dafuge's FM12 challenge

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)

Bradford Park Avenue

2016/17

nPower League One

League: 1st

Much better this time as we won promotion with a game to spare, then wrapped up the title on the final day.

FA Cup: 4th round

Another good run, including an excellent defeat of Liverpool in the 3rd round, before getting knocked out by eventual winners Birmingham (who beat League One Stockport in the final!)

League Cup: 2nd Round

A bit better this time but went out away to Watford in the 2nd round.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: 1st round

An appalling loss away at League Two Tranmere meant no JPT for us.

Key Players:

Juan Compper - a loan signing from Man City, weighed in with a tremendous amount of goals and assists which pretty much won us the title.

Darren Ford - a £325 signing from BSS side Worcester started off brightly but waned later on in the season

Ian Jackson - dynamic left winger weighed in from the left flank until a serious injury meant he was kept out of the team by.....

Jordan Thompson - a free transfer from Bangor City, the former Cardiff trainee kept Jackson out of the team by the end of the season.

Sead Hajrovic - continued to be a rock in defence

Andrew Crofts - veteran central midfielder bossed the middle of the park

The stadium is to be expanded to meet ground requirements, and I can finally scout Europe.

Aims for season

- Stay up

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted

[Faultless]

Just started a save with Cambridge City 1st season.

Will update after first season, on a funny note my 2 midfielders are called Marshall and Law, made me chuckle.

[dafuge]

Quote from Wikipedia:

"Following a dismal start to the 2011–12 season Beard was relieved of his position in December 2011 and Kenny Brown was appointed the new manager. However the results got worse and Tooting were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season."

Oh b******s. I was getting so excited about that. Would anyone massively object if I started just one tier below, assuming they quickly get promoted back to the Isthmian Premier League after holidaying? My laptop can easily handle one extra tier. Given that it's a special club to this thread, could an exception be made? Pleeeeeease? They will be literally on my doorstep in real life, and I plan to go to every game this season that doesn't clash with an Arsenal home game.....

Please, please, please, please?!?!?! (Final say goes to Dafuge on this matter, of course!)

PS Reason for absurdly timed post? Unable to sleep with the excitement of living on the doorstep of such a famous (well....on the forums) side! Sad, I know!

Unfortunately it does go against the 'no edits' rule which has been in place since the very beggining six years ago. If the challenge were to return for FM13 then it wouldn't meet the requirements of the rules.

Why not just go ahead and manage them anyway and post about it in the careers forum, or as part of a different challenge?

p.s. your inbox is full.

[GreyedOutMan]

but i love this challenge so much!!!!! It wouldnt be a proper edit, just adding a new tier....

[dafuge]

We've always said no to even the tiniest of edits (eg. raising a rep to help get a club promoted), to suddenly allow third party databases would be a huge leap from the rules.

[GreyedOutMan]

It's not a 3rd party - you can do this very simply through the editor - just add one tier below....

[dafuge]

1st party then. It's still an edited database.

[GreyedOutMan]

Hmmm OK

[Faultless]

The rules for this should never change it's the rules which make this challenge so special.

I do this or Gundo's as my main save for every FM, I did Gundo's this year and I started Dafuges with Cambridge City yesterday.

Got an awesome 16 year old called Jae Cole and he's scored 4 goals in 4 games so far.

Shame I've won 1 lost 3 of them.

[Swinburn]

Unfortunately it does go against the 'no edits' rule which has been in place since the very beggining six years ago. If the challenge were to return for FM13 then it wouldn't meet the requirements of the rules.

Why not just go ahead and manage them anyway and post about it in the careers forum, or as part of a different challenge?

If I'm not mistaken, there's usually a challenge using the edited DB. Forget the name though.

By the way, I've made the Steam group a little more generic. Unfortunately, I can't change the name from Dafuge Challenge 12, but the URL and abbreviations are sorted. Here it is. Any chance of it being in the main post from now on?

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)

Bradford Park Avenue

2017/18

nPower Championship

League: 8th

Didn't quite make it to the play-offs but a good season nonetheless

FA Cup: 5th round

A good defeat of Premier League Cardiff in the 3rd round after a replay, was followed by a win at home to Hull then an expected loss at Old Trafford. Made some money though.

League Cup: 3rd round

An excellent win away at Premier League Southampton in the 2nd round was followed by a poor defeat at home to Charlton.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - continued to make the left wing position his own

Sead Hajrovic - solid in defence

Andrew Crofts - excellent again

Rory Mullan - young NI centre back fitted in well alongside Hajrovic

Sergio Suarez - classy Spanish right winger did well

Nigel Reo-Coker - veteran midfielder gave solidity in the centre

The board are adding a massive 1576 seats to the stadium....oh well

Aims for season

- Aim for promotion this time

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th

[Crispypaul]

Bit OT but the reputation system really needs some work - I just lost out on a player to League One Rochdale despite offering a status of "first team player" and a wage double what Rochdale offered, purely because their rep is still higher than ours.

