dafuge's FM12 challenge

[Spacenugget]

that was an awesome read, second leg was epic. Congrats on the win.
I've just came within 2 points of winning the premiership (O_o) came down to the last game of the season but United won their match... (the ****ers)

I'll update here tomorrow as I'm a season behind here (~_~#)


EDIT:

quick catchup post:

Redditch United
Season 10 - 2021/2022 - Barclays Premiership (2nd season)

Board expectations: avoid relegation. (media prediction was 17th)
My expectations: Possible top half finish
Final Position: 7th (euro cup qual)

FA Cup: Champions (Redditch 1-0 Man City)

League Cup: Semi final (Man City 3-1 Redditch)

Things started out really promising with a great preseason showing including a 6-0 victory over Fiorentina. 8 goals scored and none conceded after 3 premiership games I was hopeful of a good campaign. We started to really come into our own after Christmas with 8 games undefeated runs happening twice and storming runs through both cups. Sean Irwin started to settle in, Jessen started to perform better and it was a big money season for us :

Cvijanovic left for Swansea for a tasty 10.5 million after joining us in League 2. Odd-Geir Birknes also left for 4.8m finding a new home at Norwich. Robin Andersson joined for 5.3m and Carl Gardner moved from West Ham for a tiny 2.9m to strut his stuff, by the end of the season Gardner would have 'wonderkid' status and prove to be one of the greatest bargains I have ever signed in a FM game


Highlight of the season
Finishing Higher than I expected and grabbing a Euro Cup place. Winning Premiership Manager of the season for the first time and signing Gardner. Seeing Jessen win young player of the month 5 times in one season O_o

Oh and beating Man City for the FA Cup

Lowpoint of the season

I dont think there was one. It was a great one all round. if I had to pick one it would be Aidan O'Neill turing out to be a bit of a flop. His pottential nose dived and he left soon after the season ended.

June 24th Screen shot 
Season     Division                    Position          Achievments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13 Blue Square North         12th               Mid table                           best eleven.  transfers1  2

2013/14 Blue Square North         1st               Champions                           best eleven.  transfers

2014/15 Blue Square Premier       4th               Top half finish                      best eleven.  transfers

2015/16 Blue Square Premier       1st               Champions                           best eleven.  transfers
 
2016/17 nPower League 2           5th              Playoffs-Promotion                best eleven.  transfers
 
2017/18 nPower League 1           1st              Shock Champions                 best eleven.  transfers

2018/19 nPower Championship      10th           Surprise mid finish                 best eleven.  transfers

2019/20 nPower Championship      1st             Surprise Domination              best eleven   transfers

2020/21 Barclays Premiership       14th          Unconvincing mid table           best eleven   transfers

2021/22 Barclays Premiership       7th         convincing mid table         best eleven   transfers

[Jackadaniels]

Nantwich town FC

Introduction

After hours of searching for a club with less than 1000 reputation I finally have my team...

Joe Bloggs is unveiled as Nantwich manager!

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/1...viewinform.png

I will be uploading a season 1 update as soon as I can which will have a lot more detail on transfers and finances etc.

[Thebaker]

Worksop 2029/30


Table

Positions

League Cup - Winners

FA Cup - Winners

CL - Winners

The season started slowly with the team taking time to get going but by 2/3rds of the season they hit top spot where they remained to clinch the title and complete the challenge. The reserves won the league cup along with the euro super cup and world club cup. The FA cup was won again.
In the CL the team cruised through the group and faced Sevilla in the 1st KO, after a surprise 2-0 loss the team came back to win 3-0 at home. Juventus were beaten in the quarters and Man city lost 5-0 in the home leg of the semi's. The final was equally one-sided.
The finances are ok with 50 million in the bank although the shareholders keep taking out large sums each year, i keep hoping for a new stadium as the current one of 12535 is laughable for a team with a worldwide rep.

Squad

Transfers 1 2

There were only free transfers in although Zubov is a wonderkid. Leaving were Ghoul (21 apps) who while a good player was incredibly injury prone else he would have played twice as many games for worksop. Berger (4 apps in 5 years) was 3rd or 4th choice keeper and i was surprised to get so much when i offered him around for 5 million. Taleb (25 apps, 2 goals) was another good player but not up to the level to make it as a first teamer.
The goalies and defenders did ok with standing out. In midfield most of the midfielders were generally effective without really impressing, Shabaan was one of the exceptions and Brandt had his best ever season, the most assists and highest rating since he joined in L2 12 seasons ago.
Up front only 3 strikers really played very much with all doing well in patches although Santamaria scored a lot in the cup competitions against poor opposition.

