ri916's FM13 Anglo/Euro Youth Academy Challenge

[stephen_atk]

Interesting article on Crewe, always had a soft spot for them and Gradi, like their philosophy....probably why I'm trying this challenge!

Anyway Mulhouse update to follow shortly....

[TheGreatTraveler]

Very interesting article on Crew

As for how I am doing what I have done, it's just really taking the time each summer to really look at your tactic and how the new-intake players will fit into it in the next 3-5 years. If they won't, preparing a new tactic is important for when the change finally happens. As well as seeing how your players play

You eventually become familiar with all your players, and if done the right way, the challenge should be very challenging but fun, even if not completed.

PS: I hope to update on my season later today

[stephen_atk]

2016-2017

Main Squad

While last season we flirted with the relegation zone this season saw our interest more at the top of the table. 5 wins in the opening 8 games left us 4th and we stayed in the top half for pretty much the entire campaign. Unfortunately we could never quite string a long enough run of wins together to break into the top 3. We were on course an impressive league finish but our form dropped away completely toward the end winning just 1 game in 8. A 9th place finish was only 2 places better than last season but it felt like a big step forward.

After getting to the quarter finals of the French Cup last season we reverted to type this season with early exits in both competitions...mickey mouse tournaments anyway...

Some of the youth players are also now starting to become regular starters, Charles Essomba and Lucas Bastide again had solid seasons after breaking in to the starting line-up last season. They were joined by William Mbala YP01b who has become our main Keeper, Christian Bernard YP02a and Nassim Lorentz YP01a seems to have grown out of his injury proneness and is also benefiting from a change in formation.

Final Position: 9th

League Table

League Results

Player Stats

Transfers

Previous Youth Pulls

Nassim Lorentz YP01a

William Mbala YP01b

Bilal Petit YP01c

Christian Bernard YP02a

Kevin Steinmetz YP03a

Nassim Roth YP03b

Famara Dabo YP03c

Friedrich Bombele YP03d

Aaron Brown YP03e

Jean Clement YP03f

Youth Candidates

Slim pickings this year and I fear I may have shot myself in the foot. After requesting the board upgrade our youth facilities they finally agreed but we've moved from Good(rented) to Minimal so will have to see what effect this has. They also finally agreed to improve the player surface which had been terrible.

Hamza Benali YP04a

Antonio Martin YP04b

[TheGreatTraveler]

FC United Of Manchester-2025/2026

League Table | Squad 1 | Squad 2 | Finances | Facilities | Transfers(No Cheating!)

nPower Championship-20th-Past Positions

A very good season - Until, March that is. The team held their ground throughout the season, putting in strong performances against some of the bigger teams in the division and getting wins against the other relegation-threatened clubs. Watkins was sold in January, but the team didn't seem to notice at first. We seemed set to finish in a strong mid-table position when mathematically secured our survival. But then the team decided to go on a mental vacation as we lost 6 of our last 7 games, grabbing only 1 win to end the season. Some of those 6 defeats were unlucky, and the team performed well. But stupid mistakes that signaled a lack of concentration sent us down the league table and into 20th place. However, relegation was avoided, and that was the main goal., so a good season overall.

Cups

Good performance in the FA Cup as we made it past the third round for the first time.

FA Cup

With better luck, we would've eliminated Palace and faced a League 2 side, but we will have to wait at least one more year fore a deep cup-run.

Capital One Cup

A defeat against Manfield as I played the reserves to keep the starters fit for the start of the season.

Previous Youth Players

Oliver Smith-YP0a(DRL)

Released March 2018-Retired 2018

Adrian Gregory-YP1c-D/M®

Released 2018-Retired 2018

Charlie O'Reilly-YP1e-DC

Released 2020-Retired 2020

Don Ryder-YP1f-M/AM®, ST

Released 2016-Retired 2016

Dominic Roberts-YP1b-GK

Released 2021-Retired 2021

Jay Squires-YP2e-AML-

Released 2019-Retired 2023

Ian Lee-YP4a-DM/MC

Released 2020-Retired 2020

Loyd Cruse-YP5b-AMR/MR/ST-SOLD 2022-Current Club: Gresley

Played his second full season at Gresley, playing 35 games and scoring 4 goals in the English Northern Premier

Charlee Maguire-YP1d-AM/M®

Released 2022-Retired 2022

Karl Prior-YP2a-ST-RELEASED 2022-Current Club: Solihull Motors(BSN)

Managed just 7 league games for the first team this season, but was unable to score a single goal

Robbie Gammon-YP3a-MC/DM

Released 2022-Retired 2022

Charles Chukwu-YP2d-AML/ML

Released 2023-Retired 2023

Solomon Murray-YP7b-MC/DC-SOLD 2024-Current Club: Guisely (BSN)

Played 33 times for Guisely, scoring 4 goals and making 4 assits

Kevin Buddah-YP10a-AML/ML-RELEASED 2025-Current Club: Skermersdale

Kevin joined Skermersdale, where he has scored once and made 6 assists in 44 games

Lewis Watkins-YP5a-MC-SOLD 2026-Current Club: Wolves(BPL)

Lewis left the club on the January Deadline Day as Wolves payed me 11M upfront for him. Before leaving, Watkins played 27 times, scoring 4 times and making 7 assists. In his PL debut, he made an assist and was named POTM, and currently has a 7.69 AVG rating in the Prem.

Sean Coleman-YP3b-AM(LC)/M(LC)

Released 2025-Retired 2025

Bill Lundon-YP7d-MC/DM-RELEASED 2025-Current Club:None

Signed for Cork City following his release but lasted just 6 months at the club, playing 4 games and making 1 assist.

Star Players This Season

Adam Abbott II-YP11b-DC

The 17 year old was an un-expected yet pleasant surprise for me this season as took advantage of the injury to Rowlands to not only get some game time but cement a place in the starting XI. He finished with the highest Avg. Rating of anybody in the team. Amazing.

Alan Gallimore-YP7a-DC/DM/MC

Had a very good season as he helped Abbott II ease into the first team when Rowlands got injured.

John Dunphy-YP4d-DR/WBR/MR/AMR

Had a good season again. Struggled against the better full-backs at the start but eased into the division well by the end.

Glyndwr March-YP12c-MC/AM(CLR)

Very good first season for him down the left-wing. 5 goals and 4 assists will be a very good starting point for future seasons.

Stuart McMahon-YP12a-ST/AMC

Had a very good first full season for the club after a very slow start that was plagued by injuries. However, a change in the tactic saw him improve as he finished the season with 14 goals, just under a .5 goals per game average. Will be a star.

Other Important Players This Season

Andrew Kelly-YP6a-GK

Started the season very well but his form started to drop towards the end. Will have to fight for, and probably lose, his place in the starting XI next season.

Declan Rowlands-YP3c-DC/DM/MC

He started the season even better than he ended the last and was vital in our start of the season. However, he suffered 1 5 month injury in October that only saw him come back in March, and a much weaker player. However, he remains a solid enough player and finished the season well enough.

Leon Thorne-YP2c-MC/ST

Now 27 years old, the club-captain played the most games of any out-field player and gave a lot of grit. Only 4 goals for him as the level of the division seems to be too much for him.

