FM16 Youth Academy Challenge

druvo · March 28, 2016

Ofspor A.Ş - Season 2

League - Squad - Transfers - Season review - End of season awards - Fixtures

Season review

Our first season in PTT 1. League (second division) was very up and down. We never managed to go on a run but we weren't close to getting relegated either. Overall it was a solid season with many improvements off the pitch.

Top performers

1. Seyit Akgül: He started every league game for us and is by far our best central midfielder. Never gets injured.

2. Serhad Kalkavan: Another good season from our rightback.

3. Muhittin Tümbül: Our best striker this season due to an injury on Mustafa Kaya that kept him out for 7 months. 9 goals in 24 starts is decent but probably not good enough if we want to finish near the promotion spots.

4. İlhan Uyarcan: The big surprise this season. He got promoted from the reserves when I needed an AMC and he really impressed me. Looks to have a high potential too.

5. Muhammet Fettahoğlu: My DMC. Very important to our build-up-play with his 13 passing and 12 technique.

Youth intake

A very nice intake this year with many good prospects. I forgot to take a picture of the youth intake team so it looks a bit different than usual.

Kadem Ali Şahin (18A): A promising striker was exactly what I had hoped for and with 15 acceleration and 13 finishing Şahin will be useful. He has already made his debut and scored his first goal.

Ufuk Eren (18B): Midfielder with nice passing ability. Can also play as AMC.

Yusuf Söylemez (18C): Another midfielder but this time a more defensive one. Will probably have to un-train his "tried killer balls often" preffered move because I doubt he will succeed many with 9 passing.

Kenan Alıcı (18D): Half-german defender, mainly a centre-back but can also play right-back.

Hüseyin Güneş (18E): A promising right-back prospect. Now I've had one highly promising left-back, one right-back and two centre-backs which is perfect.

Menderes Sağlam (18F): Another striker. This guy is not as ready as Şahin is so I'm not sure how much playing time I can afford to give him.

Finances

Looking VERY good. Apparently you get near £3M in TV-money in Turkish second divison so I doubt I'll have money problems any time soon. At the end of last season and just before this one the board agreed to upgrade the youth facilities. Then at the end of the season they once again agreed to upgrade the youth facilities. In between that they also agreed to a training facilities upgrade during my contract negotiations. The future looks bright.

Goals before season

*Survive - Success

Next season

*Survive and beat last season's point tally (47).

GottaBeatThemAll · March 28, 2016

Im also having this problem where no youth player will sign or pre sign a pro contract its just got I'm not currently interested in entering contract discussions.

Does this sound like a bug or is it normal for vanarama conference north?

thokk · March 29, 2016

Thokk - Iceland is a good place to go (did the gundo challenge there on fm14). I think the most important thing is to find a club you can really get into, despite the league.

I did start in Iceland, but you were correct, i didn't feel any connection to the club, so drop that save and started again. This time in Portugal.

thokk · March 29, 2016

Season 2016/17 - Division: Portuguese National Championship – Mileu Guarda

Background x Information x Facilities x Manager Profile 1 x Manager Profile 2 x Squad

Probably a impossible challenge with only 11 players and no youth squad! Although the “Media prediction” is 10th out of 10 in our first stage group, i've faith in those players!

Mushtaq · March 29, 2016

BSC GLASGOW - 2016/17

League Table | Past Positions | Domestic Cups | Squad | Transfers | Facilities | Finances | Season Review

After dozens of failed youth challenge attempts (both poor performances and just not clicking with a team) I think I might have finally found a game to stick with - Broomhill Sports Club Glasgow. I have always wanted a long term game in Scotland with the goal of knocking off the Old Firm as the big two in the country, so it was ideal when I found a team from Glasgow I could use. I guess this will also relate to Forest’s ‘Spirit of 67’ challenge where the aim is replicate the Celtic team that won the European Cup with an all-Glasgow side. And finally, after a bit of research BSC Glasgow also have a strong youth policy which obviously fits the challenge nicely.

This will be my first time properly updating on the forum as I go as well so I am hoping that will help keep me going.

So we began year one with just 14 players in the squad and due to a lack of midfielders I opted for a 5-2-3 wing back formation. It started surprisingly well and midway through the season we were sitting in 3rd position. However a truely terrible eight game losing streak followed as the lack of squad depth caught up on us and we slumped all the way to 9th which is where we stayed. We were never in danger of the relegation playoff spot thanks to a poor season from Stirling, but a bit disappointing to end that far down after the promising start. Nothing really to talk about from the cup competitions - pushed Ayr to a replay in the 3rd Round of Scottish Cup and that was about it.

BEST OF YOUTH INTAKE

Dougie Pollock | Ally Cawley | Maurice Higgins

Managed to upgrade junior coaching early on but not a great first intake. A few players will contribute straight away simply because they have to. Dougie Pollock is the best of the lot and will likely slot straight in at left wing back. Needed a midfielder so Cawley will be in the first team and Higgins could push for a starting spot pretty soon. With more balance across positions I should be able to move from my 5-2-3 to what I had planned to play - a 5-3-2. Also, forgive me but I don’t like tagging the players, and I forgot a screenshot of the initial youth intake squad.

Next season I will aim to blood a lot of the first youth intake and hopefully force my way into the top half of the table. Need to settle on a tactic and try not to chop and change. Hopefully there will be some sort of progress because, as I mentioned above, I have a terrible habit of restarting or not settling on a save.

PROGRESS

Season 1 - 2016/17 - 9th in League Two - Survival

Mushtaq · March 30, 2016

BSC GLASGOW - 2017/18

League Table | Past Positions | Domestic Cups | Squad | Transfers | Facilities | Finances | Season Review | Team of the Year

I have flown through another season but unfortunately it wasn't quite what I had planned. Season two was frustrating as we never really got going and after telling myself to stick with a tactic I ended up changing it several times as the results didn't go our way. The bottom half of the table was close for most of the season and I didn't think we would fall into the bottom spot but a poor end to the season saw us head to the relegation playoff. We comfortably took care of Gretna 2008 to retain our spot in League Two.

We managed to have three players named in the League Two Team of the Year - GK Kieran Moore, DL Dougie Pollock and MC David Gray - not bad for a bottom of the table side. We also had a good Scottish Cup run which helped the finances a bit, getting to the 5th Round before being thrashed by Premiership side St Johnstone in a replay.

At the end of the season we played some nice football with a new 4-4-1-1 formation which I hope I will stick with. Really struggling with getting a consistent tactic on FM16 which I feel is holding me back. Determined to stick with the save though and make these initial tough times worthwhile if we can eventually rise through the leagues.

YOUTH PLAYER UPDATES

Dougie Pollock | Ally Cawley | Jonny Adams

These three have proven to be the best of my first intake. Pollock was the starting left back and has quickly become one of the best players in the squad, making the League Two Team of the Year at 17. Cawley is a funny one - good enough to start in midfield and plays well but had 6 red cards this season! I have never had a player like it and hope his discipline improves as he gets older. Jonny Adams isn't that great but did score 5 goals with limited chances.

BEST OF 2017/18 YOUTH INTAKE

Conor McNulty | Scott McLean | Neil McAlister | Craig Fletcher

McNulty was the main reason I switched to a 4-4-1-1 late in the season and I hope he will be a player we can build around from the AMC spot. An average of 7.39 in his first 8 league games is a good start. McLean is a good young defender who will likely start next season, while McAlister and Fletcher are midfielders who will probably get spots on the bench straight away.

Next season our first two youth intakes should slowly take over the starting lineup which I hope will improve our fortunes as they settle into the team. A top half finish would be nice but just settling on a tactic that is solid and consistent would be a start.

PROGRESS

Season 1 - 2016/17 - 9th in League Two - Survival

Season 2 - 2017/18 - 10th in League Two - Survival after Relegation Playoff

druvo · March 31, 2016

thokk - Good luck in Portugal

Mushtaq - McNulty looks promising for sure. Good luck in next season.

I will post two updates in a row now.

druvo · March 31, 2016

Ofspor A.Ş - Season 3

League - Squad - Transfers - Season review - End of season awards - Fixtures

Season review

The goal before the season was to improve on last season's point tally and we succeeded with that (2 points better). It was still a bittersweet season in where we had a playoff spot until the final day. With four games to go we were five points ahead of the teams outside the playoff places but the winning mentality simply wasn't there. In the final four games we got one point which meant we ended 2 points off the playoff spots. To be honest the squad is most likely not good enough for the Super league so a few more years in the second division could be good. Next season I will try to phase out more original Ofspor players to make place for more youths so it's possible the performance levels will drop a little bit. I'm confident we have the ability to stay up though.

