[FM18] I never realised that to become a jockey you needed to be a horse first!

[Rikulec]

You mean the new Vogel?

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Does he have a second nationality at all? But a 5'5'' iron-willed player reminds me somewhat of a pitbull  

[smp20]

2 minutes ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Does he have a second nationality at all? But a 5'5'' iron-willed player reminds me somewhat of a pitbull  

Yeah he's a Catalan-Nigerian  - yeah it's a rare one iron-willed, pretty sure I've only seen it with the Keane/Gattuso types

[kidthekid]

4 hours ago, smp20 said:

Yeah he's a Catalan-Nigerian  - yeah it's a rare one iron-willed, pretty sure I've only seen it with the Keane/Gattuso types

I was going to ask if he's Nigerian, but you already answered it. Catalan Nigerian,  Just like Inaki Williams is Basque Liberian and Ghanaian, and Balde is Catalan and Senegalese. We are everywhere

[smp20]

2024/25 Season Overview

Copa del Rey

The board may not have cared about it, but I can assure you the fans will have and it was great to pick up my first trophy in two years since winning the FA Cup with Newcastle.

La Liga

A comfortable title win in the end with special credit going to our home form! Barca's best points tally since 2013, it's just a shame we didn't break the 100 point record. Let's all take a moment to laugh at Real Madrid in 5th 

Champions League

Now this was gutting. After the thrashing at Stamford Bridge we needed to perform a miracle at home and we came so close! It was an inspirational performance and we really should have won in in extra time. Then...to lose on penalties... 

Player Stats

This might be the first time ever I've managed to get 8 players into double figures for goals! Villarreal, Paulinho, Dembele and Urbano were the standout players in an attacking line up that's not to be messed with!

[smp20]

[Deisler26]

15 hours ago, smp20 said:

Holy feck this guy  - he's the new Xavi!

Ben Vogel

[Rikulec]

What an absolutely spectacular home record. What now?

[smp20]

1 hour ago, Rikulec said:

What an absolutely spectacular home record. What now?

On my way to watch Cambridge vs Crewe Alexandra now, but I've got a challenge lined up 

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

2 hours ago, smp20 said:

On my way to watch Cambridge vs Crewe Alexandra now, but I've got a challenge lined up 

It better involve a certain Singaporean

[Ellandroadhero]

This is insane! Can’t believe you’ve left Barça before having another crack at the champions league and seeing some of those newgens develop. Looking forward to what you do next, this has been a heck of a journey. 

[yatesiboi37]

Really looking forward to seeing what the future holds now that you have departed Barcelona! I'm assuming wherever it is tat you go a certain Singaporean will be following?

[noikeee]

I didn't expect you to get bored before winning the CL with Barça. Sorry but I found the semi-finals a bit amusing, all that work to turn it around amazingly, only to lose in penalties.  Still a cracking season though.

Can't believe you're running away from the chance of developing Ben Usman!

[smp20]

On 12/30/2017 at 14:04, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

It better involve a certain Singaporean

 

On 1/1/2018 at 09:43, yatesiboi37 said:

Really looking forward to seeing what the future holds now that you have departed Barcelona! I'm assuming wherever it is tat you go a certain Singaporean will be following?

Unfortunately at this moment it won't be possible  - but I will be looking to sign him as an exception to the rule in the future. For now he's flying solo...

[smp20]

On 12/31/2017 at 14:21, Ellandroadhero said:

This is insane! Can’t believe you’ve left Barça before having another crack at the champions league and seeing some of those newgens develop. Looking forward to what you do next, this has been a heck of a journey. 

Cheers, sometimes you've just got to go with your gut. The excitement just wasn't there with Barca which I thought it would be.

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

I didn't expect you to get bored before winning the CL with Barça. Sorry but I found the semi-finals a bit amusing, all that work to turn it around amazingly, only to lose in penalties.  Still a cracking season though.

Can't believe you're running away from the chance of developing Ben Usman!

In an ideal world I would have stayed on for another year and hopefully won everything, but this challenge might not have come up again!

[smp20]

I'm a Youth Development Addick!

This is a huge step down both in competition level and financially for me, but I've realised that something has been missing from this career. I want to build up a club from the bottom with a really strong emphasis on youth development and local talent and this is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Charlton are a club with a rich history but they're in turmoil. When I was younger they were Premier League mainstays but they have dropped to the third tier IRL and in this career they've been through administration and 3 consecutive relegations to the Conference South. Under the guidance of player-coach-manager icon Johnnie Jackson they managed to get promoted back to the Conference, but a further relegation back to Conference South saw him sacked. We've got incredible facilities and a strong youth setup for this level, heck for any level below the Premier League! But the clubs in financial woes still, has a falling apart stadium and a chairman that wants to leave after just 3 years at the club.

My first signing is a certain Alan Curbishley - the man who consolidated Charlton as a Premier League club and took them as high as 7th. He'd been enjoying semi-retirement in the Cotswolds of late, but he's in to help with my philosophy and he couldn't help himself but get involved. I want to create a real community feel around the club and to do that I'm going to focus fully on building a team that have either been developed through the club or are born-and-bred in London/Kent. This applies for our staff as well. The only exceptions are myself (I'm an East Anglian carrot cruncher to these lot) and Tay Wei Liang if I ever get the chance to sign him. 

