International challenge

[sheffieldtim]

I have ahd about enough of the continual beatings in the year 2013. My Fraoes side are still being thrashed every game and I can't bear it any longer.

Yes...........I AM A FAILURE

I am giving up my Faroes game for the forseeable future as can't seem to even win a point.

Top challenge though Mad Woodster. First time I have ever wanted to play International Management.

KUTGW!

[MadWoodster]

Done some research on Faroe Islands in my holiday game they have a number of players from the Icelandic league, one from Swedish league but none from the Danish league, this may be of interest to those battling with them.

There seems to be some interest in people managing Andorra should we extend this challenge to any nation below 150 to include more nations, which may be more playable than some we are trying with now?

BS_8 as I understand it there is no code in FM08 for changes in the number of places a continent is given in the world cup. So I am afraid in Oceania we are sutck with just the playoff opportunity.

CoachFlu at least you are scoring goals against the bigger teams, it always gives you the possiblity of sneaking a draw or even a win.

anagain good to see you are scoring goals. Their are one or two niggling bugs in the news where international management is concerned. That's a big steep drop, I can only assuming that other nations gained a lot of points in that month. May well be a lot of qualifiers being played in other confederations.

Combustion Europe does seem to be the biggest challenge probably as apart from South America you have got the hardest teams to beat, and even some of the teams in the seeding group just above yours are still quite good compared to the other continents equivalent teams.

Axefighter good to hear of your success in friendlies and well done on your superb performance in the Oceania Nations Cup

Alwo welcome to the challenge. Liechtenstein have had some good results for example they beat Iceland and Latvia inm Euro qualifiers this year whihc have boasted their ranking. I will have to do some indepth look at who is and isn't manageable out of the lower nations. While you are ahead of everyone in FIFA ranking as Boliva, qualifying for the World Cup is still a big challenge as they are the worst team in South America according to the rankings. Faroe Islands seem to be one of the hardest at the moemnt so good luck with them.

Brigadier good luck on finding some regens.

Mr Nec I hope to do some research today and list the playable nations.

Freelinet good luck with Tahiti and welcome to the challenge.

SuperCupra while Andorra are not officially on the list, it will be interesting to see how you get on with them.

[anagain]

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

There seems to be some interest in people managing Andorra should we extend this challenge to any nation below 150 to include more nations, which may be more playable than some we are trying with now?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I have to agree with the 150 ranking idea and I was actually going to suggest it. This is a fun challenge and I am enjoying it but I have to wonder how long the fun will last if people can't win anything. I once managed India in FM07 and had many players to choose from. I could even see them getting much better in the future. I don't know how high they are ranked in 08 but it can't be that high.

It might become easier but may attract more challengers.

[MadWoodster]

Based on a holiday game running all the leagues (though not retaining any particular nation).

This is where players are now playing, while they may start in their home country if they mvoe to these nations the these are the leagues you need to have running so that your players can play matches and find clubs to sign for. I have also noted what competitions they play in and the frequency of their appearance.

This information and more can be found at the website for this challenge, here

Boliva (South America)

Mexico and Columbia leagues

Always play in Copa America and World Cup qualifiers

Papua New Guniea (Oceania)

All in Papua New Guinea's league. Australian League teams do have feeders here so maybe useful.

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

Tahiti (Oceania)

All in Tahiti's league. Australian League teams do have feeders here so maybe useful.

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

Comoros (Africa)

Due to dual nationality, most in France, odd one in Belguim.

Play in both African nations and world cup qualifiers

Nepal (Asia)

All 5 in Singapore League

Play in world cup qualifiers. Not in Asian cup due to rankings?

Cayman Islands (North America)

Due to dual nationality alot of players in England and Scotland as well as America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Central African Republic (Africa)

France, odd one in Belguim due to dual nationality.

Play in both African nations and world cup qualifiers

Dominica (North America)

Due to dual nationality might find the odd player in England otherwise America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Macau (Asia)

Good number in Singapore as well as Macua. Odd one made it to Holland, England and France.

Only in World cup qualifiers. Never in Asian cup due to rankings?

Afghanistan (Asia)

A few players in Belguim, Denmark, Russia. Due nationality with Denmark and Holland

Only in World cup qualifiers. Never in Asian cup due to rankings?

Faroe Isles (Europe)

Mainly in Icelandic league. Odd one in Swedan and Faore Isles

Always play in the European championship qualifiers and world cup qualifiers

Guniea-Bissau (Africa)

Due to dual nationality, most in France, but also Brazil, Belguim, Germany

Play in both African nations and world cup qualifiers

Samoa (Oceania)

All in Samoa's league. No feeders

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

Somalia (Africa)

Come from all sorts of leagues due to dual nationality for example, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany, Belguim, Holland

Play in world cup qualifiers but only some African nations, maybe need high ranking to qualify?