Top performers

1. Seyit Akgül: Another good season from Seyit. Once again he stayed completely free from injuries and only missed two league games due to suspensions. He will still be first choice next season.

2. Hüseyin Güneş (18E): Serhad got injured a few games into the season so Güneş got his chance. He impressed and managed to stay first choice once Serhad came back. Still improving too.

3. Hasan Erdoğan (17A): Erdoğan is my other starting fullback. He asked to leave during the season but now he's happy to stay. He's tied down on a five-year-contract so I won't let him go unless I get a ridiculous offer.

4. İlhan Uyarcan: Another decent season from my starting attacking midfielder. 7 league goals and 2 assists. Hopefully he can assist some more next season too.

5. Muhammet Fettahoğlu: An even better season than last one from Muhammet. He will be first choice DMC next season too.

Youth intake

A bad intake this year compared to the other seasons. Some decent looking prospects but noone is really ready yet. I'm ok with that though because I believe our current prospects have a lot of improving to do and we've got promising players in most positions.

Mehmet Özyurt (19A): The best prospect in this intake. He will be trained as an inside forward. He already got some playing time and scored his first goal.

Kerim Üçüncü (19B): Another played who will be trained as an inside forward. Lots of improving to do.

Mustafa Korkmaz (19C): The final tagged player is a centre-back. Similarly to the others his current ability is very bad so he's got work to do.

Finances

Still looking good even though the board just spent £2.3M on improving both the youth and training facilities. They will be done by december. After the upgrades I will have adequate training- and average youth facilities.

Goals before season

*Beat last season's point tally - Success

Next season

*Once again get more points than last season

druvo · March 31, 2016

Ofspor A.Ş - Season 4

League - Squad - Transfers - Season review - End of season awards - Fixtures

Season review

Well. This season was a complete disaster in every way. Before the season I had decided to play the kids as much as possible, meaning my two promising striker prospects would play whenever they were available. First one of them, Kadem Ali Şahin (18A), broke his foot and missed six months and then the other, Menderes Sağlam (18F), broke his ankle and missed just over 3 months. Menderes was the best of my strikers when he was healthy, scoring 5 goals in 7 starts and 14 sub appearances. My other three strikers (including Kadem Ali) scored 5 goals between them in 44 games including sub appearances. That's not very good. Despite having such a bad season we had a chance to stay up until the very end but one point out of 15 in the last 5 games sealed our fate.

I managed to re-negotiate most contracts to remove the relegation release clauses but it did not work with everyone. Three of my top players has release clauses that might get activated. Oğuzhan Genç (17B) who is my best centreback has a release clause of £450k. Hasan Erdoğan (17A), my only 5-star rated player by assistant has a clause of a measly £35k so he will almost certainly be gone. Finally our best winger Alpaslan Albay has a release clause at £60k. Financially we'll probably be ok in the third division but many of my players "wants to leave due to getting relegated" so we really need to get back up as soon as possible.

Top performers

1. Hüseyin Güneş (18E): A pretty good season from Günes despite our collective troubles. He wants to leave though.

2. Hasan Erdoğan (17A): Hasan will almost certainly leave which will put us in a tough situation. We will go from left-back being our best position to our worst.

3. İlhan Uyarcan: Not as much productivity from Ilhan this season but he played mainly as CM instead of AMC. I need to keep him.

4. Oğuzhan Genç (17B): One player who I absolutely can't afford to lose is this guy so I really hope noone pays the £450k release clause.

5. Seyit Akgül: Seyit was no longer our best player but I'll do my best to keep him for next season. His experience will be useful in what will be a very young side.

Youth intake

After a bad intake last year we're back to good intakes again. Two promising wingers and a decent striker being the main prospects.

Cemal Kaba (20A): An either-footed winger with decent speed. Not very good current ability.

Dorukhan Esen (20B): Probably the most promising player in this intake. He's also an either-footed winger and he already made his debut. Will be important next season.

Taner Şen (20C): A promising striker is always nice to get. Good speed and good finishing. Will start next season as third choice.

Beyhan Öndaş (20D): A midfielder with great passing, first touch and technique attributes. Hopefully he can deliver a few assists next season!

Finances

It's looking good but next season I won't get the £3M tv-revenue that you get in the second division. Probably no more upgrades until we get back to the second division.

Goals before season

*Beat last season's point tally - Fail

Next season

*Get promoted

Mushtaq · April 1, 2016

BSC GLASGOW - 2018/19

League Table | Past Positions | Domestic Cups | Squad | Transfers | Facilities | Finances

Another up and down season. A decent start had us as high as 2nd spot but again a mid season form slump saw us drop right down. We briefly got back into the promotion playoff spots but faded towards the end of the season. Again the lack of a solid tactic let us down. I am probably too quick to change things up when we have a poor run but I am hopeful the constant tweaking will eventually lead to something we can stick with. I am trying to build a tactic around the best players we have had come through the youth ranks over the first three seasons. It is currently a 4-2-3-1 that finished the season quite well. Maybe this time it will be the one we stick with - not holding my breath through.

The good news is we have slowly improved each season - 37 points in 16/17, 40 points in 17/18, and 45 points in 18/19. If that trend continues we will be pushing the playoff spots next year.

Outside of the league the only other result of note was a hilarious League Cup win over Premiership club Motherwell. They had 35 shots to 1 and two missed penalties. I somehow took it to a shootout and fell behind twice from misses but came back to win.

BEST YOUTH PLAYER UPDATES

Conor McNulty | Dougie Pollock | Ally Cawley | Craig Fletcher | Scott McLean

McNulty and Pollock are now rated as the two best players in the squad. I have already had offers from nearly every Premiership club for McNulty and he is getting a bit grumpy about not being allowed to move. Hoping I can have him for one more season at least. Pollock remains consistent at LB although seems to need an attack duty to play well so I am trying to adapt my tactic to suit that. Cawley and Fletcher rotated at one of the MC spots during the season and both performed quite well - just the one red card for Cawley this season! McLean is now a starting CB who has done okay and should get better.

BEST OF 2018/19 YOUTH INTAKE

Stuart Coutts | Iain Naismith | Mark Frame

Not a very good intake. The best of the lot was right winger Stuart Coutts who will start straight away and hopefully help what has been a pretty blunt attack. Naismith is another promising midfielder who will be near the first team for next season, and Frame comes straight onto the bench as backup GK.

Next season I feel is a bit make or break. Probably our last year with McNulty and significant improvement is needed for this save to go anywhere. Playoff spots is the target and I feel we have the squad to now get there.

PROGRESS

Season 1 - 2016/17 - 9th in League Two - Survival

Season 2 - 2017/18 - 10th in League Two - Survival after Relegation Playoff

Season 3 - 2018/10 - 8th in League Two - Survival

Twellman24 · April 2, 2016

Cd_castell%C3%B3n_200px.png

C.D. Castellon SAD

So, I have tried this challenge before, with FM11 and 12, in both occasions with Zamora, as well as another stint with FM12 later on with Castellon. In all three instances I got to the first division, Zamora even getting me to the Europa League but litle else.

I plan on making it to the Champions League this time around, at least. We'll see.

Anyway, I really struggled to find a recently promoted Spanish club with enough players for a full squad, so I had to go with Castellon again. As you can see we have plenty of players, and that'll ensure we have a big enough squad to at least not have to worry about injuries and such. Our best player Ruben Suarez, even though he is 37, has great skill and we hope he'll stay fit for year or two more.

PS--I am from Vila-real and a huge Villarreal fan since I was 5, so that will make this challenge more, erm, interesting. My uncle did play for Castellon (and Villareal too) in the 70s so it's not like I hate Castellon anyway (our rivalry is more local than a hateful one).

On we go!

T24

Mushtaq · April 2, 2016

Lost penalty shootout in playoff semi finals in fourth season with BSC Glasgow. Don't know if I can bring myself to go again so might try somewhere new.

GottaBeatThemAll · April 2, 2016

the mighty bucks were relegated after 17 games winless we started the season in fine form with buxton being 2nd in late october but then it all went disastrous we dominated games with possession but we stopped putting in crosses we stopped moving and we couldn't shoot or even create chances but every opponent we played could so either the same tactic that got us 2nd was actually awful or the fm bs kicked in as nothing went right and i just stopped caring as nothing worked and since this was my 9th attempt at this challenge i just want to give up but i don't feel like can go back to the normal game having failed at this challenge so badly.

Armeniar · April 2, 2016

Grantham Town - 2022/23 (S7) - Sky Bet League One: 1st

FA Cup 2nd Rnd - Johnstone's Paint Trophy N Semi Final - Capital One Cup 2nd Rnd

Team | No transfers

Hi guys, I'm back!

