FMSaddler96
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I've decided to end my previous story, Working My Way Up, where it is for now. However I should be getting FM17 in the next couple of weeks so until I do I'm creating this poll to let you choose my next story. I received a good following on my latest story, probably my best yet, so I am hoping that continues and that by letting you choose the story it only attracts more interest.
So there are 6 options explained below...
So there are 6 options explained below...
Walsall
So as many of you may have realised by now I do support Walsall and my first save is always a Walsall save. I had one which I was updating on FM16 which went quite well but it will be tougher this time round. After losing out to automatic promotion on the final day of the season we went on to get battered in the play-off's by now Championship side Barnsley.
However it just got worse from there. We lost the majority of the first team including 20 goal a season Tom Bradshaw, key man Romaine Sawyers, Rico Henry and most of our starting players.
The challenge here is to do what we failed to do last season and earn promotion. It may take a year or two to do so but with a quality squad, still with a lot of potential, it is a challenge worth taking on.
Aston Villa
So last season Villa had one of the worst premier league seasons in history and they haven't started this season off great either. Expected to bounce back new owners pumped money into the club to compete with the likes of Newcastle and Brighton for the promotion spots.
The challenge is to use the squad they have built which is more than capable of earning promotion and rebuilding Villa. With key games in the first season against the likes of Newcastle but also rivals Birmingham and Wolves it is a big challenge to get promotion at the first time of asking.
Burnley
Last time Burnley were in the premier league they were poor and saw a relegation campaign in their first season back. However after an unbeaten 2016 in the Championship the emphatically won the Championship and returned to the promise land.
In real life they have started well. Sitting mid-table at the moment they have based their survival hopes on turning Turf Moor into a fortress. With 5 wins at home, just two off of their total tally from the 2014/15 campaign, they look like they could be surviving if it continues to go well.
The question is whether this can be replicated. The aim would be to keep the Lancashire club in the top division before building them into bigger challengers for further years. With a squad lacking much quality beyond the first team it will be a tough challenge and one that requires fantastic transfer dealings to achieve the goals.
Weston-Super-Mare (Journeyman)
This is a save I enjoy doing. Starting off with Weston in the 6th tier of English football I look to build my career upwards and become one of the biggest names in football. I've attempted this several times and the best I have done was ending up in the Championship after 6 seasons with Sheffield Wednesday.
However with slightly higher hopes for Weston this year it won't be as simple. Simply keeping them competitive in previous versions was enough to prove your worth in higher tiers where as this season it will require some success from the get go.
The aim at first is to have a strong season with Weston before finding my move up the rankings. This would be similar to my "Working My Way Up" save but I wouldn't start of unemployed.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge
A save I enjoy every year on FM and one I have considered writing about several times before. Having attempted it with Stoke, Leicester, Bournemouth and West Brom in the past I have always managed to keep teams up before building with them.
The idea is to simulate up to November 6th and take over whoever is 19th in the league at that point. From there you have to survive your first season then stay at this one club for your career. With ideal goals of matching Fergie's accomplishments I should be aiming to win:
- Domestic Cup within 4 years
- League Title within 7 years
- League and Cup Double within 8 years
- League, Cup and Champions League triple within 13 years
However this has to be done by following Fergies ideas:
- Stay at 1 club
- Promote youth
- Look to turn former players into backroom staff
- Cannot spend more than £62m on players in one season
- Cannot sign more than 8 first team players in one season (the full rule is no more than 11 including youth signings but I'm just sticking to first team)
So that's the challenge. Succeeding it completely is something I have always struggled to do but that's down to time. The best I did was winning the cup in my 2nd season and having a title challenge in season 5.
UCFB
Finally is to create my own club based on the footballing university of UCFB. They currently deploy university programmes teaching the ins and outs of football from coaching to directing and it is based in Burnley, Manchester and Wembley.
The idea would be to create a club but follow these rules:
- Start off with no players over 20 in the squad
- Cannot sign any players over 20 to the team
- Start off in the Championship
- Any player who was at the club before he turned 20 can stay after getting older
- Must develop youth
- No more than 5 players can be selected from one club when creating the club
- All players have to be from the UK & Ireland, preferably England
It's pretty simple. This is a save I have sort of attempted before and I managed a Championship title challenge in my first season before dropping off in the late stages and finishing 4th and losing in the play-off final.
With a young squad the issue is keeping fitness high. Many of the players lack the stamina to play the full schedule and tend to tire in busier periods and towards the seasons end. Also with a lack of experience it is tough to keep leads or really hold on to form as one loss can knock confidence big time.
