SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - The End, for now #FM24

 
 

Intro

Let’s face it, the FM25 delay to March 2025 is disappointing for a lot of us. I positioned these SuperClub Diaries™ blogs to be lighter in touch in order to allow myself to have a little re-charge after 8-9 years of blogging, before launching into a new shiny FM25-era save. I genuinely had no idea if the save would feel ‘over’ after a couple of months OR span the length of the cycle. A normal cycle. Well, it has. SuperClub Diaries has taken me to three clubs, across 9 seasons and whilst not a standout FMG classic save, it has provided genuine moments of enjoyment and amazingly for the whole traditional annual cycle. But, I think this is where I stop.

I have seen a number of Community posts around finding a save to fill the unavoidable gap of those 4-5 months without a new Football Manager title. People stuck about what to do etc and ‘get the love back’. Whilst I know there is plenty to achieve in this save (because quite frankly I’ve not won enough). Personally, I know it is time to pause and take a definite break from the game. Luckily my income is not tied up with producing Football Manager content, and for that reason I won’t need to ‘react’ or provide any further content on FM24 (unless I wanted to of course). Often the term jealousy has been applied to writers like me, about perceived jealousy towards some of those earning a wage out of the game. Well at the time of writing, in October 2024, my jealousy is almost non-existent. Those poor bastards, if you can support them, in any small way* then please do.

*Four example ways you can support: (1) leave a Twitch browser tab open on mute when they stream, (2) watch their previous YT content and let the ads run whilst you head to work, (3) subscribe to their monthly Patreon and (4) use their affiliate link when pre-ordering the game.

Apologies for the tangent, this was a long and rambled way to simply say that this is my final SuperClub Diaries save update within the FM24 title. The narrative may resurface one day in the FM25-era…or be reserved to FM Grasshopper Coffeehouse archives. But for now, let’s head back to Turin…

2032 Champions League

The oil riches of the Middle East once again proved to be an impenetrable opponent for my Juventus side. Like PSG last year…Manchester City were just too strong in the Last 16 tie. Haaland is in his 30s now, but he doesn’t look any slower or any less capable than becoming ‘clutch’ in the key moments of big games. A shame really, the UCL campaign got off to a really good start for us, A couple of defeats away at Braga and Arsenal were quickly forgotten about when we went away to AC Milan and won.

Annoyingly, it’s the Milan outfit that went on to win the 2032 Champions League with a penalty shootout win Vs Barcelona.

Love you Swiss Models xoxo

Serie A winning signings…

I shouldn’t really celebrate any domestic success in this save, but it is nice to have [finally] won Serie A in this save after three 4th placed finishes in a row with Juventus. Whilst not a lavish Summer transfer window, Ball Playing Defender Lorenzo Pirola arrived on a Free Transfer from Arsenal and my Segundo Volante of dreams, Manu Koné, arrived on loan from AC Milan. Both feel very ‘Serie A-like’ to me, especially the latter. Manu’s move between rival clubs is reminiscent of previous Serie A deals like Andrea Pirlo or Clarence Seedorf.

30 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats. +75 GD. Bene!

Two players who you’d want to have by your side when going to war.

Hands down the best Newgen I’ve had in recent FMs…

I mentioned Kağan Köksal a couple of blog posts ago who has become a top Inverted Full Back role in my Juve back four. But the best Newgen I’ve signed (probably in any FM save) is Estanislao Gomez from Olympique Lyonnais. The deal was fairly complex: €10m upfront, rising to €58m through a lot of player performance add-ons...but it could one day end up costing Juventus €119m should we win the top prizes of club football (lol).

He’s taken a full 12-months to come good, including a fairly slow start to 2031/32 season. However, something happened since January 2032 and he is now rated 5* in CA/PA, a natural ‘in the hole’ and loving life in Italy. His surges into the box have won us penalties, he’s assisted many through the eye of a duck’s anus to Dusan Vlahovic and his quick shooting has seen him reach double figures for goals. Sometimes a Newgen is that good you want to continue the save in order to see how they end up doing through a whole career…

Oofff.

Which SuperClub has performed the best over the 9 season save…?

Previously, I’ve given a country-by-country overview on how the 12 SuperClubs have fared in the season I’m blogging about. This provided more context on the save universe as a whole, and kept me abreast of which jobs could conceivably be available in the next 6-12 months. I have also had a few readers message to say how they have enjoyed reading this section of the SuperClub Diaries posts. However, after 8-9 years in it become a bit stale OR a challenge to keep the reader engaged; especially when Newgens (who only I know) enter the Save Universe and start to do well at the top end of European Club Football.

So, today’s ‘Elsewhere in SuperClub Diaries’ is a little different. Instead of a lookback on the current season just passed…I will instead recap UCL performance and league wins over the past 9 seasons per country, before announcing in my view who was the greatest SuperClub in SuperClub Diaries save.

