Playing an old version to create 'The Team of the Future'

Just wondering if anyone else does this...

Today I got out my FM2009 disc and installed it, and started a save as Anderlecht in July 2008. My aim is to see if I can build the Belgium World Cup squad 2014 to win the Belgian League and reach the later stages of the Champions League.

So far, I have Gille and Van Damme in my squad from when I started. I bought Courtois and Kevin de Bruyne in my first transfer window, and they are now in my under-21 side.
I had an offer for Benteke accepted by Standard, but he didn't want to leave the club he had only just joined... but I'll go back for him later. I've also got my scouts watching Nacer Chadli and Dries Mertens at some Dutch club, and they should be gettable in January, and also Kevin Mirallas at St Etienne.

Tricker to get will be the likes of Nico Lombaerts, Axel Witsel, Eden Hazard, Moussa Dembele... in this game, they're all worth around 2 million, but you only get just over a million to spend when you start with Anderlecht, so I'm going to have to sell to try and get them. The only player I know I won't be able to buy is Kompany, as he's already at MCFC in 2008.

But where is Romelu Lukaku in the game? I thought by going for Anderlecht, he would already be in one of my squads, Wikipedia says he was an Anderlecht Youth from 2006. I hope he comes on stream in 2009-10.

These are all the players I want in my first team by 2013-14, but for now I'm keeping the first team ticking over with more or less the same players I inherited... they finished 2nd in 2008, the board expect me to challenge for the title, and so far, 5 games in, I'm 3rd, 2 points off top and unbeaten. Only player I've added is Nelson Cuevas as a free transfer, he set up the only goal to beat Roselaere in the last match I played, and he could be a good stop-gap addition.

It's a bit weird though to see how much football has changed in just six years - Portsmouth are the FA Cup holders and took Man U to pens in the Community Shield! I've got Anderlecht through to the group stage of the Champions League, and played Real Madrid in the Bernebeu - against van Nistelrooy and Robben! I was happy to come away with a 3-0 defeat and praised the players afterwards to keep their morale up... anything I get in Europe is a bonus really, I've got Celtic and Porto in the group, but I'm concentrating on building the Belgian team of the future, and keeping the current squad in touch at the top of the domestic league.

Probably just one season too early for Lukaku, would have only been 14/15 at the start of the 08/09 season.

I love going back to the old CMs and FMs, CM 01/02 gets wheeled out every single summer by me and she always gets a few good weeks of play.

This little Belgian adventure will be good, FM has always been very kind to Belgium so there will be no shortage of talent.

what skacel said. tbh mate, why play fm2009? it was a poor version that year.

I had a belting game on FM09, made a superb Roma team and I adopted a Galactico policy of signing a huge name every summer. Finished up with an attack of Vela - Torres - Messi. I spent over 100m on Bale and was ridiculed at school for it, inept bastards.

I still have a notepad somewhere with my formations, finances, scouting, etc from every season written down. The good days.

Aye I enjoyed 09 too. Same with 01/02 which still comes out every now and then too and the occasional playthrough on 97/98 on DOSBox seeing as that was my first CM, all the memories

I am currently playing 01/02 so I think I am a good 10 years too early to do any experiment.

Fernando Torres is quite good though.

Cos it was the first one with live match action instead of circles, and gives me a 6 year window to build the squad, or as close as I can get.

Managing Anderlecht is trickier than you'd think... I thought it'd be the place all young Belgians want to go, but both Alderweireld and Vertonghen turned down transfers when my bids had been accepted by Ajax, due to Ajax having better training facilities, though I've since requested the board improve these.

My first six months were a disaster, the board expected a title challenge but I sank as low as 9th and got knocked out of the cup, so I was sacked Jan 2009. I didn't want to end the game, so I created a new profile called 'Marc Wilmots' (he isn't listed in the game either) and took control again, this time aware that I should spend as much effort and money on the first team as on training up the likes of de Bruyne and Courtois in my u-21 and u-19 squads.

End of Jan transfer window, 'Wilmots' signed Dries Mertens for the u-21s, but with the existing first team, he/I managed a 2 month unbeaten run Feb-April that took us back to 5th, before a late season dip saw us down to 7th and out of Europe.

2009-10 though is easier with lower expectations and a full summer to clear out the dead wood... sold 8 million worth of players who really weren't that good, brought the spiralling wage bill down to 20K below budget and signed Benteke for 300K to play in the under 19s. Cuevas is still my only regular addition to the first team squad, though Mertens is now making sub appearances, but emphasis on defence and set pieces - not exactly the free-flowing Belgium style, but needs must at the moment - now have me 3 points clear at the top with 15 games left of the 30-game 2009-10 season.

If I (or Marc!) could actually win the title now, that would be a boost to the status of the club, surely, and not bad considering Frutos and de Sutter really aren't top notch strikers... it's all my defenders heading in Biglia free kicks and corners for 1 and 2-0 wins! No rotation if I can help it, Wasilewski-Kruiswijk-Juhasz-Deschacht is a killer back four in this league and 09-10 season and Cordier makes some blinding saves.

Anderlecht have eleven goals from corners in 15 games, DC Kruiswijk has six of those, all headers.

And, of course, the play-off system doesn't seem to be in FM09 for Belgium, so if we finish top, Anderlecht are champions! (EDIT: Just looked and play-offs IS in the FM09... which isn't great as my 2 defeats have been v Club Brugge and Standard. Oh well)

Jan 10 and Summer 2010 I'll try to add more of the Belgian supersquad, and get Mertens up to the level where he could replace Biglia, who is always moaning about leaving...

Also, Courtois is pretty crap in 09, he doesn't seem to improve at all, so I may concentrate on getting Proto up to regular keeper instead.

You should set up a career thread for this lad, lots of people will be interested in seeing it.

Tried a few of these in the past and they're difficult to play as there's a plethora of talent around the 14-17 age. As a believer of realism within Football Manager games I find this irritating.

Obviously the creators of FM 2009 have no crystal ball to predict which players have great futures. But it is disappointing to see Courtois not progressing at all, yet one of the made-up goalkeepers with computerised faces already better than him at 2 years younger. Oh well. Will try a career thread for Marc Wilmots anyway...

Good idea, I meant the players in downloaded db's though, sorry.

Here he is!

http://sortitoutsi.net/careers/story/11608