thomas_e Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 hour ago, dkouv said: @thomas_e - thanks, and good luck against Milan in the CL! Knocked Milan out comfortably. Unfortunately, a very strong Chelsea side knocked us out 5-4 on aggregate in the quarter finals Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Drundrige Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 22 hours ago, warlock said: Sounds like it worked for you - congratulations! You still need the right players and a decent tactic, but I think this kind of training works better than the constant changing between defensive positioning/attacking movement/setpieces that your backroom staff suggests. Hope it keeps working for you! Thanks - I had been going crazy in the first couple of season attempts as it felt like nothing worked. I knew I just had to stay up and I could then progress as the club reputation increases and better players became available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Having completely banjaxed my Dulwich Hamlet save with unintended promises, I decided to jump before I was pushed. So, Nobby Charlton is back in the saddle with a new team. I think it's important to have some kind of connection with the club and since i went to Margate once as a small child, they won. Here we go again... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Season Review 2028-2029 Our first season in the Champions League after winning the Premier League last season. A big challenge to compete in two major tournaments, so adding squad depth was a big focus last summer. We did fairly well in the transfer market, and were able to offer higher salaries with CL money coming in. The league season overall was good, and we managed a 2nd place in the Premier League. I didn't expect to go back-to-back, and with Man Utd not playing Champions League football this year they were always going to be favorites. Even though it looked comfortable, it really was a five horse race for the top 4 spots this year, separating only 8 points between Man Utd in 1st and Liverpool in 5th. I think all of the top 5 teams were top of the league at one point or another. The challenge this year was clearly that teams were taking a much more defensive approach against us. This led to some frustrating draws, and in december it was back to the drawing board. I kept my preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, bit increased our closing down mentality as well as giving the players more creative freedom, as a team as well as with individual instructions. This really helped with results and also improved the "identity" of the team, getting a lot more out of our creative players. Especially Joshua Cordier, a 20 year wonderkid i signed on a free (!) two years ago blossomed in the second half of the season, putting in some unbelievable performances from the AM position. I had high hopes for the FA Cup and of course the Champions League. But one team stopped us in both: Chelsea. Even though they finished 7th in the league, losing against really poor sided, against us they play so well its strange they dont win the Premier League 38-0-0! But thats the challenge, and we have to learn how to defeat them. We lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup final and in the Champions League quarter-final. We won our group against Barcelona, Napoli and Riejka (5 wins and a draw away to Barca). We beat AC Milan in the first knock-out stage, but Chelsea were too strong unfortunately. Goals for next season: Top 4 in the Premier League --- Win the Champions League Season overview and key players Season | League | Position | FA Cup | Checkatrade Trophy | Carabao Cup | Europa League Champions League -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018-19 | Vanarama South | 1st | 4th round | 1st round | | 2019-20 | Vanarama National | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | | 2020-21 | Sky Bet League Two | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | 1st round | 2021-22 | Sky Bet League One | 1st | 3rd round | 3rd round | 3rd round | 2022-23 | Sky Bet Championship | 1st | 3rd round | | 4th round | 2023-24 | Premier League | 13th | 6th round | | semi-final | 2024-25 | Premier League | 8th | 4th round | | 4th round | 2025-26 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | 2026-27 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | Semi-final 2027-28 | Premier League | 1st | 5th round | | Qtr final | Runner-up 2087-29 | Premier League | 2nd | runner up | | semi-final | Runner-up quarter-final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Someone said promotion? I think injured Hatton's replacement took that business seriously. He'll be with us next season all way long and once Hatton will be back from his injury we'll have a couple of terrific strikers on them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Congrats on the promotien @13-gigi! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellico73 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Enfield Town FC 2018/2019 Season Review As far as the season went, as a club we exceeded expectations. A projected mid-table finish was beaten, as we went the the second round of the playoffs, beating Gloucester City in the first round in a thrilling penalty shootout before losing to Chelmsford City in the second round, finishing 5th overall. With 109 goals scored, we came close to breaking the record for goals scored in the Vanaram National South. Tom Ashton was our player of the season. 