Dexter's Danish Delight - A Gundo Challenge

Boldklubben Skjold

Me

Positions

Club Overview

Facilities

After a break from FM completely for a while and then struggling to get past the first month of any save i've decided to do what I usually do in that situation and do the Gundo Challenge as they are usually good for longevity.

As you can see i've taken on Boldklubben Skjold a club from the Danish capital. I've never completed the challenge in Scandinavia before and have only ever won 2 European trophies with any any Scandinavian club (Tromso on FM 12) so this is going to be an interesting little challenge for me. Got no big targets in mind really bar have fun and hopefully still have a mostly Danish side within 5 years. I'm only a few games in at the minute so no major updates as i'm hoping to get 3-4 more players in as this was the squad I inherited

Only league loaded is Denmark in accordance with the rules of the challenge and only players from Denmark and players from top clubs across the world loaded so I should really be getting through the seasons pretty quickly.

Boldklubben Skjold July - August 2013

As you know I don't really like talking about each game individually but i've decided to do a monthly (maybe 2 monthly) report in this thread.

We have boosted the numbers a little but there is still only 17 men in the squad which is a worry. I started pre season off playing 4-2-3-1 which didn't work at all really so have changed to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 system which has at least made us more solid.

I'm pretty happy with the way we have played so far bar the cup defeat to non league Vanlose we just lack a killer touch in front of goal and that is something i'll try and work on. The cup defeat was a shock but at the same time the squad isn't big enough to handle a league campaign yet, never mind a cup run so it wasn't the end of the world that we went straight out.

Good luck, I always fancied this challenge but never got round to playing it.

Good luck with this

Cheers AcidBurn The Gundo challenge is probably my favourite out of all the similar challenges because in all the others people tend to go for the same players/teams all the time, this one tends to throw more varied stories in the thread which I like. The main thing with each promotion is just survive your first season in the division as there's always someone worse than you the next year, I know that sounds obvious but a lot of people get a bit downhearted if they are struggle. It seems so far we are a bit of a draw specialist, I've just added a few more players and hopefully if I can find 1 more midfielder then we should manage the top half finish the board expects.

Cheers JackJCFC

Best of luck in Denmark I loved doing the Gundo's challenge back in FM11!

Good luck.

Good luck. Never done a challenge myself, but should keep you motivated.

Boldklubben Skjold September - November 2013

The draws are still a concern but the last 5 games have shown signs of slight improvement. Rishoj are the team to beat in the division and we were unlucky in that game to only get a point so the gap could have been a little closer but i'll 6 points at this stage. I'm seriously hoping a midfielder and striker come up in this 5 month break as that is where we are weakest. I'd even take just a striker tbh One little annoyance is twice already my keeper has been lobbed from 40+ yards after a poor kick out and another one from 25 yards, he's been brilliant bar that but seems to get punished on every mistake which is a concern.

Best of luck in Denmark I loved doing the Gundo's challenge back in FM11!

Cheers mate, as I said when I get stuck for a idea of a save this is always the best option as you tend to end up really getting in to it

Good luck.

Cheers, looking forward to this

Good luck. Never done a challenge myself, but should keep you motivated.

As long as I have a target then usually i'm good at sticking with saves, so hoping for a long one here for the time being and if I win the CL I may possibly use the add/remove feature and do the same elsewhere.

Boldklubben Skjold November 2013 - March 2014

I don't usually play through friendlies of any kind but I made an exception this time to try and tweak my tactic to get some form for the rest of the season and it has back fired spectacularly I guess i'll be sticking with the 4-5-1/4-3-3 I used before the winter break and hopefully keep a top 6 spot. One good bit of news was in our youth intake we got one player with the potential to be a good Superliga player, his physicals worry me for that level but i'll work on them as best as I can and even if he doesn't make it, any bit of hope after the few months we've just had is a good thing .

A bit of difficulty in the goal scoring department for that tactic

A bit is an understatement I just can't get it going at all without ruining the solidness. I like to play 4-2-3-1 mainly but only have one AMC (who happens to also be one of the better wide players) so can't do that. I can't even really go 4-4-2 because neither striker can hit a barn door. What I really need is for the chairman to sack it off like it's been suggested all year, clear the debt and rebuild. I don't even want promotion whilst this board is in place because we'd just get hammered in higher division as it stands What really gets me about it all is we dominate the possession so much there really should be more chances created/taken. I think this is the oddest season i've ever had.