Tonga (Oceania)

All in Tonga's league. Australian League teams do have feeders here so maybe useful.

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

Peurto Rico (North America)

American league, 1 player in Holland so maybe worth having Dutch league.

Don't play in any competitions! Not sure why, maybe you have to work woders with them first?

San Marino (Europe)

Mainly in Italy and San Marino

Always play in the European championship qualifiers and world cup qualifiers

Anguilla (North America)

Due to dual nationality alot of players in England as well as America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Bhutan (Asia)

No players or feeders.

Only in world cup qualifiers, never in Asian cup maybe due to ranking?

Cook Islands (Oceania)

All in Cook Island's league. Australian League teams do have feeders here so maybe useful.

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

American Samoa (Oceania)

All in American Samoa's league apart from 1 in Australian league. Only feeder was from New Zealand

Always play in Oceania Nations Cup

Aruba (North America)

Had no proper players in their squad!

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Belize (North America)

Only had two players one in Belize and one in America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Djibouti (Africa)

Only two players due to daul nationality one in france and one in austria (had germany nationality)

Only play in some African nations and world cup qualifiers may depend on ranking?

East Timor (Asia)

All players in East Timor, no feeders

Always in world cup qualifiers, but only once in Asian cup, maybe due to ranking?

Guam (Asia)

All players in Guam, however China has feeders from here so may be useful

Always in world cup qualifiers, but not in Asian cup, maybe due to ranking?

Montserrat (North America)

Due to dual nationality alot of players in England as well as America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

Sao Tome and Principe (Africa)

Due to dual nationality, Belguim, Germany and Holland

Play in world cup qualifiers and some African Nations

US Vigin Islands (North America)

Most in US Virgin Islands league but a few in America.

Only seem to play in World cup qualifiers. If they do well enough here or in world rankings they might make the North American Gold cup???

[mattyday315]

Hi i quite like this challenge been doing dafuges at the moment but may do this instead i think im going to be the mighty san marino. will post regular updates.

[frothyassclown]

]Profile[/url]

This looks good. I've never started an international game before so here goes. I'm going to start with Guinea Bissau.

There are 77 players who are eligible.

I started with the French, German, Belguim and Brazilian leagues selected and large database.

[MachinegunHead]

I think the idea of softening the restraint and allowing 150 and below teams to be used would be great. It WILL make it easier, but it will also make it less frustrating.

As for how to rank the achievements of participants, here are my ideas:

-Separate various competitions into different categories, (i.e. a world cup category, which is separate from a gold cup category), and maybe add a few combinations for people who win both a domestic and the world cup.

-Rank users in their separate categories with the following rank priorities

1) Initial FIFA rank of nation used

2) Date of cup win

3) FIFA ranking at time of cup win

4) Overall form in tournament (W-D-L)

Just some ideas, but I'm completely in support of relaxing the team constraint a bit.

[mattyday315]

does anyone no any good staff that would go to san marino thanks

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

I've decided to give this challenge a go as it seems like its quite a fast paced game.

I'm managing the Cook Islands, ranked 198th in the World at the start. Got 4 friendlies for the Autumn of 2007 planned, hopefully I can get some confidence boosting results in those.

In terms of game setup, I've loaded the A-League, S African & French leagues for the game as I've loaded all players from CAF just in case my job goes belly up.

Just selected my first squad and got this message, which although is fairly standard when selecting squads, was still quite amusing, especially since this guy hasn't even played a game for me. Cook Islands striker nearing nation goalscoring record!

[Axefighter]

I always get news like that. The young keeper has scored 0 international goals and is rapidly closing in on the all time record of 7 goals for Tonga >_<

I think it's just easier to go up in the rankings by playing local teams. I played Liechtenstein just and lost 3-0 at home to them. Followed that up with a 2-1 friendly win in Bhutan and a 2-2 draw in Brunei.

Next load of regens have busted onto the scene and are once again superior to all the starting players. I now have strikers for Tonga called Salmon and Cornwall, and my right winger is called Salmon

Again I've moved up in the world rankings. This time to the dizzy heights of 117th. Faroe Islands were most improved going from 194th to 135th due to a 3-0 win at home to Kazakhstan leaving them second in the early stages of their world cup qualifying group. Shows they can win at least ^_^

[Axefighter]

^Change one of the strikers to Cunningham

As for the staff, I would just go for anyone that is local. For my Tonga team I offered some of the coaches from the Australian league and they accepted. They stay contracted to their current club so that shouldn't be much of a problem.

[anagain]

I am curious if anyone knows when the draw for the 2010 African nations qualifiers takes place. I'm approaching the middle of 2009 now and no sign of any draw.