Dafydd Burrell-YP7c-MC

When Watkins left, I decided to put Burrell in the spotlight. He wasn't as inspirational as Watkins(not that I expected him to be) but still played well enough. Next season will be vital in his development if he can keep his place in the XI

Other Youth Prospects

Johnny O'Connor-YP4c-ST

Malcolm Stokes-YP10b-AML/ML

Stuart Thompson-YP3d-DM/MC

Geraint Pierce-YP8b-D(CRL)/DM/M(CRL)

Ian Rooney-YP4b-D(CRL)

Matty Keeley-YP9a-GK

Adam Abbott-YP1a-DR

Lee Birmingham-YP8a-AMC/MC

Derek Wilson-YP2b-AMR/MR

Josh Hawes-YP6b-MC/DM

Rico Dicken-YP8b-MC/DM

Ashton Beasley-YP11a-ST/AMC

Andy McMahon-YP11c-MR/DR/MC

Kerem Moore-YP11d-ML/MR

Ashley Coulson-YP11e-MR/MC

Ben Nunnerley-YP11f-WBR/MR/AMR

Doyle Hewson-YP11g-ST

Cole Jones-YP12b-ST/AM(CL)

Louis Mutch-YP12d-GK

Youth Intake

A good intake leaves 3 tags

Calum Heyes-YP13a-ST/AML

Great prospect who I expect to see in the first team next season.

Lee Gibson-YP13b-DC

A good center-back that I hope will partner Abbott II in the future.

Carl Cook-YP13c-D(RCL)

His versatility will make him a great player. I expect him to eventually over-take Rooney at left-back.

Goals From Last Season

• Avoid Relegation at ALL costs ACHIEVED!
  
• Sign Watkins into a better, more stable contract FAILED!-Watkins solved for 11M to Wolves in January
  
• Move out players who are no longer useful ACHIEVED!
  

Goals For Next Season

• Avoid relegation again
  
• Create more tactics for new generation of players
  
• Make financial profit
  

[haunted1234]

must be nice getting 5 star players for the championship from basic youth facilities

[Jambo98]

@haunted1234 - Not sure why you keep posting stuff like that.

For starters, youth facilities are not what dictates the quality of the intake. Its a combination of factors, the biggest of which are youth recruitment network and junior coaching.

Youth facilities is part of dictating how well your youngesters will develop towards PA, buts again its not the only factor.

[haunted1234]

if you think so.

[zgruli]

@Jambo98 IRL Real had, for a few years, a cooperation with Sporting, so it makes sense for them to have a somewhat superior youth recruitment than other teams of the same/upper division. I think it doesn't show in FM, but Nani's first club was Real (not Sporting).

Best of lucks for your challenge. Hope you achieve the promotion next season.

@haunted1234 Having better results than teams that have better players isn't that difficult. And tactics is just one part of the success, I have a weak team and I, such as many others, have some somewhat surprising results. (offtopic: will update tomorrow) You said that you pay special attention to the training (But if you go on holidays for entire seasons, I'm sorry, but I don't see how you can do that!). Maybe you should try and find a better/"more adequate to your team players positions in the field" AssMan, that will bring you better results when you are on holidays. Getting back to the training, even if the players PA is low, you can develop key attributes. And don't forget that the visible attributes aren't always "that important". I bet that you have already had a player that inexplicably plays awesomely although his stats aren't that good. There are also other aspects to consider. Consistency, experience, etc. Also the player morale or even the team happyness (I've noticed that the team is more inconsistent when I have a unhappy player, even if he isn't an option for the match - or maybe I'm paranoid ). And, focusing in this challenge, I think it is normal for a team that has players in the club for a long time to be "more of a team" in the field (because of good relations due to tutoring, quicker to "blend the team" once there are no signings, etc.).

Regarding youth facilities, I think they are only one of the aspects that contribute to the quality of the youth candidates. If you have a good HoYD, a good recruitment network and coaches, I don't see why you wouldn't have some average/good players. And I think that those stars don't represent that the player is good for that division, i think they say that the player is good for the club. If you are in a top club of the premier league, perhaps you will have five stars from a 180 PA player, but if you are in a recently promoted club you will probably get five stars from a player with 150 PA. And of course the accuracy of number of stars depends on the coaches hability to judge the players.

Instead of going on holidays for an entire months or seasons, try going on holidays only in the match day, use the tactic your AssMan likes the most (If it is adequate to your team's players), and have more control over the players he uses in each game (Don't forget a player needs to play to develop quicker or to develop at all, depending on your training facilities).

These are only sugestions. FM is a game, you should play it the way you enjoy it the most.

[Jambo98]

if you think so.

I don't think so. I know so. Its documented by SI in the forums if you bother to look.

[Jambo98]

Real Sport Clube – Season 3 – 2015/16

Division - Second Division South

Final position - Winners!

Season overview

League

Wow. What a season. We started off determined to mount a promotion charge on the back of our beast striker Nuno Martins. We started ok but had a mid season dip which really looked to have thrown us out of contention. With 7 games to go though, we changed tactics to freshen things up and get out of the dip. We went on a tear, winning 5 games in a row which meant with 2 games to go we were third, behind both Sporting B and Casia Pia. The gap was 3pts between all 3 times. We won the penultimate game moving us above Casia Pia but still a point behind Sporting with one game to play. We needed to win and hope Sporting didn’t.

We had a bit of a rollercoaster match but we won 5 v 2 in the end, and to my delight and surprise Sporting B lost at home – we were league winners and promoted!

A huge chunk of the success came down to a fit again Martins. The guy is a beast and way too good for the league. Not only was he scoring for fun, but also setting them up. Several of our other youths came of age as well. The promotion was vital to keep the likes of Martins – mid season he threw a strop and asked for a transfer. I tried to placate but he wasn’t having it. Luckily towards the end of the season he announced he was happy to stay. Hopefully can keep him around!

Final Positions

Past Positions

Cups

A little better – some progress and went out eventually to a premier league team away from home 3 rounds in.

Best Performers

Nuno Martins – What can I say? Top scorer, most assists, amazing all round player. Stayed fit this season and was a regular in the Portual U19s, with a couple of squad call ups to the U21s without winning a cap. Absolute beast.

Bruno Santos – Continued to defy his poor looking attributes and set up a hatful of goals for us. Not sure he can cut it at next league up, and have 2 promising RM options who might push him out

Joaquim Matias – A non tagged youngster from second intake, who took over at left wing mid season and tore it up. HE developed a huge amount this season, hoping it continues

Finances

Still barely breaking even with board injections regularly…….not good.

Transfers

Clean as the proverbial. Few out as we pruned the squad again to allow youths to grow.

Youth Intake

Perhaps not as good as previous, but might be more a reflection that our existing squad has improved. Did however get two superb names – Nuno Nunes and Luis Luis!

Youth Prospects

Luis Luis (YP03a)– Apart from the superb name (striker so nice they named him twice?) , he looks to have all the core attributes to become a good front man. We are a little heavy in strikers at the moment but he should see game time.

Telmo Gabriel(YP03b) – A nice prospect in an area we could do with bolstering. Wingers have been key to my tactic thus far so trying to develop this kid into my MR of the future.

