Welcome! Thanks for checking out my Who to be guide for this years FM where we have a look at 22 teams you can choose from! Honestly, a lot has happened in the football world in the past few weeks which has changed a couple of my suggestions in both this blog and my Who To Be On Football Manager 2022 – World blog. As usual I did try and stay away from the big teams or the obvious choices but some teams would be to fun or challenging not to put on the list! A slight change for the suggestions this year are the fact you can play any of the teams on the base game and not have to wait for edited databases. I have also split the suggestions up in to two separate blogs as one focuses on the U.K teams and the other one for teams around the World.

Aston Villa

Currently Aston Villa find themselves hovering above the relegation zone. After a midtable finish last season they looked to push on with the big name signings Danny Ings, Emi Buendia and FM wonderkid Leon Bailey along with brining Ashley Young back to the club. Aston Villa do have a history of success both domestically and in Europe as they have won the First Division and the FA Cup 7 times each, the League Cup 5 times along with winning the Champions League and Super Cup once each. Can you help develop some of the talent that is coming through and guide them back to glory both domestically and in Europe?

Newcastle United

Well, this should be a fun save. Having recently been taken over by some of the richest people in the world you start the save off with a transfer budget of £200 million! Newcastle are still seen to some as a big club but since their recent promotion back from the Championship they have struggled to progress any higher than mid table, which is mainly down to the previous owner. The squad is okay but will need an overhaul if you are going to bring any trophies back to St. James’ Park. Who will be your first signing?

Blackburn Rovers

To some people they won’t be aware that Blackburn won the top flight in 1995 with the likes of Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton, Tim Flowers, Colin Hendry and Tim Sherwood being guided by Kenny Dalgleish. Since then they have been somewhat on a downward curve having dropped down as far as League 1. Blackburn are a fairly successful club having won the top flight three times, the FA Cup six times along with winning League 1, Championship, Carabao Cup and the Community Shield once but it has been 19 years since they last tasted success. If you can get Bradley Dack back to full fitness and setting up the likes of Chilean sensation Ben Brereton Diaz and Tyrhys Dolan then it shouldn’t take much more to get back in to the top flight.

Derby County

If you fancy a little challenge then Derby may be the club for you. They find themselves in administration along with a transfer embargo. To make matters worse a number of key players are injured for a number of weeks and months making the start if your season that bit harder to get going. Did I mention they are also on -12 points before you even kick a ball? Yeah this could be a challenge. You will need to look at replacing the back 5 when you are able to do so as the like of Curtis Davies, Richard Stearman, David Marshall and Phil Jagielka are all at the club. Derby are another one time Premier League side that have found themselves stuck in the Championship.

Reading

Reading are a team that are expected to be up fighting for a play off spot come the end of the season. They do have a transfer ban until January but the squad is good enough to have a good season. Over the summer they have brought in the likes of one time FM wonderkid Alen Halilovic, Baba Rahman and Danny Drinkwater both loaned from Chelsea. Reading do have a number of quality players in Liam Moore, Tom Holmes, Tom McIntyre, George Puscas and Andy Rinhomota. Reading have quality facilities which helps bring through the kids which paved the way for Michael Olise to get snapped by Crystal Palace over the summer for £8million. Reading’s trophy cabinet is limited with them winning the Championship twice being the highest and most notorious trophy they have won so far.

Sheffield United

After two years in the Premier League Sheffield United find themselves back in the Championship and will be a favourite to go straight back up. They also have a couple of rivals with the biggest be with neighbours Sheffield Wednesday being dubbed the Steel City Derby. Sheffield United have won the top flight way back in 1898 and also winning winning the FA Cup 4 times in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. They have a number of quality players which can help them bounce back in Rhian Brewster, Sander Berge, Jack O’Connell and Oli McBurnie. Summer signings Conor Hourihane, Ben Davies and Morgan Gibbs-White after seeing Aaron Ramsdale leave for Arsenal for £24million.

Crewe Alexandra

Crewe are probably one of the best and well known teams in England for bringing through academy players. One of their main cultures of the club is to bring through and develop academy players and eventually move them on for money to help keep the club moving. The likes of Danny Murphy, Neil Lennon, Ashley Westwood, Dean Ashton and Nick Powell are arguably the biggest names to come through the academy. They have also managed to field teams of academy graduates a number of times which is a huge achievement. Crewe don’t have much success to talk about with them winning the Papa John’s Trophy in 2013 being the only major trophy in their history above play off wins in 1997 (League 1) and 2012 (League2).

