Here are six small teams in Football Manager for a long-term save where you can build and grow.
Here are six small teams in Football Manager for a long-term save where you can build and grow.
The world of football is a diverse and intriguing place. While the majority of leagues and countries have ‘big’ clubs and ‘small’ clubs, some teams find themselves in the latter category. They could, though, have the potential to be built up and turned into something that could become a genuine force in their own country. With the right movement and investment, you could build something special. Where, though, should you begin this journey?
Queen’s Park
The Scottish side are famous for being the original big team in Scottish football. Since the 1900s, though, they have not been a major competitor. With modern investment and a move away from their amateur status, though, The Spiders could be an extremely enjoyable experience for you to manage.
They start out in the Scottish Championship and could easily be built to get a promotion within 2-3 years in-game. Then, you are going to need to fight your way out of a competitive league dominated by the biggest teams, Celtic and Rangers.
Your investment opportunity, though, means that if you build well, you could easily be competing with the likes of Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian within a few years. It is a fun save and one that you could build up and grow over time.
Royal Antwerp
While some fans of Belgian football might scoff at Antwerp being described as small, to most English football especially, they are the feeder team of Manchester United in the early 2000s. They are, though, a team that has some high-profile players in their team – including Radja Nainggolan – and who have competed in European football in the last few years.
Your job would be to use a strong youth system and pair it with the collection of Belgian-based veterans at the club. If you build it right, you could become the dominant force in the league, even ahead of the likes of Club Brugge and Anderlecht. A fun save with lots of potential, though the limited patience of the ownership means you would need to do well quickly.
With a team that could easily compete for honours already, you could turn this team into a European performer in time.
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Real Zaragoza
Again, not really a ‘small’ club, but they have been a second-division outfit more than a La Liga outfit for much of the last fifteen years. The biggest club in the Aragon area, though, Zaragoza, could, like a club below, take from a healthy local support. With some interesting people at the top of the club now, too, you would be working with some names and directors who usually would not be anywhere near the second tier.
Zaragoza are a good club with an impressive support, and you could turn them into something if you manage to stick at it. While it might not be an easy save to manage as you have such large expectations without any major investment, you could be managing a club that has the potential to establish itself as a top-half club in the top-flight of Spanish football.
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OFI Crete
If you like a challenge abroad, then head to the island of Crete. Their major director is former Manchester City and Glasgow Celtic star Giorgios Samaras; if that does not sell you on this move, what will?
Seriously, though, Crete are a small club within Greek football. They linger well behind the likes of Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, and PAOK. Even other teams like Larissa and Aris are ahead of you in the pecking order. Still, you are managing a club with a very strong academy focus and a forward-thinking board of directors.
This will be a major challenge as you need to try and build a team and progress in the league at the same time. This is not going to be for the feint of heart, and you will spend a lot of time simply trying to get your team organised and capable of competing for domestic honours.
Plymouth Argyle
English football is littered with clubs who are ‘sleeping giants’, but Plymouth Argyle are a good shout for this. They represent one of the largest underserved populations in English football, the people of Devonshire. They are easily the biggest club in the area, and reports suggest they could have a potential support as large as one million!
They are currently a team that aspires to return to the English Championship, and they could become a bit of a team. They have not much investment behind them, so you would need to build intelligently to get into the Premier League. The squad has been served well by the last two managers in real life, though, and you would be picking up a team that should be aiming for Championship promotion ASAP.
Definitely a fun save, and a team that could be taking from a significant support in future.
Venezia
Last but not least, why not make your way to the city of Venice?
Venezia are a club more famous for their cool kits than anything they do on the pitch. Despite being a Serie A team recently, Venezia have precious little history of size within the Italian game. They are, though, the representatives of a famous and unique city. Much as the other big Italian cities are represented by good clubs, could you turn this little team into something more remarkable?
You will get to see your team strutting about in some of the finest kits in world football, but outside of that you are onto plums here. There is not much that you can do to expand the stadium or grow yourself commercially in the first few years. Promotion and building slowly in the top flight is about the best thing that you could hope to achieve. Still, though, this is something that fans of Italian football could love – a team trying to break into the traditionally busy top half of Calcio.
So, which challenge will you take on first? Where can you see yourself settling down and enjoying the best challenge?
