The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive

[threelions1goal]

Cliftonville End Of Season 2018/19

Season Review

So, a successful season, which saw me run out as winners with four games to spare.

For those of you who are already "winners", do you sometimes just get the feeling, that it's just going to be your year?? It seemed as if for us, Cliftonville, everything just seemed to go our way - if we lost, our closest rivals would lose to, we got late winners, we got very few injuries etc.

I had to sacrifice the FA Cup, by putting out a weakened team, due to our schedule, but as I'd already won the League Cup, the previous season (which counts towards the challenge) I wasn't that bothered.

For those of you who'd read my previous season review, I hadn't signed a new contract and was on a month to month basis. The board offered me a new contract quite a few times during the season, but I declined - purely on the hope that there would be no compensation, should a new club want me (they didn't!!)

So, now as Manager Of The Year my reputation is still low, but I'm at 20%, but I still have no qualifications yet as Cliftonville's financial status wouldn't allow me to start any course's.

The club was up to £600k in the red, but qualifying for the European Cup, will help eliminate alot of that debt.

I'm now about to leave Cliftonville and I've already started applying for other jobs........did / do you guys find leaving a club a bit sad sometimes?? I've really enjoyed my time at Cliftonville, I've got some real good players and staff, but the nature of this challenge means it's time to do it all again elsewhere.......

Season	 Team 	 	Country		Position	Notes          
15/16	Linfield	N. Ireland	6th		Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season
16/17	Cliftonville	N. Ieland	3rd		Took over in January, Euro Qualification
17/18	Cliftonville	N. Ireland	4th		League Cup Winners
18/19	Cliftonville	N.Ireland	1st		Champions, Manager Of The Year							

International



Challenge Progress
Club
1/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland)
1/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

International
0/5 continental tournaments ()
0/2 world tournaments ()

[TheEarl]

The Earls Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

Its been a long time since the last time I had chance to write some updates here, so hopefully I will be able to contribute with a couple of (un)interesting updates today.

2027/28 - Fenerbahce / Holland - Turkish SuperLeague (Tier 1)

After I quit Internacional I was a bit late, most clubs had changed manager already in Europe. Real Madrid was one of them and they had appointed the manager of Bayer Leverkusen. I applied for Leverkusen only to get laughed at. I was thinking "what the h***" I am just the winner of Copa Libertadores and they laugh at me. Leverkusen then appointed the manager of Fenerbahce and with some experience in the country I applied for a job that seemed certain for a league victory. I got the job, but only after the transfer window was shut already.

On the positive side, the club had started with 3 wins and 1 draw in the league, the draw against one of the rivals Besiktas. On the negative side the club had only strengthen the squad with 1 player in the transfer window, an Argentinian left-back and lost in the Champions League playoffs to Olympique Marseille. We where going to play in the Europa League though.

My first game was a game against Dynamo Kyiv which we won 3-0 away. Easy I though, and we would go on to win 4 of the 6 group matches in Europa League and qualify early for the knockout stages. In the league we won our first match 3-1 at home to Eskisehirspor. But then we went into a really bad run in the league. We lost 3 games in a row. We never found form before christmas and lost another few games and played a draw in 4 games straight. We found ourselves in only 8th position and the performance in Europa League kept me alive.

After christmas our form was something quite different and we started winning most matches again, but it would soon prove that the league was left far too late. We ended up 5 points behind winners Osmanlispor in 3rd and that meant only Europa League next season as well.

In the Turkish Cup, we progressed easily from the group stage. Quarter Final saw us draw Adana Demirspor and we won 3-2 away and 3-0 at home for an easy 6-2 aggregate score. Semi Final was against Eskisehirspor. After 1-0 win away, I thought it would be easy again. But this time no. We lost 1-0 at home, no goals in extra time and the tie was decided by penalties. We lost (as I always do in penalty-shootouts) and didn't make the Final.

In the Europa League we knocked out Dnipro and Benfica before setting up a Quarter Final against Real Sociedad. 1-1 away gaves us a good hope before the home game, but yet again we lost 1-0 at home and went out of the tournament. No good season this as I went home from Turkey with no trophies.

With Holland we played in the 2028 EURO, and won against Ukraine and France in the group stage, and playing draw with Austria. This gave us the 1st place in the group and a 2nd Round game against Scotland. High favorites for the game, we where shocked by the Scots who played for a 0-0 and penalties. They got what they came for and knocked us out in the shoot-out. (Hardly had to type that, we all know what happens when I play shoot-outs now dont we).

Disappointing season, and off I went to new hunting grounds again.

Code:
Season        Club            League             Pos.   Cup               Info.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16  HOL  Den Bosch     Jupiler League       11th   2nd round     Joined 19th, already out of Cup
2016/17  HOL  Den Bosch     Jupiler League        1st   4th round      Won the league and promoted!
2017/18  HOL  Den Bosch     Eresdivisie           14th   2nd round     Survived in a bad season.
2018/19  SCO  Falkirk       Championship          2nd  Quarter fin.   Promoted after playoffs, 3rd r. of leag. cup
2019/20  SCO  Rangers      Championship           1st  Quarter fin.   Promoted, 3rd r. of leag. cup
2020/21  SCO  Rangers      Premiership              1st   Winners        Double champion, QF of league cup
2021/22  ENG  Aston Villa  Championship           3rd  4th Round     Lost play-off semis, 2nd r. of lag. cup
2022/23  TUR  Kasimpasa   Super League           5th  Semi Final     Took over in 12th pos, already knocked out of euro.comp.
2023/24  BEL  Club Brugge  Pro League             1st   Semi Final     Lost in 1st KO Round of Europa League
2024/25  ITA   Torino       Serie A                12th 4th Qual.r.    Embarrassed the city of Torino, left in march
2025/26  ITA   Lazio         Serie A                 2nd  Winners       Knocked out of group of CL, Quarters of EL
2026    BRA  Internacional Serie A                   1st  Quarter F.     Took over in 9th, Already State Champions and knocked out of Copa Lib.
2027    BRA  Internacional Serie A                   1st  N/A              Won Copa Libertadores, resigned after that, the club won the league afterwards
2027/28  TUR  Fenerbahce  SuperLeague         3rd  Semi Final   Knocked out in QF of Europa League, resigned after the season

Season        Nation             World Cup      Cont. Cup            Other
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21     Romania           In qualif.         NA                      Won Nations League B, Promoted to A
2021/22     Romania           4th in group    NA                      Qualified for World Cup, finished bottom
2022/23     Ghana              NA                  Winners              Already qual. for ACON, won it and left
2024/25     Belgium            In qualif.         NA                      Lost in semis of Nations League A
2025/26     Belgium            Quarter Final   NA                      Resigned after World Cup
2026/27     Holland             NA                 In Qualif.             Relegated to Nations League B
2027/28     Holland             NA                 Qualified              Nothing special to note
2028          Holland             NA                 2nd Round           Left before getting sacked

[b][i]Challenge Progress[/i][/b]

[b]Club[/b]
------------------------------------------
3/10 top domestic leagues (Scotland with Rangers, Belgium with Club Brugge, Brazil with Internacional)
2/10 domestic cups (Scottish FA Cup with Rangers, Italian Cup with Lazio)
1/5 club continental championships  (Copa Libertadores with Internacional)
0/1 club world championship 

[b]International
[/b]-------------------------------------------
1/5 continental tournaments  (Africa with Ghana)
0/2 world tournaments

[TheEarl]

The Earls Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

Maybe a bit dull update this, but progress has been bad for a couple of seasons, this is a summary of how I have fared.