40 goals, in all competition, 23 assists, 7.63 rating, 11 POM awards. And he didn't make the teams best XI. Montell Moore had 30 goals as well, but neither player won player of the year, that went to Justin Amaluzor, who was on loan to Chelmsford City. We, along with Chelmsford city, did set a record for number of goals scored in a game, a thrilling 7-5 win for Enfield. Chelmsford got their revenge three weeks later, knocking us out of the playoffs. The season ended on a good note for us. Dynamics wise we are doing well, and of my starting XI, eight are going to be back next season as they are all under contract. I think we have a good chance of winning the league, especially if we stay healthy. Financially we could be better. We could also be a lot worse. However, Queen Elizabeth II Stadium did not meet the league requirements for minimum size, sol the board had to borrow 26K, along with a 24K grant, to expand the stadium. As a result, I cannot make any sort of financial requests to the board. No coaching courses, no expansion of facilities, no salary increases, no youth recruitment expansion. Plus thats £500 a month in loan repayments. We did get an increase in sponsorship money, which will offset some of that. I did win coach of the year. This was also my first attempt at putting some videos up on Youtube. It's been a learning experience, fraught with technical difficulties and PBKAC errors, but I am having fun doing it, and will continue to put the series online. I can tell just by watching the first video and the last I'm better at it. Still poor, but not as much as I used to be. As Enfield grows and advances, so will I. SEASON LEAGUE POSITION FA CUP FA TROPHY TOP SCORER MOST ASSISTS BEST RATING ACHIEVEMENTS/OTHER 2018/2019 Vanarama South 5th (proj 15th) 4th Qualifying Round, lost to Tranmere 3rd Round, lost to Aldershot Town Tom Ashton, 40 goals in 43 matches Tom Ashton, 20 Tom Ashton, 7.63 Set record with Chelmsford for most goals in a match, 12. Tom Ashton DID NOT MAKE Best XI. For those interested, you can follow along on Youtube here: Thanks, Jellico73 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaddict21 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Dulwich Hamlet season 2022-2023 What an incredible season! My new DoF brought in a striker from Denmark and the guy proceeded to score an average of 2 goals a game. We would have easily won the league if my board hadn't sold him for peanuts (speaking of - where is the option to protest when your board does that??). If this hadn't been a challenge game, I would have resigned. I didn't though - and we improved and some loan signings from parent club Man City helped pave the way to second place. Promotion meant we lost that player avenue though, so I have no idea how I'm going to properly add to my threadbare squad. If I can just survive a year with the premier league money, I'll have a chance... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 En 31/1/2018 a las 11:07, thomas_e dijo: Congrats on the promotien @13-gigi! Thanks!! Getting a minimum Stadium expansion due to a new loan for half price of the works. Not a wise movement if we pretend just to avoid the drop next season, we needed that money so badly on the squad! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 17 hours ago, 13-gigi said: Thanks!! Getting a minimum Stadium expansion due to a new loan for half price of the works. Not a wise movement if we pretend just to avoid the drop next season, we needed that money so badly on the squad! I experenced the same thing, going through a stadium expansion and upgrading training facilities, when all I really wanted was to renew the squad! And now, since its not that many years since our last expansion, we are playing in the Premier League with a 12,500 capacity stadium And thats not looking to change anytime soon, as the game clearly has an imprinted rule on how often the board will upgrade its facilities, probably to avoid having a big stadium if you get relegated. Feels strange though, consiering that we have won the Premier League and finished 2nd last season. Don't see us dropping down to League One anytime soon... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
col_nufc1 Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Season Review 2019-20 We have now had back to back promotions as the champions We also won the FA Trophy this season after deciding to take it more seriously than last year and I am glad I did as a trip to Wembley for the final improved our finances and now around £200k in the red. In the FA cup we were knocked out by Sky Bet league two side Swindon Town 3-0 in the first round. Our star man again was Joe Cairns, our top goalscorer for the second year running. He's only rated as a Vanarama National league north/south standard striker so I don't know how he keeps on banging them in the back of the net. Yet again the board have took out another bank loan to expand the stadium to comply with Sky Bet league two standards, so we now have loans of £350k and £720k. For the second straight season our youth intake was abysmal and not one player was signed. That doesn't really surprise me though as the board refuse to accept any of my requests apart from letting me go on one coaching course but have said no every time I have asked to go on another one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 We survived our first season in League 2, but overall I was disappointed. We had committed to playing improved defense and instead we were the worst club defensively in League 2 allowing 99 goals. The wheels came off late in the season after we lost scoring machine Kevin Hudson and our club floundered the rest of the way. Our center defense additions all under-peformed as Alex Penny, Yannick Aziakonou and Matthew Weaire all disappointed me. Mid-season signing DR Max Aarons solidified the rightback, but after a wonderful start he tailed off badly to close the season. None of our leftbacks performed well and that is a position I will be looking to fill next season- Ronnie Barker didn't develop at all and Jaydon Mundle-Smith had one good stretch of matches and then failed to play well down the stretch. Our keepers were inconsistent as Rich Dearle became #1 keeper (mostly due to Deren Ibrahim missing time with injuries and National duties). Kevin Hudson did everything I thought he would as he scored 30 goals in 34 matches and was on pace to challenge for the league goal-scoring title until he injured his calf and missed the last five matches of the season and we only scored one goal in those matches. Mark Kingdon played well when paired with Hudson- contributing 20 goals overall- but didn't show anything once Hudson went down. Brandon Mackie contributed a bit, but was