Season        League       Position       FA Cup              Other Cups                Europe              Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13        BSN           13th         4th QRd           FA Trophy - 1st Rd           N/A                    None
2013/14        BSN           3rd          1st Rd            FA Trophy - 1st Rd           N/A                    Promoted via playoffs
2014/15        BSP           6th          1st Rd            FA Trophy - 1st Rd           N/A                    None
2015/16        BSP           2nd          3rd Rd            FA Trophy - Winners          N/A                    Promoted via playoffs, FA Trophy winners
2016/17        L2            14th         1st Rd            LC - 2nd Rd/JPT - Qtr-f      N/A                    None
2017/18        L2            6th          3rd Rd            LC - 2nd Rd/JPT - 2nd Rd     N/A                    Lost in playoff Final
2018/19        L2            3rd          3rd Rd            LC - 3rd Rd/JPT - N- Final   N/A                    Automatic promotion
2019/20        L1            1st          5th Rd            LC - 1st Rd/JPT - Winners    N/A                    League Winners, JPT Winners
2020/21        CMP           11th         3rd Rd            LC - 4th Rd                  N/A                    None
2021/22        CMP           11th         3rd Rd            LC - 4th Rd                  N/A                    None    
2022/23        CMP           3rd          6th Rd            LC - Winners                 N/A                    Promoted via playofffs, LC winners
2023/24        Prem          8th          Winners           LC - 3rd Rd                  EC - QTR-final         FA Cup winners
2024/25        Prem          5th          5th Rd            LC - Winners                 EC - Winners           LC winners, Euro Cup Winners
2025/26        Prem          4th          Winners           LC - 4th Rd                  EC - QTR-Final         FA Cup winners
2026/27        Prem          2nd          6th Rd            LC - 3rd Rd                  CL - QTR-Final         None
2027/28        Prem          3rd          Semi-final        LC - 3rd Rd                  CL - 1st KO Rd         None
2028/29        Prem          4th          Semi-final        LC - Winners                 CL - Winners           LC winners, CL winners
2029/30        Prem          1st          Winners           LC - Winners                 CL - Winners           Clean Sweep

[DeadPanda]

Long time no post in this thread. I'm in my first season of league one, coming to a close with almost my entire squads contracts running out and no way to offer them decent new ones as I have managed to go about £5k over budget p/w. It's crippling us financially and its the first time I've not been properly in control of the finances after not really caring about transfers in the past season properly. Could mean a full squad rebuild, something I'm looking forward to as it should give my game a new lease of life and the players are pretty poor anyway. We should finish just above the drop zone, and after a squad rebuild, we should be battling the top half a lot more next year.

[Spacenugget]

Redditch United
Season 11 - 2022/2023 - Barclays Premiership (3rd season)

Board expectations: Mid Table (media prediction was 11th)
My expectations: Top half finish
Final Position: 2nd (Champions league qual)
FA Cup: Champions (Redditch 3 -2 Brighton)
Community Shield: Lost (Man City p0-0 Redditch)

What a season, a shaky start but by 12 games we found ourselves in 4th and the only was was up (past positions). Man U seemed unbeatable and comfortably sat in 1st for almost the entire season but a string of sloppy games around near February saw them lose some steam. Eventually it came down to the last day (one fixture remaining). We needed Swansea to beat United and to grab a win at home against Chelsea, a no hoper really, but after a Swansea pulled ahead around 15 minutes in I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little hopeful. ok... very hopeful. As the matches came to an end though (88 minutes goal report) it was obvious two goals from Swansea was too big of a task. We had done our best though and2nd was an amazing finish for us.


Cups: The Community Shield we lost on penaltys to ManCity. The Fa Cup we stormed and for the second year running brought it home. Lost in the semifinals to Spurs in both the Euro Cup and the League cup meaning I played them a LOT this season.
Awards: I won the Premiership Manager of the season for the second year running which rose my reputation to worldwide woohoo.
Sean Irwin came 3rd in players player of the year, 2nd in Premiership top scorer, first Redditch player to make the Prem Team of the year (sub) and busted Redditch records all over the place with 48 goals in 58 appearances. He also cemented himself as an England 1st team player.



Highlight of the season

3 players descriptions changed to wonderkid meaning I now have 4 wonderkids at the club, I have never been so lucky with signings in any FM game before. Delighted. The 4 players currently showing as wonderkids are:
Gardner arrived last season for a bargain 2.9 mil
Mendonca arrived at the start of the season for a risky3.7mil (the fans and board actually complained about the signing)
Coric Championship signing 3 or so seasons ago arrived for 575k as a hot prospect
Paleso Spotted almost 3 seasons ago I snapped him up for 900k but had to wait until he turned 18 so he could join us. now here and showing as wonderkid #4



Lowpoint of the season

Honestly this season was a blast from start to finish, I guess if I had to pick a low point it would be Man Uniteds dominance stopping us winning he league, they were unstoppable.


Transfers


25 million was spent on players.... never thought I'd get to say that back a few seasons ago
I guess I'll just mention the ones I think could be big un's:

Jarbas after a fruitless search I was panicking for a rightback, 13+ million was chucked at Rubin kazan and Jarbas joined us. Smashed the record transfer fee
Alexander Luz 2.9 million for the 17 year old German keeper. I will eat my hat if he doesn't turn out to be awesome.
Damien Joly Lyon didnt want to sell as they considered him a strong prospect but I was determined to grab this dude. 3 million finally sealed the deal.
Ronni Jorgensen grabbed him on a free, only appeared in under18 games yet major interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. Denmark has been very kind to me.

Outward transfers were quiet, Guo ge (was first choice DC) left for 5 million to Wolves so that Steffensen cold get more game time.

Full transfers screen

Starting 11

Mathias JessenST Sean IrwinST

Carl GardnerML Tomislav CoricMCa Morgan KellyMCd Jack WilshereMR

S.G VillaescusaDLKen SteffensenDC Robin AnderssonDC JarbasDR

Victor GustafssonGK

Next season's aims
Hopefully anything near the same performance would be nice.
Try hold on to the talent at the club as another few seasons to mature and we will be a serious force.
I'm maybe a little to hopeful after this season, hopefully we dont fall apart.