2028/29 - Spezia / Uruguay

After leaving Fenerbahce I thought I would get some decent teams interested. It was only 1 year since I won the Copa Libertadores. But no, my reputation was not that good in Europe, and I had the habit of leaving after just 1 season so clubs where not that interested in me. I had to change "tactic" and the new was to emphasis on one country and stick to that country. The team I ended up with was Spezia in Serie A, Italy. They where 15th when I joined late in september and my first season was an overachievement. I got Spezia up to 7th (joined club-record). And by the scrap of it I qualified them for next seasons Europa League.

I took over Uruguay also, playing qualifying games for World Cup 2030 and sitting comfortably in 2nd/3rd spot behind clear leaders Brazil.

2029/30 - Spezia/AC Milan / Uruguay

Next season was the difficult 2nd season with Spezia, and we underperformed. Mostly sitting in 10th/11th position, but then an opening occurred when AC Milan sacked their manager. I was appointed manager just as Spezia slipped to 14th in the league. AC Milan was 9th and I promised to bring them to Champions League, which required a 3rd position. I got some new players in the transfer window with Milans heavy budget and steadily climbed the table. However I only managed 4th, Semi Final in Coppa Italia and Quarter Final in Champions League. This means next season we will only play in Europa League. I did survive the job though as the board gave me benefit of the doubt after a good end to the season.

Uruguay got easily to World Cup. Finished 2nd in the Group Stage, and actually knocked out Spain in the Quarter Finals only to loose to Serbia in the Semi Finals.

I do look a lot more positive on the future though as Milan has a strong squad, and after World Cup I was appointed manager of France who has a much better team than Uruguay.

I will not post the summary this time, but will be back with it in the next update. (I am now as far in my updates as the progress really is on this save.)

[blackdevil]

Season 2020/21: Newcastle United

The good solid pre-season gave us a positive outlook for the season ahead. After ten games the outlook was looking bleak as we'd won two, drawn two and lost six. With one of those wins against lower league Peterborough it looked as if we were in for a long hard season. However a 5-0 home win against Liverpool provided hope that it was just a matter of time before we'd gel and turn our form around. With gradual impovement throughout the season we finished in opposite form to what we started, winning six, drawing three and loosing once in the last ten games, to snatch fith place on the last day of the season from Bournemouth who'd been in the top four for most of the campaign.

Challenge Progress

Club

1/10 top domestic leagues (GRE)

1/10 domestic cups (GRE)

0/5 club continental championships ()

0/1 club world championship ()

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

Seasons:


CLUB CAREER
						Leagues		Cups
Season	NAT	Club			Division	1st	2nd	1st	2nd		Cont.	CWC	Other & Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16	GRE	Panaigialeios		B division	8th		n/a					Last 9 games
2016/17	GRE	Panaigialeios		B division	1st		round 2					Promoted
2017/18	GRE	Panaigialeios		Superleague	5th		round 2					3rd in Euro playoff 
2018/19	GRE	Panaigialeios		Superleague	1st		Winners					League and Cup winners
2020/21	ENG	Newcastle United	EPL		5th		round 3	round 2				qualified for Europa league




INTERNATIONAL CAREER

		Rank		Cups
Year	Nation		FIFA	NL	World	Cont.	Conf.	Other & Notes


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Kaiserwatman]

Varbergs BoIS 2015

Having another bash at this challenge after abandoning mid way through last year as the new release came out . As the media gathered for the press conference at the Påskbergsvallen eagerily awaiting the arrival of the new manager Rasmus Limpar but there was no arrival . Surely the kid talking to the Chairman by the drinks machine isnt the manager of relegation threatened Varbergs BoIS but their fears soon became a reality. A final day win over already relegated IF Brommapojkarna saw Varbergs sneak out of relegation playoff trouble and seal another season in the Superetten.

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      Only managed 5 Superetten Games

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[threelions1goal]

Shanggang End Of Season 2019/20

Review

After Cliftonville, I applied for a few jobs, unsuccessfully, but then got the gig at Shanggang in China.

The club were predicted to finish 4th and had already qualified for the Asian Champions League from the previous season, so they were in pretty good shape.

The biggest step up from Cliftonville is that Shanggang are Professional, as opposed to Semi-Pro, and compared to Cliftonville, they are minted, money isn't much of an issue and after 5 years in the challenge, they allowed me to begin a coaching course (and have since funded another one, so I'm beginning to get on the ladder now!!)

As for the season, it couldn't have gone much better - as the league position in my review shows that as soon as we reached top spot, we never lost it all through the season. At one point we were 12 points clear and coasting, but a small blip and a few injuries meant that lead was lost and it all came down to the last match of the season where I needed a win to secure the title, but could only manage a draw....but that was ok as Shangang in second place lost, so I ended up as Champions

The cup competition went well too - in all honesty I had a pretty easy run to the final, although International Call Ups Left me with a thin squad in the Final

The 1st leg of the Final had seen us run out 3-2 winners, but with that depleted squad saw us lose the 2nd leg 4-3, which meant we had drawn 6-6 on aggregate, but we won the cup on Away Goals.

So, a great season in China and naturally, when you do the double, you finish as Manager Of The Year.....with a sunburnt face!!

Again, we've qualified for next season's Asian Champions League, although I don't think we're strong enough to win it, although you never know.

I've one year left on my contract and intend to see it through, although if one of the stronger Asian Clubs (Seoul, Ulsan, Suwon, Jeonbuk) sack their manager, I may apply for one of those positions

Season	 Team 	 	Country	       Position	        Notes          
15/16	Linfield	N. Ireland	6th		Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season
16/17	Cliftonville	N. Ieland	3rd		Took over in January, Euro Qualification
17/18	Cliftonville	N. Ireland	4th		League Cup Winners
18/19	Cliftonville	N.Ireland	1st		Champions, Manager Of The Year
19/20	Shanggang	China		1st		Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year						

International



Challenge Progress
Club
2/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China)
2/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

International
0/5 continental tournaments ()
0/2 world tournaments ()

[mayihavecookie]

threelions Congratulations on the title in Northern Ireland and well done on your first season in China! Winning the Chinese Super League could well help you getting a job in Korea, it did for me. But if you stay with Shanggang, good luck. Will be interesting to see what you can do in the ACL with a Chinese team.