[Swinburn]

I wonder what an FM13 Dafuge Network game would be like. Obviously, only six people could take part, but imagine six people in one game all trying to get to the top. Would be pretty interesting if you could work it right.

[jsar]

I wonder what an FM13 Dafuge Network game would be like. Obviously, only six people could take part, but imagine six people in one game all trying to get to the top. Would be pretty interesting if you could work it right.

Thats sounds awesome! I always try and get at least one or two people that I know to play using exactly the same "Holiday Manager" save so that we work from exactly the same Database and the chance at getting the same players. adds something I find in the later parts of the challange when you are working with just regens.

[TheyCallMeSonny]

Hello guys, this is my first post. I'm hoping to try this out with whatever clubs available. However i'm new to the forums, and i was wondering if you have any tips on writing the columns for the posts?

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)

Bradford Park Avenue

2018/19

nPower Championship

League: 5th (Promoted)

Better although drawing too much cost us automatic promotion. However we overcame Sheffield United in the play-off final.

FA Cup: Semi-finals

We had a bit of luck in the draw, not playing a Premier League side until the semis when we were comfortably beaten by Liverpool.

League Cup: 3rd round

A couple of decent wins before a loss away at Wigan.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - did well again and also got his full Wales caps during the season

Sead Hajrovic - solid again, and picked up a cap for Bosnia.

Andrew Crofts - good once more

Sergio Suarez - top notch

Paolo Nebbia - top scorer

We're getting a new stadium! The 14,000 capacity "Bradford PA Stadium" (original)

I was also offered the Stoke and Villa jobs at the end of the season.

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs

[davidbowie]

Division English Premier Division (4th season)

Season 2027/2028

Expectations Respectable League Position (Media - 9th)

Finish 4th

Season 16 complete.

Champions League play-off qualification

We managed to run down Bristol City despite some ludicrous results going their way (5-0 win vs Champions City).

Got £20 million in the bank, will look to improve the team. I've had two players on my radar for years now, one from Everton and another from Barcelona. I hope I can get one of them. Might need to look at the defence as well.

Season   League Position  
2012/13   BSS     18th    
2013/14   BSS     11th  
2014/15   BSS     2nd      Lost in play-off final.
2015/16   BSS     7th    
2016/17   BSS     4th      Promoted via play-offs.
2017/18   BSP     3rd      Lost in play-off semi-final.
2018/19   BSP     1st      Won League Title
2019/20   L2      1st       Won League Title, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   L1      11th     JPT Winner  
2021/22   L1      1st       League Cup Runner Up, Won League Title
2022/23   CHP     17th    
2023/24   CHP     2nd       Promoted via League Position
2024/25   EPL     9th        
2025/26   EPL     8th        FA Cup Runner Up
2026/27   EPL     7th
2027/28   EPL     4th

[Hypanimz]

Ive decided to start up a new challenge to keep me going to FM13 after growing bored of winning everything with FC United. Just on holiday now and I'm thinking of managing St Albans. Will post as soon as set it up.

[Wingbacks]

I'm giving this a proper go before FM13 comes out. Say hello to the new manager of Bury Town.

[Crispypaul]

Premier League is going to be tough - I've completely overhauled the squad including a completely new back four, but we have just the one point from the first two matches - an away draw at Fulham and a home loss to Man Utd. The money is great though (half a million quid just in TV money for the Utd game!).

I've maxed out our wage budget, which is the lowest in the division and a quarter of the team in 19th

[reo hustler]

Fc United and Chester are almost always there in the BSN. Carshalton and Cambridge City appear in the BSS alot also.

Crazy(!), I want FC United and I can't get them. I've tried at least 10+ times.

[Wingbacks]

Bury Town - Blue Square Bet North - 2012/13

Blue Square Bet North: 3rd (lost in play-off semi-final to Stalybridge Celtic: 4-4 AET 5-4 on penalties)

FA Cup: Second Qualifying Round (lost to Cambridge City 2-1 away)

FA Trophy: Third Round (lost to Cambridge United 3-2 away)

The preparations

The media predicted a 21st place finish in my first season but I told the board I was confident of getting mid-table. There were already a couple of familiar faces in the squad I inherited: ex-Ipswich Town first teamers Wayne Brown and James Scowcroft. I was expecting both to be key men.

I was given a wage budget of 3.2k a week, of which I kept no higher than the £2k mark throughout the season. Some of that was used up when I drafted in a new assistant manager in former Carlisle midfielder Chris Billy and a couple of scouts. Already in the backroom staff was Scowcroft and youth coach Darren Oxbrow.

On the eve of the new season we were dealt with a massive blow as Sam Reed, who I was anticipating would be our best striker, turned down a new contract and left the club. But I managed to hold onto the rest of the squad which gained promotion in the previous season, with Lee Smith, Billy Clark and Kieran Leabon looking like the best players.

