Looking Forward #5 - Top 5 'Restore' club in FMH16

[FastFurious]

Hey guys!

It's a been a little while, but welcome back to another instalment in my Looking Forward series - today we look at the Top 5 'Restore' clubs in FMH16.

What are ‘Restore’ clubs you ask?

The answer to that question is quite simple.

In my opinion managers of FM clubs generally fall into four categories for teams they manage:

1. Managing a club because they are a fan / supporter of that club,
2. Managing a club because they have exciting players (i.e. Man City in FMH16), 
3. Managing a club with a vibrant history bring them back to their former glory (‘Restore’), and
4. Managing a newly promoted / struggling club to stay afloat in a first class league (‘Survive’)

Of course there are other motivations behind why someone would manage a club, but most of us would fall into one of the categories above at some point. 

So today, I present a shortlist of the top 5 ‘Restore’ clubs to manage in FMH16.

These clubs have all undergone tragic falls from grace, and are now a mere shell of their former glory. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to restore these clubs back to their glory days, to resume where they left off, and to dominate the football world as if nothing bad had ever happened to these once-magnificent clubs.  

Lets get stuck in - 

Number 5

Inter Milan

Former glory:

       18 Serie A titles (most recently 5 in a row from 2005-2010)
7 Coppa Italia
5 Supercoppa Italiana
3 Champions League (most recently 2009-10)
3 UEFA  Cup
3 World titles

Former talents (recent):

Javier Zanetti
Esteban Cambiasso
Marco Materazzi
Ivan Cordoba
Diego Milito
Samuel Eto’o
Wesley Sneijder
Thiago Motta

Last season:

8th in Serie A

Now:

Out of all the clubs on this list, Inter Milan is the club most likely to return to its former glory on the pitch.

In the offseason, Inter purchased some talented players including Geoffrey Kondogbia, Jeison Murillo and Matteo Bianchetti, as well as bringing in Stevan Jovetic on loan.

However on the other hand, Inter lost Xherdan Shaqiri to Stoke and was forced to sell another fantastic talent in Mateo Kovacic.

Overall, in FM Inter currently has some talented players on the books for the upcoming season (most notably Mauro Icardi) and with proper tactical management, can return to Europe and even make a title challenge in the short term.

Restore difficulty:
Easy

Number 4

Rangers

Former glory:
54 Scottish Premier League titles
33 Scottish Cups
27 Scottish League Cups

Former talents (recent):
Ally McCoist
Kris Boyd
Mark Hateley
Kenny Miller
Lee McCulloch
Barry Ferguson
Ian Ferguson
Stefan Klos

Last season: 
3rd in Scottish Championship

Now:
The winning-est club in Scottish football history – Rangers have won more league titles and trebles than any other club in the world. Rangers was also the first British club to reach a UEFA tournament final.

With this ridiculous history behind them, it was a shame that they ran into financial trouble which lead to their liquidation in 2012 and subsequent demotion to the fourth tier of Scottish football.

Even more recently, they have been promoted twice in three seasons with a good pool of talented home-grown players and look destined to return to the Scottish Premier League in the next few years.

Restore difficulty:
Easy

Number 3

RC Strasbourg Alsace

Former glory:
1 Ligue 1 title
3 Coupe de France
3 Coupe de la Ligue
one of six French sides to play over 2000 top division games
one of six French sides to have won all three major domestic trophies

Former talents (recent):
Morgan Schneiderlin?

Last season:
4th in Championnat National (French 3rd tier)

Now:
A club with a ton of history, RC Strasbourg’s recent history has been very hit or miss.

Having won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2005 (Capital One / Football League Cup equivalent), RC Strasbourg now find themselves in the third tier of French football with a collection of players you’ve never heard of.

Amazingly, RC Strasbourg had two straight seasons of promotions (2011-13) from the fifth tier of French football to reach where they are now.

No doubt a massive challenge, can you take this historical giant of French football back to their rightful place in Ligue 1 and beyond?

Restore difficulty:
Hard

Number 2

Parma

(Disclaimer - Serie D isn't actually in FMH15, and if not included in FMH16, Parma will not be playable  but maybe FMH17?)

Former glory:
8 major titles between 1992 and 2002, including
3 Coppa Italias
2 UEFA Cups (now Champions League)
1 Supercoppa Italiana
1 European Cup Winners’ Cup
1 European Super Cup
4th most successful Italian side in European competitions.

Former talents (recent):
Hernan Crespo
Fabio Cannavaro
Gianluigi Buffon
Lilian Thuram
Juan Sebastian Veron
Dino Baggio
Alessandro Melli

Last season:
20th in Serie A (relegated to Serie D)

Now:
Once a dominant player in Italy, Parma ran into serious financial troubles last season (even having to sell their UEFA Cup!) and has suffered their second bankruptcy since 2004.

As a result, they will begin the new season in the bottom trenches of Italy that is the Serie D.

Although they should be promoted in the next few seasons thanks to their remaining talent from Serie A, full restoration back to their glory years will prove difficult due to their horrendous financial situation. It will take a very patient manager to rebuild Parma back into contention as one of the top teams in Italy.

