Britain and India Challenge

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Nightowl:

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation 2011/12 Season Report

Good update Nightowl ! Looks like you are doing a good job with your resources.

I feel for you regarding your lack of finances and attendance problems. We are in the same boat on that front.

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by davidmcain:

Mohammeddan Season Review 2014-2015

Nice update davidmcain !

You are doing really well.

Few questions for you:

- What is your reputation now?

- What countries are you now able to scout?

I'm really interested in the players you have posted screenshots of. They look WAY better than anything I've seen in my game so far. I'm only two years in though.

It is their technical skills that impress me because the top Indian players average around 10 - 12 points on technical skills at the very best, whereas your players are peaking nearer 14 points. Technically they look a lot better than the best in my game and mentally they look very balanced too. This might be a result of your training plan though? Or maybe the facilities? When did these players start coming through?

I'm also curious about the Indian national team. When did they suddenly start going up the rankings? My Indian national side haven't done anything worth mentioning yet.

C.

[milanfan_apoorv]

I've got a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hint for ya'll:

BUY SOUTH AMERICANS!!

They are mucho better than anything you will see in India. as you will realise once I give you my season update.

(sorry fr the delay but schoolwork has bogged me down, I HATE 10th grade!! )

[coldkohmew]

try free transfers from the asian countries.

[davidmcain]

Crouchaldinho,

My reputation is now continental, club reputation is currently National, and has been for some time. I am able to scout this region, South Asia, though i'm hoping this will increase.

As for the better players, Ali, Fernandes, and Das all come along at the start of the game (2nd year, free agents). Obagbemiro already existed. I have a higher quality of regen coming through now, as the training facilities are maxed out, youth facilities are excellant, and still improving. This makes a big difference as I found my players wouldn't improve at all at first. Look for regen coaches as well, they are much better than the real ones. Coachwise I look for an Assistant who is good at Technical and Tactics, coach who is good Attack/Defense, and a FItness and a GK Coach. You should be allowed one but this will mean you can have three. Currently I have 4 stars in all training areas. The regens have gradually improved over time in the game and the national team is now ranked 86th, a rank which has slowed climbed over the years.

[davidmcain]

Mohammedan 2015-2016

Domestic

Finally we won everything. Im not going to report much here as we are firmly esatblished at the top and the goal now is Asian Domination. It was the first year we took everything out though, including the elusive super cup, which was a final obstacle we fell at last year.

Continental

We went 1-4-1 this year, not bad but not great. Its a shame though, as this is what I played all year for, and while the revenue is nice, success woulb be nicer. Too many late goals, again was the theme, we just lack the bottle in the last 10 minutes for some reason. We played with Urawa Reds., Melbourne Victory, and Persipura.

National Team

We rose to 86th in the world, a new high, and getting near that elusive top 75 ranking. We easily beat Syria and Macau to make the first group stage of World Cup Qualifying, and have drawn with UAE 2-2 and lost to Kuwait 2-1. Saudi Arabia is the other team in the group, and the top two go through to the final qualifying phase.

[StOnEhEaD]

Yeah so i gonna try this challenge..

Just from the start i think i have made a screw up, because i took my own nationality which are danish.. well hope thats alright, i am also gonna be part Indian

But beside this i hope i am gonna get a succesful FM 2008 game at last, havent tried that yet.. :S

But here is my Profile

Dont really know much about SBT..

cant remember if anyone else is playing with them?..

But the media prediction is 10th, so it can kinda only go up from here

But here i come

[taifun]

Hi all.

Congratulations with your progress. My time is severly limited and there's no room for any playing until the end om the month. Finished my next season in a record fifth place and am really looking forward to carrying on with Indian Bank.

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers for answering my questions davidmcain - and unlucky on your mission to dominated in the Asian Cup.

Welcome to the challenge Stonehead - check Wikipedia and Google for information about SBT, there is plenty of info on the other Indian sides, so I think there will be for them too.

SBT look like a decent side to start with actually. Just about the mid-range reputation of second division sides but still a fair way off the bigger teams. They also look like they have a decent stadium but you'll have to let us know if you can fill it up every week! It seems only the teams in Goa and Calcutta can get decent attendances straight away.

OK Taifun - well done on another decent finish. I hope whatever is keeping you busy doesn't keep you away for too long!

C.

C.

[crouchaldinho]

By the way, I'm totally p****d off at Mumbai FC now. The chairman has sold about 3 or 4 of my players and has just accepted a huge offer for my absolute best player. I could forgive him selling the other 3 or 4 but this lad was the player who I was building my team around.

The only good news is that the money from the transfer has put us in the black for the first time since I started at Mumbai FC. The bloody chairman has given me barely anything to spend though and so I don't know how on earth he expects me to replace the players he has sold over my head.

It is frustrating because last season we made huge progress but failed miserably against the top four teams. This season we've lost some of our most talented players and not replaced them with quality, so I fear we will take a step backwards.

I am contemplating giving him an ultimatum to improve the youth facilities with the money. I'm quickly losing my motivation to continue with Mumbai FC and if the money from the transfer doesn't go into improving the club in some way, then I'm packing my bags.

C.

[cletus]

Originally posted by milanfan_apoorv:

I've got a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hint for ya'll:

BUY SOUTH AMERICANS!!

QUOTE]

Are your scouts allowed to go to South America? I'm thinking about the rule that to sign a player you must scout them first.

Anyway, here's a little update on my career in Mohammedan. Things are looking very good this season(2nd). With half the season gone we're at the top of the table with 20 points - 2 ahead of East Bengal. 6W, 2D, 1L and +11 in GD.

Two of my new signings, Darren Caldeira (from Mumbai FC) and Ashim Biswas (from East Bengal)has been very impressing.

Strangely enough, the average attendance has dropped dramatically. Last season it was 43347 and now, halfway, it's only 22733?

The board has agreed to improve the training facilities which was indeed necessary.

About to enter the Durand Cup for the first time. Has been drawn in the toughest group with teams from NFL. Other groups has non-league-clubs. Anybody know how the participating teams are selected?

davidmcain: Nice to see your progress with "my team". Hope I can match your results in the future (or do better)....

[cletus]

The Durand Cup was unfortunately no succes.

Results

Had I not lost the first match by 2 goals, but only by 1 goal, I would have qualified for the semi's. The 3-1 goal was scored in the 89th minute. Bad luck. (Got a red card in the match aginst Salgaocar in the 44th minute, holding a 1-0 lead. Bad 2nd half)

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by cletus:

About to enter the Durand Cup for the first time. Has been drawn in the toughest group with teams from NFL. Other groups has non-league-clubs. Anybody know how the participating teams are selected?

No idea, perhaps FMIndia will fill us in when he next reads this thread. He is our resident Indian football expert!

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Dilemma for Crouchaldinho!

