The time between the Football Manager beta release and the official launch date is somewhat of a limbo period for FM players and content creators alike. The dilemma of whether to start a new save versus making a final decision on your first or main save on the full-fat version makes it difficult to get stuck into a new save adventure knowing that its life cycle is likely to be cut short upon full release date, however that burning desire to play and grow accustomed to the new game environment never seems to cease year-on-year. We wouldn’t have it any other way, right?
To get you through this wonderfully difficult time, here are 5 clubs to revive in FM22 whom collectively struggled in their respective leagues season and therefore make for an excellent save either as a one-season beta challenge or an even longer-term venture if things go well and you find yourself yearning to keep hitting that Continue button beyond Season 1 at the helm.
1. Arsenal
2020/2021 Final Position: 8th (25 points behind winners)
Last 5 seasons: 5th, 6th, 5th, 8th, 8th
Media Prediction: 7th
Biggest Summer Signing: Ben White - £50m
In need of: a Goalscorer
Transfer Budget: £10m
Things just haven’t gone according to plan under Mikel Arteta. Injuries haven’t helped, and the club’s clear intent on signing younger players combined with underperformances from many of their key personnel have put them considerably behind the likes of Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Man Utd whom not so long ago were considered rivals and even inferior to the Gunners during their best years under Arsene Wenger. Nowadays they find themselves failing to qualify for Europe however with the quality and potential of the likes of Kieran Tierney, Emile Smyth-Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, surely we can do better right?
2. Valencia
2020/2021 Final Position: 13th (43 points behind winners)
Last 5 seasons: 12th, 4th, 4th, 9th, 13th
Media Prediction: 7th
Biggest Summer Signing: Marcos André - £7.25m
In need of: a #10
Transfer Budget: £1.71m
43 points. 43 points behind La Liga winners Atletico Madrid last season. Definite underachievers considering the squad they have. Jasper Cilessen, Mouctar Diakhaby, José Gaya, Thierry Correia, Carlos Soler, Yunus Musah, Goncalo Guedes, Maxi Gomez. This squad has everything you need to spark a massive revival in Spain especially with the recent downfall of Barcelona and if you can keep hold of these players and conduct some shrewd business in the transfer windows, life at the Mestalla Stadium will start to become a whole lot more interesting for a club that just 20 years ago competed in back-to-back Champions League finals. Better times to come at Valencia, the time is now.
3. Fiorentina
2020/2021 Final Position: 13th (51 points behind winners)
Last 5 seasons: 8th, 8th, 16th, 10th, 13th
Media Prediction: 8th
Biggest Summer Signing: Nicolás González - £19.75m
In need of: Wingers
Transfer Budget: £7.25m
Fiorentina. Gabriel Batistuta, Ariel Ortega, Francesco Toldo, Rui Costa. Yes, that Fiorentina. Despite having one of the most in-form bagsmen in European football (Dusan Vlahovic - 21 goals last season), I Viola have struggled massively in recent years and since losing Federico Chiesa to Juventus they have lacked that star quality or gamechanger to help ignite their season. Despite that there is still a strong spine to this side - Drągowski in goal has great potential at just 23; @5StarPod favourite Nikola Milenković is a giant at the back while @FMDoop’s mancrush Gaetano Castrovilli is nothing short of a baller in midfield - add loan signings Álvaro Odriozola and Lucas Torreira and you have quite a decent squad on your hands. Florence is lovely at this time of year 🔥.
4. Feyenoord
2020/2021 Final Position: 5th (29 points behind winners)
Last 5 seasons: 1st, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 5th
Media Prediction: 3rd
Biggest Summer Signing: Alireza Jahanbakhsh - £4.3m
In need of: Strikers
Transfer Budget: £425k
Firstly if you haven’t yet watched the “That One Word - Feyenoord” documentary yet then I’d highly recommend adding it to your watchlist for immediate viewing, it’s an excellent production. You might think 5th place isn’t too bad a finish for a team like Feyenoord, however considering they were league winners just 5 seasons back and that they found themselves almost 30 points behind eventual winners Ajax (not to mention finishing behind Vitesse), the gulf is wider than ever and there is much to do at Feyenoord especially considering they have lost both their main goalscorers in Steven Berghuis and Nicolai Jorgensen this summer without any ready-made replacements coming in. In Goalkeeper Justin Bijlow and Centre-Half Marcos Senesi, the foundations are there to be built upon however competing with the likes of Ajax, PSV and AZ will be again be a big ask this season.
5. Schalke
2020/2021 Final Position: 18th (62 points behind winners)
Last 5 seasons: 10th, 2nd, 14th, 12th, 18th
Media Prediction: 2nd
Biggest Summer Signing: Marius Bülter (€800k)
In need of: Strikers
Transfer Budget: £0
The epitomy of disappointment in 2021. When most of us think of Schalke, we think of Leroy Sané, Mezut Ozil, Leon Goretzka, Manuel Neuer, Ilkay Gundogan - the list goes on and it’s incredible to think that a team who finished 2nd in the Bundesliga just 4 years ago have now been relegated after a horrendous campaign last season. While they have retained a few key players in the likes of Ralf Fahrmann and Salif Sané, the departures of Suat Serdar, Sebastian Rudy, Matija Nastasic and Matthew Hoppe will be felt hard and a big challenge lies ahead this season with the continued increase in quality and pedigree of Bundesliga 2 in Germany.
There you have it - 5 teams that are desperately in need of a revival this year after a poor showing last time out. The current economic climate in football (which seems to be reflected in FM22) will make it even more challenging to claw these teams back to compete among the heavyweights of their respective leagues, however as FM saves go isn’t that exactly what you are looking for? Let us know how you get on in the comments below, on Twitter (@5StarPod) or Instagram (@5StarPod).
Enjoy the beta.
