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Treble Challenge.


alvin14
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Having played championship/football manager for years on desktop. Parenthood and life over the past few years have got in the way of having hours to pile into the highly addictive game like I used to. At the end of 2019 I took the plunge into FM Touch just for something to do occasionally on the IPad, I’d also been a bit of an FM snob, only the real game was good enough, FM Mobile/Touch was for kids or beginners haha.

However having played FM20 Touch for plenty of hours during the national lockdown I’ve now found my love for FM again. The streamlined FM Touch is perfect for what I need at my age and stage in life, I now fully understand why SI make these different versions of the game and that everyone is different and wants/needs a different experience when playing FM.

So I’ve decided to set myself a challenge for my first save on FM21 Touch and I’m going to document it here which I’ve never done before, I am going to call it the treble challenge. I am attempting to the win the treble(League, Cup and Champions League) in England, Spain and Germany plus I am also going to attempt to win the treble(World Cup, Euro’s and Nations League) with all three national sides too. From what I’ve read there is a 30 year limit on FM Touch, so I might find myself working two jobs in my latter career. Probably goes without saying but the aim is to also knock Sir Alex Ferguson off the top of the Hall of Fame or whoever is at top in 30 years time.

I am starting from the very bottom unemployed, I’ve already made a start and have got the glamorous job of Dorking. It’s going to be a case of building my reputation in the first part of my career and working my way up, I’ll be doing seasonal updates throughout the save.

Wish me luck. :-)

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Edited by alvin14
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Season One

Can’t complain with a 7th placed finish in the first season, however a bit of a disappointment losing in the semi final of the playoffs. Rollercoaster of a year, changed from a 4231 to a 433 mid season which helped massively with the playoff push after a slump in the first half of the year. Second round of the FA Cup was a huge achievement, third round is the aim next year to draw one of the big clubs.

Struggled to compete with the big boys at the top of the league, but I got a new contract so will strengthen the squad over the summer before heading into season two. The aim for season two is to get Dorking up into the National League.

Come on you Wanderers!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Season Two

The plan in season two was to get Dorking up into the National League and that is exactly what I did, as champions as well. I released a lot of players after season one giving me a much larger wage budget to work with which allowed me to strengthen the squad massively. Started the season like a train using a combination of 433 and 4231, the customary slump inevitably came and the middle part of the season was a struggle. I struggled to settle for a formation searching for points in every game, even opting for 4141 at times to try and sneak a draw against the top sides. After a final push at the back end of the season a 1-0 win on the final day gave Dorking the Vanarama South League Title. Also had a great run in the FA Trophy this year which was nice. Still very early days in my managerial career and still trying to build my reputation so might hang around at Dorking for another year or two before trying to move up the pyramid. Manager of the season will do my reputation the world of good though, so onwards and upwards.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Season Three

So season three was about damage limitation and to just try and stay afloat in the vanarama national league. I managed even better then with a 14th place finish (Dorking Wanderers record high), we were even pushing for the playoffs at times throughout the season but realistically never actually got that close. We were voted the biggest overachievers of the season which was good and I was shortlisted for manager of the year again, but didn’t win it this time round. Good runs in the FA Trophy and FA Cup which was good fun again. Got offered the York job midway through the season, bit of a sideways step so declined the offer as that won’t happen me in my quest for trebles at the top end of world football. Season four I’m looking to strengthen the squad and push for the playoffs.

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Edited by alvin14
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Season Four

Bit of a rollercoaster of a season this one, came out the blocks flying and was occupying a playoff spot for the early goings. A massive dip in form led to losing a lot of games consecutively in the middle part of the season, a change of formation to 352 led to a pick up in form for the last 3rd of the season to secure Dorking’s highest finish in their history. Went out early in both cups this year, so nothing to talk about there, offered two jobs this year, Accrington in League One and Harrogate in Vanarama National League, not sure on either so think I’m going to stay and try and push for the playoffs with Dorking one more year. My manager reputation is growing gradually so hopefully I can start thinking about moving up the leagues in the quest for the trebles.

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Season Five

What a nightmare, after the excitement of moving into the new amazingly named Dorking Stadium. Wage budget was cut dramatically to cover these costs meaning the squad had to be cut drastically and we struggled all season, don’t think we even moved from 24th all year. Went with a 532/352 thinking we could be a little more defensive and finish just above the relegation zone but it wasn’t to be. So relegation it was, I resigned in the summer and after being offered various jobs in the Spanish lower leagues I decided to hold out for a fairly decent gig with Dagenham and Redbridge in the Vanarama National League a couple of months into season six. Hopefully I can make an instant impact and pull Dag and Red up the table in season six.

