J is for Football Manager Journeyman Saves by @MooonoStreams

Journeyman saves; you either hate them or love them. Personally, I love diving into some of the deep, dark depths of the lower leagues, starting with nothing but my cute face and a few points in people management, and trying to win as many leagues and trophies as possible.

The rules are quite simple; you start with nothing. That means you set your coaching experience to the lowest possible, the same with your player experience, and then start in whichever league you have loaded unemployed.

Which leagues and trophies you then want to try and win are up to you. You can start small and try to conquer Scandinavia or the Benelux. Or you can be a total psychopath and try to win absolutely everything you could possibly win. In either case, your life will be over as you will get sucked into this save and lose all track of time and space.

There are a few things you need to look out for when doing a journeyman save. Because there is a chance that you will fall in love with one of the clubs you start managing. You know the one—the one that no one thought could amount to anything. Or the one that has a football player named Coke and Escobar, and they get this cool green line between them, and you can’t stop laughing every time you play them together. (True story: I love you forever, Ytterhogdals IK and UD Ibiza)

In case I’ve got your attention and you feel more capable as me to actually leave the club and move on to achieving your objectives, then I’ve got a list of pro’s and con’s for you to further decide whether a journeyman is a good fit for you.


You should play a journeyman if:

  • You like to start with nothing and work your way up
  • You like a sense of realism
  • You like to play in many different leagues in the same save
  • You do not have a social life, so you have enough time to play
  • You like the pain when you need to leave a club you love


You shouldn’t play a journeyman if:

  • You don’t want to commit to a long-term save
  • You are prone to addiction
  • You prefer to only play in the top leagues
  • You would rather stay at one club for the rest of your life


So in short, Journeyman saves are the best. I mean, I’ve never properly finished one because apparently I have some attachment issues and can’t let go. But I won’t give up; one day I’ll finish a journeyman save.

In the meantime, leave a comment to let me know if this post inspired you, whether you’re going to try out a journeyman, and what you’re planning to achieve. That way, you’ll also leave some inspiration for others!

For previous A-Z entries, please visit: The A-Z of Football Manager.