Starting in the lowest levels of world football and building a juggernaut is a Football Manager classic. When I started my save in Football Manager 26, I opted to be unemployed, unqualified, and looking for work with a desperate side in the run-in, now leading my precious Dorking to the top of the National League South in my first full season at the helm. Here are the tips I used to turn a messy club in relegation danger in March into a monstrous one top of the league by the end of the calendar year.
Focus On Free Transfers
Splashy transfer stories are such a big part of the football universe that it’s easy to assume they will be the key to any successful Football Manager save, but if you’re in the lower reaches, think again. Money is at a premium for smaller clubs, and that means that any money you invest into transfer fees is money you can’t spend on salary. While this is essential at higher levels, in the lower leagues it’s not the case.
Instead, look to free transfers as your only method of bringing in new players full-time until you have climbed closer to the top of the sport. Focus your recruitment searches on players who are out of contract and players whose contracts are expiring.
When managing in a league down the ranks, there are plenty of bigger clubs releasing players who no longer meet their standards, who could be league destroyers for you. Whoever you’re considering splashing the cash on, you are likely able to find someone comparable on a free, letting you stretch your salary budget as far as possible.
Lean Into Loans
Following up on the goal of maximizing what you get from your finances, the loan market is a great way to build your team out on a budget. Higher clubs are always looking to find minutes for their prospects. From their perspective, it’s an opportunity to help players get match experience and develop until they are ready to play in a top league. From yours, it’s a chance to sign players at a discount.
Larger sides paying a portion of their players’ salaries when on loan is a fairly common practice. While some players will not be available for anything other than a full salary payment by you, others will have significant portions of their salary, or even the whole thing, covered by the parent club.
When looking at a potential loan where the club is not offering to help, don’t right it off out of hand. Often youth players are on lower contracts, and sometimes even a full payment would still be value for the quality of player you are bringing into your team. By combining sound free agent buying with effective loan arrangements you can overhaul your entire club in one window and come out the other side with a squad ready to do damage in the league.
Try Before You Buy
An important thing to understand when working in the lower leagues is that it’s not just the players available to you who are likely significantly below the standard, but your backroom staff, too. What this means is that the recommendations and assessments provided by your squad are not as reliable because they are simply not as good at the job of assessing players as if you were at a big club with elite staff.
Instead of relying on star ratings and your scout’s assessments, it’s important to get a more accurate read on potential signings. This is particularly so if you are playing with attribute masking on, so you can’t simply check their work for yourself before committing to a signing.
This is where the trial system becomes your best friend. Bringing a player in on a two-week trial allows you to have them in training with your team in the game’s universe. On a practical level, what this means is you get an accurate reading of their actual abilities, with the players’ attributes revealed after some time in your squad, allowing you to accurately assess them.
Start Basic And Tweak
Keeping your tactics basic has often been a main recommendation for lower league players, although it’s not fully necessary, as your club is also playing poorer opponents. Basics can still be helpful, however, as a base. Starting with relatively functional tactics with a new squad gives you a strong platform to begin building on top of.
From there, start tweaking as you go by identifying both areas where things are working and not. Particularly with lower sides where players have big holes in their skills, sometimes the “lesser” player or role can be more effective. By the time your machine is humming, you’ll identify the little tweaks you need to get the absolute most out of them.