Transfers: As I said in my previous update (a few months ago, lol) I had some hard choices to make. Many of our first youth prospects ever who played several years for Grantham Town had to leave the club. A few of them were not even that bad and played well, but last year's intake was really good and I don't want to waste that talent. Some of the departing lads - as for example our Croatian defender and Peaks - played more than 200 games for Grantham Town, so I hope you can image it hurts to 'dump' them. Sadly enough we've got to do what's best for the club... Josh Peaks (Darlington) & Sean Gibson (Kingstonian) found a new club, the others are still free agents.

I also sent three players out on a six month loan to our new affiliate club Kettering Town (Vanarama National League North). Jason Divver (YP5a), Derek Morgan (YP5g) and Liam Fisher (YP5c) got six months to improve their game at Kettering Town. Goalkeeper Divver played most of the games, while Morgan was a sub and Fisher almost never got any games. It's as I'd expected it to be, so I was happy afterall. Next year I want to work some sort of new deal out and send more players over there for a season.

Youth Intake

After last year's magnificent youth intake I was really excited for this one. We invest as much as possible in our youth system, so it's very nice to some good prospects. We got a pretty awesome intake, I tagged seven players, five of them will definitely become part of our first team:

Francis Rhodes - GK - Immediately dropped him in the first team, Rhodes is exactly what I had been looking for. Finally... A talented goalie! He was pretty secure in his first few games, which even resulted in two (!) call-ups for England under-19s. He's our first youth prospect ever who got called up, I'm proud of him.
David Clark - DC/DL - Like the looks of Clark. Leftfooted, tall and overall a decent defender. If he can convince me in the preseason I think he'll get a spot in the first eleven. Looking forward to seeing him progress!
James Evans - DC/DL - Evans is actually also a central defender, but because of his length and speed (!) I will use him as a left back. Up until now we didn't have a strong full back, so Evans comes in handy. Already started nine times and played very well.
Ryan Kitchen - MC - I didn't really think Kitchen was a talented midfielder at first, but last weeks he's kind of impressing me... Unfortunately for him we already have some decent midfielders, so I'm afraid he won't get many games.
Sam Bettany - ML/MR - Good addition to the squad. om erbij te hebben. Last season I didn't really have a replacement for Janvier and (especially) for Packham in our 442. Has got to learn how to play as a AMl tho. I wonder how this guy will develop!
Kevin Bent - AML/AMC/AMR - Talented and useful in several roles, could become a good player in the future. Too bad for him that he can't play as a ML/R, so he doesn't have the ability to play in our 442. Might choose more often for a 4231 next year because of him, we've got the players for both tactics so it doesn't really matter imo.
Stuart Turner - ST - Seems like a decent prospect, but won't get much games at the club since he'll become our 4th choice as a striker. He played in one game as a sub and even scored the winning goal, great for the kid.

Championship... Can't believe it!

druvo · April 3, 2016

Ofspor A.Ş - Season 5

League - Squad - Transfers - Season review - End of season awards - Fixtures

Season review

Before the season started unfortunately Bursaspor activated the releasue clause on Oğuzhan Genç (17B) which was set at £450k. So we lost our best prospect and also had to sell our best leftback, Hasan Erdoğan (17A), for a measly £15k. At centreback we had players with potential coming through but the leftback position was a bigger problem. Thankfully the lack of quality there didn't cost us in the end.

Overall it was a pretty nice season and we managed to go straight back up. After 20 games were played we were leading by 8 points and I thought it was going to be an easy second half of the season. After a few too many draws and losses Kocaeli Birlik Spor got within 1 point of us with 3 games to go. We hosted them at home and managed to beat them in a nervy 1-0 game. We won the game after that too and were crowned Champions.

Top performers

1. Hüseyin Güneş (18E): What a season he's had. An average rating of 8.07 in the league and 16 man of the match awards which was a new league record. I wouldn't have won the league without him.

2. İlhan Uyarcan: A pretty good season from him aswell. Played mostly MC so that's probably why he only assisted 2 goals all season. Will hopefully stay due to promotion.

3. Kadem Ali Şahin (18A): A very good season. He solved my striker issues with his 18 league goals in 30 games. Finished 2nd in the "golden boot" race in the league.

4. Kenan Alıcı (18D): After Oğuzhan Genç (17B) left us Kenan Alıcı (18D) got his chance and he took it well. Over 7 average rating in 27 league games is pretty good for a centreback.

5. Dorukhan Esen (20B): It was a good first season for Esen who started 20 games as a right winger. 4 goals is a bit fewer than I had hoped for but he's still young and improving so next season will hopefully be even better.

Youth intake

A decent intake but not in the positions I would have liked. I only play with one striker and I already have a few promising youngsters for that spot. Rather have a lot of competition for a role than none at all, though.

Hakan İleri (21A): A semi-quick striker with bad finishing. To be honest I'm having doubts about his chances but he seems to have a nice potential.

Serkan Çiçek (21B): A versatile attacking midfielder. Not very good passing but hopefully he will improve. Possibly a false nine.

Bayram Köksal (21C): I wanted a keeper so this was nice. He will be instant first choice next season.

Aytaç Bahçıvan (21D): I like the looks of this kid more than İleri (21A). Very fast and decent finishing and composure.

Giray Özbalta (21E): This guy is natural at WBL/ML and AML and is only left footed. Since I play with inside forwards I like to have right footed players on the left and vice versa. I think I'll train this guy as a leftback because I don't really have any good players to play there. He's quick and has nice crossing but the defensive side needs improving.

Finances

The lower incomes in the third division compared to the second caused us to make a loss this season. No upgrades due to this (next youth facilities-upgrade will cost £2M). Will improve next season again!

Goals before season

*Get promoted - Success

Next season

*Survive

Twellman24 · April 7, 2016

I got sacked from Castellon, we were one point below avoiding relegation with four matches to go but the board wasn't happy. I'll holiday two months and grab another recently promoted team. Oh well.

Twellman24 · April 7, 2016

Right, so here we go again.

After reloading a few times, I just went with Cacereño. It's the only one just promoted who had a decent amount of players in their squad. Of course, half of them are 18 and under, so they're not that good, but we do have the numbers and that apparently had to be enough.

The catch for having a full squad? They ask me to finish 12th.

The other catch? Four out of the 11 over 18 years old want to go to a bigger club.

The third catch? The entire squad has a contract til next summer. Which means the best player will want to go to a bigger club and not renew their contracts.

Anyway, here we go.

sherwinriga · April 7, 2016

Twellman24, I hope you make a comeback well in Cacereño. Hope that you're staying at Cacereño for more than 20 years, you will coach at Castellon again!

enigmatic · April 8, 2016

I'm looking at starting this with Servette, and have inherited two pre-arranged transfers in (one in a few days' time and the other in the mid-season transfer window in January) from the original management. Do these count as part of the "original squad" for challenge purposes?

The_Gato_In_Goal · April 9, 2016

They don't count against you enigmatic.

RSByt · April 10, 2016

Sorry if this has already been asked, but are you allowed to sign players from the annual Youth Intake?

I do realise that it says that transfers/loans in are forbidden but I am a bit confused with the wording of the post. Thanks

I'll still do it either way...

druvo · April 10, 2016

Ofspor A.S - Season 6

League - Squad - Transfers - Season review - End of season awards - Fixtures

Season review

After getting promoted again I thought we were in for a relatively uneventful season with a safe mid-table finish. I was wrong. The step up to the second division seemed bigger than I remembered and I now realized that the season was going to be tough. It took us 8 games to record our first win and with results like that we were sat second to last. We followed our first win with 1 draw and 3 losses before we finally won again. I switched tactics several times but nothing seemed to work. After that second win we played another 11 games without winning and we were rock bottom, but somehow only six points up to safety. Another tactical experiment followed and we lost the following and drew the two next games but we were creating many chances, just couldn't score them. The gap was still six points with six games remaining. What followed after this has to be one of my most exciting FM memories to date (beats winning CL with a big club definitely). The bounces started going our way and we played very well and won four (!) games in a row. Instead of six points to safety we were now safe with 2 points more than the 16th placed team, with two games to go. Unfortunately we lost the penultimate game but so did the team below us. In the final game we went up 2-0 early in the game but like we had done many times before we allowed them to equalize. A few minutes after the equalizer we scored to make it 3-2 and held on for the rest of the game and we were safe. The final win didn't matter in the end because the team below us lost but it was still nice to see that the team had the nerves required.

Next season I'm hoping for less excitement and more focus on player development.

Top performers

1. Hüseyin Günes (18E): Once again a good season from Hüseyin. 11 assists from his rightback position. Not as dominant as in the third division but that was expected. Seems to have reached his full potential unfortunately.

2. Ilhan Uyarcan: Again played mostly as a CM and he managed to have a more productive season this year. 5 goals is good for a CM.

