ri916's FM13 Anglo/Euro Youth Academy Challenge

[XaW]

We have every bit of faith in you, i'm sure you will pull through (Vote of confidence )

Now I'm feeling the pressure! :o

[Tactic Master]

Now I'm feeling the pressure! :o

Read Braumiller's last post, the one i've quoted above, now that's real pressure right there

[Tactic Master]

Has anyone else come across this problem when changing the Captain? Klee furious at captaincy loss...

I argued it out with him in a personal chat and he ended the conversation by saying he couldn't work for me anymore? The fact is, this guy has an agreed transfer to another club, how could he expect to keep his captaincy with zero loyalty?

Despite this problem, it seems my decision to remove him as captain at the start of the season, could have been the decision I needed to make. 13 wins and 3 draws with 0 losses says it all surely?

[Steboyuk]

Really can't believe the amount of people having a go at this, great to see considering it is such a difficult challenge.

Few complications holding me up still, won't be too long I wouldn't Imagine.

SnakeXe - Welcome and not a bad effort for the first season, keeping Kilheeney could be massive so here's hoping. Players like Walmsley are always good for this challenge, my advice would be to really make the most of his dead-ball abilities Fantastic for that level. Good luck.

Braumiller - What a season mate. Top effort and best of luck surviving. What is the difference in standard like?

Elsmurfo - Good season, new stadium that is mental! Let's hope it isn't a hindrance. Cough *Darlington*.. Coker and Skinner do look decent, Skinner will win everything in the air.

Sorry to miss others out, KUTGW all. I could start tonight.

[XaW]

XaW - SVW Mannheim - 2. Bundesliga - 2018/19

Table | Past positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

We had a bit of a slow start, but soon found ourselves in the battle for promotion. As you can see from the last few posts I've made in this thread it was a nerve wrecking couple of matches towards the end, but we made it. We are the champions of 2. Bundesliga and are finally going to compete with the big boys of Germany next season. I think it's gonna be hard, but I hope we are able to survive next season before making the push up the table in a couple of seasons. I've gotten rid of loads of failed youth players this season as I have been a bit to eager to keep them. Everyone I feel have no chance of making the team have been shown the door and finally our youth squad are of a decent size again.

In the DFB-Pokal we managed met Borea Dresden in the first round again, just as last year, and once again we got the better of them. In the second round we got up against Union Berlin. They managed to hold us to extra time, but in the end we managed to get out victoriously. For the first team we had made it into the 3rd round, but our opponent was Schalke away! I though; screw it, let's go out fighting, and we went into the match guns blazing. We managed to get a decent lead, but in the end they proved to much for us as we lost 6-4 in an amazing game.

Youth Intake:

I screwed up and forgot to take a screenshot of the intake. Some very decent players in there this year and I'll show them a bit lower in the post.

Initial youngsters:

João Paulo (YP0a) - Leaving for non-league RB Leipzig for some reason I cannot fathom. Refused to sign a new contract. Injured most of the season.

Federico Gómez (TP0b) - Still trying to get his quickness improved, but haven't progressed much. Still played a lot and did well.

Vito Libertini (former YP0d)[/url] - Out on loan, but didn't play. Stats went through the floor.

Robert Huber (YP0e) - Disappointed this season, but also a couple of injuries. Need to step up his game.

Intake 1:

Bruno Russo (YP1a) - Out on loan, but didn't get any matches. Unknown why since he is far better than the players they had.

Heniz Höferth (YP1b) - Is a backup and can stay if he is content with that.

Felix Schuler (YP1c) - Another solid season.

Admir Plojovic (YP1d) - Very good season and even scored a couple of goals.

Hans Veiß (former YP1e) - Not good enough

Eugen Henel (YP1f) - Fantastic season. Scored plenty as well.

Floran Wagner (TP1g) - Converted to striker because of Paulos injury and did very good.

Fuat Yilmaz (YP1h) - Played the role of super sub great. Scored some important goals.

Bastian Krämer (YP1i) - Not many clean sheets, but that might be down to my tactics as he played very well.

Andy Behrend (former YP1j) - Loaned out get first team action, but couldn't hold down a place in the 3rd tier. Disappointing.

Pierangelo Varacalli (YP1k) - Great season. Ran down the right side match after match assisting and scoring quite often.

Intake 2:

Sven Reith (YP1a) - Mainly a sub, but did well enough when called upon.

Prince Doudu (YP2b) - Provided both goal and assists a plenty this season. A key player.

Nikolay Gorbunov (former YP2c) - Not progressing as I hoped.

Marvin Fießer (YP2d) - Got some matches, but varied greatly in his performances.

Felix Männel (YP2f) - Backup, but didn't get many chances.

Smaïlia Tawali (former YP2g) - Nope, no dice.

Senijad Salihovic (YP2h) - Very good player, but have a couple of great players ahead of him.

Marvin Wenzel (YP2i) - Out on loan and did ok.

Erdinç Dündar (YP2j) - Got some matches and did well.

Intake 3:

Jan Engel (YP3a) - A very good first season with the older boys.

Tom Baum (YP3b) - Seem to be a slow learner. All my staff claim he has great potential, but he need to show it.

Intake 4:

Tolgahan Erdem (YP4a) - Out on loan to get some matches, but didn't get as many as I had hoped.

Robert Hopp (YP4b) - Got his debut, but have many good players in the same position.

Danny Hinkel (YP4c) - A very good season for the U19s. Tempted to give him a shot next season.

Alexander Zimmermann (YP4d) - Not improving as much as I had hoped, but still have time.

Intake 5:

Askin Evirgen (YP5a) - Improving very good. Exciting talent.

