The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive

[TheEarl]

Congratulations NormandyWept, finally it was boring and lonely there at the HOF.

Jokes aside an amazing achievement both all the trophies and all the seasons you have played.

[JoeLapira]

Congrats to NormandyWept, great achievement. Great set of matches on your way to the Champs. League, Bayern your nemesis for so many years, 2 of your former employers and topped off by beating City's biggest rival. Great comeback in the second leg against Bayern, I'd say that was some match to watch. You gonna start it again now in FM16?

Vike; I had forgotten about the Confederations Cup's entry requirements, thanks for reminding me. Hopefully when the time comes I can get it out of the way early enough. I dread to think what the game would be like when the Confed Cup is all you need to win to complete the Challenge.

JDD; Good to see you've started up again, I'm sure you'll have Bristol Rovers flying in no time.

Pug; Congrats on the Champs. League with Newcastle. Mike Ashley must love you.

Another 4 games have passed in my own game and still we await our first win. I've re-watched all 8 games in full now to see where things are going wrong and ultimately it appears to me that we're losing simply because the other sides are just better than us. Suwon FC are not in a great shape financially, when I took over they were above their wage budget by about €5,000. Seeing as the average wage is about €700 that €5,000 is quite a big number. Because of this we had to the lose quite a number of players during the summer, some of them unfortunately were pretty good players and we had to rely on loans and free transfers to fill up the squad. In hindsight, I think it was too early for Suwon FC to take their first step into the top tier of S.Korean football, another season in the K-League Challenge might have allowed me to sort out the finances which would allowed me to sign better players. I know there is a long way to go in the season but we are already being cut adrift, if things don't turn around soon I might have to jump ship. Thankfully my time as Tunisia boss has been a positive distraction, we won both our friendlies against Chile and Iran and are now ranked 15th in the world, Tunisia's highest ever position. We've to play Egypt in the qualifiers for the African Championship of Nations and hopefully we can get a positive result.

[mayihavecookie]

What a season, what a career. Perfect way to finish this challenge! Congratulations NormandyWept!

[Bartrcm]

Welcome back, Bartrcm! I definitely remember you from last season! Welcome back, and best of luck in this year's version!

Thanks. I just hope I can get some international football. Couldn't get any country that wanted me as their coach.

[pug 407]

Congratulations NW You Deserved You're Success

[Bartrcm]

Vasco Cape Town - SA First Division - Season 2015-2016

Predicted: 5th

Actual finish; 5th

So my first stop in this challenge was South Africa. This is the first ever time I'm maaging in South Africa so I didn't know how good the teams were. I got the chance to become the manager of Vasco Cape Town, and I didn't doubt a second and took the job. They had allready played 2 games and gained 1 point before I took over. We started with a loss, but in the next 7 games we didn't lost again. At that point we were around mid-table. In the next 4 games we only took 1 point, leaving us again near the relegation spots. After that we had an amazing run with 9 wins and 1 loss in the next 10 games wich left us in 3th position, the last play-off spot. At that moment I truly believed that we could reach at least the play-offs. On paper we had a easier schedule with 5 winnable games in our last 6 games. But suddenly our form disappeared. We could only win our last game of the season, and drew 2 other games. This left us in a dissapointing 5th place.

Until now I didn't get a new contract, and I doubt if I get a proposal, I'll sign a new contract. We lose a couple of good players at the end of the season, and I believe I can't do much more with this team. Our finances are terrible, and there aren't much good players that want play for us. We'll see what the future will bring, but I hope I can stay in South Africa.

Games

Cup: didn't care and lost in the first round.

Youth intake: 1 good player.

Gift Mkhize (YP0a): ML, will be retrained as a AML. Scored allready 2 goals in his last match.

Transfers:

[b]CLUB CAREER

Season           Club              Pos   DC1        DC2    Cont    Notes & Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014-2015  SA    Vasco CT          5th   1th round  n/a    n/a     Took over after 2 games in 14th 



[b]INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year   Nation        NL     WC     Cont.  Conf.  Notes & Achievements[/b]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015   -

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 NormandyWept

You and TheEarl in the hall of fame.

Great achievement, both of you

[fiz]

Ryan Gordon Season Update

We started off with a bang, first place after 9 games. My defense was never top notch and we suffered a couple injuries to the back four. Never found our form and was let go after I didn't attend a board meeting. My stubbornness has me jobless once again.

Oops

Gordon Profile 2017

Season    Team                           Position       Notes                                                                        Challenge Landmarks
16/17    Golden Arrows (South Africa)    12th             Promotion candidates, left after 8 games with 4 losses                        None
17/17    Southend United                  13th             Not Again                                                                                       None

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

[jaysdailydose]

JDD - First you do not look anything like i thought you would. Good luck at Bristol Rovers. Yopu're right about it being difficult taking over a club mid-season, but as you also say, it is better to start with a club in as high a division as possible. Worse case scenario, you get relegated to the next division down, and possibly sacked.

Lots of people seem to get turned down by a few clubs in a division and assume that it is impossible to get a job at that level. Not so. When I got a job at Gillingham, no other club in league 1 would offer me even an interview. It is not as simple as no league 1 clubs interested, all league 2 clubs interested.

Well, I'll admit that picture is a few years old at least. But I have to be much younger than I really am to start the challenge, so its a bit fitting. Thanks for the well wishes with Bristol Rovers!

We're definitely in full agreement that you need to start as high as you possibly can. I applied for a 2.5 star promotion job in Brazil and failed to make their shortlist, and I also applied for the open Jeju job who were also 2.5 stars in South Korea and while I wasn't granted an interview in either place, I wasn't laughed off either. I then applied for two English jobs in League 1, first at Scunthorpe, and then Bury. Both are 2* rep clubs and they were both either in the relegation zone or just outside when I applied. I wasn't granted an interview at either club -- but again, no blushes for applying either. I *did* make sure that I only had one application pending at any one time. You can still get jobs in interviews if you don't, but I think the chance of getting a job may be a sliding points scale or something of the type, and anything negative I assume hampers your chance of gaining a position. I *really* wanted the Bury job, as they have Superb for both training and youth facilities so they would be an absolutely ideal club to start a L2 or L1 to Premier plan, but it wasn't to be. (Burton also has amazing facilities if I remember correctly, and they definitely did last season.)

