So so close.... My worst FM experience.

I've just had my worst FM session since I've played the games.

I'm Liverpool, 2015/2016 Season & I've built a dominant, English cored squad.

I played my first 20 League games and my record was W16,D3,L1.

I was in complete control of my season and then the Carling Cup final came along. I'd beaten Chelsea in all but one encounter leading up to this, Surely I'd win it... Wrong, a 3-0 Final defeat. Oh well, it's the Carling cup, but what unfolded since then destroyed me.

I continued marching on, winning games, and I stumbled across AC Milan in the European Cup quarter finals. 4-1 down from the first leg I fell behind 1-0 at Home. I scored 2 just before half time and a further 4 in the second half to win 7-5, I thought I was on to something massive.

Then came the FA Cup final to relegation battling Southampton, was hoping for a strong performance.... yet another 3-0 defeat to one of the worst sides in the Premiership. Bearing in mind I had a 100% fully fit squad for both finals. Ok f**k it, can still win the European Cup and League... I was top of the league with a 3 point gap but -7 Goal difference behind Chelsea who were second. You guessed it, last game of Season I lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle, Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 to wrestle the League from me on goal difference.

At this point I realised that after being so close to a quadtruple I may finish the season trophy less. I was yet to win a trophy with Liverpool but this team was special. 2-0 Against Barcelona in the 60th Minute. 3-2 down by the 82nd. Not known anything like it, so close to an unbelievable quadtruple yet so so unbelievably far.

The season after I left my position, I kept the same squad bar 2 additions but after 10 games had 4 wins 2 draws 4 defeats, the past season knocked the stuffing out of me.

Has anyone else ever had an experience like this?

it is a beautiful game, isn't it ?

It is, fantastic isn't it. So close yet so so far!!

If you had written Benfica instead of Liverpool that'd be as close to real life as it gets!

I've definitely had a season where I've ended up with nothing like the OP says. The season after I genuinely felt that we'd never reach those heights even though I had the same players at my disposal.

It was best all round that I resigned with reputation intact and a 'thanks for all your hard work' from the board.

That's what happens when you build your team around English players.

I used to play a hot-seat game on FM09 with my son.

In one single session of play he lost the FA Cup on penalties, the Champions League on penalties, my Stoke side pipped his Spurs side to the Premier League title and then he lost the World Cup Final managing England, (again on penalties).

He was not a happy chappy.

Mate, I've just been through something similar although we weren't competing on as many fronts as your lot. Playing with Schalke trying to overthrow the duopoly of Bayern and Dortmund but Bayern are an absolute force. Finished 2nd in my first season and trophyless. In our second season we were top of the league practically all season but Bayern kept the pace with us throughout. Going into the final matchday Bayern were first by one point but we had the game in hand. Their goal difference was superior and we were at home where we absolutely battered teams all season. All we needed was a win.

Had 4 CCCs in the opening ten minutes, all missed. Went on to hit the woodwork another three times. Match finished 0-0 and Bayern won the league on goal difference. Watching the match was absolute torture. Don't know when we'll ever get that close to the title again! But this is why we're addicted I suppose, haha.

I used to play a hot-seat game on FM09 with my son.

In one single session of play he lost the FA Cup on penalties, the Champions League on penalties, my Stoke side pipped his Spurs side to the Premier League title and then he lost the World Cup Final managing England, (again on penalties).

He was not a happy chappy.

Man I wish I could play with my son too, he's only 2,5 so gotta wait propably till FM2020

it is a well documented fact that there are fm players who are making kids hoping for a son just to be able to play with him in 10 years time.

Haha my boy will be an FM player, fact!

Nowhere near as bad as the situation described in the OP, but it did kill the save for me:

I've built a great Boavista team that are almost all products of the youth academy (all apart from 2 players in the starting eleven are homegrown), and we're 4-0 up after the home leg of our Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. We go to the Nou Camp and lose 7-1. The result was a little bit skewed by me having to throw everyone forwards in the last few minutes to get a goal, and then just getting countered mercilessly, but I still couldn't believe it at all.

Afterwards I went to Schalke and managed to win a treble, but those Boavista guys were my boys and to see them get so close to a major final and then get ravaged by bigger clubs was just too much to bear and I deleted the save soon afterwards as it just wasn't the same.

I know this probably makes me weird, but my most enjoyable saves have often, (always actually), been those in which I have struggled at times. Don't get me wrong, I love winning trophies as much as the next bloke, but winning them after you have been struggling is flippin phenomenal!

I can't tell you how much enjoyment the San Marino NT is giving me at the moment, (and I reeeeeeally struggled for years with them).

Far from this sort of incident, (mentioned by the OP), killing my save, it would actually make it for me.

I have lost lots of Finals/Playoffs in my current save. It just means that when I have been successful, it has tasted that much sweeter.

I know this probably makes me weird, but my most enjoyable saves have often, (always actually), been those in which I have struggled at times. Don't get me wrong, I love winning trophies as much as the next bloke, but winning them after you have been struggling is flippin phenomenal!

That's not weird, that's just logical, though maybe not so much the case for the self-proclaimed 'hardcore gamer' (paradoxially) and similar, but that's a lengthy psychology discussion that'll upset a few people.

But it gets boring if you achieve without effort (in leisure anyway, anyone is welcome to give me free money for doing nothing, though that's usually called 'my current temp job'). In FM 07 I won the League Two title within 2 seasons, won the League One title 2 seasons later, got 2nd in the Championship the next season with my 24th-predicted side, and currently topping the Premier League table with effectively a League 1 side. Granted it's only a few games in, but I also won all but one of my friendlies against top, top European sides, and I'm getting worried I know where this is going: I'll get midtable (if I win the Premier League I am not sure I'll really be happy), money will grow, I'll sign more great players, we'll win the league in a few seasons, buy better plays, win Champions League, and same old ****.

Similarly, I don't read FM stories 'cause I just go a page in and they've already won the Europe League twice in a row beating European giants with a Gibraltar side after only a few decades and no money and think "oh **** you, guy, give me a midtable struggle story".

I had a somewhat similar season in FM08 I think where I was managing Notts County. It was early 2020's or something (maybe earlier) and by that point we were a borderline CL quality team, a 4th spot contender like Arsenal or Spurs. Made it to the FA cup final and much more incredibly to the CL final as well. Both finals were against Arsenal who somehow had Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Agüero and the then incredibly overrated Carlos Vela as their attacking four. Lost both finals and then to rub salt in the wounds they beat me in the League as well, robbing us of CL qualification. So yeah, not quite as bad as the OP here but I don't remember enjoying it too much.