June 24th Screen shot 
Season     Division                    Position          Achievments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13 Blue Square North         12th               Mid table                           best eleven.  transfers1  2

2013/14 Blue Square North         1st               Champions                           best eleven.  transfers

2014/15 Blue Square Premier       4th               Top half finish                      best eleven.  transfers

2015/16 Blue Square Premier       1st               Champions                           best eleven.  transfers
 
2016/17 nPower League 2           5th              Playoffs-Promotion                best eleven.  transfers
 
2017/18 nPower League 1           1st              Shock Champions                 best eleven.  transfers

2018/19 nPower Championship      10th           Surprise mid finish                 best eleven.  transfers

2019/20 nPower Championship      1st             Surprise Domination              best eleven   transfers

2020/21 Barclays Premiership       14th          Unconvincing mid table           best eleven   transfers

2021/22 Barclays Premiership       7th         convincing mid table                best eleven   transfers

2022/23 Barclays Premiership       2nd                       runner up                best eleven   transfers

[DeadPanda]

Have you tried offering the players key squad status? There's a lot of 'wiggle room' over the budget if you use that. Eventually you will hit a point where you can't offer anything, but it can be useful if your board is being tight and don't give you any cash for wages.

Yeh, way past that point - at a stage where I could only offer players £95p/w (budget was £19k, I had them on £24.5k ish), so the board were having none of it. It's a good thing, cleared out a tonne of rubbish and brought in some better players demanding lesser wages. Managed to get a couple of my best current players on lesser contracts too, so all is a bit more stable now that we are matching our £17k budget.

[Spacenugget]

Bought an incredible CB from inter for a silly high amount (approx 24million) so he could tutor the youths and hopefully give us the boost in defence to challenge for the title.... first match scored an own goal, second match red card = 3 match ban and I'm still getting news items over it with the fans calling me out on it and the board cracking up. Not so fun.


Then to cheer me up Villaescusa (old screen) just changed to wonderkid in his description thats 5 at the club now, delighted.
The future is looking good for Redditch


Edit: make that 6 Alexander Luz has changed to wonderkid too. Is the wonderkid description more common in 12, the last FM I played properly was FML and the 'wonderkid' description was rare as hell. FM09 and 10 were the same, most I ever had at a club was 2 (maybe 3 but I cant remember). 6 potential world class players this cheap and for Redditch just seems too good to be true

[MikeC-UK]

Just signed up specifically so i could take part in this thread. I was doing a similar challenge on another site but wasn't allowed to sign players things.. didn't go great. Promoted season 1, relegated then had a squad of useless players with no hope lol (No-one would renew contracts and youth was pathetic). Anyway currently waiting for the year to simulate then will be doing the 1day holiday hoping to get Frome will settle for Totton though if need be.

Will post up later today with the screenshot of profile and hopefully end of first season (wife & kids away for the night xD) Not sure how many saves it will have though as for some reason my pc keeps crashing when I play FM12 will try to restrict it to once every other month though. Wish me luck

[GreyedOutMan]

I've missed this game. Though the thread seems to be dead, I'm going to continue my game. The reason I stopped was because I lost the newest version of my game which knocked me back about two years, and they were two good years. So I will now attempt to pick up a game which is a couple of years back from where I left it, with players who I will not remember very well! This WILL be a challenge. Will shortly post a "state of play" post and would appreciate any advice!

[GreyedOutMan]

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/57...C9C6A5ADE4C6D/

My squad as it is now. I have signed Messias and Ondjola - two of the vital players in the next couple of years the first time around.

[SopranoObject]

I know its abit late to be starting this but here i am: http://s1261.photobucket.com/albums/ii581/Sopranoobject/?action=view&current=MattLeppingtonOverview_Inform ation-2.png
as manager of Oxford City after hours of reloads.

[MikeC-UK]

Thousands of reloads (well about 14hr straight on day1, 8hrs day2 and an hour a day since) Still havent got one of the two teams I wanted. Going to try again tomorrow and will have to accept anything below 1k since it doesn't look like i'll get my wish of one of the two worst teams If anyone has got them on a save regardless of the year pls upload a save file.

I was tempted to modify there rep holiday 1 day and reduce there rep again but figured that would mess something up so going to take the honest path

[b101]

Good luck guys - I've taken a bit of a break from mine but still plan to finish it before FM13

[SopranoObject]

Oxford City (Rep:1000)
League: Blue Square North (Season 2012/2013)
Board expectations: Avoid relegation (Media predicted 22nd)
Final position: 6th (Graph)
F.A Cup: First Round (Oxford City 1-4 MK Dons)
Fixture list 1 Fixture List 2

This was my first season in charge of Oxford junior and I decided to restructure the whole squad. By the time the official transfer window had closed i had signed a complete new squad of players: Transfers
After an exciting first game of the season (Oxford City v.s FC Halifax) I was left feeling as though this could be an interesting year, which was later proved to be right.
With a poor start to the season leaving us 20th after 8 games, A team meeting was called which shaped the next 4 months of our campaign. The inspiring meeting hurled us towards the top half of the division and after twice the games, we were in the play offs! We looked unstoppable in the league and broke the club record for most games unbeaten in a row and after a run that stretched from late September to early January I truly believed we were destined for promotion. The players had other ideas...
In the next 16 games we managed to pick up a measly 14 points! Somehow managing to keep us in the top half but left us 4 points out of the play offs with only 5 games to go; including games against 2nd and 3rd placed teams Barrow and Stalybridge.
After loosing to Stalybridge, a change of tactics helped us win the other 3 games and we were left to play Barrow on the final day of the season. A quick look at the league table revealed that we had to win and 2 of the 3 teams on joint points above us had to lose or draw.

Things wern't looking that well when Barrow took the lead in 7 minutes. But a first half hattrick from midfielder Liam Davison made it 3-1 at the half time whistle. As it stood, we could still finish 5th providing the scorelines didn't change. We marched out onto the field second half, full of confidence, putting another 3 past 2nd placed Barrow! Including a record breaking 4th from Davison. However, in the dying minutes of the game Chester managed to take the lead pushing us out of the play offs by one point. It was a valiant effort but our stumble mid season had proven costly. Our final position was 5th place. Barrow v.s Oxford City

Overall, considering our expectations and predictions I think its fair to say that we had a good first season and with the new 4-2-3-1 tactic employed we should have a more consistent season next year.