Youth Updates

Nuno Martins (YP01a) – What can I say? Superb season. Carried the team and provided both goals and assists. Also continue to develop at a pace. Going to be a challenge to keep hold of him I suspect but agreed a new 2 year deal (cant seem to give anything longer than 2 years at this club!)

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) – Becoming a Mr Consistent at the back. Barely missed a game and just remained solid at all times. Looks like a future “rock”.

Marcio Miglietti (YP02a) – Saw a fair bit of game time, but dropped out when our late season tactical change did away with full backs. Probably going back to 442 now so will come back as first choice RB. Needs to raise his game a touch

Hernani Costa (YP02b) – Limited game time, but 3 goals in 5 appearances from CM is a pretty explosive start. Going to be hard to find a place for him in the starting line up this coming season but he should see more sub appearances at least.

Aim for next season

1) Stay up – Somehow!

2) Try and keep hold of all key youths.

3) Try and get an upgrade of some kind!

[Braumiller]

Quality season Jambo98

[TheGreatTraveler]

Great season Jambo98!

Martins seems class, hopefully he will continue to develop.

[Jambo98]

Like most, im playing a bit quicker than im updating, and just had my son come through in my next youth intake! A striker, with joint Scottish / Portugese nationality! Sadly he is only a 2 star prospect

[Braumiller]

Like most, im playing a bit quicker than im updating, and just had my son come through in my next youth intake! A striker, with joint Scottish / Portugese nationality! Sadly he is only a 2 star prospect

Awesome, I believe our first FM13 father/son!

[Jambo98]

and here he is,

My son

Proof!

[duffy89]

Hello everyone!

After a few hectic months (and a moving from Edinburgh to London), I'm back playing my Arezzo save again! Expect a season update within a few days as I get back into the swing of things!

[Jambo98]

[

Real Sport Clube – Season 4 – 2016/17

Division - Second League

Final position - 14th

Season overview

League

Coming into the season we faced a huge step up in class, board and media expected us to fight bravely against relegation but I felt a little confident in my developing group. Nuno Martins(YP01a) is fit to lead anytime.

The season started poorly before perking up with an early run of victories which meant we were never in the relegation fight. From week 10 onwards our league position never varied by more than 4 places – always between 13th and 17th in the 22 team league. We eventually finished 14th which was nicely safe.

A 42 game season is pretty brutal compared to the 30 we were used to, so we used even more of our youths and were rewarded by some good development. Stuck with our 442 all season which is serving us well.

Final Positions

Past Positions

Cups

Our best run yet saw us all the way into the last 16, where top division Academica saw us off.

Best Performers

Nuno Martins (YP01a) – Who else? Another amazing season, goals and assists still coming by the bucket load. Now a regular in Portugal U21 side, I doubt I can keep him more than another 2 seasons sadly. Won the divisional player of the year which isn’t bad in a team which finished 14th!

Rodrigo Lima – A non-tagged youth from our second season intake, I threw him in as partner to Martins and he replied by scoring plenty and being named young player of the year in the division.

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) – A standard high quality season from our rock at the back. Played most games and really is mr consistency alongside club legend David Ramos at the back.

Finances

Struggled through the season with small board injections, but £280K prize money for league position put us into the black and maybe with hope of a junior coaching upgrade.

worth mentioning that the club is still only semi-pro – Lets me hand out full time contracts only to “key players” and “youngsters” – hasn’t seemed to hold me back yet but would like it changed!

Transfers

Clean as always.

Youth Intake

Happy with the quality I am still getting, couple of key positions stocked up on.

Youth Prospects

Alberto Ferreira (YP04a)– A fine looking young keeper. Our current GK is one of the few non youths, but at 27 still in his prime so could be tricky to displace.

Daniele Andrade(YP04b) – Although only 4 stars, I like his starting stats, his high determination and his 2 feet.

Son watch

Mentioned in previous post, but this youth intake brought my son through! Dual Portugese /Scottish nationality. Sadly not a great prospect according to Ass Man, but I will follow him and try and develop!

Grant Young

Youth Updates

Nuno Martins (YP01a) – See above – Our superstar, I am hoping we can ride him up another division before we lose him.

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) – Becoming our most dependable defender, stick him down for 30 odd games every season and a 7.4 or higher average rating.

Marcio Miglietti (YP02a) – Our regular RB but struggled a touch with the step up in quality. Looking for more development from him next year.

Hernani Costa (YP02b) – More game time, but still a squad player. Attributes picking up but up against a great MC who was 17 and at the club when I joined. Probably looking at 10 – 15 games again next year

Luis Luis (YP03a) – Scored for fun in the reserves and looked promising in 8 first team appearances. Now 3rd choice striker and with the busy schedule will see games

Telmo Gabriel (YP03b) – Saw a lot of bench time, but attributes picking up nicely. We have 3 different youths who are similar level at AMR, but Gabriel was mostly highly rated by ASS man, so might make him starter next year

Other news

Nuno Martins POTY for the division

Rodrigo Lima YPOTY for the division

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) and Nuno Martins(YP01a) named in TOTY for division

Aim for next season

1) Consolidate mid table

2) Pray to keep hold of Nuno Martins

3) Upgrade Junior Coaching

[Braumiller]

Nice season Jambo98

Going to put my catch-up update together when I finish my current season.

One HUGE piece of news will be involved. I break my record player sale value for any version of FM ever...... and lol

[TheGreatTraveler]

@duffy: Great to see you back, can't wait to see your update!

@Jambo: Good season, Martins seems unbelievable! I would put him in my team without a second thought, and I'm in the Championship!

[Jambo98]

Yup I think Martins is one of those "once in ever 10 saves" types of youth. Certainly far and away the best ive had in about 12 seasons total in the challenge (across Portugal once before with Salguerios 08, Holland once with an unprounancable team, Spain with Marbella and FC united in England).

Only being able to give 2 year contracts is really going to cripple me unless I get promoted this coming season I fear

[duffy89]

Great season Jambo, Martins is phenominal!

Shame about the son though!

Cheers Traveler

[mthielen]

Buxton - Season 1 - 2013/2014

Goal for this season was Mid-table. I've finish'd in 12th, doing 1 place better then last season.

Performance in the league actually is almost identical to previous season. Getting 55 points (same as last year), scoring 67 (1more then last year) and conceding 67 (same as last year).

League Table

Big difference this season are my cup runs, which gave me some extra money to help finances.

FA cup: First round knock out against Torqauy (L2)

FA trophy: 3rd round knock out against Stockport (BSP)

FA cup & FAT

Past positions

Youth

Again a descent youth intake which resulted in a few tags

Youth Intake

Aaron Bullimore YP2a 5*

Denham Eustace YP2b 5*

Ray Gleeson YP2c 4.5*

Harvey Gibbons YP2d 4*

Shane Sawyer YP2e 4*

Will Kirton YP2f 4*

Tommy Manship YP2g 4*

A lot of strikers so not much dept going into the squad atm, hope next year gives me more midfielders

Finances

Only a loss of 26k this season, part of this coming from 2 cash injects from the board

Finances

Extra info

This is the final match of the season, which might announce the rise of my youth players

Rise of the Youth

All 4 goals were made by YP tagged players and 2/4 assists were made by YP tagged players. I hope this continues next year

Targets for next season

-Doing better then last 2 seasons

-Improve finances so i can get better facilities

-Keep putting Youth players in the squad

[Jambo98]

Solid season there @mthielen - slow building can be frustrating but necessary! Some prospects that look like they might be good enough to get you up a division or 2 at least in the longer term

[Braumiller]

Update time!