Boldklubben Skjold April - May 2014

We've actually managed a little spell where I wasn't in danger of falling asleep I have made us a little more attacking going to 4-4-2 (no choice with 2 CM's injured so it forced my hand) and it seems to brought an improvement. I'm going to stick with the formation until the end of the season now. I'm not really sure what to do in terms of going for promotion at this stage, 3 of the final 4 games are against teams in the bottom 4 so I may not have much of a say in the matter but at least i'm seeing an improvement in the side now which gives me some hope.

You know, for a brief moment then I thought you were going to struggle Looking good for promotion, and while you may find it tough in the top flight with such a limited squad, it's rarely a bad thing to go up. Good luck for the rest of the season!

Looking fantastic!

Boldklubben Skjold June 2014

We finished the season off with the points needed to secure promotion as champions. Despite the turn around in the 2nd half of the season the 1st half makes it all seem a little underwhelming. As spoilt as it sounds managing to stay unbeaten isn't even really a plus because that 1st half was so dire i'd have happily swapped those draws for the equivalent points between wins and defeats I really haven't had a season like it, though it's over now so all I can do is look forward to a season at a higher level.

You know, for a brief moment then I thought you were going to struggle Looking good for promotion, and while you may find it tough in the top flight with such a limited squad, it's rarely a bad thing to go up. Good luck for the rest of the season!

Cheers mate. The friendlies in the winter pretty much gave me the same feeling you mentioned. Nothing went right at all and I didn't see any way to change it, like I said though injuries forced my hand in to a 4-4-2 and we picked up significantly attacking wise.

Looking fantastic!

Fantastic may be an over statement, but certainly better

Promotion in any way Hopefully a higher level will bring in players that can fit better with what you're wanting.

Boldklubben Skjold July - August 2014

I left my ass man to do friendlies as in the previous 2 spells where I took charge I learnt nothing from them so i'm not really counting those in our recent form.

I'm quite pleased with the start to the season. I expect to get a hiding from time to time so i'm not overly worried that has happened already as long it doesn't start happening in consecutive games too often. Being 9 points above the safety mark already is a big bonus, because I have no doubt there'll be a stage where we struggle later in the year so we need to pick up what we can as soon as we can. I've added a few players but the signing of Nassar seems to be the most important one from the early games as he's only 3 off beating last seasons top scorer already and if he keeps anything like the early form up for the rest of the year then he could be the difference between survival and relegation.

Still no word on a board takeover, this has to be the longest wanting to leave status i've ever been through and with no word of any interest so far i'm not expecting that to change any time soon

Promotion in any way Hopefully a higher level will bring in players that can fit better with what you're wanting.

We've really struggled to improve significantly so far, only 2 or 3 of the signings are actually better than what I had but at least we've made a few numbers up. As I always say in these challenges just survive the first season after a promotion and usually you can push on. I actually wouldn't mind a 3-4 season spell in this league because the difference in class is quite big once you hit the Superliga. If we get the takeover I may change my views if budgets increase but we're always going to struggle unless this board at least take a loan to get us back in the black.

Boldklubben Skjold September - October 2014

The last 2 months have been a massive shock, Nassar's goals really have been invaluable to the cause. Our goal difference would also be a lot better if it wasn't for the 4-1 and 5-1 defeats so i'm not really taking that to heart.

I'm still to work out winning each of the 3 periods means (split in to 3 x 11) but the money brought us slightly back in to the black (£50k) it's just a shame that the 2nd period will be 2 games short of being completed this year as if we won that too then it would have allowed me some funds to get a few targets who want £50-100 more than I can offer.

I'm pretty satisfied we've done enough and have enough left in the tank to be safe at worst now this season which is remarkable for November, anything else is just a bonus and I am expecting some blip unless we can improve a but more. One thing I did in the last winter break which may have proved to be a big bonus was that other teams last friendlies before the restart were over 20 days from each other but I kept on playing them until 6 days before the restart despite the bad form in them so i'll be doing that again to keep us in top condition if nothing else.