[smp20]

You're on your own two feet now TWL. Go out there and show the world what you're made of! Hopefully one day we will be reunited.

[Ellandroadhero]

From barca to charlton! This is phenomenal. Probably my favourite career on here. 

[smp20]

Personnel Building

Transfers

All bar one transfer were unattached players, the exception being Semi Ajayi who took a step down to re-join his boyhood club and turn from semi-pro to pro. Keston Charles and Callum Stanley were both brought through the youth system; Charles ended up at Newcastle via Dartford and Stanley wnet to Norwich as a 17 year old for just under £250k. The biggest coup is the return of Erhun Oztumer who will be the heartbeat of the team. As a youngster he spent 9 years at the club and he was born in Greenwich, just around the corner from the Valley. He's a real talent and shouldn't be playing Conference South despite now being 34. Turgott and Pike are former Hammers youngsters that never quite made the grade, while Tanganga is a former Spurs youngster. We had a load of youngsters on trial who were released by big clubs and that's how we got hold of Kelvin Rydeheard, released by West Ham.

Squad

The squad is now completely home-grown at club or a local lad and I've achieved a squad balance I'm happy with.

Staff

Anyone at the club deemed a local were kept on - Brennan, Jones, Hornby, Sheaf, Gallen and Shaw - while all others were released and replaced with someone who was. Former academy graduate Harry Arter is now my right-hand man, while interestingly Tony Crabb retired early from playing after failing to make the grade at Dulwich Hamlet, so we have a 19 year old coaching our U18s. Here's hoping he has a long successful coaching career.

Key Player Profiles

 

[smp20]

19 minutes ago, Ellandroadhero said:

From barca to charlton! This is phenomenal. Probably my favourite career on here. 

Cheers  - I have to say it's definitely a bit of a shock move, but i feel I will have earned it more if I'm able to drag Charlton back up the leagues. Once I've achieved what I want to here, I will look to move on. Who's knows where to, it's at least a decade down the line.

[MarcxD]

Wow, what an interesting move and career path in general up to now.

Good luck although I'm sure you'll get them back to better days soon

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Always like a bit of youth, you better get promoted with that squad  

[smp20]

1 hour ago, MarcxD said:

Wow, what an interesting move and career path in general up to now.

Good luck although I'm sure you'll get them back to better days soon

Cheers @MarcxD - hopefully we can push on with a bit of momentum.

1 hour ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Always like a bit of youth, you better get promoted with that squad  

Well I definitely hope so! We really should, especially with the squad we have and that we are one of two pro clubs in the league (the other being Hampton & Richmond).

[smp20]

August 2025 Update

A very good start, 100% from 6 games. We did need last minute winners in our last two games however. Our attacking midfield trio of Stanley, Oztumer and Bond have been scoring and creating, while Rowe and Rennie have both grabbed goals up top.

[smp20]

Not ideal. I'm trying to build an attachment with the local community and the new board are from Madrid....and they might be getting rid of me.

[Makoto Nakamura]

6 minutes ago, smp20 said:

Not ideal. I'm trying to build an attachment with the local community and the new board are from Madrid....and they might be getting rid of me.

Of course they're going to try getting rid of you, you've just come from Barcelona!

[smp20]

27 minutes ago, Makoto Nakamura said:

Of course they're going to try getting rid of you, you've just come from Barcelona!

And I professed my love for Catalonia 

I've got two words and they start and end with 'F' 

[smp20]

September 2025 Update

We dropped our first points of the season in the opening September fixture but we went on to win every other game, including a 5-0 win in the FA Cup to progress on to the 3rd qualifying round where we face Enfield. Thankfully, I've kept my job and I'm hoping I can build a good relationship with the new chairman. His team of directors are from Ibiza and Southwark, so we're got a combination of local influence and a director with rave reviews 

[smp20]

October 2025 Update

Another unbeaten month and almost 100% but for a draw with Boreham Wood who are also unbeaten. We've found ourselves in the FA Cup 1st Round proper and we have a tricky tie against Bolton - a fixture that was once a regular in the Premier League now pits Conference South against League One!

 

[smp20]

Good news, a new contract around the corner!

[smp20]

Develop youngsters and play attacking, possession football. This is our DNA.

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

I wouldn't be surprised if you beat Bolton. Time for an actual test

[the_gaffa]

Loving this thread smp and fair play to you for giving up the Barca job in favour of a tougher challenge. I'm always tempted to go with the youth system focused route myself but I just haven't had the patience (or the facilities for that matter!)  to attempt it so far.

What sort of attacking possession tactical setup have you gone for with Charlton? Seems to be working pretty well for you at the moment.

[Crispypaul]

Great signing in Oztumer - I used to watch him play IRL for Dulwich and he was comfortably better than everyone else

 

[noikeee]

This challenge ain't finished until you get Charlton as competitive as Barcelona now.  