OK, my financial problems due to low attendances at Mumbai FC have been much documented on this thread. I have been in extraordinary debt from day one and my chairman has been selling my best players left, right and centre. I've been feeling a lack of motivation at Mumbai FC due to my lack of ability to 'build' and feel like I'm taking the squad forward.

Finally another job has come up in the Indian league which I have successfully applied for. I have seen through my original contract at Mumbai FC and therefore would not be in breach of the rules of the challenge if I left. The job I have been offered is with SC Goa.

SC Goa are around the same reputation as us, I would say. They have a stadium twice the size of ours, far mroe financial resources and much better attendances. The playing staff are crap though.

So, do I quit Mumbai FC for a new project at SC Goa?

The pros are as follows:

Mumbai FC - I have a squad capable of mid-table at the very least. I still have some good young players at the club. We could play some good football and are firmly established as a Indian Football League side now. No relegation worries.

SC Goa - The club have really good finances and I could definitely build up youth facilities and sign up a number of quality players for next season.

And the cons:

Mumbai FC - No attendances. No money. No youth or training facilities. Board are a pain in the a**e. Some of my best players have been sold on by the chairman without my consent, including my key/star player who I was building the team around. Complete lack of ability to challenge the top 4 clubs in India, which seems unlikely to change in the near future. My contact runs out in the summer. To take Mumbai FC forward, increase the reputation of the club and increase the attendances, I need to win a trophy but I can't realistically do that without money.

SC Goa - are in a dire state and will take a great deal of luck and hard work to keep them up. Indeed, by jumping ship I could easily end up relegated and unemployed very quickly.

It's a hard decision to make. Any opinions from you guys?

C.

[coldkohmew]

Go and scout yourself?

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by coldkohmew:

Go and scout yourself?

That sounds like a euphemism!

To take your question seriously for a minute, the transfer window is closed for the rest of the season so I would have to try and stay up with SC Goa's current squad. That would be tough but not impossible.

Now you go scout yourself too!

C.

[Nightowl]

Tough choice, crouchaldinho. Believe me, I know where you're coming from with the whole finances issue (as you have read). While it can be an interesting challenge, if I was in your position I would take a serious looks at the SC Goa squad. If I thought I could keep it up, I would probably take the job. If you manage it, you can then probably raid your former team for their players in the off season, as in my experience the lower reputation teams value their players very low. You could probably bring in the core of your old team and have the best of both worlds next season.

And now for my next update:

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation 2012/13 Season Report

In pre season news, season tickets went up to 123 from 118. The media is predicting a 6th place finish, with 33-1 title odds. Looks like my team still gets little respect. Is a 3-2 friendly victory over East Bengal a good omen?

The Federation Cup followed a familiar path, with us being embarrassed in the semi final by East Bengal 4-0. Things did change for the better after that, as we beat non-NFL team Viva Kerala in the third place game 4-3. Not the best performance, but this was the teams best finish in the competition with me as manager.

The Durand Cup also brought success, including a 6-0 group stage victory over Mahindra Utd, and the team's first ever appearance in the final, a 2-0 loss to East Bengal. We're getting closer...

Our season was up and down, not starting well but finishing strongly. I'd include more details, but I'm writing this away from the game, having forgot to write down anything specific about the season to go along with everything else...

The new year brought some more awards surprises, as striker Saiful Islam Rahman came second in Asian Young Player of the Year voting, and central defender Shafiqul Hossain and right winger Arata Izumi were selected to the Asian All-Star XI. Also around this time, some European clubs began sniffing around my former (currently East Bengal's - thanks chairman) star left back Avinash Coutinho. On January 31, he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain for 170k (!), which is 80k less than East Bengal paid me for him! I hope there are clauses involved (although none were mentioned). This kid has some of the best mental stats of any 20 year old regen I've seen (not just in this game), and his other stats are solid for someone still so young. I would have held out for a lot more...

All in all, it was a good season. Finished the league in second place (three way tie, won on goal difference), a record high finish for the club, with a 9-4-5 record, 32 for (7th) and 17 against (2nd). Still well behind East Bengal though. More importantly, the team seems to be gelling, and the offense is coming around. My new starting striker, after a year as the backup, stepped up in a big way to make me forget about the player sold. A change of tactics also seems to be working, as my new 4-4-1-1 sees me dominating possession most games. If I can find another solid finisher, I can see big things ahead.

East Bengal is still dominant, having gone undefeated in Indian competitions yet again. I can see some signs of weakening, though. While they won both cups, they tied 5 league games this season, much more than in previous years. Two of those were 1-1 results against my team. Their experience shows through in cup competitions (defeating me 4-0 and 2-0 this season), but I seem to be closing the gap in the league. Also, they've lost another strong player to Europe.

In end of season awards news, striker Saiful Islam Rahman finished third in attacker of the year and second in top goalscorer (16). He was also the fans player of the year, the first time since I've been in charge that Arata Izumi didn't win. Keeper Shaymal Ignatius was second in goalkeeper of the year, and Shafiqul Hossain won defender of the year, with teammate Harvinder Thapa finishing second.

Finally, the European adventures of star Indian Hardip Singh continue. His current team, RC Lens, accepted several large offers for him, and in the end he chose Bordeaux. So off he goes, earning RC Lens 12.5M (yes, million) + clauses! If I can get over to England soon, I just may have to buy him to build my future Champions League winner around.

I'm actually beginning to feel quite optimistic about the coming seasons. Now that my players are no longer teenagers, they may be ready to move to even greater things.

[sarge]

I said i do not get that much playing time, but thought i would give some screenshots of my 1st season.

As you can see from the table, going quite well.

Also from my squad pictures, have managed to buy a few quality players (got given no transfer money but a massive 7K a week wage budget, after budget adjustment, got over 200K transfer budget).

Table

Squad

[crouchaldinho]

Good update Nightowl !

Hardip Singh sounds amazing. I'm shocked at his value! I've found nobody in my game who could even compare to that.

After a long deliberation, I've decided to stick out another season at Mumbai FC. I'll just have to see how it goes and take it a game at a time.

I think the SC Goa move was going to be tough plus I really want to see how far I can take Mumbai FC. My second contract runs out in the summer, so I will have to see where we are at then. Perhaps a summer move will be on the cards.

C.

[Nightowl]

Prepare yourselves, this is a long one...

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation 2013/14 Season Report

The usual opening info, the media predicting a 4th place finish, with 7-4 title odds. Not bad. Season tickets went up to 142 from 123, a pretty significant increase when dealing with such small numbers..

The Federation Cup started the season off on a high note. A 1-0 semi final victory against East Bengal had us in our first ever final, which we proceeded to win 2-0 against JCT. Our first silverware!

In another first for the team, the Churchill board chose the first game of the season against us to be a fan day. Maybe my team should try one of these to get some fans in.