England

The Premier League title has been shared between the two Manchester SuperClubs with non-SuperClub Arsenal winning a hat-trick of titles between them during 2028-2030. That Arsenal team also won two UCL titles too in 2029 and 2031, but there has only ever been one English SuperClub winning the UCL, and that was my 2028 Liverpool side. YNWA…

Chelsea

  • UEFA Champions League: 2026 (runner up)

Liverpool

  • UEFA Champions League (x1): 2025 (runner up) and 2028 (winner)

Manchester City

  • UEFA Champions League: 2024 (runner up) and 2030 (runner up)

  • Premier League (x5): 2024, 2025, 2026, 2031 and 2032

Manchester United

  • UEFA Champions League: 2029 (runner up)

  • Premier League (x1): 2027

FMG Manager observation: After my stint in charge, Liverpool are yet to win silverware with Alessio Dionisi and Simone Inzaghi getting yearly stints at the job with current Manager Enrico Maaßen in charge.

France

There is only one SuperClub in France, and there is no surprise they have won Ligue 1 in all nine seasons of the save so far. The Parisians have also won the big UCL prize too, back when I won the 2026 UCL in Volume 1.

PSG

  • UEFA Champions League (x1): 2026 (winner) and 2028 (runner up)

  • Ligue 1 (x9): 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031 and 2032

FMG Manager observation: After my three years in charge, PSG had Pep Guardiola for almost five years before hiring Arne Slot in 2031.

Germany

Fußball-Club Bayern München Ja. They’re really good at football in Germany and represent the only Germanic SuperClub in this save. I never got to manage them, but I always figured they’d be a similar challenge to PSG anyway (which is where I started the save).

Bayern Munich

  • UEFA Champions League: 2027 (runner up)

  • Bundesliga (x6): 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031

FMG Manager observation: Bayern Munich re-hired both Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann during this save.

Italy

I’ve loved a bit of CalcioFM in FM24. It’s been the country where I have spent the most FMing in this year and Juventus were ‘close but no cigar’ in the 2030 UCL. But there is one club that has reigned supreme in Italia…

AC Milan

  • UEFA Champions League (x1): 2032 (winner)

  • Serie A (x5): 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030

Juventus

  • Serie A (x1): 2032

Inter Milan

  • Serie A (x1): 2031

FMG Manager observation: Evergreen Stefano Pioli is the longest serving SuperClub manager in this save. He has been at AC Milan for 12 years and 241 days.

Spain

Virtual LaLiga has continued to be a borefest with Barcelona and Real Madrid taking turns to win the domestic crown. No wonder Sports Interactive ditched that licence! Barcelona win SuperClub Diaries bragging rights.

Club Atlético de Madrid

  • lol

Barcelona

  • UEFA Champions League (x1): 2025 (winner), 2031 (runner up) and 2032 (runner up)

  • La Liga (x5): 2024, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2032

Real Madrid

  • UEFA Champions League (x1): 2027 (winner)

  • La Liga (x4): 2025, 2026, 2030 and 2031

FMG Manager observation: Zinedine Zidane finally returned to Real Madrid in 2031, but he remains trophyless in his 2nd stint as Manager.

Tl;dr…Who is the Greatest SuperClub?

It’s good to see five of the twelve SuperClub diaries win the UCL, although none of them went on to win it twice. If we took a club from each country, based on UCL performance, we’d have to say Liverpool, PSG, Bayern, AC Milan and Barcelona are the best performers. It is the latter that has to be considered the overall best performer though, given that they had two Runner Up medals in 2031 and 2032.

I’d like to personally congratulate Barcelona on this achievement, proving once again they are més que un SuperClub 👏

Vol. 1 (PSG 2024-2026), Vol. 2 (Liverpool 2026-2028) and Vol.3 (Juventus 2029-2032).  Available to read in its entirety from this landing page: coffeehousefm.com/fmgrasshopper

Going underground, for now

Does anybody now look at ‘X’ and just think it’s pretty disgusting? Today, not even joking, I saw a dildo on there be tossed up in the air before it landed in an Olympic Dancer’s vagina. This wasn’t found via a search either, it just appeared as an auto-play video. This is actually awful, even if AI generated...it was incredibly life-like. I worry for any young adults and vulnerable people on that platform, and how all this type of stuff could affect their concepts of women…and Olympic events in general. For other reasons: like the constant dull adverts, bots (lots of them), farming of monetised interactions with nonsense etc. I just don’t think it is a social media app that holds my attention like it used to. I will not go FM nuclear on it by deleting it, but it’s used less and less nowadays; perhaps in the future to simply post my blogs…which is a real shame 😢

As such, I do not know where my online presence belongs outside of the ☕🏠 website. I love chatting FM, particularly with some of your readers over on X, and I am fortunate enough to also have FM Slack too. Feel free to join with this link. When I do appear with more FM content in the future, Slack is a place I am more likely to be found. Unless another new social media app can make headway in the coming months. I hope you can understand.

