My Greatest Challenge: Knocking Fergie Right Off His ****ing Perch. And You Can Print That

[Raware]

Good start at Dortmund AK . Surprised you left Betis but I suppose 3rd place finishes aren't going to propel you closer to SAF or Jose.

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - February/March 2031

Surely I can't get sacked yet, can I?! I've only been here four months; give the boy a chance! Fair enough, the past two months have been pretty close to abysmal, but I still don't think that deserves the flak I'm getting off the board. In fact, I received the message below just before the Gladbach game, when I'd only lost five games out of the fourteen contested; that's hardly a terrible record for someone taking over a side that was third bottom! Either they're very precious here in West Germany, or something's terribly sensitive in the game's dynamics; either way, I may not see the season out at this rate, as my job status is 'precarious' and confidence is at rock bottom.

Of course, I understand the board's concern, as we're now out of the Europa League and a long way from the top five finish that would guarantee continental football next season, but this is not totally all my doing. That said, we've only won two of the last nine, and we'll need to turn this around sharpish if we're to finish in the top half; surely, if we're good enough to beat the league leaders, then we're good enough to get ourselves out of this mess too.

​

Next Time

Well, at this rate, there may not be a next time. Thankfully, there is a chance of redemption, as we'll play Schalke, Hoffenheim and HSV in our next three fixtures; all teams below us in the table, and all great opportunities to ease some of the pressure. Of course, if we don't win these, it may well be curtains for me.

[AK22]

Dortmund are also a club I've enjoyed in Germany. Looks like a great record so far

Good luck at Dortmund, love their stadium and fans.

Everyone seems to love Dortmund! They're just Norwich in disguise

My journeyman save in FM12 saw me spend four happy years at Dortmund. An excellent choice.

Wálter Castro looks sensational and still only 23! He has another 15 years in him!

Yeah, he's a brilliant prospect. Straight into the starting XI too, which is a bit of a risk considering he doesn't speak German yet, and could be a contributing factor to our shoddy form.

That's quite a start, good luck.

Great start.

An excellent start. Let's hope you can get some trophies on the board in Germany.

Great start with Dortmund' date=' hopefully you can get back on the trophy run.[/quote']

Cheers, it was a good start. Now it's all gone to pot I hope I can see the season out, rebuild, and come back stronger next year.

A great career on the go here, and I think it's just a matter of time before you start rising up the rankings and achieve your goals.

Interesting job offers too - I would say all five would intrigue me. New York had a ridiculous salary cap which would've come in very useful, but as you said, you're not ready for the MLS again yet (I'm biased, I love the madness ). Spurs would've been a safe choice, but England is a tough one to get into, especially in the time period you're in. The TV deals will have had decades almost to bed in, so everyone will be super-powered. It's a weird league late on in saves. Hoffenheim would be run well, but can't help feeling you'd be battered by the bigger clubs, including Dortmund who you ended up with. If Bayern are anywhere near as good as they were in my save, they'll be the ones to watch out for.

Good luck in Germany - great place to manage.

Thanks forameuss

Bayern are no longer as dominant as you would have thought; Gladbach are top dogs now, and are consistently the team to beat. I'm determined to get to grips with the MLS, but that can wait until a bit later on in the save.

Good luck at Dortmund

Yay, Dortmund!

Good start at Dortmund AK . Surprised you left Betis but I suppose 3rd place finishes aren't going to propel you closer to SAF or Jose.

Thanks all After a such a baron spell, winning trophies is my main priority for now. That said, it ain't going great at the moment; I don't want to be sacked again!

[Rikulec]

Uh. Didn't see that coming.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Oh dear Hopefully you'll turn it round

[P O\'D]

wow thats a bit of a kick. good month and it will all be forgotten though.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Did your shoes wear out in Betis?

[forameuss]

I'm sick of all the careers with endless success, so this is refreshing. What you're really doing here is providing a service AK22, showing us that it's OK not to be amazing all of the time.

Someone knight the man.

[Lenzar]

I'm now really getting into this one. It is a gripping read and I find myself wanting AK22 to do really well.

It helps that I find Alex Ferguson a horrible man, of course..

[rancer890]

Hope you can stay up AK!

[Paolo Willenté]

That OFK Beograd ground is ridiculous! What is their world ranking in comparison with some of the other big-stadium'd teams?