[TheUsualSuspect9]

Just about to start the challenge. Do it most years, normally to try and re-kindle my interest in FM until the new one comes out. Game is holidaying as I type, will probably go with FC United but may change m mind as I read through some post on here while it loads.

[Spacenugget]

Think I'm about to complete the challenge, finished 2nd in the Prem last season and won the Champions League

Blasted straight into this season spending big on defence. Now in January and on a six match win streak and a 6 point lead over 2nd place. Morale is super high and even though there has constantly been 4-5 long term injurys and terrible fixture congestion the team is rotating really well. Delighted.

Hope I didn't just jinx myself :/
Never did an update for last season so I'll just roll them into one or something.

EDIT: MISSION COMPLETE

Redditch celebrate famous quadruple

Dominated the Premiership but winning the CL again this season was a damn pleasant surprise.
Chelsea are unreal in my game, actually Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal are also unbelievable, Spurs scored 100 goals this season in the premiership and finished 5th O_o. So I guess the European clubs were a walk in the park compared to the competition in the Premiership. Still surprised we did it after losing 4-0 to Chelsea about 3 weeks before the final.
But to put it simply this Redditch game was the greatest game of FM I have ever played by far, what a ride.... I finally have my life back woohoo.
I'll try get screens or something up in a while but honestly I need a long break from anything FM related lol

[Lenzar]

FuSS - Amazing that you managed it so fast. Did you get a tycoon takeover?

[Crispypaul]

I've restarted my Bradford Park Avenue game that I last played in December, as I have had a pretty decent journeyman career since.

After playing a couple of games we're fifth in League One in the 2015/16 season, with a good chance of getting through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup as we face non-league Colwyn Bay at home in the 2nd round. I'm giving a debut to a 16 year old striker who is marked with 5* for potential.

[budy]

Just about to start the challenge. The game is on holliday as I'm typing.
Can someone tell me what links I have to post for the first time?

[Crispypaul]

Just about to start the challenge. The game is on holliday as I'm typing.
Can someone tell me what links I have to post for the first time?

Just to your profile I believe.

[Crispypaul]

A 4th successive promotion is not on the cards for Bradford Park Avenue - we lost in the play-off final to Coventry as one of my midfielders thought the 110th minute was an excellent time to give away a penalty.

Full update to follow this evening.

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2015/16
nPower League One

League: 5th
Enough for a play off spot but we lost to Coventry in the final. I released the player who gave away the penalty!

FA Cup: 5th round
Another good run, this time losing out to eventual winners Chelsea.

League Cup: 1st round
Hull beat us easily at the first stage again.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: 1st round
Hull also took care of us in the JPT.

Key Players:

Zah Ansah - continued his rich vein of form and was voted the Fan's player of the season, however asking for a 500% increase in salary was too much so I let him go at the end of the season.

Thomas Cruise - started off performing Knight and Day but in the the end it proved Mission Impossible as he lost his place in the team

Cheick Dia - Arsenal loanee who pushed Cruise out of a starting spot

Alex Nilsson - Did well in a 4-4-2 with Ansah, or on his own in a 4-5-1

Sead Hajrovic - the Swiss centreback continued to marshal the defence.

Simon Johansen - versatile Danish defender/midfielder provided solidity

Aims for season

- Get promoted automatically
- Do a bit better in the JPT and League Cup for once
- Convince my board to let me scout outside the UK and Ireland once the takeover has been completed.

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up

[Crispypaul]

This will be interesting - I've noticed Norwich have been relegated to League One.

My wage budget is a maximum of £38.5k a week if I move the slider fully to the left and use up the transfer budget. We're currently spending £28k a week on wages.

Norwich, on the other hand, have one player on £29k a week, one on £38k a week, and another on an eye-watering £46.5k a week! Not sure how I'm going to cope with that one.

Oh and my new chairman still won't let me scout outside the UK and Ireland....

[GreyedOutMan]

Right, big news.

I have got a new job which has required a relocation. My relocation, as it turns out, is to a house within 5 minutes walking distance from Tooting and Mitcham's stadium. Obviously I would therefore like to play with T&M in FM13, but I have a horrible feeling they might have been relegated - can anyone confirm this? I will also be buying a season ticket to go and watch T&M - so anyone (including dafuge) who has managed them - do let me know who I should be looking out for IRL!

Can anyone confirm whether T&M are likely to be a playable team in this iteration and indeed what my chances might be of picking them up without 1000 years' reloadin?

Thanks

PS Anyone who has been missing my Harrow game - I lost about 5 years of it, and when your game rewinds five years, it's hard to get back into! I will be posting my T&M save (if I can have one) in FM13's thread, albeit with less regularity than last time due to work commitments.

[GreyedOutMan]

Quote from Wikipedia:

"Following a dismal start to the 2011–12 season Beard was relieved of his position in December 2011 and Kenny Brown was appointed the new manager. However the results got worse and Tooting were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season."

Oh b******s. I was getting so excited about that. Would anyone massively object if I started just one tier below, assuming they quickly get promoted back to the Isthmian Premier League after holidaying? My laptop can easily handle one extra tier. Given that it's a special club to this thread, could an exception be made? Pleeeeeease? They will be literally on my doorstep in real life, and I plan to go to every game this season that doesn't clash with an Arsenal home game.....

Please, please, please, please?!?!?! (Final say goes to Dafuge on this matter, of course!)

