FM16 Youth Academy Challenge

[Alpine]

CARL ZEISS JENA

Manager info

Okay, starting the challenge with Carl Zeiss Jenna. Media predicition is 18th and I think relegation will be though to avoid without any DL or DC. First couple of seasons wont be easy. Also need to hire some staff since its just me and two scouts.

[TheEarl]

A Couple of questions for this challenge:

- Why is it not allowed to load other nations than the one you play? Wouldn't the challenge be considered harder if lites say all the Big 5 nations from Europe where playable?

- Would it be possible to take part in this challenge with a nation from South America, for instance Brazil? With the aim to win the Brazilian Serie A and the Copa Libertadores?

[Bartrcm]

I didn't felt a click with my Spanish team, and also tried a couple of other countries, but I've finally found the joy of youth challenges back in Norway. I think the main reason is the fact that the youth intake takes place before the start of the season.

Asker - Second division Group 1 - Season 2016

Predicted finish: 9th

Actual finish: 2nd

What a season we had. We were never in any relegation danger, but we were almost whole season in the top-4 spots. From our first intake we immediatly put 4 youngsters in the first 11, and they didn't fail. We had a small chance of promotion until the final day, but we had to win and Grorud had to lose. We only managed to get a draw, but in the end it didn't matter because Grorud had won their game. We ended the season with 50 points, a total that woud get us promotion in the other 3 groups, but I'm actually happy that we didn't got promoted in our first season. An extra season in the 3th league will be good for our youngsters to devellop bit more.

Games:

Cup: Quarter finals: An incredible achievement, and we got eliminated by the eventual winners Brann.

Youth intake: A good one.

Emil Ramstad (YP1a): DR, straight into the starting 11

Emil Forsá (YP1b): AMC, straight into the starting 11.

Dag-Erik Dokken (YP1c): MC, straight into the starting 11

William Morterud (YP1d): DC, straight into the starting 11.

David Torp (YP1e): GK, back up.

Transfers: None

Finances: Just in black

Goals next season:

Promotion

[setzel]

FK BANIK MOST - FIRST DIVISION 2026-2027 !

Table - Squad - Finances - Transfers - Season Review - Champions League - Europa League - Super Cup

We started the season good with a win in the Super Cup and we ended the season on a positive note winning the Czech First Division and with that a guaranteed place in the UCL Groups and some nice cash with it.We upgraded again training and youth facilities and with that we only have one level left in training facilities to max both out , we got a new owner that pumped funds in the club and payed the 1 mil pounds debt. The bad part of it that he is strong against developing youth so i just hope he is not an impatient owner if we start having one or two bad years because of our dependence of the youth intakes.The ex chairman before leaving gaved me a big middle finger by selling a very well rated DC prospect for only 2 milions to Atletico Madrid in Zdenek Stejskal YP07C and with that leaving us a bit depleted in our rotation at that position luckily for us we have 2 decent prospects who will atleast develop into solid depth guys at that position.Next season will be huge for us Lukas Vodicka YP07A stil wants to leave and he has a contract till the summer of 2028 so i will be probably forced to sell him at the end of summer transfer period but the bids he gets are ridicolous low the highest i got was from Barcelona at 5 mil pounds with a lot of installments and incentives nothing more of 2 mil uprfont from anyone.

Youths that broke in the First Team

Jaroslav Hric YP10B - Only one guy who played in only two games in the league last season he is training to become our future striker since we have a big big lack of prospects or players who can play that position and Jaroslav has the natural ability and traits to play that position.

Youth Intake 2027

What ? We got a possible striker prospect that is actually decent ??? Now that's a big shocker we got a good fullback prospect too which is always a good thing in my book you can never have too many defenders

Daniel Macek YP11A - A decent striker prospect will need a bit of retrain and playing time to mold him into my tactic and way of play but that something that i can fix !

Ales Palenik YP11B - A quick fullback with great characther and leadership,he seems to have the traits of a future captain !

Jiri Plsek YP11C - Potential to be a playmaker the lack of strenght and physical traits in general will be his downfall .

[tyler16]

A Couple of questions for this challenge:

- Why is it not allowed to load other nations than the one you play? Wouldn't the challenge be considered harder if lites say all the Big 5 nations from Europe where playable?

- Would it be possible to take part in this challenge with a nation from South America, for instance Brazil? With the aim to win the Brazilian Serie A and the Copa Libertadores?

Would assume the answer to both questions is yes. More countries would make it theoretically harder. Don't see why other continents wouldn't be allowed either.

[vikeologist]

setzel - congrats on the league win. Is that your first? I hope the new owner gives you some leeway, or that you can persuade him to adopt your (our) philosophy at the next contract talks. I sort opf long for someone to come in and clear our debts, but worry about what that would mean for the youth philosophy. How far have you got in the CL so far?