As always, thank you for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - Zebre FM #FM24

 
 

Intro

I was six in-game minutes from calling it a day with Juventus, seeing my side drop out of the Champions League qualifying places in 5th. The thought of managing in the Europa League within the SuperClub Diaries save would have been an abject failure…especially with this being my third season with The Old Lady. Sports Interactive declared that “Progress Never Stops'“ in FM24, yet I seem to be doing my utmost to counter that claim.

Thankfully though, my first real big signing from two years ago, €41m Ibrahima Bamba, chipped in with an 84th minute winner to see my Juventus side leapfrog Roma into 4th on ‘head-to-head’ superiority. Wow, it felt good…but it showed the non-SuperClub levels I am currently finding myself within this save.

Three seasons, three top four finishes.

 

If Carlsberg did final day drama (which they do not btw), they'd probably do something like this because it's a shite pilsner.

 

What does this mean for the save? Well, the Juve Board in their wisdom have given me a four year contract a few weeks after a Champions League Last 16 exit against Paris Saint-Germain. Desperate for any kind of attention, I hastily I accepted but I would have left my position at the end of the season if not for Bamba’s 84th thunderbastard.

So, It’s time to go again. Perhaps one last season to see if I can get this Juventus side back to the top of Serie A and challenging for Champions League glory once again…

2031 Champions League

I have already spoilt my performance in the Champions League, but I will share below the up and down campaign for my own posterity…

Away from home something was clearly not gelling, a likely indicator that my 4231 tactic isn’t as all conquering as the ones I could probably download from FM Scout 😩. However, I was confident going into the PSG game with a new narrow 442. Later season form was good and deep into Extra Time my side had chances to get a goal and win it. But it was Federico Valverde, a €78m Parisian signing from yours truly, who scored with a couple of minutes before potential penalties. Unlike the Serie A campaign, a Last 16 UCL exit is much more disappointing for last year’s Semi Finalists.

2031/32 would have to be better.

Going Narrow, but keeping back line the same(ish)

Another season, another bloody tactic. With the FM24 embers slowly dying away, this may well be my last tactic of the cycle. It’s a narrow 442 and very similar to what I did with France U23s with Matt (FM Adventure) in a network save. Go read up on that Olympic success story here (if you want to).

Defence - in defence though I am very similar to the 4231 before it. There’s an Inverted Full Back at right back to form a back three giving a carte blanche to the left sided Full Back to do what he wants. He is essentially our wide attacker, with nobody in front of him. For that reason the Complete Wing Back is perfect for him in this formation, he can roam and simply find the spaces to be effective. Ahead of the back three, we have a Deep Lying Playmaker. I am perhaps a little conservative here, and dependant on the opposition I face I will likely give the DLP a support duty. International Football Association Board rules also mean I have to field a Goalkeeper.

Midfield - higher up the pitch we have the engine room. The left sided has a Box to Box midfielder. As we know, this role shuttles vertically up and down the pitch and will provide good support in both the build up and also some attacks too. On his right we have an attacking Mezzala, particularly essential to this tactic given the Mezzala's ability to drift into wide areas in order to stretch opposing defenses. ‘In the hole’ we have a bog standard Attacking Midfielder. Given the runners behind him (and also ahead, which I will get to in a sec), my feeling is that he doesn’t necessarily need to be running channels, or bombing ahead as an auxiliary striker.

Attack - I’m at my best in FM with two central strikers. Putting them both on attack duty is that extra sprinkling of salt to get the justices flowing. 31-year-old Dusan Vlahovic’s remaining years will be spent as an attacking Target Forward. Now that his more advanced years are upon him, Vlahovic will keep his Jumping Reach and Strength (as well as his good mentals) to play the Target Forward much longer than his Acceleration and Pace he’d need to play as the Advanced Forward. That pacier role is left for much faster Newgens now breaking into the First Team squad.

So, let’s think about what we have got in defence/midfield:

  1. Back three. Let’s field big lads here so we’re menacing.

  2. Holding DM, who can ping a ball or just keep things ticking over.

  3. Strong midfield presence. An AM and a Mez who will press quite high up.

In attack we have:

  1. A complete Wing Back being a nuisance crossing to a Target Forward.

  2. A Mezzala taking the ball out wide, finding pockets of space to be effective.

  3. An Advanced Forward pushing back opposition CB’s with forward runs.

Team instructions - I think we suit a fluid counter attack in the big games. But Vs lower reputation sides in Serie A/Copa Italia we will probably need to be more aggressive/controlling. I’m liking it, ‘on paper’. Let’s see how we do and what I end up with during pre-season and a few new signings.

