The Sammarinese Challenge.

[coady]

Another season flashes by as our ageing golden generation slowly start to get replaced.

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=1"]Club Transfers

We signed one excellent centre half and loaned steady Vallejo for a ninth successive season! These two in place of the two big sales. Cheniti & Vezu for a combined £84 million. Finally a solid sub keeper signed too.

Club Competitions

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=10"]Italian Super Cup - Two in a row, a great performance from Michaty.

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=6"]Serie A - Our best total ever, just shy of 100. Look at =141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=4"]Ralph Van Den Ban's record stat though!

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=11"]Italian Cup - Another win vs Juventus, still the most special competition to me for some reason.

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=7"]Champions Cup - Sublime until the final again, where we were just horrific. It should have been more really.

Youth Intake

Again solid for depth, but no stand outs. We finally got one of our more recent youth players to play for us, =141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=3"]Andrea Zanotti.

National Team Competitions

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=5"]European Nations Division B - We competed so well in this one. =141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=12"]A 4-1 thrashing of N.I. in the last game got us promoted again on goals scored!

=141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=15"]European Championship Qualifying - Two terrible minnows make this group a little easier. To be =141913051&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=17"]unbeaten after eight games is simply superb though. Our next game is Andorra at home, while Turkey play Denmark, with the high points tally, we're all but through already.

[leonavich]

That is a massive goals tally. Well done on another fantastic season Coady

[Jimbokav1971]

That is a massive goals tally. Well done on another fantastic season Coady

Absolutely.

I never managed more than 113. Very impressive.

[Jimbokav1971]

I don't usually do many club updates anymore, but this game was a bit special and deserves a mention.

Club Update. May 2042.

Italian Cup Final. Lazio v San Marino.

45th min. 0-0 at HT in a pretty drab match, I was confident that we would improve and win, but was also worried that the ref was looking a bit card-happy and this tends to cause us problems.

77th min. 1-0. We take the lead, (deservedly so), and I think the game is as good as over. They are not really threatening and it should be all done and dusted.

94th min. 1-1, (when there were only 3 minutes of injury time). They break down our left flank and some clever interplay allows the winger the time to pick his cross and the pretty average striker gets away from centre-back ***Matt (SMR/ITA) (Model Pro) (2034), scores a late late leveller and we are all square with nothing left on the clock.

95th min. Our centre-back, ***Matt (SMR/ITA) (Model Pro) (2034) who was asleep for their equaliser), scythes down an attacker in the penalty area and our central midfielder, Nicola (SMR) (Res), who has already been booked, is shown a 2nd yellow for dissent.

95th min. 1-2. Lúcio (F.Pro) * saves the penalty, but the rebound is slotted home and from being seconds away from lifting the cup, (again), we now find ourselves a goal down and a man down.

96th min. 2-2. Rob (SMR) (2033) (Model Pro), who started on the bench, scores a goal very similar to the Lazio equaliser, and we are all square again and it's game on, (albeit still a man down).

Because we saved a pen, (even though they scored from the rebound), and then we went on to score with 10 men, I actually thought we were winning again, but I soon realised we were still level and the game was finely poised.

111th min. 3-2. ***Matt (SMR/ITA) (Model Pro), (he of the being at fault for both their goals), powers in what I think will be a winner from a corner and I almost feel like hugging him.

We are knackered now though, we are a man down, 5 players are on a yellow card, and we are still flying into tackles all over the pitch.

113th min. 4-2. The right winger who scored our opener, tears away from his fatigued marker and with a sublime piece of skill, casually chips the keeper from inside the box on the right hand side.

Absolutely mental game. I'm not playing most of our league games now, so when it comes to Cups and Europe I am enjoying myself because at the end of the day... who cares if the club side win, lose or draw anymore.

[leonavich]

Nice result!

I thought we were expecting a 3-3 and not a 4-2 with the 6th so good to pull away.

I have just finished my season (finally) so will get an update out shortly

[leonavich]

2030-31

Club

We started the season well, facing Fiorentina in the Italian Super Cup and cementing our early season dominance over them by running out 2-1 winners. This gave us a hattrick of successive wins and our 4th overall in the Cup as we become a regular face in the Pre Season fixture.

We then followed up with another early season Cup, facing Lazio in the Super Cup as an all Italian affair, with both European club competitions being won by Italian sides. We came out on top in a tight 3-2 affair to lift our second Super Cup 5 years after our first.

In the league, we struggled early and lulled around 5th place for much of the first part of the year, still within reach of the top 4, but not playing like the side that had won it 2 seasons ago and come runner up last year.

December and the January window saw us enter the Club World Cup as we entered in the Semi Finals, and faced the Brazilian giants Atletico Mineiro in the final. We triumphed, winning 4-2 in extra time to make it 3 trophies in the season by the turn of the year, whilst we still had our hands in the Champions League and the League.

We had our Italian Cup match in our bad patch of form though, and crashed out of the competition in the First Knockout stage to Cesena, 2-1 in extra time.

What looked like a lost cause some 20 games in, turned around to be an easy win as Fiorentina fell away heavily in the final month or so of the season and we ended up winning it by 9.

The slump hit all teams near the top, but us the least, as we ended with 5 losses and 8 draws to walk away with the title in an 84 point season.

This gave as a quadruple for the year but unfortunately not in the tournaments that we had necessarily wanted. We lost 4-2 away, in the final rematch of last year, to Barcelona in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League. Though we played well at home in the return leg, their bus was well and truly parked as we crashed out with a 0-0 draw in our title defense.

League: Winners

Italian Cup: Lost Knockout Round 1 v Cesena

Italian Super Cup: Winners v Fiorentina

Champions Lost League: Quarter Finals v Barcelona

Super Cup: Winners v Lazio

Club World Cup: Winners v Atletico Mineiro

Stand outs:

It was a year for our front line as our 4 best players where our front attacking 4. Leroy, our keeper and youngster Netinho, where close contenders but ultimately our forwards dominated and you will see why.

Martijn Oosting - (34 games, 23 goals, 10 assists, 7.48 rating) With injuries plaguing us on the wings, Oosting managed a decent number of games and an incredible rate at which to score, notching 23 in just 34 games. He also picked up 10 Player of the Match awards and was a standout for us on the left as per usual.

Ayoub Yilmaz - (31 games, 17 goals 14 assists, 7.42 rating) Another big season that was plagued by injuries for the right winger. He managed only 31 games, but scored at over a goal every 2 matches and assisted in just as many. Our trident proved effective and Yilmaz had another fantastic year as a corner stone of that.