The first half of the season went well, with wins against the five weaker teams (and only 1 goal total conceded), and draws against quality sides East Bengal (home), and Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan, and Mahindra Utd (all away). This caused me to spend most of my time at or near the top of the league.

In a surprising development, East Bengal's 3-2 home loss to Mohun Bagan in their seventh game of the season was their first league defeat in 86 (!) games. This meant that even if they won their game at hand, they would still be a point behind me after 8 games. Even more strangely, they then proceeded to lose their 9th game 3-2 away to SC Goa, only Goa's second win of the season. The stars seem to be aligning...

So, at the halfway point of the season, we lead the league with a 5-4-0 record, +12 with 19 points, followed by Mahindra Utd (18), Salgaocar (17), Mohun Bagan (15), and East Bengal (15).

The Durand Cup did not go well. In my opening group match, I lost 1-0 at home to East Bengal. They then proceeded to beat Mohammedan, leaving my second game meaningless. This is the first time in a while that I didn't get out of the group stage in this competition.

In my usual mid season awards news, striker Saiful Islam Rahman finsihed third in Asian Young Player of the Year, and was joined by central defenders Shafiqul Islam Islam and Shafiqul Hossain in the Asian All-Star XI.

Since this season is going so well, I'll be doing a more in depth report of the second half as I play. So here goes:

Our first game was away to East Bengal. Defender Hossain put us ahead with his first goal of the season in the 30th, only for East Bengal to tie it in the 36th. The rest of the game was uneventful, although they deserved a winner more than us. The result dropped us into second, one point behind Mahindra Utd.

Currently tied with me for second, Salgaocar at home was next. From the beginning, my team didn't look up for this game, and Salgaocar took the lead in the 21st. An disappointed team talk also didn't seem to help, so in the 74th minute I changed up the tactics and brought on a couple subs. Finally something went well, as sub left winger Shafiqul Islam Rahman set up sub central midfielder David Bikim for a goal in the 81st. The draw left me three points out of first.

Next up, 8th place Chruchill Bros at home, should be easy. Well, it wasn't, with David Bikim scoring an own goal in the 10th, and after a tying goal by striker Rahman, another goal for Churchill in the 37th. Another disappointed team talk, and a tactical change yielded a penalty on the 59th to tie. Then, in the 90th with me already lamenting the dropped points, Philip Singh sent a superb pass through to Rahman, who in alone scored again! 3-2 victory for ONGC, and back within 1 point of first.

Sixth place JCT away followed, nothing much to say, a 2-0 victory in a game I expected to win. The result moved us back into first, two points ahead, as Mahindra Utd lost 3-1 to SC Goa at home. East Bengal is back in the chase, dominating HASC 5-1 away to move into a tie for second (leading on goal difference) with Mahindra Utd.

Last place HASC, 4-1 home victory, nothing much to see here, although attacking midfielder Mamun managed a goal and three assists before I took mercy on them and took him off.

Ninth place Mohammedan, away, 3-0 lead after a goal in the 63rd. A 64th minute goal makes it 3-1, but we get it back in the 71st. A 4-1 lead, things are looking comfortable, so in the 74th I bring on a couple lesser lights to get some game action. Not my best decision, as Mohammedan scores in the 86th and 90th. Extra time is nail biting, but we hold on to win 4-3. It shouldn't have been this difficult, and I let my team know it.

Quick standings update, through 15 games we lead with 33 points, followed by East Bengal (31), Mohun Bagan (27), Salgaocar, and Mahindra Utd (both 26). Looks like everyone but East Bengal has dropped off the pace. I control my own fate, with home games against fading Mohun Bagan and Mahindra Utd, followed by the finale away to 7th place SC Goa. Things are looking promising, just hope my young team doesn't crack under the pressure. It was at this time that the media story arrived about central defender Shafiqul Hossain rallying the troops to beat Mahindra Utd to maintain our advantage. That's what I want to see from my players. The little "Determined to help his team win the title" PRs that popped up on some players after this pleased me even more.

So home to Mahindra Utd, needing a win to stay ahead of East Bengal, who I'm assuming will not lose again this season. Star striker Rahman starts off superbly, scoring in the 3rd and 5th minutes, both set up by Mamun. A goal for Mahindra Utd in the 16th, and they start getting back into the game. Mamun picks up a knock, and not wanting to risk losing him for the last few games, he is subbed at the half. The second half does not go well, with Mahindra controlling the possession, finally scoring in the 57th minute. The linesman comes to my team's rescue however, calling the goal offside. My team still can't get into the game, but I have the players I want in this situation on the pitch, and am reluctant to change. The last ten minutes were heart stopping, as keeper Ignatius made several saves, and Mahindra Utd missed the net with several other chances. Four minutes of injury time passed, and I could finally breathe again. A 2-1 victory, and ONGC remains in first place with two game to go. Two points up, and East Bengal's 4-0 home victory over SC Goa brings their goal difference level with mine.

Bad news hits after the match, as playmaker Mamun is ruled out for a month with the twisted ankle he suffered in the previous game. His season is over, hopefully mine doesn't go down with it. This time it was my other central defender, Shafiqul Islam Islam, stepping forward to rally the troops, reminding them that if we win the final two games, we are guaranteed the title. With guys like these at the heart of my defense, you can see why we don't concede many. And them firing up a striker who I rely on so heavily before each game is just as important.

Home to Mohun Bagan, a team I have historically struggled against. I considered getting all the experience I could into the starting eleven, but most of my few experienced players have struggled this season. I decided to continue with youth, although I did re-insert former perennial fans player of the year Arata Izumi into the lineup. He has struggled with injury this season, but I hoped he could turn things around, and add at least a little experience to the squad. I set out my squad to attack, hoping to take the game to Mohun Bagan early. I was rewarded with a goal in the 17th minute by striker Rahman. Things were looking promising. Then, the magic began. Three goals in quick succession, in the 32nd (defender Islam, who had rallied the troops before the game, scoring his second of the year), 37th (Izumi rewarding my faith with his first of the season), and 40th (Rahman again) minutes! I killed the game off after this, and Mohun Bagan rarely threatened in the second half. With one game to go and a two point and +1 goal difference lead over East Bengal, I knew a draw wouldn't be enough, as it would likely hand East Bengal the title on goal difference if they could beat Mohun Bagan away.

So on to my final game away to 9th place SC Goa, the league title and an undefeated (currently 11-6-0) league record on the line. It was assistant captain David Bikim's turn to rally the troops, he may be struggling this season but he is still trying to rally the team to a title. Everything seems to be falling into place, right?