Bartrcm - You're back on this challenge! (I see now you abandoned the Ultimate challenge a long time ago). There's a possibility that at some point (if I don't achieve this challenge in my Piacenza save) I'll try it in Norway (or Iceland), just because I fancy trying to do it with a team called Viking or something similar. Of course the team i really want is Oslo City (because of the African regens) but that may have to wait until they get a reputation bump. (if you tell me Oslo City get promoted in your save, half of Asia will hear me screaming).

Alpine - good luck in Germany.

MCPlay - For the code thing, it's a good idea to use the programme 'notepad' which is a Windows thing. Use the tabs rather than spacebars to format it and then paste it in to your reply. Can you not keep some of your guys by throwing money at them early and often?

[Braumiller]

- Why is it not allowed to load other nations than the one you play? Wouldn't the challenge be considered harder if lites say all the Big 5 nations from Europe where playable?

Historically this has always been the rule. It could change from next year on, but not this year while the challenge is in progress.

- Would it be possible to take part in this challenge with a nation from South America, for instance Brazil? With the aim to win the Brazilian Serie A and the Copa Libertadores?

No. This challenge is for European leagues only. There is no reason why someone cannot start a new challenge thread for a Brazilian or South American version though

[TheEarl]

Historically this has always been the rule. It could change from next year on, but not this year while the challenge is in progress.

No. This challenge is for European leagues only. There is no reason why someone cannot start a new challenge thread for a Brazilian or South American version though

Thanks for answer Braumiller I will se both if I can start with a European team, and secondly if I can make a new challenge thread for Brazilian or South American version.

[Sankalan]

Earl, if you do start a new challenge, please do not restrict it to South America, make it everywhere except Europe. And the ultimate goal should be to win the Clubs World Cup. Also, it would be good if you allow Expansion packs as non European countries are not very well represented in the Vanilla FM

[Muggert]

I'm gonna give this a go. Limited time means updates will not be frequent.

Manager

Facilities

Team

Last time I struglled in Carl Zeiss Jena due to the nuo under 17 players rule.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Piacenza 2019/20 Report

League - We were around or about the playoffs. In our final match we played the team immediately below us and need a draw to get in. We won the game handsomely. We made it all the way to the final where we played our C/A division-mates Brescia, who’d finished second. After 210 minutes of goalless ‘action’ it went to penalties. Once it got to the instant death stages, We’d score, they’d score. We‘d miss, they’d miss. My nerves were frayed. Eventually in the 18th round of kicks we won 13-12 on penalties. We were promoted.

My first promotion since FM14. Ok, that's because I spent over a year on a challenge where i only managed in top divisions, but still, I do love me some promotions. I’m obviously a bit worried about how we’ll do in Serie B, but I think this came at the right time. We were hemorrhaging money. The Copa Italia didn’t provide any money despite earning a couple of games against Serie B teams whose supporters would fit in a mini-van. The first playoff game actually caused us to lose money because the away gate receipts were less than we had to pay the players. To an extent we were unlucky that we were drawn against such small sides in the cup and playoffs, but the reality is that most sides outside the top division have fairly low support. We weren’t helped by having our attendance for the playoff semi-final capped at 10,000 because it was a normal match; whatever that means.

We sold our youth goalkeeper Maurizio Maraldi (YP2g) for 525k and 50% of the profit on his next transfer to Bari. If we can keep our starting goalie Alberto D'Ottavio (YP1d), then Meraldi leaving won’t matter, but it did leave us with only 2 goalkeepers until I signed a rubbish youth intake guy for security. If D’Ottavio leaves or picks up a serious injury we are in trouble, but we needed the money. (I didn’t know we’d get promoted, which might have solved our financial problems).

Youth Intake – Nobody immediately great. I only tagged 3 players, though I gave a few more youth contracts. Some non-tagged players from previous intakes are developing well, and vice versa for a few tagged players who came to nothing.

The fairly professional nature of our squad is having an impact on the squad, or at least the young players, and personalities are gradually improving, though the over 23 players all leave a lot to be desired in terms of tutoring. At least I can use them to deal with some youth players with low determination train wrecks for personalities.

I ned to improve the youh training, to ensure that the youth players are better when they emerge, and hopefully promotion will improve our financial situation and allow me to do that. I think the improved TV money will be enough, but I’m not sure yet.

My main central defender left at the end of the season, but his actual performances were always a bi mamahuhu, so no big loss.

Most valuable player - Giuseppe Rosati (YP1a). I moved the previous left winger tiger to central midfield, to get Rosati into the team, and he was predictably great. I had a bit of a scare during the season when he wanted a big new contract with just 2 years left on his existing one. However, we eventually found a compromise and he’s now tied up for the next 5 years unless a Serie B side offers a million for him. I mean, I’m sure they will at some point, but I have a youth backup to Rosati, plus Tiger who seems past his peak, so it won’t be the end of the world.

If I include the YP0 intake, i.e. the intake the season before I took over, 8 of my starting 11 are now YP players. I have a lot of depth in almost every position. I think I stand a reasonable chance of survival.

