Trying to think creatively when making Football Manager Content can be quite difficult, what started as a small idea for myself has become something i really hope takes off, not for personal growth but for the deeper meaning it has for me.
A Create a Club Series like no other
Football Manager create a club is a fantastic feature and over the years we have seen some excellent creativity thanks to the use of the wonderful people who are skilled with the use of the FM Editor. The likes of Thames FC& Holme FC come to mind, while the community has shown its wonderful side with people like Loki Doki and the recent work with Fort William, Out of Context FM and their recent Terrace Football Tournament for charity.
I had decided a while ago that my main save for content this year would be creating my own team and the narrative was started to be written back in early October (more on that later) but the short of it - a community club in Liverpool. That's where Pino, a fine member of the FM community gave me an idea on stream.
A Community Club within the narrative but also involving members of the Football Manager Community. After a suggestion of this among a few people it seemed to really be something people would like to be a part of.
With that i began brainstorming ideas, and this is my way of further brainstorming & gauging community support.
Background - the spirit of Scouse
With Liverpool announcing they were to leave their fabled training ground of Melwood after 70 years there was a lot of talk throughout Liverpool about what would become of the famous pitches on which Shankly built a legacy that lasted a lifetime.
Sadly, as some of you may be aware, Melwood is going to be sold for housing development. Something many locals are disappointed about, not just for the loss of such enriched history but also the hope that it would become a community centre in an area with high levels of social deprivation.
Being from the West Derby area myself, growing up Melwood meant a lot to me, the drive home from football training we would pass Melwood and pop to the gate to try get a sneak peak of the likes of Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso & other Liverpool legends.
So, to try and extend the love of Melwood for myself and keep that history going i decided to rewrite reality.
The plan to sell Melwood miraculously changed, and instead a community centre opened. While also allowing the top level Training Facilities to be used by local amateur & semi-professional teams for training. That's where we come in.
Liverpool has perhaps one of the strongest senses of community i have ever experienced. The phrase 'Spirit of Scouse' is something that means a lot to us. There is so many examples of Scousers coming together to achieve greatness or as we all know fight for justice.
The thought of what the city and spirit of being a scouser means to me truly brings goosebumps. It is something special and the beauty of it? You don't even have to be from the city to experience it.
We all know the famous line You'll Never Walk Alone sang by Local Lad Gerry Marsden, but there is a lesser known lyric from another hit of his
"we don't care what your name is boy, we'll never turn you away."
Scousers have a way of coming together for the good of others; regardless of background, ideologies and loyalties.
Fans Supporting Food Banks is a perfect demonstration of this. In the absolute shit show that 2020 has been the way they have pushed to help the most vulnerable has been astonishing. The Coalition of Liverpool & Everton fan groups that try and help those struggling the most shows the Scouse Spirit better than anything.
The reason i mention them?
They will be the Club's Sponsor and the whole series will be a way of raising awareness for their fantastic cause along with fundraising challenges and campaigns throughout.
If it is something you can get behind - there will be another blog tomorrow going more into depth on the Club itself as well as a ways you can get involved and be a part of something important!
I will leave you with another lyric that always resonates with me as a Scouser and my love for the City. I wouldn't be the person i am today without the City, the People, the Culture and the Community there. As Jamie Webster put it
My City, My People, My Heart... My City, I owe it all to this Place.
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