Ipswich Town

Ipswich have been on a general downward curve since their relegation from the Premier League in 2001/02. Despite being stuck in League 1 they do have a bit of history behind them having won the old First Division in 1962, Europa League in 1981 and the FA Cup in 1978 as well as Championship success in 1961, 1968 and 1992. To try and help them start moving back up the leagues they have had a bit of an overhaul and spent a bit of money over the summer seeing the likes of Scott Fraser, George Edmundson, Vaclav Hladky, Rekeem Harper and Sam Morsy come through the door along with Macauley Bonne, Louie Barry, Bersant Celina and Christian Walton arriving on loan to join Tom Carroll, Sone Aluko, Kyle Edwards and Lee Evans on frees.

Portsmouth

It has been somewhat a fall from grace for Portsmouth having been in the Premier League and having the likes of Harry Redknapp, David James, Peter Crouch, Sol Campbell, Nwankwo Kanu and Niko Kranjcar. Despite dropping down to League 2 as recent as 2013-17 they do have a rich history of success. They have most recently won the Papa John’s Trophy in 2019, League 2 in 2017 and known for winning the FA cup in 2008 after beating Cardiff 1-0 meaning they also spent a season in the Europa League. It has not all been easy off the field after they entered in to administration in 2010 which ultimately lead them to drop down the leagues.

Sheffield Wednesday

The blue side of Sheffield now find themselves in League 1 after relegation from the Championship. It has been 30 years since Sheffield Wednesday managed to win a title with the last being the Carabao Cup in 1991. Sheffield Wednesday’s ground, Hillsborough has previously been host to FA Cup semi finals as well as World Cup and Euro games. Sheffield Wednesday are also one of the oldest clubs in the world as well as becoming a founding member of the current Premier League. they have also won the old Premier League 4 times with the last being in 1930 after also winning it in 1903,1904 and 1929.

Hartlepool United

Hartlepool find themselves back in the Football League after getting promoted through the play offs after spending 4 years in the National League. The club is also known for being the one that Brian Clough started his managerial career. the highest level they have reached is League 1 which they last achieved in 2013. Hartlepool have never won a competition with the best being runners up.

Salford City

Salford are most famously known for being co-owned by Manchester United legends Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes along with Singaporean businessman Peter Lim who also owns a large stake in Valencia. Salford have been on a journey since they took over having been promoted from the depths of Non League up to League 2, they also won the Papa John’s Trophy last season. Under the former management duo of Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, they were crowned NPL Division One North champions in 2015, won the NPL Premier Division play-offs in 2016, and the National League North title in 2018. This success was followed in 2019 with promotion to the English Football League after winning the 2019 National League play-off final, under the stewardship of Graham Alexander. Salford have also been focus of documentaries following the takeover and their rise up the leagues.

Sutton United

Having been a Non League team they now find themselves in the Football League and League 2 for the first time in their history. The club is most famous for its FA Cup “giant killing” exploits, most notably in the 1988–89 season, when they defeated Coventry City 2–1 in the Third Round. The Coventry team was mostly of star international players and had won the competition in 1987. In the 2016–17 season, Sutton reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, beating three Football League teams (Cheltenham Town, AFC Wimbledon and Leeds United) before losing 2–0 at home to Arsenal.

Swindon Town

Swindon are now back in League 2 after spending 3 seasons in League with them winning it last season. Swindon have had some success in the Football League with them winning League 2 three times (1986, 2012 and 2020) and also winning League 1 in 1996. They won the Carabao Cup in 1969 after beating Arsenal. Glenn Hoddle managed the team to victory in the 1993 play-off final to finally secure a place in the top flight for the first time in the club’s history. However they were relegated out of the Premier League at the end of the 1993–94 season and dropped down into the third tier with a second consecutive relegation. Swindon have also won League 1 back in 1996. In 2021 Swindon have been placed on a transfer embargo due to not paying wages or rent. Since 202- they have had 6 managers with one lasting only a month during the summer without a ball being kicked.

Wrexham

Another team that are going to be popular this year is Wrexham due to being co owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Wrexham were formed in 1864, they are the oldest club in Wales and are the fourth oldest professional association football team in the world. Wrexham’s home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the world’s oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games. The record attendance at the ground was set in 1957, when the club hosted a match against Manchester United in front of 34,445 fans. Wrexham have reached as high as the Championship having won League 1 in 1978. they have also won the Welsh Cup 23 times between 1878 and 1995. More recently they have won Papa John’s Trophy in 2005 and FA Trophy in 2013. Wrexham have also had periods spent in Europe having played in the Cup Winners Cup between 1972 ad 1996.

Celtic

Celtic are obviously one of the biggest clubs in Scotland along with Rivals Rangers. Celtic established themselves within Scottish football, winning six successive league titles during the first decade of the 20th century. The club enjoyed their greatest successes during the 1960s and 70s under Jock Stein, when they won nine consecutive league titles and the 1967 European Cup. Celtic have won the Premiership 51 times which is 4 short of Rangers along with winning the Scottish Cup 40 times. Celtic are one of only five clubs in the world to have won over 100 trophies in their history. The club’s most successful season was 1966–67, when Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup, also winning the Scottish league championship, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup and the Glasgow Cup. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final and the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, losing in both. After taking over from outgoing Brendan Rogers, Neil Lennon helped them achieve the third consecutive treble treble in 2019. Last season was their first trophy-less season since 2010, can you help them regain their grip on Scottish Football?