It was a threadbare squad though so I set about recruiting new faces. Ex-Wolves and Bath City midfielder Andre Carvalho-Landell was the first man to sign. Former QPR defender Marien Ifura and veteran stopper Willy Gueret followed, as did striker Scott Ginty and the pacey Jonny Godsmark from Ashington. One-time Reading youth teamer Alex Stockinger was a real coup for the club, as was pacey winger Malvin Kamara. The securing of Irish left-sided player Shane Farrell was then followed up with experienced centre half Christian Hanson, who was the club's last summer signing.

Also brought in were goalkeeper Matt Radcliffe, right back Ashley Parsons-Smith and centre back Shane Hilton, all of whom were teenagers and signed as faces for the future.

The campaign

The season started fantastically and we won every one of our first eight league fixtures, scoring 20 goals in the process. However that honeymoon period soon ended and we won just one of the next 12 so I decided to bring in midfielder Jordan Fowler and experienced forward Spencer Weir-Daley to spruce us up. Despite our shocking form though, we were yet to drop out of the top five and form picked up again in December as we picked up 14 points from our five matches, spurred on by the signing of ex-Manchester City youngster Omar Elabdellaoui.

The second half of the season was filled with highs and lows but the outcome was that we secured a play-off spot, having finished in third place behind Nuneaton and champions Histon.

The crunch

Stalybridge Celtic were our opponents and I was confident of victory. We hammered them in the first leg at their place but could only come away with a 3-1 lead. Kieran Leabon scored twice and Omar Elabdellaoui added a third and we were coasting through. But we slacked off in the second half and Lloyd Ellams gave them a bit of hope. We were still in a great position though.

Back at Ram Meadow we managed to bottle it in fine fashion, losing 2-0 in normal time to take the tie into extra time. Leabon looked to have sent us into the final with his 21st goal of the season but Marien Ifura tripped their tricky left winger Will Hayhurst in the box to give them a penalty which they scored. So it went to penalties.

Both sides scored their first three and Omar Elabdellaoui found the net to put us 4-3 up. Willy Gueret saved Stalybridge's next effort, meaning if we scored our fifth, we would go through. It was the big French goalkeeper himself who stepped up confidently but he missed . They scored their fifth, taking us to sudden death. Our defensive midfielder Craig Nurse was next and he smashed the ball against the crossbar. Carl Martin stroked away the winning penalty for Stalybridge who went into the final at our expense.

Players of the season

Kieran Leabon (Avg Rat 7.13): Scored 21 times in 37 appearances in all competitions and kept James Scowcroft, Spencer Weir-Daley and Scott Ginty frustrated at their lack of opportunities. Still only 24, he should still be a key figure next season should we be able to agree a new deal for him.

Ashley Parsons-Smith (Avg Rat 7.04): A pleasant surprise was the contribution of the 17-year-old as he made 37 appearances and established himself as the preferred right back in front of the more established Sam Nunn. He could develop into a good Football League player eventually.

Malvin Kamara (Avg Rat 7.00): Kamara didn't disappoint and his form around the turn of the year was particularly pleasing. He scored seven times but, more impressively, got 18 assists which was massive for us.

Marien Ifura (Avg Rat 7.13): Was solid for the majority of the season but a lapse in concentration in the second leg of the semi-final probably cost us. Was also a threat at set pieces, scoring eight times.

Omar Elabdellaoui (Avg Rat 7.00): He was only signed in December and made just 16 appearances but his class was there for all to see. Will be one of the first names on the teamsheet next year.

Flop of the season

Wayne Brown (Avg Rat 6.44): Got injured early in the season and found it hard to break back into the team when he returned as the Ifura-Hanson partnership was blossoming. Threw his teddies out of the pram in March when he wasn't playing enough. Will leave this summer.

Next season

Strengthen the squad and go for the BSBN play-offs again.

[davidbowie]

Division English Premier Division (5th season)

Season 2028/2029

Expectations Respectable League Position (Media - 7th)

Finish 3rd

Season 17 complete.

A horrible start. A good middle. An outstanding ending. Kinda.

League Table:

http://i49.tinypic.com/1t5tdy.jpg

Graph:

http://i45.tinypic.com/6t03fa.jpg

As you see the league start was horrific. Our defence was shoddy, we were shipping goals and not doing enough up front to counter-act them.

We even lost our 3rd Round League Cup match against Tottenham although I was playing a youth-oriented team. Thankfully our form picked up just before the start of the Champions League group stage. From late September to early December we only lost to eventual champions Manchester City.

We kept that form and leapt up the table after Christmas although the defence was still crap. We played three 4-2 wins in a row and a number of 5-3 wins throughout the season.

In the Champions League we were given a relatively easy group of Benfica, Rangers and Atletico. We picked up 4 wins and a draw to qualify first. We had a solid 4-1 agg win over Roma in the first KO round, came back from a first round 2-3 loss against Barcelona in the Quarter final to win 7-4.