Season    Division    Position    Notes                                        
16/17    C/A        13th        Avoided relegation playout because of better head-to-head record with team in 14th.
17/18    C/A        11th        2 seasons without relegation. I'm getting into whole new territory here folks.
18/19    C/A        9th        Qualified for the Copa Italia next season
19/20    C/A        4th        Promoted via penalties in playoff final

[setzel]

@vikeologist

Congrats mate on promoting very well done , how is the financial situation now at Piacenza ?

About your question i won the Championship the 4th time but the last season was the first i got in UCL so i am just starting to try and finish this challenge

[vikeologist]

@vikeologist

Congrats mate on promoting very well done , how is the financial situation now at Piacenza ?

Promotion has completely transformed things financially. We've gone from financial peril to rapidly becoming rich. Maybe a 20% increase in wages and a 500% increase in income, mainly from TV money.

All I have to do is survive.

[Bartrcm]

Congrats with the promotion Vike.

[Muggert]

14 players in the squad.

Our best striker goes down... 5 months..

Our lone gk goes down... 7 weeks.

And I can't field the strongest team as there's only 2 under-21 players in the team.

Well... No more rant from me... We've got 15 games to turn it around and a new set of youth players are coming soon.

[Bartrcm]

Asker - Second division group 1 - Season 2017

Predicted: 4th

Actual finish: 2nd

We had a good season, but from the start it was very clear that Baerum was the team to beat. We did beat them twice this season, but they hardly lose other points. After 20 games they had 18-0-2, and those 2 losses were against us. In the end the became the deserved champions, and we were again the best of the rest. We finished the season on 56 points, 6 more than last season. Lets hope that next season will be ours.

Games:

Cup: We were unlucky with the draw. We got in the 1th round Stanraer, a Premier League team, and we were unfortune to lose after penalties.

Youth intake: again a good one, but without a standing out player.

Kjetil Thomassen (YP2a): ST, started the season, but ended up as back up. Has to improve his finishing.

Johannes Strand (YP2a): AMR, straight into the starting 11.

Jan Holmen (YP2c): GK, back up.

Gisle Diskerud (YP2d): MR, will be retrained as AMR.

Espen Bergeng (YP2e): AML, U19.

Sondre Nikinnen (YP2f): DC, U19

Transfers: None

Finances: Going deep in red. Without a cup run, we can't gain any money. Need a promotion as soon as possible.

Goals last season:

Promotion: Failure

Goals next season:

Promotion

[Muggert]

I've resigned with 20 point up with 10 games to go. Neeeext :-)

[setzel]

FK BANIK MOST - FIRST DIVISION 2027-2028 !

Table - Squad - Finances - Transfers - Season Review - Champions League - Super Cup

Best season i had in a long time in FM and at Banik Most we got lucky to get a balanced and well drawned group for us and we steamrolled with six wins out six , after that in the knockout phase we of course got to draw the hardest 2nd seed in Arsenal who dispatched with such a ease that put me in place and my hopes to end this challenge in a few years. I thik i got to a point where i have about six teams behind us as contenders but a whole tier below us but with me focusing more and more on UCL and with my lacking of squad depth if i will not be consistent i might play some odd Europa League seasons.We had only one new youth playing in the first team this year . As you can see from my reports the FA Cup is not even on my radar always early exists i think the most i got was a quaterfinal years ago , i will focus on this competition to have that tropy won too but not soon.

Youth Intake 2028

Three prospect tagged but they are actually worth investing time into molding them how i want

Jakub KostlYP12A - Limited fullback prospect who can be developed into an all-rounder

Pavel MartinekYP12B - With the new influx of wide players Pavel might benefit from me changing from my patented narrow tactics .

Jiri VaclikYP12C - A very odd prospect seems to be talented but short with low determination and a problematic character type .

[Dokara]

Had a youth challenge itch for a while. Started Pentagon, started journeyman save but they didn't satisfy me. Didn't enjoyed them. Since i have some unfinished business in England (damn you Histon!!), i've come back to Conference North. Blyth Spartans this time. Perfect team for this challenge, if you only look at their nickname. The whole Sparta mythology, young warriors, picked among kids, raised to be great, it's interesting to me to keep me from quitting. I love for my teams to have something special behind them. Tiny squad, 16-17 players only, but they seems like quality bunch. Dan Maguire looks like world beater, for this level. We'll se how things develop...

[vikeologist]

setzel - I doubt you're that far away from winning the CL. I expect at some point it will all just click together.

dokara - Perhaps in honour of the Spartans you could use a phalanx formation, which I guess would be a 2-2-2-2-2 formation. I espext that would make the challenge go a lot quicker.

muggert - i was going to ask which nation you were managing in, but oh well, i suppose it doesn't matter now. Good luck with your next attempt.

[Dokara]

@vikeologist

Hmmm, that's actually not a bad idea. Gonna read what i can find about that type of formation then try it in a few friendlies.