3. Dorukhan Esen (20B): I had high hopes for him before the season started and I think he delivered. 8 goals is a big improvement over last season and I believe he can get even better.

4. Ufuk Eren (18B): A surprise performer after I switched to a system with AMC. Ufuk is a bit of a "forgotten prospect" from one of my first intakes but he excels in the attacking midfielder role. Hopefully he can keep it up next season.

5. Bayram Köksal (21C): The 17-year old I gave the first-choice goalkeeper role to in his first season as a pro deserves a mention here. He wasn't brilliant but overall it was a solid season. Next season I'm hoping he will develop even more.

Youth intake

It looks like a good intake but right now goalkeepers and strikers are probably the last positions I need to strenghten, and I got two of each with great potential. I'm afraid I won't be able to give them the chances they deserve so hopefully I can send a few away on loan.

Kaan Böyük (22A): A promising looking keeper but he will have to spend a few years in the youth teams before being considered for the first team.

Ceyhun Papaker (22B): A striker with some nice attributes. I actually gave him two sub appearances in the league. Hopefully he can get a good loan next year.

Yahya Tatan (22C): Good finishing and composure. Very tall and more of a target man type. Not yet sure what to do with him.

Temel Uyanik (22D): A keeper who definitely can't play as a sweeper keeper with 3 acceleration. He will have to improve by a lot to be considered for a first team role.

Volkan Bayram (22E): After all the goalkeepers and strikers I also tagged a right-winger. With his 190cm he offers something different to my other wingers. He will have to learn to play on the left side too.

Finances

I'm not making as much money this time around as I did last time in the second division. This is due to us spending much more on wages and junior coaching than before. It would be nice to upgrade the facilities a bit more but I might have to sell some players for that.

Goals before season

*Survive - Success

Next season

*Survive and get at least 40 points (in the six seasons I've played, the highest point total for a relegated team has been 38).

karabas15 · April 10, 2016

Kettering FC - 2016/17

(Starting Profile screenshot)

Intro:

The Best English Club for the Challenge

I'm not even kidding. This club came up on my first try with the database and it:

Has the best facilities in the league ("Below Average" Training & Youth)
Has the best youth system in the league ("Average" junior recruitment and coaching)
Gets ~700 average attendance, which leads to a positive cash flow
Has a team full of youngsters (like a 3.5 star 18-year old keeper)
Was predicted to place outside of relegation on the first season back in the league

So, I just have to not get relegated until my youth come in, right?

Half-season update:

The Worst Way to Start

Right off the bat, my best players' (a 5-star striker) contract expired and he refused to extend it.. no worries, I have two OK strikers as back-up...
I messed up with the contract extensions with the other two and they both left before the season even started...
So I was left with one 0.5-star striker as my only choice up front.
After winning just 1 game out of 12, I decided to go extreme and went for a strikerless tactic
And we just lost our first game in the league after 9 games without being beaten! (Spot the tactic change)
So half-way through the season we're sitting mid-table, but only 6 points clear of relegation.

Things Are Looking Up!

We earned close to 200K pounds half-way into the season
Board approved new youth facilities to be completed for next season
Board also approved increase junior coaching budget
So I just need to wait until March and hopefully we'll have a few players ready to challenge for the first team!

I'll post an update at season end...

dan_simmonds · April 10, 2016

FC Vitkovice

End of Season 6 - 2021/22

Zynot Liga

We survived again, even if it wasn't easy. I really need the team to stop putting me through the wringer.

Ceská pošta Cup

We weren't going to match last season's achievements, but a strong run to the fourth round.

Super Cup

We lost the season opener to Mlada Boleslav.

Europa League

Fairytale stuff from us. The boys did magnificently to qualify for the group stage and we got to play European giants Ajax and Roma, although we didn't pick up any points.

Transfers

No transfers, as part of my challenge

First Team

We haven't really improved, so we're going to take a long hard look at the squad to decide who is truly ready, and who might be better off with reserve football next season.

Key Players

1. Vlastimil Musil - MC - Completely unloved by the fans, he was magnificent in the middle of the park when he returned from injury. Strong competition is coming his and Wojnar's way though.

2. Petr Wojnar - MC - In what's probably his last season as a full time starter, he was excellent again. However, age is not on his side, and he's getting a lot of pressure.

3. Karel Pacholik - ST - Our leading scorer for the second season in a row, but I'd really like him to get 20.

Youth Team

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

Best Three 'Yoofs'

1. Pavel Vojtisek - MC - Got an opportunity when Musil was injured and he took it. Unfortunately, he's 3rd/4th in the pecking order still, so more progress is needed to get in front of Musil or Urban.

2. Tomas Kriva - DM - Made the switch back to the 4-1-4-1 an easy decision. Excellent, and expected to improve again this year.

3. Stanislav Petrous - MR - Came through with Koubek, but actually will end up as the better player, not just because Koubek is gone!

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

Youth Intake

Another great intake for us, and 3 of these youngsters are already in the first team squad.

Facilities

Don't want to talk about it, but the upgrades would've been loved and made a massive step forward for the club as a whole.

Finances

We made a profit, but it wasn't enough for the board. I don't get my facilities which would really help this club grow and compete.

Board Objectives

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

Ceská pošta Cup - Second Round - 4th Round

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2021/22  |  Zynot Liga             | 14th            |  4th Round            | Group Stage  |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/Code]

dan_simmonds · April 10, 2016

Start of season seven - 2022/23

First Team Squad

We've made adjustments based upon an offseason review. The first choice XI are all now youth players brought through under my stewardshop. We've said goodbye to Wojnar who is no longer a regular player, and we're able to cut the second largest wage from our bill. This group looks so promising though.

Transfers

This year we're saying goodbye to a number of players who were good enough to make a number of appearences for the team, but ultimately have been usurped. Sadek is the biggest loss here, but he never recovered from a catastrophic injury in his first full season with the team.

Key Players

1. Karel Pacholik - ST - Newly appointed permanent skipper, and chief goal threat in this team. He needs to deliver at least 20 this season, but I'm backing him to have a good go at it.

2. Vlastimil Musil - MC - Takes over Wojnar's role as elder statesman in the middle of the park, but is the man alongside playmaker Urban and the glue that will hold this midfield together.

3. Stanislav Petrous - MR - Michel Who? Koubek left, and gave us a huge hole on the right hand side to fill. Petrous filled it with abundance, and his creativity down the right hand side will be crucial to creating the chances Pacholik needs to thrive.

This season's objectives

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round

This season's objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - I'm tired of battling bravely against relegation. Can I have a comfortable season. Just this once. Please?

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round - I'd really like to have another go at winning the cup, but I'll take a good run. Who knows what could happen?

Mushtaq · April 14, 2016

Need help to pick a new team for this - have been mulling over it for a week. Prefer starting in the very lower leagues with low reps so am looking at Wales, Northern Ireland, Sweden etc. but can't find a team (or country) that appeals. Any help appreciated!

vDraycottv · April 14, 2016

Couple of Question guys. Does anyone have a save file for the newest update in which Ilkeston have got promoted? And how do you guys get the links to images to work?

dan_simmonds · April 14, 2016

Couple of Question guys. Does anyone have a save file for the newest update in which Ilkeston have got promoted? And how do you guys get the links to images to work?

I would run the game to the reload date, save it and then reload until Ilkeston come up in the promotional places.

In terms of images use url for the tags, and enter the url where the image is being hosted. I use Imgur, others use Flickr or Tinypic.

vDraycottv · April 14, 2016

I would run the game to the reload date, save it and then reload until Ilkeston come up in the promotional places.
In terms of images use for the tags, and enter the url where the image is being hosted. I use Imgur, others use Flickr or Tinypic.

The good old reload, and here I was hoping to save a few minutes, never mind eh. Ahhh that's how you do it, I've always wonder so cheers for that

RSByt · April 19, 2016

I'M DOING IT: Ilkeston FC

So I decided to sim through the first season and pick one of the few teams that was promoted to the Vanarama North/South without reloading. I decided to pick the only one of those teams that was without a manager: Ilkeston FC.

I do realise that I am already sending myself on a deathwish. Not just because of the quality of the club (more on that later) but because I have to go through 6 tiers of brutal football, make it to the summit and eventually win the final of the Champions League. With Ilkeston? No way!

Club Background

The club was founded in 2010 after the dissolution if its predecessor, Ilkeston United after failing to pay £47,000 of taxes. The club entered in the 8th tier in the 2011/12 season and were promoted in the first year. They have been in the 7th tier since, winning promotion in my save.

What Needs To Be Done?

Everything.