The last FM24 tactic, +maybe

England

Man City’s five year wait for a Premier League title ended, but last year’s Champions League runners up could only get to the Semi Final stage this time out. The 0-2 FA Cup final defeat to cross-city rivals Manchester United will also hurt Antonio Conte’s men and take the Charlie Sheen off a successful season. Manchester United incidentally are the only other English Superclub to qualify for next year’s Champions League. But they also experienced cup heartache to fellow Superclub Chelsea, who despite finishing outside of European places managed to enter the Europa Conference League with their League Cup win. Simone Inzaghi did not last too long in the Liverpool hot seat this season, sacked in January 2031…his replacement, Enrico Maaßen, improved the form and scrapped into the Europa League with a 7th placed finish.

France

For the first time in this save, PSG did not win the league ‘at a canter’/’petit galop’. Pep Guardiola’s men had to thank their lucky stars after dropping points on their final day of the season…only to see their bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille do exactly the same at home to OGC Nice. PSG win the league on goal difference, and by just the one goal too! The Qatari owners also seem to continue their frugality by operating a sell-to-buy policy. €300m was made in transfer sales, whilst €200m was invested back into the squad. Raheem Sterling’s Parisian stay was limited to 12 months in the end, as he became a Summer Deadline Day signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Germany

In Germany, Thomas Tuchel wins back-to-back Bundesliga titles for his Bayern Munich side and added a DFB-Pokal win to his name. A disappointing Champions League Play-Off exit against AC Milan will add some pressure though. One other noteworthy item is the Bavarian side raising almost €60m in loan fees for the season, an incredible period of business management from new Director of Football Pablo Longoria.

Italy

Inter’s 96 point haul sees them win the Scudetto, the highest points tally of the save so far. There was no success in the Champions League, going out on penalties against Manchester United in the Last 16. So, there was no record 5th title for AC Milan in the end; and like Inter they also crashed out of the Champions League to Spanish Superclub Real Madrid. Juventus make do with a Coppa Italia win and a 4th placed finish.

Spain

Real Madrid’s Jürgen Klopp celebrated his seventh year in charge with a 4th career La Liga title, amassing a cool 100 point season in the process. However, it was 2nd place Barcelona who were their cup nemesis this season. The Catalans knocked out Madrid in the Semi Final stage of both the Lana Del Rey (and went on to win it) and the Champions League. 34-year-old Dutch legendary midfielder Frenkie de Jong had his best ever season too: 18 goals and 12 assists (all comps). But it wasn’t enough in the Champions League, as de Jong’s Barca was beaten on penalties by Arsenal after drawing 1-1. After a little dip in this save, Atlético de Madrid go three seasons on the bounce and qualify for the Champions League with a 3rd placed finish.

That’s the 8th season of this FM save universe summarised for your reading pleasure. Tl;dr…Three drab 4th place finishes in a row and a Champions League Semi so far for Juventus, I’ll await my invitation to next year’s FIFA e-sport comp 😀

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - Old Lady dancing to the rhythm #FM24

Previously on SuperClub Diaries, Juventus became the third club of this save.

 
 

Intro

My interest in a save usually takes a dip as Newgens enter the game universe. I see some odd attribute combinations, like the near-perfect 201cm Target Forward who cannot head the ball or the midfield general who has all the fibra…except for 9 Aggression. Their faces too are often a reason to wince at the screen, why are they covered in mud? But…you reach a point in a save where the Newgens take over and you accept the new generation for what they are. It is then when my interest creeps back up again. I get attached to the odd few Newgens, their attributes begin to correlate, their faces begin to…nah they’re still shit.

It’s at this point where I now find myself in FM24. I’m over my Newgen mountain, and I can now see the plateau of sexiness that they bring. Welcome to Turin, the year is 2030…

2030 Champions League

Save updates in SuperClub Diaries are intentionally brief, only the UEFA Champions League matters in this save. Right from the off in season 2029/30, things looked bleak after two opening home defeats in the League Phase. I therefore never expected to come back from that and grab 5 wins from the remaining six games to secure a top eight position! Avoiding the Play-Off place is essential in my opinion, I just hate how it’s sandwiched so close to the Last 16 ties and really disrupts the domestic flow. To draw my previous SuperClub Diaries club Liverpool in the Last 16 was a really good test for my fledgling Juve side. We answered the test, 3-2 away at Anfield…boom. De Zerbi’s Bayern were next up in the QFs, and beating him in two legs meant the Bayern Board ditched him at the end of the season 😎

I felt I had the right side of the draw for the Semi, avoiding the riches of English sides Chelsea and Man City. A nice 2-0 home win against Lens meant I had one foot in the 2030 UCL Final…but then a disastrous opening 12 mins away in France undid all of that good work. My side regrouped in the 2nd half, Dušan Vlahovic had a couple of good chances and he really should have done better. But FM is a cruel game. Up came Kevin Danso in the 88 minute to slap his meat head on the end of a corner delivery. My Juve side were ‘nearly finalists’ in 2030.

