BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 After the failure of my hard-drive during my previous career game I come armed with a new laptop and a new challenge. I like the idea of PH71's Alphabet Challenge and feel inspired to try one of my own, but with a slight difference (and making it more harder I think). Much like Mr Hartman, I intend to start at a team beginning with A and working my way through the alphabet, with (hopefully) me finishing my career starting with a number. The rules of this challenge are: 1. Letters must be done in order. 2. The letter is not complete until I have won a trophy, be it a League/Division Championship (eg League One) or a cup competition (Johnstones Paint Trophy for example). (Promoted via play offs is not a trophy - neither is a friendly cup). 3. As soon as I have won the trophy I am to resign immediately. 4. I cannot manage in the same country more than once, unless I have already managed in every country already. 5. If I get sacked I must manage another club with that letter until a trophy has been won - but not in a country that I have already managed/failed. I have loaded up all leagues and all divisions over the world, but once I have a club I will have only that country playable until I resign/get sacked. Of course I'm going to have to do some forward thinking with this challenge, ensuring as many countries that have teams beginning with J/Q/X/Z are available when I get the them letters! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club Country League Position Achievements -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012/13 African Warriors South Africa Nat. 1st Div 3rd Lost in Play Offs 2013/14 African Warriors South Africa Nat. 1st Div 8th Sacked 2015 Arameisk-Syrianska Sweden 2nd Div SS 1st CHAMPIONS!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015/16 Bradford Pk Avenue England Blue Sq N 15th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 A: Swedish Second Division South Svealand Champions (Arameisk-Syrianska) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 So we kick off with the letter A then, and the teams that are available at the start of the game are: AFC Wimbledon (England) Athlone Town (Ireland) Algard (Norway) Astra (Romania) African Warriors (South Africa) Australia U23's (Australia) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 All the best mate. Leave England until as late as possible - because there are so many teams to choose from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 I got 3 offers from those jobs (plus one from Brechin that I didn't apply for!): Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 All the best mate. Leave England until as late as possible - because there are so many teams to choose from. Cheers Daz - I hope to leave England until the mid/late alphabet if possible, but I'll see how it pans out from here on in. I'm set to Sunday League Footballer, so can't see me getting the AFC Wimbledon job anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 For the fact that it was the smallest league without many difficult letters I went for: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Good choice As for clubs to manage with difficult letters, you can have a good look at this website. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Good luck not finding yourself short of available clubs for a letter in countries you haven't managed in later on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 2012/13 South African National First Division Cup 1st Round Bay United 1-4 African Warriors Quarter Finals United FC 3-0 African Warriors Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 2012/13 - South Africa National First Division Halfway through the season and we're looking good for promotion, with maybe even my 'A' silverware too. Our 3 defeats have all been due to late goals, but we've also won a couple thanks to last minute strikes too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 2012/13 South African FA Cup - African Warriors Prelim Round MP Black Aces 2-3 African Warriors (aet) First Round African Warriors 3-1 Thanda Royal Zulu Second Round Dynamos 2-1 African Warriors Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 African Warriors (South Africa) - 2012/13 - National Division 1 Results 1 Results 2 Well after a fairly decent start to the season we were looking good for promotion at the halfway point. Sadly however my Football Manager curse kicked in where I always seem to struggle in the second half of seasons and we dropped away from top spot. A slight rally towards the end of the season saw us go into the final match with a chance of finishing league winners, but sadly both United and TRZ also won so we have had to make do with the Play Offs, where we also come up against Chippa Utd who finished in the relegation play off place in the Premier Division. So my quest to complete 'A' will enter a second season at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 African Warriors (South Africa) - 2012/13 - South African Premiership Play Off So near, yet so far. We kicked it off with back to back games against Chippa Utd, and were far and away the better side and can count ourselves unlucky to have not taken maximum 6 points. The opening game included 2 missed penalties for us - taking our total for the season to 7 missed from 8 awarded! TRZ then played Chippa back to back, with Chippa winning at home and then drawing at TRZ. Our first match against TRZ saw us fortunate not to lose, when a late goal from Khune earned us a share of the spoils. This meant that both Chippa and ourselves were on 5 points, with us top on GD, and TRZ on 2 points. Looking at the GD we could afford to lose by 2 goals and still get promoted, but it wasn't to be. We found ourselves 3-0 behind after 20 minutes, and although we managed to bring it back to 3-3 in the second half TRZ went all out attack and we couldn't cope - conceding the fatal 6th goal in the final minute of the game. So after all that excitement we find ourselves remaining in the National First Division. To be honest as gutting as missing out on promotion is, I think for my career/challenge it's best to stay where we are as we have more chance of silverware this way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Tough luck just missing out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 So gutting to miss out on GD! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Tough luck just missing out. So gutting to miss out on GD! Cheers guys. As I said in the update, I'm not as despondent as I'd have been were this a proper journeyman/career because my aim is to win a trophy with each letter, and to be honest I've more chance of winning that in Division 1 than I am in the Premier Division (the squad would struggle big time in the top flight). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 2013/14 South African National First Division Cup 1st Round Black Leopards 2-3 African Warriors Quarter Finals African Warriors 1-2 Blackburn (RSA) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 African Warriors (South Africa) - 2013/14 - National First Division Due to the poor state of our finances the available wage budget was cut, which would not help my aim of improving the squad to mount another promotion challenge. I was also being put under pressure to sell players by the board, but despite accepting offers of over $100k for 4 of my players, only 1 of them (D/M L Madwe) accepted terms. As such, in order to cover my current wage bill and also accommodate new blood I had no choice but to offer the board promotion this season. As you can see from the table above it's not going too well so far - and a number of times I'm being asked by the media about my position. We haven't been helped by a few injuries along the way, as well as the leagues top scorer from last season Lucky Khune failing to fire this season. A decent run of form could possibly see us sneak into the play offs again, but I'm not holding up much hope and may try and concentrate on the South African FA Cup for my silverware. If I'm still in a job that is! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 2013/14 South African FA Cup - African Warriors Prelim Round Bay Utd 0-0p African Warriors First Round African Warriors 3-2 Jono Cosmos Second Round Santos FC p2-2 African Warriors Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 African Warriors (South Africa) - 2013/14 National First Division Results 1 Results 2 The less said about this season the better. I entered it feeling confident of mounting a challenge for top spot, but never once looked like getting there. In the pre-season I was offered a 2 year contract, but thinking I'd get the silverware I wanted I negotiated for 1 year, and that could come back to bite me on the arse as I'm insecure and the board aren't interested in offering a new one. Due to finance issues I was forced to sell/release players I would've kept otherwise, and the little quality I could bring in disappointed. There were no real stand out players, although my best player would've been Themba Zwane, but sadly he is only on loan. Next season? Well if I'm still in a job here I plan to completely re-vamp the squad and tactics, and hope I can finally get my first trophy. If I'm not offered a new contract? Well I guess it will depend how long it takes to find another "A" job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 And so it came to be... Now comes the wait for another 'A' job to come along! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Ouch. Tough challenge! It's just got tougher! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I'll put £10 on no 'A' jobs turning up until 2015... Good luck anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Haha - thanks. The game ran too slow in the first season with all countries/leagues loaded, and I didn't want to risk having to wait for leagues to load should I get sacked mid-season. So what I've done instead is on 1st June each year (game time) I pick 8 countries at random (via a random number generator) and have just them leagues running for 12 months. So currently I have the following to chose from: China Colombia Denmark France Ireland Mexico Serbia Spain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Shame, after almost going up last time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Shame, after almost going up last time Yeah, I asked the board for more time to rebuild before the last game, which they agreed to. Sadly though when I asked for a new contract they said no, so the writing was on the wall there. Had I not offered them promotion when negotiating budgets I'd have been ok I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Well 'A' jobs were few and far between, and when they did come I seemed to get rejected: Algeciras (Spain) Second Division B3 AS Cannes (France) National Atletico Baleares (Spain) Second Division B3 AJ Auxerre (France) Ligue 2 AC Arles-Avignon (France) Ligue 2 They all said no to my applications, laughing it off in fact! So I had to wait until the Swedish league loaded up, and luckily for me there was an A club going that were flattered by my interest, so here I am at: Trying saying that when you're drunk! The squad I start off with is: I have zero staff so building up a backroom will be my first job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyPenguin Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 This sounds like an awesome challenge! The OCD in me wants a go at this one. Maybe FM14... Best of luck mate, I'll be following. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 This sounds like an awesome challenge! The OCD in me wants a go at this one. Maybe FM14...Best of luck mate, I'll be following. Cheers! It's going to be a tough one to complete that's for sure. The pressure will be on with Arameiska, as I think failure with these will see my reputation that bad I may struggle to find another club. If I do complete it I think it will be about when FM16 comes out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Good luck with this fella. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Good luck in Sweden! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I thought the club had a very un-Scandinavian name and, sure enough, Wikipedia indicates they have quite a unique background, with roots in the local Assyrian community. I'm pleased to see that this is reflected in the playing squad- I wonder if the regens will have Swedish/Syrian dual nationality? Not so much now as most of them were utter pants! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 It seems Sweden has the longest pre-season in the world! I took over in December and I've only just got to my first league game in mid April! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Good luck with this fella. Good luck in Sweden! Cheers guys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 It seems Sweden has the longest pre-season in the world! I took over in December and I've only just got to my first league game in mid April! I know, the reset date is very early on, compared to Norway a little over a month later. I've technically had the last European group game be officially (according to FM) the first game of the following season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Arameisk-Syrianska (Sweden) - Second Division South Svealand - 2015 Well after the longest possible pre-season comes the shortest league season it seems - 11 games in and it's the halfway point. We've not done too badly so far, although at one stage we had to come from 3-0 down in consecutive games to get a win (5-4, 4-3). The final game of this opening half was at home to league leaders Eskilstuna, and despite leading at half time it ended in defeat. Overall though I'm happy with our progress and a couple of decent signings in the July transfer window as well as a bit of fortune could see us challenge for top spot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Arameisk-Syrianska (Sweden) - Second Division South Svealand - 2015 Results 1 Results 2 Well what can I say other than "WE DID IT!!" At the halfway point we had a 3 point deficit, 5 games later and we'd turned it round to a 6 point advantage. We had a shaky end to the season, including losing to Eskiltuna in the penultimate match, where victory would've confirmed promotion. So we went into the last match top on goal difference and knowing that as long as we matched Eskiltuna's result we were up. Eskiltuna took an early lead and held on to it for the entire match. Meanwhile we also took an early lead, but was pegged back just after half time. We then re-took the lead, but that lasted for less than 2 minutes as we headed towards a draw and a trophy-less season. But up popped Spangsberg (who I nearly released during the season) to give us the victory with the last kick of the game and the Championship. (Eat your heart out Man City!) Transfer wise we were quite busy in building a competitive squad, and amazingly they managed to gel quite quickly. Looking at the squad information at the end of the season you can see we relied on a core of players who all pulled their weights. Eldin Kozica was my player of the season, and will be missed when he moves on to pastures new in the pre season. Although that doesn't really concern me, because as per the rules of this challenge... Next stop the letter B... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 B is for... Now I know I said that I didn't really want to go to England until later but this job came up pretty quickly and I thought I'd give it a go. The aim here is to play the "long game" with them, gain a couple of promotions via Play Off's before winning a trophy whilst a league club. This will help my reputation I think. There is more than enough time for me to ensure our safety in this division this season, whilst also being able to gel a squad capable of pushing up the league in coming years. Looking at the squad I've got to start with there is a basis of a decent spine, but still plenty of room to improve. First off is to get rid of a lot of the deadwood to bring down the wage bill so that I can start to bring better players in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Well done, and good luck at BPA! Cheers matey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Good luck in Bradford! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 good luck, sounds incredibly difficult, it's hard enough the way I'm doing it Copying me with Bradford Park Avenue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelBrown Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Good luck with BPA! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Cheers guys. Paul - when I saw the BPA job come up it did remind me of your career, and was tempted to wait for another to come along (Braintree was insecure), but thought I'd see how I got on compared to yourself. You're right about it being difficult too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 2015/16 FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round Hyde 5-2 Bradford Park Avenue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 One down, 25 to go. Bradford PA - Blue Square North champions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 One down, 25 to go. Bradford PA - Blue Square North champions. 26 to go (want to finish on a team starting with a number!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 26 to go (want to finish on a team starting with a number!) Haha good shout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BazzRose Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 2015/16 - England - Blue Square North - Bradford Park Avenue Halfway through the season, and 9 games into my tenure as manager, and we've doubled our points tally and closed the gap on the play offs. I don't think we'll have enough to really mount a play off challenge as there are a lot of weak players in the squad that I need to replace, but if I can keep us around mid table for this season I'll be happy enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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