Super Clubs
Most journeyman saves, or saves in general, that I see documented on blogs or on YouTube tend to follow the pattern of starting from the bottom before working upwards to the top. My Ceuta save is a quintessential example of that. The elite clubs are instead often reserved for short stints during the beta period of the FM cycle. But for most of 2023, I’ve had super clubs on my mind.
I have taken special interest in the absurd events over at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Bayern Munich, where it would seem that a league title win is not enough to clear the air of contempt and fan frustration surrounding both clubs. Simply put, winning most games in a campaign does not necessarily mean a Head Coach meets the expected minimum level of performance…super clubs appear to demand two things: (1) winning in style and (2) the ultimate prize: the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Something both clubs failed to do, who duly made wholesale backroom staff changes in the Summer of 2023.
Speaking of the UCL, along with the super club mentality comes a feeling of superiority and that was best demonstrated with the 2021 European Super League. The aforementioned clubs of PSG and Bayern are not guilty of that, but eleven other heavyweights* decided that they would be better served in a breakaway European league, void of relegation and a guarantee of competition profits through a sizeable percentage of income each year.
You are right to think that all of this can be a turn off from wanting to manage a super club in FM, as they often act like spoiled brats. But maybe there is an FM save here by behaving like a super club? It’s something I never really do, usually players in my FM saves are carefully recruited with the aim to get as much out of the budget as possible. A super club would, and absolutely should, be in the moment of building an elite XI each year, with the aim to win it all. I think that’s where my save idea begins…
*and Tottenham.
The save premise
A journeyman at the upper echelons of European football with ten of the twelve founding members of the European Super League, with Bayern and PSG replacing North London (because it’s stupid to call Arsenal and Tottenham ‘super clubs’ when they have not won a league title for so long). Here is a map of the clubs I can manage:
The 12 clubs I can manage in SuperClub Diaries.
I am not going to be too strict on when I move on in the save, a lot of it is down to circumstance and chance, but I will begin my FM24 journey with Paris Saint Germain, and I will explain my reasoning shortly. But the overall aim is to win as many UCLs as possible, with more than just one club and certainly more than Carlo Ancelotti’s four winning manager medals.
Why Paris Saint-Germain in FM24?
Choosing Paris Saint-Germain may seem like no real challenge at all, but there is work to do ensuring their 2023 Summer rebuild integrates smoothly. The Parisian club also have the added complication of Ligue Un dropping to 7th in the UEFA rankings and the threat of Saudi Arabian clubs now competing for the World’s best talents. Paris needs to rediscover their attractiveness once again, and move away from the shitshow of the last 12 months where, despite winning a record breaking 11th Ligue Un title, many adverse things have happened:
So, within each super club during “SuperClub Diaries” I plan to have some club specific aims. For PSG I would continue the policy of signing the very best players, but alternatively they have been criticised for having let such good talent leave their academy. I therefore plan to bring some of the best ones back again to Paris. Here’s a fairly long list of the talent that has recently left the academy:
Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)
Alphonse Areola (West Ham)
Arnaud Kalimuendo (Stade Rennais)
Boubakary Soumare (Sevilla FC on loan from Leicester City)
Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
El Chadaille Bitshuiabu (RB Leipzig)
Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)
Jonathan Ikone (Fiorentina)
Junior Dina Ebimbe (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern)
Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio on loan from Olympique de Marseille)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Mohamed-Ali Cho (Real Sociedad)
Moussa Dembele (Al Ettifaq)
Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa)
Odsonne Edouard (Crystal Palace)
Sekou Mara (Southampton)
Tanguy Nianzou (Sevilla FC)
Timothy Weah (Juventus)
Xavi Simons (RBLeipzig on loan from PSG)
Yacine Adli (AC Milan)
Can I tempt some of the better ones above and bring them home? Can I then form a predominantly homegrown UCL winning side, think Ajax 1995 but Parisian? After all, ici c’est Paris! If any of the above interests you, be sure to check back later in the year, where I’ll begin the save and subsequent diaries here on ☕️🏠 FM.
Thank you for reading/sharing and caring,
Tony / FM Grasshopper