Bradford City's job came open as well as their manager departed for a job in the Championship, but they were running in 3rd spot in League 1 and they were also 2.5 star reputation. I normally would have probably applied to them, but there were a number of other positions that were insecure that I felt I had a better chance at getting, so I waited.

The Bristol Rovers job became the next one on the plate, and away we go Can't you use TOR browser to access WordPress? I assume it would work for you that is how most journalists communicate over there. Might want to look into it for your own personal use! I was just going to say I'm planning on going into a lot more detail on my blog -- as far as first day on the job when hired during a season, and other stuff like that (I got some questions on Twitter yesterday and it just seems the best way to deal with it) -- and I figure you would probably enjoy it, but it would be pretty off-topic for the thread here when I did write it.

My first day at a club takes a long time, I had just finished doing some things so figured I'd come on and reply to your post. Thanks for following as always, buddy!

[jaysdailydose]

Vasco Cape Town - SA First Division - Season 2015-2016

If you haven't already resigned your contract or moved on to another club, I would move on. You can *DEFINITELY* get a job in the ABSA Premiership (Not sure what they call it if you don't have the fix.)

I mean, if you stayed in South Africa, you aren't going to get Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, and probably not SuperSport United -- but Swallows and most of the clubs on down you should be able to get a position with.

Good luck either way! But definitely don't be afraid to hold off for the right position, it may save you years in the long run for 3-6 months early on!

[jaysdailydose]

Ryan Gordon Season Update

We started off with a bang, first place after 9 games. My defense was never top notch and we suffered a couple injuries to the back four. Never found our form and was let go after I didn't attend a board meeting. My stubbornness has me jobless once again.

Was not attending the board meeting a mistake? You can nearly always save your job if they are giving you a board meeting... otherwise they would just sack you.

Two sackings early, by all means you can continue, but there's no shame in doing a restart now that you've gotten more advice from the thread! Good luck either way, but we're more than happy to answer questions and give more advice about the challenge if you like, as well!

[fiz]

Ryan Gordon Season Update

Landed on my feet with Port Vale in League 2. One spot above Southend so I figured I would be ok to continue here. Won my first couple of games after installing a 3-5-2 system. Had trouble with a 3 striker Cambridge team - thought it was going to be a struggle against the rest of the league. But something wild happened and my team began to score goals. Climbed the table to 11th, then 9th, jumped to 7th. Finished the season in 5th place with a semifinals game against Scunthorpe. Lost 3-2 away in the first match but won 3-1 at the return home.

Wembley.

Huh?

I am matched against Crewe in the finals. Threw caution to the wind and changed my control philosophy to an attacking barrage. Paid off! A 3-1 win sends me to League 1 and Southend wondering what happened.

Best news of the year.

Ryan Gordon Cheesy Smile

And now that my weekend FM bender is almost over Ryan Gordon will go on a nice vacation to the States. He's earned it.

Season  Country  Team                          League    Position     Notes                                                       Challenge Landmarks
16/17    RSA	 Golden Arrows			NFD      12th         Promotion candidates, left after 8 games with 4 losses                        
17/17    ENG    Southend United                L2       13th         Sacked                                                                    
18/18    ENG    Port Vale                      L2	 5th	      Took over in 12th position in January - won playoffs

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

[jaysdailydose]

Great job, Fiz!

Here comes that upward rise! Hopefully I can replicate your success and get out of L2 quite quickly. I am taking over 20 games in at Bristol Rovers, so my only priority for season one is avoiding relegation, but I'm hoping L1 is in the cards for the following season!

It's always a great feeling the first time you're playing at Wembley in a save, I know that much.

Best of luck and continued success!

[fiz]

Thanks for the encouragement! Wembley was quite a shock completely forgot those finals games are played there. Good luck to you.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2055 Ivory Coast ACON Report

As previously discussed I thought that this competition was going to be between Egypt and Senegal (who had knocked my Egyptian side out of the previous ACON semi-final which led to my being sacked).

Group Stage - We won our first group match 7-1, which made me optimistic, and then promptly lost our second 5-4. This meant that we needed a win in our final match just to get through to the next round. This we did with a 2-1 victory that was slightly less stressful than it sounds since they scored their goal very late in the game.

Luckily Senegal had also finished 2nd in their group, (putting them in the same half of the draw as Egypt), so we faced Nigeria in the quarter-fianl instead. We won 2-1 in extra time. We never really looked likely to lose, but you never want to go to extra-time in these kind of competitions.

Our semi-final opponents South Africa had also needed extra-time, and penalties to progress, and we saw them off fairly easily. However, the score was again 2-1. This was a problem, because we weren’t turning our superiority into goals.

No such problem for Egypt who beat Senegal 5-1 in their semi.

I realized that we basically stood no chance, but at least I’d done well enough in getting to the final to keep my job. My team is young, and there’s always 2057.

Egypt launched an all-out attack from the off and scored their first goal in the second minute. Our short passing game wasn’t working, because their tackling was just too damn good and Egypt dominated the first half. I considered whether to change our tactics, but them just before half-time we pulled a goal back.

In the 55th and 65th minutes we scored 2 goals, and I tried to shut up shop, desperately trying to hold on to our advantage. Egypt pulled a goal back in the 89th minute and I feared the worst having brought on 3 defensive substitutes, extra time would have been a big problem. It was hairy, but Egypt couldn’t find another way though our 5 defender, 5 defensive midfielders formation and we were the 3-2 champions. An underserved victory, but see how much I care.

Where to now? South Korea sacked their manager after the Asian Cup, but I didn’t apply, and they appointed somebody just before the ACON final. Honestly I was expecting to be staying with Ivory Coast for another 2 years.

