With Football Manager 21 finally arriving, we are all thinking of our first save, our first team to manage in the newest edition of the game – which you can pick up for a discounted price of £29.99 via our discount link.
In this post I will discuss some more unique ideas, for those of you who want a different type of save from the classic one team career.
1.The Journeyman Save
Most FM players will know what the journeyman is but I doubt many of you have tried it. Being one of my personal favourites, the save has taken me as far as Malaysia, Australia, Colombia and Mexico. The aim of the save is to start with no qualifications, no coaching badge, no experience. You start at the bottom, unemployed. The first task is to find a job, this could be in the Estonian 3rd division, it could be in the lower leagues of England, the best piece of advice I could give is: If anyone offers you a job, take it!
You then work your way up, moving clubs when you see a chance to move up the football pyramid. Eventually, most likely after 20 years of pain, you will reach the top, where the aim is to win the Champions League.
Admittedly the journeyman is hard, it’s frustrating and takes quite a few years to reach the top. However, if you are someone who likes a challenge and wants a long term save, then this could be the one for you.
2.The One Club Challenge – England
This challenge is reliant on custom databases, which are normally released shortly after the full release of the game – 24th November. This save is a popular one: you take a club in the depths of English football, perhaps your local non-league team, and take them up through the leagues all the way to the Premier League. Pictured below is my save from last year where I took Cockermouth Football Club all the way to the Premier League.
Imagine having that player who makes his debut in the Northern Football League Division One and carries you up the leagues to lead your team out in a title decider at Anfield. That is what FM is made for, we all want those experiences.
This save is certainly an exciting challenge and one you should try!
3.The Return to Glory
Over the last 25 years, football has seen the decline of some former giants. In this challenge it would be your task to take one of these clubs back to the top. Notable choices include Nottingham Forest, Bolton or Portsmouth of England. In Germany, Kaiserslautern is a popular choice alongside Hamburg. Spain offers you Deportivo or if you want to be very adventurous, clubs such as Steaua Bucharest or Grasshopper in Switzerland need rebuilding.
The aim of this save is to win the league and the Champions League. So, will you take one of these fallen giants back to the top?
4.The Pentagon Challenge
Perhaps the hardest challenge on FM is this one. The objective is simple: You must win the European, Asian, African, South American and North American Champions Leagues in one save. This takes a very long time but is extremely enjoyable if you can find the right clubs.
I would suggest starting in Asia or Africa, these are the easiest ones to win, before moving to The Americas. Finishing in Europe by winning the UEFA Champions League, you will have completed the pentagon, and with it, one of the hardest challenges in the game.
5.Club and Country
Another popular save idea is the ‘club and country’. In this challenge you would take over a club in a country where the first division is fairly competitive but the national team isn’t very good. For example, countries include Serbia, Slovakia, Finland or Kosovo. You then build the club up to become the best in your nation, winning the league and developing homegrown talent.
As your team improves you can take the national job of the country you are in, again, developing the team and slowly working your way up the world rankings.
The end goal is to win the World Cup with your nation and the Champions League with your club, becoming dominant in world football.
Now, they were only 5 of the most popular challenges in FM21, feel free to leave a comment below with your favourite challenges, you can suggest save ideas we should try too!
Write a few pieces about football and FM, check out my blog willsfootballdiary.blogspot.com