80 in-game days ago I really fucked up

My Rebuild (aka manage a team, sell some players, buy some others)

Despite the UCL heartache, I once again secured Champions League football for next season. A 4th place finish shows that I am still some way off domestic honours, where we once again saw AC Milan romp to the title. Yet, I’m optimistic. I’m saying goodbye to the old guard: Angeliño, Federico Chiesa, Federico Gatti, Moise Kean, Nordi Mukiele and Benji Pavard all leave on Free Transfers. This frees up a sizeable chunk of salary to secure some youngsters on long term deals and also go and get a couple of exciting talents.

I’m not going to screencap every Newgen I am signing in this save, because my name is not Dan Gear. However, generational talents will be shared…and I believe Kağan Köksal is a good example of a generational talent. Just look at him ffs. At 18 years of age, he’s a mentally strong defender with attributes nearing an elite standard of Inverted Full Back already. He was my No.1 target in this Transfer Window, and the €24m release clause in his Galatasaray made it all the sweeter. Europe couldn’t bid either, something Dan and I have discussed before in private Q&A together…AI clubs are unwilling to make offers when the window is closed. Bully for me, but a bit of a Human Manager hackz.

 
 

Europe unwilling

Kağan Köksal slots into the side as the right sided Inverted Full-Back, and I’m sure he is going to be great. The IFB role just seems to allow everything else to flourish through Positional Play. Our starting shape is a 4231, but in possession we are a back three with good numbers in attack. The below tactic has Juventus playing at a good rhythm, and I think a full season with this 4231 could see us win trophies next season…

England

English superclubs had to once again see Arsenal win a third straight league title. There was some success in Manchester though: Man City made a Champions League final before being beaten 2-1 by surprise package Lens and Manchester United beat Fiorentina 4-0 in the Europa League final. Luckily for Chelsea, a 5th placed finish is enough for them to get Champions League football…but Liverpool are the English superclub to miss out on European football entirely with a 7th placed finish. Their infatuation of Italian Managers shows no signs of stopping either, with Alessio Dionisi sacked…Liverpool now appoint Simone Inzaghi for the 2030/31 season. Inzaghi will be their 4th Italian Manager appointment in a row!

France

PSG’s Pep Guardiola consulted the TimeHop App and signed a 35-year-old Raheem Sterling from Chelsea for €20m. However, it was Chelsea who were their undoing in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League. The Parisians make do with a domestic double once again, but there is now a growing sense of acceptance with how things are going. This is best demonstrated with the Qatari owners scaling back funding for the second year in a row.

Germany

in Germany, Bayern Munich continue to be ambitious…the Bundesliga win of 2030 is not enough to keep Roberto De Zerbi in the job. The Bavarians made a Quarter Final exit in the Champions League against Juventus, so their response is to re-appoint Thomas Tuchel. The man responsible for their 2023/24 in-game Champions League triumph.

Italy

30-year-old Dušan Vlahovic retires from International football after scoring 50 goals for the Serbian National Team. When the Serbian press asked him why, he simply stated: “So I can solely focus on wining something for the handsome guy in the Juve dugout”. That may take some doing for Juventus, who once again finish 4th and 19 points behind league winners AC Milan. Stefano Pioli has now officially reached ‘Legend’ status at I Rossoneri with a club record breaking fourth title in a row. Cross-city rivals, Inter, make do with a 3rd place finish.

Spain

Just like last year, Barcelona splash €260m cash in a bid to rival Real Madrid. Youssoufa Moukoko is the big January signing for €100m, who failed to live up the hype and who still has not scored a goal for the second placed Catalan side. Real Madrid win La Liga, with cross-city rivals Atlético de Madrid in 3rd. None of the Spanish superclubs make waves in the Champions League.

The longest run at a club so far in this save is with PSG (three seasons). But, I think Juventus and me may break that as I enter my second full season at the club. The UCL remains the target, but I am looking forward to seeing if I can topple this Milan juggernaut off from the summit of Serie A. If Vlahovic is true to his word and Köksal can settle well, we may just do it 🤞🏻

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - 100 Club #FM24

Previously on SuperClub Diaries, we did it™.

 
 

Intro

I spent an excessive amount of time as to whether this post belonged in the ‘Volume 2’ or ‘Volume 3’ collection of posts. Alas, I’ve positioned it with my new club but referenced the title (100 Club) to my previous employers: Liverpool.

In total, I managed 100 games for Liverpool. Winners of the Champions League against PSG in 2028 and a Supercup triumph the following season in a local-ish derby against Leeds United. Even though the two 2nd placed league finishes had me wanting more, overall I think my time at Liverpool has been a success. However I’m holding myself to high standards this year in FM24 SuperClub Diaries. The start of the third season had not really hit the heights previously, and with a 10 point gap already established in December 2028 between myself and league leaders Arsenal (and a 3-0 drubbing against the vengeful PSG in the Champions League)…it was time to resign.