Wrong. The pre match screens come up, and I click through to submit my team, only to find that 9 players who started the last game, plus another 4 who didn't, are away on international duty! This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, I hope this is only a quirk in the game and would never happen in real life. Only six first team players are available, one of them still carrying an orange injury and at 62% condition, another the young third string goalie who is seeing out his contract with the club before I cut him loose, and another who is the worst player in the squad (only kept around for emergencies - I guess this qualifies). Worse, my under 18s played earlier (I wish I paid more attention to their schedule, I could have called some players up before they played, so this is partially my fault), so none of them were eligible. So I set out my team, my usual starting goalie, a very poor extra defender, Arata Izumi at right mid, David Bikim and the injured Nitin Rizwam (a young player who rarely plays) at centre mid, the third string goalie at attacking mid (I wanted all of my actual non-gray players to start), and K.V. Vipin at striker. None of the players (other than the keeper) had been a very important part of the squad all year. The rest of the team was filled out with gray players. You can guess the result.

The team was set out to defend and counter, as I felt this was my only hope. Good news arrived in the 10th minute, as Mohun Bagan took the lead at home vs. East Bengal. If they could hold on and win, I would still take the title regardless of this result. In the 43rd minute, SC Goa scored, pretty much making me give up on having any chance of winning this game. My eyes became fixed on the latest scores screen. The 78th minute was an interesting one, as Goa scored again, killing off my hopes of a draw. More importantly, news came in that East Bengal had missed a penalty at the same time! Maybe the fates were with my little team. I at this moment promised that my cash strapped team would send free cake (all we can afford) to the Mohun Bagan players if they could hold on and win. They responded, scoring on the 82nd and 84th minutes to cement a 3-0 victory. Sounds like there's some sweet tooths in their squad! East Bengal's loss meant a first Indian league title for ONGC, even if this last game cost me my undefeated season. Celebrations began.

We finished 11-6-1, with 37 for and 15 against, two points ahead of East Bengal. We had the best defense in the league, and tied with East Bengal for the best offense. A Federation Cup win and a league title is a great return for this squad. The 60k prize will help the finances, although 35k of that was lost to the squad bonus. The confederation cup draw placed us in a division with Finance & Revenue (Myanmar), Persipura (Indonesia), and Pyongyang City (North Korea). I'm cautiously optimistic, as none of these teams come from particularly strong leagues.

To finish off, end of season awards news. Striker Saiful Islam Rahman was Indian player of the year, as well as top goalscorer. Oddly, he wasn't in the top three for attacker of the year, although looking closely, it seems that the top three in player of the year are ineligible (?) to win these other awards, as neither of the other to was on the list at his position either. Attacking midfielder Mamun was midfielder of the year, Shaymul Ignatius was second in goalkeeper of the year, and Shafiqul Hossain was second in defender of the year.

I think I've rambled on long enough, hopefully this has been an fun read. Be back with an update on my cup performance.

Finally, thanks to crouchaldinho for inventing this challenge. Its the most fun FM experience I've had in quite a while.

[crouchaldinho]

Great read Nightowl - what a rollercoaster season! I really thought you weren't going to make it. I was expecting a tale of heartbreak at the last minute!

Well done on your first pieces of silverware!

You have motivated me to continue with Mumbai FC, even though I am struggling.

Plus,I am really pleased you are enjoying the challenge.

C.

[Nightowl]

As promised, a quick update on my Confederation Cup run.

Game 1, Persipura, who scored four quick goals and held on to win 4-2 in a game we dominated. Their finishing was clinical, as they only managed 5 shots on target all game. I hate it when this happens!

Pyongyang City was up next, another dominant game on my part. This time, the score matched the play, and we won 3-1. Feeling pretty confident, having dominated both games so far, with the final team appearing to be the weakest of the bunch. More importantly, I looked at the the attendance: 3506! That's huge for a team that averaged 842 last season. This competition should hopefully make us some money. The 5k for winning the game was nice too.

Finance & Revenue were weak as expected, resulting in a dominant 4-2 win. I am a bit concerned that their only two shots on target went in, I'm starting to worry about my goalie, we're leaking too many goals on few shots.

A 3-0 home win against Persipura followed, with an even better attendance of 4267; a 1-1 draw with Pyongyang City followed. A 4-0 victory (2144 attendance) over Finance secured first place in the group.

At this point, it was time for the Indian Super Cup Final, against old nemesis East Bengal. We were clearly the better team in this one, but the game remained scoreless until the 84th, when my former striker Satyajit Singh scored. Time to send everyone forward, and we were rewarded with a 90th minute goal. Later in injury time, the referee awarded us a penalty shot! Problem was, the goalie stopped it and the rebound was missed. On to the shootout, which after 8 shooters each we finally won 5-4. Another piece of silverware for the collection, the only Indian award we still need is the Durand Cup.

In other news, the end of June brings another move for Indian star Hardip Singh, this time to the Premier League and Blackburn for 13.25M + clauses. Maybe if I can finish off here in India soon, they'll hire me and I'll already have my Indian player to build around.

Back again with next season's update, including the conclusion of my Confederation Cup run.

[coldkohmew]

Try to win the Confederation Cup like a breeze.

[Nightowl]

Try to win the Confederation Cup like a breeze.

Have to agree with this, the Confederation Cup isn't tough if you're already on top of a playable league, and better than a big team like East Bengal. More details below.

Oil & Natural Gas Company 2014/15 Season Report

This years title odds were 5-4, with the media predicting a 2nd place finish. Season ticket sales skyrocketed from 142 to 252. Maybe people are finally starting to take notice.

Another third place finish in the Federation Cup, losing to East Bengal in the semis. Disappointing, but we're aiming for bigger things this season.

The Confederation Cup went brilliantly. Two leg wins over Kedah of Malaysia, and April 25 (me losing the second leg due to a team completely absent to internationals, glad for the 3-1 lead from the first leg) of North Korea got us into the final vs. Nawbahor of Uzbekistan, who eliminated East Bengal in the other semi. Another 3-1 road victory had me feeling confident going into the second leg, which we managed to dominate but still lose 1-0. No matter, a 3-2 aggregate was enough for ONGC to win the Confederation Cup! Only the Durand Cup, and another first place finish, remain, and my confidence is high with the form my team has been showing so far.

The Indian season started extremely well, with seven consecutive wins. Then came a match against SC Goa, in which most of my players were away on international duty (just like last season - I'm starting to think Goa has a deal with the national team schedulers). A hard fought tie with fringe first teamers and U18s was a decent result. A 1-1 home draw against Mahindra Utd, a game in which we took 33 shots, rounded out the first half and left us in first with a 3 point lead over East Bengal.

