Football Manager

Discussion in 'Soccer Board' started by Principal McVicker, Sep 21, 2009.

  1. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
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    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    At the halfway point of my second season.

    Was unable to re-sign Asad or Garza or craft a trade for any good MLS players, so out of frustration I traded away the next three drafts and some money for 4 permanent international spots. MLS is the only iteration of Football Manager I've ever played where transfers seem more difficult than reality.

    The waiver and reentry drafts have been key for me in getting depth players. Got rid of a bunch of dead weight over the offseason, but used those to sign the GK Bono from Toronto as well as a defender (Trusty), a D/DM/CM (Okugo) and a LM (Fernandez).

    I used the international spots to sign a LM, RB, LB, and an LB that I'm training to be able to play RB too.

    I also signed a youth RB, ST, and LM from my academy. In hindsight I might should've left the LM there, but whatever. Andrew Carleton is finally getting pretty good playing time for me. He has 3 goals and 5 assists in 14 apps.

    My form has been ridiculous this season. I've yet to actually lose a match. 6 points clear of 2nd in the supporters' shield with 3 games in hand and 13 points clear of 2nd in the East with a game in hand. Martinez is tearing it up with 21 goals on the year - a goals/90 of 1.03. Almiron is finally getting numbers more like what I expected last year, with 6 goals and 6 assists so far.

    I dealt with a lot of injuries last year running an attacking 4-3-3. This year I transitioned to a controlling 4-3-3. Slower tempo, shorter passing. I'm leading the league in possession with 57%. Also leading the league in goals scored and goals allowed, at 46 and 13 respectively. These performances caused both my CBs, Almiron, Villalba, and Martinez to be selected for the All Star game.

    The board's given me some nice staff additions this season, but it's frustratingly slow on facility upgrades. Still like three more levels to go on youth facilities, only have basic data analysis facilities, and then I have two levels left each on junior coaching and youth recruitment.

    As I press on in the season I'm looking to sign a new DM to replace the aging Carmona and also looking at signing a new RM, as I prefer inverted wingers to traditional. Otherwise, everything's ticking along pretty well.

    P.S. Still frustrated that fan support is so much worse on here than in real life. It's stupid.
     
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  2. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    36 games into the first season in the Championship and I'm bouncing between 4th and 8th. My board has slashed my payroll budget by 500k three separate times this season. At first I just ignored it, but I decided to play ball after the second reduction and sold some of my more seasoned players who'd reached their potential. All told, I made close to 8 million euro in the midseason transfer market. My club projects to make a 4 million euro profit on the season. To be clear, my payroll budget currently stands at 3.8 MM and I was never able to make any significant upgrades to my squad. The top team in the championship has a 30 million euro payroll. The club president status hasn't moved from "loves the club" but I've had every request completely shut down. The team is well in the black but I've been given no transfer budget. Through all this, I win. Boreham Wood FC once again leads the league in scoring and my new AMC (set to Advanced Playmaker) is the best player in the Championship with 4 player of the month awards. I'm not sure what's going on here. Any of you ever find a little too much success despite a highly restrictive board?
     
  3. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    My fan support is kind of embarrassing. I finished my league-mandated stadium renovation (5500 all seater) and I'm getting about 4600 per game now. The next lowest club has a 20,000 capacity stadium and gets about 9000 per game. At least I hit Club Legend status during the last offseason. Three League winners, one 2nd place finish, and one EFL Trophy in 7 seasons with a Championship playoff spot in season 8.
     
  4. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
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    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    The use of minimum fee release clauses and sell on percentages is ridiculous, as is the refusal to allow monthly installments.

    If you don't give a club someone's full asking price they immediately tack on 30% sell on and make the sell on non-negotiable.

    Tried to sign another guy for 7.5 and they made his release clause 9 non-negotiable.

    This French guy was going for like 9 but I wanted to spread it out - they wouldn't do 1 up front and 45 over 36 months.
     
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  5. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    There's always been some weird shit with the transfer mechanic. It's pretty much how the game keeps you from winning too easily. I transfer listed a player and received 8 identical fee-paying loan offers across 3 different leagues. It kind of sucks that the player's offers/negotiations exist in a vacuum whereas the AI colludes against you.
     