Maximilian Franke (YP5b) - Starting to develop now. Hope he keeps it up.

Christopher Reilly (YP5c) - Regular for Ireland U21 already.

Ugur Kurt (YP5d) - Progressing well.

New Intake:

Mirsad Karisik (YP6a) - Report - A talented striker, but still need some work.

Timo Puljic (YP6b) - Report - Promising winger. I don't have many of those.

Gerd Scherer (YP6c) - Report - Looks like he could become a good defender.

Ünal Özdemir (YP6d) - Report - Finally another talented goalkeeper. I only have 1, so this is a most welcome addition to the team.

Karl Müller (YP6e) - Report - Another talented defender.

Kai Müller (YP6f) - Report - Could be a good wide midfielder.

Season	  League	  Position	Cup		Europe		Achievments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14	 3. Fußball liga  15th		N/A		N/A		Survived
2014/15	 3. Fußball liga  5th		N/A		N/A		N/A
2015/16	 3. Fußball liga  2nd		1st rnd		N/A		Promotion
2016/17	 2. Bundesliga	  5th		1st rnd		N/A		N/A
2017/18  2. Bundesliga	  4th		2nd rnd		N/A		N/A
2018/19	 2. Bundesliga	  1st		3rd rnd		N/A		Promotion

[Braumiller]

Congrats XaW!!

[korvalis]

Oh sweet delicious irony... As I couldn't manage my 1st Italian attempt from last year's game(Teramo were already in the C2/B division), the RNG kindly threw up the more successful 2nd attempt at Cosenza.

Manager Profile

With a prediction of 12th, the first year's targets will probably be avoid relegation, or mid-table obscurity, either is fine with me.

Plus it means I get the awesome team logo...

[Steboyuk]

Congrats XaW, great season.. And welcome Korvalis, good luck.

I'm holidaying as we speak.

[mthielen]

Well i got sacked at Liège end of february, i was 8th but the goal was promotion, so i'm hollidaying again

I'll let u know wht team i end up with this time ( still going for Belgium)

[Tactic Master]

Well i got sacked at Liège end of february, i was 8th but the goal was promotion, so i'm hollidaying again

I'll let u know wht team i end up with this time ( still going for Belgium)

Unlucky Go for UR Namur

[mthielen]

Unlucky Go for UR Namur

Welli was hoping for Tongeren, my home town,

but i'll see what comes out this time

EDIT: Well all teams are the same as befor, so again no Tongeren,

may be i'll give Liège another go, not sure yet

[ElSmurfo]

Amazing season, well done XaW! Good luck next season with the big guns. Henel (YP1f) looks like a star.

[Steboyuk]

Starting this morning.. I am the new manager of AFC Fylde. (My name clearly is not Mike Bassett, but I am indeed Canadian..)

Looking forward to it - my Initial impressions of the squad are pretty good, It's a big squad, so whilst I will have to get rid of some deadwood to save as much money as possible It shouldn't leave me too short of options. Major concern at the moment is the like of a good striker, looking very thin in that department.

The previous manager signed one player, Dale Hopson, before I joined this season - he looks ok and at 20 years old could be around for a while. Unfortunately for me he also let what would have been one of my better players go, Steve Haslam to Southport. If anybody doesn't trust me I can provide screenshots if necessary

Onto the club, Fylde are a very ambitious club, in real life anyway (they have a 15 year plan to make League Two I believe), and a very NEW club, which is what interested me in them for this challenge. Only 25 years old, I will be making alot of the club's history (If all goes to plan!). They have a fierce rivalry with Fleetwood Town of League Two now, another very ambitious club. Catching them will be a challenge in itself. Hopefully the chairman isn't too ambitious this time around and wants rapid progress or I could be in trouble.

Another problem is the facilities, which are dire or non-existent in some cases. This is to be expected of such a young club of course. They have a nice little ground, which holds 3000, but we have 'minimal youth facilities' and they are rented. We are therefore in Youth category 0, which isn't promising.

Will update again after pre-season. Wish me luck..

[Mand312]

Am I ok to post in here with my Gundo's challenge side? I am playing in Slovakia!

[Jambo98]

Not finished my 3rd season yet, but just had my youth intake and........ I got an AMC with 5 start Current ability rating from my Ass Man!! His potential is rated at leading premier league! Screenshot to follow when im not at work.....

To steal a phrase from someone last year, gonna ride this guy like a rented mule..........

[Braumiller]

To steal a phrase from someone last year, gonna ride this guy like a rented mule..........

And ride him I did!

[Steboyuk]

Pre-Season Update 2013/14: AFC Fylde:

So the challenge begins - Friendlies coming thick and fast and I had to judge who to keep and who to release. I had a big squad, with no less than 14 players scheduled to leave in just a month's time.

I came across an immediate problem, after my press conference I seemed to irritate a large majority of the players, I guess by saying "I was going to reshape the club from top to bottom". This led to a few players not even discussing a potential contract offer, and those that did seemed to be asking for outrageous offers. With no option I had to bite the bullet and hand out £350 p/w contracts to some players who might not even play 10 games this season. In the end 6 players were released at this stage.

I then attempted to get a feeder club and a parent club, neither of which could be afforded. That put my ambitious of improving any facilities to rest also.

Staff wise I had nobody bar my assistant manager - I brought in a HOYD, a coach in Steve Blatherwick and a physio. I won't be signing any more staff.

The friendlies went well, albeit against some average opposition, as we won all four games. Stockport Sports, Coedpoeth and Burscough were dispatched without conceding a goal, with 6 to my name. Then came a proper test in FC United. A very enjoyable game finished 3 - 2 to us. Morale ended up pretty high afterwards.

