It's that time of year again when the latest sports games are released. Sports Interactive are back with their latest entry in the long-running Football Manager series. The critically acclaimed management franchise has provided many players with hundreds and hundreds of hours of entertainment over the years, as players look to bring silverware to their favorite side.
Bringing silverware to their favorite team is what most players enjoy doing in Football Manager, and it can be a very rewarding accomplishment to do so. However, there are a handful of fan challenges that players may choose to try if they want to test themselves by taking on some of this year's most difficult tasks.
6 Start The Game Unemployed
As is the case in every iteration of the Football Manager series, starting the game unemployed provides the series' quintessential challenge. The manager will start the game will little more than a CV and high hopes as they begin their journey into management at the bottom of the management pyramid.
To crank the challenge up even further, the manager can start the game without any coaching badges and with only Sunday league experience from their previous playing career. There is no one aim for this fan challenge, though it's safe to say that winning a league title in a top division would be an incredible achievement from humble beginnings.
5 Take A Team From The Vanarama North/South League To The Premier League
This challenge may seem very similar to Start The Game Unemployed, though there are some significant differences. For starters, players must stick with the same team. Thus, unlike the unemployed route, players can't accept any job offers, regardless of how significant of a step up it is. This makes rising through the ranks significantly harder, as the unemployed route can often see managers jump up a division if the right offer comes along.
Furthermore, players will need to have a greater say in the overall running of the club if they want it to have any chance of competing with teams in higher divisions. The club's finances, training facilities, stadium, and many other factors will need to be handled by the manager, as their tactics and transfers alone won't be enough.
4 Don't Sign Anyone Over 18
Many Football Manager fans are infamous for constantly trying to sign the next big thing, even if it means making bizarre decisions like selling one of their best players. This obsession with securing the next Messi or Ronaldo can often lead nowhere, but when players find a diamond in the rough and watch them go on to become a club legend, it can be one of the Football Manager series' most rewarding feelings.
This fan challenge focuses on exactly that. As the name suggests, it tasks players with only signing players who are 18 and under. The challenge will make the first handful of seasons very difficult, but with the right development plans in place, the youngsters can eventually lead a team to glory.
3 Rebuild Barcelona
Everyone involved in the sport knew that the eventual departure of Lionel Messi would hit Barcelona hard. However, few people, even Messi for that matter, were expecting the departure to happen so abruptly. As such, few expected Barcelona's subsequent rebuild to look so daunting.
Messi was reportedly happy to stay at Barcelona, and had agreed on a contract with the side. However, largely due to the club's whopping $1.6b debt, the deal couldn't be completed. Messi's departure, along with Barcelona's steady decline in recent years, has left the club in dire need of a rebuild. Thus, the goal of the Rebuild Barcelona challenge is clear: take charge of the side and bring them back to their days as a trophy magnet.
2 Get Derby County Back To The Premier League
Unfortunately, Derby County are currently in the midst of a dreadful financial situation. The club's future is filled with questions marks, while some people fear that the club may not have a future at all. To make matters worse, the Championship club has recently been deducted 12 points for entering administration, making relegation a high possibility.
Like with the aforementioned Rebuild Barcelona challenge, the real-life troubles of Derby County provide an obvious challenge for Football Manager players. Gamers must drag them back up to the Premier League, and do everything to keep them there in hopes of fixing their financial situation.
1 Let The Director Of Football Make The Signings
For many people, the opening of a transfer window is the most exciting time of a season in Football Manager. It allows the manager to sign new players, who may be essential to implementing a new tactic or the final piece of the puzzle that will kick start a winning streak.
Consequently, for many players, the idea of letting the Director of Football make all of their team's transfer decisions may feel like handing over their child to a stranger. This is the beauty of the challenge, though, as it forces players to rely on their tactical skills, development and training regime, and overall adaptability. Moreover, a Director of Football choosing a team's signings is common in real life. So, whether they want to believe it or not, this challenge is in fact very true to life.
Football Manager 22's beta is out now on PC. The full game is set to release on November 9th for PC, Mac, Xbox, and Mobile, while a Nintendo Switch version is currently in the works.