Disappointingly we followed up that great win by losing 3-1 to Blackburn in the FA Cup semi-final (after beating Wycombe, Sunderland, Leicster, City 5-1 in a replay after a 1-1 draw).

That match was then followed up with a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham. Luckily this was the lowest ebb in the last season. We picked ourselves up and hit Bristol for 3, kept Milan to 0-0 in the Semi-Final home leg, beat Southampton 5-3 (that number again) and then had a nervy 2-1 win in the away leg at the San Siro to progress to the final.

After comfortably winning the 4th, 3rd and 2nd last games of the League season we needed to beat relegated Sunderland, draw and hope Arsenal lost or drew, or lose and hope Arsenal lost as well. We pulled a horrific 0-0 performance but thankful that was enough. We ended 3rd via Goal Difference.

We did all this missing our starting striker Howson, our starting CM Savedra and our starting AML Pelach through injury. Our 17 year old striker Marco Fernandez entered the breach and performed brilliantly scoring a goal a game in our run in.

Then was the big one. The CL Final. After parking the bus (necessary against their ridiculous narrow, attacking 4-2-3-1) we hit them on the counter to score in the 40th minute. Their best player then dribbled through our entire defence to score immediately. After a scrappy poor clearance from a free kick he was put through and scored his second, and in the dying minutes sealed his hat-trick to complete a CL triumph for City.

Mancini finally retired and I hope to god the new manager changes to a 4-4-******-2 because that 4-2-3-1 is almost cheating it's that good. Of course I got offered the job but told them to **** off and signed a new contract with Hastings.

Hattrell:

http://i46.tinypic.com/11ce54w.jpg

Squad:

http://i45.tinypic.com/u7omv.jpg

Direct CL qualification secures a large fortune again for next season.

I am going to take a very thorough look at the squad in the off-season. I'm set to offload one of the young strikers who probably isn't going to make it the way I want him to.

I definitely need a new centre back. Maybe even two. The defence was just so poor last season. I have a couple targets in mind, it's just a case of if I can sign them. Our reputation is still poor compared to the big big clubs and that stops a lot of good players joining us.

The attack is definitely superb. I will need to examine the 5 or 6 guys I've got there as I might need to bring in one more player, but that isn't secondary to the defence.

Midfield is pretty good, we have good stocks in central midfield, a good DM playmaker and a good destroyer. A 20 year old Spanish AM/MC I picked up from Barca for 2.5 million came on exceptionally this year and has slotted into the box to box role quite well. Not 100% sure if I'll keep him there or leave him on the bench for Hattrell substitutions because his tackling isn't brilliant.

Financially we have £38,326,000 in the bank after all our income for the year. We are upgrading our training and youth facilities once again.

Season   League Position  
2012/13   BSS     18th    
2013/14   BSS     11th  
2014/15   BSS     2nd      Lost in play-off final.
2015/16   BSS     7th    
2016/17   BSS     4th      Promoted via play-offs.
2017/18   BSP     3rd      Lost in play-off semi-final.
2018/19   BSP     1st      Won League Title
2019/20   L2      1st       Won League Title, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   L1      11th     JPT Winner  
2021/22   L1      1st       League Cup Runner Up, Won League Title
2022/23   CHP     17th    
2023/24   CHP     2nd       Promoted via League Position
2024/25   EPL     9th        
2025/26   EPL     8th        FA Cup Runner Up
2026/27   EPL     7th
2027/28   EPL     4th
2028/29   EPL     3rd      Champions League Runner Up. FA Cup Semi-Final.

[deadfncat]

Hi all again for another year. Just purchased FM13 so going to give the challenge a go whilst I wait for release

[fcunitedfan]

I'm bored with all the saves I'm currently playing, so I'm going to give this challenge a go for the first time in FM12. I did it in FM11 with FC United, and did pretty well before giving up in the Championship. This time round, I'm not going to reload until FC United pop up. The first time I get to promotion and relegation day, I'll choose from the four teams which come up. No reloading, so I don't know who I'll be playing as until I see them in BSN or BSS.

[fcunitedfan]

I'm now Weymouth manager, lucky me

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)

Bradford Park Avenue

2019/20

Barclays Premier League

League: 12th

A good showing for our first season in the Premier League.

FA Cup: Final

We couldn't follow up an excellent win over Man City in the semis, and had a narrow loss against Birmingham in the final.

League Cup: Winners

An amazing win on penalties in the final against Tottenham brings European football to the club next season.

Key Players:

Jordan Thompson - another good season for the Wales regular.

Miljenko Jakolis - a free transfer signing from Wigan, the Croatia Under-21 player was a rock at the back.

Giulio Vergognini - partnered Jakolis well at the back.

Marcao - January signing, the Brazilian winger gave Thompson a run for his money later in the season.

