FM18 Youth Academy Challenge

[darren1983]

10 minutes ago, XaW said:

Thanks! A surprise really, but a very welcome one! I hope I can keep it up next season, but I think I got lucky with Slovan Bratislava this season. They have the clearly best squad in the nation, but they had some shockers of matches this season.

Gotta take advantage when you can, hopefully the extra champions league money will be nice as well now. 

[Jambo98]

Cant let this be the first year where i do not even attempt this challenge (Had several goes each year going back to inception!).

I was thinking Italy, but is it safe to assume that starting as San Marino is suicide - presumably the quality of regen they get will be governed by the stats of San Marino, not Italy? 

[MWE]

22 minutes ago, Jambo98 said:

Cant let this be the first year where i do not even attempt this challenge (Had several goes each year going back to inception!).

I was thinking Italy, but is it safe to assume that starting as San Marino is suicide - presumably the quality of regen they get will be governed by the stats of San Marino, not Italy? 

Think it goes on facilities as opposed to national rating.

[Jambo98]

Well in general national ranking has a huge impact - that is why a team with poor facilities in Brazil will still have a far better chance of a good intake than the best club in Belarus. 

 

Just less sure how they judge San Marino - I guess its a bit split but i seem to recall the intakes are made up mostly of San Marinese nationality players. 

[darren1983]

2 hours ago, Jambo98 said:

Well in general national ranking has a huge impact - that is why a team with poor facilities in Brazil will still have a far better chance of a good intake than the best club in Belarus. 

 

Just less sure how they judge San Marino - I guess its a bit split but i seem to recall the intakes are made up mostly of San Marinese nationality players. 

Never done it myself but have read some that have and think you're right in that they will mainly be San Marinese rather than Italian (though think many will have Italian 2nd nationality) in terms of quality I think they're be pretty low but better than other low ranked countries because of the link to Italy. I could well be wrong there though.

[Jambo98]

I guess there is only one way to find out   

Pasquale Bruno will take on the challenge of at least surviving to the first intake!

Not a great starting squad, not helped by losing 4 of my experienced players right away as they had already been offered contracts, which i couldnt change, and they rejected and immediately left the club  

Couple of semi decent starting prospects though. 

[Boyd The Beast]

Season 4 - 2021/22

 

League - Coming into the season I was hopeful to try and sneak into the playoffs and 8 matches into the season we were 4th. However, after the early season excitement faded, we dropped off and our defense was our achilles heel. We conceded a massive 111 goals in the league! Luckily we were still good attacking and scored 84 which saw us stay in the league. Never felt like we were going to be dragged into a relegation fight, but we only stayed out of the relegation spots by 4 points. We must improve defensively next year if we want to challenge for promotion, and I am hopeful we can as a young CB was given a chance due to injuries and impressed me enough to stay in the role.

FA Cup - Well we finally made it to the first round proper of the FA Cup but lost out in a replay to Darlington 

FA Trophy - Made a bit of a run in the FA Trophy making it to the fourth round before losing to league and cup winners Billericay

Transfers - Let a backup CB leave on a free after moaning about not playing

Finances - We aren't in red! With the step up in leagues and a increase in sponsorship's we were making up the deficit but after a takeover a loan was taken out. Taken over by our Director after the president stepped down.

 

Youth Intake - Another decent intake with a variety of positions. Really hoping to get a top CB though

Cameron Marsh 22A - A good LB who can cover CB with a great personality. Our previous LB prospects are starting to drop off and impressed in his appearances in both LB and 1 sub appearance at CB replacing an injured player.

Kevin Jones 22B - Has good technical skills but his personality and determination are poor. Hopeful with some tutoring we can improve this some

 

Career Update:

Season	League	Position	FA Cup	Training Facilities	Youth Level	Youth Facilities	Junior Coaching	Youth Recruitment	Achievements/Notes	Top Scorer
2017/18	N/A	N/A	N/A	Poor	0	Poor	Average	Basic	N/A	N/A
2018/19	VNN	8th	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Adequate	Fairly basic	Won MOTY	Fleetwood/Richards (15)
2019/20	VNN	10th	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Good	Average	None	Smith 19B (33)
2020/21	VNN	1st	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Good	Average	Champions and numerous records and awards	Brown 19E (32)
2021/22	VNL	16th	1st Round	Poor	0	Poor	Exceptional	Above Average	Survived	Hall 19C (30)

[Rien102]

@XaWTalk about luck! Congrats.... for the luck!

[Jambo98]

Serie C..... i mean, you need a bleeding maths degree to work out if you are in relegation trouble or not......

 

Who on earth came up with that rule......

 

[Jambo98]

Also made it as far as the intake, and it looks like San Marino get a split of San Marinese and Italian, so maybe viable. Guess as i expand the YR, might get more Italians? 

[CJ'43]

Got sacked at the end of the season in Croatia, gonna start this again.

 

Asteras Amaliadas FC / Α.Ο. Αστέρας Αμαλιάδας

Season 0 - 2017/18

Staff / Squad 1, 2 / Manager profile

Asteras Amaliadas is a small team from western Greece founded in 1947. Amaliadas is one of the biggest clubs in the region, winning 12 regional cups and several local championships, however they've only played once in the national divisions, in 1973. Their facilities are pretty basic and the youth system is limited so I hope we can improve in the next couple of years, Our financial balance is positive with 177k in our accounts.

