Sleeping Giants in Football Manager 2024

Explore football's hidden gems in FM24. Uncover the potential of Crystal Palace, AFC Wimbledon, Banik Ostrava, and Valerenga as sleeping giants.

Awakening the Giants: Unveiling the Hidden Potential of Football Clubs in FM24

Football is full of sleeping giants. Fans of any club from a reasonably sized city - or with a decent fanbase - will be desperate to tell you that their club has the potential to be one of the biggest in the country. For the vast majority of clubs, this isn’t as true as their fans would like. However, for a select few, they have genuine potential to be among the biggest in their respective nations. The point of this article is to list a few of my favourite sleeping giant clubs, and what you could expect if you awaken them.

It’s important to note the difference between a fallen giant and a sleeping giant. A fallen giant is a formerly big club who has fallen onto bad times. A sleeping giant is a club who has never had a period of prolonged success, but has the potential to capitalise on success with sustained growth.

Crystal Palace

Any London club obviously has huge potential. However, Crystal Palace is a special case. According to the game’s hidden attributes, Palace has among the most passionate, loyal and patient fans in England, as well as the added bonus of being a London club and therefore attractive to players. They also have highly rated training and youth facilities, as well as excellent youth recruitment. All of this means you’ll get a very high calibre of newgens coming through your ranks; perfect for a long-term save to build a new power in the city of London.

If you take on the challenge of growing Crystal Palace, you’ll find a club capable of becoming one of the biggest in the Premier League. According to the editor, Palace can expect their average attendance to almost double once they reach their full potential, not to be sniffed at for a club with an already respectable fanbase. Grow Palace to a European force, and you’ll be well rewarded by their fans.

AFC Wimbledon

This might be a little bit of a loophole. As a phoenix club, technically, this iteration of Wimbledon has never had any success. Much like Crystal Palace, Wimbledon’s hidden attributes suggest they have some of the best fans in England. Their maximum attendance is also comparable to some of the low-end Premier League clubs, much the same as the heights reached by the original club. Wimbledon had something of a cult status in England, and that’s very much an achievable goal for the Dons. For a midtable League Two club, rising to the Premier League would seem a Herculean task. But for Wimbledon, it’s very much possible.

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Banik Ostrava

This club is already in the top flight in Czechia, but they have the potential to go a lot higher (and could actually be the basis for a great build a nation save). Banik have a deeply loyal and passionate fanbase, with one of the most attractive cities in Czechia. Not only that, they have just phenomenal facilities across the board, the perfect platform for growing a club. The editor data also indicates that they could more than double their average attendance. If you can turn this club into a regular contender in the Czech First League - and make the most of that impressive youth academy - there’s no reason you can’t be looking at regular European competition (in turn, growing the reputation of the First League, raising the ceiling of your club).

Valerenga

Valerenga are currently battling relegation in Eliteserien in real life, but they could be so much more than that. Norwegian football is on the rise, with two Norwegians leading the way at two clubs in the Premier League title race and high expectations on the national side. On FM24, Valerenga are well-equipped to be part of the Scandinavian revolution. While the first team may not be the most inspiring - realistically heading for midtable obscurity - the facilities available at this club suggest there’s huge potential for growth here. This is also matched by the significant maximum attendance available for this club. Valerenga are the very definition of a sleeping giant: they could be one of the very biggest clubs in their country, but also have huge potential for European success.

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Conclusion

There’s a lot of fun challenges on FM24, but one of the most satisfying is building up a club from nothing. There’s plenty of clubs with potential on FM, but the clubs I’ve listed above have the best combination of various attributes to be potential giants. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and look forward to awakening some of these sleeping giants on your next FM save.