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Britain and India Challenge


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Gentlemen,

Welcome to the Britain and India Challenge! icon14.gif

This challenge will appeal to those who perhaps do not have as much time to play as they would like, or do not have a high specification PC. Having said that, there is scope for a very long and challenging game here.

British and Indian football:

It is now more than 60 years since India became independent of British rule. Britain's legacy is, of course, still huge*. However, in the sporting world only cricket has managed to capture the imagination of the Indian nation. Yet, India is home to the third oldest football tournament, the Durand Cup (after the English and Scottish FA Cups).

Of course, the Indian people have also had an equally deep impact upon British culture. Yet, sadly, I do not believe that there are any Indian players that are playing top flight football in England (or for that matter Scotland or any of the other British leagues).

To add to the above, England, who gave the game (at least as we know it) to the world, have not qualified for the European Championships 2008 and are currently the laughing stock of Europe! None of the other home nations qualified meaning that the British will have no meaningful competition to play in this summer.

These are wrongs that must be put right! And guess what? YOU are the man to do it!

Summary of the challenge:

The challenge is separated into four parts with the main goals being to -

1) Improve Indian club football by having success, both domestically and in Asian competition, with an Indian club side.

2) Capture the imagination of India by taking on the national job and steering them towards the knock-out stages of a major international tournament.

3) Move to your chosen home league (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) and establish a side of British players capable of winning the league title and Champions League, while also continuing in your role as an ambassador for Indian football and promoting their players.

4) Take on one of the home nation manager jobs and lead them to glory at the World Cup or European Championships.

THE CHALLENGE - Full Details:

LEVEL 1 – BRINGING THE BEAUTIFUL GAME TO THE SUBCONTINENT

Begin by creating a manager with a British or Indian nationality (i.e. English, Scottish, Wales, Northern Irish or Indian). Where possible, this should be your true nationality, however I am willing to accept any combination of British and Indian nationalities you desire.

Select the following leagues - India (NFL), and your chosen ‘home’ league, which matches with your nationality, e.g. England (EPL only).

In the case of being of Indian nationality, you can choose any of the home nations you desire).

Retain all Indian, English, Scottish, Welsh and N.Irish players.

Start the game in India, which is one of the most exciting, huge and beautiful countries in the world. Here you have a chance to make your mark in a nation without a footballing tradition - so make your own history.

Holiday for one season and then select one of the newly promoted Indian club sides as your starting base. You must honour your first contract at this club. However, once you have finished your first contract you can consider jumping ship to one of the bigger Indian sides where you may have more success in attaining your goals.

To complete the level you must win two consecutive Indian Football League titles.

You must also have won the oldest football competition in Asia, the Durand Cup, and the Asian club football tournament, the AFC Cup .

LEVEL 2 - THE INDIAN NATIONAL GAME

You must have won at least one Indian Football League title before beginning this level.

The idea is a simple one - wait for the Indian national job to become available, apply for it and then make them successful.

Here you have the opportunity to give the national side a style and philosophy to reflect the wonderful nation of India. They say that national football styles reflect their socio-cultural environment. What will be the style of India?

The traditions of India are diverse, so perhaps you will choose to reflect the poetic and philosophical nature of India's history by playing with an attractive and romantic style. Or will you attempt to force you tactical philosophy upon the players? The choice is yours.

The goal here is to qualify for an international tournament, i.e. the World Cup or Asian Cup, and then get past the initial group stages and into the knock-out rounds. Anything else here is a bonus.

LEVEL 3 - RETURNING HOME

This level must not be attempted until level 1 is complete.

Here you have the opportunity to return home in a blaze of glory after having success in Asia. You will now manage in your chosen home nation, which could be the English Premiership, Scottish Premiership, Welsh or Northern Irish football leagues.

Your arrival in Britain might be rather like that of Arsene Wenger's arrival at Arsenal - you will be an obscure manager who has had success in Asia and wishes to bring his knowledge to the British game.

Both the EPL and SPL are awash with foreign superstars these days but you are not going to involve yourself in that. You are returning to Britain to get rid of Johnny Foreigner and win with British players.

However, do not forget that you also return as an ambassador for Indian football. You must also promote Indian players and bring through the first successful Indian player in your chosen home country.

You may take over at any club you like. A bigger club may give you more funds to bring in the British and Indian talent you require, however the pressure for success may make it impossible for you to embark upon a transitional period. A smaller Premiership side may give you greater opportunity to build up a British and Indian side but it may take much longer. The choice is yours.