PS Reason for absurdly timed post? Unable to sleep with the excitement of living on the doorstep of such a famous (well....on the forums) side! Sad, I know!

[b101]

I reckon go for it - it's not like it's giving you an advantage. Means you'd be able to get a T&M shirt with your best player's name on it in time for the new season as well

[GreyedOutMan]

I dont know about a shirt - Arsenal are still my main love and I dont often buy shirts from them even! But I will go to quite a few T&M games...

[darren1983]

Right, not played FM for 4 months but with the new season starting I'm getting the FM bug again. Have loaded up my Kingstonian save where I'm in Jan 2031, having just won my 3rd straight world club cup, I'm 6th in the league (having won twice in a row) 13 points off the top but with 4 games in hand. Am in the semi-final of the league cup, 3rd round of FA Cup about to start and have Real Madrid in the champions league (have won it 3 years in a row)

It's good to be back with these players of mine will re-start posting updates at end of the season

[Crispypaul]

Now that's a giant killing!

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2016/17
nPower League One

League: 1st
Much better this time as we won promotion with a game to spare, then wrapped up the title on the final day.

FA Cup: 4th round
Another good run, including an excellent defeat of Liverpool in the 3rd round, before getting knocked out by eventual winners Birmingham (who beat League One Stockport in the final!)

League Cup: 2nd Round
A bit better this time but went out away to Watford in the 2nd round.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: 1st round
An appalling loss away at League Two Tranmere meant no JPT for us.

Key Players:

Juan Compper - a loan signing from Man City, weighed in with a tremendous amount of goals and assists which pretty much won us the title.

Darren Ford - a £325 signing from BSS side Worcester started off brightly but waned later on in the season

Ian Jackson - dynamic left winger weighed in from the left flank until a serious injury meant he was kept out of the team by.....

Jordan Thompson - a free transfer from Bangor City, the former Cardiff trainee kept Jackson out of the team by the end of the season.

Sead Hajrovic - continued to be a rock in defence

Andrew Crofts - veteran central midfielder bossed the middle of the park

The stadium is to be expanded to meet ground requirements, and I can finally scout Europe.

Aims for season

- Stay up

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted

[Faultless]

Just started a save with Cambridge City 1st season.

Will update after first season, on a funny note my 2 midfielders are called Marshall and Law, made me chuckle.

[dafuge]

Quote from Wikipedia:

"Following a dismal start to the 2011–12 season Beard was relieved of his position in December 2011 and Kenny Brown was appointed the new manager. However the results got worse and Tooting were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season."

Oh b******s. I was getting so excited about that. Would anyone massively object if I started just one tier below, assuming they quickly get promoted back to the Isthmian Premier League after holidaying? My laptop can easily handle one extra tier. Given that it's a special club to this thread, could an exception be made? Pleeeeeease? They will be literally on my doorstep in real life, and I plan to go to every game this season that doesn't clash with an Arsenal home game.....

Please, please, please, please?!?!?! (Final say goes to Dafuge on this matter, of course!)

PS Reason for absurdly timed post? Unable to sleep with the excitement of living on the doorstep of such a famous (well....on the forums) side! Sad, I know!

Unfortunately it does go against the 'no edits' rule which has been in place since the very beggining six years ago. If the challenge were to return for FM13 then it wouldn't meet the requirements of the rules.

Why not just go ahead and manage them anyway and post about it in the careers forum, or as part of a different challenge?

p.s. your inbox is full.

[GreyedOutMan]

but i love this challenge so much!!!!! It wouldnt be a proper edit, just adding a new tier....

[dafuge]

We've always said no to even the tiniest of edits (eg. raising a rep to help get a club promoted), to suddenly allow third party databases would be a huge leap from the rules.

[GreyedOutMan]

It's not a 3rd party - you can do this very simply through the editor - just add one tier below....

[dafuge]

1st party then. It's still an edited database.

[GreyedOutMan]

Hmmm OK

[Faultless]

The rules for this should never change it's the rules which make this challenge so special.

I do this or Gundo's as my main save for every FM, I did Gundo's this year and I started Dafuges with Cambridge City yesterday.

Got an awesome 16 year old called Jae Cole and he's scored 4 goals in 4 games so far.

Shame I've won 1 lost 3 of them.

[Swinburn]

Unfortunately it does go against the 'no edits' rule which has been in place since the very beggining six years ago. If the challenge were to return for FM13 then it wouldn't meet the requirements of the rules.

Why not just go ahead and manage them anyway and post about it in the careers forum, or as part of a different challenge?

If I'm not mistaken, there's usually a challenge using the edited DB. Forget the name though.

By the way, I've made the Steam group a little more generic. Unfortunately, I can't change the name from Dafuge Challenge 12, but the URL and abbreviations are sorted. Here it is. Any chance of it being in the main post from now on?

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2017/18
nPower Championship

League: 8th
Didn't quite make it to the play-offs but a good season nonetheless

FA Cup: 5th round
A good defeat of Premier League Cardiff in the 3rd round after a replay, was followed by a win at home to Hull then an expected loss at Old Trafford. Made some money though.

League Cup: 3rd round
An excellent win away at Premier League Southampton in the 2nd round was followed by a poor defeat at home to Charlton.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - continued to make the left wing position his own

Sead Hajrovic - solid in defence

Andrew Crofts - excellent again

Rory Mullan - young NI centre back fitted in well alongside Hajrovic

Sergio Suarez - classy Spanish right winger did well

Nigel Reo-Coker - veteran midfielder gave solidity in the centre

The board are adding a massive 1576 seats to the stadium....oh well

Aims for season

- Aim for promotion this time

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th

[Crispypaul]

Bit OT but the reputation system really needs some work - I just lost out on a player to League One Rochdale despite offering a status of "first team player" and a wage double what Rochdale offered, purely because their rep is still higher than ours.