So I guess that I’m temporarily out of international management, and will have to focus on Bangor. Frankly the way the Welsh premier league season is going, that’s no bad thing. There’s 9 games remaining, and at this point last season I was about 20 points clear. This season I’m 3 points behind the leaders (who we play in our very next match) and in a really unexpected 3-way title battle.

Incidentally, if you notice that the details of the last few seasons have changed a bit, it's just because I lost track of what year i was in after leaving Corinthians and not having a club job for a while. I haven't been up to anything dodgy. I guess its just that my manager in the game is no spring chicken anymore and is going a bit senile.

Season	Team			Position	Notes										Challenge Landmarks
14/15	Swallows(South Africa)	14th		Took over after 14 (of 30)games in 16th bottom position. Dodged relegation.
15/16	Swallows		12th		South African FA Cup winner. Continental qualification.				1 domestic cup
16/17	Swallows		3rd		Champions League qualification
17/18	Swallows		3rd	
18/19 	Swallows & Kaizer Chiefs2nd		Quit Swallows mid-season. Took over Kaiser Chiefs with 9 games of the season left
19/20	Kaizer Chiefs/ChU23	2nd		Won 2 domestic cups.
20/21	Kaizer Chiefs / China	2nd		Lost in Champions League Final on away goals
21/22	Kaizer Chiefs/China	1st		Lost in Champions league semi-final. Won 36 straight matches and East Asia Cup	1 domestic league
22/23	Kaizer Chiefs/ China	n/a		Won African Champions League. Humiliated nation of China.			African Champions League
2023	Seoul			1st		Won South Korean League								2nd domestic league
2024	Seoul / Brazil U23	3rd		Won FA Cup									2nd domestic cup
2025	Cruz Azul		9th		Won FA Cup (Opening Stage). Then I was sacked.					3rd domestic cup
2026	Chivas			2nd		Manager for one match. Lost title in extra time of 2nd leg of league final.
26/27	Chivas /Ivory Coast	6th/1st		Won NACL. Lost Closing stage final of Mexican 1st Div (again)			NACL
27	Chivas / Ivory Coast	5th		Lost in Opening Stage semi-final and resigned after CWC Q/F
28	Dalian / Ivory Coast	11th		Lost in FA Cup Final / Lost in 2029 ACON Q/F
29	Guangzhou / Egypt	1st		League / Cup double. Qualified for World Cup					4th cup, 3rd league
30	Guangzhou/Egypt/USA	1st		League / Champions League double						Asian Champions League
31/2	Hertha Berlin		6th		German Cup losing finalists. Qualified for UEFA Cup
32/33	Hertha Berlin/S Korea	6th		UEFA Cup losing finalists. 
33/34	HB/ SK/ Dortmund	6th		Moved team after 12 games. Won East Asia Cup again, this time with Korea.
34/35	Dortmund / SK / Egypt	1st		League and cup double. Quit South Korea after AC Q/F ignomy			5th cup, Bundesliga
35/36	Dortmund / Colombia	2nd		German cup winners.
36/37	Barcelona / Colombia	2nd		CL Q/F. 	Confederations Cup Finalists 					CWC
37/38	Barcelona / Holland	1st		League, Cup, Champions league treble. World Cup with Holland.			Euro Champions League, 6th cup, Spanish league. World Cup.
38/39	AC Milan / Holland	1st		League and Italian Cup winners. 						7th cup, Serie A
39/40	Holland			n/a		Won European Championship							European Championship
40/41	Sochaux	/ South Africa	7th		Took over Newcastle at end of season.
41/42	Newcastle/South Africa	5th		FA Cup Semi-Finals. World Cup disaster.
42/43	Newcastle / Brazil	6th		CO Cup Q/F, Euro Cup 2nd K/O Round
43/44	Newcastle / Brazil	7th		FA Cup Finalists
44/45	Newcastle / Brazil	4th		Euro Cup winners
45/46	Newcastle / Brazil	2nd		League runners-up. FA Cup winners.						8th cup
46/47	Newcastle / Mexico	4th												Gold Cup
47/48	Newcastle / Mexico	1st		League, Cup and Champions League treble						English league
2048	Monterray / Mexico	1st		Won the league, and about flaming time.						8th domestic league
48/49	OL / Mexico		14th		Took over OL for last 9 games.Third Confederations Cup Final.Third time lucky.	Confederations Cup
49/50	OL			3rd		Lost Coupe de la Ligue final on penalties
50/51	Monaco/Egypt		1st												French league & 9th cup
2051	Corinthians / Egypt	3rd												Copa Libertadores
2052-3	Egypt					Lost in ACON semi-final
53/4	Bangor/Ivory Coast	1st		Eliminated in World Cup group stage. Won Welsh league by a mile			10th domestic league
54/5	Bangor/ Ivory Coast													African Cup of Nations

Challenge Progress

Club
10/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa, S Korea, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, Mexico, France, Wales)
9/10 domestic cups (South Africa, S Korea, Mexico, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, France)
5/5 club continental championships (Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America)
1/1 club world championship

International
3/5 continental tournaments (European Championship, Gold Cup, African Cup of Nations)
2/2 world tournaments (World Cup, Conferations Cup)

[TheEarl]

Congrats vike not many trophies left now, surely a cup trophy is not going to be a trouble for you, so just to find the correct nations for Asian Cup of Nations and Copa America. When are the next tournaments in those regions?

[vikeologist]

The Copa America is in a few months time, so maybe I will be able to get a job with one of the top nations after that. The Asian Cup has just finished. Obviously now I wish I had applied for the South Korea job, but I think I would have had to turn it down before the ACON final, and the last time I applied for it i didn't get it anyway.

The last cup trophy shouldn't be a problem, but if i don't win the league i might be sacked a few days before the Welsh Cup final (and that's assuming I get to the final anyway).

If I get sacked, the last cup could be a real pain in the backside.