And muggert was playing in Croatia. Two divisions, short season, ideal for players who want quicker playthrough.

[Sankalan]

Just an out of topic question here, but what is the secret behind getting good youth? I mean, i have played with teams as good as barcelona, Real, Liverpool, and as low as Mohun Bagan(India), Kitchee(Hong Kong), as well as lower league teams VSJ Velletri in Italian Ecc and Hessen Drieiech in German Verbandsliga but never seen a single Youth player with 4 golden stars in potential, and yet, here everyone seems to get 4-5 star potential youth players every other year. What am I missing?

[vikeologist]

it might be partly that as newly promoted sides, our squads are comparatively weak. Even if Bracelona etc have top youth recruitment, most seasons their top youth intake kids will have 3 star potential maybe.

Anyway, Recruitment = Regen PA

Junior Coaching = regen CA

Youth facilities = Rate of youth player CA improvement.

Can't remember the guy from tactics forum responsible for this summary. Cleon I think his name is. he got it from somewhere or someone called the hand of God.

if anyone doing this challenge doesn't understand facilities and attributes, suggest heading over to his threads stright away. I think the arsenal one has all the info you need.

[setzel]

Weak depth in the team maybe ?

Junior Coachng is a must !

And then staff !! thats the biggest one for me getting the right staff for personality tactical prefferences because if you have a HOYD or youth coaches that all like 4-4-2 you will probably get a lot of guys from youth intake for those positions !

Oh yea and luck !

[Alpine]

CARL ZEISS JENA 2016/17

Season summary

League table Finances Transfers

We barely finished outside relegation zone, 17th with 40 points. Had two good (great) periods which basically saved us, defense was horrible (but all 3 players retraining started to get familiar with their positions near the end of the season so this may improve next season), attack was ok. The best two players were both wingers, Marcel Baer and Maximillian Schlegel. A striker left the club before I took over, which isnt that much of a tragedy, just our current striker likes to get himself injured. Also Hearth Berlin was really keen to buy Florian Dietz, who is probably our best MC, for up to 1 million € but he is not going anywhere. Losing money rather fast and would have lost more if my ass man woudnt have been snatched by Arminia Bielefeld for 200k.

Youth intake

2017 - pretty good year, couple of players that will instantly get their chance to play once they turn 17.

Daniel Albrecht - the best youngster this year according to reports. Even though we got this position covered it won`t hurt to have a backup

Timo Mueller - much needed defender #1. DC

Sebastian Wentzel - much needed defender #2. Ill try to retrain him as a DL since he has some speed.

Soereng Hartung - much needed defender #3. Have the highest hopes for him, just need to train him a bit more as a DC.

[the mister]

Junior Coaching = regen PA

I think that should be CA mate.

Season summary

Well done Zeiss.

So far I've had 2 failed attempts in Serie C (my tactics have been, how can I put it.............less than optimal?), currently considering a 3rd go

[vikeologist]

I think that should be CA mate.

Thanks. I'll correct it.

[Alokarin]

Cove Rangers (Scotland) 25-26 (10th season)

The season after my promotion into Ladbrokes League 1 was ultimately frustrating, as a promising start (two wins) was followed by a slow decline. By the last nine games, the team had fallen into 10th, the automatic relegation spot, and an inept offense (we ended up scoring 28 goals in 36 games, including 4 goals in the final two meaningless matches) ensured that we wouldn't climb out.

Despite the relegation, the board offered me another contract, although the club is losing significant money and I was ordered to sell players. My best player refuses to sign a new contract, but no other club is interested. I've shed a number of older and marginal players to help with payroll.

My question to those with more experience in these challenges might be: when does it become clear that it's time to give up? The board has refused to improve training facilities, youth facilities, or youth coaching. My best youth intake players seem to be about the level of Ladbrokes 2, making staying up in the event of another promotion a challenge. I'm probably in for a long slog, not having the clear tactical acumen of so many on these boards.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Piacenza 2020/21 Report

In our first season in Serie B, we won our first match of the season away 3-0, and went top of the table. And then we lost our next 7 games, sank to the bottom of the table and never recovered. I had the occasional brief glimpse of hope, but it was obvious from pretty early on that we weren’t going to survive. 3 of my players had relegation release clauses. I sold one of them, and negotiated a new contract with the second. He still wants to leave, but I can now ask a lot more money for him.

The third player with a release clause however is my superb goalie, D’Ottavio (YP1d) who will doubtless be gobbled up at the half million price. You’ll notice I don’t say my best goalie. I do technically have other goalies. My backup is a 21-year old who is actually tagged as my YP0f. A few years back he was regarded as fairly promising. My other 2 goalies though are absolute rubbish. They’re the only 2 goalies to come through the last 2 youth intakes, and if I wasn’t short at the position, they’d have stood zero chance of being asked to stick around. Nobody has made a move for D’Ottavio yet.