Catalin Constantin - still to get his first cap for Romania, the keeper one many games for the team, including an outstanding performance in the League Cup final.

Papis Cisse - veteran striker was our top scorer.

After a £4m dividend payout, we have £21 million in the bank; increased sponsorship deals amount to £1.85 million compared to £384,000 and new youth facilities are being built.

Season        Division            Position                  Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs
2019/20       Prem                12th                      League Cup winners, FA Cup runners-up

[fcunitedfan]

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/wheatorules/Weymouth%20FM12/2012-09-29_00001.jpg Well, there I am. It turns out I have no scouts, coaches, or assistant manager. I've already got an ass man lined up, so he'll be joining the club in the next few days. I've told the board I'll achieve a mid-table finish. They've given me 2.2k a week on wages and absolutely nothing for transfers. Looks like I'll be delving into the free transfers for any players I need. I've got a poor squad, so I'll be releasing a fair few players and wheeler dealing for some new ones.

[davidbowie]

Division English Premier Division (6th season)

Season 2029/2030

Expectations Respectable League Position (Media - 6th)

Finish 4th

Season 18 complete.

A generally alright campaign, no success and a sting in the tail that has put a dampener on the season as a whole.

United won the league. On goal difference. Over City. 88 points each. City were beaten by Chelsea in their final game. All they needed was a draw. United beat West Brom needing a win. This was after beating City in the penultimate game 4-2 to keep the title challenge on.

We started well, dropped down to 8th as our worst position, then went head to head with Chelsea and Arsenal for 3rd, 4th and 4th position.

Unfortunately our final day loss to Liverpool sent us into 4th. So we will need to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

League cup run was poor. 2-0 extra time win vs Leeds in the 3rd round, then a 3-0 hammering by Sunderland sent us crashing out.

FA Cup saw us play Halifax and soundly beat them 3-0, then took revenge on Sunderland beating them 3-1, then a dismal loss to mid-table Championship side Sheffield United was a major disappointment.

CL Group stage was a titanic battle between ourselves, Bayern and Juventus. We destroyed Fenerbache 8-3 in the first match, lost 2-0 in Germany, then 1-3 in Italy. But we beat Juve 1-0 in a tense contest in the 4th match, a comfortable 4-0 victory against Fenerbache setup a 3 way do or die matchup. Juventus comfortably beat Fenerbache 3-1, which meant we had to draw to qualify 2nd (because losing would put us level with Juve on 9 points, and see us go out on Head To Head). Instead we came from 1-0 behind, after missing a penalty, to win 4-1, which actually saw us qualify in 1st place with the aggregate score against Bayern being 4-3 in our favour.

The first KO stage had us up against Benfica. Away match was a typical 1-0 on the counter smash and grab job. Home leg was a typical "we are already in front, hit them on the counter when they attack" 6-1 win.

We came against Valencia next. We threw away a 2-0 lead to have Valencia score in the 55th and then the 92nd minute after I was sure we'd done enough to win. The 2nd leg was a disaster. They scored inside a minute, then in the 20th minute, putting us 4-2 behind on aggregate. The team rallied and put two past them for a 4-4 aggregate score, but fell apart after half-time. A goal in the 68th minute set us needing 2 to advance, and before I could even make my changes we'd conceded a 4th on the night through an own goal. 2-4 on the night, 4-6 on aggregate and we crashed out way too early. Valencia eventually lost the final against Barcelona.

Diego, our CB purchased for £10 million from Barcelona did a great job. He really shored up in defence and contributed with goals from the set piece. I brought in a couple of key loan signings. John Gionmarelli from AC Milan who is a great box to box midfielder ended the season on 5 goals, 7 assists and an 7.24AvR. I purchased his services for £10m over 4 years and he will join the club at the start of the new season transfer window.

Adrian Metola from Barcelona filled the spot at AMR due to an injury to the first choice and did exceptionally. My only disappointment is that with his contract at Barca expiring, he rejected a contract offer when his agent gave me that annoying "blank cheque" setting, then immediately terminated discussions when I apparently didn't give him enough of a bonus. He then signed a new contract a week later with Barcelona.

I have invested in on our youth development again. I have bought:

* Varisco - 16 year old CB from Barca £1.8m. Will need to work on his jumping but has good potential and ratings for a young kid.

* Andre Keil - 18 year old German from Stuttgart for £2.7m, towering young kid. Another high potential player. Played quite a few games due to an injury to my starting right cb, has already come on well and has filled 1.5 stars of his ability already.

* Juan Fillert - 18 year old DR from Barca (they are like my feeder team tbh), £1.9m. If he fills out well he could be a good acquisition.

* Angelo Ruggiero - 16 year old MC from AC Milan. Good box to box potential. £2.4m

* Tesfaye - 18 year old DM/MC from Lyon. £2.6m. Ball winning midfielder with superb defensive stats. Will only get better.