Next, the Durand Cup, a competition I have yet to manage to win. Close victories over Mohammedan (2-1) and Dempo (1-0) left me feeling less confident, but allowed us to advance from the group stage and a meeting with non-NFL Churchill Bros. Some of my confidence was restored with a dominant 3-0 victory, and it was time to wait for my opponent. East Bengal faced Mohun Bagan in the second semi, and I was expecting another meeting with Bengal in the final, and a chance to finally beat my long time rivals in this competition. To my surprise, Mohun Bagan won 2-1 in extra time, leaving me without my dream final. Still, my team delivered a solid performance in the final, winning 1-0 and allowing us to raise the Durand Cup for the first time.

Some interesting awards news, as my team swept the Asian Young Player of the Year voting. Strike Saiful Islam Rahman was first, winger Zico Fernandes was second, and attacking midfielder Mamun was third. I guess it helps when your whole team is young a performing well in their league. All three also made the Asian All-Star XI, along with central defender Shafiqul Hossain and midfield Vijay Raj.

My former star defender Avinash Coutinho, who you may have remembered was playing for PSG, was sold to Benfica for 9.75M. It looks like there are at least two decent Indian players in the world.

The second half of the season was admittedly somewhat anti-climatic, as my team won 8 of 9, with the only blemish a tie against second place East Bengal. Although they kept pace throughout the second half of the season, they could never overcome my three point lead, and even a worryingly close final game ended up being meaningless when East Bengal tied on the final day.

So there it is, a second consecutive league title, complete with a "Youngsters do ONGC proud" media comment, commenting on my winning squads average age of 22. As well, we won the Durand Cup and Asian Confederation Cup, completing Level 1 of the challenge. Or is the Asian Champions League involved as well, it isn't mentioned in the original topic? As the India job is still Roy Houghton's, its time to focus on my European adventure. I'm right in thinking I can now move on to England, correct? No mention was made about completing Level 2 first before doing it, leading me to believe I can move on to the English leagues and wait for the Indian national job.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, if not, when I return to the game I'll begin applying to English jobs. Feel a little bad about abandoning ONGC, but hopefully I've laid a good foundation for the future.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Nightowl:

So there it is, a second consecutive league title, complete with a "Youngsters do ONGC proud" media comment, commenting on my winning squads average age of 22. As well, we won the Durand Cup and Asian Confederation Cup, completing Level 1 of the challenge.

Wow, you've done it! Congratulations on completing level 1 of the challenge!

I've got to confess that I didn't expect you to win the Asian Confederation Cup on your first attempt! I think you are downplaying your achievement. Very well done!

Any chance you can post your complete progress so far, i.e what you did in what season in table form? It would be a good summary.

Or is the Asian Champions League involved as well, it isn't mentioned in the original topic?

No, the Asian Champions League is another thing altogether. It doesn't link with the Asian Confederations Cup like the UEFA Cup does with the Champions League in Europe. Indian teams can only participate in the ACC, and not the Asian Champions League. It is something to do with their ranking as a footballing country and the structure of Asian football. Check Wikipedia.

As the India job is still Roy Houghton's, its time to focus on my European adventure. I'm right in thinking I can now move on to England, correct?

Yes, you are now on to the RETURNING HOME level. See below...

LEVEL 3 - RETURNING HOME

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck with finding a job in England.

I wonder what your reputation is like now? Hopefully you should be able to get a job. Otherwise, you will need to keep building your reputation in India - getting the national job would certainly help. Alternatively, you can go to a lower division English club and work your way up the table.

I'm ever so curious about this stage of the challenge as I am hoping the transition will be smooth. I figure your reputation should be pretty decent by now though!

No mention was made about completing Level 2 first before doing it, leading me to believe I can move on to the English leagues and wait for the Indian national job.

That's right. It's level 1 before level 3, and level 2 before level 4.

You have to wait for Mr Houghton to vacate his position. Meanwhile, you can get on with the next level and build your British team while being an ambassador for Indian football. I sense that Hardip Singh will be winging his way to your new club pretty quickly!

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, if not, when I return to the game I'll begin applying to English jobs. Feel a little bad about abandoning ONGC, but hopefully I've laid a good foundation for the future.

If I were you, I would let my contract run down with ONGC first and keep a rolling 1-year contract going while attempting to get a job in England. This way if your reputation isn't high enough yet, you should be able to keep building it up by winning the Asian Confed Cup again, for instance. Domination of the Asian Confed Cup should really knock your reputation up.

Let us know how you get on applying to clubs. Fingers crossed.

You are making me feel bad at my awful progress so far (only two seasons played!) I have had a pretty busy time of late though due to studying commitments. I feel a big session coming on tonight though!

Well done Nightowl and make sure you keep us up to date on your transition!

C.

[davidmcain]

Confederatons Cup and Champions League are linked. If an Indian Club has success in the Confederations, then they are then eligable for Champions League. If you stick around, you should find the competition a bit hotter, playing Chinese, Australian, Korean, and Japanese teams, among others.

[jess boi]

alright lads, decided to look upon some challenges and came upo this thread, looks great tbh! so i simply holiday for a year and take over a promoted team?

Also, are the general quality of players equal to blue square premier would you say?

cheerz

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by davidmcain:

Confederatons Cup and Champions League are linked. If an Indian Club has success in the Confederations, then they are then eligable for Champions League. If you stick around, you should find the competition a bit hotter, playing Chinese, Australian, Korean, and Japanese teams, among others.

I don't think that is right. Take a look at this from Wikipedia:

The AFC Cup is an annual international association football competition between domestic clubs sides run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Qualification to the competition is to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC's 'developing nations' category as laid out in their 'Vision Asia' document [1]. Countries which are 'mature' nations are entered into the AFC Champions League, and countries which are 'emerging' nations are entered into the AFC President's Cup. The 'developing nations' are the fourteen 'next-best' countries which lie outside the top-14 countries in the AFC region which send their club sides to the more prestigious AFC Champions League. Thus the two competitions are not interlinked as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup in Europe, and Champions League losers do not compete in the Cup.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by jess boi:

alright lads, decided to look upon some challenges and came upo this thread, looks great tbh! so i simply holiday for a year and take over a promoted team?

Also, are the general quality of players equal to blue square premier would you say?

cheerz

I'd say the players range from blue square premier standard up to league one in some rare cases. Perhaps even championship for the very top few players but I haven't seen many in my game.

Nightowl has a regen and a half in his game and davidmcain has posted a few decent screenshots of prospects.

I've got no talent in my save game so far though. Even if I did have any, my chairman would probably sell them behind my back! (still struggling with Mumbai FC).

C.

[crouchaldinho]

P.S. welcome to the challenge jess boi . Yes, just holiday and take over a newly promoted club. Fulll instructions in the opening post on the first page. Good luck!

[jess boi]

thanks mate should be good! are there any restrictios on work permits in the indian league? dont suppose many brazilians would be interested

[Nightowl]

are there any restrictios on work permits in the indian league? dont suppose many brazilians would be interested

Welcome to the challenge, jess boi.