[charlo116]

 

Manager Profile|Incoming Transfers

Starting this again in Poland this time with Błękitni Stargard. There were already 3 transfers arranged when I took over so I will have those players listed on my transfer screen for the first season. The good news is the squad has more players than I'll need this time round so no relying on grey players!

[Raffen]

18 hours ago, Jambo98 said:

Also made it as far as the intake, and it looks like San Marino get a split of San Marinese and Italian, so maybe viable. Guess as i expand the YR, might get more Italians? 

I've done a few seasons with San Marino. At the start youths are seriously low quality, but youth recruitment helps at least a bit. The best prospects have tended to be Italian, but this could have been random or confirmation bias on my part. 

Planned to do updates and stuff, but I'm far to lazy for that it seems. Also too lazy to make a decent tactic, so been hanging in the division by a thread each season. My squad is one of the absolute worst in the division still though, so not sure there are much more to gain tactics wise. Also horribly difficult to keep players. Lost older players when out of contract, and lost prospects for peanuts, but this is part and parcel for youth challenge anyway :D. Still annoyed at losing a great prospect to Lazio for approx €180k with no addons because of the board, AFTER agreeing terms with 5-6 clubs for €160k + 40 % sell on fee. No financial sense that board... 

[Ross Ingersoll]

ok, couldnt get into my italy save, i think its because the squad had 90 players in it and i prefer something much smaller. going to try holland. i could have stayed at taranto, was doing ok, 9th in the league but i just wasnt feeling it and i could see getting bored and disinterested because i already was.  will post the team i get after the sim . 

[Ross Ingersoll]

Lets give this another try, here is my managers page ... Ross Ingersoll. looks like fun because the team isnt good but all players are on amateur contracts so can attempt to sign them using the wage structure i read about and has served me well in terms of club cash flow. now just need to make some 2d and 3d kits for them and i will be ready. hope its ok to post this pic . if not, can delete

 

 

[Ross Ingersoll]

This is first save ive not needed my scouts, how many scouts do you usually hire since all you really need them for is to scout teams you play

[Boyd The Beast]

3 hours ago, Ross Ingersoll said:

Lets give this another try, here is my managers page ... Ross Ingersoll. looks like fun because the team isnt good but all players are on amateur contracts so can attempt to sign them using the wage structure i read about and has served me well in terms of club cash flow. now just need to make some 2d and 3d kits for them and i will be ready. hope its ok to post this pic . if not, can delete

Good look, I tried in Netherlands but only got 2 seasons in before I threw in the towel. Team was just too weak. The finances are fantastic due to a great TV deal so you should be able to get in upgrades early. 

[Ross Ingersoll]

1 minute ago, Boyd The Beast said:

Good look, I tried in Netherlands but only got 2 seasons in before I threw in the towel. Team was just too weak. The finances are fantastic due to a great TV deal so you should be able to get in upgrades early. 

thanks, if i get fired i may just bite the bullet and try england. 

[dkouv]

ASM Belfort youth challenge
 

Season 6 – 2024/25– Ligue 1

TLDR: Qualified for Europe, and a great-looking intake

League: Exceeded my expectations again. There must be a disaster coming along in this save to even things out, because it’s been going unusually smoothly so far

In the first half of the season, our form was super predictable: we won every home game (apart from PSG and Monaco), and lost every away game (only drew one away at bottom-placed Reims). This made me feel confident we could stay up, but not do that much more. In the second half, some more youths became eligible, the team got stronger and our away form picked up, even though the home form dipped. Symbolically, we ended up clinching 7^th, and a European qualification with a precious away win 4-2 at Caen.

Cups: went out at first or second hurdle in both

Star players: Same as last year, only this season Hakim Valade (AMR/ST) was exceptional, scoring 36 goals and winning the European Golden boot, which is hilarious given his stats. Vincent Barbier 20c (DM/MC) and Georges Schmitt 21d (DR/WBR) again held the fort in midfield and defense.

Youth watch: Jocelyn Gay 21b (GK) and Gwenael Rio (DMLC/MLC) continue their steady progress, and I have high hopes for them. I had an injury crisis at center back (two broken legs and one cruciate tear), so I recalled Kalifa Arama 23d (DC) from his loan spell and he’s pushing on to become the best center back at the club.

Youth intake | David Zagnon 25a (AMLC/ST) | Jean Meunier 25b (D/WB/AML) | Bedi Hartock 25c (GK) | Arnaud Kraemer 25d (DLC) | Franck Effa 25e (GK) | Louis Soulier 25f (AMC/ST) Looks like a good one - I can't remember so many 5* prospects in any of my FM saves! I guess the facility upgrades and the rep boost from the promotion have helped a lot, and France has a good youth rating too. The position spread could have been better, but I'm not going to complain!

Two promising strikers David Zagnon 25a and Louis Soulier 25f, two talented keepers Berdi Hartock 25c and Frank Effa 25e, and a conundrum of a player in Jean Meunier 25b – I want to play him at wingback, but am not 100% sure given his atrocious defensive stats. He might become an attacking central midfielder in the end.

Transfers: Again no big exits and again Alban Morales 22a is moaning but staying put for now.

Facilities: Improved all four of coaching, recruitment, training and youth facilities. And a new 20k stadium is being built.

Finances: Plenty of cash thanks to the TV deal and me being a cheapskate when it comes to wages. Some agents now “hate” me however because of constant refusals to give their players a new contract, and I have to get the player to sack the agent before they can sign a new deal – not sure if this will become a problem in the long run.

