FM23 5000-1 Challenge

[bombaleo]

Hello everyone! The original theme of the 5000-1 challenge has long been forgotten, so I decided to revive it to keep an updated record and reignite interest in Leicester City incredible success.

On May 4, 2008, Leicester City was relegated to the third tier of English football (League One) for the first time in its history. Yet, on May 2, 2016, the club won its first-ever Premier League championship title. Your task is to try and replicate, and if possible, surpass the seemingly impossible journey that Leicester embarked upon during these 8 seasons.

Rules
- Holiday to the 9th May 2023
- Create a manager with Continental B Licence and Professional Footballer (local level) experience (the expected for a league one manager)
- Take over the side that finished the first season 22nd in the Championship (Leicester finished 22nd in 2007-2008 with 52 points)
- You have 8 seasons to take the club from League One to the Premier League title
- You must spend no more than £95m (roughly the amount Leicester spent on transfers) across the 8 seasons
- 10 of Leicester’s Premier League title winning squad played for the club in the Championship. You should aim for similar (Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Jeffrey Schlupp, Andy King, Danny Drinkwater, Marcin Wasilewski, Liam Moore, Wes Morgan, Ritchie De Laet, Kasper Schmeichel).
- One player who was relegated with the club to League One must be registered to play for the club in all 8 seasons, you should aim to give them game time in your Premier League title winning campaign (in Leicester’s case Andy King was relegated to League One and remained an ever present in the squad, featuring in 25 Premier League games in Leicester’s title winning campaign).

Please post screenshots of the Championship league table on 9th May 2021, your manager's profile and evidence of any of the below accomplishments. As well as any updates you care to give as your season progresses.

Scoring (Historical achievements of Leicester are highlighted in blue):

Champions League win — +1000 points
Europa League win — +250 points
Europa Conference League win — +200 points
Premier League title win in seasons 3-7 — +1000 points
Premier League title win in season 8 — +500 points

League One player bonus:
+2000 if player relegated to League One features in 35+ Premier League games of title season
+1500 if … 30 Premier League games of title season
+1000 points if … 25 Premier League games of title season
+500 points if … 20 Premier League games of title season
+250 points if … 15 Premier League games of title season
+100 points if … 10 Premier League games of title season
+50 points if … 5 Premier League games of title season
+100 points for every game the player relegated to League One starts in the Premier League title campaign (Andy King started 9) — the player must not be subbed off in the first half unless injured for this to count.

Championship Team continuity bonus:
+2000 points if 20 players who won promotion from the Championship are registered in and play in the Premier League title winning season
+1500 points if 15
+1000 if 10
+500 if 5
+250 points for each player who played in the Championship and starts more than 10 league games in the Premier League title winning season (Leicester had 6, Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater and Jeffrey Schlupp)

Additional points:
FA Cup win — +250 points
League Cup win — +200 points
Championship title — +75 points
League One title — +25 points
EFL Trophy — +20 points
Relegation — -500 Points

Historical result of Leicester — 5000 points. Are you ready for this challenge? 

[bombaleo]

Score table

1st place — Leicester City IRL football club — 5000 points END

2st place — bombaleo (Blackpool) — 25 points LIVE

Edited May 29, 2023 by bombaleo

[bombaleo]

Let's begin! Simulating the season, I found myself assigned to Blackpool. I could have saved a few weeks until May 9th and see which other clubs could have been available, but that's for the weak. If you're interested, you can familiarize yourself with the club's history here.

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My manager profile:

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After partially examining the squad, I discovered that five players are guaranteed to leave the club: Curtis Nelson, Liam Bridcutt, CJ Hamilton, Keshi Anderson, and Shayne Lavery. Hamilton has already signed a pre-contract with Motherwell, while the rest do not wish to extend their contracts and will explore other career options. Three more players are uncertain as they are concerned about the team's relegation to League One: Marvin Ekpiteta, Jordan Gabriel, and Kenny Dougall. With these three, I will attempt to find common ground and retain them at the club. Additionally, all loaned players will depart.

Blackpool squad at the time of my appointment:

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Next, I will focus on setting up the coaching staff and the club as a whole. I will share the results of the first season and its key moments in the next post. I hope you will find this challenge as interesting as I do and keep me company

[jrobertgordon13]

Im going to attempt this challenge. I am a Leicester City Fan (pain intensifies), so hopefully I'm able to complete this!

Edited May 20, 2023 by jrobertgordon13
mispelling

[bombaleo]

В 20.05.2023 в 23:14, jrobertgordon13 сказал:

Im going to attempt this challenge. I am a Leicester City Fan (pain intensifies), so hopefully I'm able to complete this!

