Football Manager 2020 - where it starts.
One of the hardest things about starting a new Football Manager game is often choosing where to start. This is the reason I've often chosen to start unemployed, apply for jobs as they come up and then see where the game takes me.
This time however, I actually have a plan. As I stated in my introduction post, I am waiting for a custom database to be released before I can actually start, due to the fact my chosen starting point is not a playable division "out of the box". However, FM has a superb modding and editing community and I know that I won't be waiting too long. Anyway, my starting point.
Fort William FC is a club based in the Western Highlands of Scotland, some 65 miles or so South West of Inverness. They play their home games at Claggan Park (pictured above, picture courtesy of Wikipedia), a ground with a capacity of 1,800 spectators, situated in the foothills of Ben Nevis, giving the ground one of the most stunning backdrops you will see anywhere within the UK.
They play in the Highland League, which together with the Lowland League makes up the fifth tier within the Scottish football pyramid.
The Fort, as they are affectionately known, have a history which can hardly be called glorious. In fact, as shown below they have never managed to finish in the top half of the Highland League and have more often than not finished rock bottom of the league in recent years. They even finished last season on a minus points total, as they were deducted points for fielding an ineligible player and the two draws they managed all season was not enough to bring them back up to zero!
| Season | Final Position | Points Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1985–86 | 12/17 | 35 |
| 1986–87 | 11/18 | 33 |
| 1987–88 | 17/18 | 21 |
| 1988–89 | 18/18 | 13 |
| 1989–90 | 13/18 | 40 |
| 1990–91 | 12/18 | 43 |
| 1991–92 | 16/18 | 28 |
| 1992–93 | 16/18 | 19 |
| 1993–94 | 16/18 | 27 |
| 1994–95 | 12/16 | 37 |
| 1995–96 | 14/16 | 26 |
| 1996–97 | 16/16 | 9 |
| 1997–98 | 15/16 | 13 |
| 1998–99 | 16/16 | 4 |
| 1999–00 | 16/16 | 8 |
| 2000–01 | 14/14 | 14 |
| 2001–02 | 13/15 | 23 |
| 2002–03 | 15/15 | 13 |
| 2003–04 | 15/15 | 13 |
| 2004–05 | 13/15 | 16 |
| 2005–06 | 15/15 | 4 |
| 2006–07 | 15/15 | 9 |
| 2007–08 | 15/15 | 3 |
| 2008–09 | 15/15 | 1 |
| 2009–10 | 17/18 | 20 |
| 2010–11 | 18/18 | 9 |
| 2011–12 | 18/18 | 7 |
| 2012–13 | 18/18 | 6 |
| 2013–14 | 18/18 | 9 |
| 2014–15 | 13/18 | 27 |
| 2015–16 | 17/18 | 16 |
| 2016–17 | 17/18 | 11 |
| 2017–18 | 18/18 | 5 |
| 2018–19 | 18/18 | -7 |
Although the town of Fort William is a popular tourist destination due to Ben Nevis (which is the highest mountain in the UK), it is quite remote. The actual population is rather small at around 10,000 people and the nearest large towns are Inverness (as previously mentioned around 65 miles away) and Perth, which is around 100 miles away. This remoteness and small population, together with the club operating on what is likely to be the smallest budget in the league, makes player recruitment very difficult.
The club was featured in a BBC documentary which aired in July 2019, simply titled "The Fort". This was filmed whilst the club was in a run of over 2 years without recording a win in a competitive match, a run of 69 games. The win came literally one day after the documentary was aired. Also featured in the film was some footage from YouTuber Loki Doki, as he recorded a series on FM19 where he took charge of the club, and as part of this actually ran a fundraiser for The Fort in which he raised £5,000.00, which is a huge windfall for a club of this size.
I actually wasn't aware of Loki Doki's series until after I had decided to try this challenge myself - but I have started watching it and recommend it to anybody interested in FM! Not only for the challenge he has undertaken, but because he himself is also very entertaining to watch.
Anyway, I settled on this is a game as I thought it would be a very interesting challenge to try and get this club competitive. It is probably the toughest challenge I will have ever attempted in a Football Manager game, especially with my own record which I'd call fair-to-middling!
This will be a challenge on two fronts. Firstly, the club and I feel I've explained that one sufficiently. Then there's the league structure itself. Although the Highland (and Lowland) League does not have any relegation, promotion into the Scottish League Two is a tall order, as there is no automatic promotion. The winners of the Highland and Lowland Leagues play each other in a two-legged playoff. The winner of that tie will then meet the team that finished bottom of League Two. If the League Two side wins over two legs, no promotion or relegation occurs. So, quite the challenge to get into the Scottish Football League!
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