Next season’s aim: My first team picks itself, but their development has stagnated, so I’ll try to play a few more youths, and hope to maintain the mid-table finish next season.

Season  |  League   | Pos. |   Cup   |     CL      |     EL      |     Top scorer          |  Top assists         |    Top rating           | Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |  National |  4   |   R9    |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Guirassy (24)        |  Honore (18)         |    Guirassy (7.6)       |  1 point off the play-offs
2019/20 |  National |  1   |   R9    |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Valade (24)          |  David (13)          |    David (7.6)          |  Promotion!
2020/21 |  Ligue 2  |  8   |   R10   |   n/a       |     n/a     |    David (24)           |  David (15)          |    David (7.6)          |  2 points off the play-offs
2021/22 |  Ligue 2  |  4   |   R10   |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Aguene (24)          |  Guirassy (18)       |    Aguene (7.7)         |  Lost in playoffs R1
2022/23 |  Ligue 2  |  1   |   R9    |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Valade (24)          |  Martins (14)        |    David (7.4)          |  Promotion!
2023/24 |  Ligue 1  |  7   |   R9    |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Valade (36)          |  Martins (17)        |    Valade (7.4)         |  Euro cup qualification

Season  |  Finances |  Coaching    |  Recruitment      | Training Fac.  | Youth Fac.      |  Stadium
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |   £450k   |  Average     |  Fairly Basic     |  Basic         |  Poor           |  5500
2019/20 |   £45k    |  Adequte     |  Average          |  Below average |  Basic          |  5500
2020/21 |   £1.2m   |  Good        |  Above Average    |  Adequate      |  Basic          |  5500
2021/22 |   £300k   |  Good        |  Established      |  Average       |  Basic          |  5500
2022/23 |   £160k   |  Good        |  Well Established |  Good          |  Below Average  |  5500
2023/24 |   £9.6m   |  Excellent   |  Extensive        |  Great         |  Adequate       |  5500

 

[dkouv]

@Ross Ingersoll I also tried Holland before France in this FM, but couldn't get into it - players were too poor for the league and our form was pretty atrocious... I was hovering just above the relegation place, but it was not enjoyable. I'm hoping that you can make it and prove the doubters wrong!

[Jambo98]

Youth Challenge - San Marino Calcio 

Season 1 - 2018/19

League Table  Past Positions   Playout   Transfers  Current Facilities

Squad Part 1  Squad Part 2  Squad Part 3

Season Summary

We were rubbish, basically. Very little consistency, the odd spate of wins or draws, but a lot of heavy defeats. Tactically we were not good and our squad quality is low. On the plus side, we have enough players to always be covered. We bumbled along near the bottom, never quite sure if we were going to be in a relegation playout or not, because the rules are utterly bizzare. As it was, we won our last league game which i thought might save us , but no, it was a playout. Here, it gets even more mad. Losing the away leg 1 v 2, then leading the home leg by the same score i was preparing for ET....but no, game finished at 90mins....huh? Ok, so apparently we stay up because we are the higher seeded side!!! How on earth can a league function like this...... but i am alive, another season at least.

Top Performers 

A short list.....

Leonardo Fuchi - Our best player in CA stars and probably best performer. He wants a move to a bigger club already. Did not fit perfectly into our 442 setup, but if he stays could be worth building a tactic around

Cristian Longobardi  - The old man of our forward line, and sadly our top scorer with 11 goals. He is retiring at the end of the season, legs are gone but he did us a turn

Youth Intake

A good looking intake, one real stand out but good spread. They dont look the best quality, guessing the stars might reflect how bad the rest of the squad is...

Intake

Luca Rossi (YP01a) - Could be a peach. Already my best CM i would say and can hopefully become a building block

Alberto Tenconi (YP01b) - Not actually the second best of the intake, but has to be tagged as he is an SI staff regen   Albie might get some game time soon with the retirement of Longobardi

Youth Updates

I tagged 2 youths from the starting squad who looked interesting:

Pasquale Elefante  (YP00a) - Apart from a great name, he also has some useful attributes, good physicals, big and can finish. Sadly he performed pretty badly this season. Maybe was shoehorned into a role he wasnt best suited to

Fabrizio Ciavatta (YP00b) - Less polished, but looked like he might be a useful CM. Also performed poorly though  

Next Season Aims

1) Make a more suited tactic

2) Stay clear of  the relegation playout 

[Ross Ingersoll]

1 hour ago, dkouv said:

@Ross Ingersoll I also tried Holland before France in this FM, but couldn't get into it - players were too poor for the league and our form was pretty atrocious... I was hovering just above the relegation place, but it was not enjoyable. I'm hoping that you can make it and prove the doubters wrong!

 yeah , Italy was like that for me, i was actually mid table but wasnt feeling it. i like to have around 23 in my first team and my under 23 and 18 are just guys i think i will use at some point. in italy every team has around 100 total. I enjoyed the german save but i got fired and to be honest, better to happen in season 1 because i had to start 4 gray players and would have only gotten worse before any youth were ready. maybe i will park the bus this entire season . At first i thought a nation with two leagues would be easier because only had to get promoted once to get to top league but then thought its the opposite, the bottom league will be tougher

[Jambo98]

San Marino squad was not quite that huge thankfully, maybe 35 at most before my first intake. I try to keep it at around 42 - 44 players in my squad at any one time. Ideally for each position in the 11, i have:

Starter
Backup
Prospect
Youth 

Generally if i get one in an intake who bumps someone to #5 in the depth chart for any position, i release the guy at the bottom. 