I sold some deadwood. My 2nd choice keeper to Burnley for 2m, 4th choice ST for 1m to Southampton, 4th choice CB to Hull for 1m and 3rd choice CB to Cardiff for 3m.

I'll need some loan signings again. 1 or 2 GK loans, there are just no talented young keepers. Probably an AMR. Maybe a midfielder.

Financially we have £23,000,000 in the bank after all our income for the year. We are upgrading our training and youth facilities once again for a combined cost of about £7.5 million. I'm fairly sure we're hitting the end of the upgrade path on our facilities so that should free up our cash stocks next season.

Season   League Position  
2012/13   BSS     18th    
2013/14   BSS     11th  
2014/15   BSS     2nd      Lost in play-off final.
2015/16   BSS     7th    
2016/17   BSS     4th      Promoted via play-offs.
2017/18   BSP     3rd      Lost in play-off semi-final.
2018/19   BSP     1st      Won League Title
2019/20   L2      1st       Won League Title, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   L1      11th     JPT Winner  
2021/22   L1      1st       League Cup Runner Up, Won League Title
2022/23   CHP     17th    
2023/24   CHP     2nd       Promoted via League Position
2024/25   EPL     9th        
2025/26   EPL     8th        FA Cup Runner Up
2026/27   EPL     7th
2027/28   EPL     4th
2028/29   EPL     3rd      Champions League Runner Up. FA Cup Semi-Final.
2029/30   EPL     4th

[fcunitedfan]

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/wheatorules/Weymouth%20FM12/weymouthtransfers2012preseason-1.png Here's my pre-season signings for Weymouth. I was surprised when Teixeira and Kamara were both given work permits, but I'm not going to complain Matthew Fletcher is hopefully going to score loads for the team, and Frank Sinclair is going to be my rock at the back. Marcus rose doesn't have great strength, but he's a speed demon.

[Crispypaul]

Hmmm - England didn't get out of their group in Euro 2020 so Henning Berg was sacked. However his replacement was a regen with no previous managerial experience and an Obscure reputation. I wasn't even approached - I wouldn't take it but given I am English you'd think I'd be given a shot.

Hopefully this is just because I started the game after just the released day patch, as I believe this was fixed a little later on - still annoying though.

Back to the club - just about to play CSKA Sofia in the Europa League 3rd qualifying round, and have got an upgrade to the training facilities in progress too. Also junior coaching is at "Good" now so we might get some youth players who aren't terrible come March time.

[davidbowie]

Division English Premier Division (7th season)

Season 2030/2031

Expectations Respectable League Position (Media - 6th)

Finish 6th

Season 19 complete.

We finally won something. Unfortunately they were both the items I don't need to win. The FA Cup and League Cup.

We made the Champions League final. We then lost (for the 2nd time) on Penalties. To AC Milan. After dominating the entire game for 120 minutes but not being able to shoot straight.

We nearly failed to finish 4th even. Only a literal last second penalty against City enabled us to beat them 2-1 in our final league game to leapfrog Chelsea who had leapfrogged us on the final day until that point.

Arsenal won the league comfortably. They finished 9 points ahead of United. They are going to be incredibly hard to beat.

We started badly. We hit as low as 12 in the early rounds but were able to recover pretty quickly. We then took a long and slow decline to the point we were regularly in 7th or even 8th spot around Christmas. A change in tactics, as well as bringing in a proper CB on loan (from AC Milan incidentally) let us push back up the table until the dramatic final day to put us back in the CL Qualification again.

The league cup run was comfortable for most of the way. 1-0 against Derby, 4-2 vs Everton, 2-1 vs Southampton, 7-0 on Agg vs Leicsester saw us into the final. A see-sawing encounter had us 3-2 up in the dying moments, but United scored like they always do to send it into extra time. In the 123rd minute a match engine bug had our keep stand still instead of picking up the ball (it bounced off his knee and he didn't gather it), led to a penalty. Our keeper saved the penalty, taking the game to a shoot-out. 9 penalties a guy named Derouiche had to score, but he Baggio'd the kick and we won our first title in 10 years.

FA Cup was even more straight forward. We didn't actually concede a single goal the entire campaign. 4-0 vs Crewe, 4-0 vs Birmingham, 2-0 vs Sheff Utd, 5-0 vs Covenry, 3-0 vs Bristol City and then 2-0 vs Manchester United in the final with two goals in the second half.

A 8-2 agg win against Fenerbache put us into the group stage of the CL. We drew 2-2 with AC Milan, then won 3-0 against BATE, 1-0 and then 3-2 against FCP, followed by a 1-0 win to leave us qualifying with a game to spare. We drew the resulting dead rubber 0-0. Up stepped Galatasary, to see if they could succeed where their rivals could not. 3-3 in the first leg away turned into a 5-1 rout in the second leg for a 8-4 Agg win. We played Arsenal next, and held on for a very nervy 3-2 agg win in the Quarters. Atletico were our semi-final opposition and a 3-2 win turned into another nervy 1-1 draw to put us through 4-3 on agg.