Adrian Cabralis - (42 games, 24 goals, 12 assists, 7.28 rating) A fairly similar season to last year, with a slightly better product in the output, scoring 24 goals this time around. Starting to really polish off as our 3rd prong in the trident and puts home with efficiency, taking 1.67 shots a game and scoring 0.57 of those opportunities.

Mario Dini - (47 games, 8 goals 1.68 Tackles, 7.12 rating) Really came of age in the backline, teaming with Arad for a strong showing. But his shine came through with his head as he nodded home 8 goals, some of which proved crucial in our league run towards the end of the season. His form peaked interest in some of Europe's powerhouses, and eventually Manchester City came in with a £21.5m bid to take him to England. This is the second Sammrinese player to make a big money move to Europe's other elites and we are happy for the 21 year old.

Country

A great season for us as we stay in touch with the European Qualifiers and have our first real chance at making a major tournament. We beat off oppositions in Latvia (2-0), Moldova (3-0) and Macedonia (3-2) to top our European group, whilst also winning our friendlies well, 4-1 over Kuwait and a big 5-4 win over Hungary. We came to earth in a 4-1 humbling to Russia before beating Austria 4-2. Our best result came to Germany though, as we held on for a 0-0 draw to remain level on 10 points with them in the European 2nd place spot of the group behind first placed Russia.

European Championship Qualifiers: 3rd/6 After 5 games

World Ranking: 36th

Stand outs:

Mattia Berardi - (9 games, 7 goals, 7 Assists, 8.14 rating) Ran rampant this year in both Club and international form, and notched up almost a goal and an assist per game. Now entering the peak of his powers and the team will look for him to lead the way forward.

Mario Dini - (9 games, 2.22 Tackles, 2 Goals, 7.32 rating) Solid in defense, but also proved fantastic going forward, scoring twice to give him 10 goals in all forms for the year. Only 21 and already a pivotal member of the squad.

Michele Bindi - (6 games, 3 goals, 2 Assists, 7.33 rating) Scored every second game and came up big when we needed him. Hard to shine when Berardi is scoring for fun, but held his own and contributed well.

Alan Berti - (9 games, 3 Assists, 82% Passing, 7.28 rating) Became a crucial lynch in the middle of the park and was accurate, landing 82% of passes and setting up 3, whilst scoring 1. Only 20 and room to improve. Could become an integral member.

Youth Prospects

Youth Prospects:

Luciano Canini - Finally a decent goalkeeper has come through and he is Sammarinese! Already represented the national side, and Leroy was sold off for £17m to allow him to go straight into the club side (with a very good backup in place in case the risk fails)

[Jimbokav1971]

Good club season Leon.

It's just so so hard to win everything in the same season. I still haven't managed it.

Really good NT progress too. Canini is going to be a huge plus for you.

[leonavich]

It is very slow progress as I only get through a few games a week due to a whole bunch of other commitments, but it is still progress nonetheless.

Canini will hopefully get me into the save a bit more and try to get the seasons done a bit faster.

[leonavich]

World Cup draw has been kind to us... Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Turkey.

Slovakia is 38th and Turkey 10th. The other games should be alright for us at this stage of my tenure as the squad starts to get stronger all round.

[Jimbokav1971]

World Cup draw has been kind to us... Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Turkey.

Slovakia is 38th and Turkey 10th. The other games should be alright for us at this stage of my tenure as the squad starts to get stronger all round.

You see, that sounds great, Finland, Georgia, Kazak, Slovakia and Turkey, but because the game has progressed so much, what we actually think about real World football often has little resemblance to life within the FM San Marino World.

I'm in 2042.

We are ranked 10th, (seems harsh).

Mexico are ranked 3rd, (because they came 3rd in Confed Cup).

Scotland are 5th, (not sure why but they were unbeaten in 2041).

Argentina and Brazil are #1 and #2 and South American teams seem to benefit from playing so many competitive matches.

England are 21st, (1 place head of Saudi Arabia in 22nd).

Turkey are 14th.

Republic of Ireland are 81st which is pretty pants considering I have the English and Scottish leagues active.

N.Ireland are 77th.

Norway 65th.

The top African team is Nigeria in 29th. (They lost 5 times in 2041 and didn't win a game at the Confed Cup).

[Jimbokav1971]

Club Update. May 2042.

San Marino celebrate famous treble!

San Marino are celebrating a magnificent treble after beating OM, (Marseille), 2-0 in the European Champions Cup Final at San Siro.

San Marino have won the Serie A, Italian Cup and European Champions Cup this season.

It is San Marino's 5th Champions Cup triumph in their history, a feat that means the club now get to keep the coveted trophy. (I didn't know that).

[Edit]

The San Marino was now built 16 years ago but the local council are still blocking planning permission, (must be Tories).

[Jimbokav1971]

Club Update. May 2042.

My Youth products have been pretty poor recently so I have had to do something about it. The Spanish HoYD has been shown the door and while my 1st choice turned me down, (The Barca HoYD), I managed to snaffle the PSG HoYD. While he is French, I will try not to hold that against him and he certaibky seems to have whay I am looking for.

For a start, a "Driven" personality seems to be a pre-requisite for a World Class HoYD. (Don't ask me why. It just does). He has 20 attribute ratings in the following areas.

Defending.

Fitness.

Man Management.

Mental.

Tactical.

Technical.

Determination.

JPA.

JPP.

Motivating.

Tactical knowledge.

Interestingly, none of the World Class HoYD's in my game have even close to a 20 rating in Working with youngsters, (this guy has 10).

He has spent the last 12 years at PSG and as well as the quality he produces, I like the personalities that I have seen coming through there. While the barca guy was my 1st choice, the PSG guy has actually produced better players, (although smaller in number).

[Jimbokav1971]

NT Update. June 2042.

World Cup 2042 build-up.

San Marino 2 - 0 Saudi Arabia (ranked 22nd).

San Marino 1 - 0 Honduras (ranked 41st).

While the opposition might not have been the best, (actually Saudi are decent), 7 games at NT level without conceding is decent no matter who you are playing. We weren't great, but I was really mixing the team up and I was also experimenting, (and am continuing to experiment with a new role(duty) for the more attacking of my 2 central midfielders, (playing behind an AP(s) and beside a BWM(d). In any case, I'm not overly bothered about score-lines and results. It's all about the World Cup in Portugal. (Have I mentioned that we are the holders?)

San Marino 1 - 2 Ecuador (ranked 61st).