[combustion]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Done some research on Faroe Islands in my holiday game they have a number of players from the Icelandic league, one from Swedish league but none from the Danish league, this may be of interest to those battling with them </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Done some research on Faroe Islands in my holiday game they have a number of players from the Icelandic league, one from Swedish league but none from the Danish league, this may be of interest to those battling with them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Okay cheers thanks for the heads up

I've decided I'm gonna start the game again with the Icelandic Leagues on and see how it goes, I dont think I had made enough progress in the other one to keep it up, I like the idea of 150 aswell as i totally agree it will make it easier and less frustrating.

[Konquest]

Belize - 2008 - End of season Report

This season marked our first competitive matches, with the World Cup Quals. We were drawn against Antigua & Barbuda for the 1st Phase, 1st round. They were ranked ~130th, while we were 195th. However, I was confident that we were underrated and were able to progress with the win.

After a boring 0-0 draw at home, our team elevated their game and came through with a 3-0 win on away grounds.

In the second round, we were drawn against Costa Rica, ranked 60th. At that point, I was pretty sure that they would be too powerful for us and that we will get our first serious beating of that challenge.

The first leg was played at home and finished in a 1-1 draw. I was relatively happy, as we held our ground pretty well, limited their chances. They scored a late goal to come back and tie the game, but otherwise I was pretty proud of my little Belize squad.

The second leg was a really exciting game. After falling behind 0-2 on two quick goals (26th and 38th minute), we clawed one back on an amazing free kick by Selvin de Leon on the 41st minute. We knew we only needed to tie this one and we would be through on away goals. Costa Rica pushed hard to get a third goal, but we managed to hold on. Eventually, we scored on a counter-attack, as they over-committed on the attack. In the 77th minute, score was tied 2-2 and I was through on away goals. So Costa Rica pushed harder to get one last goal. Their keeper was coming up on virtually every corner. In the meantime, we launched a couple of counter-attacks, but Belize was mostly playing deep in their zone. Eventually, what had to happen happened. We conceded a goal (which was offside, by the way) on the 88th minute. I was proud of my guys once again, as I really thought we would have been trounced by such a stronger side. Losing 4-3 on aggregate is not a bad performance for our little side.

The rest of the year was passed in friendlies. We managed pretty well, losing to much stronger teams, but always contending. Here is a quick look at my fixtures of the year.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Belize 2 - 0 El Salvador

Belize 1 - 2 South Korea !!

Belize 4 - 0 St Kitts & Nevis

Peru 4 - 1 Belize

</pre>

World Rankings

After that exceptional year, Belize has surged up in the rankings. After beginning the year in 195th place, We were ranked 123rd in January 2008, with a peak at 114th position in November 2008. That's a rise of 72 positions in one year. So, next year, my goal is to gain another 72 positions...

You can view our progression graph.

The Players

As with CoachFlu, the youngest player in Belize is 23 and I haven't had any regens yet (as of January 2009). I am now a little bit farther in my game and started to get some youngsters, but that will be for another update.

I think my Best Eleven for this year reflects well the performance of each of my players.

I'm most proud of Giovanni Celiz, a young striker who is still without a club, despite 11 caps and 7 goals in 2 years. He's also one of my younger players, so I hope he does not retire soon because he does not have a club. A couple of clubs in the Belizean league seem to be interested in him, I really hope he gets picked up.

In front also is Selvin de Leon, scoring lots of goals for his Guatemalean side (12 goals in 16 apps this year). Deadly on free kicks, he is one of my few players on a full time contract.

I have had a few players retiring, but nothing major yet. It's mostly backups or players that can be easily replaced.

A quick look at 2009

I've got no games scheduled for 2009, so it will be pretty fast. I will schedule some friendlies, and will try to play one or two sides that are comfortably ahead of us in the rankings to see where I'm at.

We got our first 6 regens, so I will start to play with the U20 team also. Most of them look like crap, but 1 or 2 could make the jump into the main squad eventually.

[anagain]

I think I have a problem with my CAR game. Each year I have only gotten 2 and then 1 regen. I am losing older players faster than I can gain new ones (either through deterioration of stats or age).

Anything I can do to get more regens?

[sergent21]

Just started this game, because I got to have my two games going. Started as Central Africa Republic, and got the French An Belgian Leagues down to the bottom leagues.

Got 1 player playing in the French 2nd league, who is pretty handy, but other than that, its a couple in French reserve teams and the rest playing in unplayable leagues.

Also got 3 French players in, who eligable for CAR, although not much, better than wat I got so be playing them from the off I guess.

Anyway good Luck everybody, hopefully I can do some damage in the world of International football

[CoachFlu]

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

A quick look at 2009

I've got no games scheduled for 2009, so it will be pretty fast. I will schedule some friendlies, and will try to play one or two sides that are comfortably ahead of us in the rankings to see where I'm at.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Odd that you didn't qualify for the 2009 Gold Cup with that fine ranking.