Congrats on the promotion and on making an excellent start to life in your new division.

Boldklubben Skjold November 2014 - March 2015

Star Youth Candidate

Pretty uninspiring period but we have just about managed to cling on to top spot. Injuries have taken some part in it as we seem to lose someone for 10-14 days every game at the minute but it shouldn't be an excuse really. I do hate the long winter breaks as that certainly doesn't do you any favours when in good form but I suppose that's the same for everyone and I have also managed to take advantage of these breaks in the past when not playing well so I guess it balances itself out.

Sebastian Fisker looks like he'll be another good youth product. Even though the junior coaching is leading to a lot of our financial troubles i'd rather keep it at the good level i've built it to and have the likelihood of good kids come through.

There seems to be a bit of movement with the board now. It's only a local businessman interested but if it wipes the debt out then i'd happily take any kind of takeover.

Congrats on the promotion and on making an excellent start to life in your new division.

Cheers mate, didn't expect the start but i'm happy that if nothing else we have enough points on the board. I'm hoping for 1 3rd-4th place in all honesty, a top 2 place is too soon.

Clearing your debt would be great!

Should soon be up in the Premier Division.

Boldklubben Skjold April - June 2015

I honestly didn't enjoy the last third of the season at all. There's too many cracks that we seem to just about get away with. The goal difference more than proves we didn't deserve to be promoted let alone champions. Totally uninspiring and i'm fearing for the worst unless we can manage to get practically a whole team in, which with this budget isn't going to be easy.

At least if I let the majority go it'll clear a lot of the £4k taken up but it's still nowhere near enough

At least we do have two bits of good news from the promotion.

Clearing your debt would be great!

The takeover failed, luckily with the title win another £240k came our way. We'd have not been far off £1M in debt without winning those 3 stages which would have made what is already looking an impossible task for this coming season even harder.

Should soon be up in the Premier Division.

I'd rather not be there this year, I was hoping the 5-0 defeat would see us tail off, of course I could have played a weakened side for a few games but that isn't in my nature.

The higher league should help with revenues. How close are you to selling out your stadium? Will it be able to handle increased attendances?

Well we lost £500k because the board went and put undersoil heating in so back in the red. I'm slowly getting a few players in even though the season has started. Our first home game in league brought 3,400 in (a big increase on the 750 average last year) We are going through a 2nd attempted takeover so maybe that will balance things out financially.

Great start to your career mate you are flying through the seasons.

I am thinking about trying this Gundo's challenge as I haven't been able to get into any save recently after a break from FM for a couple of months. I think I might try a obscure country like Finland or Iceland to see if it whets my appetite for FM again.

Boldklubben Skjold July -August 2015

I'm quite happy with the start to the season. Points on the board are the main thing at the moment and with 2 of the wins against bigger sides i'm hoping it means we can cope all year with this division. We've brought quite a lot of new faces in, nobody really stands out as special but they are all certainly a bit better than what we had.

The board takeover was done and no investment bar a loan was injected in to the club (even the loan didn't get us out of the red) They want me to sell some players but bar the 2 kids that have come through the system there really isn't anyone who would fetch a decent sum

Great start to your career mate you are flying through the seasons.

I am thinking about trying this Gundo's challenge as I haven't been able to get into any save recently after a break from FM for a couple of months. I think I might try a obscure country like Finland or Iceland to see if it whets my appetite for FM again.

Good to see you back and posting mate. That's why I took this challenge on, when I can't get in to anything I find it easier to just take a random team like this and try and build them up. They tend to be more fun even if at times frustrating

Boldklubben Skjold September - December 2015

I'm quite pleased with those 3 months, we've only been outclassed a few times which is good and we've kept pretty much out of any run of games without a win so the morale is pretty good within the squad. I'll link Fisker and Gram - Jensen at the end of the season but both have been instrumental in our form so far which considering neither are 18 yet it's some going for them. With an extra upgrade to youth coaching (excellent now) i'm really hoping we can get another one or 2 come through the ranks as it's looking unlikely I will get money for players for another year at least because the board knocked me back after getting £850k for our position in the first period. With any luck we'll get a lot better sponsorship deals in the summer as they both run out.