Ok. I don't mind losing, but I do mind being played off the pitch by what is a pretty poor team. They played 4 central midfielders, (something I haven't played against much over the years), and the 2DM's and 2 MC's just completely dominated the game and ran rings round us. They looked like Barca at times. A fairer score-line would have been 0-3 or 0-4. We only scored a late consolation. Not happy!

San Marino 0 - 0 Norway (ranked 65th). Norway won 5-4 on pens.

It was late and I was knackered so I didn't even play this game. I just pressed Instant result. We had 19 results to their 1 and 61% possession to their 39%. We only managed 1 key pass however. I know that stat is seriously flawed but still. We are running with the ball too often rather than passing and I wonder is is too late to tweak things. (Never too late). I have removed "run at defence" and we will see how that goes.

We have lost one of our centre-backs for 2-3 weeks with a twisted knee. If things start poorly, we might be back home before he is fit enough to play.

San Marino 0 - 0 Chile (ranked 55th). Chile won 4-3 on pens.

There wasn't a single highlight, (on key highlights), in the whole game. Our #2 GK scored the opening pen and saved one of the oppositions, but their GK went one better and saved 2. I'm not bothered about the result, (whether you consider it a loss or a draw), but I am concerned by how little we are creating all of a sudden.

San Marino 0 - 1 Ireland (ranked 81st).

I honestly don't have a clue what is going on. I am beginning to wonder if I did some drunk managing last weekend, (that I am unaware of), and have somehow changed something tactically that I am not now able to find and fix. We are simply awful. #

That's the end of the warm-up matches. Next up we have Slovenia, Costa Rica and Uruguay in Group G.

[dan_lcfc]

The San Marino was now built 16 years ago but the local council are still blocking planning permission, (must be Tories).

There is a hard-coded 20 year limit between stadia being built, regardless of success. What capacity does your ground hold currently??

Congrats on the treble though!!

[Jimbokav1971]

There is a hard-coded 20 year limit between stadia being built, regardless of success. What capacity does your ground hold currently??

Congrats on the treble though!!

Oh. For some reason I thought it was 15 years. Oops. :o

Capacity is 45,000 and that's it's max. They have made it clear that it can't be increased, (although I can't remember how).

Yeah the treble is great, but I have only managed to retain it once and often crash out early(ish) the season after winning. We also didn't win the Italian Super-Cup which is a shame. Whenever we win the Champions league, we seem to miss out on one of the others.

[Jimbokav1971]

While the 2042 World Cup is going on in Portugal, the U21 Euro's are taking place in England. The U21 Group stage is over before the seniors, so I will do an update on this 1st.

NT Euro U21 Championship Update.

This is the 1st time we have played in this and I'm honestly not sure what is a realistic target. I know I have said I would love to get to the Semi's and win the Playoff to qualify for the Olympics, but let's be honest, that probably isn't that realistic. A more realistic target is just to get out of the group.

France U21's 1 - 1 San Marino U21's.

We were battered by France and while we each had 6 shots on target, France actually hot the woodwork on 5 different occasions, (while we just hit the post once). Despite that, we led until 15 minutes left. Despite that, I am obviously well pleased with a point. Interestingly, (at least to me), the game was played at Halton Stadium in Widnes, (a suburb of Liverpool I think). Widnes Rugby league team play their home games there, (as well as Everton & Liverpool ladies, but there seems to be no reason to play a football match there while Everton, Liverpool, Manchester Utd, Manchester City etc etc are all available. Maybe the fact that the attendance was only 4,767 means that they actually wanted a smaller stadium.

San Marino U21's 1 - 2 Turkey U21's.

While we were outplayed in the last game by France, quite the opposite was true here. Turkey scored through a luck OG and a ridiculous penalty decision and we could have had 5. We only scored 1 though and this put a serious dent in any hopes we had of making it out of the group.

We needed to beat top of the table Bulgaria in our last game and hope that the other result went our way.A win for Turkey against France and they would finish 2nd no matter what we did. (Come on France!)

San Marino U21's 4 - 2 Bulgaria U21's.

We conceded after just 18 seconds, (yes eighteen seconds), and to be honest I just thought of giving up. The results with the Senior squad haven't been great in the build-up to the World Cup and now we weren't going to get out of the U21 Euro's group despite actually playing quite well. I needn't have worried however as Alberto (SMR) (Pro) (2038) had other ideas and despite being completely knackered, (he is the only fit striker in the squad), he saw us home with a really impressive MOM performance and a hat-trick. We finished the match with 10 men as centre-half Fab Cecc (SMR) (F.Pro) was shown a straight red for a pro foul with 21 minutes left, but he conceded a free-kick rather than a pen and we didn't concede and held out so it's all good.

The win saw us finish 2nd in the group behind Bulgaria, and ahead of Turkey by +1 goal difference.

[Edit]

Oh bloomin hell. This takes us right through to the Semis.

So if we win the next game then we are in the Olympics, and even if we lose then we still go into a Playoff for the Olympics.

[Edit2]

San Marino U21's set record for Euro U21 Championship worst discipline.

San Marino U21's have set a new record for worst discipline in the European U21 Championship, having collected 12 yellow cards and 2 red cards.

The previous record was previously 8 yellow cards and 3 yellow cards, set by Ukraine U21's.

Win or lose the Semi, we still have 2 games to play so I think we can do better than that!

[Edit3]

Russia meet Bulgaria in the 1st Semi.

San Marino play Holland in the 2nd.

[Edit4]

Holland U21's 1- 2 San Marino U21's.

The Dutch dominated the early proceedings and then took the lead with a direct free-kick on 19 mins. We were much better as the game progressed but it took us until the 89th min to draw level through Alberto (SMR) (Pro) (2038), and by then I had just about given up hope and resigned myself to the Playoff for Olympic qualification. Nic Semprini (SMR) (F.Amb) got the winner 5 minutes into extra time after a period of sustained possession and pressure by us. Really impressive football. Interestingly, the turnaround in fortunes I am putting down to a swapping of duties in the 2x AP's that I am now playing.

By the end of the game we had added 5 more yellow cards to our quota meaning that we had smashed the old record and now had 17 yellows and 2 reds in 4 games.

Russia won the other Semi and that's who we will play in the Final.

[Jimbokav1971]

U21 NT Update. June 2042.

European U21 Championship Final.

San Marino U21's 3 - 3 Russia U21's. San Marino won 7-6 on penalties after extra time.

I will be completely honest with you here. I almost threw this game before kick-off. We had 3 players who would normally be starters suspended, another starter injured, and some of the players were starting on ridiculously low condition. I only had 1 player playing out of position though so this gave me reason for optimism.