A quick briefing of my squad then - In goals, we are average. First choice Ben Hinchliffe is just an average BSN keeper I reckon. He's only 24, and his two backup's MacDonald and Watson are just 21 and 19 respectively, neither brilliant.

Defensively is our best aspect - my two best players are young left back Jordan Jacobs and centre half Matty Hughes, and right back Adam Carden looks handy too. I have good depth centrally.

Midfield is pretty strong aswell, I have good wide options in left mid Barnes, and explosive winger Dominic Rowe who is just 20 and very versatile. I had a LOT of depth in the central midfield position with about 8 options, very unsure on who is best.

Up top we look very weak if I'm honest. Jimmy McCarthy is the number 9 - he scored 4 goals last season. Whilst James Dean was plucked from the reserves - he scored 1 in 31 last season! Adam Farrell looks a good option as a deep lying forward, but is refusing to sign a new deal.

First XI Impressions: (*key player)

Gk: Ben Hinchliffe

DL: Jordan Jacobs*

DCL: Matthew Grieve

DCR: Matty Hughes*

DR: Adam Carden

ML: Michael Barnes*

MC: Anybodies guess.

MR: Dominic Rowe

SC: Jimmy McCarthy* ©

SC: James Dean/Harry Winter

Other - Harry Winter is an interesting one - due to my lack of decent options up top I'm going to retrain him there. Jumping, Creativity and Team Work can hopefully make him a decent supporting striker.

Season aims:

* Top 15 finish in the league.

* Decent run in one cup competition

* Maintain the squad

[Shakes]

2016/17 - Blue Square Bet South - 5th

League | Positions | FA Cup | FA Trophy

We started out absolutely on fire, going on a 14 match unbeaten run in the league, doing it from the back with 8 clean sheets in a row. Winning the league looked a distinct possibility, and we were over 10 points clear in a playoff place. Unfortunately the mid season rut then kicked in and we couldn't win a game, really spluttering our way to the finish line, and with one game to go we'd actually fallen out of the playoff spots for the first time since the very start of the season. We only drew our last game but a lucky set of results meant that was enough for us to scrape into the playoffs for the first time.

Somehow our form came back, and a 4-1 home victory against Maidenhead gave us complete control of the semi-final, even if the away leg was a 3-3 we were always in control and were through to the final. We were drawn at home in the final against Havant & Waterlooville, 3-0 and a man up should have been it, but they managed to pull it back to 3-2. Thankfully that's where it stayed and we'd won promotion!

Squad | Transfers | Youth Intake

Let all the contracted players expire because they weren't worth what they were costing, so it's pretty much all youth now. Changing to a defensive head of youth development seems to have had some effect, although the intake he brought was weaker than we've had the past 3 years.

2014/15 debut players:

• 14a Wheeldon - ST - Was doing well until he broke his arm, which coincided with our form slump. Still rated as our best potential player.
  
• 14b Holsgrove - ML - Inury proneness is a real killer in this version as match fitness seems to take longer to regain. May end up being this guy's undoing.
  
• 14c Warner - MR/DR - Benefited from the older guys leaving and took his chance to cement a first team spot.
  
• 14d Nightingale - MC - Still only an OK player, for some reason very prone to yellow cards despite not having high aggression too.
  
• 14e Wilkinson - DC/MC - Started well but didn't cope when the team fortunes turned.
  
• 14f Dunne - ML - Another player who started well before becoming a bit anonymous towards the end.
  
• 14g Flood - GK - Took over the first team role after the previous keeper let 5 past, was really impressive during our good run.
  
• 14h Dudley - ST - Mostly played as a reserve so his goal tally was alright all things considered.
  
• 14i Daniels - MR - Didn't really step up in the extra chances he got to play this year, but still rated great potential.
  

2015/16 Debut Players:

• 15a Hemsley - MC/DC - Needs to be better next year if he's to hold off the players in the youth team gunning for his spot.
  
• 15b Mean - ST/ML - Didn't get his chance until others were injured but took it well.
  
• 15c Barker - DR/DL - Couldn't fill the shoes of the vets that were let go, but we're thin at the back so will get plenty more chances.
  
• 15d Oliver - ST - Was on fire early which made my decision to let the leading goal scorer go look good. Slumped a bit after injury later in the year.
  

2016/17 Debut Players:

• 16a Jones (Report) - DR - Pretty happy with his debut year, first choice already.
  
• 16b Blackmore (Report) - DC - Not so great, barely ready for this level so not sure how he'll go next year
  
• 16c Pegler (Report) - MC - Only had the 9 games while others were injured/sujspended/unfit
  
• 16d Harrison (Report) - ST - Pro tip: if you want to play a second game, don't get sent off on your debut.
  
• 16e Mills (Report) - ST/MR - Got a quick run late through injury, with our strength at striker he may have to wait his turn.
  

Next Year

Well due to strangeness in young players contract demands I can't get my players onto part time contracts. So pretty much my entire team is sitting there on expired youth contracts. Thanks great for the cash flow, not so great when anyone can come along and poach them. It's already happened to a couple of players who I had from the initial squad, including my best left back.

I'm not going to continue with this save until the first patch comes out, to see if it will have a fix since I've reported it as an issue. No real joy in playing a youth save if teams can just waltz in and take them on you.