There is absolutely no way that this club can continue running in its current state. The finances are surprisingly the best part (as far as I know) with a £5k a month kit sponsorship deal lasting until June 2017, lots of space in the wage budget and a healthy £40k balance we should be free from debt for the time being.

However, I am the only staff member. Other than the chairman, there is nobody else at the club. Not even a physio of any sort. How am I going to find a good AssMan? Thank God I can sign backroom staff!

My current squad consists of 9 players. 9. NINE. Not even any grey players! My U21 squad has about 18 players including a RWB by the name of Luke Shaw but my U18 squad is only greys (and the first-team GK). 1/3rd of the first-team are on youth contracts. The average squad age is 20 and there is only 1 player above the age of 23. Thankfully my 2 star striker has 5 star potential, the best on the team.

Season Projection

The club are predicted to finish 15th of of 22 teams (Jesus Christ 42 games!). The board expect a mid-table finish as well as to reach the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and the 1st Round of the FA Trophy.

My Goals

- Survive

- 30 points

More to come!

ManUtd1 · April 23, 2016

Despite the best of intentions (*cough*), I haven't had much time to play FM16 until lately, and my Hungarian save from last November was lost. Now that I have some more time, I am debating a youth academy save as it rekindled my love for this game last year...

What nations have been quiet this year? I've been skimming through and am glad to see some familiar names

enigmatic · April 23, 2016

Servette FC.

Swiss Challenge League, 2016/17

The Swiss League is like Groundhog Day. Not just because of the terrible weather, but because of that horrible sense of deja vu you get the fourth time in a season your side finds itself up against the same opposition in the same giant, empty stadiums. The emptiness behind these stadiums is part of the reason bankruptcy saw Servette relegated to the third tier. Now it's up to me and my academy to bring them back.

Squad overview

On paper, bringing silverware to Servette should be one of the easier challenges. The club is historically one of the biggest in Switzerland, has a full squad of players, some of which should be adequate in a top tier which is only one promotion away, a big stadium and a great setup. And the Swiss top tier is one of the better European leagues that’s still eligible for Gundo’s challenge and has seen the likes of Bree Embolo emerge from its youth systems.

And best of all, developing youth is actually part of the club philosophy I’m supposed to stick to.

This policy had already produced one very promising looking regen in the form of Momir Rosic when I arrived at the club, to go alongside two or three other decent young prospects that were at the club from the start of the game.

I also inherited a couple of prearranged transfers from the previous manager, who seems to have had a thing about versatile attacking midfielders in their early thirties, which the club was by no means short of at the start. Indeed the squad has cover in every area and one or two players that look far too good for this level. One of the far too good players, versatile defender Liassana Cadamuro, seemed to attract the attention of half of Europe and bids over £1.7m came flooding in. If I was doing Gundo’s challenge I wouldn’t have let his ass hit the door on the way out when he kicked up a fuss: that’s a lot of money when half my squad earn £30k per year, and I can probably find a less technically skilled player that doesn’t take set pieces who is at least as good at actual defending. But in this challenge I need him if I'm going to get out of the division in the near future: my fourth and fifth choice centre backs are not players I'd want to start there, and I can only hope my academy can produce better

Season overview

The season opened with a fine 4-0 win against Chiasso and had dreams of walking the division, but a draw and four consecutive defeats brought me right back to earth (and it soon became clear that Chiasso were really, really bad by the standards of the rest of the league) My defence was dreadfully porous considering they were better than average for the division but things improved when I removed the half back role and they stopped leaving such a massive gap for opposition strikers. I then went on a sixteen game unbeaten run - longer than anyone else managed in the league all season - but just when I started to think about title challenges lost a couple more games.

That was the story of the season. The Challenge League was tight, with most teams more than capable of taking points off each other. At the start of the ridiculously long Swiss winter break, the top seven clubs were separated by just six points. That’s seven clubs out of ten in the division within two victories of each other. In the end Neuchatel Xamax broke free from the pack, and I settled for fifth.

In the cup, I played poorly against lower division opposition but the manner of my exit was heroic; a St Gallen side that were second in the top division needed an equaliser late in extra time and eight penalties to see off my rotated side.

Besnard, playing as a lone striker, was my main goal threat and was sorely missed when injured. Dominguez on the right wing was the revelation of the second half of the season, as my more experienced players started to decline, and brought in seven goals. And once I'd sorted it out after the first few games, I relied heavily on my defence to keep things tight at the back

Young regen Rosic got plenty of games, started to develop nicely and opened his account from the club with a lovely free kick. He also attracted the attention of several Super League clubs and wasn’t exactly delighted when I wouldn’t let him go. Nor was Cadamuro, and having to put up with the synchronised complaining in every transfer window is not one of the more appealing aspects of this challenge.

Youth Intake 2017

What I really wanted from the youth intake was a promising striker to ultimately challenge Besnard for a first team spot, and a potentially commanding centre back to replace Cadamuro when he most likely leaves at the end of his contract next season.

Instead, I got a striker my coaches think is never going to be anywhere near good enough (and no wingers with the attributes to be retrained there), and though the most promising member of the intake is a defender, Manuel is too short to be an ideal solution at centre back (and probably a bit too one footed and lacking in vision to be particularly good as a DM, where I’m already strong, though he’ll certainly feature in my future squads somewhere)

In fairness, it wasn’t a terrible intake: there are a couple of players that don’t look much but have 3-4 star potential which could see them become squad players even after promotion, so maybe my dissatisfaction with it is more because I’ve been spoiled with a pretty good team from the start.

Laroche might be a long time replacement for my excellent right back Sauthier.

Budroni has potential too, though he hides it well.

Summary

Mid table was what the board asked for, and I duly delivered. I finished runner up in manager of the season (only ten clubs mind you, and some of the other managers got sacked!) but hardly felt like I deserved it. I felt the squad was strong enough to get out of the league, and bearing in mind my ageing players, Rosic’s ambition and Cadamuro’s expiring contract, if I don’t do it next season it’ll have to get worse before it gets better….

Pippadoc · April 23, 2016

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC - June 2016

Hi guys, I've tried the Dafuge challenge a few times (although the best I managed was consistent CL football) and youth development is definitely my favourite aspect of the game. So why not be a glutton for punishment and take on this ridiculous challenge! I've gone with Germany, partially because I can't face going all the way up in England and partially because I haven't managed in Germany since FM2008 I think.

The Club

Carl Zeiss Jena FC haven't been particularly successful since East and West Germany merged, having never made it to the Bundesliga in that time. Previously, though, they did manage to reach the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1981 but unfortunately lost to Dinamo Tbilisi. They have been out of the German 3. Liga since being relegated in 2012. There most famous ex-player was the late Robert Enke, who went to play for Barcelona, Benfica and Hannover 96 as well as win 8 caps for Germany.

The Squad

Squad Overview

Ralph Brenning (YP16A)

We've got quite a big squad, with a good amount of promising youngsters including one regen from last season. We're a bit slim up front so I'm going to start off with a flat 4-5-1 I think and go from there. Given we'll be favourites to be relegated, I'd like to start off with a fairly conservative tactic and try to be solid defensively. We've got to hope for some forwards in our upcoming youth intakes. In the reserves we have a couple of decent youngsters (a GK and MC) who probably won't get promoted to the first team this season.

Ralph Brenning (YP16A) will be my first project in this save, hopefully I can develop him into a starter for us and will be looking to give him as much game time as possible this season. He has 'Dwells on Ball' as a PPM which will have to be gotten rid of, otherwise though he looks like a solid prospect.

Facilities and Staff

Facilities

This is what drew me to the club in particular. Average training and youth facilities as well as average youth recruitment will hopefully help us get some reasonable youth intake's in the early seasons. Obviously the first priority will be to improve the Junior Coaching Budget. Financially, we look to have some decent sponsorship with just over £900k brought in this season. With a 12,000 capacity stadium, hopefully we'll do fairly well month-to-month as well.

Staff wise, it's pretty lonely so far, just me a GK coach, a Chief Scout and a U19s Manager. One of my first priorities will be to set up the coach staff, in particular a solid Head of Youth Development will be key. I will look to ignore scouts as much as possible, but we will need to sort out the Physio's as well.

Season Goals

- Avoiding relegation will be the priority this season, last year it took 37 points to avoid relegation but I think we will aim for 40 points given it's a 20 team league.

- Developing some of the younger players. Seems an an obvious one for this challenge, but more specifically I'd like Alexandros Bitoulas to be our starting GK by the end of the season. Also, I'd like to give plenty opportunities off the bench to some of our other U21 players.

Pippadoc · May 1, 2016

2017-01-02%20Brenning%20Transfer.jpg

Start of the January transfer window and Werder Bremen (now in the second tier) are coming in for Ralph Brenning (YP16A). I'm going to do my best to keep hold of him, he hasn't even played a game for us as players have to be 17 before the 1 January to be registered to play in a given season. That rule might end up slowing the development of my young players down, although Brenning has been improving pretty well in the Under 19s.