You might think to yourself.... "why on Earth was he thinking of throwing the Final?" but the thing is I had forgotten it was the Final and I was far more bothered about qualifying for the Olympics than actually winning the thing. My thinking was that if I "threw" the Semi and rested my better tired players, then i would at least romp the 3rd place Playoff easily and therefore qualify for the Olympics. Luckily, mainly because Russia looked tired too and because I was only having to play 1 player out of position, I decided to give it a go.

Things didn't start great as Russia dominated early on before Gadijev (Rus) (Bal) opened the scoring. His striking partner seemed to go right through my centre-back in a strong challenge and the Russian striker calmly lobbed my GK Davide (SMR) (F.Det) from the edge of the area. It was a very nice finish but I was still screaming for the free-kick and in no mood to applaud. Russia continued to dominate but we did at least have parity in possession, even if the Russians were FAR more creative.

We then lost our left winger to injury on 34 mins, but as luck would have it this was one of the few positions where we had decent cover on the bench. Result! This seemed to galvanise us a little and we drew level on 52 minutes when Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) finished smartly from the edge of the 6 yard box after we did well down our right hand side. I had been beginning to lose hope at this stage and while it came against the run of play a little, we were all square again and it was all to play for.

We scored again in the 59th minute and again it was Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) with the goal. (Yes that is ANOTHER Model Pro player by the way).Russia attacked through the middle and the ball went too long and was intercepted by our GK in his area. rather than catch the boncing ball he half-volleyed it calmly up our left flank and started a terrific counter that saw Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) strike home at the near post. It was a devastaing counter-attack and I knew something was going to happen as soon as the GK volleyed it rather than catching it. I just knew! We are now a goal up with only half an hour left to play and for the 1st time I began to think that we might actually win this Semi, (which was actually the Final).

No sooner had I got all excited and thought about playing in the Final, (and not having to worry about winning or losing), (oh what a dimwitt I am), than Russia went straight down the other end and scored again in the 62nd minute. They won a header at the back post that fell invitingly for them to fire home with a very sweet volley actually. We are all square again at 2-2.

With 73 minutes gone and me hovering over the tactics button and thinking over my ultra-defensive options, we go and take the lead again. This time Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) turns provider and from in the hole releases sub left winger Nic Semprini (SMR) (F.Amb) down the left and in behind the defence. He calmly fires across the GK and with my heart in my mouth I watch it nestle nicely just inside the far post. Get in! We are a goal up again and there is only just over 15 mins left plus injury time. I immediately went to contain and also tried to push up a little higher. I was worried that Russia seemed to be winning a lot of headers and I didn't want to invite pressure onto us by dropping too deep so late in the game.

It all worked perfectly. Perfectly that is until the 92nd minute, (when there was only 1 advertised minute of injury time to be played), when they seemed to win 3 consecutive 50/50's on our right hand side and their winger ran through at our GK unchallenged. When he shot for the near post I initially thought he would hit the side netting, (always always always go across the GK you fool!), but alas I was stunned into silence as the ball rippled the back of the net after berating our GK at his near post in time added on of time added on. Gutted!

Into extra time we went and if I didn't think the FM Gods were against me before, I certainly did now. 104 minutes in and having used all 3 subs, we collect our 2nd serious injury and will have to play the rest of the game against a now rampant Russian team with 10 men.We are fatigued and a man down and we have had the stuffing knocked out of us by conceding so late, but we are still in with a shout. We stop playing football completely and just try to hang on desperately for pens. Hang on we do and so it goes to pens.

They take theirs 1st and score of course.

The only penalty order selection I make is to select the GK to take the 1st pen. It's just something I always do and Davide (SMR) (F.Det) confirms that I am not so stupid as he sticks it away nicely for 1-1.

They score again to lead 2-1.

The only striker in our squad, Alberto (SMR) (Pro) (2038) takes the next one and makes no mistake to level it at 2-2.

They again score to lead 3-2.

Next up is centre-half and skipper Conti (SMR) (F.Pro) who is absolutely shattered and down near 50% condition by now and I can't look but he scores and we are back level again at 3-3.

They score again and it's now 4-3. Them taking the 1st pens is ok when they miss, but when they keep scoring it's simply awful.

Costabile (SMR) (Res) takes our 4th and the left winger playing out of position on the right, rewards my faith in him and levels it at 4-4.

This is it I think. If they miss this one and we score then we win. This is it! Wrong. They score all 5 of theirs and it's now 5-4 and if we miss the next pen we have lost.

Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) has already bagged a brace of goals in the match and he is not about to be beaten from the spot. 5-5 and we are into sudden death.

MISS IT!!! I scream at my lap-top as their 6th pen is struck home convincingly and we again trail. It's now 6-5.

Nic Semprini (SMR) (F.Amb) scored our 3rd goal in the game and he also converts from the spot. We are level at 6-6 and I can't take much more of this.

Next up is their fresh striker sub who is valued at £3.4M. He looks decent but that doesn't stop Davide (SMR) (F.Det) diving to his left and pulling off an astonishing save. If we score our next pen we have won it and we are in the Final and guaranteed an Olympics slot irrespective of outcome, (Oh I am such a fool!).

Oh no. Our next pen taker is Ugolini (SMR) (Det). He's a DM who can cover at both MC and DC but he's really not great. Of all the people in the squad this is the bloke I really don't want to be taking this pen. It is what it is though and I needn't have worried as he converts with aplomb and we are in the Final, (idiot).

.........eh? That media message says we have won the whole thing? :confused: I played Holland last night and ....... Oh Gawd! THAT was the Semi and THIS was the FINAL. THE FINAL. THE BLOOMIN FINAL. San Marino have just won the U21 EURO's and..... AND we have qualified for the Olympics.

I might be a complete idiot, but this is my greatest accomplishment in FM ever. Way better than somehow winning the World Cup with San Marino. Waaaaay better.

[Jimbokav1971]

NT Update. July 2042.

World Cup 2042 in Portugal.

Group G. San Marino 0 - 1 Slovenia (ranked 18th).

We were unlucky to lose but that's the price that I sometimes pay for having an aggressive style of play. We hit the woodwork twice and created more chances than Slovenia, but the key stats are that we received 5 yellow cards, 1 red card, and gave away 33 free-kicks to their 13. The ref simply hammered us and for whatever reason I was unwilling to change things even though I was aware of it happening. Pretty rubbish performance from me as Manager I must admit. :o

Group G. Costa Rica, (ranked 45th) 1 - 2 San Marino.