TheEarl Why did you decide to leave Fenerbahce? I think your chances to win the league in your second season would have been good after a 3rd place finish. Anyway, good luck with Milan! Hopefully you can bring them back to old glory. Also interesting how you can get the France job while it seems to be tough for you to get big club jobs. Hopefully managing France will give a boost to your reputation.

Kaiser Welcome back to the challenge. Can't remember anyone managing in Scandinavia, this is going to be interesting. Good luck!

blackdevil Congratulations on moving on to Newcastle. I think you're the third or fourth challenger to manage Newcastle. Hopefully you'll be as succesful as those before you.

[Kaiserwatman]

Varbergs BoIS 2016

A solid enough season which looks better on paper by finishing fourth although in reality the top three were never in any danger from Varbergs in the push for promotion . Despite several tweaks the Varbergs defense is all over the shop and leaking goals at an alarming rate . The club is skint so there has been no progression in terms of obtaining any badges to aid the progression . This will be my final season at the Påskbergsvallen as pastures new will be sought .

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden         4th       

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[TheEarl]

TheEarl Why did you decide to leave Fenerbahce? I think your chances to win the league in your second season would have been good after a 3rd place finish. Anyway, good luck with Milan! Hopefully you can bring them back to old glory. Also interesting how you can get the France job while it seems to be tough for you to get big club jobs. Hopefully managing France will give a boost to your reputation.

I left Fenerbahce as I thought I would get some better teams, which I didn't at all so it was a big failure. Now that I am with Milan I hope for a prosperous part of my career again though.

When it comes to National Management versus Club Management in FM16 that seems a bit different. Your reputation seems to be based on your reputation as a National Manager and not as your Club Manager. Thats why I can get the France job. That said France was down to 21st in the World Rankings. Club Reputation seems to be more difficult as it seems more divided between World Reputation and Local Reputation than in FM15. Meaning I can't get a job at the big clubs in France at the moment, PSG/Monaco/OM. That is kind of funny as I could be the country's National Manager.

[vikeologist]

3L1G- It's typical of how many name changes there are in China that I didn't know who Shanggang are. Shanghai SIPG I guess. It's so confusing.Imagine if english teams were named after their owners and changed cities all the time. I'm so confused. Anyway, did the update change the finances for your team? How much does the biggest earner at your club get? Anyone starting this challenge now in China will fins that they have a bit more money than the Korean sides.

Earl - Do you think the club Vs country reputation thing makes the challenge harder in FM16? won't be long till you're on the leaderbaord, although i suppose nothing is certain. i went about 6 months without winning a single challenge landmark at one point.

Kaiser- It will be interesting to see what kind of job you can get if you leave your current club.

blackdevil - Congrats on your first season at Newcastle.

[blackdevil]

Thanks MIHC & Vikeologist. On the eve of the new season I noticed the Galatasary job was available and was tempted to apply for it. I've not quite taken to Newcastle but I've decided to see it through this season to see how it goes. Hopefully a good season will give me more enthusiasm for the Toon.

[threelions1goal]

Vikeologist The biggest earner at my club is on £78k per week, he is one of the four foreign players that are allowed and was already on that contract before I arrived.

All other players are modestly paid between £2k & £8k per week and not one of them has had any issue with anybody else earning more than them.

Not certain how much the update has affected the finances in China, as I'm unsure what they used to be - although as you state, there is a considerable difference between the finances of Chinese and Korean clubs.

Shanggang is "Shanggang Shanghai"

Blackdevil I get where you're coming from when you just don't get "the feel" for a club, but good luck up there in Geordie land!!

Kaiser I've got Swedish leagues loaded and I'm tempted to have a crack there, and again, I share your frustration when finances prevent you from studying for qualifications - I had it at Cliftonville, where they repeatedly refused my requests, whereas at Shanggang, they've put me on two, as soon as I've asked.

Good luck!!

[GwilymJJames]

2018-19 - Alloa

League Cup

1R 2-2 v. Queen's Park (A) won on penalties (Spence 2)

2R 2-1 v. Falkirk (H) (Spence, McCluskey)

3R 1-2 v. Aberdeen (H) (Szimayer)

Meh.

Challenge Cup

1R 2-0 v. Montrose (H) (Trisic, Hill)

2R 5-0 v. East Fife (A) (Layne 4, Spence)

3R 1-1 v. Queen of the South (A) won on penalties (Szimayer)

SF 3-6 v. Kilmarnock (A) (McCluskey, Szimayer 2)

It was 3-3 with 5 minutes to go, then we collapsed chasing the game.

Scottish Cup

3R 3-2 v. Formantine Utd (A) (Szimayer 2, Paun)

4R 2-1 v. Falkirk (H) (Spence, Jordanov)

5R 1-2 v. Motherwell (H) (Jordanov)

We had the opportunties against the reigning champions, we didn't take them.

Scottish Championship

In a bid to recover from the poor ending to last season, we brought in a half-dozen new players, including a new keeper, some new defenders (one of whom was former Bangor POTY Adam Cummins), a couple of midfielders and a striker. Unfortunately the keeer and the defenders never really settled, and couldn't really be seen as good signings over the cause of the season.

The midfielders and the striker on the other hand...

We started the season in mixed form, winning as often as we lost before a run of five consecutive defeats threatened to drag us away from the playoffs. Once we'd stopped that run however, we were climbing back up. New striker Sebastian Szimayer and a resurgant Greig Spence helped us back up the league. We weren't quite able to put together a good enough run to challenge Falkirk and we stumbled a bit over the line but got 3rd place and the playoffs.

Winning by the odd goals in 5 and 7 got us past Morton in the first round, before facing bogey team Hamilton. Here Kyle McAusland, who had started the season here before moving to Hamilton in January, endeared himself to our fans by randomly kicking Spence. With Hamilton reduced to 10 men we could get the win at home and hold out for the draw away, putting us into the big game against Partick Thistle. It was gonna be close, could we beat the higher ranked team?

With a 4-0 win in the first leg, it was pretty safe to say that yes, we could.

Fixtures | League | Squad | Transfers

Top scorer: Sebastian Szimayer (27 goals; also Championship top scorer with playoffs included)

Player of the Year: Greig Spence (also Championship player of the year)

Championship Team of the Year: Johannes Buhler, Szimayer, Spence

Season   Team         Tier  Position Cup1 Cup2 Cup3 Notes and Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018-19  Alloa        II     3rd     5R   3R   SF   Promoted via playoffs
2017-18  Alloa        II     8th     SF   2R   RU 
2016-17  Alloa        III    1st     3R   2R   3R   Promoted as champions
2015-16  Bangor       I      9th     SF   RU        Took over 13 games; 11th; 11pts;
2015     Wales U19    n/a    3rd 1QR  

Challenge Progress


Club
 0/10 top domestic leagues ()
 0/10 domestic cups ()
 0/5 club continental championships ()
 0/1 club world championship


International
 0/5 continental tournaments ()
 0/2 world tournaments ()

[Kaiserwatman]

SANDNES ULF 2018

Four games into the 2017 season I walked out on Varbergs BoIS following a poor start to the season . The men in suits upstairs lacked the any sort of forward thinking and money earned from transfers was been absorbed and not aiding the development of the club. I watched them drop like a stone from a distance with a wee grin as they were relegated from the Superetten. Months and Months rolled past as i began to think have i blown it , will there be another stepping stone back onto the road of management then finally a call came . Sandnes Ulf , a part time OBOS-Ligaen club who had just finished 8th the previous season were willing to take a punt .

