P is for Football Manager Picking a Team by @Petebuddle


Picking a club to manage on Football Manager is part of the fun of the game. Sometimes it can take a few attempts to get the save you are after, but ensuring that you get the game that you want to play is so important.

Itโ€™s pretty obvious that the club you pick will have an enormous bearing on how the save develops.

A club that is in the San Marino second division is going to give you somewhat more of a challenge in terms of squad building and finances, but likewise, if you want to throw the cash around, then youโ€™ll be looking at PSG or Newcastle; how long youโ€™ve been playing FM will kind of dictate the level that you want to go with.

Itโ€™s really important to say this right at the start: itโ€™s entirely up to you how you play the game; there is no right or wrong way to do this, and I would beg you to ignore the haters on social media.

If you want to play as PSG or Manchester United, then do it; itโ€™s your game, and donโ€™t let anyone pressure you into playing it in a way that you find difficult or boring.

Iโ€™m going to give you some ideas on how to pick your team, but the choice is completely yours!


The Allardyce Method

This is my personal preference, because Iโ€™m probably the most indecisive person alive.

FM23 has been great for this, as having a winter World Cup has a great anchor point to begin with!

Simply start unemployed, then sim through to the beginning of the World Cup (I usually sim to the 15th November).

By that point, youโ€™ll have a decent number of teams that are struggling in the league, some of which really shouldnโ€™t be! Take over as one of those clubs and begin the rebuild.

This is quite fun, as because youโ€™ve simmed through the first transfer window, it can throw all sorts of weird obstacles upโ€”some clubs may have spent the transfer budget on a really mid-level striker, or conversely, they may have sold all their best assets.

My main save this year has been OGC Nice through this method; having had a bruising start to the season, they were in 17th in Ligue Un, and a rescue mission was well needed!

I also tried this with Southampton on another save (this did not end well though because I ended up inheriting an utter clown show!)

The Random Football Shirt Method

Iโ€™ve seen this done online with varying degrees of success, and itโ€™s something Iโ€™d absolutely consider for next year.

You can purchase โ€œMystery Boxโ€ football shirts online, order one of them, and play with that teamโ€”itโ€™s really that simple!

You never know; with a save like this, you could end up with an affinity with an obscure team!

The Long-Term Plan

Another save format I love is building a team based on their youth prospects.

Pick a team with great youth facilities; a big favourite of mine is Burton Albion, who share facilities at St Georges Park with the England national team.

Bodo/Glimt, AZ Alkmaar and Villareal are also great shouts for this type of save.

Chat GPT Method

I wonโ€™t lie; Iโ€™m in my 40โ€™s and am still trying to get my head around this type of caper. Iโ€™ve seen some people on Twitter pick their club by asking ChatGPT, but this frankly sounds mental!


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