What exactly does 'challenge for the title' mean?

Hi,

I'm playing as Spurs in my second season, and I was given the expectation of challenging for the title which I had won the previous season. Eventually, I came 2nd, 4 points behind Man United, scoring 99 goals and letting in 38. I was in 2nd for most of the year, but occasionaly went up to first for a couple of matches. All in all, I thought this would certainly count as challenging for the title. However, my board confidence for the league is only 40%, and they say they are dissapointed that I didn't contend for honours in the League. So what exactly is a title challenge, short of winning the stupid thing again for the ungrateful bunch of suits

I would remove the swearing from your post bud!

Title challenge should be third or higher. Strange that they became so upset coming second.

Can you post a screen shot of your league progress throughout the season?

You can do that by going to the League Table and it should show you a nice graph.

Yeah i would have thought second would be enough to satisfy that, were you a long way off top?

Four points.

Can you post a screen shot of your league progress throughout the season?

You can do that by going to the League Table and it should show you a nice graph.

He stated in the OP that he was second for most of the season, and even went top for a few games.

The European Cup and UEC is due to a new European Cup I made replacing the Champions League, but I'm fairly certain this shouldn't make any difference. Other than that and the graphics I downloaded, I'm playing on the default 12.0.0 database.

hmmm might be worth reporting then, i dont see how the comp you've added would effect the league, but you never know in these situations.

Say what you like, the Spurs board are out of order with that ridiculous comment like that. Spurs had a title challanging year & FM need to fix this!

Ah so you edited the database, hmmm... don't know how that would affect it - but you could report it I guess.

Being in contention for the title throughout the season basically.

Thats the only thing i could maybe think of, the fact you have edited the euro comps means the board dont recognise you qualified. Def worth a post in the bugs forum.

We must not forget that you win last year. So, despite your expectation were "challenging for the title", in fact you perform at a inferior level from last year.

Perhaps this could have some effect on the confidence level.

Well, if they expected me to maintain my form from last year, they should have told me to win the title. The truth is we over performed massively both seasons although more so in the first, in terms of wage expenditure we're 8th and average attendance we're 9th despite selling out every home match in the league. Coming second is still a very good achievement considering the resources available, and imo it was definatly a title challenge.

I'll throw this is the bugs forum when I have some more time tomorrow, I dont think Europe is causing it as that wasn't the expectation, I've checked and some sides have been given 'qualify for Europe' such as Liverpool and they seem happy enough with Dalglish having come sixth and not set the world alight in the cups either.

Definitely worthy of the bugs forum imo. There's another option for the board to set their minimum expectations at "Winning the title". It wasn't that, so finishing 2nd should be enough to satisfy any of the other options.

I'm 9 games from the end of the season and despite teams behind me having games in hand, I'm top of the league...

The board are disappointed to be situated behind the top teams...

I know after the games equal out I'll be 4th but still, surely the board wont be saying I'm behind top teams. I've always assumed that a title challenge is basically finish in the top 4, which I am well on the way to do.

Maybe they were 13 points ahead and blew the lead to find themselves 3 behind.

Maybe they were 13 points ahead and blew the lead to find themselves 3 behind.

lol sounds familar almost mimicking real life. wonder if he is an unstable manager who cannot handle the pressure or "squeaky bumtime"

Maybe they were 13 points ahead and blew the lead to find themselves 3 behind.

Maybe someone didn't see the screenshot in post #8:

OP was pretty steadily in 2nd place all season, occasionally bumping to the top, with Man Utd finally taking over the top spot for good with 6 matches to go. At most he could have been 6 points clear after match 23. Hardly looks like a collapse.

Board expectations are not only apparently bugged (see above) but simplistic in their calculation.

I started an Ipswich game, the object of which was to develop my own youth and use it as much as possible, supplemented only my younger (sub-25 ish) lower league buys. In season two I had the temerity to exceed expectations and qualify, unexpectedly, for the play-offs. Season three the moron board concluded they’d sack me if I wasn’t promoted come the end of the season. Never mind, “great job for making the play-offs when we’d all only expected a respectable finish somewhere around mid-table, carry on the good work”. No: “promotion or the sack”. Ludicrous. And game over. Two seasons of hard work wasted. No way was that squad and the way it was evolving going to guarantee promotion. I was left with the option of cheating, abandoning the youth product/lower league purchase route or wasting another season for a moron board programmed unrealistically for a club like Ipswich that was going to sack me for the crime of making the play-offs unexpectedly.

It’s funny, but George Burley made the play-offs two years running with Ipswich without getting promoted the season after but, amazingly, never got the sack for not getting promoted the season after. As did Joe Royle. That must baffle the boffins at SI.