[Swinburn]

I wonder what an FM13 Dafuge Network game would be like. Obviously, only six people could take part, but imagine six people in one game all trying to get to the top. Would be pretty interesting if you could work it right.

[jsar]

I wonder what an FM13 Dafuge Network game would be like. Obviously, only six people could take part, but imagine six people in one game all trying to get to the top. Would be pretty interesting if you could work it right.

Thats sounds awesome! I always try and get at least one or two people that I know to play using exactly the same "Holiday Manager" save so that we work from exactly the same Database and the chance at getting the same players. adds something I find in the later parts of the challange when you are working with just regens.

[TheyCallMeSonny]

Hello guys, this is my first post. I'm hoping to try this out with whatever clubs available. However i'm new to the forums, and i was wondering if you have any tips on writing the columns for the posts?

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2018/19
nPower Championship

League: 5th (Promoted)
Better although drawing too much cost us automatic promotion. However we overcame Sheffield United in the play-off final.

FA Cup: Semi-finals
We had a bit of luck in the draw, not playing a Premier League side until the semis when we were comfortably beaten by Liverpool.

League Cup: 3rd round
A couple of decent wins before a loss away at Wigan.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - did well again and also got his full Wales caps during the season

Sead Hajrovic - solid again, and picked up a cap for Bosnia.

Andrew Crofts - good once more

Sergio Suarez - top notch

Paolo Nebbia - top scorer

We're getting a new stadium! The 14,000 capacity "Bradford PA Stadium" (original)

I was also offered the Stoke and Villa jobs at the end of the season.

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs

[Hypanimz]

Ive decided to start up a new challenge to keep me going to FM13 after growing bored of winning everything with FC United. Just on holiday now and I'm thinking of managing St Albans. Will post as soon as set it up.

[Wingbacks]

I'm giving this a proper go before FM13 comes out. Say hello to the new manager of Bury Town.

[Crispypaul]

Premier League is going to be tough - I've completely overhauled the squad including a completely new back four, but we have just the one point from the first two matches - an away draw at Fulham and a home loss to Man Utd. The money is great though (half a million quid just in TV money for the Utd game!).

I've maxed out our wage budget, which is the lowest in the division and a quarter of the team in 19th

[reo hustler]

Fc United and Chester are almost always there in the BSN. Carshalton and Cambridge City appear in the BSS alot also.

Crazy(!), I want FC United and I can't get them. I've tried at least 10+ times.

[Wingbacks]

Bury Town - Blue Square Bet North - 2012/13

Blue Square Bet North: 3rd (lost in play-off semi-final to Stalybridge Celtic: 4-4 AET 5-4 on penalties)
FA Cup: Second Qualifying Round (lost to Cambridge City 2-1 away)
FA Trophy: Third Round (lost to Cambridge United 3-2 away)

The preparations

The media predicted a 21st place finish in my first season but I told the board I was confident of getting mid-table. There were already a couple of familiar faces in the squad I inherited: ex-Ipswich Town first teamers Wayne Brown and James Scowcroft. I was expecting both to be key men.

I was given a wage budget of 3.2k a week, of which I kept no higher than the £2k mark throughout the season. Some of that was used up when I drafted in a new assistant manager in former Carlisle midfielder Chris Billy and a couple of scouts. Already in the backroom staff was Scowcroft and youth coach Darren Oxbrow.

On the eve of the new season we were dealt with a massive blow as Sam Reed, who I was anticipating would be our best striker, turned down a new contract and left the club. But I managed to hold onto the rest of the squad which gained promotion in the previous season, with Lee Smith, Billy Clark and Kieran Leabon looking like the best players.

It was a threadbare squad though so I set about recruiting new faces. Ex-Wolves and Bath City midfielder Andre Carvalho-Landell was the first man to sign. Former QPR defender Marien Ifura and veteran stopper Willy Gueret followed, as did striker Scott Ginty and the pacey Jonny Godsmark from Ashington. One-time Reading youth teamer Alex Stockinger was a real coup for the club, as was pacey winger Malvin Kamara. The securing of Irish left-sided player Shane Farrell was then followed up with experienced centre half Christian Hanson, who was the club's last summer signing.

Also brought in were goalkeeper Matt Radcliffe, right back Ashley Parsons-Smith and centre back Shane Hilton, all of whom were teenagers and signed as faces for the future.

The campaign

The season started fantastically and we won every one of our first eight league fixtures, scoring 20 goals in the process. However that honeymoon period soon ended and we won just one of the next 12 so I decided to bring in midfielder Jordan Fowler and experienced forward Spencer Weir-Daley to spruce us up. Despite our shocking form though, we were yet to drop out of the top five and form picked up again in December as we picked up 14 points from our five matches, spurred on by the signing of ex-Manchester City youngster Omar Elabdellaoui.

The second half of the season was filled with highs and lows but the outcome was that we secured a play-off spot, having finished in third place behind Nuneaton and champions Histon.

The crunch

Stalybridge Celtic were our opponents and I was confident of victory. We hammered them in the first leg at their place but could only come away with a 3-1 lead. Kieran Leabon scored twice and Omar Elabdellaoui added a third and we were coasting through. But we slacked off in the second half and Lloyd Ellams gave them a bit of hope. We were still in a great position though.

Back at Ram Meadow we managed to bottle it in fine fashion, losing 2-0 in normal time to take the tie into extra time. Leabon looked to have sent us into the final with his 21st goal of the season but Marien Ifura tripped their tricky left winger Will Hayhurst in the box to give them a penalty which they scored. So it went to penalties.