The goal is to win the Premiership and the Champions League with ONLY British players (i.e. English, Scottish, Welsh, N. Irish) and as many Indian players in the squad as possible – however, you MUST have at least ONE regular Indian starter.

LEVEL 4 – BRING FOOTBALLING GLORY TO BRITAIN

This must obviously be attempted after completion of the LEVEL 2 Indian national team challenge.

The goal is simple - take your chosen national team to glory at a major tournament. If you fail with your first national team you may try again with another home nation that is not your nationality.

Suggestions and Clarifications:

I suggest English (or Scottish), however you can play in any BRITISH league system, i.e. EPL, SPL, Welsh football league, Northern Irish football league - it is your choice but the objectives remain the same. Remember that picking Welsh or Norn Iron leagues would make success in Europe extremely difficult indeed. The deepest respect would go to anyone who managed to complete level 3 or 4 with a Welsh or Northern Irish side/national team.

Equally, when taking control of a national team, ANY British side is acceptable. This adds another element because, for instance, if you fail to win anything with your chosen home nation and you get sacked then you could have another go at winning a major tournament with one of the other home nations.

Regarding Work Permits, I would advise that the idea of the game is to get as many Indian players as is possible. But you MUST have at least ONE Indian player who is featuring as a regular in your first XI to meet with the requirements of promoting footballers from your adopted nation (i.e. India).

I would accept any combination of British or Indian nationalities. HOWEVER, I would advise that the gamer selected his true nationality where possible.

There is no restriction on moving clubs – the only exception being during your first contract with the newly promoted Indian club, which you must honour.

There are no restrictions on assigning feeder/parent clubs.

To sign a player you must scout them first. No external utilities such as FMScout should be used.

The database should be unedited and people should be using the latest SI released patch 8.0.2.

Rules for this Thread (mostly stolen and plagiarised from Dafuge – sorry mate!)

Player naming is allowed. (This is a warning for those of you who do not wish to see this)

Discussion on tactics is allowed. (This is another warning for those of you who do not wish to see this)

Screenshots for anything are encouraged but not required.

When you join the challenge, you could post a screenshot of your manager's profile – not absolutely necessary though, I am happy to just have some details about your manager.

Progress of your management career and attempt to achieve the four levels of this challenge should be documented using this thread. I want to hear the story of your career and your achievements all the way through.

Please keep us updated, even if you are doing really badly. You probably won’t be doing as badly as me! Seriously, I am rubbish at this game!

At the end of every season, could everyone post some kind of season review - screenshots are encouraged but not required.

Good luck and I hope you have fun with this challenge. icon_cool.gif

C.

* - Please note that this challenge does not intend to offer any kind of commentary on the rights and wrongs of empire and imperialism. It is just a bit of fun and aims to respect and admire Indian culture.

28 April 2008: It was decided that using all of the professional leagues in the British half of the challenge, e.g. in England: the EPL, Championship, League One and League Two, would enable an easier transition to English football after level 1 has been completed. Furthermore, by using additional leagues, the manager will be able to better utilise feeder clubs and loan players to lower division clubs when attempting to promote his all British / Indian team.

This is not mandatory but given as an option to those who feel that they would like to run the additional leagues in their chosen British league structure.

This challenge now accepts professional feeder divisions in addition to the top flight league.

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rtik-1-one: I look forward to hearing about your attempt at the challenge when you enter.

A few further points that have occured to me since writing the opening post:

- Database size can be whatever you like.

- The Indian season is organised between 14th-15th July so you will need to holiday to just before this date (suggest 13th) in order to start your game.

- Some of the sides who come up already have managers and therefore you will need to replace them manual rather than applying for the job through the game. Just check through the history of each club and you will easily be able to work out which ones are new.

C.

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Originally posted by crouchaldinho:

[- Some of the sides who are promoted at the end of the first season already have managers and therefore you will need to replace them manually rather than applying for the job through the game.

Just check through the history of each club and you will easily be able to work out which ones are newly promoted .