Welcome to the challenge! I look forward to seeing your initial results

[bombaleo]

It took me a while, but I finally completed the first season.

Key points of the 2023-24 season:

• In addition to players leaving by their own choice, I also had to further trim the squad to 22 players.
• Filling the gaps in certain positions proved to be much more challenging than initially anticipated.
• Aside from the squad gaps, there were also gaps to be filled in the coaching staff.
• All loan deals were free, with only salary compensation.
• We secured promotion and the League One championship title with four rounds to spare (+25 challenge points).
• We were knocked out of all cup competitions without achieving notable results.
• £375k was spent on transfers in the first season.
• At the end of their contracts, captain Marvin Ekpiteta left the club (not interested in contract renewal despite being a key player who would have been useful in the Championship), vice-captain Chris Maxwell (not good enough, didn't play a single match), and Gary Madine (useful in League One but not good enough for the Championship).
• The youth academy has been improved.
• I successfully completed the training for the Continental A License and immediately started courses for the Continental Pro License.

League One table:

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Squad stat:

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Transfers:

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It will be very challenging to immediately reach the Premier League, but nothing is impossible for us!

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[bombaleo]

Championship conquered! Blackpool is returning to the Premier League!

Main points of the 2024-25 season:

• In an attempt to strengthen the squad for the Championship, we made signings: Joseph Anang (free), Ben Thompson (free), Tyrese Campbell (free), Teden Mengi (free), Lewis Fiorini (loan), and Aji Alese (£2.5 million).
• The team had a mediocre preseason due to the large number of newcomers, requiring us to build new connections.
• We have one of the lowest wage bills among Championship teams at £195,000 per week.
• The club improved the youth academy for the second season in a row.
• Every league game felt like a Champions League final.
• We struggled around winter, as usual.
• We were successful in getting eliminated from cup competitions again.
• Towards the end of the season, we gained momentum and even entered the title race, but key injuries to our goalkeeper and striker before the decisive matches made the mission impossible. We settled for second place and direct promotion to the Premier League.
• The Championship was incredibly competitive, and I'm thrilled that we managed to secure promotion to the EPL right away.
• I successfully obtained the Continental Pro License.
• A total of £2.85 million has been spent in just two seasons.

Championship table:

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Squad stat:

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Transfers:

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I don't know yet if anyone will leave the club, if there will be new acquisitions, and so on. Most likely, the squad is not ready for Premier League football, and we will need to strengthen. Our achievement of swiftly passing through the Championship is incredible. I'm happy!

P.S. Is no one interested in this challenge? It's sad to play alone. ((

[bombaleo]

The first season in the English Premier League is behind us! Now, that's what I call football at its finest

Key points of the 2025-26 season:

• In an attempt to strengthen the squad, we signed Shandon Baptiste (£2 million), George Johnston (£1.4 million), Jay Matete (£4.2 million), and Emmanuel Longelo (£3.2 million).
• Just a few days before the start of the season, Matty Virtue suffered a cruciate ligament injury for the third time in his career, ruling him out for 8-10 months. We quickly signed Callum Styles (£2.7 million) as a replacement.
• We have the lowest wage bill in the league, with £500,000 per week.
• The club management decided once again to improve the youth academy.
• It is quite realistic to compete against mid-table teams with the current squad, but our chances are slim against the giants. Winning the Premier League, the challenge's goal, seems highly improbable
• During the winter transfer window, we attempted to strengthen the squad with the signings of Harrison Ashby (£4.9 million) and Daryl Dike (£13.5 million).
• Our wage bill increased to £625,000, but we still spend less than any other team in the league.
• Our winter results were honestly disappointing. The team slipped closer to the relegation zone.
• March was a month of lost confidence. If you've seen Chelsea's matches IRL this year, that's roughly the level of football my team has been displaying. The newcomers to the team haven't shown the level of play I expected.
• With eight rounds remaining in the championship, a string of injuries hit several players. We struggled to fill the substitute bench for matches.
• Nonetheless, we managed to retain our spot in the Premier League, finishing 12th overall. Not bad at all for our first season.
• In total, we've spent £33.85 million on transfers in three seasons.

EPL table:

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Squad stat:

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Transfers:

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I'm not sure yet how I'll strengthen the team, but it's definitely necessary. Perhaps I'll consider changing tactics...

[baller94]

Think I may do this as my final FM23 save. Hopefully a half decent Championship side has a terrible season.