Both sides scored their first three and Omar Elabdellaoui found the net to put us 4-3 up. Willy Gueret saved Stalybridge's next effort, meaning if we scored our fifth, we would go through. It was the big French goalkeeper himself who stepped up confidently but he missed . They scored their fifth, taking us to sudden death. Our defensive midfielder Craig Nurse was next and he smashed the ball against the crossbar. Carl Martin stroked away the winning penalty for Stalybridge who went into the final at our expense.

Players of the season

Kieran Leabon (Avg Rat 7.13): Scored 21 times in 37 appearances in all competitions and kept James Scowcroft, Spencer Weir-Daley and Scott Ginty frustrated at their lack of opportunities. Still only 24, he should still be a key figure next season should we be able to agree a new deal for him.

Ashley Parsons-Smith (Avg Rat 7.04): A pleasant surprise was the contribution of the 17-year-old as he made 37 appearances and established himself as the preferred right back in front of the more established Sam Nunn. He could develop into a good Football League player eventually.

Malvin Kamara (Avg Rat 7.00): Kamara didn't disappoint and his form around the turn of the year was particularly pleasing. He scored seven times but, more impressively, got 18 assists which was massive for us.

Marien Ifura (Avg Rat 7.13): Was solid for the majority of the season but a lapse in concentration in the second leg of the semi-final probably cost us. Was also a threat at set pieces, scoring eight times.

Omar Elabdellaoui (Avg Rat 7.00): He was only signed in December and made just 16 appearances but his class was there for all to see. Will be one of the first names on the teamsheet next year.

Flop of the season

Wayne Brown (Avg Rat 6.44): Got injured early in the season and found it hard to break back into the team when he returned as the Ifura-Hanson partnership was blossoming. Threw his teddies out of the pram in March when he wasn't playing enough. Will leave this summer.

Next season

Strengthen the squad and go for the BSBN play-offs again.

[deadfncat]

Hi all again for another year. Just purchased FM13 so going to give the challenge a go whilst I wait for release

[fcunitedfan]

I'm bored with all the saves I'm currently playing, so I'm going to give this challenge a go for the first time in FM12. I did it in FM11 with FC United, and did pretty well before giving up in the Championship. This time round, I'm not going to reload until FC United pop up. The first time I get to promotion and relegation day, I'll choose from the four teams which come up. No reloading, so I don't know who I'll be playing as until I see them in BSN or BSS.

[fcunitedfan]

I'm now Weymouth manager, lucky me

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2019/20
Barclays Premier League

League: 12th
A good showing for our first season in the Premier League.

FA Cup: Final
We couldn't follow up an excellent win over Man City in the semis, and had a narrow loss against Birmingham in the final.

League Cup: Winners
An amazing win on penalties in the final against Tottenham brings European football to the club next season.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - another good season for the Wales regular.

Miljenko Jakolis - a free transfer signing from Wigan, the Croatia Under-21 player was a rock at the back.

Giulio Vergognini - partnered Jakolis well at the back.

Marcao - January signing, the Brazilian winger gave Thompson a run for his money later in the season.

Catalin Constantin - still to get his first cap for Romania, the keeper one many games for the team, including an outstanding performance in the League Cup final.

Papis Cisse - veteran striker was our top scorer.

After a £4m dividend payout, we have £21 million in the bank; increased sponsorship deals amount to £1.85 million compared to £384,000 and new youth facilities are being built.

Season        Division            Position                  Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs
2019/20       Prem                12th                      League Cup winners, FA Cup runners-up

[fcunitedfan]

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/a...9-29_00001.jpg Well, there I am. It turns out I have no scouts, coaches, or assistant manager. I've already got an ass man lined up, so he'll be joining the club in the next few days. I've told the board I'll achieve a mid-table finish. They've given me 2.2k a week on wages and absolutely nothing for transfers. Looks like I'll be delving into the free transfers for any players I need. I've got a poor squad, so I'll be releasing a fair few players and wheeler dealing for some new ones.

[fcunitedfan]

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/a...reseason-1.png Here's my pre-season signings for Weymouth. I was surprised when Teixeira and Kamara were both given work permits, but I'm not going to complain Matthew Fletcher is hopefully going to score loads for the team, and Frank Sinclair is going to be my rock at the back. Marcus rose doesn't have great strength, but he's a speed demon.

[Crispypaul]

Hmmm - England didn't get out of their group in Euro 2020 so Henning Berg was sacked. However his replacement was a regen with no previous managerial experience and an Obscure reputation. I wasn't even approached - I wouldn't take it but given I am English you'd think I'd be given a shot.

Hopefully this is just because I started the game after just the released day patch, as I believe this was fixed a little later on - still annoying though.

Back to the club - just about to play CSKA Sofia in the Europa League 3rd qualifying round, and have got an upgrade to the training facilities in progress too. Also junior coaching is at "Good" now so we might get some youth players who aren't terrible come March time.

[dafuge]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

[fcunitedfan]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

I'll be joining you. I want a really low rep team, but a team with an interesting kit to make.

[Crispypaul]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

You're from Portsmouth aren't you? Gosport Borough are in the Southern Premier for 2012/13.

[dafuge]

You're from Portsmouth aren't you? Gosport Borough are in the Southern Premier for 2012/13.

I'm actually from the Isle of Wight, so Gosport is very close to me. Not that I would ever go there

[fcunitedfan]

In FM13, I'll be playing as either Kingstonian or Whitehawk (Love that name). Whichever is the first to be promoted whist I'm reloading, is the one I'll be playing as.

