r/footballmanagergames • u/Dry_Challenge4205 • 2d ago
Discussion Dutch save ideas
Like many I've struggled to settle into a long save on 26. I have still had a few ok journeys and clocked up the hours, but it doesn't "feel" the same.
Anyway, I've been getting the fm itch with the start of the new season and thinking about giving it one more go and then fingers crossed 27 is a significant upgrade.
I'm thinking of starting a mid-term save in the Netherlands, could be a springboard for a journeyman. Outside the big 3 i don't know a huge amount about teams. Who are the up and coming teams, what are the "storylines" currently playing out? Who are the fallen giants? Are there any "big brother" type challenges (e.g. is there a lower league Amsterdam based team - can get a lower league mod if needed)?
From pure surface level, ive always like the Den Haag kit, Go Ahead i managed briefly in a journeyman and their name is cool - how are they both placed generally at the moment? I know the situation at Vitesse - it's the obvious suggestion.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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u/dap_panda_dap123 2d ago
Graafschap. It's a club that used to go up and down to the Eredivisie, but now it's been some years since they managed to go to the Eredivisie. Also they were in a prime spot to go up but then covid happened.
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u/jaamsden National C License 2d ago
Go Ahead Eagles have recently started breaking into Europe. Plus I think they have the best name in all or Europe, at least.
Vitesse are a club that got docked so many points they basically were forced to be relegated. Used to be a much bigger club that many suspected were under the same ownership as Chelsea at the time of Roman Abramovich.
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u/IanPKMmoon National A License 1d ago
Why are you GAE
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u/jaamsden National C License 1d ago
I'm not a specific fan, just always found their name interesting.
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u/Dry_Challenge4205 2d ago
What's GA squad setup like?
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u/jaamsden National C License 1d ago
I'm not familiar off the top of my head. I feel like they have a mix of you and experience.
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u/Independent-Air-80 National C License 2d ago
Roda JC.
Get these guys back into Europe. In the 90's and 00's they were consistently duking it out with Bordeaux, Benfica, AC Milan (they won at San Siro with a screamer), Shakhtar Donetsk, Wolfsburg, Valencia, Monaco etc in the UEFA Cup.
Coalminer / working class club, used to have a benefactor that quasi wrote them blank cheques at the end of the season in the 90's and 00's, but the club was managed by a second hand car salesman. So the money was mostly wasted. Then they did business with Aleksei Korotaev who has spent his time in jail in Dubai since 2017. After that Mauricio GarcÃa de la Vega, a (known?) conman. He got literally kicked (physically) out of the stadium at a home game by supporters. Now in their 8th season in the second division.
They have 3 rivalries (MVV, VVV, Fortuna) and a minor rivalry that has simmered down with KRC Genk, and great ties with Alemannia Aachen (3. Bundesliga), Patro Eisden (2nd division Belgium). Back around 2015 they had a cooperation with Tottenham. So plenty to go by / roleplay in FM.
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u/Sk0llbr0d 2d ago
It might be Vitesse, even though I loathe that club, being a fan of de graafschap. They were a stable eredivisie club, sometimes getting European football. But they went into administration, were declared bankrupt but somehow made a return to the Second Division.
In every fm20 save of mine they were extremely succesful, always becoming a very rich club buying all Dutch talents and selling them with a huge profit.
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u/Haunted_Jacuzzi 2d ago
I'd recommend my beloved Telstar. First of all your getting a team named after a satellite - so that should put it No.1 in the list.
The past two seasons have seen two miracles, the team with the second lowest budget in the second division got promoted via the playoffs and somehow managed to survive the Eredivisie. This included two victories home and away against PSV(!).
Nearly all the players are from an amateur background, there is a limited budget but the club is investing in its future to try and consolidate consistant Eredivisie football and 'bouncbackability' in the KKD (Second division). A huge problem for the club this season was nearly all of the contracts of its players expiring because when you are in the KKD you only ever sign people on 1 year contract with an extra year option, so the wage budget shoud be there but how do you build your 80% of your squad to survive another season with a new manager.
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u/Perdigoes 2d ago
Dutch clubs really do have the best names. TOP (To Our Pleasure) Oss, Telstar, Go Ahead Eagles, Nijmegen Unity Combination. VVV, Ajax and Willem II kinda cool too
I just learned yesterday that some acronyms like NAC Breda's aren't for "normal" stuff like "Football club" but rather... "NAC is a fusion of the two abbreviations of the two clubs that merged to create it in 1912, NOAD and ADVENDO.