bothered by injuries. Seika Jatta never looked like a League 2 forward and we have likely seen the best of his production in the past at this point. Jubril Adedji and Max Ryan contributed little- other than griping- so we will try to find both new homes in the summer. Midfield was so-so. Alex Pope was a revelation and he and Hudson should be our best players for years to come- assuming the big clubs don't come calling for either of them. James Simmons was consistent at leftwing and performed better than I expected with 8 goals and 10 assists. Dilan Markanday paired well with him on the right- until he was injured at midseason and missed three months. Tandai Matinyadze and Steven Cahill played solidly and Jordan Mellor moved up from our under-18s to show some promise. Overall, it could have been better and the midfield really didn't do well in our losing stretch to close the season. Losing Marcus Kelly as my assistant coach at mid-season hurt the staff a lot (he became head coach at Havant & Waterlooville) and I wound up with Scotsman Nick Montgomery as his replacement. I keep hoping that the Board will loosen up and permit me another coach- or two- as we really could use a bit more help. There were a lot of players that proved to me that they aren't League 2 caliber, so this summer will be about seeing if we get a larger wage budget- we are currently maxxed out- and seeing if we can pare our roster some. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajj7 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 On 2/3/2018 at 13:57, col_nufc1 said: For the second straight season our youth intake was abysmal and not one player was signed. That doesn't really surprise me though as the board refuse to accept any of my requests apart from letting me go on one coaching course but have said no every time I have asked to go on another one. Try to get 'develop young players for the first team' as a philosophy, add it in to a contract renewal, generally after that I found the board would agree to anything 'youth' related Cool club choice BTW, sad that IRL they have no coppers playing for them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajj7 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Billericay Season 8 (I think) Update - 2025/26. A season of improvement, but ultimately a disappointing one. We improved on our 3rd place last year, to finish runners up in the league - 91 points, 96 goals but still not enough to overtake the juggernaut that is Man Utd. That points total would have been enough to win the league in 5 of the 8 seasons since the save started but not enough this year. We improved in every area, though defensively we are still prone to conceding goals against top opposition, hence the 42 goals conceded to Man Utd's 20, yes they conceded just 20 goals all year. Man Utd were just an immovable wall that blocked us at pretty much every opportunity - Knocking us out of the FA Cup and Champions League, we did have a spell through the mid season on top of the league but it was only because Man Utd were away at the World Club Championship so were sitting on 4 games in hand for a while. They also went on to win the Champions League as well, their second in a row and I think their fourth since the save started. Quarter finals though for our first season in the Champions League was a decent success, Billericay mixing it with the European powerhouses. And of course in the one competition they don't knock us out off, the League Cup, Liverpool beat us in the final with their only chance and only shot on target. As you can see above the stadium is stuck on 13,250 capacity and we can't do anything about it for another 20 years I think thanks to the hard coded new stadium rule. The rest of the facilities are looking pretty good though - Still the overall progress has been fantastic - Players Here is my squad and their performance this year - Here are some of my top talents - Club captain, hero of the championship season when on loan and has turned into a fantastic player. Has hit over 23 league goals over the the last 3 seasons he is basically turning into my Harry Kane. Probably my best performer, average around 7.7 throughout his whole career, won every award going this year and only cost me £1.3 million. Managed 17 goals and 23 assists in all competitions this year from the MR position, with a 7.77 average rating. My best defender, which probably highlights my problem as my team going forward are much better than at the back, but Bheki is developing nicely and hopefully has more PA to improve. Was bought in the first season in the PL in the January window, was highly rated by my scouts after watching him for 6 months, I bought him early with his £20 million release clause after seeing he was wanted by several top clubs, with the board and fans thinking it was a poor deal for the club but he has developed fantastically and £20 million now looks cheap. This guy has just been signed for a fee that will eventually reach £111 million, from Swansea of all places as well. (There are some absurd talents at the middling PL clubs), I wanted a second top quality striker and one that was good in the air as well (Mputu's main weakness), this guy was actually my second choice, my first a regen from Stoke called Howell agreed to go to Man City, despite them paying him £50k a week less, finishing below me the last two seasons and him having been my top target for over year and him saying he was 'desperate' for the move. Youth Talents The heavy investment in the youth academy, coaching etc. is finally paying off, here are some of the best prospects from the youth academy - My current best prospect, started around 10 games in the league last year and is still only 17, coaches seem to have downgraded his potential to 4 star but is already close to decent premier league level at 17. From the same youth intake as Wilson, though has not got as close to first team because of my attacking talent but has been performing very well on loan last year and is now spending the season in the Championship. From this years intake, I really like his starting mentals for a