[Crispypaul]

How annoying can football be sometimes?

Won 7-2 away at Stoke, but then got booted out of the FA Cup in the 3rd round away at Championship side Brighton 2-1

Having a bit of mental fixture congestion as we're in the semis of the League Cup (Newcastle) and 1st Knockout round of the Europa League (PSG) - in December there was a total of 10 games

[Swinburn]

Completed this with FC United, did a similar thing with Kendal and I'm back for one last run before FM13 comes out (where I'll be either FC United or Blyth Spartans). This time around, I'm simming a year and taking one of the first six sides to be promoted. No reloading at all and I will use one that I've not used before. Should keep me going until FM13.

[Swinburn]

CHESTER F.C.
New Manager Unveiled

Chester Football Club are delighted to announce the unveiling of our new manager, Jordan Swinburn. Although a relatively young and unknown manager, Jordan has expressed his desire to take Chester to the top of English and world football and everyone here at the Deva Stadium shares and supports that desire.

Initial Squad | Club Overview

[dafuge]

With about a week to go, here's a little teaser for the FM13 challenge:

Ryman League Premier Division

Bognor Regis      
Bury Town        
Canvey Island     
Carshalton       
Concord Rangers 
Cray              
East Thurrock    
Enfield          
Hampton & Richmond 
Harrow             
Hastings Utd      
Hendon           
Kingstonian      
Leiston           
Lewes           
Lowestoft         
Margate          
Met Police       
Thurrock           
Wealdstone         
Whitehawk         
Wingate & Finchley 

Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division

Arlesey          
Banbury         
Barwell          
Bashley         
Bedford           
Bedworth         
Bideford         
Cambridge City    
Chesham           
Chippenham       
Frome            
Gosport           
Hemel Hempstead   
Hitchin           
Kettering         
Leamington       
Redditch           
St Albans       
St Neots          
Stourbridge      
Totton            
Weymouth          

Evo-Stik Northern Premier Division

AFC Fylde          
Ashton Utd       
Blyth             
Buxton            
Chorley           
Eastwood          
FC United       
Frickley         
Grantham         
Hednesford       
Ilkeston          
Kendal          
Marine           
Matlock          
Nantwich           
North Ferriby   
Rushall           
Stafford         
Stocksbridge      
Whitby            
Witton            
Worksop

It sounds like the beta will not come with the editor, so we might not have the reputations until the proper release of the game.

Any clubs catching people's eyes?

[AlexLightsaber]

I really want to manage Met Police but if i cant get them i will manage Lewes because there stadium is called "The Dripping Pan"

[DarrenP]

Bideford or Weymouth for me. I love the sea air

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)
Bradford Park Avenue

2020/21
Barclays Premier League

League: 1st
Just....wow. I'd never expected this! However a switch of tactics to a 4-2-3-1 control I've used in another career brought major success in the league this time, coupled with some excellent player performances below. So half the challenge has been completed already.

FA Cup: 3rd round
An absolutely appalling loss away at Championship Brighton at the first hurdle. I did use "aggressive" in my post-match team talk, unsurprisingly.

League Cup: Winners
We retained the trophy with a win over Wolves in the final.

Europa League: 1st Knockout Round
The qualifiers were easy, and we came through our group 2nd after somehow doing the double over PSV. However PSG in the 1st Knockout Round were too strong for us.

Key Players:

Peter Hlinka - Slovakian playmaker won the PFA player of the year award

Miljenko Jakolis - top notch again

Giulio Vergognini - solid as ever

Marcao - Kept Thompson out of the team and also won the Football Writers footballer of the year.

Bryan Purdrue - wonderkid Scottish keeper kept Constantin on the bench for most games.

Robert Alonso - the Uruguyan international was our top scorer

We're about to move into our new stadium, and have further upgrades to the youth facilities coming up.

Season        Division            Position                  Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs
2019/20       Prem                12th                      League Cup winners, FA Cup runners-up
2020/21       Prem                1st                        League winners, League Cup winners

[Crispypaul]

Oh and I've just got a Chinese merchandising affiliate - must be moving up in the world!

[kingjericho]

I have a suggestion to include in the game setup instructions.

An alternative way to see what teams have been promoted to the bottom playable league is to check the nation overview screen and check the promoted teams to the bottom division.

[dafuge]

I have a suggestion to include in the game setup instructions.

An alternative way to see what teams have been promoted to the bottom playable league is to check the nation overview screen and check the promoted teams to the bottom division.

I'll make sure that goes in the OP for the new thread

[Hypanimz]

Next season I will be looking out for any of the newly available teams. Quite like the idea of Playing as Gosport or Witton

[fcunitedfan]

I'm still loving the sound of Whitehawk, so it's them for me (or Kingstonian). I'll be swapping between the challenge and a save as FC United with all European leagues loaded.

[deadfncat]

yay another dafuge challenge!
I will be playing with a team with a crazy name or if i can luck into a low rep team. met police would be amazing, or one of the newly promoted

[Swinburn]

I really want to manage Met Police but if i cant get them i will manage Lewes because there stadium is called "The Dripping Pan"

Met Police might be a little easier this year considering their pretty decent season last year.

I think I'll be going for Blyth. Closest team to Ponteland and I've wanted a game with them for ages. Failing that, I'll do the usual FC United.

[GoalieManPat121]

Ill be giving it a go with Matlock yet again this year. Hopefully this year I can finish it off. Dafuge will the 13 thread go up on release day or will it be available for those that get the pre-order beta?

[Crispypaul]

Now FM2013 is downloading on my laptop, I think that's an end to my game here! Was fun while it lasted.