Mastering the Moneyball Save in Football Manager

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If you’re a person of culture, you’ll already be familiar with the film Moneyball. It stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, and Jonah Hill as Peter Brand, a young Yale economics graduate. The film follows Beane as he attempts to build a competitive team on a limited budget using an unconventional strategy: advanced statistics to identify undervalued players, something many Football Manager fans might already be thinking of.

Despite resistance from traditional scouts and his team’s manager, Beane’s methods lead the Athletics to a historic 20-game winning streak, proving the effectiveness of a data-driven approach. Over the past decade, Moneyball has become particularly relevant to football fans. Clubs like Brighton have shown that clever use of data and strategic recruitment can enable smaller clubs to compete with the big boys.

Moneyball and Football Manager – A Match Made in Heaven

For obvious reasons, Moneyball resonates deeply with Football Manager (FM) fans. It ticks all the boxes: an obsession with statistics, using data to outwit wealthier rivals, and deploying unconventional strategies to achieve success. It’s a perfect pairing. We’ve already used similar strategies in articles to find undervalued strikers and you may have even done similar approaches in the past.

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Yes, you can apply a Moneyball strategy to your Football Manager save. There’s an easy way to do it for beginners and a more hardcore method for the truly fearless. I’ll break down both approaches so you can choose the one that suits your style. Plus, I’ll highlight the ideal club for your Moneyball adventure.

You need to choose the right club

First things first: choose a club that fits the Moneyball ethos. That means a relatively small club with financial constraints. Managing Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United in a Moneyball save would be like watching a Moneyball sequel about the Yankees crushing opponents with their massive budget—not very compelling.


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You’ll want a lower-league club or a smaller team in a competitive league. Think Brentford: a Premier League regular now, but until recently, their stadium capacity was just 12,300. They epitomize the Moneyball spirit, using clever strategy to punch above their weight. Essentially, pick a team that gives you a challenge. It’ll be far more rewarding when you succeed.

Clayts moneyball save with Brentford – Football Manager 2024

A simple Moneyball save

At its core, a simple Moneyball save is about buying undervalued players and selling them for a profit. To do this, focus on scouting players in undervalued leagues. Don’t expect many bargains in the Premier League or Portugal—those clubs know how to price their players.

Instead, look to less fashionable leagues, like Romania’s first division or the South African Premier League, where player values are lower, and hidden gems abound. Many lower-league English clubs, like Norwich, have found value players in low-reputation European leagues or scooped up talented players undervalued due to injuries.

The golden rule for a simple Moneyball save is this: never spend more on transfers than you make from sales. If you sell players for £6 million, your transfer budget for new signings is capped at £6 million. One friend of mine stuck to this rule religiously and ended up with a club balance of over £1 billion.

If you enjoy being clever with transfers and building wealth, this is the challenge for you. But if you’re a Moneyball purist, you might want to up the ante with a hardcore approach…

My transfer stats in my latest Football Manager save – Football Manager 2024

A hardcore moneyball save

In a hardcore Moneyball save, you take things to the next level by turning off player attributes entirely. This forces you to rely solely on statistics rather than the familiar numerical attributes.

There are various ways to achieve this. For instance, this skin converts attribute numbers into ranges or circles, giving you only a vague sense of a player’s ability. Experiment with different skins or mods to find what works for you.

The idea is to stop focusing on attributes like “15 finishing” and instead scout players based on their performance stats. For a pressing forward, for example, you might filter by distance covered or shot conversion rate. The stats you prioritize will depend on your tactical setup and the player’s role.

Of course, you’ll need to apply common sense. A striker dominating the Vanarama North might not replicate that performance in the Premier League. But by focusing on statistics, you’ll uncover players overlooked by the AI—players who, while imperfect on paper, are undervalued gems in practice.

Other things to consider in a Football Manager Moneyball save

To fully embrace the Moneyball approach, keep these principles in mind:

  1. Buy young players – They have higher potential resale value.
  2. Exploit release clauses – Underpriced clauses are a goldmine for bargains.
  3. Avoid big names – Their reputation inflates their price.
  4. Maximize utility players – Versatile players save money and add flexibility.
  5. Sell at the peak – Don’t get attached. Cash in when their value is highest.
  6. Stick to a wage structure – Overpaying on wages can cripple your finances.
  7. Redefine successMoneyball isn’t just about trophies; it’s about profit margins, overperformance, and turning unknown talents into stars.

Conclusion

This has been a brief introduction to Moneyball in Football Manager. My interpretation might not be perfect—there’s plenty of debate about what Moneyball truly entails. Many creators have tackled Moneyball saves with great success.

Now go forth and conquer, Moneyball-style. Who knows? Maybe your next save will lead to a historic 20-game winning streak—or at least a glowing bank balance.

About the Author

William Reid

William is the admin of Out of Context Football Manager, an X account that focuses on FM news. He's worked for LADbible Group and is VG's resident FM expert.

Football Manager 2024

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Management, Soccer, Sports
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