The immortal words “For Sparta! For freedom! To the death!” preceded a fearless warrior group going into battle against their vast Persian enemy in the epic movie 300. The movie was based on the feared Spartan Army, one of the most formidable forces in the Ancient Greek world between the 6th and 4th centuries BC – up to 6,000 years ago.
History tells us that this iconic warrior army was founded by Spartan legislator Lycurgus, who established it with the aim of having “a wall of men, instead of bricks.” In fact, he took that to such extreme levels that he proposed reforming Spartan society around a military lifestyle in which boys deemed strong enough underwent intense military training and education focused on cunningness, self-discipline, sports and war tactics, as well as academics, music, poetry and politics, from the age of seven.
The legend of this army was such that Greek people commonly acknowledged that a single Spartan warrior was equivalent to multiple men from other states. The Spartans also maintained a strict code of honour by which no soldier was considered superior to another and misbehavior, rage and recklessness were prohibited. They also believed someone who fights while wishing to live is more valorous than one who doesn’t care if they die and, rather than fighting with anger, a warrior should channel calm determination and never drop their shield.
The Spartans FC Mission
With the superbly named The Spartans FC being playable for the first time in Football Manager 2024, it’s time for a save that epitomises the Spartan ethos of courage, honour, loyalty, integrity, selflessness and values of equality, military fitness and austerity in Football Manager terms.
The Spartans is a semi-professional club based in Edinburgh, playing at the 3,612-capacity Ainslie Park Stadium. It was formed in 1951 by a group of former students who intended to build a team of graduates of Edinburgh University. However, it soon opened up its ranks to players of all backgrounds, becoming one of the most successful clubs in the East of Scotland Football League from the 1970s. It joined the Lowland League in 2013 and gained promotion to the Scottish Football League for the first time last season.
To channel the Spartan spirit into FM24, we’ll aim to build a hard-working and fearless Spartans FC squad. That means signing players with high aggression, bravery, composure, concentration, determination, positioning, stamina, strength and work rate to truly build a team worthy of the Spartan Army moniker.
The Spartans FC in FM24
For the purpose of this save, we’ll be introducing manager King Leonidas to the footballing world. The Greek giant, who stands at a mighty 6ft 8in, bagged his National C Licence in preparation for assuming control of the Spartan Army and being appointed at Ainslie Park.
The powers that be at The Spartans expect Leonidas to establish the club as a cinch League 2 side and be competitive in the various cup competitions until the end of his two-year contract. While his new army of supporters expect their team to remain in League 2 and get the better of rivals Edinburgh City, Civil Service and Whitehill.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of cash available for Leonidas to work with as The Spartans have just £83k in the bank, a transfer budget of £7.5k and weekly wage budget of £4.8k of which they were spending £3.7k. Facilities-wise, The Spartans have 9 training and youth facilities, 11 youth recruitment, 14 junior coaching and a 1.5-star Regional reputation. And, in what may be a personal FM first, the club plays on a Synthetic (new type – soft) pitch.
Implementing The Spartan Philosophy
Leonidas would have to work with the existing The Spartans playing staff to begin with, but immediately began searching for those more worthy of being a Spartan Warrior. So on his first day, he set up search filters for players with aggression, bravery, composure, concentration, determination, positioning, stamina, strength and work rate of at least 10. He also created a squad view that highlights his players’ attributes in those key areas.
Leonidas moved on any players that didn’t come close to those key attributes, particularly any with low determination and work rate. Unsurprisingly, no players showed up with all 10 of Leonidas’ preferred attributes. However, he did pick up a couple of players that matched a few of them. One of those was a very high-profile player who’s probably well beyond his best but was a true warrior. Welcome to The Spartans… Asamoah Gyan! The 109-time capped Ghanaian international lacks in key areas like determination, concentration and teamwork (7), as well as pace (6), but for this level he seemed a great signing for The Spartans.
Leonidas also signed centre-back Craig Howie, who has 18 determination, and 19-year-old midfielder Reece Riddell, who has six of the key attributes over 11, and loaned in right-back Aron Lynas. And key players to look out for will be former Raith and Falkirk midfielder James Craigen, who’s easily the best player at the club, 18-year-old left winger Bryan Mwangi on loan from Dundee United, target forward Blair Henderson and 21-year-old midfielder Rhys Armstrong.
Leonidas went straight to a basic tactic with a 4-4-2. But, to channel the Spartan ethos, he set instructions like high and frequent pressing, get stuck in, inviting crosses and be more expressive.
Getting Started With The Spartans
Leonidas’ reign began with the pointless pre-season Scottish League Cup group, which he treated as friendlies as they got battered by Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Partick Thistle and Queen of the South. More important is League 2, in which Spartans are predicted to finish 6th with title odds of 18/1. Relegated Peterhead are favourites at 4/9 followed by Dumbarton (8/13), Stenhousemuir (7/5) and Forfar (14/1). And Craigen is considered the best player in League 2.
The Leonidas reign began with a bang at home to relegated Clyde. They raced into a 2-0 lead through wingers Mwangi and James Dishington before Gyan tapped home his league debut goal just after time and Dishington’s second wrapped up a convincing 4-1 victory.
Gyan picked up a knock in that game but his replacement Cammy Russell and his replacement Sean Brown scored as Leonidas won his first away game 3-2 at Dumbarton. A first league defeat followed at home to Elgin City but they went to Peterhead and picked up a slightly lucky 2-0 win through Henderson and Dishington, who impressed Leonidas in the first few games.
The strong start dipped off with a couple of defeats but they bounced back to defeat East Fife 3-0 led by Gyan’s opener. A win over bottom side Bonnyrig Rose and then a strong 0-0 at leaders Elgin left Leonidas’ side 4th and in the playoff spots after 10 league games. But a 6-0 victory ay Stenhousemuir catapulted them into form as they thrashed East Fife 4-2 then Peterhead 5-1 led by Craigen’s goal and two assists. And that saw Leonidas conquer the Scottish League 2 Mirror Manager of the Month award for the first time in November.
However, a promising start was curtailed by Gyan kicking up a fuss about concerns over his work permit being rejected at the end of the season and demanding a move. Leonidas, not one for such outbursts, didn’t take kindly to it, told him to get his life sorted out, Gyan went AWOL, requested a transfer and quickly agreed a move to Bosnian side Podrinje. Maybe he wasn’t such an exemplary Spartan Warrior. He’ll depart on 1 January after scoring 11 in 26 with 2 assists and a 6.84 average rating.
Gyan leaves with The Spartans sitting 2nd in cinch League 2, having won 11 and lost 6 of their 19 games and leading the league with 44 goals scored. Leaders Elgin look to be out of reach but Leonidas was hopeful his offensive approach could help the team continue to push for a place in the playoffs.
Could Leonidas inspire a playoff push at The Spartans? Join us next Wednesday to find out!
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