So the main aim is promotion and beyond that becoming a premier league and European powerhouse but with a very young squad and the sole goal of developing young home grown talent there is also the aim of building towards the future of English football. The squad I will start with will all potentially be future England stars so a real test of the save is seeing how many of them actually play for England.
However it just got worse from there. We lost the majority of the first team including 20 goal a season Tom Bradshaw, key man Romaine Sawyers, Rico Henry and most of our starting players.
The challenge here is to do what we failed to do last season and earn promotion. It may take a year or two to do so but with a quality squad, still with a lot of potential, it is a challenge worth taking on.
Aston Villa
So last season Villa had one of the worst premier league seasons in history and they haven't started this season off great either. Expected to bounce back new owners pumped money into the club to compete with the likes of Newcastle and Brighton for the promotion spots.
The challenge is to use the squad they have built which is more than capable of earning promotion and rebuilding Villa. With key games in the first season against the likes of Newcastle but also rivals Birmingham and Wolves it is a big challenge to get promotion at the first time of asking.
Burnley
Last time Burnley were in the premier league they were poor and saw a relegation campaign in their first season back. However after an unbeaten 2016 in the Championship the emphatically won the Championship and returned to the promise land.
In real life they have started well. Sitting mid-table at the moment they have based their survival hopes on turning Turf Moor into a fortress. With 5 wins at home, just two off of their total tally from the 2014/15 campaign, they look like they could be surviving if it continues to go well.
The question is whether this can be replicated. The aim would be to keep the Lancashire club in the top division before building them into bigger challengers for further years. With a squad lacking much quality beyond the first team it will be a tough challenge and one that requires fantastic transfer dealings to achieve the goals.
Weston-Super-Mare (Journeyman)
This is a save I enjoy doing. Starting off with Weston in the 6th tier of English football I look to build my career upwards and become one of the biggest names in football. I've attempted this several times and the best I have done was ending up in the Championship after 6 seasons with Sheffield Wednesday.
However with slightly higher hopes for Weston this year it won't be as simple. Simply keeping them competitive in previous versions was enough to prove your worth in higher tiers where as this season it will require some success from the get go.
The aim at first is to have a strong season with Weston before finding my move up the rankings. This would be similar to my "Working My Way Up" save but I wouldn't start of unemployed.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge
A save I enjoy every year on FM and one I have considered writing about several times before. Having attempted it with Stoke, Leicester, Bournemouth and West Brom in the past I have always managed to keep teams up before building with them.
The idea is to simulate up to November 6th and take over whoever is 19th in the league at that point. From there you have to survive your first season then stay at this one club for your career. With ideal goals of matching Fergie's accomplishments I should be aiming to win:
- Domestic Cup within 4 years
- League Title within 7 years
- League and Cup Double within 8 years
- League, Cup and Champions League triple within 13 years
However this has to be done by following Fergies ideas:
- Stay at 1 club
- Promote youth
- Look to turn former players into backroom staff
- Cannot spend more than £62m on players in one season
- Cannot sign more than 8 first team players in one season (the full rule is no more than 11 including youth signings but I'm just sticking to first team)
So that's the challenge. Succeeding it completely is something I have always struggled to do but that's down to time. The best I did was winning the cup in my 2nd season and having a title challenge in season 5.
UCFB
Finally is to create my own club based on the footballing university of UCFB. They currently deploy university programmes teaching the ins and outs of football from coaching to directing and it is based in Burnley, Manchester and Wembley.
The idea would be to create a club but follow these rules:
- Start off with no players over 20 in the squad
- Cannot sign any players over 20 to the team
- Start off in the Championship
- Any player who was at the club before he turned 20 can stay after getting older
- Must develop youth
- No more than 5 players can be selected from one club when creating the club
- All players have to be from the UK & Ireland, preferably England
It's pretty simple. This is a save I have sort of attempted before and I managed a Championship title challenge in my first season before dropping off in the late stages and finishing 4th and losing in the play-off final.
With a young squad the issue is keeping fitness high. Many of the players lack the stamina to play the full schedule and tend to tire in busier periods and towards the seasons end. Also with a lack of experience it is tough to keep leads or really hold on to form as one loss can knock confidence big time.
So the main aim is promotion and beyond that becoming a premier league and European powerhouse but with a very young squad and the sole goal of developing young home grown talent there is also the aim of building towards the future of English football. The squad I will start with will all potentially be future England stars so a real test of the save is seeing how many of them actually play for England.