High standards from me as the player of the video game, I might add. The virtual Board still deemed my status as ‘secure’, despite my 100th game ending in defeat away at Chelsea. It was time to leave for pastures new.

Where did it go [a bit] wrong?

Before anybody cyber bullies me online, I want to be clear that I managed 69 Liverpool games more than Roy Hodgson did at Liverpool. That’s got to count for something. But if I had to place the reasons for my struggles in season 3 with Liverpool, I would say it was the finances. This is pretty laughable considering I am in one of the richest leagues in the world, but for the first time in this save I had to be more transfer fee conscious. Instead of BIG signings like the Alexander Isak and João Neves deals that came before this season, I had to ‘make do’ with a combined €42m spend for Target Forward Toluwalase Arokodare and Centre-Back Willian Pacho. They’re decent players, but perhaps not the elite I am used to in this save. The results between August and October were mixed, but it was November where my mind was made up. I left Liverpool in 7th in the league, still with a decent shot at a top 8 placing in the revised Champions League league phase, but desperately adrift of mounting a serious title challenge.

Honestly, cancel the save if you lose 0-3 to Tottenham tbqfh 🤮


Old Lady Calling

Damn, perhaps that would have been a better title than ‘100 Club’. Anyway, it’s the Old Lady’s open and vacant position that was the most attractive place for me to thrust myself back into football management. Juventus had not won a Serie A for ages, and financially have to be a bit prudent now the AI has mismanaged their finances into near ruin. This is a different challenge to what’s come before it in SuperClub Diaries, but I feel ready. I was Juventus’ Christmas present, arriving a week or so before the festivities and also the revised Italian Supercup (which now has four teams…showing me it’s a long time since I’ve been in FM Italy).

Here is a list of all major honours Juventus have won in the previous five seasons within this FM24 Universe:

 

Nothing. They’ve won nothing.

 

From the onset, my tactical identity for Juventus is calcio-based. I want to use a Libero, mainly because the role got such an overhaul in FM24’s development cycle, and also wanted to make good use of some good press-hungry attacking left wing backs (Defensive Winger). I have solid workhorses in central midfield (Defensive Midfielder and Segundo Volante), who look like ‘jacks of all trade’ and I have some nice flair in the No.10 slots (Attacking Midfielder). I am therefore going to set up in a lop-sided 433. The sole striker, with a No.10 and attacking Inside Forward running in behind him, drops which suits the style of 29-year-old Dušan Vlahović who remains at the club. In possession is becomes a 3-2-4-1 / 3-2-5.

Through the process of trial-and-error, the below tactic is the one that I ended up using for the remainder of the 2028/29 season. My impact on results is not as drastic as some rebuild jobs elsewhere in the FM Community. I arrived with Juventus in 5th position in the league…and we ‘only’ secured 4th (and thus UCL qualification) on the final day of the season. I also decided to not use the January Transfer Window too, instead opting to see what the squad could do. Give everybody a chance and I may be surprised, I thought. That mindset was tested with Bayern’s €80m bid for Matías Soulé, but the decision was vindicated with the Inside Forward’s end of season form (3 goals and 3 assists in those final four wins to secure 4th). At the age of 26-years-old, the Argentine is definitely somebody to build around…

2029 Champions League

The AI had already humiliated Juventus in the 2029 edition of the UCL, with no win in the first three rounds of fixtures in the league phase. This also included a 7-1 defeat against Barcelona. But the ship was eventually steadied, and I can take the credit for a credible draw Vs Manchester United at home before four points from matches against Ajax and Leeds.

An 18th placed finish meant a nervy Play Off draw, but I luckily avoided the likes of Arsenal, Dortmund and Real Madrid and instead bested Leverkusen 5-3 on aggregate. Barcelona were a step up from that though, we should have beaten them at home…but there was only one side deserving of going through after that second leg and it wasn’t Juventus. If I could go back and do things differently, I’d have chosen to try and mark Lamine Yamal out of the game…perhaps dropping my Defensive Winger to Wing Back and doubling up on him with my Wide Centre-Back. Hat-trick man Yamal was simply in too much space, and a constant thorn in our side throughout the 90 minutes.

The UCL Challenge

Selling to buy is going to be a necessity here at Juventus. The club’s finances remain in the red (€-55m) after the conclusion of the 2028/29 season, so any SuperClub Diaries success in the UCL may take a little longer that it did with PSG and Liverpool. But luckily, now that I am 5-6 years into FM24, it’s officially Newgen season. I will aim to adopt a transfer policy where I favour the recruitment of sub-25 year olds. But before I do that, let me have a little fun with Benjamin Pavard on a Bosman; who returns to Italian football after a season away in Manchester.

New Libero, quite a famous player.