I did qualify for the Gold Cup. Since our ranking is pretty similar (we're 116th now), I'm guessing the ranking isn't the determining factor.

So it must be the fact that my Belize team managed to get to the group stage of World Cup Qualifying which earned us the Gold Cup invitation. (We got Cuba in the second round, slightly easier than Costa Rica.)

Still, looks like you're doing very well. Keep it up.

[OugaBagga]

i thought the challenge souneded good ive started as papa new guinea my first nationalty papaun second nationality english repuataiton inrernational footballer

[OugaBagga]

i have an awful lot of players to chose from 71

[MadWoodster]

Ok, I think we will relax the restraint to any country ranked below 150 in the world. However, depending on your starting position will affect a multiplier on your points score. I haven't worked out the full details of this point structure yet, as I want to include various rounds of each competition but the basic idea is:

The points are awarded for both performance in competitions and also world ranking, and I plan to get the website to work them out for me.

World cup points (max 60)

Win the world cup: 60 points

Qualify for the world cup: 25 points

Confederation cup points (max. 50)

Win the confederations' cup: 50 points

Win your confederation's cup: 25 points

World ranking points (max. 50)

Ranked no. 1 in the world: 50 points

Ranked top ten in the world: 40 points

Ranked top twenty five in the world: 30 points

Ranked top fifty in the world: 20 points

Ranked top hundred in the world: 10 points

Multiplier based on starting ranking:

150-175: 1 times

175-208: 1.5 times

So total points is 240.

However, you can then go round the 5 other confederations managing other nations providing they are ranked below 150 when you take over. You must provide screen shots of you accepting the job and also the ranking graph.

Giving you a total possible score of 1440 points.

[MadWoodster]

Mattyday315 welcome to the challenge. You might find a trip to Milan profitable

Frothyassclown welcome to the challenge. 77 players is about twice as many as my American Samoa team got so you have plenty of choice.

Machinegunhead thanks for the suggestions, while I may not have utilised them, it is good to have some ideas, especially the separate categories.

Walcott's Wonderkids welcome to the challenge. Until my game crashed I was enjoying some good success with Cook Islands, I hope you do too.

Axefighter good to see the regens are improving and you are moving on up.

Combustion hope things go better for you this time around.

Konquest well done on negotiating the 1st round and the great performance against Costa Rica. The friendly results are encouraging as is your world ranking. Don't forget make sure you play at least 5 games a year or you will be penalized by the FIFA ranking points calculation scheme.

Anagain not too sure how to improve regens, have you got any CAR coaches/scouts/assistant manager that you can sack in the hope they find a job somewhere and start bringing in regens from their own nation?

Sergent21 welcome to the challenge, good luck with CAR.

CoachFlu[/b[ it may be that in Konquest's game other North American teams were ranked higher than him. Or as you say it might be that the Gold Cup borrows part of the World cup qualifying program, as we know the opposite is true in Oceania.

OugaBragga welcome to the challenge, 71 is about average, I only had about 40 when I started with American Samoa.

[CoachFlu]

Belize, May 26th 2009

And so endeth our first participation in the North American Gold Cup:

Canada - Belize: 5-2

Belize - USA: 0-5

Trinidad&Tobago - Belize: 2-1

The Canada match was a bit more evenly matched than the score suggests, but all three matches were deserved losses, pretty much. At least we managed to score a few goals.

More frustratingly, however: of the 18 regens that appeared last year, there were two players that looked useful (one decent, one superb). Unfortunately, both failed to find a team and have announced their retirement.

I included them both in the Gold Cup squad and gave them their first caps, hoping that would perhaps give me the option to ask them to reconsider retirement, but that isn't the case.

Quite disappointed with that.

World Ranking: 106th

[Konquest]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Odd that you didn't qualify for the 2009 Gold Cup with that fine ranking.

I did qualify for the Gold Cup. Since our ranking is pretty similar (we're 116th now), I'm guessing the ranking isn't the determining factor.

So it must be the fact that my Belize team managed to get to the group stage of World Cup Qualifying which earned us the Gold Cup invitation. (We got Cuba in the second round, slightly easier than Costa Rica.)

Still, looks like you're doing very well. Keep it up </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks. I was a bit gutted when I got Costa Rica, but we managed to play it out pretty well. It would have been nice to get invited to some competitions, as my guys are eager to play in some competition.

[Konquest]

Belize - End of 2009 report

This one is going to be really quick, as not much happened this year, only friendlies.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Belize 0 - 1 Cuba

Belize 0 - 0 Costa Rica

Belize 2 - 1 Canada

Belize 1 - 0 Central African Republic

Belize 0 - 1 Nigeria

</pre>

All low scoring games in which we scraped a couple of important wins.