[Ross Ingersoll]

thats how i like it, taranto had 94.  thats why i usually dont like managing in italy, i dont believe they have any loaning rules so half the team is loaned out. 

[QSF25]

Haverfordwest County

2018/2019

First season

Was an amazing first season we reached europe league first round. 

Ended the league in 5th place

}

We had a decent batch of new players too bad I dont have a picture of them at the start but i am in the middle of the second season.

And this is how they are atm. S1YA= players who are either first team or will have priority on playing time.

S1YB= players who will be sub or will go to loan.

Current Proyection

Season    League    Position    Welsh Cup       League Cup      Training Facilities    Youth Facilities     Junior Coaching     Youth Recruitment   Achievements/Notes        Top Scorer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19   WPL       5th         4th round    3rd round         Poor                   Poor                average            below average          Europe League 1st round                       Gwion Howell (32)   

 

[andershs]

Small update: Second season in the top tier in Northern Ireland. Danske Bank Premiership with Ards Rangers.

They say the second season is the hardest, and I have to agree. We are getting trashed time and time again. I am at a loss at what to do. I have tried changing the tactic and keeping the morale high with forgiving team talks, but no change.

My trusted 4-4-2 went from working in one game to getting ripped apart in the next. And this has unfortunately not changed. Suddenly we have no chances at all and they amass 15-20 chances pr. game.

My motivation is being challenged here.

Anyway, I will post a full update once this utter fiasco of a season is over. 

[darren1983]

Champion Hill to the Champions League Season 2019/20

League - well this was better than hoped for. Plan was to attack and we did. flew out the blocks winning our first 4 (scoring nearly 20 goals in those games) as we became a team that Kevin Keegan would be proud of! We were always in and around the top 3 and even did the double over league winners Leyton Orient (5-1 at home and 5-2 away) but after November we developed a bad habit of not killing teams off which would bite in the new year. At the start of Feb we were 2nd just a point behind Orient. At home to Torquay we were leading 3-2 in the 94th minute but lost 4-3. This seemed to really affect us as we would lose the 4 of the next 5 games that month (the other game being a 1-1 draw) to leave us 4th where we would stay for the rest of the season. In the playoffs we first had Bath who we did the double over and a 5-2 win saw us through to play an Aldershot side that done the double over us. We turned up here and ran out 3-1 winners. In the final was Ebbsfleet, a side that beat us 3 times this season. Another 3-1 win and we were up! Feels too soon but we'll see.
In terms of player development (whole point of this thread really) 2 players got decent game time this year, both came through during the holiday season so I don't count them as "mine" but Dean Wright and Wales U19 striker Liam Ford both got game time in 2nd half of the season and both done well.

Cups - In FA Cup an easy win over Herford before local game with league one Charlton in the first round. They were far too good for us. Our defence of the FA Trophy lasted 1 round as Ebsfleet beat us.

Transfers - lost a decent wide option for us but that meant I could give some game time to some younger guys.

Finances - pretty good. Didn't get any upgrades this year but will push for some as soon as we turn professional.

Youth Intake - can't complain with 4 5* PA players and a further 3 with 4.5* PA

Patrick Ibeh (YP02A) - solid looking CB. Fairly Professional personality is decent, especially as the default in England seems to be low determination.
Jack Reed (YP02B) - looks like a decent option going forward in CM for us. Fairly professional as well.
John Booth (YP02C) - decent forward, scored lots in u18 football so far but poor personality, trying to change but first tutoring failed
Olufemi Salami (YP02D) - another that can play a few roles, will be added depth to the CM roles
Emmanuel Obodo (YP02E) right back which was needed, is now also rated as 5* PA
Carl Elis (YP02F) - cover at the back
Ken Santangelo (YP02G) - always good to get a good keeper prospect, probs wont ever be more than a back up though

Career Overview
 

Season		League		Position	Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19		VNLS		3rd		Promotion via playoffs, FA Trophy winners
2019/20		VNL		4th 		Promotion via playoffs

Not sure what to expect next season, plan is usually to get to league 2 ASAP so we can turn pro, done that quicker than ever (though this year is following FM17 in that I seemed to become master of the playoffs but never win a league) but fear it might be too early, none of the kids are really ready for league football and the older players are decent vanarama national league players at best.

[CJ'43]

Asteras Amaliadas FC / Α.Ο. Αστέρας Αμαλιάδας

Season 1 - 2018/19

Fixtures 1, 2 / Transfers / Squad 1, 2

League: End of the first season in Greece, lots of ups and downs. I was expecting to be fighting not to get relegated and we started the season with a 5-1 defeat against Olympiakos Volou but we were then able to keep a 11 game undefeated streak until we lose to Xanthi in game 13. We were top of the table at mid-season but then an unlucky losing streak saw us getting down to 5th, where we'd eventually finish in the end. With a 50% winning ratio, I was named MoY in the league.

Cup: Rotated the squad to give an opportunity to my reserves and youth players. Lost all 3 games in the group stage, two of them were completely thrashed by premier league sides,

Key players: Giorgos Bountopoulos with an avg rating of 7.38 was our top assistant and second best goalscorer (9) after Maroukakis with 13. Was named PoY by the fans and was the second best PoY in the league.

Youth intake: a few good prospects, a couple of them can be in first team in a few years: Tasos Kornezos and Pavlos Maliaritis.