XaW · May 2, 2016

Another go for me at this. This time in the Czech Republic, a country I don't think I've managed in before. Loading up now.

XaW · May 3, 2016

Alright, I've taken over FC Zenit Čáslav. Though we are fairly unknown at the moment I'll strive to be the most famous Zenit in the world!

My profile and information.

enigmatic · May 3, 2016

Servette FC

Swiss Challenge League, 2017/18

If my first season had opened with a good result, then the opening to season two was utterly spectacular. Rosic curled in a beautiful free kick and I was 4-0 up inside 13 minutes, going on to win 8-1. Of course, I’d seen false dawns before, and knew from last season that despite being able to pick up points against me Wohlen were a terrible side even when match fit.

Then came eight league wins in a row

Whilst Wohlen somehow broke the sequence of wins by holding me to a draw at home after that, by the winter break I was 15 points clear at the top of the table, and promotion was looking a near certainty. Remarkably, the only side to beat me in the first half of the season were non league Stade Lausanne, in the first round of a cup I was quite happy not to have interfere with my promotion bid.

I wasn’t quite sure what to put this unexpected level of success down to, since my tactical shape was the same as last season’s, and my first choice side the same as the second half of last season’s. Rosic and Gazetta were improving all the time, but Zambrella was slowing down. Perhaps my early win scared the opposition into more defensive tactics, and perhaps the players they loaned (Swiss second tier teams rely heavily on loans) were nowhere near the standard of those they loaned last season. But otherwise, the only real change is that I got a lot more aggressive with tactical changes to chase wins rather than settling for draws.

It’s amazing what being top of the table at Christmas can do.

Perennially unhappy star defender Cadamuro, six months from leaving on a Bosman and wanted by a large number of bigger clubs, announced that he no longer wanted to leave. His agent advised that it would take an exceptional offer to keep him because he didn’t like me, but he settled for less than double his existing wage, and a lot less than he could have got on a Bosman. Rosic moaned about wanting to move to a bigger club and me rejecting offers, but the rest of the squad actually agreed with my reasoning that we’d be much worse off without him

And then, out of the blue, the board informed me that they’d accepted a bid from Vaduz for Karim Gazetta. Gazetta had established himself as first choice in central midfield with some fine performances and at 22 years of age, plenty good enough for the division above and with a fairly loyal personality, I’d assumed he’d be part of my setup for years. I’m not convinced that selling one of my best players to a team I’d hope to be battling for a mid-table place in the top division next season for just £325k plus incentives represented good business. Then again, they had pumped in £3 million to keep the club solvent at the beginning of the season

The second half of the season opened with defeat to Winterthur, and a little wobble with a couple of draws saw my lead drop to seven points, but that was as close as the title race ever got. The team didn’t play with the same fluency but ground out the wins to be promoted with five games to spare, and broke the division points record before the last game of the season. My 28 game unbeaten streak dating back to last season was also a record.

The game that secured me the title was a time to be sentimental, as I found myself up against my old assman, and found a place in the lineup for my out-of-contract but uncomplaining veteran club captain. My fans weren’t so sure about joining the party: according the match preview only around 30 of my fans bothered to make the trip.

Final League Table

The star of the season was Besnard, my vice captain and only real goal threat. He finished runner up in league top goalscorer and player of the year, and was so important I tended to substitute him to protect him in games where I had solid leads. Right back Sauthier was my most creative player and is now a fan favourite, whilst Dominguez on the right again contributed important goals. My centre backs and goalkeeper made team of the year and I genuinely have no idea how Besnard didn’t, whilst my youngsters were beaten to the league’s individual young player awards by loanees from the top division

Youth intake 2018

I did make one key signing, and that was to bring in a Head of Youth Development in former Serviette player Aleksandr Bratic. I’m hoping that his Fairly Professional personality will rub off on my youngsters (more so than his volatile media handling!), and with Bosnian nationality hopefully I’m in with a chance of picking up some of that country’s best newgens.

Above all, I wanted a striker and he duly delivered with Morin. He might have been the only striker again, but he’s potentially special, and already not far off the standard of my second and third choice strikers. He ended the season with some first team appearances and bagged his first goal with a surprisingly towering header in the season finale, becoming the league’s youngest ever goalscorer in the process.

Goalkeeper was less of an immediate concern since Filipino international Muller is a pretty decent shot-stopper, but Zekiri has much higher potential and probably won’t look out of place in the Champions League if I can take him that far. It’ll also allow my third choice GK - upset at me after I accidentally left him out of the squad when recalling him from loan too late - to leave.

Fleury could be good in midfield one day, and the rest of the intake was nothing special but might produce a squad player or two.

Manuel from last year’s intake is improving nicely and established himself as a first team option at DM towards the end of the season. I’m still not convinced he’s the answer at centre back, but he can do a job there, and at his current rate of progress could be a key man by the end of next season.

I’m still going to really need a centre back next season, because Ferati’s pace isn’t going to last, Cadamuro isn’t likely to stay happy, and third choice Myuti has a really unfortunate habit of giving away penalties,

Rosic, the newgen that arrived before me, is already my best midfielder, and likely to get a lot better.

Summary

So bring on the Super League after a dominant season. Serviette’s squad is some way short of Basel, and likely to be for some time. But I’m not sure the gap with the rest of the top division is so huge. The relegated sides haven’t really stood out at the level I’ve been playing at, and Neufchatel Xamax did very well in their first season after promotion. I also took title-challenging St Gallen all the way to penalties (seven or eight of them!) with a weakened team in my first season.

XaW · May 5, 2016

XaW - FC Zenit Čáslav - Fotbalová národní liga - 2016/17

Table | Past positions | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Ah, this challenge again, and as usual we don't have many players. A total of 14 players is what I had to deal with from the start. What we had was a decent squad, though I lost my best defender due to him not wanting to sign a new contract. Another thing that made things difficult was the fact that a couple of my players are on amateur contracts due to them having retired from professional football. The season started good as we got in a couple of wins and doing much better than expected while at the same time avoiding any serious injuries. At the winter break we actually were at the top and promotion was looking promising. When the squad came back from winter break we did well in the friendlies and were ready to fight for the top of the league, or so I thought. A horrible sequence of 9 losses in a row scoring a single goal made us slip down the table. Some small points picked up here and there after that at least ensured we didn't become part of a relegation battle, but this dip in form was some of the worst I've experienced in FM. We did get a couple of good youngster through though, and that should help out come next season.

Youth:

Our first youth intake was going to be great no matter, but we got some actual quality youngsters. I signed up everyone to bolster the numbers if nothing else.

Original youngsters:

Miroslav Kubik (YP0a) - Talented midfielder that came through last season before I joined.

First intake:

Michal Michalek (YP1a) - Straight into the first team since we didn't have any good defensive midfielders.

Jaromir Nemec (YP1b) - Talented right back. Should get some matches quite soon.

Ladislav Dvorak (YP1c) - Talented defender though he can't jump. Working on that now.

Tomas Benes (YP1d) - Promising goalkeeper and our second choice as we only have 2.

Petr Harazim (YP1e) - Very talented winger. A spot I needed talent.

Miloslav Machala (YP1f) - Promising striker, and since we struggle to score he might help out.

Jan Vacek (YP1g) - Promising midfielder I hope can make it.

Season	|       League	           |     Position	|    Europe	|         Top scorer   	     |    Achievments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17 | Fotbalová národní liga   |	  11th  	|      N/A	|     Petros Topouzis (7)    |   Didn't get relegated

XaW · May 5, 2016

Sigh...

Edit: And sigh again...

Pippadoc · May 5, 2016

We were relegated with 42 points (in a 20 team league) . Had a really good youth intake as well!

XaW · May 6, 2016

XaW - FC Zenit Čáslav - Fotbalová národní liga - 2017/18

Table | Past positions | Squad | Transfers | Finances

A new season, and this time we get to play with a full squad from the start. I managed to keep most of my players as well, only 2 leaving us against my will. My chairman is eager to get in some cash, though I would think that keeping our best talents would be better. We started a bit slow, but found some form after a couple of matches and won some in a row. As we approached the winter break we were comfortable and close to top of the league. After the winter break we lost 2 in a row and I feared we would mirror last season. Luckily, we got a win after that and held us close to the top throughout. Going into the last season I though we might have a chance at promotion if we won the last match with more than 3 goals. I went into it attacking, but we once again struggled to score. After the break we got a goal to give us the lead, but we needed two more. Our strikers had an off-day and the match ended 1-0. It was only then I noticed that we had finished second! The sorting rules are results between teams, not goal difference! We are promoted! Actually, I think I'll go straight down again, since I believe it's too early for the kids to keep us up.

