3 Clubs to Manage for Complete FM22 Beginners

Here’s our list of three clubs suitable for managing if you’re a complete FM22 beginner.

Here’s our list of three clubs suitable for managing if you’re a complete FM22 beginner.

Every year, thousands of people pick up Football Manager for the first time. It can be quite daunting trying to pick a first save or get back into it after crashing and burning in your first save. Every player has at one point or another bitten off more than they can chew, and tried to take on a club that’s too much of a challenge for them. Hopefully, this guide will help people who are new to the game pick their saves, to ease their way into the game and learn the nuances of Football Manager.

Villarreal

In my opinion, Villarreal is the perfect beginner’s save. Unai Emery has built a very capable club with a talented and versatile squad and an impressive staff in real life. As a new player, you don’t have to worry too much about setting up your scouts, replacing coaches, fitting your players into a weird tactic or doing too much in the transfer market; Villarreal are already set up well, so you can just jump in, set your tactic and go. Of course, if you want to pick your own coaching staff and set up your scouts as you want to, be my guest, but if you’d rather get a quick start without getting too bogged down in your staffing, Villarreal are already in a very good spot.

In terms of players, you’ve got some very promising youngsters, including Yeremy Pino and Samuel Chukwueze, who are already leading players in La Liga. You’ve also got one of the best defenders in the game in Pau Torres. This is an excellent long-term foundation for a good save, and you’ve got plenty of very capable players like Paco Alcacer and Moi Gomez to help you reach your short term goals. The board expectations are reasonable, but with how open La Liga is in FM22, you can very easily find yourself overachieving in your first season. Your finances are in great shape, so there’s no desperate need to sell your promising youngsters. Overall, this save is the perfect beginners save because it doesn’t need a lot of work, so you can pick and choose where you want to spend your time and energy.

Rangers

It’s no secret that I love a “big fish in a small pond” type of save. There’s something incredibly satisfying about racking up wins domestically and the real challenge being in the continental competition. The good news is: this type of save is a great way for new players to learn the game. By dominating the domestic game, you have plenty of scope to work out your best XI and your tactic, so you’re prepared to face the bigger clubs in Europe.

Enter Rangers. The Scottish champions are in very good shape on the pitch to defend their title, with only Celtic providing a realistic challenge domestically. A foundation of Kamara, Aribo, Hagi, Morelos and Kent should also be able to challenge for Europa League honours if you can help them all to reach their potential. Great facilities, recruitment and reputation also mean you’re all set to develop the best of Scottish talent for the foreseeable future. In short, a Rangers save not only has a very high ceiling, but your floor is also pretty high. Even if you fail in your loftiest ambitions of European competition, domestic domination is an excellent learning opportunity for new managers.

Southampton

Bear with me here, but Southampton is the most fun I’ve had on FM22 so far. Yes, really. Like Villarreal and Rangers, this club doesn’t need a huge overhaul of backroom staff to compete - especially in scouting. They’re not perfect, but they’re good enough if you don’t want to spend too much time on your staff. On the pitch, the board have modest expectations, but with James Ward-Prowse and Tino Livramento, you should be very capable of exceeding these expectations. Ward-Prowse’s set-piece taking alone makes you a very serious threat in every match. You also have strong PL-ready players in every position, with the flexibility to play any of the most common formations with relative ease. Much like Rangers, it’s hard to fail too badly with Southampton, and there’s huge potential once things start clicking, which makes it an ideal start for new managers - especially if you want to improve your set-piece execution.

I hope you’ve found these suggestions helpful and can use one of these clubs to find your way again on FM22.