The FM08 Career Thread

[darren1983]

Well now im upset. After not being able to play my game ocer the weekend due to other stuff going on, my game is now corrupt:( Cant even load up any of my old games. going to reinstall fm and hope that works. If it does think i'm gonna restart the dafuge challenge or maybe gundo's. I will keep reading how all guys are doing.

Good luck everyone

[polar249]

An update on my Bradford Career.

After suffering a 2-0 defeat away at Leicster City, I decided to purchase 3 new players. First of these was Sburlea, a romanian striker to bring some good finishing into my side. The next was Da Mota, on a free transfer, who would hopefully bring strength into my midfield. Finally, I purchased Andronic, to bring depth into my defence and to act as a potential replacement to the ageing David Wetherall.

The second friendly was a hard fought 2-1 victory, with Sburlea and Andronic opening their bradford accounts. Despite a strong performance from the Willy Topp - Sburlea partnership, fans were still unhappy with them. Mainly due to Sburlea announcing that he was using Bradford as a platform to get to bigger clubs.

Third friendly was at home to Sheffield Wednesday, due to an injury to Scott Loach, I had Ben Saynor in goal. This is where things started to fall apart. At the end of the match, I had conceded 6 goals, lost Andronic to a red card, and Da Mota picked up a 2 week injury.

After this match I decided to search for a parent club, luckily I got Manchester United as my parent, and they immediately sent 3 players on loan (Tom Heaton, Dong Fangzhuo, and Possebon).

This is my career so far, hopefully with these 3 loan players i'll be able to pull back from the defeats, and pull out some great victories. I'll start to post screenshots later on, as Im on my (crappy) laptop right now.

[BWZ_Tomek]

I've just got Man Utd as parent club (I had a choice of either them or Portsmouth). I've got my eye on a few of their youth players. What are the views on loaning players from clubs so far above me in the league structure? Would it be seen as unethical? I want to participate in this challenge as faithfully as possible.

[BWZ_Tomek]

Bump. Any thoughts would be appreciated, as I'm really anxious to continue playing (I've put the game on hold for now until I got a response) For example, I know in dafuge's challenge that sort of loaning was frowned upon...

[crouchaldinho]

BWZ Tomek, it depends how realistically you want to play I guess. In real life, Conf South and North clubs mainly loan from the lower divisions of football league (if at all).

The other thing is, it depends how easy you want the game to be. You will easily storm the division in your first season with a few loans from Manchester United!

I think this is something SI need to work on really because it is very unlikely that Premiership clubs would send their youngsters on loan to a semi-professional club. They are much more likely to loan to Championship or League One clubs.

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I think you would be better going for loans from local sides in the football league.

You might actually find that no Manchester United players will join you on loan anyway!

[Charlesbeams]

i think i remember seeing a few people loaning players from arsenal, so i dont see why not.

[BWZ_Tomek]

Thanks for the response, lads. I ran a test to see if they would come to me on loan, and they agreed. However, I've decided to make this challenge as realistic and difficult as possible, so I loaded up again and will refuse to take any of their players. The problem is, most of the players I've tried to loan from football league sides refuse to make the switch, and the future looks rather bleak as I've taken over a Hyde club that is in debt.

[crouchaldinho]

BWZ Tomek, I usually find that concentrating on trying to loan from local clubs is the key. They appear to be more likely to move to you if you are a local club to them.

[Charlesbeams]

i think im going to end up leaving Nublense before the season is over.

ive not been playing FM very much lately, and probably wont be until 09 is out maybe.

[Hammy1301]

Once i get my 3.0ghz dual core and some more ram, i'm gonna start one of these careers

I'm currently doing a little career thing with only England and Finland enabled (a sort of Paul Ince type career)

Joined Dag & Red, will see where it goes from there

[robbo3d]

Russia/Chelsea

Russia - European Championship Qualifying Group D- 2022-2023

Whilst still at Kuban, I was offered the Russian job and gladly accepted. The board wanted me to 'be competitive' but my knowledge of Russian players through my time at Kuban told me that we could do better. Our group was not a particularly hard one. France would likely be the main threat whilst Sweden, Norway and Maccedonia were all decent oppostion. Cyprus and Liechtenstein made up the group.

Things started off well with a comfortable win against Maccedonia. Next up was France and despite a valiant effort, we were defeated 5-3. From then, 3 wins over Norway, Liechtenstein and Cyprus put us top. This was due to an unexpected France loss against minnows Liechtenstein.

Three friendlies followed, and a win against Mexico was the only positive after defeats against England and Iran in the other two matches.