A better performance against a decent opposition with a normal ref and normal service was resumed. We led 2-0 on the hour and it was game over and although they clawed one back, the result was never in doubt. It did come at a cost though as Volpinary (SMR) (F.Det) (2029) was injured in the 1st half and will be out for a few months with a torn calf muscle.

Group G. San Marino 3 - 2 Uruguay, (ranked 13th).

We needed to win this one to qualify for the knockout stages, but to be honest it was never in doubt. The scoreline suggests a close game but they scored a late consolation and we were actually quite dominant.

2nd Round. Brazil (ranked 2nd) 3 - 0 San Marino.

There is no point beating around the bush here. We were simply beaten by a far better team. I could point at the 1st half sending off as a reason, but the truth is we were already 2-0 down and Brazil were completely in control. I think when you come up a team that is just so superior in every way, you just have to take it on the chin. Brazil were very very good and we were pretty average.

So we are no longer holders of the World Cup.

[Jimbokav1971]

NT Update. July 2042.

Shock as San Marino players quit International stage.

Nicola (SMR) (Res) (31yo central midfielder with 115 caps), Frederico (SMR) (Model Pro), (29yo left sided utility left-sided player with 92 caps), Volp (SMR) (Det) (2024), (33yo MC with 153 caps) & Volpinari (SMR) (Det) (2029), (29yo AMC with 101 caps) have all retired from International football.

To lose 461 caps from our midfield in one go would be a disaster. They may not all start each game, (I'm not overly fond of Volpinari but he is the best in that position), Nicola is probably 3rd choice of a middle 2 and I have just enticed a young DN (SMR/ITA) to see the light at full back meaning we have a little cover allowing Frederico to play his natural game further forward. Volp (2024) has just been around for so long that I wouldn't know what to do with him! He currently has a torn calf muscle which I am guessing will bring on the start of his physical decline. He has played in all our Champions League victories though so that proves that push comes to shove I select him for the big games.

As luck would have it, they have all agreed to return from retirement.

[Jimbokav1971]

Club Update. Aug 2042.

I have just received the highest bid I have seen for a LONG time.

Napoli have just bid £74.75M for Geri "Rossi" (Model Pro) (2031). He is the best player our academy has ever produced. It's just a shame he is Italian rather than Sammarinese.

[leonavich]

You see, that sounds great, Finland, Georgia, Kazak, Slovakia and Turkey, but because the game has progressed so much, what we actually think about real World football often has little resemblance to life within the FM San Marino World.

I'm in 2042.

We are ranked 10th, (seems harsh).

Mexico are ranked 3rd, (because they came 3rd in Confed Cup).

Scotland are 5th, (not sure why but they were unbeaten in 2041).

Argentina and Brazil are #1 and #2 and South American teams seem to benefit from playing so many competitive matches.

England are 21st, (1 place head of Saudi Arabia in 22nd).

Turkey are 14th.

Republic of Ireland are 81st which is pretty pants considering I have the English and Scottish leagues active.

N.Ireland are 77th.

Norway 65th.

The top African team is Nigeria in 29th. (They lost 5 times in 2041 and didn't win a game at the Confed Cup).

Yeah, this is true. But there are only two teams better than us in that group and Turkey are only better than us because we went form 30th to 41st bad on a few bad results. I am confident we can make it out of this group in at least second place. We do have some good news though but I'll save that for when I get around to the update.

[leonavich]

Well done int he Euro U21's to win it.. That is quite difficult given the talent you have coming through and how difficult it has been to get them this far.

Unlucky on the World Cup, though you did well to recover and make it out of the group. A shame about Brazil, but they are 2nd int he world and always difficult. Interested to see who does win it though.

[Jimbokav1971]

Well done int he Euro U21's to win it.. That is quite difficult given the talent you have coming through and how difficult it has been to get them this far.

It was strange actually.

Obviously having so few games makes it easier, (much easier if I'm honest). We were a little bit lucky to get out of the Group, (and needed results to go our way). France were brilliant and we were lucky to draw against them, but we managed to beat Bulgaria, (who beat both the others). With just 2 Groups of 4 and then a Semi and a Final, it's actually far easier than the senior competitions, (once you actually get there). We were lucky with injuries, (I only had 1 specialist striker in the whole squad), and I suppose we were just due a bit of luck. I played the Semi the previous night when tired and I was so surprised when I won what I thought was the Semi on pens only to find out it was the Final.

It was great to win, but really it was all about the qualification for the Olympics.

In that U21's squad I probably only have a few top players.

The GK is good and will play in Serie A, Davide (SMR) (F.Det).

The left back is never going to make it at the top level, (but is reasonable).

1 centre back is going to be very good, Conti (SMR) (F.Pro), but the others are fairly average.

Both right backs in the squad are fairly poor.

I only have 2 decent central midfielders. ***Faetanini (SMR/ITA) (F.Amb) plays the more defensive role and is "workmanlike". He will never make it at Serie A level never mind about NT level. The other is Marco "Nicola" (SMR) (Bal), who will be a Serie A player and an important player for the NT when the current crop retire.

There are actually 4 players who can play on the left and who are decent. 1 of them was with the Seniors and 2 of the others rotated and the 4th played out of position on the right or in the hole.

The AMC is decent, Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039) and will hopefully develop to play in Serie A.

The SC is better than decent, (developing better than expected actually), and should easily play in Serie A. Alberto (SMR) (Pro) (2038).

The thing is that I was able to select players from a number of different years Youth promotions rather than just a couple. I am at the start of the following season, (Aug 2042), so not progressed too far and already there are 7 of the squad who are 23 years old. The youngest in the squad is 17, so effectively that 7 seasons Youth products all playing in 1 single squad.

In terms of the best player from each Youth team, I had Mick G (SMR) (M.Pro) (2041), 2040 was Italian so not there, Bonini (SMR) (M.Pro) (2039), Alberto (SMR) (Pro) (2038), 2037 was DN (SMR/ITA) and has chosen (ITA) at the moment, (but I still live in hope), 2036 was DN (SNR/ITA) and has chosen (ITA), (and has already made his (ITA) debut, and lastly Bill (SMR) (Amb) (2035), who is 23 years old and it seems strange to see him and others eligible for an U21's competition. I think I got lucky in that the (2035) squad that was promoted was decent to start with, but also that the better players were (SMR) rather than (ITA). In the main that hasn't been the case and without these "mature" players fleshing the squad out in many areas I don't think it would have been anywhere near possible. (2036) was decent too, but (2037) was a disaster because we only had 3 decent players promoted and the best 2 were DN and both have chosen (ITA). After that you are looking at just a couple of decent eligible players each season. I really need a season where the whole group id decent, and (SMR) eligible because all these bloody DN and (ITA) players are killing me.