[b]Season    Tier   League    FA Cup   FA Trophy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319117-ri916-s-FM13-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8216314&viewfull=1#post8216314"]2013/14[/url]   BSS   [url="http://i.imgur.com/jcwRQ.jpg"] 14th [/url]    [url="http://i.imgur.com/QmYE4.jpg"] 2nd Q  [/url] [url="http://i.imgur.com/awyar.jpg"] 2nd Rnd[/url]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319117-ri916-s-FM13-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8220055&viewfull=1#post8220055"]2014/15[/url]   BSS    [url="http://i.imgur.com/liPPu.jpg"]15th[/url]      [url="http://i.imgur.com/GRwWi.jpg"]2nd Q[/url]    [url="http://i.imgur.com/sY4uO.jpg"]3rd Q[/url]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319117-ri916-s-FM13-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8226401&viewfull=1#post8226401"]2015/16[/url]   BSS     [url="http://i.imgur.com/s0ZM1.jpg"]6th      [/url][url="http://i.imgur.com/6iEgX.jpg"]4th Q[/url]    [url="http://i.imgur.com/gtKKs.jpg"]3rd Q[/url]
2016/17   BSS     [url="http://i.minus.com/iCOOdimnVvsij.jpg"]5th      [/url][url="http://i.minus.com/i3rwUTrpRH1X9.jpg"]2nd Q [/url]   [url="http://i.minus.com/iWJliyYIr8y2u.jpg"]2nd Rnd[/url]

[ElSmurfo]

ElSmurfo - Cambridge City F. C. - Blue Square Bet North - 2014/15

League - Past Positions - Transfers - Squad - Finances

A season that started with such promise and ended with such frustration. Disappointment. FM-induced rage. Maybe not that bad A surprisingly good run of form saw us take 1^st for a few weeks, and kept us in and around the playoffs for almost half the season. With 10 games to go we were still equal on points with 5^th, but injury struck at the worst possible time to our star central defender. With him out for the rest of the season the squad struggled badly, winning just 1 from the last 13. We were simply unable to see out games, losing points in the last 10 minutes in at least 10-15 games throughout the season. 15^th isn’t a bad result considering the quality of the squad, but it feels oh so bitter knowing where we started.

Finances are…interesting at the moment. After our takeover the new Board have invested over $1.3m into the squad, and our balance sheet is an extremely healthy $1m at the end of the season. However, because we have that big $4m loan for the new stadium, our situation is viewed as ‘insecure’, and the Board won’t open up for wages or any facility improvements. Sensible yes, but it will mean that I will be unable to re-sign our star goalkeeper, central defender, and AMR for next season. Looks like I’ll be fielding a team of kids!

New Intake

Same as last year really. No stand outs, but as Skinner showed the right mix of game time and determination can serve even a 16 year old well in this league

Ryan Bray (YP2a) – A big central defender in the Skinner mould. With my other main central back leaving, I’m hoping Bray can step up equally well!

Shane Norris (YP2b) – Another central defender, though less obvious quality. Will get game time through rotation next year.

Dayle Webb (YP2c) – A bit of pace and not much else. With both starting and backup AMRs leaving or retiring, he will be thrown into the starting lineup. Fingers crossed he survives…

Arran Crace (YP2d) – Will need to work hard to fulfil that 5-star potential. He’s behind two AMLs already, so I might retrain him to bolster the centre of the park.

Warren Westlake (YP2e) – Some nice stats, and will compete for the starting AML spot next season.

Simon Gibbs (YP2f) – a 203cm striker! There must be something in the water in Cambridge! Gibbs offers an exciting new dimension as a big target man with decent stats, so will be around the first team next year.

Intake One

Glen Coker (YP1a) - did reasonably well, and ended up with 9 goals in 34 (7) playing as our lone man up front. While not the best return, he helped our three AMs collect 25 between them, so he fits the system.

Graham Skinner (YP1b) – the success story of a bad season. He’s come on a huge amount, and finished the season with the highest average rating and MoM performances in the whole league! I was chuffed

Danny Milton (YP1c) – has not taken his chances, will play second fiddle next year unless injuries strike again.

Stefan Salmon (YP1d) – Not progressing that well, and is down the order at the moment.

David Threlfall (YP1e) – Same as above.

Next Season

1. Survival – again! I’ll have a team full of kids, so it will be tough

2. Work Gibbs the giant into my system

Season     League                 Position    FA Cup      League Cup    JP Trophy    FA Trophy    Europe    Achievments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14     Blue Square Bet North   16th       1st Rd        N/A              N/A             3rd Qual       N/A        Survived!
2014/15     Blue Square Bet North   15th       2nd Qual     N/A              N/A             3rd Qual       N/A    

[XaW]

Got myself a familiar face as a coach. Nice stats as well.

[Tactic Master]

Got myself a familiar face as a coach. Nice stats as well.

He will teach your strikers how to miss the net

[joel1031]

Youth challenge for me last year was the pinnacle of difficulty in the game. I'll be giving this a go for sure, though hopefully this time with more success

[XaW]

He will teach your strikers how to miss the net

I hope he teaches them how to play like he did at Liverpool, not Chelsea.

[Tactic Master]

I hope he teaches them how to play like he did at Liverpool, not Chelsea.

I hope he does too, but it's worth noting that his problems started at Liverpool, so Chelsea can't take any blame for his inability to put the ball in the net

I do think that even though he's been down-graded in FM13, I still think his stats don't reflect real life!

[XaW]

Damnit, Gladbach are trying to steal my youth players! Gotta keep giving them new contracts to counter it.

[joel1031]

Anyone else have a problem trying to do this as France? Selected all the leagues, holidayed a season, came back and it won't let me select any teams from the lower league. :/

[Jambo98]

SC Salgueiros 08

Season 3 - 2015/16

Final position – Portuguese Second League -19th

League Table

Past positions

Overview

Survival, by what in Scotland would be known as a “a bawhair”….. We started by losing our first 2 games, which confirmed my fears that this was going to be a serious step up. However, something amazing then happened. We went on a run of 4 wins and a draw, and kept clean sheets in all 5 games. This earned us the “park the bus” achievement (for 5 consecutive clean sheets). First time I have ever achieved this in any FM version! From there we collapsed to 7 defeats in the next 9, and went 12 without a win which sent us plummeting. We managed to pick things up around the turn of the year, picking up the odd win and draw to keep us from being cut adrift, and we never hit rock bottom.