As the 2023 part if the qualifying campaign got underway, Sweden were proving to be major challengers. We could not find enough to beat them, eventually drawing 4-4. In what would be the crucial match of the campaign, we picked up a 3-1 win away to France and put ourselves i n pole position to qualify.

A 6-1 win over Norway and victories against Maccedonia and Liechtenstein meant we only needed one more win from our final two games to qualify. We won both and finished as group winners.

Key players:

Ovchinnikov

Kadushkin

Fedulov

Dubinin

Belousov

Mironov

We have been drawn against Czech Republic, Spain and Wales in the Euros and I expect this to be a tough group. Along with Scotland, Wales are hosts and Spain and Czech Republic are both strong sides.

[robbo3d]

Russia/Chelsea

Chelsea - Coca Cola Championship - 2023-2024

Media Prediction: 2nd

Transfer Budget: £15mill

Transfers

It was extremely hard to bring in players as I was trying to improve a team that was too good for the league. A few players had not renewed their contracts and would leave on frees and the chairman allowed others to go cheaply, thinking that what was offered was too good to turn down when in fact it was less than they were worth. Westall and Paredes left on frees and Lennon, Leeson and Crompton were sold off. Price and Ghidini also left before the transfer window shut.

With all these exits, the squad was bare for most of the season. I was unable to attract players good enough to make the step up to the Premiership so I made use of the Chelsea scouting system to find some promising youngsters from around the globe. Carbone, Sheffield, Pecelj, D'Andrea, Kinoshita, Sjoberg, Fioretti and Disu all joined relatively cheaply and hopefully some of them will turn out to be world beaters. As they were currently not good enough, they were all loaned out to get experience. Many did not have work permits so I made use of my feeder club Antwerp and sent them off to Belgium.

I did make some big money signings but these were probably not worth what I paid for them. The struggle to find good players meant I had to pay over the odds to sign them. Mackay and Castilla were brought in along with Mironov, the first choice goalkeeper for my Russian national side. A big disappointment was Rajkovic's inability to get a work permit. I agreed to sign him from former club Kuban but did not realise he did not get a permit so one of my biggest signings had to be loaned out for the season.

Transfers

League

Promotion always looked likely as we dominated the early stages. First game of the season was against my former club Macclesfield. No players remained from my time there and we came away with a 4-0 win. As the season progressed, despite my good form, we were not able to open up a gap at the top. Our home form was excellent and we were unbeaten all season at Stamford Bridge. Away from home, we were not so good. Despite having the 2nd best away record in the division, we lost 6 games and we never looked confident.

In 8 of the past 9 seasons, 85 points would have been enough to win the league. However, this year, Sheff Utds 85 points only got them 5th place. We stuttered towards the end of the season but our 98 points was enough for 2nd place, losing out on the title on goal difference.

Cups

League Cup: Quarter Finals (Knocked out by Leicester)

FA Cup: Semi Finals (Knocked out by Aston Villa)

We had a great run in both competitions, knocking out many Premiership teams on the way. The highlight of our league cup campaign was a massive 8-1 win against Premiership Champions Blackburn, once again showing our dominant home form.

In the FA Cup, we were unfortunate not to make the final, eventually losing out 7-6 to Aston Villa after extra time.

Summary

Job done as far as this season is concerned. Promotion was the only aim and this was achieved. However, next season does not look set to be a great one. A few players want to leave and we have an ageing team. Hopefully, a few players will get work permits, allowing us to have a bt of a larger squad. Another problem is finances. We are around £7million in debt and so I dont expect much of a transfer budget next season.

Squad

Last seasons aims

- Promotion - ACHIEVED

Next seasons aims

- Mid Table finish

- Reach the final of a cup

Career so far

2007-2008 Stafford Rangers BSP - 16th (Took over in March)

2008-2009 Stafford Rangers BSP - 12th

2009-2010 Stafford Rangers BSP - 13th

2010-2011 Macclesfield BSP - 4th (Took over in October, beaten in playoff semi)

2011-2012 Macclesfield BSP - 2nd (Playoff winners)

2012-2013 Macclesfield League 2 - 15th

2013-2014 Macclesfield League 2 - 22nd

2014-2015 Macclesfield League 2 - 2nd (Promoted)

2015-2016 Macclesfield League 1 - 16th

2016-2017 Macclesfield League 1 - 12th

2017-2018 Macclesfield League 1 - 10th

2018-2019 Macclesfield League 1 - 1st (Promoted as Champions)