Aided with a better side than previously at Varbergs , Sandnes Ulf pushed for promotion early on and whilst a record of 17-1-12 is not the cleanest way of getting the job done , it was effective coming in 3 points a drift of favourites IK Start. There was also a cup run going deep into the competition purely by avoiding all the big teams until eventually been drawn against Rosenborg . Cup Run over ... A few coins for the bank and now currently working on my second coaching badge.

The club remain part time , comprising solely of Norwegian Players now attempt survival in the Tippligaen , Varbergs BoIS remain in the third division of Sweden , I will return to Sweden though not to them

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf      Norway
2018    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         2nd 

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[vikeologist]

3L1G - In the March update Conca is on 120k a week. Still a few years back when he was playing for another Chinese club, he was the third highest paid player in the world so i guess it's a bit of a come down for him. Kaiser- Congrats on promotion. Hope you can keep Sandines in the top flight.

GJJ- Well done on another promotion. Do you think Alloa are going to be big enough to survive with attemdances etc?

[threelions1goal]

Shanggang Shanghai - Mid season update

After winning the league and cup last year, domestically my work in China is done.

Therefore it's only the Asian Champions League which held my interest with Shanggang.

Was drawn in a tough group with Suwon, Melbourne Victory and I can't remember the other team off the top of my head.

One win in five group matches saw me eliminated from the cup competition, so I decided to resign, with the team second in the league, so they were in pretty good shape.

Luckily for me, the Jeonbuk job in South Korea became available after they sacked their manager, so I applied for it and got it.

Jeonbuk are predicted to finish third, but currently lie in eighth and have been eliminated from the Asian Champions League in the second round - no wonder the previous manager got the sack....!!!

It's halfway through the season, the transfer window is now about to open, lets see where we end up......

Season	 Team 	 	Country	      Position	         Notes          
15/16	Linfield	N. Ireland	6th		Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season
16/17	Cliftonville	N. Ieland	3rd		Took over in January, Euro Qualification
17/18	Cliftonville	N. Ireland	4th		League Cup Winners
18/19	Cliftonville	N.Ireland	1st		Champions, Manager Of The Year
19/20	Shanggang	China		1st		Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year	
20/21	Shanggang	China				Resigned after being knocked out of Champs League
20/21	Jeonbuk	        S. Korea					

International



Challenge Progress
Club
2/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China)
2/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

International
0/5 continental tournaments ()
0/2 world tournaments ()

[Kaiserwatman]

MK DONS 2022

Been a couple of seasons now since i last updated but all i can report back is new club but silverware of any description has yet to arrive. Whilst my time at Sandnes Ulf in terms of this challenge was fruitless it was indeed enjoyable although i have been set back a few years, the career path looks about right with no insane jumps in club levels.

Sandnes Ulf

Having spent all their money bringing the stadium up to league standards , the club had to stay semi professional and grim it out with the big boys . The league itself was pretty poor and the step up wasn't seen as too big a deal and safety was easily guaranteed , finishing 8th allowing the professional era to commence. Now aided with the ability of full time contracts players started arriving from bigger clubs in Sweden and Denmark to aid the quest and it almost worked.

6 games to go in the second top flight season Sandnes Ulf lead the league but choked dramatically under the pressure and eventually finished third. The form also carried into the Norwegian Cup Final which was also lost.

I should have left at this point but under the theme which seemed to persist in Scandinavian where chairmen didn't sack managers until relegation was about 95% confirmed there was little option to move elsewhere without taking a drop down to the second tier. I stayed to see out my contract under the false illusion "this is our year" . It wasn't and Sandnes Ulf were unable to reach the heights of the previous season and whilst finishing third once again were never a threat to those above. Obtained Continental C license whilst at club.

MK Dons

Several failed interviews persisted over the next six - seven months before Rasmus Limpar agreed terms to become manager of MK Dons . Only managed the final 10 games but relegation fears were easily quenched.

A mere stepping stone i hope unlike my Norwegian fruitless adventure but hopefully to aid the reputation and some cups on the board sooner or later

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf      Norway
2018    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         2nd      Promoted
2019    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         8th
2020    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2021    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2022    MK Dons          England        16th

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[Kaiserwatman]

IPSWICH TOWN 2024

MK DONS

The arrival of several players from Scandinavia helped MK Dons improve on the previous season , flirting briefly with a play-off place before tailing off at the end of the season. I wasn't particularly enjoying managing the club and was happy letting my contract tick down whilst talking to other clubs. There were rumours of interest from Helsingborgs and Birmingham City but it was Ipswich Town who made the move first and i agreed to take over the club who had been relegated on the final day of the premier league season.

IPSWICH TOWN

Despite many players demanding to leave following relegation it was soon clear that the Champions of 2022 would easily regain their premier status in 2024 winning the championship by a massive 22 points.

Following wins over Brighton , Brentford , Birmingham City and Southampton the club reached the Carling Cup Final but succumbed to Chelsea. My quest to get off the board in this challenge continues.

On April 8th Slovenian Tycoon Gregor Primc took control of the club. I have £90m to improve the squad for the upcoming premier league campaign

SENEGAL

Senegal qualified easily from their group for the African Cup of Nations 2025

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf      Norway          --
2018    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         2nd      Promoted
2019    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         8th
2020    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2021    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2022    MK Dons          England       16th
2023    MK Dons          England        8th
2024    Ipswich Town     England        1st      Promoted

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[threelions1goal]

Congratulations on Promotion Kaiser - Getting into the Premier League could open up new horizons for you!!

[threelions1goal]

Jeonbuk FC - End Of Season 20/21

Took over almost halfway through the season after leaving Shanggang in China. As I previously mentioned, the club were 8th in the league and had just been knocked out of the Asian Champions League.

I found it tricky to get any consistency, but stumbled across a 4-3-1-2 formation, which worked with my new transfer signings - Romario from Brazil for £2m and a free signing of Alex Garcia on a free after he was released by Manchester City - as most will probably already know, there is a rule of only 4 foreign players in South Korea and they already had 2 foreign players, so this was the best I could do (I'll provide screenshots of the two signings if required)

After that, we had a decent run in the league and finished in 4th place and also finished as Cup Winners

As you can see in the review, I used 34 players during the season, that was before I "discovered" my new formation.........plus, without intending offence to anybody, it's hard getting to grips with the players names - sometimes I couldn't remember who I'd picked in previous matches!!!!!