centre-back as finding defenders with good decisions and concentration is rare, just a shame his anticipation is so low. World News Thought I'd also highlight a few stories in my save that stood out, firstly - Yep, England have won the World Cup, beating Germany in the final, under the stewardship of Marco Silva, the recently sacked Watford manager in real life. As well as - Stoke sell £195 million worth of strikers, Stoke who have never finished higher than 9th in the 8 seasons since the save started. PL money at it's finest. Also whilst it looks potentially good that Man Utd have sold their star striker and top scorer, they bough Moises Keane for £75 million who is just as good and have like 3 other world class strikers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSF25 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 I wonder if this is going to be one of those years where It will take long to get promoted. Here is my fifth try at the challenge. Witton Albion Season 2018/2019 We are in a close spot to get to playoffs. Oh... Oh well it wasnt meant to be... We survived, so we got that going for us. sigh.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreppyCharm Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Looks like we're in! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Season Review 2029-2030 CHALLENGE COMPLETED Our second season in the Champions League, and after getting knocked out in the quarter final last year, this season we did it, beating Man City 3-0 in the final! On top of that we won the Premier League, making it two league titles in three years. We were the better team for the majority of the Premier League season, having brought in a new left back and left winger we really had an improved squad from last season. We were lucky with having basically no injuries what so ever for the whole season and we won the league with a comfortable 9 points. Beating Chelsea at home and Arsenal away in the last two games were the icing on the cake! Man City had a good run at the end, overtaking a Man Utd side that fell apart in March, and at times I got worried, but our 1-0 away victory against them in January proved to be important! In the Champions League we drew AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Basel in the group stage. We won the group comfortably, winning 5 games and drawing against Dortmund away. 16 points put us 8 points clear of Milan in 2nd. We met RB Leipizig in the first knock out stage, and even though their squad looked really good we ended up beating them 8-1 on aggregate. The only goal they got was actually scored by my player, 19-year old Tugdual Alibert, a wonderkid out on loan to RB Leipzig for the season. In the quarter final we drew our opponents from the group stage, AC Milan. A 6-1 away win in the first leg ended the competition swiftly. The biggest challenge came in the semi final, drawing Real Madrid, with the first game at home. Down 0-2 after 15 minutes I thought it was all over, but we managed to get back into the game, salvaging a 2-2 result. The away game was without a doubt the best game on my Billericay save so far. A 4-3 win at the Bernabeu, in a thrilling game where Real Madrid took the lead three times, it was just fantastic! In the final we were up against Man City, a very strong team but lacking their key player Moise Kean due to injury. Man City were a shadow of the team I played in the league, and our 3-0 win was really deserved. When they went down to 10 men early in the second half the game was all but over, and we could collect our very first Champions League trophy! To be honest, I didn't expect to win the CL this year, but with basically no injuries, star players really putting in world class performances, and a big stroke of luck at the Bernabeu we have completed the challenge after the 2029-2030 season! Season overview and key players: Season | League | Position | FA Cup | Checkatrade Trophy | Carabao Cup | Europa League Champions League -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018-19 | Vanarama South | 1st | 4th round | 1st round | | 2019-20 | Vanarama National | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | | 2020-21 | Sky Bet League Two | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | 1st round | 2021-22 | Sky Bet League One | 1st | 3rd round | 3rd round | 3rd round | 2022-23 | Sky Bet Championship | 1st | 3rd round | | 4th round | 2023-24 | Premier League | 13th | 6th round | | semi-final | 2024-25 | Premier League | 8th | 4th round | | 4th round | 2025-26 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | 2026-27 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | Semi-final 2027-28 | Premier League | 1st | 5th round | | Qtr final | Runner-up 2028-29 | Premier League | 2nd | runner up | | semi-final | quarter-final 2029-30 | Premier League | 1st | qtr-final | | runner-up | 1st place Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Drundrige Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Now this I like... after signing a one year renewal last season, I'm in September and won 9 out of 11 league games so the board have just offered me a new two year deal. That's a nice feature. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhawk Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Sorry for going AWOL again. Leaderboard is updated. Congratulations to @dkouv and @thomas_e If I get around to it this weekend I'll see if I can figure out a good way to highlight your squads on the site. Might ask for screenshots of key players during your run, that kind of thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Thanks @Warhawk! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhawk Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 33 minutes ago, thomas_e said: Thanks @Warhawk! If you want to, I'm thinking maybe if you can get me screenshots of your most important players, maybe 4-8 of them, I'll include a slideshow of that. If you'd like to do a short blurb on them that would be even better. Season results I can pick up from your table so that's easy. Did you manage to get any notable results in the FA Trophy (since that's not in the table you posted)? Trying to think of anything else I might add. Oh, your manager profile at the end of the challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Sure I can @Warhawk. Just did a short note on each player! I did jack all in the FA Trophy Bassala Sambou Easily my best performing player of this save. Not that he managed to reach Premier League quality, but absolutely vital in my promotion years. Was with me from the Vanarama National League until the Premier League, after being signed on a free from Everton. 149 goals in 161 games, playing as an advanced forward in a direct 4-4-2 system. Javairo Dilrosun After Sambou, left winger Javairo Dilrosun was key in the promotion years. Signed as a very expensive player at the time, being Vanarama National highest highest earner, but boy was he quality. 113 goals/assists in in 156 games, he was the main assist king, providing the strikers with great support from hos offensive winger role. Patrick Zankl Not necessarily the best performer, but a very consistent one. Zankl was signed from Liverpool for £6.5 million when I got promoted to the Premier League and he has started basically every game since. 225 games makes him the player with the most caps for the club and a true club legend! Antonio Augusto My star signing, brought in from Benfica for £48.5 million in 2027, breaking the club record by a mile. Originally a central midfielder, Augusto was deployed as a lone striker, but he still delivered. He brought in much needed star quality to a very average team, and was the catalyst for bringing the Premier League title to Billericay. Joshua Cordier Star player and wonderkid, Cordier had it all. And he was brought in on a free transfer from Standard. He was uneven with his performances in the beginning, but in my last season he was absolutely amazing. Operating in the AM slot he was a goal threat as well as a creater, and topped off his season with two goals in the Champions League final. Gabriele Poggi Poggi was brought in for £18.75 from Fiorentina, and instantly fixed my defensive, which had up until them been a disaster! A really steady performer and great in the air, making him a big threat on offensive set pieces. Played four seasons without a single injury, mr. Consistency himself! Manager Profile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 I've been looking for a challenge to re-kindle my FM flame and this looks like the one. Going to try and get Farnborough as a option as I've had a previous save with them on an older FM so I have a soft spot for them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 After 18 attempts I was starting to lose patience but eventually Farnborough appeared and I've gladly accepted the challenge to take them all the way up. Currently theres only 13 players but one of them is the legendary Jamie Cureton. Wish me luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSF25 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Witton Albion 2019/2020 We reached playoffs We also broke three records The revelation player was our new striker 22 goals in regular season We used only two simple tactics. Also this guy came from our ****** academy. Seems to holding out against their teammates and doing a good work as a winger. Even had to fire a a player that I had sign up becase he was performing better. First round vs Boston we will see how that goes. . We won vs Boston and played against AFC which we tied but in penalties we missed 2 and lost . I am a bit dissapointed but it was a very great season overall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSF25 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 En 8/2/2018 a las 0:21, thomas_e dijo: Season Review 2029-2030 CHALLENGE COMPLETED Our second season in the Champions League, and after getting knocked out in the quarter final last year, this season we did it, beating Man City 3-0 in the final! On top of that we won the Premier League, making it two league titles in three years. We were the better team for the majority of the Premier League season, having brought in a new left back and left winger we really had an improved squad from last season. We were lucky with having basically no injuries what so ever for the whole season and we won the league with a comfortable 9 points. Beating Chelsea at home and Arsenal away in the last two games were the icing on the cake! Man City had a good run at the end, overtaking a Man Utd side that fell apart in March, and at times I got worried, but our 1-0 away victory against them in January proved to be important! In the Champions League we drew AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Basel in the group stage. We won the group comfortably, winning 5 games and drawing against Dortmund away. 16 points put us 8 points clear of Milan in 2nd. We met RB Leipizig in the first knock out stage, and even though their squad looked really good we ended up beating them 8-1 on aggregate. The only goal they got was actually scored by my player, 19-year old Tugdual Alibert, a wonderkid out on loan to RB Leipzig for the season. In the quarter final we drew our opponents from the group stage, AC Milan. A 6-1 away win in the first leg ended the competition swiftly. The biggest challenge came in the semi final, drawing Real Madrid, with the first game at home. Down 0-2 after 15 minutes I thought it was all over, but we managed to get back into the game, salvaging a 2-2 result. The away game was without a doubt the best game on my Billericay save so far. A 4-3 win at the Bernabeu, in a thrilling game where Real Madrid took the lead three times, it was just fantastic! In the final we were up against Man City, a very strong team but lacking their key player Moise Kean due to injury. Man City were a shadow of the team I played in the league, and our 3-0 win was really deserved. When they went down to 10 men early in the second half the game was all but over, and we could collect our very first Champions League trophy! To be honest, I didn't expect to win the CL this year, but with basically no injuries, star players really putting in world class