[TheEarl]

The way I see it you probably have another 8 years to complete international management vike for sure you can get another cup trophy within those 8 years.

Keep up the good work!

[vikeologist]

Yes, but once i win that final cup I can speed through the seasons, especially while I have no job at all. Hopefully the final 2 international trophies will take less than a wekk, but having to play another domestic season (or maybe more than one) will really slow me down. The rest of this season with Bangor is key, and unlike nearly all my other league victories, its going to the wire. Of course its the cup i need, not the league, but the league ends before the cup final and if i finish 2nd, I'm pretty certain i'll be sacked.

[to_madeira]

Season 2016/17

FC Cape Town - National First Division

League Table | Schedule 1 Schedule 2 | Transfers | Squad

As expected, we're going to Premiership having won the NFD. After 28 games we sit in 2nd, 1 point behind Golden Arrows but we beat them 2-1, thanks to a 90 minute goal. In last match we draw but that's enough to win the title due to GD.

[b]CLUB CAREER

Season     Club             Pos   DC1   DC2    Cont    Notes & Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Cape Town         5th    QF    n/a    n/a    Took over in 12th with 17 games remaining
2016/17   Cape Town         1st    R2    n/a    n/a    Champions and promoted!


[b]INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year   Nation        NL     WC     Cont.  Conf.  Notes & Achievements[/b]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015

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

[lewis999]

It seems like most peoples first jobs are either lower league in England or in South Africa. Is that correct or are there other teams that would take a chance on a sunday league footballer? How many leagues do you guys tend to load up? Thinking of having a real go at this.

[JoeLapira]

Madeira; Congrats on Promotion, what are your expectations for the season ahead? Do you expect to be part of a relegation battle or do you think you have what it takes to survive in the S.African Prem?

Lewis; I loaded leagues from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, USA, Rep of Ireland, N.Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, S.Africa, S.Korea and Austrailia. I ended up in the Scottish League 2 but also had interviews with clubs in S.Africa, Rep. Of Ireland and England but chose Berwick Rangers as i felt they were the right option for me.

[lewis999]

Madeira; Congrats on Promotion, what are your expectations for the season ahead? Do you expect to be part of a relegation battle or do you think you have what it takes to survive in the S.African Prem?

Lewis; I loaded leagues from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, USA, Rep of Ireland, N.Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, S.Africa, S.Korea and Austrailia. I ended up in the Scottish League 2 but also had interviews with clubs in S.Africa, Rep. Of Ireland and England but chose Berwick Rangers as i felt they were the right option for me.

Thanks for the response mate, yeah that makes sense. I have my manager on holiday as we speak/type applying for any job. Fingers crossed I get one soon. Are you still with Berwick?

[to_madeira]

Joe: I think we can survive. Won't be easy as the odds tells (we're predited to 16th and last with 501.00 and the 15th is at 201.00) but we have some room in the wage budget so a few freebies are on the way and there are some good ones.

Lewis:

I've loaded South Africa (2 divisions), Argentina and Brazil (1st division only), South Korea and China (2 in each), Mexico (1st), Australia (1st), Portugal (2 divisions), England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain (1st only). As you can see by the league selection, my plan was go to Africa or Asia, gain some reputation and then off the Americas and finally Europe. Also I choose Argentina's start date (Dec'15) to get a job quicker.

[pug 407]

Thanks for the response mate, yeah that makes sense. I have my manager on holiday as we speak/type applying for any job. Fingers crossed I get one soon. Are you still with Berwick?

I Had All The Main League's Plus Brazil/Scotland/S.Korea/S.Africa/Mexico For My Other Five Trophy's. Don't Know About Anyone Else I Wouldn't Holiday In Case You Miss A Job

[jaysdailydose]

It seems like most peoples first jobs are either lower league in England or in South Africa. Is that correct or are there other teams that would take a chance on a sunday league footballer? How many leagues do you guys tend to load up? Thinking of having a real go at this.

We're not exactly sure when jobs in different locales become available. I load down to League 2 mainly because I feel my best start is to dominate England, but as others have, I have started in South Africa on 15, and I also played in Australia as an initial job. I know others have started in China, etc.

My machine is 5* performance now that I upped to Win 10 and fixed all my problems, and I still only load 6 nations to start since you can add and subtract, so things go quickly. I currently load England, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil. The reason for those six was I have at least one country loaded for each continental title. I'm not sure on the new version if you can win both the CONCACAF Champions League AND the Copa Libertadores in Mexico, so I loaded Brazil as well. I want Brazil so I can say I beat all top 5 recognized world leagues, but that is personal preference.

The other countries outside of England I only have the top division loaded... as once I'm done with England, I never plan on managing in a non-top division again.

So you don't have to dig, though -- most of us who have been around the challenge awhile STRONGLY advise waiting at least a few months and not jumping at the first offer. You'll see a lot of people start in the SA 2nd division, for instance, and it isn't necessary. Many have started in the ABSA Premiership, etc.

Other than that, its all what YOU think will provide the highest reputation the quickest. Your reputation is the KEY to completing this challenge.

If you have any other questions, we are all more than happy to help, this is one of the most friendly competitive challenges around! Welcome and GOOD LUCK, SIR!

[jaysdailydose]

Here's a first look at my challengers this year, the Bristol Rovers... very happy with the mods I've installed that bring in new pitches, kits and logos -- and I just wanted to share since some of you can't/don't read my blog. It's a link to keep clutter down.

Goalie makes the first save of my challenge in the rain at The Memorial Stadium!

We went on to lose on a penalty awarded in extra time, 1-0 -- but the lads provide much promise.

[lewis999]

We're not exactly sure when jobs in different locales become available. I load down to League 2 mainly because I feel my best start is to dominate England, but as others have, I have started in South Africa on 15, and I also played in Australia as an initial job. I know others have started in China, etc.