If D’Ottavio does leave, I will have managed to lose 3 of the most promising young goalkeepers in Italy. Selling Maraldi (YP2g) last season has turned out to be a terrible mistake, but I thought or hoped that D’Ottavio would be in goal for the next 15 seasons.

However, I am in no danger (yet) of being sacked. I knew that a lot of my players would want to leave, but I have such a large squad that this wouldn’t be a problem. For the moment though, it seems that I have persuaded a lot of them to give us next season to get promoted straight back up. Actually, the squad is so large, I probably need to sell a few players anyway.

Going back to Serie C will hit us financially, but 1 season will be manageable. Unfortunately, promotion will be tough because all 4 teams relegated from Serie B, including our rivals Parma and Cremonese are going to be in C/A, which hardly seems fair.

Youth Intake – Despite improving my Junior Coaching, there wasn’t an impact this year on the CA of the intake, but there were quite a lot of kids with good potential, including potential right wingers we could retrain to the position. We really, really needed a good GK though.

Season	Division	Position	Notes										
16/17	C/A		13th		Avoided relegation playout because of better head-to-head record with team in 14th.
17/18	C/A		11th		2 seasons without relegation. I'm getting into whole new territory here folks.
18/19	C/A		9th		Qualified for the Copa Italia next season
19/20	C/A		4th		Promoted via penalties in playoff final
20/21	B		22nd		Rock bottom

[the mister]

when does it become clear that it's time to give up?

I can't offer you any advice, due to my own inexperience. But you have my sympathy mate. You're plainly sticking at it and trying hard. If something changes it'll make this trouble all worth the effort. Good luck pal.

[abirdc]

First tried it in Wales, played 2 seasons. I was doing good, got 3rd both of the times in top league, but lost interest. Then in Spain, got sacked in 1 season. After that, in Denmark, but the stupid rule of fielding 3 outfield under-21 players as substitutes was quite annoying.

So guys, any country recommendation?

[the mister]

Although I keep failing, I can recommend Italy. The rules aren't in any way restrictive and 12 substitutes to pick from is very handy (and helps with rotation). There's some nice 'bigger' teams to choose from too, including Parma.

[GottaBeatThemAll]

hi guys I've read this entire forum and i love the idea of this challenge but I've really struggled so far and I'm onto my fourth attempt and I'm already struggling, my problem has been getting a tactic that can work and that suits the players strength and weaknessess available so on each attempt I've been chopping and changing hoping to get it right and I've struggled with creating clear cut chances massively.

so I'm hoping i can get some advice because some of yous have done really well at this challenge.

[dan_simmonds]

I wouldn't chop and change your formation. Find a balanced formation and build your team into it would be my advice. Considering the crossing elements we're dealing with on this game, I've gone for a 4-4-2 or a 4-1-4-1 to ensure stability, but also looking to exploit the width of my team.

[GottaBeatThemAll]

used your advice it half worked as i got three draws where i was dominated but created chances and scored but gave up in the last game where we tore them open my best rated striker who i hate stepped up and missed then they score in last minutes just made me lose interest in my Spanish adventure I'm off to Scotland and i'll post updates if i survive the first season.

[Alpine]

CARL ZEISS JENA 2017/18

Season summary

League table Finances Transfers

Another 17th place. More goals score than last season, more goals conceded than last season. 2 more wins, 1 more defeat (and 3 less draws). Jonah Burger is the first regen to play for the first team, he was bought (for free it seems, though I cant find him in transfer history) before I took over, who in addition is also the youngest goalscorer in the 3. Liga. No transfer activity, one player doesn't want to extend his contract but I still have 1 month left to give him "everything with cherry on top" as he seems to be demanding. Finances are a bit improved compared with last season, same amount of money lost but without losing any staff.

Youth intake

2018

Worse than last year overall, even though the board increased the budget for junior coaching at the start of the season.

Cristoph Haast - The best player this year, a quick DC. Needs to work on his strength and stamina

Thomas Rahmig - A bit slower DC but a bit extra depth doesn't hurt.

Jens Reddemann - Our future AMC attacking playmaker

Albert Reuther - Another attacking midfielder, he will probably become backup to to all the others in the squad

Mike Salewski - Striker, something might come out of him though I don't have my hopes too high up.

[TrickyTree91]

Stumbled across this thread and opted to start off in Italy. Parma Calcio 1913 are one of the promoted sides so have decided to have a go with them.

Manager Profile - Manager Information - Squad 1 - Squad 2

I don't normally post on these forums so if I'm doing anything wrong or any suggestions for improvement just give me a shout. Will post updates when I get it going.

[TrickyTree91]

Parma Calcio 1913

Just finished the first season. Bit of a mixed bag in the league as you can see. League Table Plenty good enough going forward but lacking a goalkeeper anywhere near good enough, and a few good prospects across the back four but nowhere near good enough yet.