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Edited by alvin14
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Season Six

A season to forget, back to back relegations from the Vanarama National League. Felt we were a bit unlucky unlike last season, but the table doesn’t lie. Manager reputation has dropped after getting the sack so need to do so some serious work to get to the top now. I’ve now found myself out in Spain with a club called Zamora (if only I could still sign Bobby haha). Squad is bare with a decent wage so good opportunity to build something (he says). 

 

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Season Seven

So this year was better albeit in a squad full of loan players. Managed a 6th placed finish when we were expected to be in a relegation battle so pretty happy with that. Have managed to rebuild my manager reputation a little, so hopefully we’re back on track on the journey to the top. Going to stay at Zamora for another year and push for promotion next season.

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Season Eight

So season eight was a good year with plenty of loans again with no limits for loan players in match day squad. Was sitting top 3 for most of the season and unfortunately fell off at the back end and ended up finishing 7th. Not the end of the world as the board wanted top half so can’t complain too much. Had a lot of interest from English Football League clubs jobs during the season. Made the decision to leave at the end of the year to try and get a more high profile job as my manager rep improved after a good couple of years in Spain. Got offered the Ipswich (Championship) and Preston (L1) jobs in the off season. Asked for too much money from Ipswich so they turned me down and I turned down Preston as I was confident I could get a championship job at the very least. Enter Huddersfield a handful of games into the season sitting 23rd, got some work to do but hopefully it’ll be a huge step in the right direction.

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On 13/02/2021 at 09:14, Ewan0404 said:

A good challenge and an interesting read. 

Hopefully you can start climbing the leagues with Zamora. 

Thanks for reading man. Sorry to disappoint you haha. Hopefully I can bring you some good news from Huddersfield. 

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Season Nine

So season nine was an interesting one, after my time at Zamora I’ve now settled on playing 4231 which I continued at Huddersfield. My initial board objective was to avoid relegation, but with a good start to life in Huddersfield the board asked me if I’d like to change this in January. So with the pull of more money for wages I decided to opt for top half finish. Considering we’re Huddersfield and I’m still a bit of a nobody in the management world I found it hard to bring anyone worthwhile in. In hindsight I shouldn’t haven’t changed the board objective as I never even spent the money I got for changing it, but you live and learn. Anyway we finished 16th which I don’t think is too bad considering they were 23rd when I came in. Scored 74 goals and conceded 83 goals(worst in the league), can see where we need to improve next season haha. Had a nice run in the FA cup too, however my defensive game plan which worked against West Ham in the league didn’t have the same success in the cup sadly. Not sure whether or not Huddersfield will keep me on but we will see. Turns out I have another year on my contract haha (should probably read those contracts in more detail before accepting) and they’re going to keep me on it seems fingers crossed, aiming for the playoffs in season 10. 

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Edited by alvin14
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 23/02/2021 at 11:09, Polski97 said:

Gave the topic a follow. Ambitious plan you've got and already 10 years in ! 

 

Would be nice to see a bit more about the players you have and their development etc etc.

 

 

Thanks for your reply, yeah good point, I haven’t bothered with player development too much as I’ve been moving clubs quite a lot so player development hasn’t been my focus haha, apart from at Dorking I guess. But I can definitely start posting about players a little more from now for sure. 

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Season Ten

The deeper I go with this challenge the larger the task becomes haha. It’s tough to get the big jobs.

So season ten was actually a pretty good season, managed to finish in fourth place and ended up losing out to palace 3-2 in the championship playoff final after being 3-0 down early on. Also my aim was to concede less goals after the shambles of last year and we only conceded 51 which is a huge improvement on the 83 the previous season.

For the first time in my managerial career (on this save haha), I created 3 tactics which I would flick between dependant on the opponent. I usually do have 2/3, sometimes more but decided to go with something a little more subtle and hopefully more effective. Previous seasons they’ve been a little haphazard and ultra attacking or ultra defensive. I went with an attacking 433 as my most used, a 4231 with full backs pushing on more and an advanced playmaker behind the striker and then a 4141 for my more defensive one with a focus on shutting stronger sides out.

Used the loan market to good effect this year with Joey Lewis coming in from Man Utd on loan in goal, couple of decent centre backs in Liam Morrison and Michael Riley and Reece Telford who I brought in as a striker but ended up playing him as an inverted winger on the right and he was amazing. He did fill in up top too when required and did a great job. I’ve got a greatly named newgen who goes by the name of Barry Parry haha who does a great job in the advanced playmaker role and is attracting a lot of interest from other championship clubs. Made a great signing George Dobson from Boro in defensive midfield who was solid all season. Got a couple of nice youth intakes this year so see what they have to offer this year if I hang around.

Bit of a kick in the teeth being awarded biggest overachievers but I guess it’s a nice accolade nonetheless.