A good job in Spain but like you said, breaking that top 2 would have been a massive task and time wasted in pursuit of your main targets.

Not a terrible start in Germany but seems it could be all over before it's begun. Good luck in turning it around!

[AcidBurn]

Poor start but if you survive it'll make success even sweeter, good luck!

[cerud]

Ouch! Time for a fight back and to shut the detractors up!

[JackJCFC]

Hope you can turn it around, not looking good!

[Crispypaul]

Hang in there, I'm sure you'll be fine.

I like the 5-2 home loss to Hertha Berlin though

[B.W.G]

I really hope you have an upturn in fortune,you deserve a shot at a big club!

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - April/May 2031

After quite a major scare, I'm still just about employed, although there's still murmurs of discontent rumbling around in the background; these are really quite unjustified considering we've just been on a six games winning streak! After such a torrid spell, it's quite a relief to see the side returning to winning ways in such convincing fashion, and really bodes well for the season ahead (if I'm still in charge!).

The main cause of aggravation is that we've missed out on European qualification; the board expecting to be in next season's Europa League competition. We've finished only four points off doing so, with the poor run through February and March being the main attributable factor, so I can understand the frustration, but I still think we've improved ten fold since my arrival at the club.

[AK22]

Uh. Didn't see that coming.

Oh dear Hopefully you'll turn it round

wow thats a bit of a kick. good month and it will all be forgotten though.

Thankfully' date=' we've had that good month!

Did your shoes wear out in Betis?

I think so (although I'm not 100% certain I'm sure what you're getting at :o )

I'm sick of all the careers with endless success, so this is refreshing. What you're really doing here is providing a service AK22, showing us that it's OK not to be amazing all of the time.

Someone knight the man.

I'd like to be amazing for a bit, though

I'm now really getting into this one. It is a gripping read and I find myself wanting AK22 to do really well.

It helps that I find Alex Ferguson a horrible man, of course..

That's my motivation too

Hope you can stay up AK!

Thanks rancer Staying up was never in doubt, though.

That OFK Beograd ground is ridiculous! What is their world ranking in comparison with some of the other big-stadium'd teams?

A good job in Spain but like you said, breaking that top 2 would have been a massive task and time wasted in pursuit of your main targets.

Not a terrible start in Germany but seems it could be all over before it's begun. Good luck in turning it around!

OFK are easily the richest club in Serbia, with an estimated value of £100m, which also makes them one of the richest in Europe too. Having the biggest stadium in Europe helps somewhat too, although they rarely sell-out. They've been Champions of Serbia twice, in 2021 and 2027, although they've never reached the knockout rounds of either of the European competitions.

Poor start but if you survive it'll make success even sweeter, good luck!

Ouch! Time for a fight back and to shut the detractors up!

Hope you can turn it around, not looking good!

Hang in there, I'm sure you'll be fine.

I like the 5-2 home loss to Hertha Berlin though

I really hope you have an upturn in fortune,you deserve a shot at a big club!

Thanks all I've survived the season, which was the main thing, and with us finishing on such a good run, I'm hoping we can continue in this vein when the new year commences. A few decent signings will really help, and although we can't offer European football, I'm still confident of being able to attract good players to the club.

[AK22]

Dortmund - End of Season 2030/31

Well, that was an eventful few months, where it was looking like I may face the second sacking of my career. Thankfully, I've seen the season out, and hope to prove to the board that they made the correct decision when they installed me as manager of the club.

Despite being knocked out in the early knockout rounds, we've done well to dramatically move up the European club rankings; this won't improve next season, though, due to our failure to finish in the top five.

Budesliga - 7th

DFB-Pokal - 2nd Round* (vs 1860 München) *Knocked out prior to my arrival*

Europa League - 1st Knockout Round (vs Sporting Lisbon)

Finances | Transfer Summary

Topscorer - Francis Besson (23 goals)

Most Assists - Luis Barla (14 assists)

Highest Average Rating - Francesco Petrella (7.36)

Fans Player of the Year - Fabio Mangili

So, what's wrong with this side? Well, despite being a bunch of thugs, probably not a lot. On their day, the players here could quite easily contend with most of the teams in the Bundesliga, asides from maybe Gladbach and Bayern, and have enough quality to be regularly qualifying for European football. The main problem of the season gone is that once they had a rocky spell, the morale completely drained from the squad, and instead of bucking their ideas up and focussing on turning things around, the majority started complaining that the club was underachieving and lost interest. That said, the squad could still do with a bit more quality in places, as we're missing a solid holding midfielder, in addition to sufficient striker cover, but in the whole, I don't think we'll need to improve on much if we're to return to the top of the table; we'll just need to start the season in good form, and keep spirits high.