  6. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    I went on to win the league in season 1. My striker went on a tear and basically carried me to the title. I made the QF on the Europa and lost to Nice.

    Was only given ~3 million for transfers, so I've been bringing in younger transfers that aren't costing me more than like 500k apiece. I did get Weston Mckennie for like 475k.

    Been an up and down start to season 2. I've drubbed a couple teams, but then I'll lose at home 2-1 to a mid table squad. Champions League draw was absolutely awful. Was hoping for a weaker team in one of the 3 spots so I could maybe squeak out some more $$, but ended up with Madrid, PSG, and Gladbach :(
     
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  7. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    You're doing a Swiss league save?
     
  8. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    You bet your ass I am.
     
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  9. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    What kind of transfer restrictions do you have? Are their match day considerations for Home Grown players?
     
  10. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    I haven't noticed anything beyond financial, at this point. Philosophy is to develop youngsters so I've been buying <21yo's and haven't had any issues.

    Max of 10 non-EU. Max of 25 on the squad. No more than 5 non-EU in the first 11.
     
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  11. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    No Swiss player requirement is fantastic. Where are you dedicating your scouts? I've got 18 total:

    1 Chief (next opponent)
    4 UK & Ireland (1 on CA, 3 on PA)
    4 Scandinavia (1 on CA, 3 on PA)
    5 Central Europe (1 on CA, 4 on PA)
    2 South Europe (2 on PA)
    2 East Europe (2 on PA)
     
    #1411 Lemmy Caution, Jan 13, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  12. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Got 1 in Scandinavia, 2 in Eastern Europe, 2 South America, 2 Central America. I have them all searching for players no more than 25. I don't usually go into far more specifics with my scouts than find players to fill the database, then I will send my best scouts to scout guys that I'm interested in.

    Due to my club status, and lack of funds, getting good scouts to join is tough. So most of my guys are judging potential between 14-17 at the moment. 3 of my lesser scouts are out of contract at the end of the season, hoping to improve those spots big time.
     
  13. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    My Scouting Department really is the gem of club. Most of my scouts have at least 16C/18P with all but one with a determination over 14. I struck it real lucky signing a couple assistants with full South American knowledge in my Vanarama Premier days that have allowed me to poach excellent coaches from the continent. Each major scouting region (UK, CentEur, Scandinavia) has one Ace with at least 19 19 stats that I've labeled as a section chief. Each player recommended from area scouts is immediately double checked by the section chief from that region. When I have the luxury of time, I make sure to get a report from all the section chiefs.

    As I have virtually no transfer budget I limit myself to free transfers, end of contract deals, and purchasing players from the middle of nowhere. I spend between 400k-600k euros on one or two players per year but most of my incoming players are between free and 100k. I have 3 players in my squad with 5 star potential (leading player in Premiership). I found one for free from OM after they didn't re-sign him (26 year old Michel Araii that's far and away the best player in the Championship) and two others for ~20k each (one blew up with 8 months of 1st team experience, heavy training, and tutoring and I've been rejecting offers for him ever since).
     
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  14. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
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    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    This is like reading porn.
     
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  15. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    My Coach Notes sections is organized with tabs such as Regen Dates, Referee Tendencies, Value Signings (<25k, <50k, <100k), and a DO NOT LOAN list for coaches that get indignant when I call them out on playing my guy out of position.
     
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  16. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Does having multiple data analysts provide more info?
     
  17. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    What version are you on? I'm still back in '14 so I've never run into the feature.
     
  18. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    17
     
  19. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    How does it compare to other versions?
     
  20. Jean-Ralphio

    Jean-Ralphio A real toe-tapper
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    Michigan WolverinesUtah JazzGreen Bay PackersArsenal

    you should probably go with 18 if you’re upgrading.

    Stuff has happened sure, but you wont be like what the fuck game is this.
     
  21. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Honestly it's been so long since i've played 14/15 that I don't even know how much has changed.
     
  22. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
    Donor TMB OG
    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    I came from 14 and think there's a pretty big learning curve to 18. Scouting, alone, is significantly different. And I still dislike that there isn't a dedicated backroom advice tab like there used to be. Love the Dynamics though.

