wolverhampton

League One

Barnsley
Bristol City
Coventry
Crawley
Crewe
Crystal Palace
Doncaster
Dundee Utd
Hearts
Kilmarnock
Millwall
MK Dons
Nottingham
Peterborough
Portsmouth
St. Johnstone
St. Mirren
Sheff United
Shrewsbury
Swindon

League Two

Aberdeen
Bournemouth
Brentford
Bury
Carlisle
Colchester
Glentoran
Inverness (you could choose Hibernian for commercial reasons if you'd want to)
Hartlepool
Linfield
Leyton Orient
Notts County
Oldham
Preston
Rangers
Scunthorpe
Stevenage
Tranmere
Walsall
Yeovil

SPL

Cowdenbeath
Dumbarton
Dundee
Dunfermline
Falkirk
Hamilton
Inverness/Hibernian (depends on preference over who should be moved over
Livingston
Morton
Partick Thistle
Raith Rovers
Ross County
 
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