Fixed. icon_redface.gificon14.gif

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To help those who know little or nothing about the state of football in India, here is a link to a wikipedia article about it:

Wikipedia - Indian Football Link

10 Teams in the division who play each other twice. 2 relegated, the champion qualifies for the Asian Cup.

The 2007/2008 season starts with the following teams:

TEAM LOCATION STADIUM

Air-India Mumbai Cooperage Ground, Mumbai, Maharashtra 12,000

Churchill Brothers Sports Club Goa Jawaharlal Nehru - Fatorda Stadium, Margao 35,000

Dempo Sports Club Goa Jawaharlal Nehru - Fatorda Stadium, Margao 35,000

East Bengal Club Kolkata Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta, West Bengal 120,000

JCT FC Phagwara Guru Nanak Singh Stadium, Ludhiana, Punjab 12,000

Mahindra United Mumbai Cooperage Ground, Mumbai, Maharashtra 12,000

Mohun Bagan Kolkata Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta, West Bengal 120,000

Salgaocar Sports Club Goa Jawaharlal Nehru - Fatorda Stadium, Margao 35,000

Sporting Clube de Goa Goa Jawaharlal Nehru - Fatorda Stadium, Margao 35,000

Viva Kerala Kochi Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut, Kerala 35,000

So, it seems logical that the two sides that will be promoted after your year of holiday will be those from the second tier of the Indian football league. So, below are listed the potential sides that you could be managing:

TEAM LOCATION STADIUM

Mohammdedan Sporting Kolkata Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata 120,000

Chirag United Kolkata Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata 120,000

Indian Bank Chennai,Tamil Nadu Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 40,000

ONGC Mumbai Cooperage Ground 12,000

Amity United FC Gurgaon,Haryana Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon 12,000

HAL Bangalore Bangalore Stadium 15,000

OIL Duliajan, Assam Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 25,000

Mumbai FC Mumbai Cooperage Ground 12,000

New Delhi Heroes New Delhi Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi 15,000

Pune FC Pune

SBT Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala Chandrashekar Nair Stadium 60,000

Vasco Goa Jawaharlal Nehru - Fatorda Stadium, Margao 35,000

I have only done a few test runs but so far it is just these teams that are coming up.

There are some deliciously weird names for football teams in India, with the commercial mixing with the just plain strange.

Already the New Delhi Heroes are standing out for me. I think this is who I will start my game with.

Wikipedia has links to all of the clubs with lots of detail so you can get really into your game. I advise looking on there before choosing your team!

C.

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FROM WIKIPEDIA:

CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS IN INDIA

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in the state of West Bengal, is considered to be the home of Indian football. The city contains the two most famous Indian teams East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC. Derbies between these two clubs often draw crowds around the 120,000 mark.

Recently Goan clubs have been doing very well in the I-league. Dempo FC are the defending champions.

HISTORY OF FOOTBALL IN INDIA

Football in India was spread during the days of the British Empire. Many football clubs in India were created during this time, and pre-date many of the organisations and clubs, such as FIFA, which are predominant in the game today. Initially games were played between army teams, however clubs were soon set up around the country. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the Eastern Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest by an Indian team before Independence.

The national football team was also quite successful until the 1970s, qualifying for Olympic tournaments and the FIFA World Cup. The team qualified for the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil, but could not appear as they still played in their bare feet at that time.

The Indian team also won the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games gold medals in football. In 1956 the team finished fourth at the Melbourne Olympics. In August 2007, the Indian team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0.[2]

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The following is taken from a BBC football article - URL listed below:

BBC Indian Football Article

What's holding back Indian football?

With a population of more than 1bn one might expect India to be among the world's footballing superpowers.

But India is not even one of the leading teams in Asia, ranked a lowly 28th behind relative minnows such as the Maldives, a tiny chain of islands off its southern coast with a population of just 318,000.

As Leicester prepare to host East Bengal in a friendly designed to boost the game's profile in the sub-continent, BBC Radio World Football's Mike Geddes investigates why India lags behind its larger neighbours.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most Indian kids have a passion for football but there are not the qualified coaches at the grass roots level to help them

India captain Baichung Bhutia

Domestic football in India is far more popular than domestic cricket, and many teams in the country's National Football League trace their origins back to the 1880s, when the game was introduced by British colonials.

Indeed, league football was being played in Calcutta long before Real Madrid or the world governing body Fifa even existed.

The country qualified regularly for the Olympics until the 1960s, and were invited to the 1950 World Cup in Brazil but the problems of a long sea journey and the fact that they still played in bare feet prevented them from appearing.

Now, ranked 143rd in the world, unable to qualify for the ongoing Asian Cup let alone the World Cup, those days are distant history.