No work permits, but you can only have 3 foreigners in the match squad. You also have to register your players before they can play, but this isn't an issue unless you have more than 99. Registration is in June (off season) and October (just after the season begins).

As for the Brazilians, and anyone else, its very hard to attract foreigners unless you're one of the larger reputation clubs. The challenge also asks that you only sign players you can scout, so by the rules you may not be able to sign anyone from outside India or the area anyway.

Any chance you can post your complete progress so far, i.e what you did in what season in table form? It would be a good summary.

Sure, anything specific you're looking for? I'll post my league record and position, and cup performance for each season. Anything else you'd like to see?

Indian teams can only participate in the ACC, and not the Asian Champions League.

Actually, as davidmcain mentioned, success in one allows you to enter the other. I've played on into the off season and have found myself entered in the Asian Champions league.

I wonder what your reputation is like now? Hopefully you should be able to get a job. Otherwise, you will need to keep building your reputation in India - getting the national job would certainly help. Alternatively, you can go to a lower division English club and work your way up the table.

My reputation is currently National, so I doubt I'll be getting any dream jobs. I'll be aiming to build up through the league, hopefully with a team with some financial power. I notice the Tottenham (Championship) manager is insecure, maybe I can take his job...

If I were you, I would let my contract run down with ONGC first and keep a rolling 1-year contract going while attempting to get a job in England.

That's basically the plan. The board offered me a new two year contract, but I negotiated it down to one, and I don't plan on anything longer from this point forward.

Ill be back with a progress table, and maybe some news about my job search. We'll see.

[Terror]

So I was reading this thread and i got extremely interested in this challenge - I'm not sure why but I am. So I accept your challenge C! (This is my first time both doing a challenge and managing a small club.)

So i went 1 year into the future, and the two clubs that came out were Vasco and HASC (? not sure). Anyway, i just went with the one with the bigger stadium (Vasco), i was kinda ****ed i didn't get the clubs with 120k but whatever.

At first, they gave me a budget of 0 with 5 players in the senior squad. I was screwed. Immediately, I promoted all the 15 year olds. I started off the season pretty much losing all my friendlies 4 or 5-0. :-\

The federation cup came around, and that too i lost in the preliminary round. I knew i had to do something. So I went into my board room and tried to adjust my wage budget, and to my surprise, I could easily squeeze 250k out of the board. I was delighted. I had already signed a whole bunch of free players, but i was desperately in need of a good striker. After browsing around, the best player i found was Badmus Baba Thunde. And man, what a buy! I'm not sure if it was the tactics i was using (I played a 4-3-3, attacking at around 60%, no creative freedom, defensive line around 20%) but this guy had an average of 7.88. Took around two games to settle in, but then he went on to score 16 in 18 with 11 assists. The 3 strikers overwhelmed most teams defense. Needless to say, I won the league, beating East Bengal by a point.

I need to boost my defense for next season. I will also probably stay around until they have a state-of-the-art youth academy, or an incredible youngun until i move to the UK.

Pardon the poor sentence structure and spelling errors, its rather late over here in the US. I may put up some screenies later.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Nightowl:

Any chance you can post your complete progress so far, i.e what you did in what season in table form? It would be a good summary.

Oh, I just meant a rough table so that people can easily see your progress... so what you did each season, where you finished in the league, what you did in the cups etc.

Don't worry about it too much!

Actually, as davidmcain mentioned, success in one allows you to enter the other. I've played on into the off season and have found myself entered in the Asian Champions league.

I stand corrected. I didn't realise this was the case. Another long search around Wikipedia gave me this:

2009 and beyond

The champions league will be expanded to 32 clubs and will be limited to the top ten Asian league only. Each country will receive up to 4 slots depending on the strength of their league, league structure (professionalism), marketability, financial status and other criteria set out by the AFC Pro-League committee. Several Japanese reports have suggested that in the eastern region, Japan and Korea will each receive four teams, China will receive three, and Australia will receive two. The western region includes Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and will most likely receive 12-16 slots in total. One spot will be reserved for the defending champions. New development has suggested that the 2008 AFC Cup winner and runners-up are also to play in the qualifying rounds to determine which teams will participate in the group stage[1]. The group round will be conducted in the same manner as the 2002/03-2008 edition; however, the only difference is that eight group winner and eight runners-up will qualify to the round of 16.

That's basically the plan. The board offered me a new two year contract, but I negotiated it down to one, and I don't plan on anything longer from this point forward.

Yes, if you are playing in the Asian Champions League now as winners of the AFC Cup, then you should easily see your reputation rise enough for a good move to England. You'll be playing against some higher reputation sides, so a decent run in ACL should push your rep up.

I've checked on the FM2008 database and the Asian Champions League has about the same reputation as winning the Coca-cola Championship in England (which normally gives you a huge reputation boost). So you will be laughing if you can actually build a side to win it!

Incidentally, the Asian Cup has the same reputation as League Two, while the Indian Football League has the same reputation as winning the Blue Square Premier league.

The Fed Cup and Durand Cup are comparable, reputation wise, to the Blue Square South.

Just to make it clear that you don't have to win the Asian Champions League to complete level 1 of the challenge though. The requirement was only for you to win the Asian Cup (along with two consecuative League titles and the Durand cup).

Ill be back with a progress table, and maybe some news about my job search. We'll see.

Yes, good luck with your job search. I hope it goes well.

Like I said before, you might need to build your reputation up a bit more before moving, perhaps by a good run in the Champions League or by taking over as India national boss. You'll have to keep applying for jobs and see.

Keep up the good work!

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Another thing Nightowl - it suddenly occurred to me that you are playing with Oil and Natural Gas Cooperation, ONGC. They are semi-professional on my game. Were they semi-pro when you took over?

ONGC also play at the Cooperage - the same stadium as Mumbai FC. I know you mentioned attendance worries but did you not have the same issues as me?

My life at Mumbai FC is becoming more and more difficult. Attendances are a pile of poo and my chairman has sold YET ANOTHER of my best players behind my back. I think that's SIX key first team players that he has sold over the summer. My replacements have all been youth players as I haven't been given much in the way of funds to spend. We are, at least, solvent now, but I fear that the club will struggle to match last year's achievement of a 5th place finish.

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Terror:

So I was reading this thread and i got extremely interested in this challenge - I'm not sure why but I am. So I accept your challenge C! (This is my first time both doing a challenge and managing a small club.)

Welcome to the challenge Terror ! I wish you the best of luck.

Anyway, i just went with the one with the bigger stadium (Vasco), i was kinda ****ed i didn't get the clubs with 120k but whatever.

Vasco are quite a big club - the two big footballing centres are Calcutta and Goa.

In fact, you will be better off with Vasco than by getting a Calcutta team, as they are the highest reputation team that will come up from the second tier of Indian football. They are comparable to a mid-table team like Salgaocar so you should be able to attract decent quality players etc. You should make plenty of cash at Vasco and you should be able to keep hold of your players and build a really good side eventually.