My machine is 5* performance now that I upped to Win 10 and fixed all my problems, and I still only load 6 nations to start since you can add and subtract, so things go quickly. I currently load England, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil. The reason for those six was I have at least one country loaded for each continental title. I'm not sure on the new version if you can win both the CONCACAF Champions League AND the Copa Libertadores in Mexico, so I loaded Brazil as well. I want Brazil so I can say I beat all top 5 recognized world leagues, but that is personal preference.

The other countries outside of England I only have the top division loaded... as once I'm done with England, I never plan on managing in a non-top division again.

So you don't have to dig, though -- most of us who have been around the challenge awhile STRONGLY advise waiting at least a few months and not jumping at the first offer. You'll see a lot of people start in the SA 2nd division, for instance, and it isn't necessary. Many have started in the ABSA Premiership, etc.

Other than that, its all what YOU think will provide the highest reputation the quickest. Your reputation is the KEY to completing this challenge.

If you have any other questions, we are all more than happy to help, this is one of the most friendly competitive challenges around! Welcome and GOOD LUCK, SIR!

Thank you very much I have started the game again with the game start date from Argentina in December and a few more leagues as my laptop can handle it. Hoping to have a team soon but as I have been advised, I will make sure it's the right job before I accept. I like the fact that you go in blind with player stats because the attribute masking is on.

Here's a first look at my challengers this year, the Bristol Rovers... very happy with the mods I've installed that bring in new pitches, kits and logos -- and I just wanted to share since some of you can't/don't read my blog. It's a link to keep clutter down.

Goalie makes the first save of my challenge in the rain at The Memorial Stadium!

We went on to lose on a penalty awarded in extra time, 1-0 -- but the lads provide much promise.

Good detail on the pitch, which mods have you installed? They look great.

[lewis999]

Joe: I think we can survive. Won't be easy as the odds tells (we're predited to 16th and last with 501.00 and the 15th is at 201.00) but we have some room in the wage budget so a few freebies are on the way and there are some good ones.

Lewis:

Yeah I have chosen Argentina as my new start date thanks for the heads up.

I Had All The Main League's Plus Brazil/Scotland/S.Korea/S.Africa/Mexico For My Other Five Trophy's. Don't Know About Anyone Else I Wouldn't Holiday In Case You Miss A Job

Thanks for the reply pug. I have started again so won't be holidaying as you advised.

[lewis999]

Have I done something wrong? It's January and the Premier League haven't played any games. Neither have the Championship, L1 or L2.

[pug 407]

Have I done something wrong? It's January and the Premier League haven't played any games. Neither have the Championship, L1 or L2.

I Think It's Because You Started In Dec 2014. I Had The Same Problem In FM 2015, Just Keep Going And Arrange Loads Of Friendly's, Bring Loads Players On Trial.

So You Can Pick The Best One's For Your Tactics

[pug 407]

Lewis999

Pick Friendly's Against Team's That Will Bring Good Crowd's. Or You Will Lose A Lot Of Money.

[vikeologist]

lewis - welcome to the challenge. I presume that you haven't taken a job yet. I wouldn't take a job with a club that isn't playing any matches. That sounds terrible. Also with going on holiday, the problem isn't that you would miss jobs. The problem is that you should be choosy about the jobs you apply for. if you apply for jobs that you don't want (or shouldn't want) it might affect your ability to get the jobs you do want. I'd suggest taking a close look at clubs and national teams before you apply or accept.

I think in this challenge you have to accept that you are going to be without a job for a while. As I said a few posts above, job selection is as important as team selection.

General Comments - People seem to want to start with lots of nations loaded. Wouldn't it be better to decide where you want to start and load accordingly. I started with 2 nations loaded; South Africa and China. Before my last job, I had a lot of nations loaded. This was because I knew what i was looking for in that situation; a nation with 1 (or 2) dominant team(s) and 2 domestic cups. However, I didn't really have in-depth knowledge of all the nations. I guess having lots of nations loaded makes sense if you want to have a close look at lots of different openings before deciding where to start. If people are loading lots of nations because they want to get a job (any job) 5 minutes after starting their save, I think that's a questionnable approach.

This challenge is going to take a long time. if you're actually planning to complete it, you need to consider from the start the approach which is going to give you a chance of completion in the least amount of time, and maybe that approach will be discovered by you.

Of course, you don't have to do this challenge in a way that will increase the likelihood of completion. When I complete the challenge, (hopefully in the next week or so) I will start it again in FM16, but with no ambition to actually complete it again; just to have fun, and (most importantly) get promoted. I've done the entire challenge in top divisions, and I miss promotion.

to-mad - Congrats on promotion, and good luck for your first season in the top flight.

fiz - Congrats on promotion. You going to stay or keep a look out for bigger jobs staright away?

Bartrcm - Good luck in your second season. have you applied for any top level jobs? You said that you can't get an international job. bear in mind that U23 and U20 jobs in Africa seem to be problematic because there aren't enough players, unless its the South africa squads presumably.

Lastly NormandyWept-I didn't actually congratulate you using words. It's some achievement playing so many seasons. At the start you seemed to play a season a day. You've been a wonderful participant in the thread, so I hope that even if you don't start the challenge again, you'll still pop in and give us some words of advice. That last Champions League must have been torture. What an epic quest!

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2054/5 Bangor City End of Season Report

So I just needed a cup to sew up the club side of the challenge. I hoped to get the League cup, but in the semifinal we had a defender sent off early on and fell apart. I was going to have to rely on the Welsh Cup.

Of course I still had to win the league. As manager of Bangor, I have one job. The board don’t care about the cups. Win the league, keep your job. Fail to win the league, get sacked. I didn’t think this would be a problem. In fact I was hoping that we could have a perfect season and win all 32 games.

We soon lost a game, and then we lost some more, and remained in second place behind TNS. By the time the league divides after 22 games we were still 3 points behind them and with a worse goal difference.

There were lots of reasons for this, injuries, new players bedding in. (When TNS beat us in the afore-mentioned league cup semifinal, I simply bought their best player, who spent most of the season on the bench for us.) Frankly though, our league form was shocking given that I think our first 11, subs and most of our reserves should be better than any player on any other team. In Wales we are The Party. It’s our country. The other teams are just there because we have to have patsies to beat.