Excelsior Veldwezelt

Seasons 29, 30 & 31 Review (2041-44)

Season 29 – 2041-42

Belgian Pro League

Simply fantastic. We went through the 30 game regular season unbeaten and wrapped the title up with 4 games left in the Championship Group. Sadly that is where our quest for an Invincibles season ended, as we drew 2 and lost 2 of those 4 ‘meaningless’ games.

Regular Season League Table

Championship Group League Table

Fixtures (Regular Championship)

Champions League

Another great Champions League campaign against the big boys and again our ceiling was the quarter finals. We beat Benfica in the Best Placed Playoff and then beat both Olympiakos and Partizan home & away in the group stages, with Valencia doing the same to us. First Round KO against Barcelona and we had the result of the season. We won the home leg 1-0 and then set out to shut them down in the 2nd leg. They ran out 1-0 ‘winners’, sending us to extra time, where Ahmed Arab (YP 13b) popped up with a winner. Dare we dream? Nope. Quarter Finals against Man Utd and they whooped us. Beat us 2-1 at our place and then as we chased goals they destroyed us 7-3 at theirs.

Fixtures

Youth Intake

Not a great intake and no players tagged. (and I forgot to take a screenshot of the disappointment, lol)

Summary

A great season domestically and in Europe to say goodbye to Veldwezelt stadium. Our 13,032 stadium (12,055 on European nights due to seating restrictions) is now just a memory, with our shiny new 36,619 Talbott Arena opening it gates.

Klaas Verbruggen (YP 13a) retires from international football aged 31, with 116 caps and 5 international goals to his name

Season 30 – 2042-43

Belgian Pro League

A down season in the league due to losing 3 games, compared to last seasons 2? Another great season, winning the league by 10 points, unbeaten in our new home (as we were in all competitions).

Regular Season League Table

Championship Group League Table

Fixtures (Regular Championship)

Champions League

Disappointing as we had chances to progress to at least the quarter finals again. In the final group game we needed to beat group favorites AC Milan to progress and after 91 minutes it was still 0-0. Then one of those magical European nights happened, with goals in the 92nd and 93rd minutes giving us an improbable 2-0 win. 1st KO round saw us paired up with Roma. Two poor displays saw us draw 1-1 at home and then 0-0 at their place to lose on away goals

Fixtures

Youth Intake

A very promising intake, with 5 players tagged who all have a chance to make an impact in the first team if they make the progression their initial potential indicates. A decent spread of positions represented too. This has the feel that even if a couple of these miss the mark, this intake could help shape the future of the squad.

Dimitri Mellemans (YP 30a) – Report – A good looking defensive midfielder, good on the ball and winning it back.

Luciano Ulivi (YP 30b) – Report – Can play MC, AMC & FC although lacks the finishing and compsoure needed for FC.

Kamiel De Schouwer (YP 30c) – Report – Attacking midfielder who my 20/20 JA/JP HoYD really likes. Will be given chances to shine.

Luca Vercruysse (YP 30d) – Report – Another central midfielder, although is lacking in initial development compared to his peers. Will need extra time in the youth system

Roy Hermans (YP 30e) – Report – Can play DC or DR, has nice aerial presence and good starting attributes

Summary

Another good season, although with the now familiar March disappointment when we hit the Champions League glass ceiling.

We are without a doubt the big fish in our small domestic pond, but in the European pond we are relatively small.

On the stadium front, it was great to go the whole season unbeaten in our new digs. It almost got so much better as well, as in January the board agreed to expand the new stadium by approx. 6,000 seats to 42,619. Sadly when it came time to begin the upgrades in June the council scrapped it!

Season 31 – 2043-44

Belgian Pro League

Not as dominant as the previous two years, but we managed to bring home the title for a third consecutive year (our first time as three-peat champions) and our 10th overall league title. We lost a total of 7 games this year, more than the previous two years combined, and three of those were at home, for our first domestic losses in the new arena. We ended the season with 4 straight wins, wrapping up the title on the penultimate weekend. Ken Daniels’ (YP 27a) development went through the roof this year, scoring 48 goals in total including 32 in 37 league games and 12 in 10 Champions League games. Probably goes without saying, but this has alerted all the top European teams and they are now all queuing up for the wonderkid

Regular Season League Table

Championship Group League Table

Fixtures (Regular Championship)

Champions League

The closest we have ever been to breaking past the quarter finals!

We made it through a very tough group (AC Milan, FC Bayern and Twente) with a thumping 4-0 away win AT AC Milan on the final gameday. Confidence was high and we beat Valencia home and away in the 1st KO Round. Then came perennial nemesis Man Utd in the Quarters. Away from home the blitzed us in a 20 minute period in the 1st half scoring 3! We settled down, but failed to find an away goal. Final score 0-3. The home leg was monumental. We scored on the half hour mark from a set piece to give everyone hope. Just after the restart evergreen Ahmed Arab (YP 13b) popped up to make it 2-0 (2-3 on aggregate) and we went for it. But we could not catch a break, until with 92:47 on the clock, and the 3 minutes of added time all but over, young Kamiel De Schouwer (YP 30c) found the back of the net and the tie headed into extra time. Momentum was with us and just 2 minutes into extra time Ken Daniels (YP 27a) scored and we had the lead! 99 minutes and Kamiel De Schouwer (YP 30c) making his first Champions League appearance scored his second and we were 5-3 up! And then disaster. In 4 second half of ET minutes Man Utd scored from 2 set pieces, making it 5-2 on the night, 5-5 on aggregate and they had the away goals. We pushed and pushed, hitting the bar on 118 minutes but that was the closest we came. Out again at the quarter finals.

Fixtures

Youth Intake

Not a great intake in terms of number of potential first teamers (1), but it was finally the next goalkeeping prospect I have been in desperate need of for several years. Current GL (Kerem Sengular (YP 12)) turns 35 this year and is within a couple of years of being past his prime. This gives me a chance to play the new kid sparingly and get him progressing. Chances are I will throw him in too soon as I normally do, but hopefully we can score enough to keep our winning tradition going!

Jasper Janssen (YP 31a) – Report – Hopefully the keeper I have been waiting for. Will get plenty of chances in the easier league games. Played the final game of the season this year and kept a clean sheet.

Summary

The biggest news this season came on the final day of the January transfer window. Our worldwide reputation MC Orkun Deniz (YP 20a) had been constantly talking to the media about wanting to move to a bigger club and it was annoying me (plus he is injury prone, so I thought it best to cash in before a big one hit). So with his value at 23m and his minimum release clause at 80m I decided now was the time. I offered him for 80m and no takers. I offered him for 55m and I had 4 offers. All within the 23m-28m range and all heavily leaning towards installments. So I rejected them all, stating they were not good enough and decided to offer him one more time. 45m, 5m up front, 40m over the next 18 months. 3 offers came back. One was again 23m, rejected. Barcelona offered 38m, rejected and Chelsea offered exactly what I asked for. 45m, 5m now, 40m over the next 18 months. So I accepted and Orkun got his wish (apart from Chelsea got knocked out earlier than we did in the Champions League! Hah!).