performances, and a big stroke of luck at the Bernabeu we have completed the challenge after the 2029-2030 season! Season overview and key players: Season | League | Position | FA Cup | Checkatrade Trophy | Carabao Cup | Europa League Champions League -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018-19 | Vanarama South | 1st | 4th round | 1st round | | 2019-20 | Vanarama National | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | | 2020-21 | Sky Bet League Two | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | 1st round | 2021-22 | Sky Bet League One | 1st | 3rd round | 3rd round | 3rd round | 2022-23 | Sky Bet Championship | 1st | 3rd round | | 4th round | 2023-24 | Premier League | 13th | 6th round | | semi-final | 2024-25 | Premier League | 8th | 4th round | | 4th round | 2025-26 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | 2026-27 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | Semi-final 2027-28 | Premier League | 1st | 5th round | | Qtr final | Runner-up 2028-29 | Premier League | 2nd | runner up | | semi-final | quarter-final 2029-30 | Premier League | 1st | qtr-final | | runner-up | 1st place Oh nice! I hope this year I too finish the challenge. If you don't me asking what were the initial mentality in the vanaramas? how did you get up. Were you aiming for most physical players or for more technical players? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 1st Season Media Prediction: 22nd Finished: 2nd (lost in playoff semi) I wasn't sure what my goals would be for the first season with such a small squad / budget but we ended missing out on promotion via the playoffs (despite dominating the game). Catching the moneybags of Billericay was always going to be a big ask and in the end they ran away with the league. However the season was bitter sweet for more than just the playoff loss. Our talisman Jamie Cureton injured his cruciate ligaments about 12 games in and subsequently retired. He had a goal a game ratio so it was a sad way for his never ending journey of a career to end. Best signing: Despite his name Yacine is an Irishman (go figure). Chipping in with 14 goals and more impressively 19 assists he was influential in most of our attacking play and I'm hoping he sticks around for next season. After coming so close this season the goal for next is promotion but it will be a big challenge as I have no stand out players and zero money so exploiting the loan and free transfers will determine how we go next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 14 hours ago, QSF25 said: Oh nice! I hope this year I too finish the challenge. If you don't me asking what were the initial mentality in the vanaramas? how did you get up. Were you aiming for most physical players or for more technical players? Thanks @QSF25! First time finishing the challenge myself, looking forward to seeing how you get on! Difficult to say how I got alle the promotions back to back, except luck was a big part of it! What I did have as a strategy, I was playing a 4-4-2 with offensive wingers. In that formation I wanted ball winning midfielders in the centre, as well as a big target man/poacher combination upfront. Really simple, and combined it with direct football. I don't think its beneficial in the lower leagues to try and play a controlling/possession oriented type of football, so I was looking for pace/finishing and height/heading in my attackers, pace for my wingers and tackling/passing for my midfielders. And loans... pleanty of loans! Thats where you can get quality players for free, and if you for example have four-five players on loan with a high star rating, there is always going to be possible to climb the leagues! Of course, I have to add, Billericay is probably the "easiest" team to do this challenge with! Good luck QSF25!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellico73 Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Episode 16 of my Youtube series with Enfield Town is up. Currently we sit top of the table, and are undefeated in League play. How long can the good times last? Thanks, Jellico73 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhawk Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 @thomas_e: Finished the page I put together for you, it's at https://warhawk137.wixsite.com/dafugechallenge/thomas-e Can also access it now from the front page where I added a Champions list ahead of the standings. Hope you don't mind that I did a bit of editing on the blurbs you wrote, just to fix a few spelling and grammar issues. @dkouv: Now that I've got the format set up, if you'd like to do the same thing, give me screenshots of 4-8 key players (they don't have to still be on the team or even still playing at all), and a short blurb on each (no more than 4 sentences or so). If anyone thinks of anything else to add, let me know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhawk Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 @dkouv: I set up your page too, got the screenshot of your manager from your last post, so all I need to add are player screenshots. https://warhawk137.wixsite.com/dafugechallenge/dkouv Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 On 12.2.2018 at 19:07, Warhawk said: @thomas_e: Finished the page I put together for you, it's at https://warhawk137.wixsite.com/dafugechallenge/thomas-e Can also access it now from the front page where I added a Champions list ahead of the standings. Hope you don't mind that I did a bit of editing on the blurbs you wrote, just to fix a few spelling and grammar issues. I have absolutely no issues with that at all Thanks for the effort you're putting in administrating this challenge, really makes for an enjoyable experience! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 2nd Season Champions!!! We somewhat ran away with the league but Dulwich kept us honest up until about February. After losing Cureton early in the first campaign disaster struct again when another injury to a main striker meant I had to scramble for a replacement. Low and behold this little gem was loaned to us by The Gills and helped fire us to promotion. We also took home the FA Trophy. The final turned into a bit of a blood bath with bookings galore and two reds for the 'Boro but we hung on for a hard earned 1-0. (Yes thats Armand Traore of ex Arsenal / Pompey / QPR / Forest fame. He clearly loves his football as he joined us in January on a non-contract basis) Im hoping we can take the momentum from the double and go again next season and get up into the Football League. I dont imagine many of the current squad will be with my next season so I will be scowering the free transfers and loan market once again in the summer. However I've been hit with the 'brutal' brexit which means even our Irish cousins need a work permit so I will be very restricted on who I can bring in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Back to Edgar Street just for the last game of our maiden season in Championship which has gone very smoothly but don't think we're gonna make it. But it's a really good and pleasing season to build on next season to try to reach promotion. Also, it's being the most complicated season on injuries: 9 major injuries and and around 20 moderates. Hatton's last season injury which kept him out 8 months until mid September is not in the list but he came back stronger than ever scoring 29 goals in 35 games. Key players such Dael Fry, Lloyd Isgrove and Jake Doyle-Hayes (our highest transfer ever) were at least 3 months out for major injuries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prank Emperor Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Right travel, surgery and travel again has kept me away from the game for nearly month and half. Back today and had the most crazy ten days of fixtures. I was so out of touch with my Billericay team that I was not even sure who my first XI was! We went from two massive defeats to two massive wins! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 En 08/02/2018 a las 0:21, thomas_e dijo: Season Review 2029-2030 CHALLENGE COMPLETED Congrats on your achievement @thomas_e !!! Think you're the very first one to achieve that on FM18, am I right? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellico73 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Episode 18 of my Dafuge Challenge is now live. Thus far we've remained unbeaten, our only loss has come in the FA Cup. But as the schedule drags out, we're starting to face some of the better teams in the Vanarama South, and injuries are starting to crop up as well. Today we are facing Tranmere in an FA Trophy game. Thanks for watching! Jellico73 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 6 hours ago, 13-gigi said: Congrats on your achievement @thomas_e !!! Think you're the very first one to achieve that on FM18, am I right? Thanks! Happy to have completed it, was a great save, really enjoyed it! But I think I came in second. Someone had completed it already, and in fewer seasons! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 En 14/2/2018 a las 22:56, 13-gigi dijo: Back to Edgar Street just for the last game of our maiden season in Championship which has gone very smoothly but don't think we're gonna make it. But it's a really good and pleasing season to build on next season to try to reach promotion. Guess who was right? Season's over and I wonder who was my best player Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 OMG!!! Really? Two matches since we got our stadium expansion finished and now this?!?!?!? Our finances don't look any great and we're still paying two loans: the one of buying Edgar Street and the one for its expansion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Any doubts on who was the best one? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajj7 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Billericay Season 2026/27 - Challenge Complete League Table - Man Utd pushed us all the way Champions League - Of course is was Man Utd in the final, we overcame a group of Bayern, Vitesse and Juventus, finishing 2nd in the group to Bayern. Then beating Wolfsburg in the 2nd Round, Atletico Madrid on away goals in the quarters and a 4-3 aggregate win over the mighty Real Madrid in the Semi-final, before a text book counter attacking performance to see off Man Utd 2-0 in the final. FA Cup - We also picked up the FA Cup, with a narrow 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the final, though we dominated the game - Squad performance - Key player - Captain fantastic Benito Mputu had his best season for the club scoring 39 goals in all competitions with 18 assists - He has been a superb signing, ever since I got him on loan in our promotion season - Overall Club progress - I'll do another post later on with some other key players that helped complete the challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 3rd Season As I hoped we managed to maintain the momentum and will be bouncing our way into the Football League next season. Orient had the lead up to 7 games out but once we went top it never looked in danger. I convinced Gillingham to let us have DW for another season and he didnt dissapoint. Far and away my best performer and picked up Player Of The Year and Golden Boot. We also made it to Wembley again for the FA Trophy but lost out to Telford. Looking forward to LG2. Going professional should mean we can attract a better quality of player and maybe after dragging the club up the leagues the board will finally let me have a parent club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Congrats @tajj7! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajj7 Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 On 2/17/2018 at 23:19, thomas_e said: Congrats @tajj7! thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 En 17/02/2018 a las 13:53, tajj7 dijo: Billericay Season 2026/27 - Challenge Complete League Table - Man Utd pushed us all the way Champions League - Of course is was Man Utd in the final, we overcame a group of Bayern, Vitesse and Juventus, finishing 2nd in the group to Bayern. Then beating Wolfsburg in the 2nd Round, Atletico Madrid on away goals in the quarters and a 4-3 aggregate win over the mighty Real Madrid in the Semi-final, before a text book counter attacking performance to see off Man Utd 2-0 in the final. FA Cup - We also picked up the FA Cup, with a narrow 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the final, though we dominated the game - Squad performance - Key player - Captain fantastic Benito Mputu had his best season for the club scoring 39 goals in all competitions with 18 assists - He has been a superb signing, ever since I got him on loan in our promotion season - Overall Club progress - I'll do another post later on with some other key players that helped complete the challenge. Wow, just amazing, congrats!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkouv Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 @Warhawk Thanks a lot for taking the time to set up these pages, they look absolutely great! I'll dig out the old save and post the key player screenshots + short bios. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkouv Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Dafuge Challenge key players The list is somewhat dominated by forwards as they are the ones that shone the most in my attacking tactics. Most are from the title + CL winning season, but a few are there for being key players who took us up the leagues. 1. Ashley Pope: player of the challenge without a doubt. I signed this striker/winger on a free from Bournemouth during my season in League 1. He scored a goal a game in League 1, more than a goal a game in the Championship, and 23 goals in his first Premiership season. His skills were never world class, but he ended up with 168 goals in 203 appearances for us, and was still in the squad in my final season. 2. Jozsef Keaveny - one from the early game, he was the precursor to Pope in charge of the goalscoring duties from Vanarama National to the Championship, scoring 101 goals in 144 apps. 3. Regan Slater - another player who, like Pope, joined us in League 1 and was still a regular until the last season in the Premiership, with a great all-round game 4. Sei Narita - this inside forward was one of my first signings in the Premiership and was a key player throughout the final three seasons. Fast and great in the dribble, he chipped in with plenty of goals and assists 5. Francesco Mirto - the Italian striker was one of my first big-money signings, but at 70 goals in 106 games the £25m I payed Juventus for him ended up being a snip 6. David Martins Cardozo - one of the most complete midfielders I ever had in my team in any FM, and his performances were likewise fantastic. 7. Gordan Veladzic - was the final piece of the jigsaw that saw us secure the CL & PL double winning season, a ball-playing defender who could both create and sniff out opposition's chances at ease. Tagging @Warhawk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellico73 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 2019/2020 Recap We started strong, we stayed strong, and then at one point over a four week period 4 of our five strikers were out with injuries. We didn't lose out first League game until the end of Janaury, then went on a three game mini skid where we didn't win, allowing Bath City and St. Albans to creep up on us. In the end, we recovered, and with 5-2 win at Chelmsford City, we clinched the League with 3 weeks to go. Final standings: I brought in the wrong keeper, who despite his 4 star ability couldn't stop anything, and instead relied on a "Score more than anyone" type of attack. 111 goals isn't a Vanarama South Record, but it's close. Toughest Loss? Against Tranmere in the FA Trophy Second Round. 2-0 up, only to lose my best striker to injury, with my other two already out injured, and then my best winger. Down to 9 men, we held on to a 2-2 draw for twenty minutes of regulation time, and then all of extra time as well. And then had to play them again three days later, when we lost 3-1. A Fully healthy Lucas Green-Birch was everything this year he was supposed to be last year, he and Tom Ashton are perhaps the most potent strike partnership in the Vanarama South. Money wise, we didn't have as much debt this year as we did last year. A New Club Sponsorship helps, but we had to take a loan out to expand QE II stadium, which means 14K a month in payments now. My Board still can't find us a senior Affiliate, and I still don't have a coaching license. But we are on our way. Next Stop: The Vanarama National and avoiding a Relegation Battle. SEASON LEAGUE STANDING FA CUP FA TROPHY TOP SCORER MOST ASSISTS BEST RATING 2018/2019 Vanarama South 5th 4th Qualifying 3rd Round Tom Ashton, 40 Tom Ashton, 23 Tom Ashton, 7.63 2019/2020 Vanarama South 1st 4th Qualifying 2nd Round Lucas Green-Birch, 38 Tom Ashton, 20 Lucas Green-Birch, 7.61 Those interested can also follow along here: Thanks, Jellico73 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevKep Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Season 4 Ei-Ei-Ei-O Up the football league we go! The Boro are run-away champions of League 2. anonymous image hosting Thanks to numerous loans and a few young prospects we stormed the league and even managed to get to the 4th round of the FA Cup taking out Northampton, Southend and Derby before Chelsea smashed 4 past us. Two young strikers helped fire us to promotion. Firstly Arnor Borg Gudjohnson (who I assumed was the son of the great man but having googled it he is a half-brother. Incredible genes in that family). 32 goals in 35 games!!! anonymous image hosting But my favourite this season was Neil Brock. He's a diminutive (5'7) regen I loaned from Villa but he always seemed to notch the winner (I dont know if anyone else makes up songs for their players but whenever Brock bagged I'd sing...stop the Brock...cant stop the Brock...you cant stop the Brock....repeat until bored) anonymous image hosting I also splashed out £120k on Stuart Williamson. He's played ok and has bags of potential so he will definetly be sticking around for next season unless the big boys come sniffing. anonymous image hosting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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