Youth:

The youth intake this season was a great one, lots of talent.

Original youngsters:

Miroslav Kubik (YP0a) - A great season from the youngster. Played beyond what I expected of him.

First intake:

Michal Michalek (YP1a) - Sold by my chairman. Annoyed by that.

Jaromir Nemec (YP1b) - Mostly a sub, but does well when he play

Ladislav Dvorak (YP1c) - Also sold by my chairman. We need a good defender...

Tomas Benes (YP1d) - Backup all matches, but keeps getting better.

Petr Harazim (YP1e) - A good season on the right wing, but nothing spectacular.

Miloslav Machala (YP1f) - Very inconsistent, but our topscorer and does well some matches.

Jan Vacek (YP1g) - Plays DM a lot due to lack of options. Does ok.

Second Intake:

Radek Nomec (YP2a) - Promising winger that should get some matches fairly quick.

Ludek Vlcek (YP2b) - The best left back in the squad. Straight into the first team.

Antonin Urbanek (YP2c) - Talented defender, 3rd choice.

Jaroslav Sedlak YP2d) - Central midfielder who should be good for us.

Jaroslav Necas (YP2e) - Will play mostly on the left wing due to lack of players who can play there.

Season	|       League	           |     Position	|    Europe	|         Top scorer   	       |    Achievments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17 | Fotbalová národní liga   |	  11th  	|      N/A	|      Petros Topouzis (7)     |   Didn't get relegated
2017/18 | Fotbalová národní liga   |	   2nd  	|      N/A	| Miloslav Machala (YP1f) (14) |   Surprise promotion

Dragoniere · May 7, 2016

DYpLKjjCj_oQ2FBjKsHVI3P4hFUxeVQ1WJLSw1pRUDW1eEEnQ74l5VbrQ15y3_ZbEedOwwRPf0CEbJTumM7k=w426-h240-n

Maccabi Sha'araim

The Beginning - Liga Leumit (Israeli Second tier)

My first post in the forums, my first attempt at this challenge. I have been following this thread for a while now, and enjoyed every bit of the challenges here.

I've noticed that except one short-lived attempt, nobody really tried to explore the "beautiful" world of Israeli football. So I decided I'll have at it.

The team I took over is Maccabi Sha'araim. Based in the city of Rehovot, the club never really doesn't boast any great achievements, except being runners-up in the State Cup way back in 1969. For the past 25 years, the team has been part of the lower leagues of Israel (3rd tier and below). Instead of titles, the team is well known for its bitter lower league rivalry with fellow Rehovot based Hapoel Marmorek - the big "Rehovot Derby"

In real life, and in the game as well, Sha'araim have finally been promoted in the 2015/16 season and are returning to the 2nd tier - Liga Leumit.

I found the club fun for challenge, since the clubs web page claims an ever-lasting commitment to promoting youth players to the first squad and serving as an example for the community (ironically, the squad consists of practically no local players - opting instead for former 1st tier players past their prime).

The squad consists of only 13 players, 3 of whom are strikers, and 4 more are MC/AC. Not much variation here, and I can already feel the rotation problems.

The players I do have include some players who are great for this level. Salim Toama was for a while the greatest free kick specialist in Israel (just check this one out -

; Dedi Ben Dayan was a great Wing back in the top tier for nearly 20 years; and Tom Almadon was considered Israeli football's next great goalkeeper, though he never lived up to it.

Good players, but having only 3 natural defenders in the squad bodes trouble. Hoping for a fun run

FYI - Israeli reset date is 19th June

My Manager Profile

the Mighty Squad

Saar Saadon - Only Youth Player when I signed on

Transfers - Obviously, before I arrived.

Mr U Rosler · May 14, 2016

General question if anyone can help.

Managed to get promoted to league 2 but my Youth Set Up costs have gone through the roof.

Was £50k per month in Conference, now immediately jumped to £150k per month in League 2, no upgrades or other changes.

Its like, you are now in league 2 so we'll triple your costs for no reason?

Is this normal?

dan_simmonds · May 15, 2016

FC Vitkovice

End of Season 7 - 2022/23

Zynot Liga

More comfortable than the last few years, we were almost certain to stay up as we entered May and that's how it proved. A nice step forward, and we see the boys go forward another step.

Ceská pošta Cup

Similar to last season, we made hard work of it to reach the fourth round, and then fell to a fellow Synot Liga team, this time it was our rivals Banik Ostrava. Still, we exceeded board expectations, so it's a positive all in all.

Transfers

No transfers, as part of my challenge

First Team

There's been a step forward this year, and as the team gains more and more experience, we become harder to beat. No-one is really threatening a huge break through from the U21's, so it's likely next season's squad will have a similar flavour to it.

Key Players

1. Stanislav Vecera - ML - He really stepped up this year, weighing in with important goals and assists. If we had a striker capable of putting the ball away, I think he'd end up with a lot more assists.

2. Vlastimil Musil - MC - Outstanding all season long, and is now one of the key heads in the team. Adjusted well to playing the deeper role to allow Urban to flourish.

3. Tomas Urban - MC - This guy is going to be a talisman for this team. Suffered an early finish to his season with a broken ankle, but showed enough to build this team around him.

Youth Team

The youth teams are getting better, finishing mid table in their respective leagues. Some good talents here, that are being allowed to play their way through the club rather than learning on the job in the first team.

Best Three 'Yoofs'

1. Stanislav Vecera - ML - We covered him above, but this is the last time he will be eligible for this award. Great stuff though from the 19 year old.

2. Tomas Urban - MC - Massive potential for Urban, but at such a young age, he's the type of player I'll be building this team around.

3. Ladislav Prochazka - MC - Stepped into the side when Urban broke his ankle, and now the pressure is on for Musil and Urban to keep him out of the side.

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

Youth Intake

Possibly the worst intake I've seen since I've been here. We only kept 7 on to stay with us, but it shows that there is a far higher standard that these players now have to reach to continue to remain part of this club.

Facilities

We have no money to improve anything!

Finances

Significant losses over the season sees us really need this year's sponsorship money. We need at least two sustained seasons in Europe to make some real progress I think.

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - 14th, and this time with a little room to spare!

Ceská pošta Cup - Third Round - 4th Round

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2020/21  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  Winners              | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2021/22  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  4th Round            | Group Stage  |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2022/23  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  4th Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/Code]

dan_simmonds · May 15, 2016

Start of season eight - 2023/24

First Team Squad

Possibly the strongest team I've had since I've been here, but vultures are circling around Nespor, and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold them off.

Transfers

We've lost Urban, but made a significant profit on him and also made some money on Abbott. Everyone else has left with our best wishes, including Novak who looked like he would be a mainstay for the longest time but hasn't developed as we hoped he would.

Key Players

1. Stanislav Vecera - ML - The pacey winger was our player of the season last year, and now has to back that up with another commanding season. Lots to prove to show us it wasn't a one off.

2. Vlastimil Musil - MC - The vice captain remains one of our most important players, and has another new midfield partner in Prochazka. He's the glue of this team, and crucial to our success.

3. Jiri Kopecky - ST - He's going to get first bite of the cherry due to Pacholik's injury, and he's the one with the most upside. If he can take his chances, then Pacholik is going to have a real problem.

This season's objectives

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round

This season's objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - Same as every year, but a little progress would be nice.

Ceská pošta Cup - 3rd Round - We should be comfortably in the third round, but another cup would be great as we try to reach Europe for the second time.

Dragoniere · May 16, 2016

On the pitch

All in all, it was a great season for the club, defying the overwhelming pre-season odds of relegation. The Season started with the National League Toto Cup, and we were handed a tough group with 3 eventual promotion group teams, two of whom got promoted. however, we managed to upset Bnei Lod 2-0 away to gain a spot in the quarter-finals. There we beat Kiryat-Ata on penalties, but fell in the Semis to Hapoel Jerusalem - also on penalties. This run crowned us as the Toto Cup's Overachievers.

In the league, we started well, losing only once in the first seven games (albeit winning only two games). After having thoughts of assymetric tactics, I finally settled on a simple 4-2-3-1 Wide, with a defensive tactic and great emphasis on utilizing our set pieces - which were our strongest point this season, mainly thanks to Salim Toama set piece taking ability, earning us quite a few goals. The season was definitely an up-and-down-run, with us going from runs on 4 losses in 5 games, then 7 games without a loss, 4 losses in 5 again to finish the regular season (after 30 games, the league gets divided to a promotion and relegation groups for 7 more matches). We were 10th before the split, with a nice cushion on the relegation spots. 3 wins and 2 draws in the first 5 matches put us on top of the relegation group, and there we stayed despite two losses in the final two matches. here again, we were crowned the League Overachievers.