Here is Orkun Deniz (YP 20a), our technical creative genius just before he left us. Profile - History - Biography

I immediately went to the board room and I was able again to asked for a stadium expansion. They agreed and tentative plans were made for bumping us from ~36k to ~43k. Time to cross your fingers and hope the council do not scrap the plans again….

Well, the season finished and I got my Belgian Pro League money and my Champions League money within a day of each (plus I had received my 5m, plus the first 5 installments of 2.222m from Orkun’s sale, plus a full season of 36k fans watching each game) and my bank account was double its usual end of season high (40m, instead of 20m).

Almost immediately this message popped up! Holy crap! 16,000 new seats being added to Talbott Arena which will give us the 3rd largest stadium in the country at 52,619 (Genk and Anderlecht both have 65,000 seat stadiums, we overtake Standard’s 49,000 stadium). The work will take a full 12 months, so next year we will have to ‘squat’ in Genk’s 65k stadium!

My second thoughts on whether I should have just put up with Orkun’s whining and kept my best player were answered. This had to be the boards reaction to having cash to finally spend, right?

Transfers

Season 29

Season 30

Season 31

Graph of all 31 seasons league positions to date

Graph of all European competition finishes to date

I will put a separate player update post together in the near future.

Season 32 Targets

• Rebuild in Orkun’s absence

• Plan handovers of certain key roles due to older players. GK (Kerem Sengular (YP 12) 35 yr old), DC (Klaas Verbruggen (YP 13a) 34 yr old), MC (Ahmed Arab (YP 13b) 33 yr old)

[Jambo98]

nice updates @Braumiller - your longevity in this challenge is amazing! 45million for a player.........damn! Im 5 seasons in and not a player valued at over 95K, including my now 3 times capped (oops, spoiler....) Nuno Martins.

[duffy89]

Atletico Arezzo

duffy89 - season 25/26

Serie A - 5th

Season 25/26 sees us secure our highest position in the league as we finish 5th! A great season but in the end we fell painfully short of reaching the hallowed grounds of the top 4. We did our job on the last day of the season by beating Sampdoria but we needed Atalanta to draw or lose which they didn’t.

We've secured European football once again, however, and I don't feel we're quite ready for the Champions League yet so I'm not too worried.

My seasons are starting to take on a familiar shape and this one conformed to the norm. Strong start followed by a down turn as the Coppa Italia and Europa League kicks in then a strong finish! The squad was stretched at times but we managed to stay afloat and put in some good performances on all fronts.

Milan finished 14th, they’re on the rise! Must be the loanees I’m sending them

Coppa Italia - Quarter Finals

A bit better in the cup this year but we drew a toughie away to Juve in the quarters and despite a spirited performance, crashed out.

Europa League - 2nd Knockout Round

We went into the Europa League at the playoff stages and drew Czech minnows Jablonec. Well, we soon got brought down to earth losing 2-1 away from home. So much for minnows! Luckily we wisened up for the home leg and won 3-0 securing a place in the group stages. Phew…

Not a bad group as we drew Fenerbache, Lille and Sheriff. Indeed we only lost one game, away to Fenerbache, winning the rest and finishing top of the group.

We were off to France for the first knockout round to play St. Etienne. Both legs were end to end, the first going to St. Etienne 4-3 before winning 5-2 in Arezzo.

Last year’s group competitors, Ajax, were next up and would prove our downfall. Clearly wanting to prove a point, they pumped us 3-0 in Holland meaning a 1-0 win on our own turf wasn’t enough to put us through.

So we go out at the same stage as last year and I’m a little disappointed we couldn’t get past Ajax. But we’re still new to this European malarkey so I’m still happy.

Transfers - Only going out

Player of the year

Riccardo Baldini (YP03a) – ST – What more is there to say about this legend? He took this season by the scruff of its neck bagging 41 goals in all competitions. A simply phenominal player.

Youth Intake

Now we’re talking! 2 taggees this season, both with glowing reputations. I’ll be looking to loan out both Caciagli and Giunta next year to get some game time under their belts. Certainly no problems in defence for the near future!

Now can I pretty please have some good wingers?

Lino Caciagli (YP13a) – DL/WBL

Attributes

Report

Oscar Giunta (YP13b) – DC/DL

Attributes

Report

Youth Watch

A douzy of a season from Brando Frediani (YP01a). His 21 goals doesn’t tell the full story as he also made 21 assists! A great team effort from Brando as reflected in his 7.48 average rating.

Domineco Leccese (YP01b) played less games than in previous seasons due to the emergence of Schiavoni but was solid when he did start.

Alberto Cirelli (YP02a) produced another solid season and is in no danger of losing his spot in goals for the time being.

Lorenzo Taddei (YP02c) was mainly used in Europe and took his chances well. Started making noises about seeking a new challenge but I’m happy to have him as back up.

POTY Riccardo Baldini (YP03a) never fails to deliver. I’m disappointed he doesn’t get more game time for Italy, but there loss is my gain I suppose!

Maicol Giaccherini (YP04a) had a fairly sub standard season, falling just short of the 7.00 rating mark. I have a couple of untagged players in the U20s that may be eyeing up his place in the squad.

Leopoldo Ruggiero (YP05a) continues to be a key part of our defence. Until Caciagli (YP13a) matures he’ll hold onto his spot.

Ferdinando Annuziata (YP06a) was rock solid all season. I keep forgetting he’s only 22 as he’s such a key player for us.

Raffaele Antico (YP08a) was just as good as is peaking in terms of development. Was happy to see him bag a few goals this year as well.

Marcelo Matteoli (YP09a) was Mr. Reliable in the centre of midfield and continues to grow.

Cesare Quattrini (YP09b) stepped up to the plate when needed but I’d like him to get into double figures next season.

Niccolo Pulcini (YP010a) has the potential to be a top notch full back and is coming along very nicely. Was reliable all season.

Riccardo Monticciolo (YP010b) had a very impressive season in defence, providing cover in the centre and at right back. Looking good for Riccardo.

Massimiliano Schiavoni (YP011a) had a quality season and I’m starting to get very excited about this kid. Could be a world class playmaker one day.

Season 25/26 Objectives

This year played out in a similar fashion to the last and was a bit of a status quo.

I do feel, however, that we were much closer to the top 4 and improved on our points tally from last year. We’re getting there…just slowly.

On the continent I was disappointed we couldn’t go a stage or two further but as I said, this was only our second year in Europe so it’s not a disaster.

Mission accomplished when it comes to loaning out our younglings as plenty got some Serie B experience.

Our facilities are now top for both first team and youth! All I need to do now is improve Youth Recruitment Network that bit further but until our rep increases I doubt that’ll happen.

- Secure European football but make a push for the top 4 - Achieved!

- Get into quarter finals of Europa League - Failed!

- Loan out untagged youngsters to give them game time - Achieved!

- Improve facilities - Achieved!