Nice record sitting in the mid-table. What were you projected to finish at?

Rock bottom for the 2nd season in a row The weird thing about this season is it's the first time i've been happy with how we've played yet we are nowhere near the top I really thought we'd be bottom 2 this year as it was really hard to sign players, I was working with 16 man squad for the majority of July and August. If we can just stay 10th or above then it'll be a good season. The board have given me an extra £2k to spend on wages so i'm on the lookout for a center half now (got 2 targets) if I can get that and maybe a spare LB we should be alright because i'm convinced Lyngby are down now so there's only one relegation place to fight against.

Only just caught up with this. Excellent work to go unbeaten in the first season and to go up again the next year. Looks like your handling the prem as well as could be expected too, nice to be able to bring in talented africans without much effort!

Only just caught up with this. Excellent work to go unbeaten in the first season and to go up again the next year. Looks like your handling the prem as well as could be expected too, nice to be able to bring in talented africans without much effort!

Landu is actually part German, he was released from Dortmund which is how my scout found him. We can only scout Europe at the minute but once the range gets better I will be taking advantage of the fact the registration rules are relaxed in Denmark.

Nothing amazing but we managed to strengthen in 3 positions and there seems to be a lot of room for them to become better (unfortunately if they do become any good their release fee will mean i'll probably lose them on the cheap)

One late addition before the season resumes. I've been after him for the best part of the season but he wouldn't lower his wage demands until now. Probably the best player at the club (I know that isn't too hard )

Your doing a good job in avoiding relegation.

I'm hoping we've done enough. Just managed 3 wins in a row ahead of a tough run of games which has eased a lot of pressure.

Great work to get promoted and then do so well in the Superliga.

Boldklubben Skjold January - March 2016

That spell went a lot better than expected. The winter signings have been superb so far and we've steadied the amount we concede by a big measure. The next 3 games are against sides in the top 4 so i'm expecting a bit of a drop from the position we are in but the worst we can finish now is 11th and I have to play the bottom 4 in the last few games so hopefully we are safe now.

This kid is touted as a leading Superliga player. I'm kind of unsure how to develop him at the minute. He but can play CM or striker too.

Great work to get promoted and then do so well in the Superliga.

Cheers. We have done a lot better than I expected. Getting the DoF in has certainly helped because without him I doubt I would have had a squad as good.

You've been doing just fine after all.

Boldklubben Skjold April - June

It was a good job we had the little run in the previous section because we really struggled in the last few months. That said we were always due a bad run at some point so i'm glad it happened when it did rather than fight all season to recover and the 5th place finish was a lot higher than I expected. The squad is still pretty thin in terms of quality so injuries and suspensions didn't help during that time. Hopefully I can really start to clear some deadwood now and replace them with better. The fact the wage bill has been greatly increased will help with that.

Very good work this season, was looking like you might nick a european spot at the end there but your form let you down, next season maybe!

Cheers. bar the 0-4 we weren't actually playing to badly in that spell, but using a few 2nd division players in this league when playing the top half clubs (like the majority were in that spell) we was always going to struggle. That said i'm glad we didn't make Europe as we'd have been shown up

Not a bad season at all, obviously there's a big gap between the top two and the rest this season. I'd develop him as a striker personally mainly due to him having decent pace.

Very good season,also good to see you avoided Europe for the time being as that can help you with building the squad up without too much pressure.

Boldklubben Skjold July - August 2016

Golaszewski

Meyer

Montesano

Sarlak

Thorning

Tol

Vey

Winkler

Pretty happy with the signings and the start to the season. Thorning is an amazing capture for us, he's already counted as leading Superliga player and at 18 i'm hoping he can get a lot better. I am working on his jumping obviously as that will be a concern as is the fact he is only a sweeper so he's been retrained as a CB for the time being, if his jumping is too much of a problem then i'll push him in to a DM position as it looks like he could do a good job there.

Considering 17 of this squad is under 20 I am surprised at how well they have handled themselves in the first season and a bit of top flight. I don't expect perfection from them every week and I expect there'll only be 4-5 of this lot at the club in a long term capacity (sales depending) in a few years time as I do want to get back to the home based players again as we establish ourself in the division. Needs must for the first few years though and i'll try and make sure we stay up however we can.