We should have won against Cuba, as we got 2 disallowed goals and our fair share of chances.

We wanted to take our revenge against Costa Rica, and we held them to a goalless draw. No shots on targets against 6, we got totally dominated but somehow managed to hold on...!

Great game against Canada. Challenged most of the game and we got the upper hand on this one. Thrilled with my guys there.

Against CAR, we dominated, but did not take all of our chances. 16 shots against 5 was the story of the game.

We got totally dominated against Nigeria, but my keeper managed to hold on. 30 shots against, 13 on target and the only goal he allowed was on a penalty. We deserved to lose by 4 or 5 goals.

World Ranking

As of December 2009, we are ranked 105th in the world, which is a nice achievement. I have no screenshots this year, as I do not have my game in front of my right now and going all from my notes...

Players

After 11 caps and 7 goals, Giovanni Celiz has decided to retire because he didn't find a club. Too bad, as he was a lethal finisher. He even was my vice-captain, and nobody signed him despite interest from many clubs...

My keeper, Shane Orio, who is now playing in Puntarenas in Costa Rica, has attracted attention from a club in the Mexican First Division. I hope he signs there...

I got 6 regens last year, only one will prove to be good enough to jump into the main squad as soon as he's too old to play with the U20. Screenshots to come later.

A quick look at 2010

I really hope I get competitive matches, but I won't hold my breath. So far, I seem to have only 2 friendlies scheduled against USA and Bahamas, but I will schedule as much as possible, to give my folks some experience...

Screenshots to come later...

[MachinegunHead]

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

Machinegunhead thanks for the suggestions, while I may not have utilised them, it is good to have some ideas, especially the separate categories. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No problem I wasn't expecting you to just adopt what I said with no questioning. As long as it is getting you thinking about how to distinguish between different accomplishments.

Also, what are your thoughts on the 150 and below instead of 180? Do you condone it or do you want it to be kept a strict 180 and below?

[freelinet]

Tahiti in the OCE Nations Cup.

OCE nations cup preliminary matches:

Tahiti 0-1 Tonga

Solomon Islands 1-1 Tahiti

Tahiti 2-1 New Caledonia

Tahiti 3-0 Cook Islands

Those results 'somehow' saw me qualify for the OCE Nations cup.

Tahiti 1-3 Solomon Islands

Tahiti 0-0 Fiji

Tahiti 0-2 PNG

New Zealand 7(seven)-0 Tahiti, Total humiliation but no surprise

Seeing as I qualified I moved up 9 places to 174 in the rankings.

[MadWoodster]

CoachFlu young players retiring does seem to be a problem, the only thing you can do is call them up and hope they get noticed by one of the clubs. Thinking about it, if your youth sides are playing, try not calling them up and letting your youth sides call them up, as they may get noticed if they are actually playing for them, especially if there is a tournament going on.

Konquest a good couple of wins in the friendlies, not good about your striker retiring, it does seem to be becoming a problem.

MachinegunHead I'm guessing you missed my earlier post, confirming that 150-180 teams are now allowed but that their is a score differential between 150-175 and 176-208 teams.

Freelinet well done on getting through to the group stages, that in it self is an achievement, even if your group stage proper results were not great though you were playing the better teams there.

[CoachFlu]

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

CoachFlu young players retiring does seem to be a problem, the only thing you can do is call them up and hope they get noticed by one of the clubs. Thinking about it, if your youth sides are playing, try not calling them up and letting your youth sides call them up, as they may get noticed if they are actually playing for them, especially if there is a tournament going on. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep, I did let them play a few U20 matches first (though mainly because that way my coaches were able to do match reports on them.)

Several local teams were interested in them for a while though, but none offered them a contract (while a dozen other youngsters, who all look terrible compared to these two, were signed in a matter of weeks). But at some point (early Feb, I think, after the transfer window) all the interest in them disappeared, and not long after that they announced their retirement.

Ah well, can't be helped. Hopefully I'll have more luck with the next batch of regens.

[Gundo]

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

After 11 caps and 7 goals, Giovanni Celiz has decided to retire because he didn't find a club. Too bad, as he was a lethal finisher. He even was my vice-captain, and nobody signed him despite interest from many clubs... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah this still seems to be a problem in FM08, i've noticed it at club level. Players who can score 7 goals in 11 caps don't come round to often for the likes of Belize i'd imagine, you must be gutted.

