After the Super League project failed, we all breathed a sigh of relief. But we’re also secretly a bit curious about what it would like if there actually was a Super League. Thankfully one hero has created a database that allows you to see exactly what would happen.
He explains the database in more detail here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDyoB8FOtM0 – but I’ll summarise exactly how it works. Basically, the world is split into four leagues – European Super League, American Super League, Asian Super League and African Super League. Then there are four tiers for each Super League. So for example in Europe it goes – European Super League (one league), European 2 League (made up of two groups), European 3 League (made up of four groups) and European 4 League (made up of eight groups).
Teams from the different Super Leagues also play each other in the FIFA International Champions League and FIFA Open Cup. Only teams from the top league play in the Champions League, and the Open Cup is open to every team.
So, now the boring admin has been done, let’s get into it (P.S. if you start to see some random teams from different continents creeping into different Super Leagues it’s because of a problem with relegations/promotions, but it shouldn’t impact the leagues too much)
Here is the top league of the European Super League – how Tottenham snuck in I’ll never know
The top league of the Asian Super League – will Cristiano Ronaldo be able to bring glory home – with the amount he’s being paid you would really hope so
The American Super League – I can only apologise now that I did not download the real name fix before I started – will FLA, FLU or SPO win?!
The African Super League – I can’t lie, I’ve not heard of most of these teams – but there are some incredible names in there – I will personally be supporting ‘Pyramids’ or ‘Marumo Gallants’
I will primarily be focusing on the European Super League throughout – so let’s go through the rest of the European tiers. This is Group A of the SECOND tier. A lot of big teams here – and it’s also hipsters paradise with teams like Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao.
Group B of the SECOND tier. Galatasaray, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt. This group is the riot police’s worst nightmare.
We now go to Group A of the THIRD tier. Brighton look like the favourites here – it will be interesting to see how they cope with not being the underdog.
Group B of the THIRD tier. Honestly some of the away days you could get through in a season in these leagues would be incredible. Just in the league the chance to go to Italy, Croatia, Greece and Spain – you’ll have a lovely tan.
Group C of the third tier. Bournemouth are the only English representatives in this league.
While Group D of the third tier has so many English teams it looks like a Premier League relegation battle.
Now we move to the final tier – a very interesting league because I have literally zero idea which teams are strongest – I guess we’re about to find out what the real farmer leagues are.
There are so many divisions in the fourth tier that I won’t be describing each one. But a lot of teams you will all be familiar with at this level – Palermo, Sunderland, Malmo, FC Twente and more all find themselves at the bottom of the Super League pyramid.
The season preview for the top Super League is very interesting. Manchester City are the favourites – but will have a very strong chasing pack. Napoli might be top of the Serie A right now, but a mid table finish here would be good for them. Chelsea are actually predicted to do BETTER than they currently are in the Premier League, it’s a funny world. Arsenal and Spurs are still in a rivalry… but for 12th place this time. The teams you can’t see are Sevilla, Lazio, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal and Lyon. It’s going to be a tough season for them to say the least.
HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST SEASON
It is NOT looking good for Lyon. 14 games in and they haven’t got a single win. Real Madrid are treating this league like the UCL knockouts and find themselves just top of the league. But there’s just four points between the top five. Oh boy, this is going to be tasty to watch.
Forget their real world struggles, Leicester are top of their group in the second tier halfway through the season. Celtic are experiencing something they have never experienced and find themselves midtable. That relegation battle must be excruciating to be a part of – three points separate seven teams.
RB Leipzig are just ahead at the top, trying their hardest to destroy the farmer league allegations. Hertha Berlin don’t quite have the financial advantage they have in other football manager games and are stuck in mid-table. Newcastle also haven’t been able to flex their financial muscles just yet, but are close to the top of the table. It’s not looking good for Rangers at the bottom – but they have a five point gap over the bottom two. The bottom two are both German, but they are both in the second division of German football in real life, so that feels a bit unfair.
In the first group of the third tier it’s an all English battle at the top, whilst FK Austria Vienna are having an absolute stinker. If Jamie Carragher was commentating on them he would say: “You almost feel a bit sorry for them, they should not be playing at this level.”