2019 Kuban Russian First Division - 2nd (Took over in August, Promoted)

2020 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 3rd (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2021 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022-2023 Chelsea English Premiership - 20th (Took over in March, relegated)

2022-2023 Russia European Championship Qualifying Group D - 1st (Qualified for EURO 2024)

2023-2024 Chelsea English Championship - 2nd (Promoted)

Honours

2010 Setanta Shield Winners (Stafford)

2012 BSP Playoff Winners (Macclesfield)

2015 Coca Cola League 2 Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2015 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2016 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2018 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2019 Coca Cola League 1 Winners (Macclesfield)

2019 Russian First Division Runners Up (Kuban)

2021 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2021 Russian Cup Winners (Kuban)

2022 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2024 Coca Cola Championship Runners Up (Chelsea)

[Charlesbeams]

left Nublense, and went back to Brazil.

Sao Raimundo EC

[robbo3d]

Russia/Chelsea

Russia - Euro 2024

I went in to the tournament with no pressure to do well. Our odds of 40/1 reflected what little chance we were thought to have. However, we had no injury worries ahead of the tournament and I was able to select my first choice squad.

Squad

European Championship Group B

Our campaign got underway with a 2-1 defeat to Spain. We were second best throughoit the match and in truth were lucky to keep it this close. This meant we had to get results against Czech republic and Wales. First up were the Czechs and we cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win. This set up a showdown with Wales with the winners qualifying for the next round. Due to my superior goal difference, a draw would see us through. A great start saw us 3-0 up by half time. However, Wales pulled it back to 3-2 and looked the more likely to score until the final minutes when two more Russian goals made it 5-2.

Quarter Final

We were drawn against Greece in a kind quarter final draw and a comfortable 3-1 win saw us through to the semi's.

Semi Final

We were then drawn against much tougher opposition in Italy. They raced to a 2-0 lead before Ivanov and Ovchinnikov pulled it level by half time. Another Ovchinnikov goal early in the 2nd half was enough for a 3-2 win. We were through to the final, exceeding all expectations.

Final

It was all looking so good as we took the lead after 45 seconds. Kuprins 6th minute sending off was extremely worrying but we scored again to give us a 2-0 lead. Portugal pulled one back before half time but another Russian goal made it 3-1 after 53 minutes. Portugal then pulled it back again after a 70th minute goal but as the game entered the final minutes, we still led 3-2. Portugal then got a corner in injury time and threw everyone forward, including the keeper. The keeper may have failed to find the net but midfielder Jorge Augusto did, breaking Russian hearts in the process.

In extra time, Portugals extra man gave them a clear advantage as the Russian players tired. It was still 3-3 at the break but two Portugal goals in the second period gave them the win.

Summary

We exceeded all expectations but the competition seems like a failure. We were a minute away from winning it and it is gutting to come away as runners up. After the final, I resigned as Russia manager, feeling I had took them as far as I could and wanting to concentrate on Chelsea.

[rfcabd]

Hey guys.

Just started a save with Deportivo of Spain. Only because they once used to be a big club and have dropped down, i don't think it helps that i have never managed in Spain. I will let you guys know how i get on after a few friendlies and my signings.

[robbo3d]

Chelsea - English Premier Division - 2024-2025

Media Prediction: 17th

Transfer Budget: £10.4mill

Transfers

Again, I found it hard to bring in big name players and so adopted a policy of bringing in young players and trying to develop them into first team stars. I was confident that the team that won us promotion would be enough to keep us up anyway so I was able to concentrate on building for the future. However, many of these players would be thrown into the first team earlier than expected as chairman Roman Abramovich decided to sell off five key members of the first team squad without consulting me. Mullan, Binder, Tuan, Sydorenko and Eliyahu were the players allowed to leave.

Further disappointment lay ahead as key players Rajkovic and Pecelj were again refused work permits despite being regulars for their international sides. I then made a further mistake, spending over six million on Al-Jasim only for him not to get a work permit.

Of the other signings, Castro and Alves were undoubtably the key players. Their goals would prove crucial this season. The other notable signing was Hector Heinze, signed as a replacement defender. A number of young players were also signed to strengthen the squad and hopefully form the basis of my first team in years to come.

Transfers

League

After so many changes to the team, the opening games were always going to be a struggle. A number of young players were to become first team regulars earlier than expected as last years signings Sheffield, Sjoberg and D'Andrea all were forced into the starting eleven. One point from the first three games was a worrying start as the youngsters struggled to cope. An average age of just 21 is promising for the future but I knew myself that a few of the players weren't quite ready for Premiership football.