Season 26/27 Objectives

Time to get into that top 4! We were so close this time around and next season I think we can make the final push. Enough is enough, we need to start mixing it with the elite.

In the meantime we have the Europa league to contend with and I’m definitely wanting quarters this year as we need to start boosting our coefficients.

There’s not much to do behind the scenes, the only things left being to improve YRN and get a new stadium but I can’t influence these any more so will have to bide my time!

- Break into the top 4

- Get into quarter finals of Europa League

[brettney1980]

Always enjoyed this Challenge and since i'm playing alot more FM now i might as well try and get into it this year. Not played in Germany for quite a few FM's so thought i'd head off there.

Brett Joven, Info. Profile

Kiel History;

Holstein Kiel (KSV Holstein or Kieler SV Holstein) is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. Through the 1910s and 1920s the club was a dominant side in northern Germany winning six regional titles and finishing as runners-up another six times. Holstein also made regular appearances in the national playoffs, finishing as vice-champions in 1910 before capturing their only German title in 1912. They remained a first division side until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.

Honours;

National Titles

   German football league champions (I): 1912
   German football league runners-up (I): 1910, 1930

Regional

   Northern German football championship champions (I): 1910, 1911, 1912, 1926, 1927, 1930
   Northern German football championship runners-up (I): 1914, 1922, 1923, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932
   Gauliga Schleswig-Holstein champions (I): 1943, 1944
   Oberliga Nord runners-up (I): 1953, 1957
   Regionalliga Nord champion (II): 1965
   Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein champions (IV): 1998, 2001
   Oberliga Nord champion (IV): 2008
   Regionalliga Nord champion (IV): 2009

Team Report|Squad|Best Player

[duffy89]

Good luck in Germany brettney

Forgot to say everyone, the link for YP04a isn't there and I can't seem to find it! Apologies. He didn't have a great season anyway!

[lewcal]

Reading through these season reviews has spurred me on to finish my season. Keep up the good work!

Should be an update from me soon.

[Steboyuk]

Hey guys.. Will be starting this tonight.

Love the challenge and have had success in the past, taking Gateshead to the Championship on 05 and Staines their too on Fm 10 + 11.

Unsure whether to start in England, thinking about maybe Portugal instead..

[Steboyuk]

The Only Way is Concord..

Started at Concord Rangers - Relatively new club form in 1967 in Essex, they've enjoyed a rich spell of recent success in climbing the leagues; must be gutted I've stepped in to start an experiment with them! Currently under a takeover, minimal youth facilities and predicted to finish 21st in the Blue Square South, It's going to be no easy ride.

Also rather annoyingly two of my best defenders are on the way to Farnborough, obviously done before I arrived. Thanks to the previous gaffer for that one.

Quick look at the squad and we look OK, solid enough defence with a decent keeper, a decent midfield (with a promising looking 17 year old right winger), upfront appears to be my weakest area unfortunately.

[duffy89]

Good luck lewcal and Steboyuk!

[lewcal]

Kettering Town

Season 2 (2014/15)

Predicted: 17th

Final league position: 18th

League Table

Unlike last season, we never really hit the ground running. We were always down the bottom of the table, my highest position being 10th. My defense was leaking goals towards the end of the season, we ended up conceding 10 more goals than last season but we did score 6 more. Bob Gardiner was my highest goalscorer with 13 goals, all of them in the league. We got knocked out of both the Fa Cup and the Fa Trophy in the first round we were entered in.

New intakes are looking promising.

[YP3A]Gavin Johnson

[YP3B]Sam Hassell

[YP3C]Ronnie McCarthy

[YP3D]Adam McCarthy

[YP3E]Steven Sandy

[YP3F]Daniel

My target will be the same as last season, to do better.

[Steboyuk]

Cheers duffy89 - Without trawling through the thread what is the furthest anybody has got in England do we know?

Solid enough season there lewcal, and in my eyes that is a very very promising set of youngsters.. Hassell would be my pick of the bunch looks a very good defender for our level.

[Braumiller]

Cheers duffy89 - Without trawling through the thread what is the furthest anybody has got in England do we know?

This iteration of FM, I think TheGreatTraveler is currently the furthest along in England. Last update: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319117-ri916-s-FM13-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8718820&viewfull=1#post8718820

[TheGreatTraveler]

@mthielen: Good season, the most important part in the first few seasons is to consolidate while the Youths develop and you seem to be doing just that!

@Braumler: Three great seasons and a CL semi can't be far off now!

@duffy: Good season there, hopefully next season you break into the top 4! A good EL run wouldn't hurt either

@brettney1980: Hope you do well in Germany!

@lewcal: As long as you survive and the youngsters develop it can be a good season. Hopefully you can push for the play-offs the next season!

@Steboyuk: Good luck with Concord!

As for farthest in England, I think that's me

I'm in my second season in the Championship currently (2026/27)

[brettney1980]

Holstein Kiel - Season 1, 2013/14;

League Table - A great season with a huge dip right in the middle (as seen here) heading into the final game of the season i knew a win would see us up... But what i didn't expect was almost everyone around us to slip up, we got the win and we took the Title home.

Look No Transfers.

The Squad - We are extremely lobsided, and as such i found myself playing anyone fit/on form and fitting a formation around them. Not being able to play players under 17 will mean we continue to do this for a couple of seasons yet.

Junior Coaching Increased.

Youth Candidates;

Emanuel Hoffman YP1 - Report.

To keep me interested until i'm able to play my next generation i have decided to tag these 2 youngsters who were already at the club;

YP0a Mario Schilling

YP0b Timo Barendt

[Jambo98]

Real Sport Clube – Season 5 – 2017/18

Division - Second League

Final position - 7th

Season overview

League

A funny old season. The media and board expectations were to avoid relegation, and we are still very much newcomers to this level, but my expectations were high. Probably too high.

The biggest moment of the season came pre-season, we managed to get Nuno Martins to extend! Unfortunately still can only offer 2 years max, so its not bought us much time but at least another season. Cost us, but he is worth it!

From there we started well, but hit a real mid season sticky patch. A very strong finish thought boosted us to a finish place of 7th which, all things considered, was really impressive. We had some really excellent results, and with so many youths making up the team/squad consistency was always going to be the biggest challenge.

Nuno Martins going to be a real problem now – Its really too early for us to get promoted by rights, but if we don’t he will be gone  This season also saw our original Centre Back David Ramos start to decline. He has been a great contributor and in the early seasons was by far our best player. He will stick around another season as a squad player and I have persuaded him to take up coaching so will try to retain him in that capacity.

Final Positions

Past Positions

Cups

Nothing much to report………….

Best Performers

Nuno Martins (YP01a) – If anything, perhaps not quite as good a season as last. A few minor injuries meant he missed around 11 league games which had an impact on our season. However, amazingly for a tiny club like us, he is actually now a full Portugal international !!

Joaquim Matias – Non tagged, but from third season intake. Has developed well on the left wing and contributed plenty assists.

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) – I could just leave the same update in here year after year….plays every week, doesn’t make mistakes, holds the defence together.

Finances

Pretty much breaking even, small loses most months (cira 10K) but a nice £400K prize money fund for the league position kept us in the black. Managed to get junior coaching upgraded but no where near the amount of cash in the bank we need for facility upgrades.