I was offered a couple of premier league jobs mid season, Newcastle and Burnley but neither really grabbed me. After the heartbreak of the playoffs I’ve been applying for jobs in all the top leagues and even some national jobs, especially as my transfer budget is just over £2 million. Yet to be offered a job so I may still be at Huddersfield come season eleven or I may not be, we’ll see.

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Season Eleven

So season eleven wasn’t too bad, but with limited funds it was proving tough to get much going. I decided to resign in the new year as time is running out and I wasn’t fully invested in Huddersfield. I was sitting in 14th when I left only 10 points when I left, so was on for a mid table finish. Reverted to conceding some goals again after not being able to get the centre backs in on loan again from the previous season, also couldn’t get Joey Lewis the keeper in again either. George Dobson again was my stand out player, a fantastic defensive midfielder.

In the summer of 2031 after being offered various lower league jobs I have been offered the opportunity to manage Southampton with a lovely budget of £70 million and a wage budget of £2 million. Alien territory this for me in this save, but now I can hopefully start making progress to the treble challenge. Looking forward to my first season in the prem especially as the squad looks pretty decent, especially the £76 million Joâo Pedro up top. Wish me luck.

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Season Twelve

Season Twelve was actually going ok, was sitting mid table which was what the board wanted and had brought some good youngsters in to build for the next couple of seasons. But then it all went wrong after a dip in form in the new year which resulted in the sack with only 9 games remaining of the season. The Sheffield United game shown below was the nail in the coffin! 

We brought in the most players in the summer transfer window totalling 11. We went with a 433 for most games, notable players which were already there included Ethan Ampadu playing as a ball playing centre back, Jude Bellingham as deep lying playmaker, Dwight McNeil as an inverted winger on the right and Joao Pedro as a complete forward. Players I bought didn’t make a huge impact, Lenz in goal was okay, Kovacs at centre back was okay and Juan Antonio in the half back position was also okay. Most other signings were squad players including Guendouzi and Van De Beek.

Well that’s another season of nothing, I’ve now got the Leicester job after 4 games of season 13, the task is getting harder and harder as each season goes by. The Leicester squad is not as strong as Southampton but I’ll see how I can ruin this squad haha. Nevertheless I’ll keep plugging away and see what I can do. I stuck with the 433. 4231 and 4141 I used at Huddersfield at Southampton too, maybe it’s time to look at something different and go a different route, let’s see.

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Season Thirteen

Someone stop the bleeding, what an awful season that was. Opted for a 4141 to try and be a bit more solid defensively and it just did not work. I think I won one game, which was against Arsenal the team I support weirdly haha.

Didn’t make any signings as I joined after the summer transfer window had closed and before the winter window had opened, Ndidi at 36 years old I think was good for me though as was Jarrod Bowen when he was fit or not suspended haha.

Not much really to report after this season, I left Leicester rooted to the bottom of the league at Christmas and didn’t get another job all season, was offered plenty but nothing that really grabbed me.

Nine games into the sky bet championship season I have now taken on the Newcastle job, they are currently sitting in 11th and have a transfer budget of £209 million, that’s what sucked me in haha. Board expectations are to win the league, so fingers crossed I can win only my second trophy in my already long and pretty dull career.

The last couple of seasons I have really found it hard to stay motivated for this save due to me being rubbish, but I set myself a challenge and I’m gonna go to the end even if I don’t win another trophy haha. My aim is now to at least try and win one treble with one club/country, at least haha!

I’m going to try and approach Newcastle differently, I don’t know how haha, but differently. Let’s set a target to get them into Europe in 5 years, hopefully sooner. Hopefully this is the start of something exciting. We’ll soon see. 

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Season Fourteen

Another sacking, oh dear. Took a while to get going as I joined after the transfer window and couldn’t strengthen the squad. Come January I brought some players in most notably goalkeeper Oliver Muller, four centre backs and young quick striker from Hull named Kosmas Paparentis. The new signings made a difference and we had a good run of form. Unfortunately this came a little too late, we squeezed into the playoffs on the last game of the season but unfortunately lost out on penalties to Watford in the semi finals of the playoffs.

Frustrating season as the board expectations were a lot for what was quite a weak squad when I joined, but I guess I knew what I was taking on.

On my way to Blackburn now in the premier league, been offered the opportunity to lift them from the bottom of the table 13 games in 4 points from safety. This should be good fun. 🤣😬

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’ve made a start with Blackburn and it’s not going bad to be fair.

However this challenge is harder than I anticipated and longer than I anticipated haha. So I’m taking a half time break, I’m doing another shorter challenge in between of course.

But thought it would be good to have a breather from getting sacked left, right and centre and just go and do the same on another save haha.

I will return soon to win some trebles! 😬🤣

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