This is becoming quite the regular occurrence. A Premier League team is top once again. Will Still’s Reims aren’t having the same unbeaten run they’ve had recently. Hopefully he’s got his continental pro license in the game.
WOW. Crystal Palace and Brighton. The fiercest rivalry in world football have exactly the same number of points. This title race is going to be incredibly exciting and will finally settle all bragging rights in the M23 Derby.
I am sick and tired of seeing Premier League teams at the top of the third tier. It’s time to give other teams a chance. At least Freiburg are giving it a solid shot and are right up there.
Now we head to the fourth tier. Burnley and QPR are having incredibly contrasting seasons, but amazingly QPR are winning the league battle right now. Maybe they just can’t handle the cold Tuesday nights at Stoke and need more continental opposition. Palermo are a sleeping giant so it’s nice to see them at the top too.
Benevento with a comfortable lead at the top here. But FC Twente still a good chance of nicking that one promotion spot.
The European opposition CAN’T handle a Tuesday night in Stoke. The Potters find themselves just at the top of the league. But at least seven teams could still win it from here. Swansea are struggling but the real concern is the team at the bottom. It has not been an admirable effort from FC Admira so far.
Basaksehir flexing their muscles and running away with the division in this one.
The top of this league looks like a Championship playoff. Malmo will be looking to spoil the English party. I also expected more from FC Nordsjaelland after all the wonderkids I’ve seen come from there over the years.
The best title race I’ve seen so far. SIX points between 1st and 17th. Absolutely nuts. Imagine you were top all season and then finished bottom half. Also, the less said about Farense the better.
Blackburn flying whilst Zilna are six feet deep already. Hearts and Aberdeen both finally don’t have to play Celtic or Rangers but aren’t really taking their chance while they’ve got it sadly.
Spezia having a special season so far but with serial promotion winners Norwich right on their tail they can’t afford to rest. Alcorcon have only scored 9 goals in 26 games which is worrying to say the least.
Before we continue, I thought I’d just show you the money that each league gets. It only decreases a little between each league, but it shows you how much money will be washing about in these leagues soon. Even in the second tier, the teams are getting UCL level prize money. The amount is the same between continents as well. Hopefully this means soon we will see an end to European dominance and some surprise teams rising up. But it also might make it harder to move up as everyone has the same cash.
END OF FIRST SEASON
What a season it’s been for Real Madrid in their first season. Winner with over 100 points in the Super League and winner of the FIFA Open Cup. It’s always the clubs you least expect. A rough season for Italian teams in general, as they all finish in the bottom half of the table. Also a very rough season for Lyon as they concede the most goals and score the least goals. Relegation is sadly very likely if that’s the case.
Actually its been a very good season for the city of Madrid in general as Atletico win the first Champions League. It’s great that in the first season a South American club has reached the final as well. Especially the unknown team of ‘FLA’
As we move on to the second tier we see the most intense title race ever. Bilbao drew on the final game of the season to lose the title by two goals. It’s ruthless over here in the Super Leagues. SV Werder also get relegated on goal difference despite Zenit losing their last six games and not winning in 12. Ouch.
Not only did Bilbao not miss out on the title on the last day on goal difference, they then lose to Real Sociedad in the playoffs. When it’s not your week, it’s not your week. RB Leipzig can feel pretty aggrieved to not even get in the playoffs with over 90 points. Whilst, Rangers barely cling on for their lives in the first season.
Now we head over to the third tier. Southampton are rampant and storm to the title… which is probably going to be the case next year in the Championship. My beloved Wolfsberger get relegated on the same points as the Chelsea loan factory.
Leeds just about beat Bournemouth to the title – which is very interesting looking at the Premier League relegation battle this season. But it’s curtains for Bordeaux and Sporting Gijon.
BRIGHTON WIN THE M23 DERBY. English teams definitely seem to have a bit of an advantage in this third tier. Hopefully this balances out over the Super League. Union Berlin might be in the title race in the Bundesliga in real life but they struggle to get promoted in their first season. Once again we have a team get relegated on goal difference. These leagues have drama for days.