[leonavich]

Season 32-33

Titles: Serie A, Italian Cup

Highlights:

Juventus choke 5 point lead in final 3 games to lose title

Berardi Leaves on a free transfer at the age of 29

Out in Champions League Knockout round

International: European Cup second round

Pretty good platform, and currently second in World Cup Qualifiers

[leonavich]

Season 33-34

Titles: Italian Super Cup, Serie A, Italian Cup

Similar season to last year in terms of results. A bit dejavu ish actually. We went back to back in the League and Cup, whilst losing at the same stage in Europe as well. We did win very comfortably this year, and also took away the Super Cup. A few of the new signings did well, but 33 year old Morra showed why he is still the center of this team with 15 goals and 24 assists for the season.

Highlights:

Win the title by 10 points, with 4 games to go.

Beat Fiorentina in extra time of the Italian Cup with a wonderful Morra Volley.

Out in Champions League First round Knockouts again.

International: 3rd in World Cup Group H

Qualified for World Cup, Beating Poland in the Play-offs

Beat Costa Rica to finish 3rd on 3 points behind England and Argentina (tough group)

Move to record high 14th in the world.

New youth players coming through give us a platform for the future (though they are dual nationality, so hopefully we can persuade them around to our side by the next World Cup)

[coady]

Apologies I have been very lazy the last couple of months, I will post catch-up updates throughout the week!

[leonavich]

I think we all have been. Hard to find the time to keep up the frantic pace. It is taking me an age to get through the seasons now.

[leonavich]

34-35

Titles: Champions League

Fiorentina were dominant since the start and took the title with ease, by 12 points. We struggled in the domestic cups as well, but managed to trump Chelsea in the final of the Champions League with 2 goals in 3 minutes to win out 2-1.

Highlights:

3rd Champions League title

Highest Transfer fee income of £79,000,000

International: 2nd in Euro Qualifiers Group C

Drop to 19th in the world

[mclarke1987]

Just a quick post to say I'm hoping on the challenge cos my others have got boring this seems tough so it'll keep me entertained til fm16 comes out.

Starting with just the club national once I win a few divisions (hopefully). Will post pictures after first season, thus far 4w-0d-0l (2 cup games, 2 league) got a strike who has already scored 8goals! Shame he's Italian lol

[Kalemlyco]

Been doing this challenge just realised I've not posted my manager profile to begin with!

1st Season 2014/2015

Got promoted out of Serie C/1

2nd Season 2015/2016

Survived in Serie B just. Managed to get to the 3rd Qualifying round of the Italian Cup

3rd Season 2016/2017

Currently in. 20 Games in and 5th in Serie B. The board have agreed to increase the Junior Coaching Budget but as we're losing money they refuse to do anything else. Currently looking to NOT get promoted so I can get the finances sorted and then build the club up.

[mclarke1987]

Well I finished my first year in charge and got promoted by a clear margin (yay). Onto year two now and ok start by qualifying for third round.

http://imgur.com/a/K2G0V (Year 1 album)

I have no real goal for year 2, promotion would be awesome but this isn't fairytale land so tough battle a head, more about expiring some older contracts so I can refresh the squad next year. I do have a curious question though, for those of us who opted for club only... when (approx.) will we get the opportunity to run the national team??

[peterbainham]

I have a huge issue come up that hopefully someone can shed some light on.

I started my first attempt at a San Marino Challenge a few days ago and things have gone really well so far. Securely in Serie A with European Football to look forward to. The training & youth facilities, junior coaching and youth recruitment have all been upgraded over the years to a good level. Additionally U18s coaches are all at a 4-5 star level and I hired Wim Jonk as HOYD.

All good, right? Not really. You see, in the early years I was producing some very good Sammaranise regens, a couple of whom are breaking through into the first team. Nowadays, despite all the investment in staff and facilities, the only good regens I'm producing are Italians:

http://imgur.com/GzCf71h

What's going on?

TLDR: Used to produce quality San Marino regens, now can only produce quality Italian regens.

[Kalemlyco]

Small update from my game

3rd Season 2016/2017

Despite my efforts to not get promoted we ended up going up into Serie A via the play-offs.

4th Season 2017/2018

The board have given me 0 Transfer Budget but 65K a week Wage Budget.

Transfers

Here's my in and outs for the season so far Summer Transfers

Board Expectations

The board want me to get to the 3rd Qualifying stage of the Italian Cup and put a fight in the relegation battle

Facilities

Once the money starting coming in from the TV Revenue I asked the board to upgrade both the Training and Youth Facilities. They didn't really want to upgrade the Youth but I convinced them otherwise. They also increased our junior youth coaching budget.

Youth Intake.

The intake just before the summer provided me with maybe two good players that could make the grade, who are San Marinese. Marco Maiani Nicola Toccaceli

I'll provide a Winter Transfer update when I get there.

[leonavich]

I have a huge issue come up that hopefully someone can shed some light on.

I started my first attempt at a San Marino Challenge a few days ago and things have gone really well so far. Securely in Serie A with European Football to look forward to. The training & youth facilities, junior coaching and youth recruitment have all been upgraded over the years to a good level. Additionally U18s coaches are all at a 4-5 star level and I hired Wim Jonk as HOYD.

All good, right? Not really. You see, in the early years I was producing some very good Sammaranise regens, a couple of whom are breaking through into the first team. Nowadays, despite all the investment in staff and facilities, the only good regens I'm producing are Italians:

http://imgur.com/GzCf71h

What's going on?

TLDR: Used to produce quality San Marino regens, now can only produce quality Italian regens.

I usually only get 2-5 SM players, a few Dual nationality players and the rest are Italian. As a result, it has been a bit difficult getting good National team players. What I have tried to do is keep the best from each year, and keep them on the books or sell them out to clubs that will use them. It has given me:

Keeper still at the club rotating

Defender at Real Madrid and one still at the club (but a DN who hasn't played)

Midfielders at Feyenoord, Nurnberg and two still at the club as rotational players

Striker at Sporting

That is to say, I have 7 or so International caliber players in my starting line up. The rest are not too good, but it is usually enough to get me through qualifiers..

There are also a few more DN players I am hanging out for.

You can usually build a squad given a good period of time, that has a decent all round balance.

[Jimbokav1971]

I have a huge issue come up that hopefully someone can shed some light on.