Ross County

The club currently play in the Scottish Premiership, being promoted after winning the Scottish Championship in the 2018–19 season. Prior to the 1994–95 season they played in the Highland Football League, a competition they won three times. They have also won the Scottish First Division, Scottish Championship, Second Division, Third Division (once each) and the Challenge Cup on three occasions. In 2010, they reached the Scottish Cup Final, and in 2016 they won the Scottish League Cup. In their history they have won a total 21 competitions. Ross are one of the smallest clubs in the Premiership and continually find themselves defying expectations and beating the drop. The highest they have finished in the Premiership is 5th back in 2012-13. More recently they did the double after winning the Championship and winning the Challenge Cup in 2018-19.

Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park is the oldest association football club in Scotland, having been founded in 1867, and is the oldest in the world outside England and Wales. They are currently in League 1 after being crowned champions of League 2 last season. Queen’s Park is also the only Scottish football club to have played in the FA Cup Final, achieving this feat in both 1884 and 1885. With 10 titles, Queen’s Park has won the Scottish Cup the third most times of any club, behind only Rangers and Celtic, although their last such win was in 1893. Queen’s Park were the record holders of the Scottish Cup for 51 years until the 1924–25 season when their record was overtaken by Celtic, who then won the Cup for an 11th time. Queen’s Pak have also played their ‘home’ games at Scotland’s National stadium, Hampden Park for over a century up until this year. They currently ground share with Partick Thistle until work on their own ground. ‘Lesser Hampden’ is finished.

Cowdenbeath

One of their nicknames is ‘The Blue Brazil’ what more do you need? there are number of theories behind the nickname ranging from shirt colour to financial struggle to Brazilians playing illegally for them. The club has never won any of the major honours in Scottish football, but have won lower tier divisional titles on five occasions. They competed in the top division of the SFL from 1924 to 1934, but have only completed one further top flight season since, in 1970–71. Since their back to back relegations from the Championship in 2014-15 they find themselves mainly stuck in the lower half of League 2.

The New Saints

To Wales now and a look at The New Saints or TNS. They are the most successful club in the Welsh league structure ( not including Welsh teams playing in the English pyramid), with 13 league titles to their name. After winning the league 8 years in a row they have now been runners up to Connah’s Quay both times. they have also won both the Welsh Cup and Welsh League cup seven and nine times respectively. With TNS being dominant domestically they are often in European action in both the Champions League and Europa League with them getting as far as the Third Qualifying Round. Despite their debut in Europe in 1996 it took until 2010 for them to get their first win which came against Irish side Bohemians. In 2016 they broke a record for most consecutive wins with 27 which beat the record of 26 club wins by a top flight team by Ajax. Can you help them regain control of the League and push on in Europe?

Bangor City

On 26th April 2018 the FAW Club Licensing Appeals Body decided to revoke the club’s Tier 1 and UEFA license due to not meeting financial criteria, meaning that they would automatically drop down to the second level of Welsh football the next season, despite a second-placed finish in the Welsh Premier League, and would not be able to compete for a place in the following season’s Europa League. Italian musician and producer Domenico Serafino took over the club on 2 September 2019. His son Francesco Serafino, a Bangor player, had appealed to him to rescue the club. Serafino brought in Argentine World Cup winner Pedro Pasculli as the new manager of the team and he was given the task of helping Bangor back into the top flight. His first win was a 2-1 victory over Rhyl in November. Pasculli had also been a roommate of Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Bangor used the January 2020, transfer window to bring in new players including former Barnsley player Hugo Colace. More money trouble was to come as in October 2021 due to being summoned by FAW over unpaid wages. Bangor have won the Premiership three times coming in 1994, 1995 and 2011. They have also won the Welsh Cup 8 times with three of them being consecutive years from 2008 to 2010.

Cork City

Cork are one of the most successful clubs in Ireland having won a total of 35 competitions which includes Premier Division on three occasions in 1993, 2005 and 2017. A poor 2020 saw Cork finish bottom of the league and drop back down in to the First Division.  In 2008, financial issues resulted in a period of examinership, and the club’s then holding company was wound up in 2010.  A team was entered into the 2010 League of Ireland First Division, before the club re-acquired rights to the name “Cork City Football Club”, and was promoted back to the premier division for the 2012 season. Cork City FC won its third premier division title, and first FAI Cup double, during the 2017 season. Cork City also have one of the largest fan bases in Ireland, usually getting well over 3,000/4,000 supporters. Cork have also experienced Europe getting as far as the Third Qualifying Round in the Europa League.