So, winning the FA Cup means I qualify for the group stages of The Champions League, I intend to sign one more foreign player and release the ageing central midfielder who was already there and if finances allow, I'm going to try and sign the National teams goalkeeper, who is interested in joining - Korean teams can only have Korean goalkeepers.

My rating is 35%, by all accounts I'm now "useful" with two stars and I've almost completed my National A badges.......hopefully I'm getting somewhere and I may even delve into the International side of things this season, if I can get a half decent country........

Season	 Team 	 	Country	Position	Notes          
15/16	Linfield		N. Ireland	6th		Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season
16/17	Cliftonville	N. Ieland	3rd		Took over in January, Euro Qualification
17/18	Cliftonville	N. Ireland	4th		League Cup Winners
18/19	Cliftonville	N.Ireland	1st		Champions, Manager Of The Year
19/20	Shanggang	China		1st		Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year	
20/21	Shanggang	China		N/A		Resigned after being knocked out of Champs League
20/21	Jeonbuk	S. Korea	4th		Cup Winners, Knocked Out 2nd Round Champs League					

International



Challenge Progress
Club
2/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China)
3/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China, S. Korea)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

International
0/5 continental tournaments ()
0/2 world tournaments ()

[vikeologist]

3L1G - Congrats on the cup. In Korea (both managing domestic clubs and the international team) I made extensive use of nicknames. Actually I had to do the same with Ivory Coast, but that was because they all had the same 3 surnames. Anyway, I think giving nicknames is fun. I guess you just have to be careful of a nickname giving anybody offence when you discuss the players on here. There was one nickname (I can't remember what it was) where one day i wondered if the word had racial connotations.

Kaiser - Congrats on getting Ipswich straight back up. Hope for tycoon fueled success.

[shirajzl]

This is really impressive, people.

I've been doing some research on long challenges and this one, as well as Alphabet challenge and Pentagon challenge, cropped up as the best. Now, I completed the Pentagon last year, but that's the shortest of the aforementioned trio.

I'm wondering where do you find motivation to build up teams over and over again? I remember that was my biggest problem while doing Pentagon, just when you've set up your squad perfectly to your taste and tactic, you have to move on and start all over again. The same struggle to get rid of the deadwood, carefully managing finances to slowly bring in suitable players etc. It's fun for 2 or 3 times/clubs, but after a while it just becomes a grind.

[blackdevil]

Season 2021/22: Newcastle United

At the start of the season the aim was to improve in the league (ie. qualify for the Champions League) and do well in the cups.

We got of to a good start with seven wins, two draws and a single defeat in the first ten games.

Our league form tailed off slightly in October/November as we'd win a mid-week cup game and then draw the weekend league fixture.

As December dawned we found our consistency and turned the league games into wins.

The good league form was halted between the 17th February and 17th March as we only played cup games including a 5-1 League Cup final win over Chelsea with three of the goals coming in the last five minutes as Chelsea chased a goal to get back in the game.

April saw our league form dip with three straight defeats and effectively rule us out of the title picture but still in the hunt for a top four place.

Despite the fixture pile up due to the cup exploits between February and March we managed to secure a top four place with a few games to spare and snatched third on the final day of the season from Manchester United.

With only a two day break after the league campaign finished we faced Basel in the Europa League final winning 2-0 and quickly followed that up three days later by winning The FA Cup 4-2 against Liverpool in an exciting (for the neutral) match. Both teams having the lead at some point during the game.

Challenge Progress

Club

1/10 top domestic leagues (GRE)

2/10 domestic cups (GRE, ENG)

0/5 club continental championships ()

0/1 club world championship ()

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

Seasons:


CLUB CAREER
						Leagues		Cups
Season	NAT	Club			Division	1st	2nd	1st	2nd		Cont.	CWC	Other & Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16	GRE	Panaigialeios		B division	8th		n/a					Last 9 games
2016/17	GRE	Panaigialeios		B division	1st		round 2					Promoted
2017/18	GRE	Panaigialeios		Superleague	5th		round 2					3rd in Euro playoff 
2018/19	GRE	Panaigialeios		Superleague	1st		Winners					League and Cup winners
2020/21	ENG	Newcastle United	EPL		5th		round 3	round 2				qualified for Europa league
2021/22	ENG	Newcastle United	EPL		3rd		Won	Won				Won Europa League




INTERNATIONAL CAREER
		Rank		Cups
Year	Nation		FIFA	NL	World	Cont.	Conf.	Other & Notes


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[vikeologist]

This is really impressive, people.

I've been doing some research on long challenges and this one, as well as Alphabet challenge and Pentagon challenge, cropped up as the best. Now, I completed the Pentagon last year, but that's the shortest of the aforementioned trio.

I'm wondering where do you find motivation to build up teams over and over again? I remember that was my biggest problem while doing Pentagon, just when you've set up your squad perfectly to your taste and tactic, you have to move on and start all over again. The same struggle to get rid of the deadwood, carefully managing finances to slowly bring in suitable players etc. It's fun for 2 or 3 times/clubs, but after a while it just becomes a grind.

You're right. This is a tough part of the challenge, and there was a point where i was a bit sick of it. I had so many teams that were great, but would have been even better if i'd stayed.

As I've said a number of times, at the point where I was getting fed up, I took over Newcastle who weren't one of the big teams in england at the time, as I wanted to have to stick with a team for more than 2 seasons, and build something.

At the same time, i think there's a ceratin drgree of excitement at the prospect of managing in nations where you haven't previously spent much time managing.

The community feel of this thread also helped.

As for taking ovr new teams, you really need to have your shortcuts set up. You should have your tactics saved so you just add them. It can be a drag when you take over a club if you end up wasting too much time reinventing the wheel.

You mention getting rid of deadwood and bringing in new players, but once you have a good reputation, the most effectuive way to do the challenge is to deliberately take over clubs that don't need a lot of work done.

if you look at the clubs that we who have completed it have managed, it's almost entirely the big clubs (apart from at the start of the challenge when you're building your reputation). Once you have your pick of clubs, it usually only takes 2 seasons to win the league if you pick your teams wisely.

but yes, achieving the challnge took more endurance than skill; at least for me.

[shirajzl]

Yeah, endurance is key. I'd say even more so with the international part. Winning those cups which are held every 4 years can be awfully stressful. One bad game from your keeper or a defender and you're out, regardless of how good your team is.

I remember even in the old days of CM 01/02 trying to win international tournaments was always a frustrating affair.

[Kaiserwatman]

IPSWICH TOWN 2025

IPSWICH TOWN

I must admit the arrival of the tycoon really took the shine off returning to the Premier League . Its not my style to spend large amounts of money on players in the quest of glory but there were some new arrivals with medium transfer fees (5-8m). Despite losing £80m this season , the chairman announced a £135m transfer budget and is planning to build a brand new 45000 stadium called after himself . With potentially 0 chance of escaping FFP problems down the line I will probably just completely blow the full budget in quest for instant success and get out before the accountants start crying . In the league it was 6th , best of the rest sort of scenario though well off the pace of those above

SENEGAL

10 years It took for the first trophy to arrive as Senegal beat Morocco 2-1 in the African Cup of Nations Final . The pre tournament favourites were rarely throubled and only conceded 2 goals in the whole competition.