I was in serious danger of getting sacked before the final of the Welsh Cup I was trying to reach.

In the last 10 game though, we were fairly free of injuries. I dropped my striker who had scored 3 league goals, instead of the 22 the previous year. I settled on a best team, and picked up 22 out of the next 24 points to retain the title. Phew.

So that just left the cup final which we had reached, and thankfully TNS hadn’t. We managed to win it fairly comfortably.

So that’s the club side of things over. I’ve quit Bangor, and now I’ll just have international jobs. I plan to speed through the seasons quite quickly now, and have cleared up my subscriptions and emptied my shortlist. The only potential problem will come if I have to take a club job in for instance Argentina in order to get a national job in South America. I guess we’ll see what happens after the upcoming Copa America.

Season Team   Position Notes          Challenge Landmarks
14/15 Swallows(South Africa) 14th  Took over after 14 (of 30)games in 16th bottom position. Dodged relegation.
15/16 Swallows  12th  South African FA Cup winner. Continental qualification.    1 domestic cup
16/17 Swallows  3rd  Champions League qualification
17/18 Swallows  3rd 
18/19  Swallows & Kaizer Chiefs2nd  Quit Swallows mid-season. Took over Kaiser Chiefs with 9 games of the season left
19/20 Kaizer Chiefs/ChU23 2nd  Won 2 domestic cups.
20/21 Kaizer Chiefs / China 2nd  Lost in Champions League Final on away goals
21/22 Kaizer Chiefs/China 1st  Lost in Champions league semi-final. Won 36 straight matches and East Asia Cup 1 domestic league
22/23 Kaizer Chiefs/ China n/a  Won African Champions League. Humiliated nation of China.   African Champions League
2023 Seoul   1st  Won South Korean League        2nd domestic league
2024 Seoul / Brazil U23 3rd  Won FA Cup         2nd domestic cup
2025 Cruz Azul  9th  Won FA Cup (Opening Stage). Then I was sacked.     3rd domestic cup
2026 Chivas   2nd  Manager for one match. Lost title in extra time of 2nd leg of league final.
26/27 Chivas /Ivory Coast 6th/1st  Won NACL. Lost Closing stage final of Mexican 1st Div (again)   NACL
27 Chivas / Ivory Coast 5th  Lost in Opening Stage semi-final and resigned after CWC Q/F
28 Dalian / Ivory Coast 11th  Lost in FA Cup Final / Lost in 2029 ACON Q/F
29 Guangzhou / Egypt 1st  League / Cup double. Qualified for World Cup     4th cup, 3rd league
30 Guangzhou/Egypt/USA 1st  League / Champions League double      Asian Champions League
31/2 Hertha Berlin  6th  German Cup losing finalists. Qualified for UEFA Cup
32/33 Hertha Berlin/S Korea 6th  UEFA Cup losing finalists. 
33/34 HB/ SK/ Dortmund 6th  Moved team after 12 games. Won East Asia Cup again, this time with Korea.
34/35 Dortmund / SK / Egypt 1st  League and cup double. Quit South Korea after AC Q/F ignomy   5th cup, Bundesliga
35/36 Dortmund / Colombia 2nd  German cup winners.
36/37 Barcelona / Colombia 2nd  CL Q/F.  Confederations Cup Finalists      CWC
37/38 Barcelona / Holland 1st  League, Cup, Champions league treble. World Cup with Holland.   Euro Champions League, 6th cup, Spanish league. World Cup.
38/39 AC Milan / Holland 1st  League and Italian Cup winners.       7th cup, Serie A
39/40 Holland   n/a  Won European Championship       European Championship
40/41 Sochaux / South Africa 7th  Took over Newcastle at end of season.
41/42 Newcastle/South Africa 5th  FA Cup Semi-Finals. World Cup disaster.
42/43 Newcastle / Brazil 6th  CO Cup Q/F, Euro Cup 2nd K/O Round
43/44 Newcastle / Brazil 7th  FA Cup Finalists
44/45 Newcastle / Brazil 4th  Euro Cup winners
45/46 Newcastle / Brazil 2nd  League runners-up. FA Cup winners.      8th cup
46/47 Newcastle / Mexico 4th            Gold Cup
47/48 Newcastle / Mexico 1st  League, Cup and Champions League treble      English league
2048 Monterray / Mexico 1st  Won the league, and about flaming time.      8th domestic league
48/49 OL / Mexico  14th  Took over OL for last 9 games.Third Confederations Cup Final.Third time lucky. Confederations Cup
49/50 OL   3rd  Lost Coupe de la Ligue final on penalties
50/51 Monaco/Egypt  1st            French league & 9th cup
2051 Corinthians / Egypt 3rd            Copa Libertadores
2052-3 Egypt     Lost in ACON semi-final
53/4 Bangor/Ivory Coast 1st  Eliminated in World Cup group stage. Won Welsh league by a mile   10th domestic league
54/5 Bangor/ Ivory Coast 1st            African Cup of Nations and 10th domestic league

Challenge Progress


Club
10/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa, S Korea, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, Mexico, France, Wales)
10/10 domestic cups (South Africa, S Korea, Mexico, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, France)
5/5 club continental championships (Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America)
1/1 club world championship


International
3/5 continental tournaments (European Championship, Gold Cup, African Cup of Nations)
2/2 world tournaments (World Cup, Conferations Cup)

[vikeologist]

Neither Brazil or Colombia wanted me after Argentina won the Copa America.

Not surprising maybe, since my times managing those 2 nations are not exactly the brighspots of my resume.

I might be unemployed for a while.

[NormandyWept]

That last Champions League must have been torture. What an epic quest!

