Managing An Australian Club
By Tazskool
FMFormation.net Guide and FAQ Guru
Well I fancied another challenge and something that not many people try cause its a small league and not really exciting.
So I know that Sydney FC are the strongest club there so I chose them simply to be able to get the hang of the league. Also being able to concentrate on writing this and understanding the rules which are like no other!
First thing I looked at was when the league starts and any friendlies. To my surprise there is 2-3 months between you starting and the first league game. You also take over the club at the end of 2004/2005 season with about 2 weeks to go so you can arrange friendlies for this time.
The fixtures can be confusing as there is an Australian A- League and the first 3 matches are A-League Cup Group. the A-League cup is a small cup between 4 teams.
So naturally to get some money and match practise I set about trying to arrange some friendlies which is easier said than done. There are not many friendlies set up as default so this is a massive requirement not just for your players to get fit but for you to be able to see your team in action. Allowing you to change it so you get the best 11 and reserves for the start of the season.
You are unable to get any club outside Oceanic to arrange a friendly, which is where the big money is. So next best thing is to get other clubs from neighbouring countries.
If you have alot of u-20's and they are not quite first team material put them into the U-20 squad but you must arrange the matches yourself. Space them out a week apart again other U-20 teams and this will give you a good look at how they perform and if they can replace first team players.
Next thing is to look at the team. See where you need more players and how well your team is on paper.
One huge difference between playing this league and an English league is that you have alot of restrictions such as.
Miminum number of U-20's - Maximum Squad Size - Maximum Squad Salary.
Try poaching players from other squads and surrounding countries, as work permits are easier to get unless they play abroad and have Australian Nationality.
The maximum squad of 24 is just that. The league will not let you have any more than 24 players signed for the club and if you do try then you are asked to delay or cancel the contracts of any other players you sign.
So see if you have any loan players and try letting them go if you have players who are younger and better quality in roughly the same positions.
Look at your squad even more in regards to goal keepers cause you have to keep in mind that if you only have 2 on the books and you get an injury to one of them you have to play one of your u-20 keepers who does not have a contact in your first team. Usually this type of player is very poor and can cost you alot ot matches. So I do think having 3 keepers signed is a good thing and also try to make one of them an u-20 player so he does get matches to improve whilst you have your 2 other keepers in the first team.
Setting your tactics are very important and make sur eyou play to your players strengths and have a backup system if you fall behind or lose a valuable player to injury in the middle of the match. With there beaing 8 teams in the league it is a good food for thought to have an attacking formation for home and holding midfield for away matches.
In regards of do I have to have the minimum of u-20 before the league starts? What punishments will be imposed and the same with the maximum salary. Do I get fined if I break this? Hopefully I will be able to understand this abit more and provide the answers
Now with the English leagues you get a reserves team whereby you can put any excess players into and still have them match fit whilst in Australia you cannot! This has to be a massive disadvantage for you as a manager and the only way I can see about getting around this is to only sign under 20's which you can use in both squads.
As most of the u-20 Australian leagues are very poor class of players you are best trying to sign u-20's from a little further afield and letting go of some older players if you need to.
Coaching and Training is like the English lower divisions alot due to the coaching staff are not world class and the field to choose from is harder. Sign atleast 2-3 mid range coaches just to improve the squad a little.
One thing I have found out is that if the Coach you are trying to sign is also a player it wont let you if you have 24 members in your squad EVEN if you are offering him a contract as a Coach not a coach/player.
Well after you've played all your friendlies another huge surprise. Deciding your squad and numbers for the coming season.
This again is where its a huge difference and difficult. You can ONLY register 24 players and must not go over the wages per week allowed for your team.
See images: Sydneyteamselection.jpg and sydneyteamrules.jpg
Moving into the first game of the season again another difference and making your managerial job a bit harder is the fact you can only choose 4 substitutes.
Part 2 - The First Few Months of League
After playing the cup matches and deciding to use them to get my tactics and players right against league opposition I decided finally who my team was.
I have also learnt that you have to look more at the other team's formation and play your players into gaps more than the English league.
Also changing tactics wether you’re home or away works well. So at home you play a more attacking line which as 4-4-2 attacking (see fmformation.net for the tactics home and away)
Away from home I preferred to use a 4-5-1 with 3 attacking and 2 DM's in midfield.
Changing tactics slightly during a game also has proven to be a huge benefit. For example when I was 1-0 up I put 2 upfront and since the opposition were pushing men forward I was holding them more in midfield and attacking on the break alot.
Keep a huge eye on players fitness during the match. This is a huge thing in this league since the subs allowed are less and the standard pf players are not as good as you expect.
Keep a close eye on training as well. Do move the bar up and down a little. As well as alternating your coach’s schedules so you increase the star ratings at the bottom of the screen.
This is also a very good time to get new coaching staff since you have 24 players signed, cant sign anymore and still are under your wages each week and have transfer money left. Spend a bit on backroom staff and improve your schedule ready for the push at the end of the season.
Signed 4 medium rated coaches and chose to improve the overall rating of the coaching ability by making sure every coach section had 1 member of staff on it and all overall rating was 3 or more stars.
Now I had singed staff and got the ratings as I want them, as best as I can, I decided to change the training so I had a basic Defensive, Attacking and Keeper training rather than the General schedule that they are on by default. Maybe doing this earlier may have helped but thought preseason matches were good to keep training as a group and basic.
With no transfer window you can let players go and sign players as you wish but becareful as it can get costly and may affect players morale. On the positive side you can cover your injuries very easily.
Looking for players to boost your squad for the second half of the season is not as easy as most leagues for many reasons such as 24 players, wages and work permits. Add to that most overseas players will not play in Australia and if they are very good then they have already been snapped up which is why it is VERY important to find these players before the season starts and make sure you have the best squad possible.
With the league being so small it is not unusual to find your team go from 1st to 7th in 2 games when you hit a bad patch of form. The better managers will have worked out a formation and strategy to halt this as soon as it happens.
If you happen to get your club into the World Club Championships it’s a good idea to have rested your strongest players gradually in the matches before the start. See if you can get to atleast the finals where your players will benefit hugely from this in confidence and the club financially.
This league also differs in the fact where by in other leagues the league champion is the team who finished 1st after the regular season here it goes into the top 4 play off for the over all champion. If you finish 1st you are Premiership winner and if you win the finals matches you are crowned Championship winner.
Part 3 – “The Start of looking into 2nd Season”
To follow.....
Australian League Management - FAQ/Guide 
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