[AK22]

Fergie/José Watch

It's another trophy-less season for me:

But, Gallo's added another trophy to his collection:

Season     Team              League                     Finish    Cups                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    4th       Cupen 1st Round
2014       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    2nd       Cupen 2nd Round
2014/15    Taranto FC 1927   2nd Divisione Girone A     4th       N/A
2015/16    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     6th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro SF
2016/17    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     4th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro 2nd Round
2017/18    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     N/A*      * Resigned 14/12/17
          Tigre             Primera B Nacional         11th      Sacked 26/05/18
2018/19    S. Urfaspor       1. Lig                     1st       Türkiye Kupasi 2nd QR
2019/20    S. Urfaspor       Süper Lig                  8th       Türkiye Kupasi 2nd QR
2020/21    S. Urfaspor       Süper Lig                  N/A*      * Resigned 12/01/21
          Rangers           Scottish Premier League    2nd       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup SF
2021/22    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    2nd       Scottish FA Cup Winner, Scottish League Cup QF
2022/23    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    1st       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup QF
2023/24    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    1st       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup 4R, CL 1st KO
2024       Toronto           MLS                        8th       N/A
2025       Toronto           MLS                        N/A       * Resigned 16/03/25
2024/25    Betis             La Liga                    11th      N/A
2025/26    Betis             La Liga                    4th       Copa del Rey 4th Round
2026/27    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League Last 16, Copa del Rey 5th Round
2027/28    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Europa League Winner, Copa del Rey Winner
2028/29    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League QF, Copa del Rey QF
2029/30    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League SF, Copa del Rey SF
2030/31    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 7th       N/A

[P O\'D]

you did well to finish where you did and given an even chance next season you'll easily make your goal.

[hamilton162]

I've been following this thread as a lurker since you started AK22 and I have to say I've found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. Not many people would have been brave enough to leave Betis like that, in such a comfortabe position, possibly myself included, so kudos for that Very interesting start at Dortmund, hopefully Germany will yield a few more trophies than Spain did!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I think so (although I'm not 100% certain I'm sure what you're getting at :o )

About you kicking the door down.

[Nobby_McDonald]

I'm sick of all the careers with endless success, so this is refreshing. What you're really doing here is providing a service AK22, showing us that it's OK not to be amazing all of the time.

Someone knight the man.

You should read mine then. 27 years and I've still not reached the Premier League.

[denzil85]

I've read this in full over the last few hours. It's certainly been an interesting career path. I'm considering doing something similar myself, but don't have the patience to write it up alongside playing.

[Paolo Willenté]

Solid end to the season. Good luck for the coming season!

[deltablue]

Great end to the season.

[JackJCFC]

Shame you couldn't get into Europe but now you have no distractions and can put a full on assault on the league!

[AK22]

Dortmund - Pre-Season 2031/32

This will be my first full season in charge of a club, and the main aim is to re-establish the club up alongside Bayern and Gladbach; anything less than this and I will consider the season a failure. That said, I'm not expecting to be winning the league straight-away but, for a club of this stature, a top three finish is where we should be looking. The board only want Europa League qualification, which should be easily achievable; this gives a transfer budget of £3.7m, with a wage budget of £1.1m per week (which we're already spending). This isn't a great deal of money, but it's hardly surprising considering we won't be competing in Europe this year; I'll just have to be a bit thrifty!

We've been predicted by the media to finish sixth, which is considerably lower than I thought. Our title odds are also quite long, joint sixth favourites at 33-1; Gladbach and Bayern are 5-1 joint favourites, 16-1 Leverkusen, 20-1 Frankfurt, 25-1 Wolfsburg and 33-1 Hannover. It's apparent that nobody really fancies us, which is fine, as this reduces the pressure that expectation brings, but I'd like to think we'll finish above Wolfsburg and Hannover, at least.

