One of the biggest challenges you can take on in Football Manager 24 is taking over a lower league team and taking them up the leagues to either the Premier League or Championship.
With such a limited budget, you don’t have the luxury of signing world class players to help your pursuit. However, here are some tips for how you can achieve success and reach your goal in the game.
Exploit Loan Market
The best way to improve your squad at a lower league club on a low budget is to exploit the loan market. Pick up as many players as you can from higher divisions as they will instantly improve the quality you have available.
Bigger clubs are happy to let some of their fringe players go out on loan to pick up valuable experience in senior football. In some cases, you will need to pay a percentage of their wage, but always submit an application of a 0% wage contribution at the start. The club will either accept or counter your offer with the wage contribution they find acceptable.
The most important position to fill in the loan market is a goalscorer. If you are fortunate enough to land on a player that can get you 20 goals or more in a season, it could prove enough to secure promotion. It also proves wise to pick up a goalkeeper, as they can be the difference between a positive result and a loss.
Scout Far and Wide
Most clubs allow you to have three scouts on the books and these are important members of your staff. Use your scouts to search far and wide for players, not just in the country you are managing in.
Scouts can be assigned to search in Africa, Asia, Scandinavia and South America. Players from those regions don’t always require a huge transfer fee. If you are a club in Europe, they may also jump at the chance to play in the continent.
The scout reports you receive give you details of the player’s ability and potential. The latter is very important, as it is worth taking a chance on those who could be four- or five-star players in the future. Those investments may ensure you land on a player whose value skyrockets as they get older.
Two Players Per Position
At the stage of every season in professional football, managers aim to have at least two players per position in their squad. Manchester City, who are the 11/8 favourites to win the Premier League this season, have just that.
Pep Guardiola, who took over the job as manager in 2016 has assembled an impressive squad. Those who fancy the champions to defend their crown in the upcoming campaign should consider the best betting sign up offers, such as a £30 free bet with Kwiff or Betano when they place a £10 bet.
#OnThisDay in 2016, @PepTeam was unveiled as our manager 🩵
The rest is history 👑 pic.twitter.com/bHufxcw5aL
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 3, 2024
Manchester City, who won the treble in 2023, have a squad that ensures that even if a starting player picks up an injury or suspension, they have a replacement to step into the line-up. If your team competes in multiple competitions, this is also helpful to freshen up the team when they are playing 2-3 times a week.
On Football Manager, one of the ways to make sure you have two players per position is to sign durable players that can feature across numerous positions. For example, a defender who is listed as a ‘D RLC’ is much more useful than a ‘D C’ player.
Cash in On Older Players
When you arrive at a football club, analyse the value and age of the players you have at your disposal. Those who have reached the age of 34 are likely to be on the decline, so if you can cash in on them, look to offload.
It is also worth considering the wages each player is on. If one or two players are eating into a large chunk of your wage bill, consider offering them to clubs above their transfer value. This will ensure you can add more depth to your squad.
Monitor Expiring Contracts
Another way to snap up players without paying a transfer fee is to sign those whose contracts are expiring. Once they go into the final six months of their contract, you can make an offer to that player, as per the Bosman Ruling.
If they accept, they join you on a free transfer at the end of their current contract. A prime example of that is Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid this summer. He joined the Spanish giants for free from PSG.
🛡️ @KMbappe 😉#WelcomeMbappé pic.twitter.com/jjOXUlrU1s
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) July 18, 2024
You can also search for players whose contracts have expired or expiring in the search filter. It is worth checking the ‘interested players’ box, as you may waste your time trying to convince top-flight and international players to make the drop down the leagues.
Good luck with your next Football Manager game.
Hopefully, you can enter the history books at your chosen club as the person who turned them from minnows to a global giant.