Transfers

Clean as always.

Youth Intake

One excellent prospect, more depth along with it.

Youth Prospects

David (YP05a)– Well now….starting stats look better than anything ive seen, even Nuno Martins. A sweeper by nature, and given ive never used a tactic which uses a sweeper I think he will become a classy centreback. Needs heavy training on his tackling though.

Eurico Lima (YP05b) – Another AMC, nice Flair stats but has a lot of players infront of him for a midfield spot.

Son watch

Managed to get a few first team games, as we got hit by injuries and needed him. Unfortunately forgot to take a screenie at screen end, however have a match screenie of him scoring his first hat-trick!

Grant Young

Youth Updates

Nuno Martins (YP01a) – L-E-G-E-N-D……and Portuguese international!!

Sergio Pereira (YP01b) – If this guy slept with team-mates wifes, then you really could re-name him JT. Solid, dependable and now taken over as club captain.

Marcio Miglietti (YP02a) – Stepped it up from last season. Has no competition at RB which is our weakest area depth wise, but impressed by his season.

Hernani Costa (YP02b) – A busier season than expected, with lots of bench appearances. He is becoming a good squad player, but not sure he can make the jump to first team regular.

Luis Luis (YP03a) – A mix of starts and bench appearances, but a great scoring record for someone who was in and out of our team. Pushing to partner Nuno Martins now.

Telmo Gabriel (YP03b) – Took over as our starting right winger, was a little disappointing and lost his spot late season to another youth, but I still have hope for him.

Alberto Ferriera(YP04a) – Picked up 7 starts in goal, including 3 in the cup and 4 when injury hit our first choice. Classic double edged position with him where he wont develop unless I throw him in, but GK is such a key position….

Daniel Andrade (YP04b) – Got an introduction to first team football, will struggle to break out and I may experiment by loaning him out.

Other news

Nuno Martins YPOTY for the division (step down from last year!)

Second and Third in goal of the season!

Named as most improved club in Portugal!

Porto try and poach YP05a (luckily he rejected and stayed with us!)

Aim for next season

1) Give it promotion a damn good go! Everything goes into that aim!

[ElSmurfo]

After a long hiatus, the romantic lure of the youth academy challenge has dragged me back in. England proved to be a source of great misery, so I'm branching out for the very first time to a new country: Belgium!

R.F.C. Tournai will be my first European foray, and I'm looking forward to all the quirks of a different league structure. Tournai have quite a few decent players (a hangover from being in Div 2 as recently as the 10/11 season), so my board are expecting a top-half finish this year. With poor club facilities I just hope I can deliver!

Manager Profile

[TheGreatTraveler]

brettney-Great first season! Hopefully you can stay up next season!

Jambo-Good season overall. I would suggest selling Martins if you can't get promoted - And then use the money to improve the facilities like I did with Watkins. Assuming you have a decent back-up for Martins, of course.

ElSmurfo-Good luck in Belgium!

[Jambo98]

The biggest problem is that I am still a semi-pro club, meaning my players have so little value. Martins is a full Portugal international, and is valued at £140K I might get a half mill at best for him, which wouldn't really improve me much.

[duffy89]

Atletico Arezzo

duffy89 - season 26/27

Serie A - 3rd

Ladies and gentlemen, Atletico Arezzo are going to the Champions League! What a season!

This was always going to be a tough challenge but I knew we could do it. We still had our drop in form during the middle part of the season, falling back to 6th at one point but we rallied strongly towards the end and a 2-1 victory on the last day of the season against Nocerina was enough to secure 3rd spot.

Napoli were a dominant force again this year and absolutely romped the league. They're strike force is simply too good and its going to be extremely difficult to stop them.

Arezzo are certainly on the rise as we are now the 4th most reputable club in Italy behind Napoli, Juve and Siena.

Speaking of Juve, my reputation must be rising too as they offered me a job! Which I threw back in their faces, sending the Old Lady home to think again.

Meanwhile in Milan, Inter and AC were nearly reunited again! But only because Inter barely avoided relegation! What is going on in that city I will never know!

But Milan did finish 9th this year so things are looking up.

Coppa Italia - Winners!

We have our first piece of silverware! Coppa Italia Campioni! After all these years of falling short in the cup we finally made a charge!

Our run to the final was fairly friendly as we put out Cagiari, Siena and Fiorentina to face Genoa in the final.

Genoa were midtable and I was feeling confident for the game. I put out an attacking side and we romped to a 5-1 victory!

A fantastic achievement for the club and I’m delighted to dust down the trophy cabinet (if not actually build one in the first place) and put the Coppa in there.

This of course sets up a Super Cup final against league winners, Napoli, to be played at the start of next season so more silverware could be just round the corner.

Europa League - Semi Final

In our 3rd year in the Europa League we went straight into the group stages as second seeds drawing Liverpool, Heerenveen and BATE.

We struggled to find form in our group but managed to sneak into second place and get into the knockout stages.

First up was a lengthy visit to Russia to play Dinamo Moscow. The first leg was played at home and won 3-1. There was still a bit to play for here but a 4-3 win in Moscow sent us through.

That set up a tie against old enemies Schalke. We were the ones dishing out the beating this time though and we went through 6-3 on aggregate.

At this point I had reached my goal of getting to the quarters so wouldn’t be too disappointed if I lost out to Turkish giants Galatasaray. I had no need to worry though as we destroyed them 5-1 in Arezzo and despite losing 3-1 in Turkey we were through.

I was starting to get a nosebleed at this point as we reached the dizzy heights of the semi finals! Pescara would be our opposition, a team I know very well. They’ve turned into a good cup team and are usually there or thereabouts in the European spots.

The first leg was away from home and we grinded out a 1-0 victory! That gave us the upper hand but we couldn’t capitalise in Arezzo and were 0-1 down after 90 mins. This game was going to extra time…

The next 30 mins were very tense with neither side wanting to be exposed and penalties were soon upon us.

Baldini was first up but for the first time in his career he failed to deliver, missing his penalty. It was downhill from there as we missed 3 of our 5 pens with Pescara only missing 2. So we tragically fall out at the semi final stage and Pescara went on to meet Fiorentina in the final only to lose 1-0.

I wasn’t expecting such a great performance in Europe but in the end I’m slightly disappointed to go out on penalties to another Serie A side.

Farewell Europa League, may we never meet again!

Transfers - Only going out

Player of the year

Ferdinando Annuziata (YP06a) – DC – We move away from attack this year and head into defence for out POTY award. Annuziata had a very special season. He had to play a lot of games but was heroic at the back, saving us so many times.

Well played son.

Youth Intake

No wingers this year but my ass man reckons this kid could be one of the best oh his generation! A cracking looking DM who will be going into the first team squad next season.

Lorenzo Togni (YP14a) – DM

Attributes

Report

Youth Watch

Brando Frediani (YP01a) had one of his best seasons in my opinion. 24 goals and 15 assists is a fantastic return from our legend. Has decided he wants to get into management when he hangs up his boots which is a little disappointing as I’d like him on my coaching staff but hope he does well! I’m really glad he was able to lift the Coppa Italia, it would’ve been devastating had he not won anything in his career.