[MadWoodster]

I have created an uploaded a ddt file for nations ranked below 150 in the world and also Boliva, it should retain all their players. This and a list of which nations are manageable is available here at the challenge website

[MadWoodster]

For those unhappy about Boliva being included in the challenge, I am working on editing the database to include Falkland Islands and also Easter Islands from South America but need some time to experiment with them, they would of course start bottom of the pile with 0 ranking points. I have also given FIFA status to countries such as Wallis and Fortune Islands who currently don't have it. However, this had the disadvantage of them always taking Solomon Islands place in the qualifying for the 2008 Nations Cup. Of course none of this extra nations are playable unless I add some players for them as well, or they get some regens.

[Konquest]

Belize - End of Season Report - 2010

It will be pretty quick once again, as we had only friendlies this year. Add to that fact that I'm pretty tired and you get a real quick update...

Fixtures

A mix of easy and impossible matches this year... Trying to see where my guys are at...

Belize 0 - 0 Faroe Islands

Belize 1 - 2 China Pretty good game. Held well against an ultimately too strong side

Belize 3 - 1 UAE My guys were dangerous all around, beating the 68th ranked nation...

Belize 1 - 2 Poland Stronger side, but we should have competed better.

U.S.A. 7 - 1 Belize Ouch.

Belize 2 - 0 Bahamas They never stood a chance

Players

Not much going on in the Players side. Mostly the same guys coming back from last year, and not one really stood out. Except maybe Shane Orio, my star GK. He kept me in the game so many times that he deserves a special mention. I actually fear the day he's going to retire as I see nobody able to replace him...

Yay! Regens!

New part is introduced this year in my end of season review, as we got a truckload of regens. Most of them are worthless, but some are worth talking about as they will probably be featured in my main squad eventually.

Jamie Matthews is already the leading striker of Kulture Yabra, with 10 league goals in 26 apps. Likely to be featured in my main squad soon, as I've been looking for a pacey striker. With 17 in acceleration and 16 in pace, he should fit the bill perfectly. Already worth £7K.

Dave Cowley is also playing at Kulture Yabra. Good creative midfielder with high passing and creativity. Likely to be a good captain somewhere down the line.

Gary Perry will likely grow into a great player, but already shows promise at the young age of 17. Looks a bit like Cowley, but with better physical attributes and a bit more defensive minded.

Jacob Garner is the young wingback I've been looking for. Looking good at crossing and tackling, he still needs to work on his physical side, though.

Looking forward at 2011

So I've qualified for the Gold Cup (finally!). We've been drawn in Group C along with

- Mexico (17th). It will hurt.

- Jamaica (119th).

- Cuba (109th).

So far I'm 1st in the group (alphabetical order rules!!). I'd be happy to finish second but a bit disappointed if I finished 3rd or 4th. We'll see.

World Rankings

After that year of friendlies, or rankings moved only because people around us moved. As with any random motion, the net effect is zero. We still lay in 105th place, 50 points behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 100th place.

[MachinegunHead]

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

Yay! Regens!

New part is introduced this year in my end of season review, as we got a truckload of regens. Most of them are worthless, but some are worth talking about as they will probably be featured in my main squad eventually.

Jamie Matthews is already the leading striker of Kulture Yabra, with 10 league goals in 26 apps. Likely to be featured in my main squad soon, as I've been looking for a pacey striker. With 17 in acceleration and 16 in pace, he should fit the bill perfectly. Already worth £7K.

Dave Cowley is also playing at Kulture Yabra. Good creative midfielder with high passing and creativity. Likely to be a good captain somewhere down the line.

Gary Perry will likely grow into a great player, but already shows promise at the young age of 17. Looks a bit like Cowley, but with better physical attributes and a bit more defensive minded.

Jacob Garner is the young wingback I've been looking for. Looking good at crossing and tackling, he still needs to work on his physical side, though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had no idea that people who are born in Belize are invisible except for their hair

[Liam =D]

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

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

Yay! Regens!

New part is introduced this year in my end of season review, as we got a truckload of regens. Most of them are worthless, but some are worth talking about as they will probably be featured in my main squad eventually.

Jamie Matthews is already the leading striker of Kulture Yabra, with 10 league goals in 26 apps. Likely to be featured in my main squad soon, as I've been looking for a pacey striker. With 17 in acceleration and 16 in pace, he should fit the bill perfectly. Already worth £7K.

Dave Cowley is also playing at Kulture Yabra. Good creative midfielder with high passing and creativity. Likely to be a good captain somewhere down the line.

Gary Perry will likely grow into a great player, but already shows promise at the young age of 17. Looks a bit like Cowley, but with better physical attributes and a bit more defensive minded.

Jacob Garner is the young wingback I've been looking for. Looking good at crossing and tackling, he still needs to work on his physical side, though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had no idea that people who are born in Belize are invisible except for their hair </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, but he was right about Perry looking like Cowley. LOL

[MadWoodster]

Adding extra nations to the database may not be such a good idea. I added a couple in Europe and it messed up the European championships and then crashed when working out who should be in the European club competitions. However, will be interesting to see if my Falkland Islands team get to play in the Copa America when it eventually comes round again. It doesn't seem to have messed up the South American world cup qualifying at least.