It's even more of a challenge to try it with one of the smaller clubs - just ask me, Nightowl or Taifun !

The way I see it, there are three levels of difficulty with which to begin the challenge:

Super hard - Amity Utd, Oil India, ONGC, New Delhi Heroes

Hard - HASC, Indian Bank, Mumbai FC, United SC

Difficult - SBT, Pune FC

Regular - Mohammedan, Vasco

Don't get me wrong though - it is tough and a good challenge no matter what team you start with.

The 3 strikers overwhelmed most teams defense. Needless to say, I won the league, beating East Bengal by a point.

Wow, I didn't expect you to say that!

Blimey, immediate success, we don't allow that in this challenge.

I'd love to know how you managed it. Must be some amazing tactics!

I need to boost my defense for next season. I will also probably stay around until they have a state-of-the-art youth academy, or an incredible youngun until i move to the UK.

Don't forget, you need consecuative titles. You also need to win the second oldest football tournament in the world, the Durand Cup. Plus, you need success in the Asian Cup. Then you'll need to build up your managerial reputation before your move to Britain. So, in a sense, the challenge is just beginning. You've had a quite unbelievable start - the challenge will be to keep it up.

C.

[Nightowl]

ONGC Summary 2008-2015 (hopefully this formats well)

Tables for each season, pretty self explanatory, Fed is Federation Cup, Dur is Durand Cup, and ACC is Asian Confederation Cup (these are highest level achieved: Pre - Preliminary round, Grp - Group stage, No- not entered, rest should be obvious). I added average attendance just for interest.

Season....Pos...W...D...L...For..Ag...GD...Pts...Fed...Dur...ACC...AvAtt

2008/09...8th...4...5...9...19...34...-15..17....Pre...No....No....753

2009/10...5th...6...7...5...27...25...+2...25....4th...Grp...No....950

2010/11...3rd...9...4...5...29...20...+9...31....4th...Grp...No....813

2011/12...6th...8...4...6...24...19...+5...28....4th...Semi..No....884

2012/13...2nd...9...4...5...32...17...+15..31....3rd...Final.No....848

2013/14...1st...11..6...1...37...15...+22..39....WIN...Grp...No....1458

2014/15...1st...15..3...0...35...7...+28...48....3rd...WIN...WIN...3463

Note attendance figures for the last two years are boosted hugely by Asian Confederation Cup and Champions League games. League attendance was somewhat higher than previous years, but nothing like these numbers.

They are semi-professional on my game. Were they semi-pro when you took over?

We are currently professional, and I'm pretty sure they were when I took over. Maybe promotion into the NFL brought about the change in status.

I know you mentioned attendance worries but did you not have the same issues as me?

Not sure what you mean by this, yes we play at the same stadium, and you can see my attendance figures above. If there's more to this, feel free to ask.

After looking at the competition reputation numbers posted, it looks like I still have a long road ahead. My new goal is to do well in the Champions League, which will hopefully lead to the kind of reputation I need to move. Currently, it looks like I'm a foreign Conference level manager, and that's not going to get me hired!

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers for posting that Nightowl - interesting to see your overall progress.

Your attendances aren't quite as poo as mine are. I get an average gate of 550 at the moment.

Your reputation should be better than you think. The equivalent of your trophies won in India would be the following titles in English terms: 2 x Blue Square South or North, 2 x Blue Square Premier League and 1 x League Two! So I would imagine that you could attract Championship teams. I am not 100% sure about how manager reputation work however. There is some ambiguity, because your reputation label (e.g. national) has no bearing to what your label would be in England apparently. Some guy on GQ has written an interesting thread about it.

Purely for the purposes of interest, perhaps you could utilise FMM to check your reputation in terms of numbers. Normally I would frown upon the use of FMM but in this case suing it to check your numbers might be beneficial, especially seeing as you are the first person to complete the first level of the challenge. It would give us an idea of how easy the transition to Britain is going to be for the rest of us. It's up to you but I for one would be interested to hear the number and you could try comparing it to another Premiership manager to see how far away you are. Like I said before, the guy on GQ has been investigating manager reputation and he has found that it grows when you beat superior reputation teams, so a good run in the Asian Champs League might well set you on your way. I think you will already be close though.

I'd just like to make it clear that I frown upon any use of third party editing or scouting software in this challenge and I feel strongly that FM is most satisfying when played in its natural form.

C.

[Nightowl]

Your attendances aren't quite as poo as mine are. I get an average gate of 550 at the moment.

I found that my attendance was usually in the 500s, but a couple teams brought in much bigger crowds, skewing the average. Maybe you haven't played them yet?

I am not 100% sure about how manager reputation work however.

Neither am I, I've always tended to stay with one team when playing, so it was essentially meaningless except for information purposes.

Purely for the purposes of interest, perhaps you could utilise FMM to check your reputation in terms of numbers.

Haven't used any utilities like this in years, as like you I personally find the game more enjoyable without. But as the information could be interesting to several people here, I downloaded and had a look. I don't use autosaves, but I do tend to alternate between two files roughly every year, so here's my manager's info for both saves:

Home Rep.....Current Rep...World Rep

June 14th, 2014: 3025..........1965..........1361

July 25th, 2015: 4381..........3314..........2487

Note, the 2014 save was in mid summer, so the group stage of the Confederation Cup is complete but I had yet to win the competition. The 2015 save also includes games from the group stage of the Champions League, which I (somewhat miraculously) managed to advance from with 5 wins and a draw, so it may be boosted by these victories. Makes me wish I had a save before any Champions League games had been played, so we could see how much of the jump was from the Confederation Cup, and how much from beating the better teams in the Champions League.

As an aside, the Champions League is MUCH more difficult than the Confederation Cup, and I feel lucky to have won many of these games. In my 2-1 road win over Antlers (Japan), I was out shot 21-8 and in no way deserved the victory. I imagine it is games like this that have the AI managers going on virtual boards and complaining that the game cheats in favour of the human player in some way, allowing them to win when dominated.

Finally, I just noticed again that my manager nationality is Canadian/Indian. I had meant to change the Canadian to English as per the challenge, but forgot when setting up the game. This may have an negative effect on my ability to land a job in England, we'll see. Hope this doesn't bother anyone.

Back later with next season's update, include a screenshot of a new Indian regen from my youth system that may make some people here drool (and may be a sign that there is some kind of divine force backing me in this challenge).

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Nightowl:

I found that my attendance was usually in the 500s, but a couple teams brought in much bigger crowds, skewing the average. Maybe you haven't played them yet?

No, I wish that was the case! I actually average around 300ish fans for most games. Games against the bigger sides take me up to around 550! That's been the case for the last two seasons and will probably stay the same way.