I immediately resigned and will seek another venture elsewhere

Season     Team          Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS    Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf      Norway          --
2018    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         2nd      Promoted
2019    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         8th
2020    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2021    Sandnes Ulf      Norway         3rd
2022    MK Dons          England       16th
2023    MK Dons          England        8th
2024    Ipswich Town     England        1st      Promoted
2025    Ipswich Town     England        6th

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

1/5 continental tournaments - ACON Senegal 2025

0/2 world tournaments

[TheEarl]

Congrats Kaiser the first of (hopefully) many trophies to fill your cabinet. I like the route you have taken, and you seem to be patient enough with each team also

[shirajzl]

I highly doubt I'll finish this challenge, but it should keep me motivated to play FM. Otherwise, I struggle to stick with a save. Having such long term goals has always helped me focus.

Last year I completed Pentagon Challenge

Jomo Cosmos (Africa) - Guangzhou (Asia) - San Jose (NA) - Inter (Europe) - Corinthians (SA).

This time I want to avoid the same clubs, maybe even leagues where possible.

Anyway, I started at...

Season 2015

Korean second tier.

I arrived 13 games to go, when they were on 7th place.

Table

It looks close to playoffs, but it was never a realistic goal. I used this time to assess the squad. What's interesting is that the ENTIRE team's contracts are expiring. Lots of work to be done.

Season     Team            League               Position       Domestic Cup       Continental Cup         Notes 

2015       Goyang Hi FC    K League Challenge   5th           4th rnd                -                  took over 13 games to go, 7th place

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[Kaiserwatman]

RED BULL SALZBURG 2026

A tycoon owner ready to plough money into the club without question , qualification for the Europa league and a solid young squad . Sure what could go wrong , actually alot. The first half of the 25/26 season proved tedious with endless disharmony amongst the squad and constant clashes with key players . It had all started with demands of massive wage increases and no willingness to negotiate . Squad harmony had dropped to round 25% , results on the pitch were shoddy and by November i knew i was not going to win the league or in fact anything . This is where the Austrian National job came up and whilst they instantly discarded my application to the shredder it did create my chance of getting out of Ipswich.

Given the status of RB Salzburg within Austria it takes no managerial genius to win the league and the double was chalked off with aplomb

Season     Team             Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS       Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS       Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf         Norway          --
2018    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         2nd      Promoted
2019    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         8th
2020    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         3rd
2021    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         3rd
2022    MK Dons             England       16th
2023    MK Dons             England        8th
2024    Ipswich Town        England        1st      Promoted
2025    Ipswich Town        England        6th
2026    Red Bull Salzburg   Austria        1st      Bundesliga and OFB-Cup Winners

Challenge Progress

Club

1/10 top domestic leagues - Austria

1/10 domestic cups - Austria

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

1/5 continental tournaments - ACON Senegal 2025

0/2 world tournaments

[shirajzl]

Season 2016

Media prediction was 9th, but I saw in the first season here there's a lot of breathing room.

With a few free transfers we won the league, but it was tight. Gangwon was a constant threat, switching with me at the top.

Table

In Korean FA Cup, we got to 5th round (expected 4th), beating the top tier Ulsan in the process.

Best player on average rating

Most assists

Most goals

Season     Team            League               Position       Domestic Cup       Continental Cup         Notes 

2015       Goyang Hi FC    K League Challenge   5th           4th rnd                -                  took over 13 games to go, 7th place
2016       Goyang Hi FC    K League Challenge   1st           5th rnd                -                  

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[lfc7]

Hi looking to have a go at this what leagues are best starting off in ? i was thinking of loading maybe South Africa, Scotland, South Korea, N.Ireland and Wales to start off with

[TheEarl]

Hi looking to have a go at this what leagues are best starting off in ? i was thinking of loading maybe South Africa, Scotland, South Korea, N.Ireland and Wales to start off with

It really depends how hard a challenge you want. I would say for an "easy" go you should start in lower league on England League Two or possibly League One if you can get a team there after half a season or one whole seasno. I started in Holland, was a fun expereicne, but Scotland might be better if you after a while can get teams like Rangers.

Generally I would say with FM16 stick with a club for at least 2 seasons, or you would fast gather a reputation as a "club jumper" which might block a move to a future top team.

Welcome and good luck with the challenge!

[lfc7]

It really depends how hard a challenge you want. I would say for an "easy" go you should start in lower league on England League Two or possibly League One if you can get a team there after half a season or one whole seasno. I started in Holland, was a fun expereicne, but Scotland might be better if you after a while can get teams like Rangers.

Generally I would say with FM16 stick with a club for at least 2 seasons, or you would fast gather a reputation as a "club jumper" which might block a move to a future top team.

Welcome and good luck with the challenge!

Thanks very much I've started with the leagues i mentioned above so ill see what comes up, Not amazing at the game so could take me forever or never ha anyway looking forward to it.

Also playing on classic as with full time job working permanent nights, family plus other things don't have time to play full version

[shirajzl]

Season 2017

Things were rather sticky in the beginning, with only 1 win and 6 defeats in the first seven games, but things slowly picked up. We were very inconsistent, but that was to be expected. In the end, we scraped through to the "title race" group or group A on goal difference, where we lost 4 out of 5 and convincingly so. It's going to be tough, there's no money, the wage budget is cut down even more. Out of all free transfers, only this guy proved to be an improvement.

In the cup, we reached the quarters, after defeating a lower league side and undeservedly a good Pohang team, we lost in the same way against a second division team.

Table

Season     Team            League               Position       Domestic Cup       Continental Cup         Notes 

2015       Goyang Hi FC    K League Challenge   5th           4th rnd                -                  took over 13 games to go, 7th place
2016       Goyang Hi FC    K League Challenge   1st           5th rnd                -   
2017       Goyang Hi FC    K League Classic     6th           1/4 finals             -                  

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[threelions1goal]

Jeonbuk Season Review 21/22

SACKED!!

Unbelievable Jeff!!

Started the season with the expectation of winning the league and reaching the final of the Champions League.

Everything was going well, qualified from the group stage of the Champions League undefeated, beat Seoul in the second round, leaving us in the quarter final.

The FA Cup was no problem, easily disposing three opponents and reached the Semi Final - looking good to retain the trophy.

The league was fine, there was us, Pohang, Seoul and Suwon, trading blows alternating between first place and fourth, but never more than 6-8 points between any of us.

Then along came the "Asian Games Football Tournament" for the U23 Korean squad.........half of my team were very good, under 23 and members of the national squad and my days, did it have an impact on us for getting on for a month

It became hard to field a team and then when I thought it couldn't get worse, it became even harder to field a team

Results suffered and Jeonbuk sacked me.....I literally felt gutted!! I was totally confident that once my players returned, we would have been in with a shout of winning all three trophies - the League, FA Cup & Chumps League.