Youth Intake was ok, Raffaele Gallo, Alan Romano and Filippo Paramatti are the pick of the bunch according to reports.Had a few promising players from the previous intake too. Obviously no transfers in.

Looks like the second season will be a case of chucking a few youngsters in and hoping they step up. Try and finish top half and aim to go up the following season. Board won't improve any facilities due to finances.

Great challenge, looks pretty tough, keeping the board happy and reaching expectations while giving the youngsters a chance is a lot tougher than I thought it would be.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Piacenza 2021/2 Report

Formost of the season we were neck and neck with Parma in the battle for the C/Atitle.

Theimportant thing though was to get a goalkeeper in the youth intake. Inevitablyour star goalkeeper was snatched up in pre-season for the bargain £500krelegation release clause I’d foolishly agreed to. This left us with just oneserviceable keeper. 6 seasons ago when I took over the club he was reckoned tohave lots of potential. I hoped that when he was given a turn in the first teamhe would improve. I hoped in vain. He’s stuck at a star and a half for bothability and potential. He actually had an ok season, but that’s because we wereone of the best clubs in the division. If we had got promoted, he would havebeen tested a lot more next season in Serie B.

Luckilywe got a good goalkeeper in the intake. Maybe he won’t be brilliant, but he has4 star potential. I stuck him more or less straight into the first team for afew matches which coincided with a huge slump in our fortunes, and soon Parmawere miles ahead of us on their way to a league record, pulling 18 points clearof us just in the last 10 or so games.

Theslump was probably due more to losing our 3 best players in quick successionfor the rest of the season shortly after the intake. It gave me a chance to seewhat their backups could do, and it was very disappointing.

Welimped into the playoffs. Our striker hadn’t scored a goal in 12 matches. Thequarter final went to extra time, and we went a goal up, but then conceded 2and were out.

However,I did win my first piece of silverware in the form of the Serie C Cup.

Onthe whole I’m not too disappointed. If we had been promoted with a poor keeper,we would probably have come straight back down. Hopefully we will be sodominant next season I’ll be able to put my new youth goalie Carlo Bini (YP6a) intothe team from the start. He’s still all blue stars rather than gold, buthopefully that will have changed by the start of next season.

There’sstill problems, not least the lack of goals from my supposedly second beststriker, but I’m fairly optimistic for next season.

Season Division Position Notes          
16/17 C/A  13th  Avoided relegation playout because of better head-to-head record with team in 14th.
17/18 C/A  11th  2 seasons without relegation. I'm getting into whole new territory here folks.
18/19 C/A  9th  Qualified for the Copa Italia next season
19/20 C/A  4th  Promoted via penalties in playoff final
20/21 B  22nd  Rock bottom
21/22 C/A  3rd  Lost in Playoff Q/F

[Pavi]

Just started with Brora in Scotalnd, will post when (and if) I survive first season! Anyway, it is a pleasure to read you guys, some very amazing saves round here!

[TrickyTree91]

2017/18

Parma Calcio 1913

Disappointing season overall. Finished 11th in the league, drew far too many games. On the plus side a number of youngsters became first team regulars and are getting somewhere near the standard required to compete in this league. The youth intake looks potentially promising, got a decent goalkeeper who will go straight into the first team due to lack of options.

Expecting a number of players to step up in the coming season -

Alessandro Corradi 0b - Scored 3 in 6 starts and 9 sub apps. Will get more chances this season. Lazio have been sniffing around.

Ciro Eschiti 0c - Av Rat 6.75 in 32 apps last season, stats improving rapidly.

Marco Parigi 0h - Surprise package. Forced to play him due to lack of DM/CM options. Av Rat 7.20 in 27 apps with 3 goals and 3 assists.

Mirko Di Fiore 0f - Started out as my only right back and looked poor. Averaged 6.90 in 65 games over the past 2 seasons. Improved massively.

Viviano De Luca 2a - Keeper who came in this years intake. Will throw him straight in and see what he can do.

Looking for top half finish at least this season. Will have a couple of players in the side that aren't really up to the standard so playoffs might be a step too far. Thoroughly enjoying this challenge. A real test.

[vikeologist]

I wish I could steal DeLuca off you. My youth intake goalie from last season, Carlo Bini, isn't improving at all. It's noticable that some players never do improve, although my assistant manager keeps believing that they have lots of potential, until eventually he comes to the conclusion that, yeah, they're rubbish.

When a player is an 'a' propect, you can really invest a lot of hope in them. I have to learn to give up on them earlier. It's like the 'sunk cost fallacy' that Better Call Saul mentioned in episode 1. "They throw good money after bad, thinking they can turn their luck around. I've already spent this much money or time — and I gotta keep going."

[TrickyTree91]

He's not started too bad, conceded 17 in 12. I have had one or two that look good and then don't seem to go anywhere. Fingers crossed De Luca isn't one of them.

Alessandro Corradi is turning into a great player, 13 starts and 2 sub apps, he's managed 8 goals and 2 assists. Just hope I can hold onto him for a while, had him linked to Lazio on numerous occasions.