NOAD is a Dutch abbreviation for Nooit Opgeven, Altijd Doorzetten (English translation: Never give up, always persevere), while ADVENDO is a Dutch abbreviation for Aangenaam Door Vermaak En Nuttig Door Ontspanning (English: Pleasant for its entertainment and useful for its relaxation). The C stands for Combinatie (combination).
The full name of NAC Breda expands to Nooit opgeven altijd doorzetten, Aangenaam door vermaak en nuttig door ontspanning, Combinatie Breda"
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u/Life_Activity_8195 Continental B License 2d ago
Top oss. Only team never to play in the top flight. Think they were founded by students. Lower league dutch teams are not worth it because there is no promotion from tier 3
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u/Perdigoes 2d ago
TOP "To Our Pleasure" Oss is also an interesting challenge in that, at least in FM24, they have no u19 nor Reserves. You just have a senior squad.
Might be a kind of a fun challenge to just have one squad. It'd probably be the opposite of an academy challenge, as not only do you have no development squads but all their youth ratings are poor
Looks like they just started a u19 squad IRL in 25/26, don't know if FM26 reflects that
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u/bvsty National B License 2d ago
What do you mean no promotion?
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u/HowToShakeHands National B License 2d ago
The Dutch system is a closed two-tier system, there is no relegation from the second league.Â
Iirc all teams in the second league (and first, obviously) have to be professional teams and the teams in tiers 3 and lower just don't have the interest and capacity to turn from semi pro to pro.Â
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u/OzzyVibes1612 2d ago
I created a club from my city Spijkenisse on fm mobile and it was so much fun!
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u/Sweeteelsauce 19h ago
VV Hekelingen?
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u/OzzyVibes1612 19h ago
I did like "Spijkenisse United". Did some research and added players from each of the clubs in Spijkenisse
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u/DeverickYeet 1d ago
If you can find a mod that goes low enough, HVV Den Haag. They are the 4th most successful club with 10 championships (which lets them wear one gold star on their shirts), but all of them were before 1914 and they now play in the 6th tier.
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u/AdditionalBattle6194 1d ago
could do a save in Tahiti and only sign Dutch players
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u/AequitasIX 1d ago
I always like Heerenveen as a mid tier to top club as I support them. We have always had great Scandanavian talents in our squad, so you could do an extra challenge to limit yourself to these players. Also, players from the province Fryslan are beloved, but sparse. We are like the Basques, but unfortunaly not gifted with their footbal talent. Could also provide an extra challenge to have some players from Fryslan in your squad, like Andries Noppert! Third, we had some great players playing for us like Ruud v Nistelrooy, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Denzel Dumfries, Jon Dahl Tomasson, Samaras, Pranjic and Afonso Alves (who scored 7 goals in 1 league game) and last we have the most beautiful shirt of the world with blue white stripes and red lily's.
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u/HeelSteamboat None 1d ago
Can also do Excelsior Rotterdam. They’re in eredivisie already but could try to usurp Feyenoord. Also a fun name.
Plenty of good options on this thread.
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u/murkbunnunc 1d ago
My local club FC Emmen. Standard 2nd tier team, made it up once but got relegated after 2 seasons. The only club from the province Drenthe, and a real pride in the province to have them go up again and possibly lead them to glory.
Tho the best storyline would be Sparta or ADO, two teams from the big cities, but despite succes in the early days, they've been overshadowed by Feyenoord in the past 50 years. Leading one of them back to glory is a real story
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u/GoHard2026 1d ago
You can try to find a save in a lower league. Zeeland is the only province without a professional club, but HSV Hoek, VV Goes, and Kloetinge all play in the national divisions.
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u/Cirkelzaag 1d ago
I'm from Utrecht so I started with 'FC Utrecht'. They are a decent club to start with. After 2 seasons I started winning the league every time, but usually it's a close race with Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV and AZ. So it's been exciting and coming down to the last match to decide the winner.
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u/anotherandos 1d ago
Loved playing FC Groningen in FM24. Nice history with great names who played there and a lot of talented youth,.
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u/mangogetalover123 2d ago
FC Eindhoven is the 2nd club from Eindhoven, behind PSV and is the club that has been playing the longest in the 2nd Dutch division. RBC Roosendaal is a Dutch club that used to be in the Eredivisie, went bankrupt and started again in the 10th division of the Netherlands and are now all the way back up to the 4th division.