Englishman Steven Constantine, who coaches the national team, says the problem is the lack of a proper grass-roots infrastructure.

"You see kids playing football in the street with no shoes everywhere in this country but there's no development at youth level. That, and coach education, are reasons why we are not as advanced as we should be.

"It's slowly changing but until the clubs do more to develop their youth. Its difficult for me to scour the countryside looking for players for the U17 and U19 sides.

Streets kids in Delhi play in a homeless league

"We have 25 states but only two or three are doing anything with any success to develop youth."

Calcutta, capital of East Bengal, is the spiritual home of football in India, and it's also home to one of the biggest derbies in the world.

In 1997 more than 130,000 people packed the Salt Lake stadium to see the game between East Bengal and Mohan Bagan, whose rivalry matches that of Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow.

One man who knows all about that rivalry having played for both sides is East Bengal's Baichung Bhutia, captain of the national team and the undisputed superstar of Indian football.

Bhutia echoes Constantine's comments.

"I was lucky in that I got a scholarship due to football and we had coaches in school, but it wasn't the same as European kids get. Most Indian kids have this passion but without the qualified coaches at the grass-roots level.

"If only they could catch players at a young age because I definitely see a lot of talent here - even more talented than English players at a young age."

Today football is nominally under the control of the All India Football Federation, and its president Priya Ranjan DasMunshi, a committee-based body funded by Fifa.

India's youth coaching set-up is haphazard

But national youth football is traditionally controlled by a different body - the Sports Authority of India - which gets no money from Fifa.

Hindustan Times journalist Jaydeep Basu says this makes it difficult to implement a successful youth development programme because the people who run football are politicians, not professionals.

"The problem is the AIFF is amateur. It is of politics. I can name people in Indian football who are secretary or treasurer of different state associations who have been there for 40 years.

"So for them holding onto power is the main issue. Improving the game is never the issue. So you need a set up for professionalism. Indian football never had a set up of that kind.

"There was a time when India were twice Asian Games champions.

"But now the power base has shifted to Japan and Korea or the middle-eastern countries - Iran, Qatar, Saudi.

"India has failed to keep up with the professionalism that has been ushered into Asian football in the last 25 years."

Not surprisingly, DasMunshi rejects criticisms of the set-up - and says he has his sights on a World Cup qualification by 2010.

"Football should be managed by the chief executives of marketing or training. This is professionalism.

Facilities are poor

"That set up we will complete within six months. If I am the president and I have a professional chief executive and coach we have only to decide policy but the execution should be done professionally.

"The fact remains that we did not improve our youth development facilities since 1974.

"Though at some time in Asian level our youth development programme gained some momentum it fizzled out because of lack of club infrastructure in the country apart from Calcutta.

"So we have taken up the national youth development programme as priority for the last eight years. I'm very confident that we have launched a mission that India must appear in 2010."

There is no doubt the amount of untapped potential is huge.

In Delhi, there is even a league - the Street League - for homeless kids, set up by aid workers.

"There are 5,000 children who live on Delhi railway station," said Street League coach Bill Adams, of the privately-run India Youth Soccer Association.

"It was not hard to get a few of them to come along for training.

"That's where the really hungry players will be. So they're now getting cared for by these charities and we're giving them the chance to break out of this poverty.

"We find our street kids are 200% more determined to do well in football."

Could India be similar to Brazil?

So much untapped talent and with the top sides of Calcutta getting gates of 120,000, the potential is certainly there.

C.

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Here are a few quotations from a BBC article - just trying to give you all a taste for the challenge!

BBC article 2

A country of more than a billion people, but a national team ranked 157th in the world.

The football equation in India does not add up.

And yet in the 50s and 60s, India won gold medals at the Asian Games, finished fourth in the Olympics and even qualified for the World Cup.

The problem is, that in a huge country, football is confined to a few regions.

Calcutta (Kolkata), the former capital of British India, is the centre of the game.

The Calcutta derby, Mohan Began against East Bengal, is a match to rival anything Rangers and Celtic can throw up. Goa has the bug, thanks to its previous rule by the Portuguese.

But elsewhere, football comes in a distant second to cricket.

Positive Signs:

- India's National Football League, which is only 11 years old in its current form, is getting a new boost from television.

- European leagues, and especially the Premiership, or EPL as it is known in India, are increasingly popular, especially with the young, urban middle classes.