Won 3 Drawn 8 and Lost 4 in the league so not the greatest season so far. Lost no end of points after taking the lead.The board seem happy with things though so hopefully got time to turn it around.

[TrickyTree91]

2018/19 Season

A second consecutive 11th place finish in the league. A cautious sense of optimism though as a few players look to be developing into very good Serie C players. Lack of depth really cost me as any injuries meant I was having to make do with players out of position etc.

The youth intake handed me probably 3 players that have got any chance of developing into future first teamers. The 3 real prospects are;

Maurizio Biagini 3a - I was really struggling for depth in midfield so he came at the perfect time. A 17 determination rating makes me hopeful he might improve quite quickly.

Cristian Vacondio 3b - Left Winger whose stats look decent if not spectacular. Looks like a team man, good work rate and teamwork ratings.

Denis Rigo 3c - My favourite of the 3 although slightly less potential according to my assistant. 15 passing rating already and very good first touch, work rate and teamwork. Will definitely be a future first teamer.

Although they should be some way off the first team, I might have be forced to push Rigo and Biagini up if I get any injuries during the next season.

The pick of the players from past intakes over the last season were;

Alessandro Corradi 0b - 14 goals in 31 league games. Started the season well but had a disappointing second half. Relying heavily on him as the midfield don't contribute enough goals.

Massimiliano Nicoletti 1e - 7.05 rating in 34 apps. Although no goals and only 2 assists. Hopefully he can add a bit more to his game.

Viviano De Luca 2a - Came through last years intake straight into the team and did a decent job averaging 6.84 through the season, had a far better second half to the season too. Signs that hes improving nicely.

Marco Parigi 0h - The only defensive central midfielder I have so is vital to the team. 6.98 over 26 apps is ok but again not enough goals or assists.

This is the first time it looks like I will be holding onto all my first team players. Handed all my best prospects long contracts and added clauses to extend them if I want to. Basically have most of my top players tied down for 5-6 years. Not going to make any predictions about the coming season, just a case of wait and see how we go.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's Piacenza 2022/23 Report

Wewon the league, although it wasn’t the formality I was expecting. We eked out a 6 point lead, and then saw it cut to 1 point as Carpi, the biggest club in C/A worked their way up the table to almost catch up with us. With 4 games to go,and a 3-point lead, we played Carpi away. A big loss and they’d have overtaken us and had the advantage. Luckily we recorded a big win, and it was all but over. We won the next match and were promoted. (Both Carpi and us won their remaining 3 matches).

A good thing too. 2 years back in Serie C was pretty much all we could take financially. The difference in income is huge because of TV money. This season we didn’t (have to) sell any of our key players, but if we hadn’t been promoted I wouldn’t have been able to offer acceptable deals to those players with a year left on their contracts.

The ongoing concern about whether we can stick the landing this time and survive in Serie B is the goalkeeping situation. Carlo Bini (YP6a) still isn’t great (1star) but without a decent goalie in this year’s intake, we have to hitch our wagon to the Bini Baby for the foreseeable future. He actually had an ok season,but then again he had a lot less to do than he will next season.

This year’s intake was disappointing with no really good players (although I realise that the potential ratings are skewed by the improvement in the squad). LorisFinotti (YP7a) will have to be retrained from an AML to a ML. This doesn’t always work out well. The report on his versatility says he can only play in 1 position right now, so I’m not sure his adaptability stat is going to be good enough.

OurU20 team won the U20 Cup, beating Roma in the final, which was nice, especially as I forgot to make the U20 players in the first team available as I planned to.

We also won the Serie C Super Cup which is where the 3 league winners play each other.

Season Division Position Notes          
16/17 C/A  13th  Avoided relegation playout because of better head-to-head record with team in 14th.
17/18 C/A  11th  2 seasons without relegation. I'm getting into whole new territory here folks.
18/19 C/A  9th  Qualified for the Copa Italia next season
19/20 C/A  4th  Promoted via penalties in playoff final
20/21 B  22nd  Rock bottom
21/22 C/A  3rd  Lost in Playoff Q/F
22/23 C/A  1st  

[TrickyTree91]

Sat just inside the top half at the end of January, a few really good performances. Getting nearly 60% possession in most games. Final day of the transfer window and the board decide to sell my best CB and my LB for a combined £2.5m. Feel like I've been robbed. Need to get promoted sharpish or this team will just be picked apart.

[dan_simmonds]

FC Vitkovice

End of Season 5 - 2020/21

Zynot Liga

A more comfortable survival this year, even if it wasn't confirmed until the second to last day. We're likely to be in another scrap next season, but we continue to make progress in each season which can only be a good thing.

Ceská pošta Cup

Champions. Enough said.

Transfers

No transfers, as part of my challenge

First Team

A strong season from this team, but we now need to take yet another step forward. We're another year older, and hopefully another year wiser as we look for midtable safety this season.

