FM-Manager

Okay after much deliberation I have made a decision on who I will be managing for my FM 13 story. My decision was made with creating an interesting, new experience in mind but at the same time making it a difficult one. I felt that West Bromwich and Southampton would of posed less challenging than with a Ligue 1 team with the EPL pumping in £40 million a year, it would not require me to think thoughtfully about every move I made therefore I decided to venture into the Ligue 1. After looking at both Montpellier and Sochaux it was obvious which team had the most difficult task in hand and with Montpellier already in the Champions League thanks to there great run last year winning the Ligue 1 I felt Sochaux was the perfect choice.

Sochaux

Sochaux has great facilities at hand with top ranking youth facilities and good training grounds but they are a club that do not own their own stadium which they spend £318k per year on the 20,005 capacity ‘Stade Auguste Bonal’. The club is in some financial difficulty at the moment with the them not having much money in the bank which means that they will have to keep renting they 20,005 capacity stadium with no chance of expansion, this will limit the clubs potential severely.

Once again baring in mind the clubs finances, the board has given us limited funds to delve into the transfer market with, which will mean that transfer funds will have to be created through sales. Prudence will be my ally while diving into the market were I will have to make every penny count. With the limitations in mind I will have to look at young players who are inexpensive or alternatively players past their peak to supplemental the team with better quality. Free transfers will have to be a tool I will have to exploit in order to make money as well as advance the team.

The staff at the team are not the best quality which will lead me to re-assess the backroom and remove any dead weight especially when it comes to coaches.

Conclusion

Baring in mind everything discussed above I feel that Sochaux will be a difficult challenge for my managerial skills. With TV rights going down this year with Orange’s total removal from the rights and Canel partial removal has left the league some what crippled as they have dropped from €668M last year to €607M this year. Also with the financial depression in the economy it has led to the purse strings of the other big clubs in Europe to stop coming shopping in the league which has crippled a one big part of French football. Baring all these things in mind I believe that this league will be a challenge and should create a interesting story.

Till next time, Cheers!