Domineco Leccese (YP01b) had a really good season for us, his best yet infact. Which stings as I’m thinking of letting him go next season to let some of our youngsters come through.

Alberto Cirelli (YP02a) had a pretty average season and I’m thinking of promoting our young keeper (who has been on loan at Milan all season) to first team duties.

Lorenzo Taddei (YP02c) was great as back up but unfortunately he wants a new challenge and I can’t convince him to stay. I hope him all the best for the future, he’s been a great servant.

Riccardo Baldini (YP03a) was as prolific as ever this season averaging nearly a goal a game. Nothing else to say about this young lad.

Maicol Giaccherini (YP04a) had another mediocre season and I think its finally time for him to move on and let some new talent come through.

Leopoldo Ruggiero (YP05a) continues his reliable form at left back.

As mentioned above, Ferdinando Annuziata (YP06a) was phenomenal all season and is a crucial part of my team.

Raffaele Antico (YP08a) had another fantastic year partnering Anuuziata in defence.

Marcelo Matteoli (YP09a) is very dependable in the midfield and does a great job of screening our back 4, only 20, he has plenty ahead of him.

Cesare Quattrini (YP09b) had a very respectable return of 14 goals this season. I still feel he has plenty left in him though.

Niccolo Pulcini (YP010a) isn’t quite firing on all cylinders but for 19 he’s a fantastic player already.

Riccardo Monticciolo (YP010b) filled in a lot of positions at the back and was fantastic regardless of where he played.

Wonderkid, Massimiliano Schiavoni (YP011a) made things tick for us in midfield. Something tells me this guy will be a very special player one day. Makes a very formidable partnership with Matteoli in midfield.

Lino Caciagli (YP13a) spent the second half of the season on loan at Serie B side, Livorno. And while he didn’t have the best of times he did get some vauable experience for a 16 year old.

Oscar Giunta (YP13b) went to Novara and had a pretty decent time there. Is showing good signs of development.

Season 26/27 Objectives

We smashed our objectives this year in what has been my most successful season at the club!

Champions League football has been achieved, we reached the semis of the Europa League (and oh so nearly the final) and won our first piece of silverware in the form of the Coppa Italia!

- Break into the top 4 - Achieved!

- Get into quarter finals of Europa League - Achieved!

Season 27/28 Objectives

Our first objective is a must. The board want it as a minimum and so do I. We need to finish in the top 4 again and secure CL football. Its going to be tough to reproduce our league position seeing as we have that CL to deal with but I have a couple extra youngsters coming through now and I think the squad is capable.

As for said CL, I don’t know what to expect really. I think a lot of it will depend on our group but I’m going to set the objective of getting out of it regardless of who we play. Anything past that is a bonus in my eyes.

I do have a crucial objective this season, which is to shake up my squad. We have a couple of players who I’m looking to offload and a couple of fresh youngsters who have been doing well on loan to fill their places. I want to fully re-assess the squad before starting the season and male some changes.

Apart from that I have a couple of coaches retiring so need to replace them.

- Secure Champions League football again.

- Get through group stages in CL.

- Freshen up squad, bringing through some of our youngsters.

- Bring in new coaches to replace those leaving and improve where possible.

[ri916]

Going to restart this again in Portugal. Well done to everyone doing this, some fantastic progress being made.

[Jambo98]

Im really enjoying Portugal I must say ri916, although not being able to get professional is making it very difficult. I like the youth quality and the football in general.

Fantastic season @duffy89 - your progress is brilliant!

[ri916]

Im really enjoying Portugal I must say ri916, although not being able to get professional is making it very difficult. I like the youth quality and the football in general.

Fantastic season @duffy89 - your progress is brilliant!

Do teams not go professional upon promotion to the second league anymore then?

[Jambo98]

Do teams not go professional upon promotion to the second league anymore then?

Mine didn't - 3rd season in second league and still semi-pro

[ri916]

Mine didn't - 3rd season in second league and still semi-pro

That sucks . Hopefully you're capable of getting promotion without it then, no chance a semi pro team can play in the top portuguese league.

[korvalis]

I think I'm just missing playing in Portugal and Germany myself, been playing around with the Turkey game trying out a few different formations for my Margate team, and for at least for my main striker, I guess he had an "okay" season.

As it was, finished year 21, brought up the 1000 games in charge, returned back to the top of Turkey with ease, and yet again falling out of the champions league at the semi-final stage.

I might be able to get through a season with Margate with the bank Holiday weekend, so Margate should hopefully have an update early next week at the latest.

[Jambo98]

That sucks . Hopefully you're capable of getting promotion without it then, no chance a semi pro team can play in the top portuguese league.

Its a little weird, it hasn't impacted me hugely other than only being able to offer 2 year contracts to players. As long as you give a squad status of Key or Youngster you can offer full time contracts, which gives you full time training etc. It is starting to bite now though as my players get better and start to attract other teams.

[Steboyuk]

Some great progress here guys, well done duffy89 and good luck ElSmurfo..

Onto Concord - bit of a update before I really get cracking with the season:

Pre-season was a busy time, I brought in a HOYD as we didn't have one, a physio, and convinced a retiring defender to join the coaching team which should keep us in good stead for the foreseeable future.

I also released 2 other players along with the 2 that headed off to Farnborough, so I've kept the majority of the squad together. I drafted 16 year old MC/SC Dave Dyer into the first team also, considering our lack of options up front. Friendlies went well and the squad is better then I first thought - hoping for a good season.

I was slightly concerned when I saw that my Youth Category was "0".. Hope I get some youths! Fair to say we have pretty dreadful facilities - The proposed takeover of the club collapsed, so we are still stuck with a chairman who wants to leave, and he appears to be very stubborn which is no good. We are skint, and although I'm under the wage budget he seems to be very tight - Not allowing me a parent or feeder club and stonewell rejecting any claims I mad to try and Improve any of our poor youth facilities. I need to make some money somehow!

A further look at our squad then -

Goalkeepers - Two decent ones actually, 27 year old Michael Jordan will be first choice, whilst young former Millwall keeper Jamie Farmer is a solid backup, and just 19.

Defenders - A good area for us, first choice fullbacks are both very solid, whilst Guyanese international Chris Bourne can provide an exciting option going forward from left back in reserve. Centrally we are good, Phil Anderson is one of our best players, and he will be partnered by young Harry Wise who is just 19 and should rack up plenty of appearances.

Midfield - Again, strong - Left wing not a strong point but at least Junior Dadson has pace. Centrally we have plenty of options, none brilliant but all decent and pretty youthful too. James Elmes will be our creator and young Scott Rogers looks very good for 18. Right wing is interesting, not much depth here but I'm very excited about 17 year old Kevin Beeney, signed last season and did well he has talent, although he isn't the quickest.

Strikers - Up top is possibly our weakest area. Certainly depth wise it is. First choice is Jason Hallett - he's started the season excellently and looks a good player, although his natural fitness is a big worry. Need to keep him fit. Target man and brother of James is Harry Elmes, a limited player but a decent option. And that is it. Need some youth's here asap and that's why we will start 4-5-1.

Good start to the season - 6 games in and unbeaten, sitting 7th in the league with 12 points.