Going 3-0 down to Bayern, you'd assume I'd have another season at least. Somehow we got those four goals in basically ten minutes. I really couldn't believe it. After that, Porto and Hamburg to be honest weren't on the same level (and I think playing Porto at home first was a big help - we got a big lead which made the away game much easier, whereas when we trailed the year before they were really able to limit us at Eastlands). A Final can go either way, but we'd had some fab domestic results (beating Chelsea 8-1 early in the season was insane and we won multiple games 5-0!) which I knew made us the favourite and so it proved. In the end it wasn't so much torture as a profound sense of relief that we got it done.

I didn't actually congratulate you using words. It's some achievement playing so many seasons. At the start you seemed to play a season a day. You've been a wonderful participant in the thread, so I hope that even if you don't start the challenge again, you'll still pop in and give us some words of advice.

I believe when I started the challenge it was in the period when I wasn't working, and therefore pretty much full-time immersed in FM! I guess it was close to a season every day and a half at that point. It helped that some of those Asian leagues had much shorter seasons: certainly once I got to Brazil in particular, and to an extent England with all the cup competitions, it was a much longer undertaking.

Those circumstances were a bit unique and I'm not sure I'll be able to mount a long enough effort to win the challenge in FM16. It took me a long time (in game) because I wasn't very effective at league competitions compared to many of the other challengers that we've seen (I think I did pretty well at knockout competitions, particularly international - I guess I find it easier not to lose than I do to win the games to win a title, that Man City league title at the end for example felt unusually comfortable compared to the others). I'm really pleased I had the opportunity to complete the challenge, something of this length is quite remarkable and definitely my biggest ever FM achievement.

I'll definitely try and stick around and encourage everyone else!

[TheEarl]

After a 4 week long vacation in real life, and then some time to keep up to date with work at home in Norway, I am finally back with an update. Sorry for lack of updates recently but will try to make a few in the coming days as my savegame is quite far ahead of the updates.

The Earls Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

2018/19 - Falkirk - Scottish Championship (Tier 2)

Quitting Den Bosch seemed at first to be a big mistake. With just 25% reputation there was not a lot of clubs that would take me on as a manager. That reputation was gathered in Holland, and most clubs offering me a job was dutch clubs of lower division or poorer state than Den Bosch in Eresdivisie.

After some time though, I was offered the job as manager of Falkirk. At first it didn't interest me to go to a Tier 2 club in a country of similar reputation as Holland or even a bit worse. But after browsing through the football world a bit, it kind of intrigued me anyway. It seemed that Glasgow Rangers had been promoted to Premiership first but then got relegated again. It meant if I could take on Falkirk and do better than Rangers, their manager would most likely get sacked and I could try to get that job. So on I went to Scotland and Falkirk.

There was not a lot of cash to spend at Falkirk. A 8750 capacity stadium was usually just above half full for every home game, and the club had some debts that I manage to get rid of during the season. Wage budget was horrible even compared to the first season at Den Bosch. But the other teams in the division except for Rangers had bad budgets also, so atleast the opposition should be something we could compete against.

I relied heavily on in-loan agreements (as I often do with lower budget teams) and got Martin Samuelson from Sheff.Wed. on loan and Matt Butcher from Bournemouth. Those guys would be the heart of my midfield, and upfront I got Jamie Thomas from Bolton and Joao Silva from Rio Ave.

We started the season badly by being knocked out of Ramadan Cup by Greenock Morton 1-2, but we progressed two rounds of the League Cup by beating East Fife 2-0 and Ross County 5-1. The League Cup ended in the 3rd round 1-2 loss away to Dundee.

The league run started only half decent with 5-0-5 in 10 games and we gave away too many points really early on. The following 8 games was not a lot better with 2-3-3 and we found ourselves below the middle of the table for the first time, only in 6th position after 18 games. But we had a convincing 4-0 win over Montrose in the 3rd round of the FA Cup (first match for us).

Then we really found form and went on a 15 games unbeaten run in all competitions, winning 12 games and playing a draw in only 3. This included 4th and 5th round FA Cup wins against Annan Athletic 4-0 and Aidronians 4-1. The unbeaten run ended in the Quarter Final of the FA Cup a 1-4 loss away to Patrick Thistle.

We finished the league season with 2-1-2 in the last 5 games. In the meantime Glasgow Rangers had a miserable season and the league table ended like this at the top:

1. Raith Rovers - 36-19-10-7-58-40-67 (winners and promoted)

2. Falkirk - 36-19-8-9-74-48-65 (playoffs)

3. Rangers - 36-17-10-9-55-42-61 (playoffs)

4. St.Mirren - 36-17-9-10-47-30-60 (playoffs)

In the playoffs St.Mirren won against Rangers in the first round. That meant we would play St.Mirren in the second round. We found the form from our unbeaten run and won 3-1 away and followed up with a 5-4 win away.

In the playoff final we would play Motherwell who finished 11th in the Premiership. I feared that the quality would make us suffer but our good form proved me wrong. We won an emphatic 5-0 at home and the tie was decided already. A 3-3 draw away secured an unlikely promotion for Falkirk.

Top goalscorer Jamie Thomas - 24 goals (on loan from Bolton)

Top performer Shaun Rutherford - 7,54 Av.rat (right back signed from Dumbarton)

Now the decision would be whether to stay at Falkirk and test my skills in the Premiership or to look for a new club? My reputation had gone up to 35%.

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 

[jaysdailydose]

Good detail on the pitch, which mods have you installed? They look great.

Those are Fez's New Turfs for FM16. Not sure if I'm allowed to link that type of site here, but here's a link to a blog entry with every installed mod I use. My game looks BEAUTIFUL.

https://americanwerewolffootball.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/my-installed-mods-and-graphics/

[JoeLapira]

Madeira; Ya in 2 of my seasons I was in a similar situations and the right signings can make a massive difference. Something which I got right with Berwick seeing as we went on to finish 3rd but something, which so far, I have gotten a bit wrong with Suwon FC, as we are 8 games without a win. Fortunately the same can said for Ansan Police(The team that got promoted with ourselves) as they are 1 point worse of than us. I'm sure you'll do well though.

