I’m sure at this point of FM20 everyone has done an English Journeyman save, or something of that ilk. For a bit of variety, why not try doing one in France, I did and it was a whole lot of fun.
Choosing a starting team
There are really no rules when it comes to picking a starting team, bar the fact that it should be in the National (French third division) at the highest.
Oddly enough the team I chose to manage was inspired by Fifa (I know, I know). Back in 2016, I played a few online games with Stade Lavallois, why? Because they had a ridiculously fast side.
Now, none of these fast players are still there, but I have a soft spot for Les Tangos so when it became clear that Laval were languishing in the third division of French football, I knew they had to be the team to start with.
Laval’s squad and Club Vision
A decent squad no doubt, but pretty old and all on rather short contracts. Fortunately, expectations in the first year weren’t particularly challenging – a top-half finish was all that was required.
Tactics and Transfers
Now, I know you’ll hate me but to start with I used a positive Gegenpress with 4-2-3-1. It’s something I tend to do until I find a different system that I’d prefer to use.
The first transfer window was difficult. I had pretty much zero money, and a small excess of wage budget, here’s how it went down.
This probably won’t mean much to most of you, but you get the idea: free transfers and no departures.
The next part of this story will be a summary of the first season, and it was a good one!