    In other news I won the Supporters' Shield and Cup again. Tallied 75 points and 22 wins on the way. Had a bit of the commentator's curse and lost 3 of my next 4 after my post in here. Didn't lose any others. Also scored 66 - exactly the same last year - but conceded 20 fewer goals to finish with a GD of 44. Got bounced by Philly in the semis of the US Open. Think I'm gonna struggle with that a few more years given how much of my roster is foreign, and I'm only allowed 5 for that competition.

    My players won the golden boot, DotY, GKotY, and goal of the year. Had 4 of the 5 nominees for MVP, but Gerso Fernandes of SKC won it. Josef Martinez finished with the same amount of voting points, but got 2nd. Almiron got 3rd. Martinez netted 33 goals and 6 assists in 35 apps for an average rating of 7.63. He also scored a hat trick in the Final against SKC.

    7 of my players made the Best XI, but there must be some LW bias cause I got snubbed at that position again, despite my LW once again outperforming my RW. Speaking of Villalba, he and Carmona were originally going to be my only replacement. Villalba because I prefer inside forwards and Carmona because of his age and aggression (17 yellows this season). However, I came across this Brazilian striker, Lincoln, and just had to pick him up. Despite being only 17, he's 3 better than Martinez in aerial; 2 in defending and mental; 1 in physical, vision, attacking; and just 1 worse in speed and technical. He's the most developed 17 year old I've ever come across.

    Villalba's already out to Shaktar and Carmona's been released, still gotta find a spot for Martinez. Probably not going to go over well since he just moved up to a team leader spot, but we'll see.

    On the odds and ends, still making incremental improvements to facilities/coaching/recruitment whenever I can. I've started looking for these hidden gem coaches, mid level guys who have 2 or 3 more licenses to earn. Also just got my next academy class, nothing impressive except a 16 yo striker with 4-5 star potential.
     
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  23. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    MA Something amazing happened today. This has never happened to me.

    regens.PNG
     
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  24. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    McLaren has 20 determination and Dyer is at 17. I just got a fucking 5 star ready-to-start 20 det regen at a position of need
     
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  25. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
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    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    So Villalba, Carmona, and Martinez are gone. Just found out first round of NACL is 2/6 and 2/13. Their replacements don't arrive until 2/19.

    :killme:
     
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  26. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
    Donor TMB OG
    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    Hasn't happened yet, but for the first time ever in a save, I'm going to leave my original club for a new one.

    1) I miss building something completely from scratch
    2) MLS on there just doesn't function the way it does. Ex: that Accam trade with 1 mil in allocation money. Most you can offer in the game is 500k.
    3) Just in general with the different league schedule and roster restrictions, it's just not very fun.

    Please respect my decision/Don't @ me.
     
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  27. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    MA take an English tier 7 to the Premiership. I'm about to get my tier 6 up after 9 or 10 seasons. Congratulations on joining the real football world.
     
  28. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    New save or new job in that save? If latter, what club did you choose
     
  29. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
    Donor TMB OG
    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    I'm gonna try to make it happen in this save. Just play through some and see if I get offers or if anything interesting opens up.

    I've thought before about going to a non big 5 league, but I worry about not having a strong domestic league to add to the difficulty of European competition. When I did Hereford they were league two I think, so maybe it's time to drop every further down. I've still not done a French save, so looking in the National 2 as well.

    It's a shame, I feel like doing south America could be cool. But there's just nothing like competing in Europa/UCL.
     
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  30. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
    Donor

    Load as many lower leagues as your cpu can handle. Watching a national hero Regen pop up at a beer league club is awesome. Being the manager of that club is even better.
     
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  31. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
    Donor TMB OG
    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    My player count is 156,000.
     
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  32. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    I’ve had fun with my Swiss save so far. 2 CL spots, 1 to group and 1 to 3rd qualifying. And then 2 to Europa. It’s definitly a challenge. But I think doing a small league/country is pretty entertaining. As most know, Mix loves his Norwegian saves
     
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  33. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    Making Rosenborg a true world power was super fun. It was easier a few years ago. The more MLS like schedule makes friendlies and Euro comp hard since its not during your season as much.
     