Restore difficulty:
High

Number 1

AC Milan

Former glory:
One of the most successful clubs in Italy with 18 Serie A titles (most recent in 2010-11)
5 Coppa Italias 
6 Supercoppa Italianas
as well as 14 European trophies (including 7 Champions League, most recent in 2006-7) and
4 World titles

Former talents (recent):
Paolo Maldini
Alessandro Costacurta
Massimo Ambrosini
Gennaro Gattuso
Clarence Seedorf
Andriy Shevchenko 
Filippo Inzaghi
Kaka

Last season:
10th in Serie A

Now:
After the departure of their best talent, Stephan El Shaarawy to Monaco in the offseason, AC Milan needs to pull out some serious stops to avoid mid-table mediocrity, to have a successful campaign beyond the current season.

They have some good talent at their disposal (De Sciglio, Bertolacci, Romagnoli, Luiz Adriano), but they’re still a far cry away from the monstrous talent they once had.

Restoration will not be easy, but it does help that they’ll have a healthy transfer budget, as well as a good starting squad of players with which a few key transfers might turn the tides of competition.

Restore difficulty: 
Medium

Bonus

Real Oviedo

Former glory:
38 seasons in La Liga (best finish:3rd)
1 UEFA Cup appearance

Former talents (recent):
Juan Mata
Santi Cazorla
Michu

Last season:
1st in Segunda Division B (promoted to Segunda Division)

Now:
On the surface, Real Oviedo was never a dominant power in Spain. But this series isn’t just about how great a club once was, it’s also about how much they have fallen, and Real Oviedo has fallen a long way.

Once a mainstay in La Liga, Real Oviedo has been bouncing around the lower leagues of Spain for the last 15 years, having being in the third tier for the majority of that time.

Boasting a stadium with capacity of over 30,000 (4th largest in Segunda Division and 14th largest in La Liga), Oviedo is desperately hoping to return to the top flight where they once belonged.

There was a glimpse of hope last season, as Real Oviedo were promoted through the notoriously tough Segunda B playoffs (80 teams competing for 4 promotion spots), and will start the new season in the Spanish second tier, Segunda Division.

Restoration will be difficult as Real Oviedo have a limited budget with third tier players. But just imagine the sense of accomplishment you will feel when you have restored or even taken Real Oviedo to new heights in Spain and Europe.

Restore difficulty:
High

What do you think of my 'restore' clubs? Are there any other clubs in need to restoration? Please leave your comments below! 

Other topics in the Looking Forward series:

• Looking Forward #1 - Top 5 GK wonderkids in FMH16
• Looking Forward #2 - Top 5 DEF wonderkids in FMH16
• Looking Forward #3 - Top 5 MID wonderkids in FMH16
• Looking Forward #4 - Top 5 ST wonderkids in FMH16

[Dec]

Love that you included Oviedo. Great work, I cannot think of any missing teams.

[halamadrid]

Great as usual my good friend,really love this series.

[matsmetin]

I would say Dortmund too, because of heir recent "fall" of quality, but I think you didnt put them because it's too soon, right? 

[HarryB571]

Great post, really interesting. Serie D wasn't in FMH15 I think, will it be added next year? Portsmouth are another team to have fallen from grace in recent times

[S4NCH0]

Great Post FF!

They only way to manage Parma in FMH16 will be to start unemployed and wait for them to get promoted to Serie C and take their job. Hope it's possible and hope they'll add serie D

[Ashez]

Great work! I'm hoping for new leagues but if not I'm sure I'll play as AC Milan at some point. Bacca, Balo and Adriano is an awesome attack! 

[Fossil3]

A few italian teams here, good list

[Willburtron5000]

Great job mate. Can't wait for the next one

[FastFurious]

@Dec, @halamadrid, @matsmetin, @HarryB571, @S4NCH0, @Ashez, @Fossil3, @Willburtron5000: Thanks for the support everyone  Very much appreciated. 

@matsmetin: Yeah I wouldn't call Dortmund a 'restore' club since they're still doing pretty well atm.

@HarryB571: You're right Harry - Portsmouth has definitely fallen pretty hard and fast. They're similar in some respect in Oviedo in that they have lots of top-flight experience but lacking trophies to qualify as a 'dynasty'. If this was a top 10 list they definitely be included. 

@S4NCH0: Actually yeah I didn't even think of that! Parma could live on in FMH16...

@Ashez: Yep I'm definitely keen to try out AC Milan in FMH16 as well - given their great history it'll sure be a fun save

[JustM1kePlays]

Stunning bit of work mate well written and a great idea. More please!

[groove22]

Celtic won UCL in 1967

[FastFurious]

@JustM1kePlays: Thanks mate!

@groove22: Cheers mate, have fixed it above

[Luca_211]

Great work! I'd just signale a pair of Italians. The first one is Pro Vercelli, owner of 7 scudetti and now a bottom half serie b team that avoided relegation last year despite some trouble. The second one is Torino, they won 7 scudetti and 5 coppe Italia, they also finished 9th last season in serie A and they have plenty of youngsters, it should be a great team to manage this year (I don't say it just because I'm a Torino fan :P)