Konquest certainly some respectable friendly results, good to hear of your regens coming through. Be interesting to see how you get on in the Gold Cup, should hopefully boost your World Ranking a bit.

[rlipscombe]

i think expanding the challenge to the 150 mark is a good idea. i for one am more tempted to give this a go now as a result. i understand the size of the challenge in it's original form but i'm not keen on losing every game, and i feel in this way, i might be more keen on giving it a go. maybe from tonight!!

[MadWoodster]

Rlipscombe good to have you onboard. Good luck and of course let us know how you get on.

[Konquest]

I think it's actually a bug with my graphics card. If I remember correctly, the same kind of bug hit me when I played Civilization IV. I could only see the hair of the leaderheads (or was it only the eyes and mouth, à la Cheshire Cat...?)

[rlipscombe]

i think this might be fun as an alternative game to my Matlock save on Dafuge's challenge.

looked at teams and was gutted to find Liechtenstein weren't there. checked FIFA website and they are ranked 119th in the world!! fancied playing as them as read a great book about them last year...

oh well, will probably be the manager of Luxembourg, Faroe Isles or San Marino, as i like the European structure of International matches. will have a little peek and post when i have decided!!

[MadWoodster]

Rlipscombe Liechtenstein have had some very good results in the last year, even beating Iceland so their ranking has shot up. At least with San Marino and the Italian Leagues running you should have plenty of players available.

[rlipscombe]

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

Rlipscombe Liechtenstein have had some very good results in the last year, even beating Iceland so their ranking has shot up. At least with San Marino and the Italian Leagues running you should have plenty of players available. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeah, i know they have and appreciate that. it's good to see them doing better as i do now have a bit of a soft spot for them. i just didn't realise they'd climbed that much... it's amazing what a few good results can do to a world ranking... look at scotland!!

i think i'll pick between San Marino and Luxembourg. might have a quick look to see how many players Luxembourg have first mind...

[CoachFlu]

Belize, September 22nd 2009

Friendly result:

Barbados - Belize: 2-2

Pleased with that result, especially since we struggled in the match. Efficient scoring and a bit of luck (they missed a penalty) earned us that draw.

The new batch of regens has also arrived. Looks like mid September is the yearly date to watch out for.

Ten new kids, most look rather useless, but there are a few who may turn out decent in a few years. And one young goalie who looks like he could be a future starter.

At least he's under contract for the next few years, so he won't retire immediately. Most of the others are on month-to-months, so hopefully the decent regens survive, this time.

Current World Ranking: 109th

Highest World Ranking: 106th

[combustion]

Well I experimented with the Icelandic Leagues and it added no new significant players and I holidayed for a few years and the quality of players was very similiar to my last game.

So with the new 150 rule in place I'm gonna give it a go with Sierra Leone.

[MadWoodster]

Been doing more research on the database than actually playing the game recently. By adding a Vatican City nation to Europe with 6 clubs and also a Falkland Islands nation to South America with 4 clubs. The game runs without crashing (currently in 2014 with Italian, English and Argentine leagues running). The first European Championships qualifier group A doesn't run to well, and only their top team qualifies with the 3rd team from group G qualifying as well. However, after that the European Championships and European World Cup qualifiers run to plan, with the Vatican City replacing a random team in each one (even Italy in the 2010 World Cup which I thought wasn't a problem as they were the holders, forgetting that the holders now have to qualify for the world cup).

Down in South America where I was looking to give them a lower nation, things run a little smoother. In the South American U-20, Falkland Isles replace a random team. However, in the Copa America, they replace one of the two invited teams! Which is exactly what I was hoping for. They don't however, yet take part in world cup qualifying but then this may be a ranking issue.

Both nations are yet to have regens, so will have to start working on that next, before we start worrying about possibly managing the Falkland Isles to world cup glory.

CoachFlu good to hear of your regens coming through still and your future prospect being under contract.

Combustion sorry to hear your Faroe Isles nation didn't benefit from the Icelandic league inclusion, was it just the case of the regens being no good, or were they retiring too soon due to not finding a club? Good luck with Sierre Leone

[combustion]

It was that they just weren't good enough. They were just at such poor clubs and were really poor anyway so never really had a chance.

The good news is I am very impressed with the squad I have with Sierra Leone and I think I might be able to give this challenge a good go!!!

[combustion]

End Of 2007 Update-Sierra Leone

I just took up this challenge with Sierra Leone after my frustrating go with Faroe Islands. I am optimistic about the game with Sierra Leone though and so far I have made a great start. The squad is decent and players such as Julius Wobay, Kewullay Conteh and Steve Kabba have been performing very well in my first 4 games. Of course Mohamed Kallon is another key squad member.