Personal: a better season than I was expecting, to be honest, finishing just 4 points from the promotion. Things were going so well at some point that at the end of november the board decided to offer me a new contract. I accepted a 2 year extension with the promises on the improvement of youth recruitment, facilities and an increase in junior coaching budget. Our youth recruitment network was then on a fairly basic level and the board decided to upgrade youth facilities investing 750k, however, at the end of the season, due to the lack of funds, it had to be scrapped. Our balance is now red, with a -500k debt. Brought a couple of guys to the staff with me this year. For the next season I'm aiming for a spot in the first half of the table and also give my youth players more minutes with the first team. My goal is to use an average of 2 players under 18 every match.

[Jambo98]

Just noticed one  of my last intake, who i had been playing in a few games, is an actual dwarf.....

[Ross Ingersoll]

2 hours ago, Jambo98 said:

Just noticed one  of my last intake, who i had been playing in a few games, is an actual dwarf.....

lmao, your right!

[Ross Ingersoll]

vv Katwijk  2019/2020 Jupiler League

Squad 1  Squad 2  Fixtures 1  Fixtures 2

 

League:  After a rough start we settled into mid table for the bulk of the season, shockingly somehow sneaking into the playoffs in the second phase of season, still dont understand how but will take it. Finishing 13th was a very good season for this club. We scored an impressive 84 goals but gave up 98, only two away from the most ever conceded in the league. thats one record i am glad we didnt get. 

 

TOTO KNVB Beker: First match pitted me up against HFC and we won rather easily 5-3. Second match we hosted SC Heereveen and lost 3-1, thus ending our cup for the year. Honestly one win was more than i thought we would have at this point so wasnt that upset over it.

 

Transfers: Lost three players who were never going to see playing time and sent another on loan so i wouldnt lose him. Not to upset with any of the loses.

 

Finances: The best thing about the season is i somehow made money. Enabled me to improve my youth and training facilities, junior and youth coaches and also get a couple coaching courses under my belt. The team was at the bare minimum for each so is going to take a long time to build it up

 

Youth intake: Only one player worth talking about and that is young Jacco Janssen. could actually start for me this next season, thats how bad my current keeper is.

 

All and all i couldnt ask for a better season to start, even was voted second in manager of the year voting. Long way to go with this squad but looking forward to it. My goals this next season are like the first, just survive. 

 

[QSF25]

Haverfordwest

2019/2020

We won the league.

Facilities

Economy

 

Best young player award

Best player award 

 

Stats

 

 

[andershs]

Ards Rangers

Season 4 - 2021/22

No Ingoing Transfers

League - (Results 1|Results 2|Cups) - Reality kicked in with full force. I might have overdone my transition to regens, but with poor training facilities my assumption has been that the best development is game time.

The truth is however, that my players are not good enough for this level. We collected only 19 points from 38 games and got 102 goals against us. That is officially the worst defence in all of the Northern Irish leagues... One of my strikers Tony Tumelty decided, that he could need a rest, with an abnormal amount if injuries which contributed to us only scoring 44 goals.

We started similar to the other teams in the bottom of the league, but suddenly my trusted 4-4-2 abruptly stopped working. We created close to none chances at all in the games while our opponents quickly scored three goals in the first half, effectively closing the match. In the process, we went 18 games without a win. In the end I switched to a 4-1-4-1 to try to stabilize things, and I managed to end in 11th place and Play-off thanks to 10 out of 12 point against eventually relegated Carrick Rangers.

In the Play-offs we lost 1-2 away to Dungannon Swifts, but managed to win 1-0 at home. Talk about a thriller. I am still not sure, that it was deserved.

Our all time team records give a nice overview of our struggles this season. Fewest points, wins, draws and goals in a season and most defeats in a season (28!). Biggest defeat, Most games lost in a row (7) and most games without wining (19)... Cups were over before they started.

But let the good times roll - we survived

Best Player: Jamie Moore.

 

Youth Intake - Another 'golden generation' and the best intake to date. Very positive. Ross Owens was a straight starter - easily the best regen so far - and put in some good performances after we switched to 4-1-4-1 while Jack Hamilton is looking like a promising centre back.

Still unchanged, minimal training and recruiting facilities due to our poor finances.

Without a takeover I am afraid that we are slowly loosing the battle against relegation because our youth intake simply does not have the quality or potential to compete in the Danske Bank Premiership. We need in particular better youth training, but also recruitment in order to remain in the division on the long term.

 

Aim for next season: Survival.

Long term goals: Better finances. Improvements to Youth Training and Recruitment as well as training facilities are imperative in order to remain a permanent part of the Danske Bank Premiership.

[Slipky]

Got a save with a swedish side. Reset date is December 16th I believe.

[Jambo98]

Youth Challenge - San Marino Calcio 

Season 2 - 2019/20

League Table  Past Positions   Transfers  Current Facilities

Squad Part 1  Squad Part 2  

Season Summary

We were marginally less rubbish, but again struggled mightily to string any results together. Flipped between a few different formations and were poor at the back, and did not score enough. We seemed to concede a huge number of late goals which was annoying. For most of the season the bottom 6 were cut adrift, but luckily i managed to sneak into the top place of that 6 to avoid any playout action.  Unfortunately the financial situation is grim, meaning more facility upgrades are unlikely anytime soon. Could be a bit of a slog

Top Performers 

A even short list.....