The final was just dreadful. We dominated the entire match, shot after shot, we had 22 shots to 8 by the 120th minute. The penalties rolled around, both teams scored 4 and missed one, sudden death their 6th taker scored, and Saavedra our 6th had his shot saved.

In the transfer market I bought another half-dozen youth players. The major signing was a 16 year old English Striker from Everton who presented with a 4.5 star potential. He cost £17.25m but I can't pass up quality like that. Another 4 young guys were brought in for around 2 million each. Total cost £35.5m

To help pay for all of it, I sold more deadwood players. Although the first one wasn't my choice. The board sold my £2nd choice in the wing-back positions for £7.5m to Liverpool. I also sold my 3rd choice CB, 3rd choice ST, 3rd choice LB and sent a 5th choice DM out on loan, all those for a combined total of £19.25m

Financially we have £30,000,000 in the bank after all our income for the year. We are upgrading our training and youth facilities once again for a combined cost of about £7.5 million.

Our reputation appears to have jumped up to Continental. After asking for several seasons to have more staff, the board went out on their own and let me have 3 more scouts and another physio as well as a raft of coaches if I want.

Perhaps I can finally sign that 2nd key CB I need to really push for the win.

One last note, our tactics switched from our counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 to our control possession based short passing 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-2-2-1. I will be completely rebuilding our tactics from scratch again to a new set of 3 control tactics.

Season   League Position  
2012/13   BSS     18th    
2013/14   BSS     11th  
2014/15   BSS     2nd      Lost in play-off final.
2015/16   BSS     7th    
2016/17   BSS     4th      Promoted via play-offs.
2017/18   BSP     3rd      Lost in play-off semi-final.
2018/19   BSP     1st      Won League Title
2019/20   L2      1st       Won League Title, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   L1      11th     JPT Winner  
2021/22   L1      1st       League Cup Runner Up, Won League Title
2022/23   CHP     17th    
2023/24   CHP     2nd       Promoted via League Position
2024/25   EPL     9th        
2025/26   EPL     8th        FA Cup Runner Up
2026/27   EPL     7th
2027/28   EPL     4th
2028/29   EPL     3rd      Champions League Runner Up. FA Cup Semi-Final.
2029/30   EPL     4th
2030/31   EPL     4th      FA Cup Winner, League Cup Winner, CL Runner Up

[davidbowie]

Division English Premier Division (8th season)

Season 2031/2032

Finish 1st

Season 20 complete.

Half the challenge completed. Won the League. Won the League Cup. Lost FA Cup semi-final. Lost Champions League final for the 3rd time despite being the much better team. They had two shots on target. Scored three goals. That was the type of day we had.

CBF writing any more.

Season   League Position  
2012/13   BSS     18th    
2013/14   BSS     11th  
2014/15   BSS     2nd      Lost in play-off final.
2015/16   BSS     7th    
2016/17   BSS     4th      Promoted via play-offs.
2017/18   BSP     3rd      Lost in play-off semi-final.
2018/19   BSP     1st      Won League Title
2019/20   L2      1st       Won League Title, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   L1      11th     JPT Winner  
2021/22   L1      1st       League Cup Runner Up, Won League Title
2022/23   CHP     17th    
2023/24   CHP     2nd       Promoted via League Position
2024/25   EPL     9th        
2025/26   EPL     8th        FA Cup Runner Up
2026/27   EPL     7th
2027/28   EPL     4th
2028/29   EPL     3rd      Champions League Runner Up. FA Cup Semi-Final.
2029/30   EPL     4th
2030/31   EPL     4th      FA Cup Winner, League Cup Winner, CL Runner Up
2031/32   EPL     1st      League Winner, League Cup Winner, CL Runner Up.

[dafuge]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

[fcunitedfan]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

I'll be joining you. I want a really low rep team, but a team with an interesting kit to make.

[davidbowie]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

I'm actually going the other way. I won't be doing the challenge in FM13. I'll be doing a career game instead.

[Crispypaul]

After two years playing different save games, I'm considering returning to this challenge for my FM13 save. I just hope there will be some interesting clubs to manage.

You're from Portsmouth aren't you? Gosport Borough are in the Southern Premier for 2012/13.

[dafuge]

You're from Portsmouth aren't you? Gosport Borough are in the Southern Premier for 2012/13.

I'm actually from the Isle of Wight, so Gosport is very close to me. Not that I would ever go there

[fcunitedfan]

In FM13, I'll be playing as either Kingstonian or Whitehawk (Love that name). Whichever is the first to be promoted whist I'm reloading, is the one I'll be playing as.

[Crispypaul]

How annoying can football be sometimes?