England

Liverpool drop out of next year’s Champions League with a disappointing 5th place finish. New Italian Manager Alessio Dionisi has a lot of work to do to convince Liverpool fans he is the man, after €40m January signing Arsen Zakharyan failed to live up to the hype with just 1 starting appearance. Antonio Conte’s Manchester City win the FA Cup and finish in a credible 3rd placed league finish, after missing out on Champions League football last season. City almost qualified outright by winning the Europa League, but painfully lost on penalties to fellow SuperClub Atlético de Madrid. Chelsea finish in 4th, but continue to splash the cash with a €101m fee paid to Benfica for João Veloso. It’s perhaps Manchester United that have the most interesting season: a disappointing 7th placed league finish means they scrape into the Europa League. But Eddie Howe’s side have a magical Champions League run to the final beating Real Madrid, Tottenham and Barcelona before facing Premier League winners Arsenal. The match in the drizzly Stade de France was a bit of a damp squib, 0-0 AET before Aaron Ramsdale saved Valentín Barco sudden death penalty to see Arsenal win their first ever UCL title (and to do it on the pitch they lost the 2006 final on is extra special too).

France

PSG’s Kylian Mbappé won his 12th Ligue 1 title, as he entered his 30s as the top scorer in France once again. Pep Guardiola is shown up in the Champions League for another season, losing to eventual winner Arsenal in the Last 16 stage. Will the Qatari owners continue to patient with the Spaniard’s lack of pedigree in the UCL with the Paris club?

Germany

The Harry Kane era is over in Munich. The English striker leaves Bayern for Al-Nassr Football Club, who I am led to believe play in Saudi Arabia. It doesn’t stop the sexy Fußball flowing tough, Bayern romp once again to the Bundesliga title and seem to have Roberto De Zerbi getting the best out of Jamal Musiala; who is winning a lot of personal accolades this season.

Italy

Juventus have to wait until the final day of the season to secure Champions League football with.a 4th place finish. The two Milanese Super Clubs finish higher in Serie A: Inter in 3rd, who juggled the budget well to make credible loan signings in Brahim Díaz from Real Madrid and Ismaël Bennacer from cross-city rivals AC Milan. I Rossoneri will not mind too much though, a third Serie A title in a row matching the iconic Milan side of the early 90s.

Spain

The 2028/29 season ends with Barcelona in 1st and Real Madrid in 2nd, the same outcome as the two previous seasons too. Xavi is still rocking the 433 with good effect in Catalonia, and new signings Gabriel (€69 from Arsenal), Matteo Ruggeri (€52 from Man City) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (€59m from PSG) slot right into the 1st team nicely. There is some improvement for Real Madrid’s Jürgen Klopp though, instead of the 21 point gap between their arch rivals last year…it was only 3 points this time around. Will this be enough to keep the German in post? Kudos to the often forgotten Super Club in Spain: Atlético de Madrid. The Colchoneros surprised everybody in the Europa League this year and beat Manchester City on penalties. After a three year absence from the Champions League, Atléti will once again mix with the big boys in the 2029/30 edition.

Season 6 was a whirlwind. From Liverpool to Turin, there now appears to be a newly found purpose to the save: use Juventus’ resources strategically and get them back alongside the European elite and competing for Champions League honours. Whilst La Liga or the Bundesliga could have been an attractive onward move from Liverpool, the challenge within a competitive Serie A, and all the nostalgia ‘Calcio’ brings, is what I think I needed to breathe new life into the save.

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.2) - Isak Success #FM24

 
 

Intro

I had previously decided that consecutive trophyless seasons could not be tolerated in this SuperClub Diaries save. If it were to happen, I’d have to walk out of any contract I was currently on. With 2026/27 ending up my first season without silverware, the pressure was therefore amplified at Liverpool. I needed to win something, and being outclassed in Europe so convincingly last time out by Barcelona meant that I did not have much hope for Liverpool’s 7th European Cup. Despite a clear style to our play (as discussed last time out), we seemed a long way from ever being considered ‘the best team in Europe’.

Or so I thought…

SuperSignings

Similar to last year, the big signings at Liverpool came in a three: Aaron Hickey became the heir to Andrew Robertson’s left back position for a cool €69m. It may seem pricey, but consider his natural positioning at right back too…I have a great full back here who will get plenty of minutes. Next up is the big one: Alexander Isak for a monstrous €120m fee, with Caoimhin Kelleher going the other way to Tyneside too. The fee could also increase by €15m, with performance add-ons. Liverpool’s new iconic No.7 is there to excite at the peak of his powers. It is the most I have ever spent on a player in a Football Manager save, but the decision to hit ‘Confirm’ is a throwback to my motivations for this save. As mentioned in the introduction of this series…

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.
Vol1. SuperClub Diaries Announcement

Sorry if this signing makes you uneasy, but perhaps the signing of Edoardo Bove for a minimum fee release clause of €22.5m helps calm you down? Bove is a solid Segundo Volante (great engine), proven professional (Model Citizen) and has his best years ahead (26-years-old).