Leonardo Fuchi - Still our best player, was attracting some interest and is now unhappy, and about to be out of contract so almost certain we will lose him  

Youth Intake

Couple of good DMs mean we are a little stacked in that position, and a couple of FB's (although Benedettini can play DC, which we really need)

Intake

Marco Mazza (YP02a) - Best of the bunch in CA stars and does look first team ready. CM is our strongest area but i will look to find game time for him ASAP

Federico Ceccoli - Both the FB types look worse to me on attributes than my Ass Man thinks, so will tag this guy, particularly as we might need and RM 

Youth Updates

Pasquale Elefante  (YP00a) - Became our main man up top this year and although 12 goals is hardly great, overall  he was respectable with slight improvements in some attributes 

Fabrizio Ciavatta (YP00b) - Was a regular in CM, although had a couple of injuries. Facing some pressure now that we have 2 other DM / CM good youths

Luca Rossi (YP01a) - Came straight in as a first choice, moved between DM and CM a bit, not settled on this best position  / role but looks established now in our first 11

Albie Tenconi (YP01b) - Not a lot of game time as i leaned on Elefante for goals and was not brave enough to throw Albie in when we were struggling 

History

[QSF25]

Haverfordwest

2020/2021

We won the Welsh cup

Only player from the third batch worth signing

 

 

We lost the league after winning it last year but at least we will still get euro money

Players at the end of the league

 

[SpS_Zen]

Hey,

I wanted to coach in england starting from the bottom. This challenge seems like a good way to learn more about those leagues.

Here is my coach: Coach

 

Im gonna play with Dulwich Hamlet. They have a great squad for VNLS (Odds) and i was able to keep all the players. The squad is composed by 23 players with some promising players. The oldest player in first team is 28yo. I feel confident with this team, i should be able to aim for promotion as long as injuries are not too numerous. The midfield is kind of weak, thats why im gonna play with an aggressive 4-2-4.

 

By the way, how do you guys make those career overview? Is there a script or a converter?

[Sn00gle]

Nice to see a lot of succesfull runs! Keep going all!:) I didn't have a lot of time (I actually got probation in scouting centre at one of club :D) but mby I will try back to Poland with this challenge so gl @charlo116 !

[charlo116]

Thank you @Sn00gle, my Poland save has been going much better than my first attempt in Switzerland. I'm in the 2nd half of the season now so should be posting an update soon.

[andershs]

A quick question:

Loosing streaks - I know it has been discussed endlessly online, but for this challenge it is a particularly relevant topic.

I seem to always hit an unexplainable crisis in end January - february. My tactics doesn't work, and no matter what I try or do not try, I am loosing with no real chance in the games of getting even a point.

I realise, that it may just be down to poor player material, but that does not make it any less irritating/inexplicable.

How do you guys handle beginning loosing streaks?

 

[SpS_Zen]

Dulwich Hamlet 2018/19

We won the VNLS.  My striker scored 42 goals, 2 away from the league record (44). He was announced best player/best striker and became a legend in the club. My coach won the "best coach of the year".

From the beginning squad, 3 players took their retreat and i pushed out 3 players Transfert

The incoming season will be rough Odds We are pronosticed last by far. I will adjust my tactics, i dont know yet if im gonna stay with a 424 or switch to a 523.

Facilities: I was able to improve junior coaching and youth recruitment. So far, the board refuse to look for an affiliate to share the training facilities. I improved the data analysis facilities for 110k, but it still shows "none". Looks like i have been scammed. 

With only 16k in the bank, i will have to wait before i can ameliorate my facilities.

The regens i got were decent. At the end of the season, two of them were good enough to be substitute in the first squad here Next time i will do a screen before the end of the season  so you can see goals, assits and average note !

 

 

Season  |  League   | Pos. |   Cup   |     CL      |     EL      |     Top scorer          |  Top assists         |    Top rating           | Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |  VNLS     |  1   |   n/a   |   n/a       |     n/a     |    Allassani (42)       |  Clunis (16)         |    Allassani (7.63)     | 


Season  |  Finances |  Coaching    |  Recruitment      | Training Fac.  | Youth Fac.      |  Stadium
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |   €16k    |  Excellent   |   Established     |  Basic         |  Basic          |  3000 => 4000 planned

 

[SpS_Zen]

Il y a 2 heures, andershs a dit :

A quick question:

Loosing streaks - I know it has been discussed endlessly online, but for this challenge it is a particularly relevant topic.

I seem to always hit an unexplainable crisis in end January - february. My tactics doesn't work, and no matter what I try or do not try, I am loosing with no real chance in the games of getting even a point.

I realise, that it may just be down to poor player material, but that does not make it any less irritating/inexplicable.

How do you guys handle beginning loosing streaks?

 

Its rough for everyone. I check tactics role, and invididual instructions. Also, sometimes you can find what is wrong in the team report. After few bad results, i realized i was 21/24 on tackle succeed %. I did some changes, and took less goals. 

[Jambo98]

Youth Challenge - San Marino Calcio 

Season 3 - 2020/21

League Table  Past Positions   Playoff Results   Transfers / Release Players  Current Facilities

Squad Part 1  Squad Part 2  

Season Summary

Well.........that was unexpected  We started the season in better form than previous years, and settled into a pattern of not being quite good enough to challenge the top 8 or so, but never in relegation trouble. We found ourselves sitting in 10th for about the last 16 games. With the strange league setup, 10th actually gets you into the playoffs! Given we were a long way adrift of the top 9, I had no expectations of making progress.