A harsh run in had left us second from bottom going into the last game (bottom 3 go down). We had to win and hope that the 2 teams above us didn’t win. We were away against a mid table team who had nothing to play for, so I fancied we could sneak it, but would be relying on others. In an incredibly nervy match we sneaked a 2 v 1 with a cracking goal from our left midfielder, and the other 2 did indeed fail to win. We had stayed up, against the odds, and from a relegation position going into the final day! Phew……..

Finances continued to be dire. We had a new chairman mid season (via elections) who didn’t provide investment, but took out a 250K loan to clear the existing debt. At 1.5K per month, the repayments wont cripple us but it just restarted the trend of losing money each month and sliding back into debt. We managed to renew pretty much all contracts in the playing staff, but its sending the wage bill up quite a bit. Unless finances improve next year, we might lose a player or 3 

Post season we also had another message about planning permission for stadium being blocked (I remember this happening every year in my FC Utd attempt…….) and also that our training facilities had been downgraded…..

Best players

Ze Francisco – One of the original squad, and at 25 plenty time left in him. He really excelled in the AMR spot and ended the season as our top scorer with 13. Not a great reflection on our strikers, but a good return from a winger.

Miguel – Another of the originals, plays as a defensive winger in the ML spot and his defensive work is vital. Also popped up with 10 assists, largely thanks to his excellent crossing ability. I like the balance he gives us by being defensive on the opposite side to Ze Francisco

Couto – Keeps his place in our “best 3” for the 3rd year, although now under pressure from a number of promising young centre backs. He will need to step up a bit.

Youth intake

On face value this was another great intake. However what I am finding is my Ass Managers ratings in all my intakes is never really backed up by the player attributes………with the exception , of course, of my “rented mule”………Probably the best youth ive had in any of my attempts at this :D

So the YP are:

YP03a – Benjamin Abel – What can you say about this guy? Wow. Ass Man believes he has the potential to be a leading premier league AMC. Biggest challenge is going to be keeping hold of him, but he will certainly go right into the first team as probably my star player. Coach Report

YP03b – Ibraima Silva – Looks like a target man type, and given the lack of success from last years striker intake, he could see game time soon. Liking the idea of this big battering ram with the finesse of Abel in behind potentially….

Youth update

YP01a - Anselmo Boissy – Suffered from injuries this term, limiting his game time to only 50% of our matches. Bit worried about lack of physical development, which is probably hampered by us not having a fitness coach. Still remains on track to be first choice next year

YP01b - Ruben Chastre – A really mainstay, and handled a heavy work load this season due to lack of backups. 6 goals was a nice return from the DMC position. Also needs physical development to compete at this level.

YP02a – Paulo Carvalho – Hmm, a striker who has yet to score in 21 appearances (granted mostly as sub). Made worse by my 3rd youth striker, who looks rubbish, scoring on his only appearance. Carvalho is likely to see some reserve or loan time to either make or break him.

YP02b – Cley – Only made 2 appearances due to a couple of other youths coming through stronger at left back. Another who might get some loan time if possible

Transfers - Clean as a whistle....... 3 retirees, 2 youths released. Interestingly Andre, who my Ass Man rated as at best 2 star potential, was picked up by Maritimo. Could be a bad decision to let him go

Next season aims

1) Survive

2) Develop physical side of my youths (eg hire a fitness coach)

3) Somehow try to not make a loss, so I can afford an upgrade or 2

[korvalis]

Anyone else have a problem trying to do this as France? Selected all the leagues, holidayed a season, came back and it won't let me select any teams from the lower league. :/

You can't select any of the CFA leagues to play in, easiest way to do is to select one of teams promoted from the CFA after the year's holiday.

[Braumiller]

Excelsior Veldwezelt

Season 9 Review (2021-22)

Season 9 (2021-22)

Swimming With The Big Fish

So, after 8 seasons of build-up it was finally time to jump into dangerous waters.

How would a team built from their youth system fare in the Belgian Pro League?

The media predicted a straight up last place finish (16th) and the board set the seasons target at consolidating.

Well, if you name is Nirmal Hmar (YP 4a) and you are the playmaker of a newly promoted team, you put said team on your back and embark on a magical first half of the season.

This screenshot showing the Pro League Player of the Month should say it all.

His valuation went from a season starting 350k up to 1.6m! (My next highest valued player was just 180k). His reputation also went from National to Continental, so it was not going unnoticed either.

Sadly, if you live by the sword you often die by the sword. Nirmal's contract was down to 18 months left and he would not negotiate, immediately rejecting my offers of a fully maxxed out deal. So, I added him to the transfer list with a valuation of 7m and offered him around. Understandably he was not happy, but he did not kick up a public fuss at least. During January no-one came in for him, despite dropping my asking price down to 5.5m and so I removed him from the list on February 1st and tried to make friends again.

The episode definitely had a negative effect on the team though and the final couple of months we were not anywhere near our best.

Our final league position was a fantastic 6th place.

This was our position after the 30 league games, and that placed us in the Championship playoff group where the top 6 play each other home and away to decide european places!

League points from the 30 game regular season are halved (any half point totals are rounded up, so if you had 45 points it becomes 23) and so excitement was high.

Sadly, outside of the bottom two relegation places I would say the worst spot to be in this league is 6th place and being an overachieving team coming back down to reality!