In the State Cup, we demolished Kiryat-Ata 3-0 away in my best game of the season, allowing the opposition 0 shots on goal. In the next round (Eighth round), we fell to top division club Bnei Sakhnin 3-1.

Top Performers:

1. Salim Toama (AML) - as I expected, his contribution, even at age 37, was simply great. 7 league goals, 7 assists, and quite a few goals created by his corners without him getting the assist. Sadly, he announced he will be retiring at the end of the 2018 season. big hit for the club, even with his attributes dropping, he's still a very good player for this level.

2. Shahar Shabtai (ST) - a striker that arrived on a free, a few days before I signed on. I should be thankful he did - our top scorer, with 14 league goals and 5 more in the cups.

3. Tom Almadon (GK) - I had my share of fights with him in the beginning of the season, when he wanted to move to a bigger club. Eventually he gave up, and since then he was performing really well for us, with 10 shutouts.

4. Gal Elkanati (ST) - our other leading striker, landed 10 goals and 8 assists. Recently recieved a 95k bid that triggered his minimum fee release clause. I'm trying to get him to stay.

Other news

Dedi Ben Dayan, our only left-back, announced his retirement in June. This means either a Youth player will play in the left, or a player out of position.

Off the pitch

Facilities - The board were great at standing up to my constant nagging about facility improvements throughout the season. However, they agreed to raise the junior coaching budget - from minimal to basic.

Manager Profile - Got my first coaching badge, the national C license. Nice improvements to my stats, I might actually become a half decent GK coach

my HOYD

And now, for the most important part: The Youth Intake. Considered my absolute lack of facilities at the moment, I consider this a pretty good intake. Getting a player with 3.5 yellow star PA is great, and I'll take any player above half a star anyday. Anyway, with the new kids, my U19 got a serious boost and won 6 straight for a 4th place finish.

I've tagged 8 players, who I think are going to take part in the senior team this year. The players worth mentioning specifically are:

Ofir Cahlon (YP-17:1) - A really nice striker whose already tearing up the nets in the U19 (14 goals in 8 matches). I have high hopes for him, and he's going to be part of the senior setup in the upcoming season. If Elkanati leaves, Cahlon will become our second option and will get big minutes.

Liad Halevi (YP-17:2) - I could really use an extra defender, to provide some rotation for my main guys. I'm considering training him as DL for now, to fill Ben Dayan's shoes. Only problem is that in Israel you can only play youths at 17, which will only happen midway through the season in December.

Ben Sabag (YP-17:5) - also worth mentioning, despite his mighty rubbishness, since he's going to start for me up until December, when Halevi will take over.

Next Season

I think next season will pose a greater challenge than this one. Guys like Toama and Avi Malka are getting older, I'm left without a decent DL, and the youths are far from ready.

So the goal remains fighting against relegation, hoping for another good intake and some facility improvements.

Season	|       League	           |     Position  |  State Cup  |   Toto Cup   |      Top scorer   	       |    Achievments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17 | Israeli Liga Leumit      |	  9th      |   8th round |  Semi-Final  |      Sahar Shabtai (14)      |   Overachievers in the League and the Toto Cup

stephensmedley · May 18, 2016

Brora Rangers F.C.

2016-2017 Season

Scottish League 2

Manager Profile | Team Background | The Squad

After much loading and re-running finally we have a candidate for the Youth Academy Challenge

Step Forward Brora Rangers from the far North of Scotland

Only 13 members of the first team, no youth team to speak of the challenge begins now

Four players immediately stick out as key players for a potential push to stay in the league

Rafa Malaga

Jack Kirwen

James Brough

Richard Brittain

Hoping for a solid mid-table finish maybe push for higher if hit form

Will need to keep the main four fit and hopefully performing to their ability

stephensmedley · May 18, 2016

Brora Rangers FC

January Year 1 Report

Having played through just over half the league games this season by 1st January 2017, it's time to check up on the progress of Brora Rangers in the Scottish League 2.

Currently sitting in 8th in the league having been as high as 3rd during the run of wins earlier on in the season, as well as matching expectations in the League and Challenge Cups, and exceeding them in the Scottish Cup.

Having a small squad makes a long season more tough than most would like to see, with a few injuries thrown in every few weeks to derail the squad.

Still plenty of time for plenty of goals, assists and performances from the team however.

Main Players

Rafa Malaga - The winger topping the assists with 5, 2nd in goals with 6 and our 4th best performer with an average rating of 7.06 has been on of the shining lights of the team this season, whilst not always tracking back causing problems for his full back.

Jack Kirwan - The striker leading the lines with 10 goals so far this season, doesn't always perform at his best, but when he does bags a few goals to make sure he's noticed.

James Brough - The reliable centreback who's fallen on hard times in the recent downturn of form

Richard Brittain - The stand out performer from the middle of the park, sustaining his average form to the lofty heights of 7.26 and being our most consistent player.

James Macleod - The Goalkeeper who is much improved since the start of the season, sometimes culpable for the goals going in, but when the rest of the team is shoddy at best, putting up a valiant effort for a young man.

Aims

League - We need to regain some of the early season form and mount a charge for top 6, playoffs could be attainable depending on the quality of the youth intake this year.

Scottish Cup - Hopefully another win in the 4th round against strong opposition in Stranraer, a dream time away at a Celtic or Rangers would be the dream tie later on in the Cup to bring in some much needed money to improve our facilities

Dragoniere · May 21, 2016

Good luck in finishing the season, smedley! always liked the turbulence of the 10 team leagues in Scotland

As for me, the season started with all around bad news - Elkanati decided to leave for a rival team, forcing me to bring in Cahlon (YP-17:1) to the matchday squad faster then I wanted. Also, Daniel Tassau and Tom Almadon, my best MC and only GK are fighting with me wanting to leave. Luckily the squad stands by me, as they think the club can't afford letting those guys leave.

dan_simmonds · May 31, 2016

FC Vitkovice

End of Season 8 - 2023/24

Zynot Liga

Our highest ever league finish, and a much improved performance this season to boot. Another performance like this next season, and I'll be very happy indeed.

Ceská pošta Cup

We won it for the second time under my stewardship, largely in part to the fantastic displays from Kopecky and Navratil. It gives us another crack at the Europa League, which I'm delighted about.

Transfers

No transfers, as part of my challenge, but the £5M banked from Urban's sale improves the club's finances, and as a result our facilities too.

First Team

Clearly the best team under my reign, and as the team matures they become better and better. The only player that won't be with us next year is Petrous having agreed a deal to move abroad, but we have everyone else under contract for at least one more year.

Key Players

1. Jiri Kopecky - ST - 19 goals in a season where he was top goalscorer in our cup run says it all. Bigger clubs are already sniffing around, but with two years left on his deal they're going to have to offer me a significant sum of money before I'll let him go.

2. Matej Navratil - MR - Hit double figures in the league for the first time and weighed in with another 9 assists. His form kept Petrous out of the starting lineup this season, and means that he won't be missed going forward.

3. Ladislav Prochazka - MC - He stepped in the gap left by Urban's big money deal, and kept the midfield ticking over with Musil alongside him. If he makes another step forward next season, I'll be very happy.

Youth Team

The u19's and the u21's both finished in 10th in their divisions, taking yet another step forward for the club. The future really is starting to look bright!

Best Three 'Yoofs'

1. Jiri Kopecky - ST - Just 17 years old, and 19 goals for the season which is the most under my stewardship. So pleased I gave him that 3 year contract before the start of the season.

2. Matej Navratil - MR - Made the breakthrough this season, and won't be eligible for this award next year. Still, that right hand berth is in safe hands and he'll need some stiff competition from someone in the reserves next year.

3. Ladislav Prochazka - MC - Running the midfield at the tender age of 18. If he can add a final pass to his game, this team will flow through him for the foreseeable future.

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

Youth Intake

We kept 8 of them on, such is the relative level of talent we now have. I'm looking forward to the next step forward though.

Facilities

These haven't improved... Yet. Next season will be a big deal for us.

Finances

The money from Urban's sale meant we were in positive finances for the year! Next year we get some European football to hopefully boost the coffers a little as well.

Board Objectives

Zynot Liga - Battle bravely against relegation - 12th, our best effort yet!

Ceská pošta Cup - Third Round - WINNERS!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  3rd Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2020/21  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  Winners              | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2021/22  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  4th Round            | Group Stage  |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2022/23  |  Synot Liga             | 14th            |  4th Round            | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2023/24  |  Synot Liga             | 12th            |  Winners              | N/A          |  N/A             |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/Code]

Sign In

FM16 Youth Academy Challenge

Recommended Posts

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post