Won 7-2 away at Stoke, but then got booted out of the FA Cup in the 3rd round away at Championship side Brighton 2-1

Having a bit of mental fixture congestion as we're in the semis of the League Cup (Newcastle) and 1st Knockout round of the Europa League (PSG) - in December there was a total of 10 games

[Swinburn]

Completed this with FC United, did a similar thing with Kendal and I'm back for one last run before FM13 comes out (where I'll be either FC United or Blyth Spartans). This time around, I'm simming a year and taking one of the first six sides to be promoted. No reloading at all and I will use one that I've not used before. Should keep me going until FM13.

[Swinburn]

CHESTER F.C.

New Manager Unveiled

Chester Football Club are delighted to announce the unveiling of our new manager, Jordan Swinburn. Although a relatively young and unknown manager, Jordan has expressed his desire to take Chester to the top of English and world football and everyone here at the Deva Stadium shares and supports that desire.

Initial Squad | Club Overview

[dafuge]

With about a week to go, here's a little teaser for the FM13 challenge:

Ryman League Premier Division

Bognor Regis      
Bury Town        
Canvey Island     
Carshalton       
Concord Rangers 
Cray              
East Thurrock    
Enfield          
Hampton & Richmond 
Harrow             
Hastings Utd      
Hendon           
Kingstonian      
Leiston           
Lewes           
Lowestoft         
Margate          
Met Police       
Thurrock           
Wealdstone         
Whitehawk         
Wingate & Finchley 

Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division

Arlesey          
Banbury         
Barwell          
Bashley         
Bedford           
Bedworth         
Bideford         
Cambridge City    
Chesham           
Chippenham       
Frome            
Gosport           
Hemel Hempstead   
Hitchin           
Kettering         
Leamington       
Redditch           
St Albans       
St Neots          
Stourbridge      
Totton            
Weymouth          

Evo-Stik Northern Premier Division

AFC Fylde          
Ashton Utd       
Blyth             
Buxton            
Chorley           
Eastwood          
FC United       
Frickley         
Grantham         
Hednesford       
Ilkeston          
Kendal          
Marine           
Matlock          
Nantwich           
North Ferriby   
Rushall           
Stafford         
Stocksbridge      
Whitby            
Witton            
Worksop           

It sounds like the beta will not come with the editor, so we might not have the reputations until the proper release of the game.

Any clubs catching people's eyes?

[AlexLightsaber]

I really want to manage Met Police but if i cant get them i will manage Lewes because there stadium is called "The Dripping Pan"

[DarrenP]

Bideford or Weymouth for me. I love the sea air

[Crispypaul]

Crispypaul (no.52)

Bradford Park Avenue

2020/21

Barclays Premier League

League: 1st

Just....wow. I'd never expected this! However a switch of tactics to a 4-2-3-1 control I've used in another career brought major success in the league this time, coupled with some excellent player performances below. So half the challenge has been completed already.

FA Cup: 3rd round

An absolutely appalling loss away at Championship Brighton at the first hurdle. I did use "aggressive" in my post-match team talk, unsurprisingly.

League Cup: Winners

We retained the trophy with a win over Wolves in the final.

Europa League: 1st Knockout Round

The qualifiers were easy, and we came through our group 2nd after somehow doing the double over PSV. However PSG in the 1st Knockout Round were too strong for us.

Key Players:

Peter Hlinka - Slovakian playmaker won the PFA player of the year award

Miljenko Jakolis - top notch again

Giulio Vergognini - solid as ever

Marcao - Kept Thompson out of the team and also won the Football Writers footballer of the year.

Bryan Purdrue - wonderkid Scottish keeper kept Constantin on the bench for most games.

Robert Alonso - the Uruguyan international was our top scorer

We're about to move into our new stadium, and have further upgrades to the youth facilities coming up.

Season        Division            Position                  Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13       BSN                 1st                        Champions, Promoted
2013/14       BSP                 1st                        Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
2014/15       L2                   2nd                       Runners Up, Promoted
2015/16       L1                   5th                       Play off runners up
2016/17       L1                   1st                        Champions, Promoted
2017/18       Ch                   8th
2018/19       Ch                   5th                          Promoted through play-offs
2019/20       Prem                12th                      League Cup winners, FA Cup runners-up
2020/21       Prem                1st                        League winners, League Cup winners

[Crispypaul]

Oh and I've just got a Chinese merchandising affiliate - must be moving up in the world!

[kingjericho]

I have a suggestion to include in the game setup instructions.

An alternative way to see what teams have been promoted to the bottom playable league is to check the nation overview screen and check the promoted teams to the bottom division.

[dafuge]

I have a suggestion to include in the game setup instructions.

An alternative way to see what teams have been promoted to the bottom playable league is to check the nation overview screen and check the promoted teams to the bottom division.

I'll make sure that goes in the OP for the new thread

[Hypanimz]

Next season I will be looking out for any of the newly available teams. Quite like the idea of Playing as Gosport or Witton