- Currently, outside the football hotbeds of Bengal and Goa, the intensity of support is simply not there. The challenge is to tap some of that interest and convert it to the Indian game.

And, finally, another good website for articles about India and Indian footballers:

Indian Football Articles

Just trying to get you all salivating over the challenge! icon_razz.gif

C.

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Originally posted by Sidnv:

I'm indian so i will definitely take up this challenge.

And yes it is sad that India has such potential to in football but it isnt tapped.

Nice one Sidnv icon14.gif

Part of the reason I thought of this challenge was that I have been reading a lot about the history of India. As a result I have become more and more interested in the arts, culture and philosophy of such an incredible and diverse country. So the idea of an FM career in India really captured my imagination.

C.

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Is it possible to be manager of a nation and club at the same time if you apply for the nation not be approached for the job.

I really like the first half of the challenge. I want to try to help India reach some glory in a world cup or Asian cup.

So it would take a long time for me to get to the 2nd part of this challenge.

Also how long would it take to go on holiday so that i can start this game?

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Originally posted by Sidnv:

Is it possible to be manager of a nation and club at the same time if you apply for the nation not be approached for the job.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by this.

According to the challenge rules, you have to win at least one Indian league title before applying for / accepting the Indian national team job. This is for the purposes of realism as the India manager job would only be available to someone with some kind of success or proven track record.

You can manage a club side at the same time as a national side.

I hope this answers your question?

I really like the first half of the challenge. I want to try to help India reach some glory in a world cup or Asian cup.

So it would take a long time for me to get to the 2nd part of this challenge.

Yes, I think it will take quite a while to achieve the challenge. I see it as being four 'mini-challenges' in one really.

However, remember that the Indian seasons are short and quick to get through (only 18 league games). Plus, your manager reputation (which should be set to automatic when starting the game incidentally) will shoot up as soon as you take over at an Indian club. Typically, it will go up to at least regional. So as soon as you have won an Indian title, you can go for the Indian job (level 2) as soon as it becomes available.

Also how long would it take to go on holiday so that i can start this game?

It was quick for me - I left the room for about 30mins and when I came back it was done. I have found the game super fast due to the low amount of processing required in the Indian league plus one of the British leagues.

Hope this helps?

C.

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I have decided to give this a crack beacause I dont have that much time to play a challenge so this panned out perfectly with the low number of games. I have also never managed in India and it looks quite an interesting prospect!

Here is my profile.

I have gone with English and Indian nationalites as my ones in RL would really not match into the story. I have gone for Vasco, simply because of the name! Bring it on!

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Nice one guys! icon14.gif

Keep me updated on how it is going for you.

I started with New Delhi Heros last night - mainly because of their classy name.

I had no staff and about 6 first teamers and 9 youth players.

First job was signing up staff, which was no problem. I then sent out my scouts to find as much talent as possible and guess what? Everyone they find gets 1 star! All of the players they have found that could potentially sign for me, they say 'I should avoid signing'. Challenge and a half this. I should mention that I have no transfer budget either.

So far I have signed up about 10 players, all of whom my scouts give a score of 1 star (or 2 if I am lucky). I have signed up players based on their determination, work rate and team work. I plan to have a team of hard working players who might battle out a few results. But it's looking ominous. This is going to be harder than I thought!

In addition to this, there is a consortium attempting to buy New Delhi Heroes at present and they have been suggesting that they would replace me a manager if they buy the club! icon_frown.gif

All this before I have even played a game. This might be a very short stay at New Delhi Heroes.

The most difficult thing to come to terms with is the transfer window, which opens in October for some reason. This means that I have to cope with my existing players for the first few games of the season. Then, after a game or two, I will have about 10 or 12 players joining on frees. I think team cohesion is going to be at an all time low and with only 18 league games there won't be long to get them playing together.

All in all, I am up against it! I have a feeling that this going to be an excellent challenge. I haven't even played a game yet.

I just hope that consortium doesn't sack me, otherwise I might be holidaying until another job comes up! icon_biggrin.gif

C.

P.S. I am out all day today but will report again tonight when I get a chance to play my first game.

P.P.S. Good luck to both of you starting this challenge. icon14.gif

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I had to stop half way through the holiday. I'll continue it now. But today i won't play beacuse of Manu v Chelsea.

What i meant was can you apply for a natiional job and not get sacked as club manager?

And what if you get sacked in your first season with the newly promoted club.

And what i meant is that i'm much more interested in the indian part of the challenge so i don't know when i can complete the 2nd part.