The playoffs were simply mental. We had to play 9 games in theory to get promoted. I gave us approx a 0.1% chance of that. Yet somehow, we started with a win and kept winning. By the time we reached game 6, we had a 4 v 0 lead from the first leg of the Qtr Final. We did our level best to throw it all away, losing the 2nd level 1 v 4  

We battled in the Semi and suddenly were 90mins away from an unexpected (and on the balance of the season, undeservered!) promotion. IN the final, amazingly we raced out to a 3 nil lead, with all 3 goals from tagged youths. Of course we couldnt make it easy and conceded 2 late goals to make me sweat but somehow, inexplicably, we are PROMOTED  

We are gonna be so far out of our depth in Serie B.....immediate relegation seems almost certain. Financially we are in debt perpetually, despite the odd injection of cash by the board, and we have now a bloated squad so some slashing is needed. 

Top Performers 

We lost our 2 best non youths pre-season and all our best players were youths so this is now an "N/A" 

Youth Intake

Managing to upgrade our YRN twice this year made a big difference to the intake i think. Enough players of good potential to help stock our squad 

Intake 

Carmelo Paparella (YP03a) - We are a bit short on DC quality so hopefully this guy can step in fairly quickly. Still very raw but if he can live up to his PA stars that will help us a lo

Fernando Raffaellii (YP03b) - Looks the best in terms of starting attributes, and good versatility will help 

Youth Updates

Fabrizio Ciavatta (YP00b) - With the loss of my regular LM at the end of last season, he was pushed out to that position and performed admirably, being solid and consistent if not spectacular 

Pasquale Elefante  (YP00a) - Our star man and leading scorer by a distance. Fired us to glory, but not Carpi are interested and thus far the big Elephant has not been willing to talk new deal   Also played in every single game of the league / playoff season. Rented Mule, basically. 

Luca Rossi (YP01a) - Our first player loss  He was developing well and playing well, but Bologna came in and he was gone for just £125k with no option for me to reject it. 

Albie Tenconi (YP01b) - Coming of age time for Albie. We switched to 2 up front this year and threw him  in regularly. Took him a while (no goals in his first 23 club apperances overall!) but he got going and contributed nicely

Marco Mazza (YP02a) - Attributes wise, already our best player and someone we need to find an optimal position for now. Probably a defensive DM rock, if we can keep him 

Federico Ceccoli (YP02b) - Did not plan to throw him in, but the loss of our best original play, who was our RM, forced my hand. Despite not looking ready, he responded in great fashion with 10 goals from the wing. 

History

[charlo116]

Season 1 (2018/19) - Błękitni Stargard

League Table | Transfer History | Squad

Season Summary

I started the season with quite a large squad and pre-season was spent mostly trying to judge which players fit into my 4-1-4-1 the best. Many of them have very poor determination and technical ability which didn't fill me with a lot of confidence heading into the season. Despite the clear limitations of the squad we put together some decent runs to finish a respectable 10th. Most notably we went on a strong run just after the winter break which saw us move from 14th to 6th, before an eventual slide down the table in the final 8 games of the season.

Apart from our league performance there isn't much to report on from this season. We performed poorly in the Polish Cup, however I am optimistic as I have many first team players from this season that are still young and showed great improvements late on in the season.

Youth Intake

I forgot to get a screenshot of the whole youth take as I immediately cancelled the trials of all but two.

Krystian Krol (YP01a) - The best player from this years intake and probably the only one of the two I signed that will make it to first team games. I'm glad to have a young striker coming through as my first team options are all pretty poor.

Milosz Nowicki (YP01b) - Not very promising but the 2nd best player that came through our youth intake. As you can tell the rest of them were pretty dire.

 

In addition to some promising young players in my first team I also have a young regen from the season before I took charge.

Adam Krychowiak (YP00a) -  A young centre back, it will be interesting to see how he goes next season.

Next Season

With many young first team players who are still improving I'm aiming to push into the top half of the table next season.

[Jambo98]

Found another annoying problem with Managing San Marino  - About 60% of my squad are in either the full, u21 or u19 San Marino international squads. So whenever there is an INT week, my squad is threadbare, and in Serie C at least, they never postpone the matches for Internationals  Hoping in Serie B that might be different.

As if i didnt already realise how impossibly my task is in this division, one of the teams tipped to finish mid table just signed Dimi Payet on a free  

[darren1983]

On 28/03/2018 at 19:13, andershs said:

A quick question:

Loosing streaks - I know it has been discussed endlessly online, but for this challenge it is a particularly relevant topic.

I seem to always hit an unexplainable crisis in end January - february. My tactics doesn't work, and no matter what I try or do not try, I am loosing with no real chance in the games of getting even a point.

I realise, that it may just be down to poor player material, but that does not make it any less irritating/inexplicable.

How do you guys handle beginning loosing streaks?

 

I tend to tweak a couple players, maybe some role changes as well, main thing I try and do is keep morale up, morale can be a killer in FM as a whole but especially this challenge. 

[andershs]

@SpS_Zen and @darren1983 - Thanks for the feedback. It is much appreciated.

The tips about tweaking a few player roles and paying more attention to game stats are really good.

I agree, it seems you get absolutely nowhere without good morale in your squad. I try always to be lenient and positive for team talks etc. even though the first ten less nice words are lined up on my tongue (I know - it is just a video game) .