Not a bad season at all, obviously there's a big gap between the top two and the rest this season. I'd develop him as a striker personally mainly due to him having decent pace.

Cheers mate. Nordsjælland, Midtjylland, Aalborg and obviously København are miles above the rest of the division and it's probably going to take a while to break that top 4 consistently even though we nearly did make it last year.

Christiansen I agree about, he seems to lack one or 2 things to be an effective AMC (though changing him in to a wide left player has crossed my mind) so I've took your advice and going to see how he goes as a striker. He's been promoted to the first team so he can be used though because the youth team plays a system where he doesn't even get in to the starting 11 usually.

Very good season,also good to see you avoided Europe for the time being as that can help you with building the squad up without too much pressure.

Cheers. I agree about Europe, I didn't go out of my way to lose those last few games but in a way i'm glad we did. This squad can hardly cope with midweek league or cup games without suffering by the weekend so Europe would have killed us. This division pays a decent amount out in prize money for a nation of it's size so at the minute we aren't needing European football too badly. The wages are manageable and it's only because of our excellent junior coaching we are losing money at all. I do want to get to Europe in a year or 2 mind because i've got a feeling we are going to end up in debt to build a new stadium either this or next season

Boldklubben Skjold September - December 2016

Without a doubt the best spell we've had in terms of the way we've played since I joined the club. Obviously getting better players over this last year has helped considerably but another thing i've noticed is with my complete reshuffle of coaching staff (ie getting miles better in the summer) the players attributes are growing a lot better right across the squad.

The main reason for the good form has to be the midfield. The starting 3 have all been excellent though Kuipers edges it as the best performing of them. If I can get a pair of full backs in this next window then the chances are we will finish higher than last season though it is far too early for me to be thinking about top 2.

Strong show in the domestic league. Do you have enough matches left to make a push for the top?

There's 13 games left to play but there's no chance of it happening. København were miles clear with 5 games of the period to play but lost a few in a row (including to us) which is why it looks closer than it really is and that was only due to them having injuries, they are too strong when they have a fit squad and will probably end up a good 15+ points clear of whoever is 2nd. I've struggled to keep hold of what i've got this winter never mind strengthening due to finances

Bar the Danish players if I start getting offers for my better players of over £600k i'd have to sell and hope to get frees at least at the same level (which looks like it can be done), because i'm getting a few wanting to leave for a bigger club now and to be honest i've gone down the route of keeping players too long in the past and whilst short term you can get away with it the unhappiness just continues and ruins the teams morale/form.

Boldklubben Skjold January - March 2017

I think it says something on how we've improved this season that i'm disappointed with the 2 defeats in this period. We'd have been pushing København (at least for the time being) without those results and probably would have secured a top 3 finish. I now have 3 winnable home games in a row (should certainly win 2 tbh) then København and Brondby away which will be tough. The remaining few games after that could go either way.

No ins or outs in the winter luckily but i'm expecting quite a few changes in the summer.

Only one talent again from the youth intake and another Christiansen (no relation to the other) but just like the other it's given me a headache what to do with due to the positions he can play.

I think I could get away with playing him in midfield without a problem but going by his namesakes lack of goals it's tempting to keep him in his natural position. I think i'll give him a bit of time in midfield but keep him on a complete forward schedule for the time being, but some advice would be good with this one. If it wasn't for his crossing i'd have tried to make him an AML but it's probably going to be a waste of time trying.

Boldklubben Skjold April - June 2017

I wasn't convinced we'd hold on but we managed 2nd with 3 games to spare. It was a bit disappointing the way the last 2 games finished against relegation threatened sides (especially as it was as close to full strength sides as I could put out) but the hard work was done.

Vey on the left wing wing was superb in the final spell, finally showing the promise he showed in spurts at the start of the season. The midfield trio were probably the main reason for our good season but it was also pleasing to see the amount of goals conceded drop quite significantly from last year.

We are still a long way away from København, but this squad is growing in to quite a handy one for this level. If the lure of European football can persuade some to stay and we can add then I think top 3 and a better Danish Cup run is possible for next year.