2028 Champions League

The new signings slotted into a revised 424 counter style tactic, and the UCL performances were a lot better. Keen to avoid the play-off match like last year, we grabbed enough wins to qualify for the Round of 16. The only worry was the heavy defeat to Jürgen Klopp’s Real Madrid, but on reflection they totally deserved to batter us. Into UCL knockout football and it must be noted how solid we were. Both Endrick and Isak came alive, with the latter scoring in both Barcelona ties to finish on 6 UCL goals for the season.

Sadly Endrick missed the final, breaking a rib in the final few minutes away in the Nou Camp. But the final was all about MOTM Ibrahima Konaté heading in two Dominik Szoboszlai out-swinging corners. It’s hard to know what contributed more to the big day Vs PSG, the extra sessions on set pieces OR the fact that pretty much everybody in the starting XI had ‘Relishes Big Matches’ or ‘Enjoys Big Matches’ in their coach reports. Liverpool 2028 looked to be one for the big game, and so it proved…keeping Pep Guardiola’s PSG quiet; despite my former side having the lion’s share of possession (64%).

Liverpool’s 7th UCL trophy (and my second in the save) was a welcome high point in an almost-trophyless-season. Once again, my side finished 2nd in the league (this time to Arsenal with 3 points between the teams). The big failing was not how we performed against the big boys, but rather anybody playing in claret and blue. We lost to Aston Villa (home and away), Burnley and West Ham. This is a sure sign that in order to win the league I perhaps need to move away from a 424 counter tactic in those games and have something more active in the opponents’ halves.

There was also pain the in the domestic cups too. Penalty exits in both the League Cup (against Tottenham in the Quarter Finals) and then in the FA Cup Final (against Manchester City). It was so nearly a treble or quadruple season 😬

England

Twenty four years is how long Arsenal had to wait for a league title, and once again it’s a Frenchman at the helm: Zinedine Zidane. Liverpool come second, but have a Champions League trophy to placate the disappointment of narrowly missing out on both league and FA Cup success. Manchester City were the FA Cup winners this time round, but disappointingly spent the second successive season outside of the Champions League places with a 6th placed finish. As a result, Mauricio Pochettino’s 322 days in charge are over. Other SuperClubs in England, Chelsea and Manchester United, go trophyless.

France

There is no surprise as to who won the Ligue 1 trophy for a 7th time: Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians went big on 22-year-old Luka Vrbančić (a €104m signing from Dinamo Zagreb), who is arguably one of the most attractive redheads since Isla Fisher and Ted Redwood. Their season would end in relative failure though: the aforementioned 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in Austria.

Germany

The irresistible midfield combination of Jamal Musiala and Xavi Simons (34 goals between them in 2027/28) was enough to see Bayern Munich retain the Bundesliga again with 86 points (the same total points as last year). The Bavarians topped the League Phase of the UCL too, but fell to Liverpool 0-1 on aggregate at the Quarter Final stage. Roberto de Zerbi’s cup agony continued with a 0-1 defeat to Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal.

Italy

AC Milan retained Serie A, but did so without having a player score more than 11 goals in the league. I Rossoneri had the luxury of 18 different goalscorers in the league over 2027/28, Stefano Pioli’s side clearly showing they were not reliant on just one, two or three men. Other Italian SuperClubs, Juventus and Inter Milan, finish 2nd and 5th respectively. With all three Italian sides once again failing to impress on the continental stage, with the Old Lady’s Quarter Final exit being the furthest anybody went in Europe.

Spain

102 points meant Barcelona were crowned champions once again in Spain, and doubled the domestic success with a 4-1 Copa del Rey win Vs Atlético de Madrid. The Madrid team became the first SuperClub side to fall out of Europe competition last season, and they only just redeemed themselves this season with a 6th place finish to qualify for the Europa League. City rivals Real Madrid went trophyless, meaning that the pressure is back on Manager Jürgen Klopp (despite a previous UCL win in 2027)…a 21 point difference between arch-rivals Barcelona in La Liga cannot be accepted!

Save On Hold 📴

I have enjoyed these five seasons of SuperClub Diaries on FM24. However, I’m going to pause playing (and therefore creating content around the game) for an extended period of time. There’s a lot going on in my personal life right now and, more importantly, I need to properly say goodbye to somebody (and spend time with them) who isn’t going to get better in 2024…and I can tell from the length of time I got this post out, that I’m just not ‘in the zone’ to be FM’ing and writing about it right now in March 2024.

The good thing about this save is that it’s there for me to come back to: another season with Liverpool to see if I can retain the UCL, with a close eye on another SuperClub opportunity opening up elsewhere? It sounds exciting, and certainly enough to lure me back, when the time is right. Maybe it’s something for later this Summer, or as a save loaded into FM25. So, this isn’t a big goodbye/”I am leaving the community” etc, I will write about FM again…just not for a little while.

Thanks again for taking the time to read, previous sharing and caring. Look after yourselves.

Tony / FM Grasshopper