But its a great game. Really well thought out.

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I'm managing New Delhi Heroes.

I had a lot of greayed out players at the start but they all disappeared except for 2 of them.

Season expectations were low : attempt to avoid relegation. But wage budget was only 8.5kp/w.

I brought in an Assman a coach and a scout.

Now i'm looking to get some players.

This is more of a challenge than i thought it would be.

Btw I retired the holiday manager. Thats ok right?

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Originally posted by Sidnv:

What i meant was can you apply for a natiional job and not get sacked as club manager?

Yes - this is how it has always been in CM / FM and it is the same for FM08 as far as I know.

And what if you get sacked in your first season with the newly promoted club.

Under the rules of the challenge, you must honour your first contract with your first club. So if they sack you, then you have honoured your part of the deal. Therefore, you can holiday until a job becomes available and just take any one you want.

C.

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Originally posted by Sidnv:

I'm managing New Delhi Heroes.

Same as me. icon_cool.gificon14.gif

This is more of a challenge than i thought it would be.

Yes, me too.

Barely any decent players available to a newly promoted club. The big sides seem to have one or two quality players each but at the lower end of the league the standard is very poor. I think it's around English Conference level at the worst. One or two players in the big sides look like they would be average Engish Championship - just for comparative purposes. So I think the challenge of level 3 in trying to promote an Indian player (or more than one, preferably) in a British league will be very challenging.

Currently I can only scout India, therefore as per the rules I am only signing players based in India.

It's a good challenge. My plan is to try and stay in the league, then see if I can consolidate next season.

C.

Btw I retired the holiday manager. Thats ok right?

Yes, that's fine.

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Surely its going to be almost impossible to get a job if you load only the EPL? Can you improve your rep enough by only managing in India and the Indian national side?

Anyone that loads N Ireland or Wales shouldn't find it too hard.

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Have just been sacked by Vasco icon_frown.gif

A shame as the team just started to gel and I was getting some good performances, but the 5 straight defeats at the start of the season really made the situation extremely difficult...

Lets see who hires me now!!

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Originally posted by Scoham:

Surely its going to be almost impossible to get a job if you load only the EPL? Can you improve your rep enough by only managing in India and the Indian national side?

I thought long and hard about this one and concluded that if you win the Asian Cup (continental club competition) and manage the Indian national team, you should be able to build up a decent enough world reputation. One of the challenges is to take India to the World Cup finals or the Asian Cup finals - if you do this and have a good run, you should really push your reputation up.

This remains to be proved - however, I would think that if your reputation is not quite high enough by that point, you could keep playing and eventually push it higher through Asian inter-continental club success and Indian international progress. It might add to the challenge but I imagine you should get there in the end.

C.

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A year later and after changing chairman, Vasco hire me again, this time with a £170k transfer budget icon_eek.gif

It will only be of good use if I save the team from relegation. There are two matches left and we are one point ahead of HASC. Our next game is away agianst them so we need at least a draw. Will carry on tomorrow morning and let you know if I managed to survive!

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after a season on holiday, i have taken charge of new delhi heroes. i have told the board i will avoid relegation, and have a wage budget of 6k per week. i have hired an assistant manager, 2 coaches, a youth coach, a physio and 2 scouts. Think the board are not going to be happy with me!

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I have now signed a truck load of players.

But the window starts on 1.10.08 and my first match is on 29.9.

So meanwhile i have to play a central defnder as a striker.

The quality of football really is apalling.

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That with the transfer window is really annoying, it took my team about 5 games to actually play any kind of half-decent football as they just didnt play as a team.

And yeah I agree the football played is awful, but that is quite funny apart from when your keeper lets a cross pass by into the net icon_rolleyes.gif

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Ok, i'm startin this game with Mohammedan Sporting club. PROFILE

They look like a big club in everything but success. The Wolves of India! A squad full of proper players, decent finances, plenty of rivals and playing in the 120,000 capacity Salt lake stadium!

First job is to sign up some staff having started with just an AssMan.

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Got a draw and a win in the last two games and managed to avoid relegation!

League Table

As I only managed the side for the last two games there will be no proper update, my aim is to avoid relagation/being sacked so that I can do a full season report icon_wink.gif

I was dissappointed that Vasco had sold off most of the promising oungsters I had signed in my first spell at the club, with only two remaining at the club.