The irony of it all is I could have become the manager of the U23's for their tournament - so I could have not selected any Jeonbuk players and weakened the squads of my rivals!!!!

I've since checked and they've been knocked out of both competitions, which gave me a little bit of pleasure, but now I'm looking for a club again......maybe away from Asia, dunno yet.....I'm at a loss!!

Season	 Team 	 	Country	Position	Notes          
15/16	Linfield	N. Ireland	6th		Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season
16/17	Cliftonville	N. Ieland	3rd		Took over in January, Euro Qualification
17/18	Cliftonville	N. Ireland	4th		League Cup Winners
18/19	Cliftonville	N.Ireland	1st		Champions, Manager Of The Year
19/20	Shanggang	China		1st		Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year	
20/21	Shanggang	China		N/A		Resigned after being knocked out of Champs League
20/21	Jeonbuk	      S. Korea	        4th		  Cup Winners, Knocked Out 2nd Round Champs League
21/22	Jeonbuk	      S.Korea		     Sacked, 4th in the league, QF of Champions League, SF of FA Cup					

International



Challenge Progress
Club
2/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China)
3/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China, S. Korea)
0/5 club continental championships ()
0/1 club world championship

International
0/5 continental tournaments ()
0/2 world tournaments ()

[Kaiserwatman]

Vitória de Guimarães 2027

Following the double winning season Austrian football was pretty dull as teams were simply carved open though i was conscious about moving too quickly as in this FM it could potentially hamper me in the future . Following failure in europe i packed my bags for pastures new. Portugal is certainly going to be a hard nut to crack given i finished a massive 16 points behind 4th place though much of this gap was down to the previous manager. Sporting Lisbon are completely dominant winning 31 of their 34 league games on way to the treble. It will probably be fruitless task but the language skills may help down the line with a job in Brazil.

Despite lack of domestic success its certainly going a little better internationally as Australia were crowned Asian Cup Winners in 2027 . Despite losing every single friendly things came together in the tournament though given the standard was considerably lower . All went pretty swimmingly until the final were Japan defended brilliantly before finally running out of gas and conceding 3 goals in extra time .

That was not it for International football as manager Rasmus Limpar aimed at a rare double and jumped ship to Uruguay who were hosting the Copa America 2027 . Ipswich Town striker Ivan Diaz scored 6 in the group stages as the hosts quite comfortably got out of an easy group , before edging out Colombia in a very tight affair in the Quarter Finals . With Expectations rising in Montevideo Uruguay succumbed to a 84th minute winner by Marcos Britos to send Argentina into the final. Uruguay defeated Mexico B in the Bronze decider . Argentina beat Brazil in the final as Diaz won player of the tournament.

Australia AFC 2027

Uruguay Copa America 2027

Season     Team             Country     Position    Notes          
2015    Varbergs BoIS       Sweden        12th      
2016    Varbergs BoIS       Sweden         4th   
2017    Sandnes Ulf         Norway          --
2018    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         2nd      Promoted
2019    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         8th
2020    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         3rd
2021    Sandnes Ulf         Norway         3rd
2022    MK Dons             England       16th
2023    MK Dons             England        8th
2024    Ipswich Town        England        1st      Promoted
2025    Ipswich Town        England        6th
2026    Red Bull Salzburg   Austria        1st      Bundesliga and OFB-Cup Winners
2027    Vitória Guimarães   Portugal       5th

Challenge Progress

Club

1/10 top domestic leagues - Austria

1/10 domestic cups - Austria

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

2/5 continental tournaments - ACON Senegal 2025 - AFC Australia 2027

0/2 world tournaments

[vikeologist]

Kaiser- Congrats on the AFC. Always a nice add since the tournament is only every 4 years, and because (unless you add players to the initial database), there can be a lack of nations to manage. Australia disappeared as a managabkle nation for most of my save. Looks like you're prettyy nifty at international management. I take it you're staying with Uruguay for the time being. Good luck at Vitória. Love your updates, if only because yours are just about the only screenshots that i can see from China.

3L1G - yep, that's the Jeonbuk i know. i once almost took a job with them (after they sacked their manager for finishing 2nd) but copted against it (because they'd just sacked their manager for finishing 2nd). The following season they won the league, and i was sacked form whatever club I was managing. Or maybe that's not how it was. The challenge is a haze to me now. Maybe you should have stayed in hina, and believe me, those aren't words that I type often.

shirajzl- I must confess i find your logo disconcerting, but my demonic possession problems aside, surely its a defunct logo. Wkipedia says

Hallelujah FC was finally dissolved in August 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis.^[1]

. So I guess at least you're following in their footsteps financially. Maybe you just really want The Lord's help in this challenge. Anyway, I never congratulated you on the promotion, so let me do that now.

lfc7 - Welcome to the challenge. Look forward to hearing where you've landed.

[numero uno gunner]

Thinking of starting this, and just loaded a few random nations (Australia, China, S.Korea, Ireland, Wales, N.Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway South Africa, Peru, Chile, USA) to have a play about and see what sort of jobs I could get. I didn't think about the start date, and just accepted the first one they gave me, which was Australia in August.

Ideally, I want to see if I can snag one in a top league as I think it'll make the start of my career a little easier. I've never tried anything like this, and I don't know if I'll stick to it, but I like the idea and want to see if I can do it.

Edit to add - I can't seem to get a job in the top league, so what sort of level should I expect to get a job at?

[vikeologist]

Of those nations I think you should be able to get a job in the top division of moat of those nations;

eventually.

You won't get offered all, or even most of those jobs. You need to be a little patient and keep applying.

It might take a season to get a top level job in some of those nations, but if you do the challenge, lengthy spells of unemployment are part of the deal.

Sometimes when you do get offerred a job in a top division side, it's because they're in a bit of a mess.

I'm thinking of clearing my palate a little and starting this challenge again, and after 6 months the first job vacancy has come up at a team with -1 point. That's MINUS one. They have 1 draw, 10 losses, and a 2 point deduction. Should I apply?

Well, I did and they turned me down, and that's was in one of the top divisions that I think you can get a job in.

[numero uno gunner]

Out of interest, which leagues are you going to load when you restart Vikeologist?

I'm going to give this a go, but could do with some advice about which leagues / players from nations to load from the start in order to get started. I don't mind starting at a club in a top division that's in a bit of a mess. I think that might be easier than starting in one from a lower league and having to sort them out to gain promotion.

[Sankalan]

Okay, No.1 Gunner, I think following are the used Paths:

=>Load only S.Africa and hope for the best. If no jobs appear by New year, reload.

ADVANTAGES:Get going in the challenge by getting as many as 3 trophies in about 3-4 years.

DISADVANTAGES:Cannot build reputation fast enough.