With little money to spend, and minimal flux in the wage budget, I've had to clear out a lot of players in order to free up the funds to make a couple of signings. Out have gone a lot of youngsters on loan, in particular to our parent club Middlesbrough, where they should get a fair amount of game time, in addition to the moving on of several players who have no future at the club. The most noticeable departure is of Francesco Petrella, the club captain, and a player with a big reputation; however, with him about to turn 34, and a salary demand of £175k per week, cashing him in is definitely the right move for the future of the club.

Przemyslaw Sowala - Highly rated, and the holding midfielder we were missing. He's German too, so that's a bonus.

Vagner - Brought in to cover Sowala. Should be a handy deputy.

[AK22]

you did well to finish where you did and given an even chance next season you'll easily make your goal.

Cheers' date=' I'm quietly confident for a good season

I've been following this thread as a lurker since you started AK22 and I have to say I've found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. Not many people would have been brave enough to leave Betis like that, in such a comfortabe position, possibly myself included, so kudos for that Very interesting start at Dortmund, hopefully Germany will yield a few more trophies than Spain did!

I hope so! Although Gladbach and Bayern are currently the two dominant teams, financially, we should be able to compete with them, something I wasn't able to do with Barcelona and Real Madrid when at Betis. If we can get back into the Champions League soon, we'll be on a fairly even playing field, and that's when I feel we'll be able to compete for trophies.

About you kicking the door down.

Yeah, it was securely locked and bolted. Not sure even a bulldozer would have got through

I've read this in full over the last few hours. It's certainly been an interesting career path. I'm considering doing something similar myself, but don't have the patience to write it up alongside playing.

Thanks denzil. I've switched to a bi-monthly update recently as the monthly style was getting a bit too time consuming, but writing up does definitely add to the whole 'FM experience'.

Solid end to the season. Good luck for the coming season!

Great end to the season.

Thanks chaps, I'm just glad last year is over and I've still got a job!

Shame you couldn't get into Europe but now you have no distractions and can put a full on assault on the league!

Yeah, I think this will work to our advantage. Our squad isn't massive, so not having European commitments will really help keep the players fresh for the league fixtures. We'll just have to suffer the financial hit.

[Dexter_Morgan]

At least at Dortmund a year without Europe is manageable with decent prize money for cups and the league plus gate money. Obviously Europe would have been handy but it's not a disaster.

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - August/September 2031

It's been an action-packed opening to the season, with goals galore and plenty of incident too. Most frustrating of all was the derby game against Schalke, a match that to'ed and fro'ed throughout, but, ultimately, saw us throw away a 4-3 lead in the second half, with an added time goal sealing our fate. With that match being three points dropped, the game against Gladbach was most very much a point rescued from the jaws of defeat; two late headed goals from defender Unai Fuentes doing the damage against the pre-season favourites.

It's been a competent start, which sees us already in the kind of ballpark I was expecting to be in (the top five). Most encouragingly, our away form has been terrific so far, a 100% record, which is something that we'll be looking to keep going as long as possible.

​

Next Time

We've been drawn away to Gladbach in the Second Round of the German Cup, so we'll need a great performance if we're to make it much further in the competition. It's a shame really, to get such a tricky tie so early on, as with no European football to contend with, a good cup run wouldn't go amiss, especially as the board would like us to 'reach the final'!

[AK22]

At least at Dortmund a year without Europe is manageable with decent prize money for cups and the league plus gate money. Obviously Europe would have been handy but it's not a disaster.

You're right. We'll still getting 80k+ for our home matches, so we should just about keep our heads above water

[B.W.G]

Good start to the season,shame you were on the wrong side of a thriller against Schalke.

[Rikulec]

Such a frustrating loss, still a good start.

[deltablue]

Of all the games to lose...

[JackJCFC]

Good start so far, Shalke match looks like a thriller.

[AcidBurn]

Schalke game must have been brilliant for Schalke fans and the neutrals. You've made a decent start in the league, good luck!

[rancer890]

Solid start to the league.

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - October/November 2031

Hendrik Engel, I could kiss you! 13 goals in nine games, including two hat-tricks; what a brilliant run of form! I'm playing two up top now, with Engel in a poacher role (and Francis Besson as DLF), and, boy, is he revelling in it; if he can keep this up, then we're going to have a very successful season. Of course, it's disappointing to be out of the cup already, but everyone understands that it was always going to be a difficult ask to beat Gladbach on their own patch; we'll be solely focusing on the league from now on in, so there's no excuses if we suffer a complete end of season collapse.