Qualification For African Nations Cup 2008

Well I had two games to play in this as the first two games in the job. When i picked it up the group looked like this:

Nigeria 10

Zimbabwe 8

Sierra Leone 3

Central African Rep. 1

So it was apparent that I couldn't qualify as there was only two games to go. My results were:

Sierra Leone 3-1 Zimbabwe- A very good result to start off we dominated the game really, Julius Wobay, Steve Kabba and Mohamed Kallon grabbed the goals. Great result in terms of rankings as I started at 162 whereas they were ranked 98.

Central African Rep. 0-2 Sierra Leone- Pretty routine victory however I had expected we could maybe win it by more. But a good performance and result.

The result which meant we finished our qualification group in 2nd place, which I was pleased with.

World Cup 2010 Qualifying-1st Round

We were drawn against Madagascar in this tie and we came through 7-0 on aggregate.

Madagascar 0-5 Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone 2-0 Madagascar

This means that we go through to the group stages. Unfortunately we have been drawn in an abysmal group which probably rules out our slim hopes of actually qualifying.

The group consists of:

Nigeria

Tunisia

Mali

Sierra Leone

Lesotho

Guinea

Its not great as I think there are 3 very good teams in there and as I'm aware only the top team qualifies.

End of 2007 Ranking: 143

[MadWoodster]

Interestingly when I added the 2 Falkland Isles as feeders to 2 different Argentina sides both got 2 regens. One was feeder to Boca Juniors who are in the top Argentina division, while the other was feeder to a second division Argentina side. 1 was born in the Falkland Isles while the other 3 were born in France. So while I have created two Falkland Isles cities, given the clubs stadiums from these cities, they still seem to be getting a French connection, which may be due to the original country I replaced, which was the French part of Sint Martin.

Mind you all 4 players have declared for the Falkland Isles. Not that France would be much interested in them anyway. So at this rate of regeneration, they might just become manageable in about a decade, will have to leave the game going overnight and while I'm at work tomorrow.

Combustion well at least they were playing some football, but it may be a very long process getting them up to scratch.

[MadWoodster]

Ok have finished the basic sign up page for this challenge on my website. This will allow me to keep track of everyone's progress. However, you still need to keep on posting here. At the moment signing up only lets you choose your username (please use your username from this forum to avoid confusion) your password and also tell me what country you are managing. I will add the competition progress stuff tomorrow.

Sign up page is here

[rlipscombe]

I'm on board!!

first of all, i can't post my screenshots with this post as my internet wasn't working last night, so i will (hopefully) add them tonight. I decided to go with the mighty Luxembourg for my challenge.

i added my self as a professional player to give myself a bit of kudos, whilst still not being a legend... my nationality is simply English.

my first impressions of the squad were actually a little encouraging. they players aren't all quite as bad as i feared, which is a bonus. Only half a dozen or so play outside of Luxembourg however. i have a pool of about 350 players to select from, which isn't too bad.

with regards to tactics i will give a basic 4-4-2 a go to start with at home, alternating possibly to a 4-1-4-1 formation on our travels. for my first squad i decided to largely give the existing squad a chance, with a couple of exceptions to cover certain positions. i kept Jeff Strasser, my best player and valued at £1.2m ( ) as captain as he has greatest influence figures, and is a relative veteran at 32 years of age.

My first European Championships qualifier was at home to Slovenia, who were tipped by the media to win comfortably. i felt that this was a bit harsh, and expected us to put up a good fight. i decided to take advice from my assistant with regards to team selection for my first match, again with a couple of slight adjustments. This was based on his knowledge of the players being better than mine. I wished the players luck and sent them "out to battle"

Luxembourg 2 - 2 Slovenia

90 minutes later and i was delighted. Although we had rode our luck a bit, and twice come back from behind, i was chuffed with the result. It had taken a deflected goal to win it (i still believe it would have gone in!!) i was delighted, and told the players so. i feel that this result could be something to build on, going into my next match away in Bulgaria.

In terms of the remaining fixtures, i aim to use the matches to try out a number of players in an attempt to find my starting XI. i have no hope of qualifying anyway, so will look to give youth a chance where possible. this was one of the wishes of the FA upon taking the job - in that they felt they could have a bright future in terms of international standing, and that i should help develop this.

i will post more tonight hopefully, including a bit of info on my squad and key players. oh, and the screenshots as well!!

[rlipscombe]

i've signed up to the website

one question as well. when you are offered the chance to watch a match featuring your players, do you?? is there any benefit to it? i mean, will a player play better for you seeing as you have took the time to watch him in club action.

or is there no real benefit to it. how do you deal with this feature.