Football Manager 2023 – Genoa CFC

Deciding on a Football Manager save is usually not an easy process, especially considering the number of teams available to manage ‘out of the box’. Though, I think it should be straight from today’s download…. However, for me, this year was not a big challenge. I’ve missed it football the life I experienced in my life AC Milan saves again in Football Manager 2020so I took a quick look at Serie A and B and quickly realized that it was Genoa CFC who were the most prominent option for me.

Why? During the summer months, I can be found on Saturdays playing cricket for my local team, so the history of the club’s cricket is of interest to me. Likewise, the club was relegated to Serie B last season, so there are efforts to rebuild the team. There’s also financial disaster on the horizon – Serie B prize money is only available to those promoted to Serie A, and even then it’s only £2.15 million. The TV prize money is equally small. Coupled with still paying the salaries of a number of players at Serie A level (and Serie A salaries heading towards the top of the league), there is a need to monitor finances carefully during this rescue even if I manage to gain quick promotion back to Serie A. For the record, the media put us 1/10 ahead, so no pressure there. The club also has debts of £45.5m that need to be paid back, by 2039, at a rate of £215k/month, around £2.58m/year. There are cash prizes and more for achieving any promotion.

To help me track financial progress, I will use the same Football Manager Finance Spreadsheet (FMFS™), which I created and wrote for Football Manager 2022 (see graphic below (click image for enlarged view)). Hopefully, using this to determine whether I should look to move players around to use their amortized value based on their remaining book value against incoming transfer offers, and looking at the players who aren’t earning on exorbitant contracts, I’ll be able to do that first. minimizing the downside, and then using it to inform my decision making regarding how much I can actually afford to spend, regardless of the transfer budget given to me by the club board.

Talking about the club’s board, the owner of Genoa CFC is 777 Partners, an American investment company. This has strong similarities to the reasons I chose to undertake the aforementioned rescue of AC Milan, which until recently was owned by Elliott Management, before being bought by RedBird. 777 Partners, in addition to full ownership of Genoa, owns a small stake in Sevilla, has full control of Paris-based Red Star FC (Championnat National team), Standard Liège in Belgium, and a 70% stake in Vasco de Gama in Brazil. Genoa is the latest club to be added to the rankings, bought in September 2021, but considering they were relegated last season, it’s fair to say that things haven’t gone to plan for 777 Partners. I would take advantage of the connections between the clubs – Standard Liège are already affiliated, with the ability for Genoa players to be loaned there. The other clubs are not currently connected directly through affiliates, so I will look to agree deals with these teams whenever possible during 777 Partners’ ownership. If 777 Partners exits and there is a takeover that is not a board takeover, I will likely terminate this agreement. However, agreeing to more affiliates might be a little tricky as the club already has over forty affiliates (yes, you read that right).

The club’s board also hopes for a quick return to Serie A, although they only hope for promotion rather than winning Serie B. Other goals of the board include recruiting players to sell for a profit, recruiting young players to develop and sell for a profit, and to work for a return to Serie A. in the wage budget. All great goals. For the supporters, they demand football with high pressure and solid defense. Again, this suited my management style, although I might have wanted to improve possession a bit given our dominance in Serie B. Having only won four games and scored just twenty-seven goals all season in a relegation year, there needed to be a change in mentality and approach.

What is most interesting about this metaphor is that one of Genoa CFC’s managers early in its existence was a fellow North West Englishman – William Garbutt. He immigrated to Genoa to find work as a docker, after being forced to retire from his playing career due to injury. He implemented a revolutionary training scheme, worked on player fitness, and concentrated on tactics, so that Genoa transitioned from a semi-amateur team to an all-conquering team, winning three championships in fifteen years. The clincher is that Garbutt died in Warwick, not too far from where I live, and not much of a coat of arms. He’s the original Sir for the Genoese, the father of Italian soccer, and a man who believed that training with the ball was a must to develop players, according to the book “Sir: The Men Who Gave the World Gaming”by Rory Smith. I hope to be the newest one Sir and join these luminaries by applying my own style, while remaining true to the masters of the past, including in modern training methods.

I would like to be able to judge this history fairly and return the team to Serie A, before pegging them into the top ten. This may be a little different to recent saves, although there are similarities, thanks in part to the new recruitment model in Football Manager 2023. For the most part, my intention was to set/adjust the recruitment strategy/focus, and then get out. my scout was alone. There is an expectation to sign players from lower leagues, which tends not to fit my player acquisition model because, usually, they are rubbish. What I hope is the reality here is that they want to continue the number of players they have in the youth team. Likewise, there is the hope of signing big-name players – a clash of aims if I’ve ever heard one. So much for working within a wage budget.

An additional advantage of choosing Genoa is my good Football Manager friend, FM Stagealready chosen Sampdoria as his team for his ultimate save. Therefore, at the end of each in-game year, we will play our own year Lantern Derby against each other to build a little extra interest in our rescue. This has of course made me think carefully about how to recruit and retain players. Given the quality of our respective squads, I expect to suffer heavy defeats until I am able to establish Genoa as a force in Serie A. Therefore, I will give up on Stag if he is able to work his magic and reach European football. early on in his rescue with the financial power that would be unlocked. I just hope the Stags don’t experience the same thing as Sampdoria in real life.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy this introduction when I return football – and until next time, Until we meet again!