I started my first attempt at a San Marino Challenge a few days ago and things have gone really well so far. Securely in Serie A with European Football to look forward to. The training & youth facilities, junior coaching and youth recruitment have all been upgraded over the years to a good level. Additionally U18s coaches are all at a 4-5 star level and I hired Wim Jonk as HOYD.

All good, right? Not really. You see, in the early years I was producing some very good Sammaranise regens, a couple of whom are breaking through into the first team. Nowadays, despite all the investment in staff and facilities, the only good regens I'm producing are Italians:

http://imgur.com/GzCf71h

What's going on?

TLDR: Used to produce quality San Marino regens, now can only produce quality Italian regens.

Sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Things tend to run in streaks for me.

The best players I have produced were Italian, but I had some decent dual Nationality players and even some very good Sammarinese players. The way I looked at it, (when the best player in the Youth Team was Italian), was that at least it would benefit the club side.

My best (SMR) products were usually actually the 2nd best of any years intake, (bar a couple of exceptions).

What I found most frustrating was that when the (SMR) NT got good and won the World Cup, dual Nationality players would always still choose (ITA) over (SMR).

[Jimbokav1971]

So I have got to the end of 2044/45 Season and I think I'm going to call it a day in this save and see if I can bang out another season in (GIB) before the Beta comes out.

I had already resigned as manager as the (SMR) NT Manager, (and was just managing club and U21's), and then I went and resigned from the U21's on a whim, (was just bored of it).

Might as well update my achievements.

I must admit that I am probably more chuffed with the EURO U21 win than I am with the World Cup.

[Jimbokav1971]

Club Overall Best XI.

NT Overall Best XI.

My son is now retired, (and was pretty pants anyway), but I see he still made the Overall Best XI, (even my nepotism doesn't stretch that far).

Lucio, (while not having hung up his boots quite yet), has probably played his last game and scored his last goal, (unless FM16 is pants).

All in all, not a bad little save.

[Edit]

Despite winning all that, guess who is the all-time record goal-scorer for the club?

That's a bit special.

[leonavich]

Well done Jimbokav... Awesome little Easter Egg there at the end with Lucio. Sad to see your save end, but I have just had some life breathed into mine....

On that note, I would also like to throw in my hat for a potential World Cup win...

[leonavich]

The second Sammarinese team to win the World Cup.... Will it happen?

Let's look at the key players to this run:

Goalkeeper - Canini Has been in the line up since he was just 15, so has a wealth of experience and plays far better than his stats suggest. Has become first choice for the club side this season and is a fantastic asset as he can also take penalties and hits the odd free kick here and there.

Defence - Dini was our best player for quite some time, and has moved around the big leagues, playing for Manchester City, Real Madrid and now Lyon. The solid foundation of our backline, he is the pivot point that commands the team. He lines up alongside an unheralded player,

Midfield - We actually have a very strong core in the midfield, but none more so than Ceccoli who recently signed a mammoth contract at Inter Milan. His rise to fame as been progressive, and he is now considered a world superstar. He teams up with Stefanelli, who plies his trade over in the Dutch league with Feyenoord, though just signing a contract with Belgian giants, Gent, at the end of the season. The pace of the midfield comes in youngster Zafferani who broke into the San Marino club sides starting XI this year after a few seasons rotating with the older heads. These three compliment the likes of Berti, Urbinati and Canti, who play on the fringes of a dynamo 3 midfield center.

Striker - Mularoni, the captain and unrivaled striker of the team is a stand out player, globetrotting at some of the best teams in the world, from Everton, Sporting and Sevilla to name a few, banging goal in everywhere he went. Now entering his 30's, he has taken the Armband from Berardi and is leading the line as one of the worlds best strikers.

[leonavich]

The World Cup game down to a gritty performance. Germany (6) were favourties over a decent but shallow San Marino (13) team. While we had the better quality up front, leading the line, we were not as strong as the Germans in the middle, on the flanks and wide in defense. Our central pair in the back where of similar quality though, while their central engine in the middle was slightly stronger, due to Bakayoko, who is probably the worlds best player at the moment. It was going to come down to our central formation and tight play through the middle, against the Germans speed and technical skill on the wings.

Our initial play was to attack hard from the kick off and counter, trying to get some early chances. Mularoni hit 23 goals for club this season, but none where more important that his 5th minute strike, which rippled the net... A surge of passes through the middle and the sheer number of blue shirts due to our 4-5-1 formation, gave us the numbers to muscle and draw their central defenders out. Mularoni slipped off his last man, used his strength to hold him off, and hit it after one touch from outside the box, over the keeper who sat just off his line. GOAAAAAAAAAL! A huge goal, well outside the box, put San Marino up in the final!

It really became an all German affair after the next 20 minutes saw them reel from the shock. A few more chances prior to the 30th minute and then the Germans took control of the game. Our defense held strong, and we moved our stronger defending midfield pair deeper to have 4 defenders and 2 defensive midfielders. The result was chaos in our half as the Germans threw shot after shot at us, only to find feet in the way.

The second half proved more desperation from the Germans as they started to throw men forward and panic was clearly entering their minds as they started to shoot from range.

Canini was forced into a few very good saves, one of which pushed onto the post, but the Germans were not able to break the line. A total of 18 shots peppered our goal compared to our 6 at theirs, but not once could they break the wall that was San Marino.

As the whistle sounded, San Marino had claimed the World Cup. 85 minutes of gritty, desperate defending has helped them claim their first major international trophy and boy what a run it was!

Group Games - A great entertaining first game, saw us overcome a flamboyant Algeria side, while we struggled against the Japanese, though managing a crucial point. THe once Mighty Brazil were not what we expected and we managed to destroy them 4-1! It is a real shame to see them crumble to their current state, losing to Algeria also and only managing a draw with Japan to sit last on 1 point.

Second Round - The dutch are still a very strong team, ranked first in fact, so I am at a loss to explain this result to be frank. They had a poor campaign really, finishing second in their group and then capitulating into a 5-0 loss against us. I was ecstatic though, watching us run rings around what was once the best team in the world.

Quarter Final - A much tighter affair against the Belgians, and we were quite lucky, winning a penalty controversially, which ultimately proved decisive as Belgium scored in extra time, what was a consolation goal but could of been an equaliser. We had luck on our side though as Serbia managed to beat off England in extra time, giving us a great chance of making the final, as they ranked 35th in the world.

Semi Final - This was a pretty routine game for us to be honest. While both goals came within the space of 4 minutes, we played reasonably comfortably and forced them to only long range bombs after weeks of possession. We happily let them knock it about and do nothing with the ball, and we marched on into the final!