Lewis; I've moved on from Berwick after 3 successful seasons there and am now with Suwon FC in S.Korea. Hopefully the right job comes along for ya.

Vike; Congrats on your recent successes, surely with a reputation and record as good as yours you'll be able to get one of the top Asian/S.American national jobs soon enough. In regards to loading leagues, I understand your point of focusing a search into certain countries, but personally I wanted keep my starting options wide open and then focus my selections as the save progresses.

Good to see a lot of progress being made, tomorrow's my first day off in 10 days, so I should be able to make some real progress then and will update towards the end of the day.

[vikeologist]

I may have a bug / probklem which could make it difficult to achieve the challenge. The only Asian nation that is available to be managed now is South Korea. All other nations that were previously available such as australia and China (who i did manage of course) are unavailable. As an experiment I used the in game editor to terminate the contracty of the AAustralia manager, but I couldn't apply for the post. (I then 'undid this sacking of course).

I will try adding Australia and China as playable leagues and see if that makes any difference. Admittedly, its South Korea that I'd ideally want to win the Asian Cup with, but its going to be a problem if they're the only available nation. especially since they've turned me down numerous times over the save. maybe they still remember my time as national coach.

It's not an immediate problem. After being unemployed for more than 3 years, I've been given the Argentina job. It seems to be only Asia that's affected.

Any advice anyone? anyone know why this has happened or if adding asian playable leagues will solve it. I added South korea, which didn't make any difference.

[lewis999]

Those are Fez's New Turfs for FM16. Not sure if I'm allowed to link that type of site here, but here's a link to a blog entry with every installed mod I use. My game looks BEAUTIFUL.

https://americanwerewolffootball.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/my-installed-mods-and-graphics/

Thanks, i'll have a look.

Lewis; I've moved on from Berwick after 3 successful seasons there and am now with Suwon FC in S.Korea. Hopefully the right job comes along for ya.

Thanks me too, i've applied for loads and no luck yet. Good job with Berwick, seems like it set you up nicely.

I may have a bug / probklem which could make it difficult to achieve the challenge. The only Asian nation that is available to be managed now is South Korea. All other nations that were previously available such as australia and China (who i did manage of course) are unavailable. As an experiment I used the in game editor to terminate the contracty of the AAustralia manager, but I couldn't apply for the post. (I then 'undid this sacking of course).

I will try adding Australia and China as playable leagues and see if that makes any difference. Admittedly, its South Korea that I'd ideally want to win the Asian Cup with, but its going to be a problem if they're the only available nation. especially since they've turned me down numerous times over the save. maybe they still remember my time as national coach.

It's not an immediate problem. After being unemployed for more than 3 years, I've been given the Argentina job. It seems to be only Asia that's affected.

Any advice anyone? anyone know why this has happened or if adding asian playable leagues will solve it. I added South korea, which didn't make any difference.

With your problem mate I have no idea as I have just started the save and don't usually do journeyman type saves. I did want to ask though, why you went 3 years unemployed? No jobs that took your fancy or are you nearing the end of the challenge and only certain teams in certain leagues are on your radar? Curious that's all. Hope you sort the manager problem out.

[TheEarl]

vike the reason for this is most likely that those nations do not have enough players in the database anymore. Add their respective leagues and either straight away or after a few seasons they should become manageable again (hopefully). If not I dont have any further advice at the moment.

[lewis999]

Would anyone recommend the bottom leagues of Spain as a good starting point? Just to improve my reputation really.

[TheEarl]

Would anyone recommend the bottom leagues of Spain as a good starting point? Just to improve my reputation really.

I am not going to scare anyone off, and it would be nice to see someone progress from there, but I have tried once or twice before and failed. But really it should be a similar approach as to start in lower english leagues...

[lewis999]

I am not going to scare anyone off, and it would be nice to see someone progress from there, but I have tried once or twice before and failed. But really it should be a similar approach as to start in lower english leagues...

Had an interview with Yeovil and they went with someone else and I have just had an interview with a team rock bottom of the Portuguese second division which would be a massive challenge.

[vikeologist]

vike the reason for this is most likely that those nations do not have enough players in the database anymore. Add their respective leagues and either straight away or after a few seasons they should become manageable again (hopefully). If not I dont have any further advice at the moment.

Yes, you're right. I did a test and some came back. Thanks. I never realised that national team jobs could disappear like that.

[lewis999]

In March now and still unemployed. Just had an interview with a team that plays in this kit.

Can't decide if I like it or not.

[JoeLapira]

Thanks me too, i've applied for loads and no luck yet. Good job with Berwick, seems like it set you up nicely.

Its important to try and get your first club right as it should help lay the foundations for a good career. Increasing your reputation as quickly as possible is vital as you can get better jobs sooner. As for your question about starting in the lower leagues in Spain, for me its about choosing a club which i feel i can achieve something with. Whether it be promotions, league titles, cups or whatever, if i can use the club to improve my rep then the country or league wouldnt concern me.

Just seen that kit, what team is that?

[lewis999]

Its important to try and get your first club right as it should help lay the foundations for a good career. Increasing your reputation as quickly as possible is vital as you can get better jobs sooner. As for your question about starting in the lower leagues in Spain, for me its about choosing a club which i feel i can achieve something with. Whether it be promotions, league titles, cups or whatever, if i can use the club to improve my rep then the country or league wouldnt concern me.

Just seen that kit, what team is that?

It was Cultural Leonesa in Spain but I didn't get the job. I have just taken over my first team and I think i've done quite well. Colchester United are rock bottom of League One and already relegated with 2 games left of the season. Their reputation has reduced to 1 and a half stars so hopefully get a few wins at the end of this season, i've already moved to tie down my best players for next season and hope for a real push at the title in League Two which will help me no end.

[JoeLapira]

Lewis; Bouncing straight back up to League 1 would be a great start alright, should get you on song with the board aswell and help ya start to build up some rep. Best of luck with it.