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  34. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Did the Norwegian league allow players to have a vacation over the summer? After my first season in Switzerland the players didn’t get a break. But they did get one in December.
     
  35. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    Trying to remember. I had one after the season in like Dec which usually left me under-prepared for the CL campaign. At least my guys were super in shape for the regular season. But really long seasons and had to find rest periods a lot.
     
  36. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Oh shit I misread and didn’t see the MLS type schedule. Switzerland has basically a fall and a spring season. July - Start of December. Then Feb thru May
     
  37. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    Runs March to Nov
     
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  38. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
    Donor TMB OG
    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    *****SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT*****

    Having won the NACL and started demolishing MLS foes with my scrubs, I've taken up a new challenge. Managing








    Sevilla FC. I turned heel/the small clubs couldn't afford my buyout. Applied for Sevilla, Barca, Chelsea, PSG, Valencia, Ajax, and Zilina. The four after Sevilla went in other directions and the latter two couldn't afford me.

    I've brought with me two coaches and a scout, and I plan to try to bring my wonderkid striker, Lincoln, and possibly Almiron.

    It's honestly gonna be kind of a rebuild because while they finished 4th this past season, their senior squad features 11 players age 30 or over, and only 5 players under 24. Their scouting packages only cover Europe and Spain for adult and youth players respectively. And their coaching and medical staffs are understaffed.
     
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  39. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
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    Boooooooooooooo
     
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  40. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    Got back into my Southport/USA save with the new activity here. Trying to defend my Premiership crown and not lose in the title game of just about everything else. Started out winning the community shield over Man City and then opened up the season with a 6-1 win over Newcastle and 3-1 over Liverpool. Was predicted to finish 7th so feeling good so far. Have a crazy amount of young talent up top and letting Puli lead both club and country to glory.
    For USA just won our first Gold Cup since 2013 (currently 2021) with easy wins in every single match. Have 3 current Americans at Southport, one away on loan after buying him from Dayton. The Gold Cup is dumb though, had me playing Mexico in Cleveland in front of 22k. USA stadiums are poorly researched. Currently sitting 3rd in WCQ behind Jamaica and Mexico thanks to Bruce Arena being the manager for too long. Got 3 quick wins and a draw @Mexico to open up my campaign.

    Forgot how addicting this game is.
     
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  41. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    [​IMG]
     
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  42. MA

    MA Surprisingly normal looking
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    Alabama Crimson TideSan Antonio SpursWashington CapitalsManchester UnitedAtlanta United

    I know the new mercenary me is gonna take some getting used to for everyone, but I have to say I'm so excited to have real reserve teams finally instead of shadow ones.
     
  43. Lemmy Caution

    Lemmy Caution Lurking since Alice's mugshot
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    I'm expecting nothing less than hardware and league winners.
     
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  44. SugarShaun

    SugarShaun A man of many hobbies
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    Ohio State BuckeyesCleveland BrownsManchester CityColumbus CrewUnited States Men's National Soccer Team

    Looking forward to Jose style cycles. 2nd year titles and 3rd year meltdowns
     
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  45. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    So this season is going really well. Found a formation that is just killing people. Only not winning when I rest guys.
    fm2021sched.png
     
  46. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    Just found out there is a Dutch club called the Go Ahead Eagles. I might need to start a game as them.
     
  47. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    Oh yea. There's a Swiss club named Young Boys, which triggered me to wonder if there's an Old Boys.



















    There is
     
  48. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    UCF KnightsPittsburgh PenguinsOrlando CityPittsburgh Steelers

    This will be interesting.

    brexit.png
     
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  49. SugarShaun

    SugarShaun A man of many hobbies
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    Ohio State BuckeyesCleveland BrownsManchester CityColumbus CrewUnited States Men's National Soccer Team

    I know of Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. Any others?
     
  50. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
    Staff Donor TMB OG
    Kansas JayhawksKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsNewcastle UnitedBig 8 ConferenceFormula 1

    BSC Old Boys in Switzerland. They're semi-professional according to FM. I downloaded a Swiss patch to add in the lower divisions and they're in my save.
     
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