[andershs]

Ards Rangers

Season 5 - 2022/23

Again no ingoing transfers

League (Results 1 | Results 2 | Cups) - Compared to last season, this year was much better. Even though we ended just above the relegation places in 10th, we were never really in danger of going down. At a point we were as high as 5th place, and I was beginning to hope to get in the Champions Playoff (1st - 6th) after 33 rounds. Unfortunately we hit one of our all too familiar periods with no or very limited points.

And we actually won the Co. Antrim Shield. Well done to the lads. Silverware is silverware even though it is not the most prestigious cup.

I have noticed two things: even though the average determination in the squad has been raised considerably since beginning this challenge, we still seem to just give up once we go behind. Moreover, we cannot hold onto a lead or an equaliser. On many occasions the opponent score the next minute which causes us to deflate and give up.

So, Determination needs to be worked on through youth recruitment and tutoring, and I am guessing, that raising the Concentration of our players will have an effect on our tendency to concede quick goals. I don't know how to to that though as it cannot be trained directly.  

Team - Regens are starting to surpass our remaining non-regens. The oldest regens are reaching an age (19-20) and ability to uphold regular first team places. Gary Cowan has improved remarkably and our young comet Ross Owens is also a regular starter.

I fear (know) however, that we still have a considerable gap to other teams in the Danske Bank Premiership. It will be tough to improve on the current situation and league positions. But let us see. 

Youth Intake - Again a decent intake labelled another 'Golden Generation' although it seems there has been inflation when it comes to that term. Especially Josh Ferguson, a young striker is looking promising and had a good start with three goals in two league games.

Same Facilities and our Finances are still not looking good leaving no room for Junior Coaching or Youth Recruitment improvements.

Long term goals: Avoid relegation. Better finances. Improvements to Youth Training and Recruitment as well as training facilities are imperative in order to remain a permanent part of the Danske Bank Premiership.

[MWE]

Season 13 with Torpedo Moscow

Squad

League - Promoted via the play offs beat Mordoviya 4-0 on aggregate

Transfers

Finances

Youth Intake

Anikin
Nikitin
Semenov

Season    League               Position    Russian Cup      Achievements/Notes               Top Scorer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19   Wtoroj Diwizion      8th         5th round        Stayed up                        Kosyanchuk  (33) 
2019/20   Wtoroj Diwizion      5th         Qtr Final        Only 4 points from promotion     Kosyanchuk  (31)
2020/21   Wtoroj Diwizion      13th        5th round        Bit of a step back               Kosyanchuk  (21)
2021/22   Wtoroj Diwizion      3rd         4th round        Lost in play offs                Yeliseev    (28)
2022/23   Wtoroj Diwizion      9th         4th Round        Another step back                Kosyanchuk  (26)
2023/24   Wtoroj Diwizion      11th        4th Round        Another step back                Kosyanchuk  (15)
2024/25   Wtoroj Diwizion      13th        4th Round        Still going backwards            Kosyanchuk  (14)
2025/26   Wtoroj Diwizion      9th         4th Round        Abit of movement upwards         Panfilov 4E (23)
2026/27   Wtoroj Diwizion      2nd         4th Round        Finally promoted!                Panfilov 4E (29)
2027/28   Priemjer-Liga        16th        5th Round        2 wins all season                Panfilov 4E (13)
2028/29   Wtoroj Diwizion      14th        6th Round        Not sure how im still in charge  Panfilov 4E (15)
2029/30   Wtoroj Diwizion      6th         5th Round        Bit of an improvement            Kuznetsov 9C(24)
2030/31   Wtoroj Diwizion      4th         4th Round        Promoted via the play offs       Panfilov 4E (33)

[Boyd The Beast]

 

Season 5 - 2022/23

 

League - What a terrible season it turned out to be. My defense was atrocious and is something I am desperately looking to fix. Spent basically the entire season in the relegation spots and almost survived by thanks to a goal difference we go down and Harrogate survive. I have tweaked my tactics and am hopeful my late season form is a result of finding the right formula to bounce back straight away.

FA Cup - Made it to the second round but unfortunately didn't get a big money draw.

FA Trophy - Not only did we crash out we also had to play a replay. Disappointing like the season as a whole.

Transfers - Let our back up GK go and 2 young guys and a back up go out on loan. Adrian Brown is a CB and looks to have improved a good amount which will likely see him get some decent playing time next year.

Finances - Bled money all year, our poor display on the field led to a decrease in attendance which did not help.

 

Youth Intake - Our best intake which finally saw as add a CB that can make a difference. 

Ashley Savage 23A - Our best ever CB prospect to come through the academy. Instantly became our best CB and was thrown in the deep end.

Wayne Clarke 23B - Fantastic midfielder who has the great attribute of being either footed. 

 

Career Update:

Season	League	Position	FA Cup	Training Facilities	Youth Level	Youth Facilities	Junior Coaching	Youth Recruitment	Achievements/Notes	Top Scorer
2017/18	N/A	N/A	N/A	Poor	0	Poor	Average	Basic	N/A	N/A
2018/19	VNN	8th	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Adequate	Fairly basic	Won MOTY	Fleetwood/Richards (15)
2019/20	VNN	10th	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Good	Average	None	Smith 19B (33)
2020/21	VNN	1st	4th Qualifying Round	Poor	0	Poor	Good	Average	Champions and numerous records and awards	Brown 19E (32)
2021/22	VNL	16th	1st Round	Poor	0	Poor	Exceptional	Above Average	Survived	Hall 19C (30)
2022/23	VNL	21st	2nd Round	Poor	0	Poor	Exceptional	Above Average	Relegated	Hall 19C (24)