[smp20]

17 hours ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

I wouldn't be surprised if you beat Bolton. Time for an actual test

News to come shortly 

5 hours ago, the_gaffa said:

Loving this thread smp and fair play to you for giving up the Barca job in favour of a tougher challenge. I'm always tempted to go with the youth system focused route myself but I just haven't had the patience (or the facilities for that matter!)  to attempt it so far.

What sort of attacking possession tactical setup have you gone for with Charlton? Seems to be working pretty well for you at the moment.

Cheers @the_gaffa, glad you are enjoying it  I wasn't enjoying Barca as much as I should have done so needed something to spice this up, otherwise I could have seen me just bouncing around the top clubs. I've always been keen on a youth development approach and I've tried it here but never stayed somewhere long enough to see it through  I will post up my tactics in my next update but it's very similar to what I was using at Barca.

5 hours ago, Crispypaul said:

Great signing in Oztumer - I used to watch him play IRL for Dulwich and he was comfortably better than everyone else

 

I'm not surprised, he is top class here at 34 tearing apart the league, imagine him in his 20s in the Isthmian League! We're lucky to have him back.

4 hours ago, noikeee said:

This challenge ain't finished until you get Charlton as competitive as Barcelona now.  

The bar has been raised 

[smp20]

FA Cup Update

A 20,000 crowd witness a Charlton side beat a team 3 leagues above, let's hope we can convince them all to start filling up the Valley regularly again.

An excellent draw for the 2nd round, let's hope we can beat Ched Evans' Stanley.

This is how we are set up tactically, very similar to my style at Barcelona, but Complete WBs and Forward make way for Attacking FBs and AF, our CBs aren't entrusted as ball players and we have a more regular CM(S) instead of a roaming playmaker.

[smp20]

November 2025 Update

We're still unbeaten in all competitions, but we've started picking up a few too many draws. However, injuries to key players such as Semi Ajayi and Joe Bannister have left us a lot more vulnerable at the back.

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Casually sets up a 6th tier English side similarly to the side at Barcelona...

[smp20]

1 hour ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Casually sets up a 6th tier English side similarly to the side at Barcelona...

As you do 

[smp20]

December 2025 Update

A 100% record this month and we're through to the FA Cup Third Round. A winnable tie, but Southend are high-flying in League One!

[Northernpilgrim]

You'll be back in the Football League in two seasons. Less if you get a job offer

[smp20]

10 hours ago, Northernpilgrim said:

You'll be back in the Football League in two seasons. Less if you get a job offer

Fingers crossed, but the only way that would happen at another club other than Charlton is if I am sacked. Sticking this one through!

[henryzz]

I notice you have a red card at DL. Are cards common in that position? You look like you are stretching the player too much so he will make rash tackles. Try him on support instead of attack. Watch 

for more info. 

[smp20]

6 hours ago, henryzz said:

I notice you have a red card at DL. Are cards common in that position? You look like you are stretching the player too much so he will make rash tackles. Try him on support instead of attack.

Not really that I've noticed, I tend to pick up a few bookings across the backline and midfield due to our aggressive, high pressing system. I will check out the video, but I doubt I will be changing my D R/L from attack to support, it's in our DNA 

[smp20]

January 2026 Update

FA Cup

We started the new year with a bang by beating League One high fliers Southend 5-3 with 2,000 fans making their way to Essex. It wasn't all good news though. We lost our talisman Oztumer to a long term injury .

The FA Cup acted as a bookend for January and it's a fairy tale that's for sure. An incredible 8,000 fans saw us hit 7 at Villa Park, including 4 goals and 3 assists from Richardson Rennie who achieved the perfect 10. Just sublime - we even missed a pen so it should have been 8! We now face PL opposition at the Valley.

Results

In between the goals galore excitement of the FA Cup we put together a run of clean sheets to continue our unbeaten run. We're still in the FA Trophy as well .

League Table

14 points clear with 15 games to go. Let's just keep this up!

Transfers

He's been a star for us but you can't turn down that kind of money in our financial state. We've got him for a few more games but unfortunately he'll be gone before the Watford game.

A combination of loans and permanent signings bolstered our squad in January, mainly to help us cope with our injuries! Lapslie, Sarpong-Wiredu, Aribo and Doughty are all HG at the club, while Crowther is a Londoner and Dom Samuel is born-and-bred in Southwark and silenced his critics after 2 goals on his debut after signing on loan from noisy neighbours.

Tactics

With Stanley and Turgott (£5k to Carlisle) leaving and a host of injuries we've had to change our formation, but the principles are the same. I like it.

Player Stats

Our 5 goalscorers have been disrupted with Stanley leaving and injuries to Oztumer, Rowe and Bond, so Rennie looks as though he'll pip them all to the club golden boot. Great average ratings as you'd expect with our form.

[smp20]

How about this as a way to follow up the FA Cup result  Rennie's on fire! (No heartburn here)

[smp20]

Just...what???? That was insane  

[smp20]

I can't see us putting many past these lot

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

I thought you said this was supposed to be a challenge

(Can't see a few of the pictures idk if it's just me)