=>Load Higher Asian Leagues: a slightly modified version of the previous, but it can be a lot more difficult to win the Asian CL with a minnow team than Africa.

=>Load European lower leagues.

ADVANTAGE:Build Reputation fast.

DISADVANTAGE:Can get boring to stoop down to lesser leagues as you must get the African and Asian CLs. Also, it can take a long time to get any trophy that counts.

=>Start in South America.

ADVANTAGE:Get applauded by everyone here for being the first to do this.

DISADVANTAGES:No one has done this, so no one knows what disadvantages this has(and that is a major disadvantage in itself;))

[vikeologist]

I started today in S America. In FM15 trial run, i was able to get jobs (eventually) in Peru top division and Colombian 2nd. It seemed much harder today in FM16 though to get a job in Peru. It is really tough to get s starting job in S america. After a year I got a job in Colombian 2nd div.

Starting in the top division of a tiny nation (eg malaysia or one of the irelands) is probably not a good idea with regard to then being able to get a markedly better 2nd job.

Honestly the best way is to start off in the top division in either South Africa or China (especially with all the Middle Kingdom money in the latest update). Not original. Many have done it. It's boring, predictable, but a year and a half of this challenge has shown that's the best method if you want to start in a top division.

[TrickyTree91]

Just found this thread and thought I'd give it a go. Loaded leagues in Australia, South Africa, Peru and Wales. See how I go on getting a job. Just curious as to how people get the 'code:' table up to record their progress?

[Super_Gord]

Well it's been a while since I poked my head in here, got around to picking up my save, great to see so many people taking up this challenge, I've got some pages of reading to do!

Gornik Leczna Season Review 2018/19

League Table - 1st

After leaving FC Haka I rather foolishly set out with some high expectations for my next job and wanted to manage in the top division of any country, I applied all over Europe, Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Ukraine and couldn't get a sniff of a job, I was out of a job for 8 months before I finally got my break at recently relegated Gornik Leczna of Poland, they'd just dropped out of the Ekstraklasa and were in a bit of a financial mess, at this point I was getting sick of getting knocked back after every interview so I snapped their hand off and took the job. Despite them being well in the red, they had a half decent squad more than capable of getting straight back up, they sold their star striker for £500,000 a day before I was appointed so it gave me a little bit of wiggle room to bring a few players in, including two young loanees from West Ham and Crystal Palace

All in all it was a solid season, we pretty much lead from the off, our only major slump in form was during the winter break in which we seemed to fall to pieces only to pick ourselves back up when the league restarted in January, so I was pretty pleased.

Despite finishing as champions and taking Gornik back up I was offered the job at Slask Wroclaw, who are currently in Poland's top division, was going to stick it out next season with Gornik but Slask have a bigger budget, bigger stadium and better players, thanks Gornik, it was fun!

2015/16            FC Haka                    3rd            Finnish First Division
2016/17            FC Haka                    1st            Finnish First Division                Promoted to Premier League
2017/18            FC Haka                    1st            Finnish Premier League                League Winners
2018/19            Gornik Leczna              1st            Polish First Division                 Promoted to Ekstraklasa

Challenge Progress


Club
1/10 top domestic leagues (Finland)
0/10 domestic cups
0/5 club continental championships
0/1 club world championship


International
0/5 continental tournaments
0/2 world tournaments

[mclarke1987]

I've been doing this challenge on FM16 for a while now (well i'm on my 6th season) but have been unable to login cos the password reset never sent me out an email. Just found an old password reset from 2015 and that let me login.

Anyway quick query to see what y'all prefer. I can do a separate post for each year, or just a quick overview (with pictures) for each year and go from there.

Alternatively, I could start over from scratch I dont mind im not overly attached to the save yet only 1 top league win and 2 cups.

After reading the above post im tempted to do the new save with South America lol

[TheEarl]

I've been doing this challenge on FM16 for a while now (well i'm on my 6th season) but have been unable to login cos the password reset never sent me out an email. Just found an old password reset from 2015 and that let me login.

Anyway quick query to see what y'all prefer. I can do a separate post for each year, or just a quick overview (with pictures) for each year and go from there.

Alternatively, I could start over from scratch I dont mind im not overly attached to the save yet only 1 top league win and 2 cups.

After reading the above post im tempted to do the new save with South America lol

If you start over its totally up to you of course. Regarding updates for your ongoing progress its also up to you. I dont mind a quick update for the 5 first seasons, as most participants dont win a lot of trophies in the first seasons anyway. If you feel there is a lot to tell about these seasons and a lot of club changes then maybe a season by season is a better way to go.

[vikeologist]

m1987 - No need to start over. I think we have quite a low benchmark for "proof" on this thread / challenge.

I think that South America is a very tough place to start the challenge, so kudos to you if you try. Before loading up the leagues, be prepared for the fact that perhaps it is almost impossible to get a first job anywhere in S America. Obviously experiences vary with each update and depending on which version of FM you're doing the challenge on, but anyone starting in S America should probably load every league for thei chosen nations, and definitely load the Colombian 2nd division down, because I'm not sure anybody has ever got a first job in any other division. It may not be possible to get a first job in Brazil, Argentina etc, and though i want to avoid spoilers, i don't want people to spend more than a season trying to do the impossible.

SuperG - good to have you back. Congrats on the threepeat of division wins. Hope you do well with Slask, or at the very least finish higher than your old club.

TommyT - I think in post 2 or 3 on the thread i've covered how to do the codes and tables. if you need more info, please ask. I wonder if you'll be able to get a job in Peru. Frankly you'll probably be able to get multiple job offers in all the other nations first. Well, I'm not sure about Australia. Has anyone ever been able to start in Australia?

[Sankalan]

Yes. Someone surely has started in Australia...

https://sortitoutsi.net/careers/story/25131

Not sure if it was posted here(in fact I think it was not)

[mclarke1987]

I have to admit saying this would be a harder challenge convinced me to restart lol

Starting Point

I've accepted the job at Tolima Real, in order to get it I agreed to all of their philosophies so will be building a defensive direct tactic using schoolboys. So their's challenge one cos I've never really built a defensive strategy before lol

I had tried to get a Brazilian third division start and got 2 interviews but never got offered the jobs, Tolima Real should be interesting through, the goal is not to get outclassed.

[vikeologist]

m87 - ha, that's the same Colombian club I managed to get a job with. I'm probably not going to continue with that save. My career with them will amount to a friendly against one of the top domestic sides, and it wasn't pretty.

I doubt I'm going to have a serious attempt at this challenge again until FM17, if i can purchase the game from China.

I'm vaguely tempted to have another go at

a) trying to do the challenge faster (I mean it would be hard to not beat my challenge time, but maybe I'd be aiming to be quicker than others)

b) trying to do the whole challenge with a youth-only policy (which probably wouldn't be fun to try to complete, but might be fun at the start if it was one of the Dalian (where I live) teams.

Anyway for now I'm doing something else, so Tolima is all yours.