IS IT THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR? Maybe, it’s up for debate, but it’s Football Manager season, baby!
We’ve all been there. The wonderful journey up the top of the leagues, from eighth-division mediocrity to Champions League glory with an unfancied side. The chucking of the laptop out of the window in frustration because your team bottled the league title by losing to the side bottom of the table. The therapy sessions and the divorces. Typical, normal human being stuff.
So, as Football Manager 2022 rolls around this week, here are teams you might want to use; we promise you we want include Newcastle United:
Newcastle United
Oh, whoops!! Well, as the saying goes, let they without any previous interest in managing a vessel of a despotic regime be the first to cast a stone. But, let’s run through it quickly, Newcastle will likely have quite a budget, and are not quite on the up yet. Thus, they’re in the sweet spot of ‘use them while it’s still cool to do so’. So, why not use them?
Barcelona
There are not many things that die-hard Football Manager fans love like reviving a fallen giant. On a personal note, a lot of Football Manager versions from 2013 to 2020 was set on Hashtag Make Leeds Great Again. But Leeds United are on the up, and on the contrary, Barcelona seem like the best sleeping giant out there, one whose fall from grace has been quite sharp and quick. There’s no Lionel Messi, and that could be a pro or con, and you have Luuk de Jong up front. But can you go back and revive La Masia and groom a young squad for domination?
Derby County
Last time out, it was Sheffield Wednesday. This time, the role of erstwhile big name now Championship team in distress is occupied by Derby County. A points deduction; that’s one. A stark inability to really bring in any new names; that’s two. Dead-cert for relegation; triple-threat. It’s arguably the hardest job out there, but by Football Manager standards, potentially the most fun.
Holstein Kiel
Holstein Kiel have been knocking on the door of the Bundesliga for a while now, and last season they came close again to a first promotion, only to be overturned by Koln in the relegation-promotion play-off. So, why not take on the task of getting the Kiel side into the German big time. The challenge is you’re in a league with fallen giants, teams that could make their way onto the list – Werder Bremen, Schalke, Nuremberg, and Hamburg, of course – but with a squad of former hotshots in Jan Fiete-Arp and Lewis Holtby, can you finally finish the job?
Werder Bremen
Speaking of Sleeping Giants in the 2. Bundesliga... Werder Bremen’s 2021 relegation from the top division has been in the works for a while, to be honest. Their descent from constant Champions League hopefuls in a decade to a team for whom relegation might be a welcome catharsis is remarkable. However, they’re a nice challenge now on Football Manager, as it is not just about getting them back up, but having them contend with the big guns once more. Plus, whatever happens in the first season, there’s a derby with Hamburg to look forward to.
Wrexham
With Hollywood names now at the helm of affairs at Wrexham, why not create a kind of fairytale that would make an Oscar-winning Adapted Screenplay. The Welsh-based side are in the fifth-tier of English football, and there’s nothing like a climb up the pyramid in Football Manager, is there?
Arsenal
Project Arteta is starting to gather some steam, but why not take the wheel and accelerate the process? The concept of celebrating no European football is always absurd, but that means a week of recovery between games as the manager of the Gunners. The squad is young, and primed for the Football Manager-esque unlikely title challenge in just the first season. Go on then.
Juventus
Last year, putting Juventus on this list would be a touch absurd. But the Bianconeri’s slump from last season is our gain. First, there’s the fact that Juve are no longer Italian champions, so regaining that title is a tasty challenge on its own. Second, and most pertinently, a certain name has left, and you have a team with a young midfield and attack, that can be moulded as you want. Throw in the eternal prospect of a first Champions League since 1996, and voila, a prospect we have.
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