Final - As has been said. We fought hard and scrappy in this one to come out on top. 1-0 and probably our closest game, despite the draw with Japan. They were very unlucky Germany, not to take the trophy, but its not always possession, but the quality of your chances, and we had just the right one.

[leonavich]

the club side wasn't so lucky. We ended up second as Fiorentina beat out Juventus to remain one point ahead of us. We also went down to Barcelona in the Champions League Semi Final, likewise for the Italian Cup.

The International win tops off what was a year of almosts for the club team.

[Jimbokav1971]

Brilliant Leon. Absolutely amazing achievement.

[Jimbokav1971]

Leon, it's quite weird looking at Canini properly for the 1st time in a while. I don't like him at all, (but maybe that's a limitation of mine rather than his). I don't like eccentricity in GK's but considering how I use them, maybe I need to have a look at that. Instead I look initially for a reasonable Aerial Ability, (10+ is a minimum), and then very high ratings for bogth Command of Area and Comunication. Then I look at Positioning, Jumping Reach, Concentration and a few other less important one's. I really look at the top 3 on the left though and if they are not what I like, well I just stop looking. Canini has well and truly proved me wrong. I had better Sammarinese GK's during my time, but none of then usurped Lucio.

Danini & Carlini on the other hand would have strolled straight into my NT line-up at any time during the save. I produced some excellent centre-backs over the years, but they were all either Italian or DN.

I really like Ceccoli and Stefanelli, but I think that I would have moulded them into more defensive players, (just because that's what I tend to do with central midfielders), and if Im honest I quite like the way you have made them more forward thinking players than my central players who actually had overall better ability.

Zafferani looks a little under-cooked, but he is only 22 so sytill has significant room for development. This is the area in which my (SMR) team reall excelled. I just had AMC after AMC come through and I just built my swpad and tactic about them, (hence the more defensive MC's).

Wow:eek:. I really like Mularoni, (it'a just a shame he is so short and has such poor jumping). Again though, I guess thatj's down to how you have developed him and the role that you have asked him to specialize in. I preferred an AF all the way through the save until right near the end, (where I changed to a poacher). What role did you prefer for the NT and is that what you asked Mularoni to specialize in?

[leonavich]

Mularoni has declined a bit since his prime.. At one stage he had 20 finishing, 20 composure, 17 or so for his pace and was very strong. in the last two years he has decline quite rapidly actually, but I think he will hang around decently for at least the Euros.

Dini also has declined since leaving Real Madrid but still plays well and has a good 5 or 6 years left I think. Felici, who is a DN, just let Italy go (turned 24) so I now have 3 very solid CB's.

All the midfielders are starting to hit their strides as they are early to mid 20s, and there are a few others coming through also.

Up Front I also have Vannucci who is still raw, with finishing 14 and composure 14, but who will be looking decent in the next few years I hope, as he is only 20 or so.

Canini, for some reason, does fairly well despite his stature and stats. I am giving him more game time now, and he is delivering, so I will stick with him despite the inabilities he should be showing.

[leonavich]

First game of the European Championships is a rematch verse Belgium, and boy do we come out on top... 3-1 to kick off our qualifying campaign! We are really in fine form Internationally at the moment

[Jimbokav1971]

I luuuuurve Felici!

[leonavich]

I luuuuurve Felici!

And he is now officially a Sammarinese player!

A few wider players and this team will be unstoppable

[roversawh7]

May I respectfully ask that if this challenge is run for FM16, that a new thread is created? There are a lot of deleted posts on this thread that can cause weird readability situations.

[Jimbokav1971]

May I respectfully ask that if this challenge is run for FM16, that a new thread is created? There are a lot of deleted posts on this thread that can cause weird readability situations.

Do you mind if I ask what "readability issues" you are having?

I have just gone back over the last 5 pages of the thread and I don't seem to be having any problems. I've also looked at pages 5, 6 & 7 and they seem fine too.

The problem with starting a new thread is that very few people actually participate in this Challenge. We are on page 11 now and there have been just over 1,000 posts, but just over a third of them have been made by me, (337 to be precise). I was playing FM14 and most other people are playing FM15. Other than myself and Leon, nobody, (other than yourself now), has made even 1 single post in the last month. The problem is that this is meant to be a challenge where a group of people get together and share experiences based around the common challenge. If there are very few people posting, (because I am in a thread for FM14 and Leon is in a thread for FM15 and you are in a thread for FM16, (just to use the 3 of us as an example), then all 3 threads will be pretty dead and it will be less of a community challenge and more of a career update as in the other forum.

The other thing is, because of the very nature of the challenge, most people who do this challenge and have a proper go at it, don't really just spend 1 season doing it. I spent 2 seasons playing my save for example, (although I think Leon is still in his 1st). This thread would be almost non-existent without the posts from me and Leon, and that is what you might have to deal with in the FM16 thread if Leon continues this save and I move elsewhere. I woldn't have been happy to swap threads mid-way through my save and I can't imagine anyone else is overly keen either.

Look, I suppose I will do whatever the majority want to do. If people want a new thread then I will create a new thread and that's not a problem at all to me. I didn't create this challenge. I just created the thread because Ter doesn't seem to be around anymore and I wanted to give it a go. I did ask at about this time last year whether people wanted a new thread or just stick to this thread, (post #490), and everyone who responded said we should keep the same thread.

Due to the ridiculously long nature of the challenge, what do you guys feel about a new thread for FM15?

I'm not going to be playing FM15 because I still have unfinished business with my FM14 save, so obviously I will be posting in here. If the rest of you want a new FM15 thread though, just let me know and I will create it. My personal opinion is that because there are so few people doing the challenge, (albeit growing from back in the day when Leon was on his own), that we shojuld all stick to 1 thread, but if others want a new thread for each issue of the game then so be it.

Let me know.

let's keep it on here.

Keep the same thread for sure!!!

One thread is much easier to manage I feel. If it starts to grow past what we have currently, then it may be worth starting a new one up in FM16 though.

I missed the whole of FM15 and will not be missing FM16 so I will be moving on to a new YOUTH ONLY challenge and posting in the Career Updates Forum in my own thread, but I'm sure I will be back in here to keep an eye on what anyone does in this challenge anyway.

[Jimbokav1971]

If you have been following this thread and plan on participating with FM16, please let us know so that I can create a list and see how many people we might have frequenting the thread.

Please just copy the list and add your name after the previous one. I am adding my name at the start just to get the list started.

Jimbokav1971. FM14 save is at an and and not participating with FM16.