That's right, baby, we're top of a table! And with a four point advantage over the chasing pack too; it's an absolutely brilliant start to the season. It's been well deserved too, with us competing right up alongside the best teams in the country; I just hope Engel can keep on scoring!

​

Next Time

Our mettle will be severely tested over the winter period with trips to Munich and Gladbach either side of the Christmas break; if we're still top come February, then I might consider ourselves in with a good shot of becoming champions of Germany.

[AK22]

Good start to the season,shame you were on the wrong side of a thriller against Schalke.

Such a frustrating loss, still a good start.

Of all the games to lose...

Good start so far, Shalke match looks like a thriller.

Schalke game must have been brilliant for Schalke fans and the neutrals. You've made a decent start in the league, good luck!

Solid start to the league.

Thanks all, we're still going strong too

The Schalke game was completely demoralising! Firstly, I hate losing against rivals; no matter what league I'm managing in, I want to keep the fans happy. Secondly, conceding five goals is never particularly enjoyable to sit through. Surprisingly, even after this, we've still got one of the best defensive records in the league!

[Bracken]

Great stuff mate, keep it up and the title is yours

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - December/January 2031/32

I knew it was always going to be tough, so I can't say it's too surprising to lose against Bayern and Gladbach, but it's still disappointing nonetheless. Even more so now that our advantage at the top of the table has been eradicated, with the chasing pack all within touching distance; we can't afford to drop too many more points if we are going to finish the season as champions. That said, we're looking very good for Champions League qualification, which was the aim at the start of the year, so anything else will be a huge bonus.

Even though we've still been fairly free-scoring, Hendrik Engel's goals have dried up somewhat, with him failing to find the net in the crucial games against Gladbach and Bayern. Perhaps he's a bit of a flat-track pony, and goes missing in the big games, but at least he's back in track with a brace against Wolfsburg; he just needs to keep it going now.

And here's the Ballon d'Or winner - Clement Goodridge.

​

Next Time

We travel to Gelsenkirchen next month, to face our rivals Schalke, looking to revenge our early season defeat; either way, I definitely couldn't cope with another nine goal thriller! Them aside, our fixtures are quite favourable, with upcoming games against Düsseldorf (A), Köln (H), Kaiserslautern (H) and HSV (A); all very winnable.

[AK22]

Great stuff mate, keep it up and the title is yours

Maybe! I think it's going to be very close!

[AK22]

Borussia Dortmund - February/March 2032

Aargh, have we blown it? Maybe not yet, but the results against Köln, Werder Bremen and Schalke certainly haven't helped matters; we're wobbling! We totally bottled it against our rivals too, putting in a terrible display of nothingness in a game we really could have done with taking a point from; that's twice they've beaten us this season, and most definitely have the edge in the derby matches at the moment.

With Gladbach currently on a pitiful run, it's now looking like a two-horse race for the Bundesliga title. Bayern are favourites now, having taken 22 points from the last 24, and are the league's form team; we are by no means out of it, but we'll need them to slip up at least once if we're to pip them to the post.

And here's the pick of our youth intake - Köksal Ozyürek.

​

Next Time

So it's all about the run-in now. We'll host Bayern on 16th April, game 31 of the season, in a pivotal six-pointer which very well may decide who gets their hand on the trophy. There's also potentially tricky fixtures against Hertha Berlin (H) and Leverkusen (A) to get through too, so this may end going to the final week of the season (where we'll travel to Frankfurt and Bayern host Hertha).

[Rikulec]

Nothing's out of reach yet, you can still win the league. Good luck.

[AcidBurn]

It's going to be close and as you said the match against Bayern is very important and a must win game, good luck!

[Lenzar]

That one loss against Schalke may end up costing you the title. Keeping everything crossed for you to take your first league title in many years.

At least you're likely to get Champion's League football again.

[P O\'D]

Great season, going to be tight.

[hamilton162]

A question that crossed my mind reading that update; if you do indeed manage to claim some silverware in Germany, will you consider the last couple of years at Betis as a good learning experience or a waste of time which could have been better served at another club?