The Leftist Football Manager
A Football Manager Career by Arden Patoot
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Arden Patoot
The Leftist Football Manager
The Concept
The primary goal of this save is to win the top 5 European Leagues with clubs known for having leftist or left-leaning fan-bases. To add an additional challenge I will be trying to institute a club culture at each save that prioritizes determination, teamwork, and work rate. Additionally, my teams will avoid signing players who previously played at traditionally right-wing clubs and favor players who previously played at left-wing clubs.
The Clubs
Since I can only specifically pick my first team, I'll have a couple options in the other countries that I could choose, but I'll highlight which clubs I would prefer if given multiple options. My priority will be the top 5 leagues, but I'll also list other clubs around the world that I may prioritize acquiring players from or creating affiliations with. I came up with list just by google searching which came up with a few articles and a reddit post, so hopefully these classifications are generally accurate.
Germany - FC Saint Pauli (Starting here)
France
Spain
Italy
England
Other - Europe
Other - Americas
The Enemies
These are the clubs that we will look to avoid signing players from, and will certainly try extra hard to beat if we ever come up against them. Again, this list was curated via google search so hopefully it is accurate….
Italy
Russia
Spain
France
Other
Going Forward
I intend to start this save as soon as the full release of FM23 comes out. I'll start with a preview post for FC Saint Pauli and then I'll probably do a write-up for every season that I play. I'm mostly doing this just for myself, but if anyone else enjoys the concept or reading about it then that's great too!
Arden Patoot
FC Saint Pauli
About
FC Saint Pauli are a professional team based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, Germany. They currently play in the second tier, 2. Bundesliga and last played in the Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season. While not renowned for their success on the pitch, St. Pauli has gained a noteworthy reputation for the political activism of their supporters. Their supporters are famously and unabashedly anti-fascist. The club as a whole has taken an outspoken stance against racism, fascism, sexism, and homophobia.
History
The club was informally founded in 1899 by a group of soccer enthusiast's, but the club played its first match in 1907. They were officially established in 1910 and they were a relatively undistinguished team until making their first appearance in the top flight in 1934 after the reorganization of German soccer under the Third Reich. After World War 2 the club played in their regional league where they frequently finished second to city rivals Hamburger SV. When the Bundesliga was created in 1963, Hamburger SV was a member but St. Pauli was placed in the second tier. Notably, it was at this time that St. Pauli signed Guy Acolatse, the first black professional soccer player in Germany. The team made their first appearance in the Bundesliga in 1977, but were immediately relegated.
The famous fan culture the club is known for began to blossom in the mid 1980s. Supporters of the club adopted a skull and crossbones emblem that is still flown at games today. During this time the club went from crowds of less than 2,000 to regularly drawing 20,000 fans to home games. Since then the club has maintained a cult-like following despite being a yo-yo team that spends most seasons in the 2. Bundesliga.
Expectations
The board expectations are for a top-half finish in 2022-23 with aims to reach promotion by the end of the 2024-25 season. The media projects the team to finish 8th in the 18 team division. However, in real life the team is currently sitting in 16th after 15 matches.
Rivals
The club have two main rivals: Hamburger SV and Hansa Rostock. Hamburger SV is the biggest club in the city of Hamburg where St. Pauli is located and, despite spending the past several seasons in the second tier, has traditionally been one of the most successful clubs in Germany. Hansa Rostock is a fierce rival of the club due to the right-wing nature of their supporters.