Home Rep.....Current Rep...World Rep

June 14th, 2014: 3025..........1965..........1361

July 25th, 2015: 4381..........3314..........2487

Interesting!

You know I was talking about a guy who was studying manager reputation in a previous post? Well, here is his thread: Post about manager reputation

That might make for some interesting reading.

It's all far too technical for me. However, it looks as though are probably about halfway between Regional and National level at present, therefore jobs at the lower end of the Championship should be within reach. Prior to the Asian Champions League, it looks as though you were at the lowest level of Regional.

This makes two things clear to me. If I do this challenge for FM09 then the English or Scottish leagues should include al professional leagues by default. I imagine this wouldn't be such a problem in Wales or Norn Iron.

I also think that I might make winning the Asian Champions League, after qualifying through the Asian Cup, part of the challenge.

This is not to say that I think the current setup is flawed. It is certainly possible to make the transition to a Premiership club. I think if you had the Indian national job then that would make things easier.

Not too worry - I think you aren't far away from having a good enough reputation. A couople of good runs in the ACL may well push your rep up! Plus, that Indian national job would certainly help! Does Mr Houghton show any signs of abdicating?

As an aside, the Champions League is MUCH more difficult than the Confederation Cup, and I feel lucky to have won many of these games. In my 2-1 road win over Antlers (Japan), I was out shot 21-8 and in no way deserved the victory.

I look forward to hearing about your adventures in the ACL!

Finally, I just noticed again that my manager nationality is Canadian/Indian. I had meant to change the Canadian to English as per the challenge, but forgot when setting up the game.

I am afraid I don't know anything about this. You could try reading through the discussion in that manager reputation thread. Personally, I thought nationality only had an effect on the types of national jobs you could get.

Back later with next season's update, include a screenshot of a new Indian regen from my youth system that may make some people here drool (and may be a sign that there is some kind of divine force backing me in this challenge).

Looking forward to it! With talk of that regen, you are making me very jealous!

C.

[Terror]

Quick question before i do an update; I was searching the thread and i couldn't find and couldn't find an answer. Are we supposed to win the asian champions league as well?

[flea_market]

hi, im new over here. id love to take part in this challenge, but the thing is that i have FM2007, is that an issue?

if not then ill start up just as soon as i get the latest update for the game!

[cletus]

Had to show you this:

After sending an enquiry to Dempo about Jeevan Kumar (GK), valued 100K Rs.

This is what they want: Made me laugh

(I'm in the 4th season with Mohammedan - update will follow ASAP)

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by Terror:

Quick question before i do an update; I was searching the thread and i couldn't find and couldn't find an answer. Are we supposed to win the asian champions league as well?

You just need to win the Asian Cup (or the Asian Confederations Cup) - I can't remember exactly what it is called.

The Asian Champions League is not a requirement.

Part of the challenge is to build up enough of a manager reputation to move to England though, so any decent performance in the ACL won't do you any harm.

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by flea_market:

hi, im new over here. id love to take part in this challenge, but the thing is that i have FM2007, is that an issue?

if not then ill start up just as soon as i get the latest update for the game!

I don't know what the differences are between the data for the FM07 and FM08 game.

Why don't you buy FM08 anyway? It's really good!

On a serious note, I personally don't mind if you want to play FM07 and post your results here.

Good luck if you decide to take up the challenge!

C.

[crouchaldinho]

Originally posted by cletus:

Had to show you this:

After sending an enquiry to Dempo about Jeevan Kumar (GK), valued 100K Rs.

This is what they want: Made me laugh

(I'm in the 4th season with Mohammedan - update will follow ASAP)

Nice!

Look forward to your update.

C.

[thezogsageordie]

Meet the new manager of State Bank of Travancore (AKA SBT)

Profile

[Guest]

I'm going to jump into this challenge if you don't mind.

I am the new manager of HASC!

My profile.

I might get through only slowly, but I don't think that will be a problem. I was doing Gundo's challenge too, but I'll pull out in favour of this one I think, as I haven't finished my first season of that one yet and can always go back to it.

India awaits!

[cletus]

Mohammedan update from Cletus Spuckler:

Season 2009/2010

My last update was written when my team was in mid-season 2009/2010.

Were at the top of the table at Christmas, but the last 9 games was not as succesfull. Finished 4th, 9 point behind East Bengal, but at least an improvement from last years 6th-place.

Federation Cup: Lost in prelim. round

Durand Cup: Group stage

NFL: 4th - 10W, 3D, 5L +10 GD

Good signings: Micky Fernandes from JCT 300K Rs

Ashim Biswas on free from East Bengal

Season 2010/2011

Again the East Bengals were classes above the rest. We were 22 point behind at the end of the season. A season where East Bengal cruised through with 16 wins and 2 draws and +41 in GD!

Federation Cup: Won 3rd place playoff

Durand Cup: Lost the final to East Bengal

NFL: 4th - 7W, 7D, 4L +12 GD

Good signings: Odafe Onyeka Okolie from Churchill, 10M Rs!

Surkumar Singh from Mahindra Utd, 1M Rs

Ogba Kalu Nnanna from Churchill, 400K Rs

Season 2011/2012

After a slow start and a mediocre 6th-place after 6 games, I had to change tactics. Tried with a more attacking mentality and that helped. Immediate succes in the Durand Cup. Both group matches was won 3-0 over Viva Kerala and Vasco. In the semi, Mahindra utd. was beaten 3-1 and we were in our second Durand Cup-final against East Bengal. Maybe not fair when you look at the stats, but we had the luck and victory was ours Proof

The rest of the season went well and we finished 2nd, only 12 points behind East Bengal. I hope that this is a sign that next season can be the one. Training facilities have been improved 2 times and a third one is scheduled. I sence that this helps attracting the good players.

East Bengal also won the ACC (Asian Confederations Cup) in 2011 and are now participating in the ACL. From 7.9.2010 - 6.4.2011 they didn't loose any games (29).

Okolie won Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer after 17 goals and 9 asssist in 18 games (7.83 average rating)

Federation Cup: Lost 3rd place playoff

Durand Cup: WINNERS

NFL: 2nd - 11W, 3D, 4L +18 GD

Good signings: Boniface Ngairah Ambani from Salgaocar, 1,6M Rs

[crouchaldinho]

Welcome to thezogsageordie and Robot (SMFC) !

Nice to see you have both picked teams that nobody else has tried it with yet. Good luck to both of you and I wish you every success!

Excellent update Cletus - nice to see you closing the gap at the top!

I'm afraid my Mumbai FC game is held up at the moment. I have extraordinary study commitments plus much more on my plate so I don't think I will get the chance to play for a few weeks. Hopefully I will pick it up again soon. I will still be dropping in and out of this thread to see how you are all progressing. Best of luck!

C.