Key Players

1. Petr Wojnar - MC - Yet again my player of the season. Mr consistent, and we'll get at least one more season out of him.

2. Karel Pacholik - ST - He needed to make the step up and he did. Top goalscorer and top assister, we wouldn't have stayed up without him.

3. Vojtech Zacherias - GK - Outstanding once again. Crucial saves when we needed them, and made sure that the defence wasn't breached nearly as often as they should've been.

Youth Team

Getting stronger every year, but this season saw a bumper intake and a real lift to the squad.

Best Three 'Yoofs'

1. Karel Pacholik - ST - A great return from the front man, and whilst he's not eligible for this award after next season, he'll be leading the line no doubt.

2. Vojtech Zacherias - GK - There's no pressure on him from anyone else at the moment, but why would there be? It's also his last appearance on this list as he turns 20 in the new season.

3. Jakub Kuchar - DL - An incredibly consistent player for us, but doesn't think we can match his ambition. I'm resigned to losing him at the end of his contract to be honest.

NB: 'Yoofs' are defined as 19 or under in the Simmonds school of management.

Youth Intake

The best intake under my reign. Koubek is already tearing up the first team, and every single one of these prospects will be making a first team appearance at some point, of that I have no doubt.

Facilities

Youth coaching got upgraded, and we saw the emergence of Koubek as a result. If we get any Europa League money, we'll be pushing to upgrade the facilities.

Finances

Losing money hand over fist, and only profitable due to cash injections from the board. With the Europa League looming we'll see if we can change that next season.

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - 14th and safety!

Ceská pošta Cup - Second Round - We won it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season   |  League                 | League Position |  Ceská pošta Cup      | Europa League| Champions League |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2016/17  |  Fotbalová Národní Liga | 10th            |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2017/18  |  Fotbalová Národní Liga | 11th            |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19  |  Fotbalová Národní Liga | 2nd             |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20  |  Zynot Liga             | 14th            |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2020/21  |  Zynot Liga             | 14th            |  Winners              | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/Code]

[TrickyTree91]

2019/20 Season

Finally things are improving. At the halfway stage I was sat just inside the top half, playoffs looked a long way off. Wasn't optimistic considering the board had sold two of my best defenders and a number of players were unhappy because I wouldn't accept bids for them. Despite this, I had a great second half and ended up finishing 5th in the league. A lot of players really came on this year, the players that really broke into the team were;

Alan Romano 1b - Not really had much of a look in before this season but has gone some way towards solving the problem of lack of goals from midfield. 24(7) apps and manage 7 goals and 7 assists in the league

Giacinto Ferrari 1d - Became a regular after the board got rid of my previous LB. Avg 7.39 in 26 apps. 1 goal and 4 assists.

Pasquale Aiello 2c - Made 7 starts but came off the bench 15 times. Managed 3 goals and an assist in those games. Hopefully will push on for next season.

The Youth Intake was disappointing, only tagged 2 players. Although one looks like he'll be pushing for the first team pretty soon;

Roland Ouattara 4a - Ivorian AMC, looks a huge prospect. Already made a couple of appearances off the bench.

Enrico Paratici 4b - Adds depth to the midfield which was needed.

Could have done with a decent forward as we are lacking depth up top.

The board have already sold two key players. If we lose any more it would be a huge blow and could seriously harm any chance of a title challenge which I am hopeful for. If our GK or ST leave, it would take a long time to come back from.

[dan_simmonds]

Start of season six - 2021/22

First Team Squad

Similar squad to last season, but minus Kuchar and Rosnik. Kuchar will be missed, but Rosnik hasn't been able to get in the team so he won't be missed.

Transfers

We're actually in a position where players who haven't made the grade are leaving. It's a strange feeling saying goodbye to two players who aren't actually good enough for this team.

Key Players

1. Petr Wojnar - MC - The motor of this team, and runs the midfield admirably with Musil. If his leadership skills were better, he'd be the captain of this side. Unfortunately he's 32 now, so I'm not sold on his legs lasting after this season.

2. Karel Pacholik - ST - Our vice captain, and chief threat. Double figures in goals and leading assister last season, but I'd like him to really take another stride forward.

3. Michel Koubek - MR - The Wunderkind is still with the club even though we haven't been able to put him on a permanent contract. If we can keep hold of him, he'll be key this season.

This season's objectives

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round

Europa League - Don't embarrass ourselves

This season's objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - Obviously I'll take 14th, but I'd really like the team to make a step forward this year despite the loss of Kuchar weakening the defence which is the best attribute to this side.

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round - After winning the cup last year, I've got no idea where to go from here. Prize money round perhaps?

Europa League - Enjoy it, and hope we get some prize money from the experience

[Nottingham Forest]

As I'm bored of FM at the moment whilst waiting for the new patch. I've decided I'm going to try and get back into the Youth Challenge in England. I was gutted when I lost my Salford save due to being rubbish .