We actually won our first game, but then didn't register another win in the final 9 games against the best in the league week in and week out. Brutal.

That said, 6th place is still fantastic! - Regular Season League Table - Final Championship Group Table

(Start of the season odds....)

Ok. Bullet-point updates.

* Youth Intake was disappointing. Only one tag handed out. Gaston Beckers (YP 9a) - Report

* Played 16 'home' games at Genk's 32k stadium while work done on ours. Attendances ranged from 8k to 13k, with the exception of our game against Genk, when it was 29k! Increased revenues were a HUGE help with our debt.

* Our stadium upgrade was finished in March and our remaining 4 home games were sellouts of 6,516

* The board injected funds 3 times to the tune of 1.8m during the season as we were in debt badly due to the enforced stadium upgrade.

* This and the increased attendances helped push us up to just 500k in debt by the seasons end.

* The day after our last game of the season (there were still other games to play) a new 1500 seat expansion to the ground was announced (to push us to a shade over 8k capacity). Will be done by December, while work goes on capacity is down to 6k.

* This cost us 1.8m, again no loans so we were straight back down to 2.3m in debt

* 6th place finish in the league netted 2.8m prize money!!! Pushing us into the black finally.

* With the balance looking better and the new seasons budgets set (and then massaged to allow max wages and zero transfer budget) I was able to negotiate with Nirmal! He agreed to a 2.2k pw deal (next highest was 800 pw), increases to 3.1k a week on 1st international appearance and with a 400 appearance bonus (next highest in the squad in 100). Expensive, but could not let him walk at the end of the upcoming season. Tied him down for a full 5 years too!

* Nirmal Hmar (YP 4a)'s Pro League performance was record setting!

With attendances on the rise it will be interesting to see if we continually undertake small incremental stadium expansions. I would love to do one large expansion, but I do not see this board going that route. Currently the offseason sees us go deep into debt with the expansion and we try aand work our way out of it during the season, receive prize money to break even and then big debt again as we expand.

While the expansion is nice, and eventual increased revenues are badly needed, their are no windows for me to ask for and receive facility upgrades currently.

At the end of the season I was finally able to offer my coaches new full time contracts, and even add my first u21 coach so they can train above a 1.5 star rating!

If were can stay in the Pro League, the behind the scenes progress may be slow, but it is at least moving.

Other Season 9 Screenshots

Nirmal in Golden Eleven

Seven in Belgium Prelim u21 Euro Champ Squad - Very happy to see so many breaking into the u21s. Future is looking good!

Season 10 Targets

* Mid table

* Improve bank balance

* Facility upgrades

* Hire better Head of Youth Development

* Bring more fringe players into the fold. I have a good 12-13 players, but then a drop off to pure u19s. I need to give first team experience to more kids and give them a chance.

[Braumiller]

Miss a day or two of thread action and the place goes crazy! Great to see

Welcome and good luck korvalis & steboyuk

Shakes, great progress - congrats on promotion!

Elsmurfo - good luck with the kids. My management style here is to throw them in the first team as soon as possible if they have the potential. Better in the long run for me and them!

Wow, Jambo98 - great escape!

[Jambo98]

Thanks Braumiller, amazing progress your making. If i get anywhere near the top league, let alone top half of it, in 8 seasons i will be chuffed!

Great to see so many others joining - Good luck with Cambridge El Smurfo, cambridge united were actually my first ever Lower league team in Champ man days!

[aldojags]

Survival, by what in Scotland would be known as a “a bawhair”…..

hahaha classic mate

[ElSmurfo]

Shakes, your promotion gives me hope. We've been poor in the first two games of the new season with 4/5 kids playing first team, but that seems like the only way we'll progress so I'll stick with it. The biggest challenge is our youth goalkeeper who has been very poor. 4.5 star potential, but only 3 silver star current ability. Going to need to score a bunch of goals to counteract that

Amazing work again Braumiller! Has Hmar been called up to the national team? Surely not too far away with those kinds of ratings. Nice survival too Jambo. I'm loving Cambridge at the moment, one of my favourite FM games so far

[Shakes]

Shakes, your promotion gives me hope. We've been poor in the first two games of the new season with 4/5 kids playing first team, but that seems like the only way we'll progress so I'll stick with it. The biggest challenge is our youth goalkeeper who has been very poor. 4.5 star potential, but only 3 silver star current ability. Going to need to score a bunch of goals to counteract that

They should grow pretty quickly, with the depth in the youth intakes England seems to give you don't be afraid to throw them back to the youth team and try someone else if they're not playing well.

Having poor keepers is tough ... it undid me on this challenge in Italy last year, my main keeper and backup got injured and I was left playing a 1/2 silver star guy, I don't think he stopped a single shot.

[DemFings]

This is my first post on these boards and my first attempt at a challenge like this. I'm certainly jumping in the deep end - wish me luck!

Lowestoft Town FC

In an era of superstar players earning skyrocketing salaries and EPL football becoming a billion dollar worldwide business, the gulf between the professional and semi-professional game in England has never been wider.

How then do small-town professional teams compete for media and fan attention in an increasingly crowded marketplace?

The local club of the sleepy seaside town of Lowestoft have certainsly adopted a novel approach for the 2013/14 season, their first in the Blue Square North. Lowestoft Town have pledged to compete from now on using only products of their own youth team!

This unorthodox approach in the brainchild of little-known Australian manager DemFings, whose most recent claim to fame is guiding Wrexham back into the Football League on FM12 with a core of largely local talent. DemFings is relying on the Lowestoft and wider East Suffolk region to produce a steady stream of promising young players. However, with the notable exception of former international Terry Butcher and a handful of former solid pros, the area has failed to consistently produce players of a high standard.

