Managing Lower League Clubs

[Morten Ahlf]

Hey guys

I'm a novice to Football Manager and i always play with high reputation clubs. It has become boring and trivial to me, so now i've started a save managing Crewe Alexandra.

- I've started this thread for some tips about managing lower league clubs. So if anyone have some tips for me about managing Crewe or low league clubs in general, they will really be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Morten Ahlf

 

[Will97]

develop younger players through the leagues for u powell nd clayton

 

[Morten Ahlf]

develop younger players through the leagues for u powell nd clayton

So i should just develop my own and not buy players?

 

[Wiadi]

I'm playing a long-term save with Crewe right now, currently in my 11th year with them. You have a young squad who are more than capable to gain promotion from League 2, with excellent training and youth facilities for that level. Try to utilise some of the younger players from time to time to give them experience so that you could improve them and sell them in the future to ensure your finances are good. Sign players on free transfers on short term contracts to minimise any risks to your financial stability. For the younger players you could sign them for slightly longer to allow them to develop and sold on later for profit. Do not give them a big wage either as it will cripple you financially.

When I managed them I found that their defence can be a bit dodgy, so try to find some decent ones. I managed to get Herita Ilunga and he played well up till the Championship. He also didn't require too much wages. Also try to get a decent Premier League parent club so you can get their youngsters easier at no cost at all. The chairman managed to get me Manchester United so I lucked out there, and they sent me Larnell Cole and Davide Petrucci in the first year, then Paul Pogba the next year so it is possible to get some good youngster for your level. Try to get some other loanees as well to supplement your squad, but try to not depend on them too much.

In pre-season arrange friendlies at home to bigger clubs to get some money to last through the year, as it is not likely that you will be able to get a profit for most months. Try to get further in cup competitions as the prize money can be lucrative, especially if you get one of the big Premier League teams at their home as I think you get a portion of the gate receipts (correct me if I'm wrong here).

In short you should always try to cut corners and maximise your profits as at lower levels the money can be a bit tight. The core players already at the club are good enough for League 2, especially Nick Powell who I used in the Premier League regularly. Ashley Westwood is also a good player, so try to build your squad around them. In my game Ajay Leitch-Smith makes a decent impact sub while Adam Dugdale makes a solid League 1 defender. From your youth team watch for Max Clayton and Joe Gorman. If trained well they could be excellent players until you are at the League 1 level and probably at mid Championship levels.

 

[Morten Ahlf]

I'm playing a long-term save with Crewe right now, currently in my 11th year with them. You have a young squad who are more than capable to gain promotion from League 2, with excellent training and youth facilities for that level. Try to utilise some of the younger players from time to time to give them experience so that you could improve them and sell them in the future to ensure your finances are good. Sign players on free transfers on short term contracts to minimise any risks to your financial stability. For the younger players you could sign them for slightly longer to allow them to develop and sold on later for profit. Do not give them a big wage either as it will cripple you financially.

When I managed them I found that their defence can be a bit dodgy, so try to find some decent ones. I managed to get Herita Ilunga and he played well up till the Championship. He also didn't require too much wages. Also try to get a decent Premier League parent club so you can get their youngsters easier at no cost at all. The chairman managed to get me Manchester United so I lucked out there, and they sent me Larnell Cole and Davide Petrucci in the first year, then Paul Pogba the next year so it is possible to get some good youngster for your level. Try to get some other loanees as well to supplement your squad, but try to not depend on them too much.

In pre-season arrange friendlies at home to bigger clubs to get some money to last through the year, as it is not likely that you will be able to get a profit for most months. Try to get further in cup competitions as the prize money can be lucrative, especially if you get one of the big Premier League teams at their home as I think you get a portion of the gate receipts (correct me if I'm wrong here).

In short you should always try to cut corners and maximise your profits as at lower levels the money can be a bit tight. The core players already at the club are good enough for League 2, especially Nick Powell who I used in the Premier League regularly. Ashley Westwood is also a good player, so try to build your squad around them. In my game Ajay Leitch-Smith makes a decent impact sub while Adam Dugdale makes a solid League 1 defender. From your youth team watch for Max Clayton and Joe Gorman. If trained well they could be excellent players until you are at the League 1 level and probably at mid Championship levels.

Brilliant! Simply brilliant! Thank you so much for that detailed (and quick) response. I'm really looking forward to watch how Powell progress. Would you mean he's my star? And by the way.. What about training and tactics? Can i use the training schedule and the tactics that i used in Manchester United?

 

[Wiadi]

Yeah Powell is the main man of the Crewe team, only player from that team who still played for me in the Champions League. His stats may not be that great but he gets the job done even at that level. He's also quite versatile, being competent in all other midfield roles as well as striker so you could easily retrain him to fit into your formation.

Yeah you could use those schedules though obviously don't expect them to be as effective due to the lower quality of players, though when up against other lower league clubs it should work fine. I forgot to mention it in my previous post, but try not to hire too many backroom staff early on, as it is quite easy to go overboard and have too many staff which eats into your monthly profit margin. Only hire more when your finances have improved. Also have a real go at the League Cup as the bigger teams usually send out their reserves and youth players when up against you. Good luck.

 

[Morten Ahlf]

Yeah Powell is the main man of the Crewe team, only player from that team who still played for me in the Champions League. His stats may not be that great but he gets the job done even at that level. He's also quite versatile, being competent in all other midfield roles as well as striker so you could easily retrain him to fit into your formation.

Yeah you could use those schedules though obviously don't expect them to be as effective due to the lower quality of players, though when up against other lower league clubs it should work fine. I forgot to mention it in my previous post, but try not to hire too many backroom staff early on, as it is quite easy to go overboard and have too many staff which eats into your monthly profit margin. Only hire more when your finances have improved. Also have a real go at the League Cup as the bigger teams usually send out their reserves and youth players when up against you. Good luck.

Thanks man Your'e a real mate!

 

[Death Ball]

Very good advice by Wladi.

I'll add a bit of my own: don't trust the typical tactical advice. I name it typical because it's what I've found 95% times. (Wladi's is one of the few in the 5% that's out of that). Those will tell you to play very defensive with very direct running and the like. They're based on the premise "your team is poor in absolute terms, so play like a bad team would against ManU". That is wrong. The right way is "your team strength must be measured in relative terms to your opposition", so consider where's your team in his division. If it's one of the stronger it will thrive with more offensive tactic and a shorter passing game just as much as ManU would in Premier. It would be just for cup matches against higher division teams that you may want to consider the defensive approach with longer passes. There is very few, if any, attributes and parts of the game that require to be thought about in absolute terms. Maybe the only ones would be intelligence; but then one would wonder how much a more stupid opposition would spot and take advantage of your players' mistakes.