Everton break the 100 point barrier. Incredible scenes. So far it’s just them and Real Madrid that have done that. Carlo Ancelotti’s influence is unmatched.
Finally, the final standings in the fourth tier. Salernitana somehow win the league despite drawing their final five games. They so nearly bottled that.
Benevento were absolutely cruising halfway through the season in this league but have bottled it. There are no easy games in these leagues and if you’re not at the races then they will crush you.
An incredibly even league with only just over 30 points separating top and bottom. Sion were 9th halfway through the season but just about come away with the title. An incredible effort by the Swiss outfit.
Basaksehir FK were far clear halfway through the season and they successfully romp to the title. A bit more boring in this division but they won’t be complaining.
A huge Midlands rivalry in this division… but really in the end it wasn’t very close. Coventry win the title at a canter. The whole top four is made up of English teams so even at this level you see that English cash rules supreme.
A hipsters dream. Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas’ side win the title by one point. And VFL Bochum lost on the last day. Cercle Brugge also didn’t win in their final four league games. The title race in this league was on a knife’s edge.
This league is decided on goal difference! Blackburn AND Aberdeen both lose on the final day. Neither of them wanted to get out of the league it seems. They really had a mid off in this league.
Norwich weren’t top halfway through the season, but was it really ever in doubt? The ultimate yoyo club proving they know their stuff when it comes to getting promoted out of a division. And Norwich won their crucial tie against Salento a couple games before the end. Promotion mentality monsters.
Now we move on to the other continental super leagues. Al-Ahly the Egyptian kings made an absolute mockery out of the African Super League in the first season, finishing nearly 20 points above the next highest team. It was a very boring season for CS Sfax fans as they scored only 37, but also conceded the fewest in the division. Jose Mourinho would be proud.
Flamengo might have got to the Champions League final, but it’s Atletico Mineiro who come away with the first ever American Super League. Clearly there’s a bit of South American dominance in this league as the top six are all from Argentina and Brazil. The top MLS team is only in 17th. Yikes.
Al-Ittihad win the most incredible finish I’ve seen so far. Three teams with about the same goal difference, all separated by one point. Cristiano Ronaldo might be paid £172 million per year, but that wasn’t enough to get Al Nassr over the line and silverware. On the other side of the league it was a miserable time for the two Japanese teams who both concede over 100 goals and barely get over 10 points. Even the Japanese team in 22nd only managed to get three wins over the whole season.
In an incredible development, the top scorer in the European Super League is NOT Erling Haaland, it is NOT Harry Kane, it is NOT Robert Lewandowski… it is somehow Kai Havertz. Clearly he is being underused by Chelsea in real life and they need to copy these Football Manager tactics.
Joshua Kimmich comes away as the player with the highest average rating in the first season. His versatility, mixed with his mentals… he has to be the dream player on Football Manager. Lazio nearly get relegated but Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is still one of the highest rated players. He is just built different on this game and will surely get a big move away. Dejan Kulusevski is a surprise young player to keep an eye on for the rest of this simulation.
These were the top division manager movements in the first division. It’s a season for the return of club legends as Ruud van Nistelrooij moves back to Manchester United and Patrick Vieira returns to Arsenal. PSG are also clearly out of ideas as they hire Thomas Tuchel AGAIN.
Cristiano Ronaldo might not have been able to get Al-Nassr a title, but it was still clearly a good season for the 38 year old as he get a 7.32 average rating over the season.
The expected points table for the top European Super League is very interesting and says it all. Bayern Munich fans must feel very angry to be in 6th as on expected points they should have been top. But when you’re facing Real Madrid, expected points just get thrown out of the window. Juventus and Tottenham fans should also feel pretty hard done by, so some things never change.
The biggest transfers in the first season. Obviously, Jarrod Bowen is the biggest signing. Bayern Munich don’t just flex their financial muscles in the Bundesliga, they’re still spending a LOT in this league. PSG have liked what they’ve seen from the English mid table clubs and have picked up Mitoma and Rice. Whilst Manchester United’s signing of Manuel Ugarte is inspired as he was one of the highest rated players over the season.
View Season 2 here