Time will tell as to whether the Lowestoft Town experiment goes down as a noble failure or as a model for semi-professional football in the future.

[Steboyuk]

Good luck DemFings.

Another great season Braumiller, Hmar signing that deal will surely guarantee you to some decent money if necessary.

ElSmurfo, keep at it, sounds like you've got the 'bug' that this challenge can provide which is good to hear, I knew Skinner could be a beast, what a season. I will be looking forward to seeing how big Simon Gibbs gets on for you!

Onto me at Fylde and a great season has seen us go the first 5 games unbeaten, winning 4 and drawing 1. Manager of the month at the first time of asking can't be bad! Must be noted though that I've had what I guess is a really easy start. My first two games were against fellow promoted sides, a scrappy 1 - 0 win away at Chorley, before we welcomed Bury Town and hammered them 6 - 2. A 3 - 1 win away at Bradford PA flattered us somewhat before two games against better opposition - we dropped our first points of the season at home to Droylsden in a 1 - 1 stalemate, before a real tough game away at relegated AFC Telford who were 3rd in the table. A really good battling performance from us saw us snatch a goal and all three points - Targetman James Dean with a header from a lovely cross by right back Carden. It was back to the walls after that and Telford hit the woodwork twice.. Still, great start.

[mthielen]

Second time at Liège i got to the 7th round of the Belgian Cup

Beating a Division 2 team in the 5th round and beating a Pro League team in the 6th round, so i'm happy with that

KV Mechelen is also in the Pro league so no shame to lose to them in extra time

[Braumiller]

Amazing work again Braumiller! Has Hmar been called up to the national team? Surely not too far away with those kinds of ratings.

As of right now Johan Walem (current manager of the Belgium national side) has not looked in Veldwezelt's direction for any of his selections. Saving me money though, as most of these guys have clauses giving them a hefty wage increase on their first cap!

Another great season Braumiller, Hmar signing that deal will surely guarantee you to some decent money if necessary.

Hoping so. He has had some injury problems at the start of the next season, but after fighting them off he is repaying our financial investment in him so far.

Second time at Liège i got to the 7th round of the Belgian Cup

Beating a Division 2 team in the 5th round and beating a Pro League team in the 6th round, so i'm happy with that

KV Mechelen is also in the Pro league so no shame to lose to them in extra time

Fantastic run mthielen! Did the fixture congestion cause any issues with your league form?

A good cup run in the Belgian lower leagues is the only real cause of 2 games a week, which was a hinderance to me sometimes while I was short on players in the first few seasons.

[korvalis]

Bah, never really got settled in Italy, I was scoring a lot of goals, but had the age old problem of conceding more. Got the boot after 29 games rooted to the bottom of the league.

As a reward for a first season failure, I'm off for a game of unpronounceables in Russia. Will return later with team details.

[Gundo]

Hi guys, been following this thread for a while and I'm impressed with the progress some of you have made already.

I have started this challenge in Norway as part of another challenge and was just wondering if anyone has any first season tips or words of wisdom they could share? I'd be really grateful.

[Jambo98]

SC Salgueiros 08

Season 4 - 2016/17

Final position – Portuguese Second League -18th

League Table

Past position

Overview

Was not sure what to expect this season, wanted to avoid the drama of last seasons great escape, but we are still very much a work in progress so didn’t expect to move up the league too much. Main focus was just on more development for the youths, and seeing if we can harness our superstar.

The season was one of inconsistency, a first game win was followed by 5 straight defeats, followed by a mid season run of 11 games without defeat which gave us enough of a platform to mean that relegation was never a real fear. Around this time, we took the plunge to change tactic. Our rigid defensive shape had served its purpose and to have long term success we needed to start the transition towards a more balanced and potent approach. On the whole it was a success, we certainly scored more but a little fragile at the back (not helped by hapless goalkeeping).

In the end our final league position was only one place up on last season, but that’s not the full story. We actually lost all of our last 5 games, and without that we would have been around 15th/16th. Annoyed at how the season ended and need to look at why we are so streaky and inconsistent for next year.

We also managed a run in the Taca de Portugal, getting all the way to the quarter finals! This led to us getting a dream draw – Benfica away. The gate receipts from that one match were more than for the rest of the season combined, which was a nice boost. We lost 3 nil but didn’t disgrace ourselves.

Financially its still the same, still making a loss despite a wage budget that has hardly gone up since season 1. We did manage a Junior coaching upgrade, but were again denied permission for a stadium. Quite worried that we will never get one, in an FM12 save I had once the planning permission was denied once, it was always denied 

Best players

Benjamin Abel – Our superstar lived up to his billing. 8 goals and 11 assists from midfield is a great first season return, and his Ave Rating is miles above anything we have had. Still settling on his absolute best role, but he looks like he could carry this team as long as we can keep hold of him.

Norinho – A return to form for our main striker, establishing a new team goalscoring record in the process. He benefited from the changed formation and scored goals at a much greater rate after it. He will likely continue up too as our youths not ready, but will need to start rotating them in to get them ready

Ze Francisco – Another good season on the wing from this wide man, 8 goals a good return from that position in a bottom half team.

Youth intake

Not the best, not the worst. Again still think my Ass Man is over optimistic in his potential ability ratings…… as a side note, I have hired/fired different heads of youth development every single season so far (first season I didn’t even have one, had a DoF do the job) and it doesn’t seem to make much difference to my intakes!

So the YP are:

YP04a – Joao Paulo – Looks a useful CM, with potential to go on. Good enough to back up the first team this coming season

YP04b – Paulo Medeiros – A good prospect in a position where we have had 4 or 5 mediocre prospects come through previously. Has a chance to leapfrog a few of those in the depth chart.