Rasheed Kudjo - By far the best player in the squad and I have high hopes for him.

Subrata Mascarenhas - Hasnt got the best physical stats but a pretty skillful player for Indian standards

Now with time to prepare the squad and make some signings I am hoping for a succesful season next year.

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Corinthiano - Congratulations on avoiding relegation and good luck next season. It looks like you have a couple of decent players there.

I am just sitting down to have a proper go with New Delhi Heroes now. My problem is that the club is currently under the process of a takeover and the new owners don't want me as manager according to the media. Furthermore, they have put a ban on signing up players while this is being undertaken. This means that I can't even offer some of my grey players a contract for the purposes of fielding a full side. Instead, I am going to be playing midfielders in defence and defenders up front!

I just hope this consortium have taken over the club, or the situation is sorted out, by the time the transfer window comes around. Otherwise all of my planned signings won't go through and I would have no chance of beating the drop.

This challenge is fun! icon_razz.gif

C.

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I had the same situation in my first season with Vasco, although I was lucky to already have signed a few players before the embargo came up! I was lucky at the time as the takeover fell through, otherwise they would have appointed another man in charge.

I hope the takeover falls through pretty soon for you!

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Ok, so I figured I'd try tihs one. Holidayed one season and got a team named United Sports Club of Kolkata, playing in the huge Salt Lake stadium. They don't seem to be on your list, Crouch, and I can't find anything about them anywhere. Anyone know anything about them? They're valued at only €35K so obviously not the biggest side around.

Oh, excellent challenge!

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Early signs are looking ominous. I just lost my first game in charge 4-0 against the side who are predicted to finish 8th. However, I was forced to play with only one natural defender, no wide players and a poor excuse for a striker.

Still awaiting news regarding the takeover.

We have sold a whopping 48 season tickets for the season icon14.gificon_biggrin.gif

C.

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Originally posted by taifun:

Ok, so I figured I'd try tihs one. Holidayed one season and got a team named United Sports Club of Kolkata, playing in the huge Salt Lake stadium. They don't seem to be on your list, Crouch,

The full name for this club appears to be CHIRAG UNITED SPORTS CLUB.

They are on my list as Chirag United.

I can't find out anything about them though. Did a Wikipedia and Google search but nothing much came up.

A question for those who are playing with clubs who have huge stadiums - what is your average attendance?

C.

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My average attendance is over 40,000 and the finances have rocketed! icon_eek.gif

But my team are still pretty crap. And a broken leg ruling out one of my best players means we're second from bottom after 8 games, with just 3 points. Although in fairness, we have has some terribly unlucky results, including a 94th minute own goal to lose 2-1 which would put Riise to shame!

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Originally posted by corinthiano:

With 40 000 you must be making a lot of money!! Had an average of 15 000 with Vasco and they made over £500k in two seasons so you ll be a millionaire soon!!

The bank balance started at around £30,000. Now it's a shade under £1,000,000.

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Originally posted by Gypsum:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by corinthiano:

With 40 000 you must be making a lot of money!! Had an average of 15 000 with Vasco and they made over £500k in two seasons so you ll be a millionaire soon!!

The bank balance started at around £30,000. Now it's a shade under £1,000,000. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

icon_eek.gif You lucky git icon_razz.gif

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Originally posted by crouchaldinho:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by taifun:

Ok, so I figured I'd try tihs one. Holidayed one season and got a team named United Sports Club of Kolkata, playing in the huge Salt Lake stadium. They don't seem to be on your list, Crouch,

The full name for this club appears to be CHIRAG UNITED SPORTS CLUB.

They are on my list as Chirag United.

I can't find out anything about them though. Did a Wikipedia and Google search but nothing much came up.

A question for those who are playing with clubs who have huge stadiums - what is your average attendance?

C. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, I sort of figured after not finding Chirag anywhere in-game. So far I've not played any home games, but season-ticket sales aren't promising. 28 ST's for a 120K stadium!

My Federation Cup performance left me slightly optimistic. A penalty shootout win over Viva Kerala was followed by a close 0-1 loss to Mohamadan. Reality came calling in the first league game though, as the exact same Viva Kerala side thrashed us 5-0.

Transfer market looke ok, managed to sign Mahindra Utd striker Manjit Singh on a free after my scouts recommended him highly. A number of young free-transfers joined as well, including 16-year old left winger Norbert Babu who looks really special. Still need a proper goalie though, and central midfield looks lightweight

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