retired_corbettk4

So I just read the news - Hoffenheim just made it to the Bundesliga, a team with a 5000 seater stadium...

Cosmo, what do you know about the team's history?
Apparently the team has been on a steady rise from amateur status in recent years. It is very inspirational; let us see how they manage next year!

isabe

Not very inspirational, apparently. There's big money behind their sudden rise to 1.Bundesliga, it seems.

retired_sandra

The German version of Gretna?

isabe

Yup, it seems so:

"When Hopp, who had played in the club's youth setup, acquired control in 1990, Hoffenheim were playing in the eighth level of German football. Today, Hoffenheim are in the First Bundesliga. Hopp is also spending €40 million to build a new 30,000-seat stadium for the club."

retired_corbettk4

What is the Gretna story (and in which country?). Yes well, having a wealthy godfather helps, but that is not the point - the point is that a team went through eight tiers to reach the Bundesliga.... (other teams tend to achieve it by other shady strategies I guess).

And it is always cool to see such events happening - imagine next season's games (before the new stadium is finished), Bayern playing in an 5000 seater.... Great!

retired_lauriekeith

Gretna - Scotland. You could probably wiki the story or wait for someone else to tell you.

isabe

Sancho, you should've said "Bayern playing in an half-empty 5000 seater.... Great!". The whole of Hoffenheim has a population of 3000, and any outside support is in all likelihood drawn mainly by curiosity. I have nothing against small clubs rising to fame, but Hoffenheim - same as Gretna, iirc - has no support base whatsoever. It is just a whim of one ultrarich man. Rising through eight tiers thanks to overpaid players way too good for a given level and tempted by money alone is not my idea of how new footballing powers emerge.

retired_ironmaden

Still, hats off for their Bundesliga 2 campagn. I mean their squad is not that strong...

retired_pmetzger1

And you posted this in LLM because...

retired_corbettk4

Ah, just read something about Gretna - apparently their stream of gold has run dry...

And yes, Professor, while it is true that the rise of small clubs using a god father and without a fan base for support is artificial (or call it inflation); nowadays it is VERY hard for a team in the lower leagues to make it up the tiers -

Which brings me to Michal's question - why is this relevant to LLM? Because it is the model behind the game !

In FM, teams rise through the ranks at a higher rate than real life - which is fine, because it is a game and not that realistic. However, for lower league teams the triumvirate of fans, treasure chest, and skill (management and players) needs to be in balance. Deviate from it and teams either rise or fall... And this lack of stability is what we see in real life (as with that Italian team I forget, the Gretna example, and now the German one).

So, in conclusion, it is ok for a team to go up - the larger fan base will be acquired with time - just like every team has done...

Now lets go get more coffee...