Youth update

YP01a - Anselmo Boissy – Wasn’t actually that pleased with his performances this year. His stats make him our most accomplished CB, but his average rating was a disappointment. Under pressure from 2 other decent prospects and may lose his place with a bad start next season

YP01b - Ruben Chastre – Mr consistent yet again. Missed only one match all season and was always solid if unspectacular . Every team needs someone like him in the middle.

YP02a – Paulo Carvalho – probably mis managed him a bit. After his terrible season last season he slipped down to 3rd choice striker, but I also didn’t loan him out meaning he played very little football. Did score 11 in the reserves, so may still develop

YP02b – Cley – Got more gametime than I expected as I sold my first choice LB, but his performances weren’t great. Still learning, and will be in the mix to be first choice next year.

YP03a – Benjamin Abel – Covered above, a class above the rest of the team.

YP03b – Ibraima Silva – A much used sub, and gave him some starts near the end of the season. Like how his attributes are developing and trying to give more starts next year.

Transfers - Clean as a whistle....... a bit of squad pruning as wage budge became an issue. Also our first ever cash sale, who was our first choice LB, but with 3 good prospects, his high wage became dispensable. Also loaned out our first player to our feeder team.

Next season aims

1) Transition towards more attacking/balanced football

2) Break into the top 15 and establish ourself in this league.

Season     League                         Position      Cup          Europe    Achievments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14    Second Division South     10th       1st Rd        N/A            None
2014/15    Second Division South     1st          2nd Rd      N/A            Champions / Promotion!
2015/16    Second League               19th        3rd Rd       N/A            Survived
2016/17    Second League               18th        Q/finals      N/A            Survived 

[Steboyuk]

That's a shame korvalis, this challenge is the hardest going so keep the faith if you can, will be good to see you back.

Gundo, first of all welcome. My tips are to really look into your squad - find out what tactic suits your best players and try and get the most out of them. Obviously another bit of advice is to not write off players to early - you don't have many options so give some a fair chance if you can. Another thing is retraining and mentoring - plays a big role in this challenge, retrain players so they can cover a range of positions if possible, wingers and fullbacks so they can play both sides, maybe retrain a big centre back to a striker to be used as an emergency target-man for example. And mentoring as well to hopefully get the best out of your young players whilst also creating good relationships within the squad.

That's the crux of the challenge for me, keeping that squad morale high - When I took Staines to the Championship doing this I ended up with a squad who were 'willing to die for each other', and despite my players being nowhere near Championship standard we really did make up for it.

Good luck.

[Gundo]

That's a shame korvalis, this challenge is the hardest going so keep the faith if you can, will be good to see you back.

Gundo, first of all welcome. My tips are to really look into your squad - find out what tactic suits your best players and try and get the most out of them. Obviously another bit of advice is to not write off players to early - you don't have many options so give some a fair chance if you can. Another thing is retraining and mentoring - plays a big role in this challenge, retrain players so they can cover a range of positions if possible, wingers and fullbacks so they can play both sides, maybe retrain a big centre back to a striker to be used as an emergency target-man for example. And mentoring as well to hopefully get the best out of your young players whilst also creating good relationships within the squad.

That's the crux of the challenge for me, keeping that squad morale high - When I took Staines to the Championship doing this I ended up with a squad who were 'willing to die for each other', and despite my players being nowhere near Championship standard we really did make up for it.

Good luck.

Great thanks for the advice. I'm currently retraining a handful to be more versatile and I have also realised the importance of morale and keeping it high. This will all help me progress, thanks again.

[korvalis]

Thanks Steboyuk. Just looking through the new team now myself, most of the star players are on the defensive half of the pitch so hopefully I won't concede so many this time round. As for the team selected I've taken over the relatively new team of Dnepr Smolensk (founded 2004). Whilst they are predicted to finish last, I couldn't resist the temptation of eventually upsetting the old guard.

Manager Profile

Team Information

Team Facilities

[Steboyuk]

Good luck mate, like the idea of taking over a new team - I thought my AFC Fylde side was young at 25 years old!

[Super Bladesman]

I'm not one for screenshots, but I'm going to give this challenge a go and report back on progress.

The random number generator led me to France, where I had a choice of AS Cannes (adequate youth facilities, 12K stadium), two other clubs, or Pacy Football (minimal youth facilities, 2.4K stadium).

There was only one choice. Pacy-Vallée D'Eure Football it is Semi-pro "Le PVEF" were founded in 1932, and are predicted 14th in the National.

[mthielen]

Fantastic run mthielen! Did the fixture congestion cause any issues with your league form?

A good cup run in the Belgian lower leagues is the only real cause of 2 games a week, which was a hinderance to me sometimes while I was short on players in the first few seasons.

Well the time i suddenly have 5 -6 strikers of which 2 are good and the rest are decent.

So i play with 3 strikers cause i have enough back-ups. The other positions in my team i have 1 back-up for most, for some i have 2

so i don't have any problems with having enough players, but i do have a problem not having enough young players. So 2/4 of my benchplayers are randomly generated each match

[Braumiller]

Well, just finished my season and I will put the review together later. All I will say is that I feel violated....

[ElSmurfo]

Mid-way through the season and am really struggling to fire. One place off relegation, and have been under threat of sack all season. I just can't seem to get my young team scoring goals or grinding out draws! The Board unrealistically expected a top-half finish, so fingers crossed they don't sack me even if we do manage to survive...

[Super Bladesman]

Haha - first game in charge, and Pacy Football have beaten FC Nantes 1-0 in a friendly.