However, things turned around and a superb run of form saw us reach 4th place in December. Despite a young, inexperienced team, we were playing good football and picking up results. Our good form continued and we even reached 2nd at one stage. We were never involved in a title race as Newcastle walked the league but Champions League qualification was a real possibility.

In the end, it wasnt to be. A run of one win in five games knocked us out of the top four and we fnished the season in 5th, qualifying for the EURO Cup.

Cups

League Cup: 3rd Round (Knocked out by Doncaster)

FA Cup: Final (Beaten by Arsenal)

The less said about the league cup, the better. A penalty shootout defeat to Doncaster knocked us out in the 3rd round.

Moving swiftly on, our FA Cup run was superb, beating Spurs, Fulham, Everton and Bolton to get to the semis. We were then drawn against Championship side Cardiff and a 3-1 win saw us reach the final. Unfortunately, we would go away disappointed as a 1-0 defeat meant we missed out on the trophy.

Summary

A very promising season. I have built for the future and never expected to do so well so soon. If we are good enough to finish 5th now, the next few years could see us do a lot better. With a few good signings, I wouldnt be surprised if we competed for the title, though I will be happy with Champions League qualification next season.

Squad

Last seasons aims

- Mid Table finish - ACHIEVED

- Reach the final of a cup - ACHIEVED

Next seasons aims

- Qualify for the Champions League

- Reach the Quarters of the EURO Cup

- Reach a domestic cup final

Career so far

2007-2008 Stafford Rangers BSP - 16th (Took over in March)

2008-2009 Stafford Rangers BSP - 12th

2009-2010 Stafford Rangers BSP - 13th

2010-2011 Macclesfield BSP - 4th (Took over in October, beaten in playoff semi)

2011-2012 Macclesfield BSP - 2nd (Playoff winners)

2012-2013 Macclesfield League 2 - 15th

2013-2014 Macclesfield League 2 - 22nd

2014-2015 Macclesfield League 2 - 2nd (Promoted)

2015-2016 Macclesfield League 1 - 16th

2016-2017 Macclesfield League 1 - 12th

2017-2018 Macclesfield League 1 - 10th

2018-2019 Macclesfield League 1 - 1st (Promoted as Champions)

2019 Kuban Russian First Division - 2nd (Took over in August, Promoted)

2020 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 3rd (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2021 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022-2023 Chelsea English Premiership - 20th (Took over in March, relegated)

2022-2023 Russia European Championship Qualifying Group D - 1st (Qualified for EURO 2024)

2023-2024 Chelsea English Championship - 2nd (Promoted)

2024-2025 Chelsea English Premiership - 5th (Qualified for EURO Cup)

Honours

2010 Setanta Shield Winners (Stafford)

2012 BSP Playoff Winners (Macclesfield)

2015 Coca Cola League 2 Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2015 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2016 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2018 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2019 Coca Cola League 1 Winners (Macclesfield)

2019 Russian First Division Runners Up (Kuban)

2021 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2021 Russian Cup Winners (Kuban)

2022 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2024 Coca Cola Championship Runners Up (Chelsea)

2024 Euro 2024 Runners Up (Russia)

2025 FA Cup Runners Up (Chelsea)

[robbo3d]

Looks like I might be the only one still posting on here but I'll keep going anyway.

Chelsea - English Premier Division - 2025-2026

Media Prediction: 7th

Transfer Budget: £24.5mill

Transfers

A very quiet season for transfers. Alain Martin was allowed to leave on a free when his contract expired - removing £105,000 from the wage bill.

The only signing was youngster Jason West. Whilst not yet good enough for the first team, hopefully he can improve and until then he provides adequate backup in a number of positions.

However, the big news was that Djorge Rajkovic was finally give a work permit in January and I was able to recall him from Antwerp, giving us another option in attack.

Transfers.

League

Our league form was consistantly good throughout the season and we spent most of the campaign in the top 4. We always looked in with a shot at the title but a 2-4 defeat to Blackburn left us 9 points behind leaders Liverpool with 5 games to go. Arsenal were the other team involved, third with a game in hand.

At this crucial stage, results started to go my way. Wins against Sunderland, Aston Villa and Preston closed the gap as Liverpool only managed 2 points from 9. With 2 games to go, Liverpool still led by 2 points and Arsenal were a further point behind. Wins all around in the penultimate round of games meant the title would go to the final day. Three teams had a chance to be champions.

Arsenal did all they could, winning 4-0 against Man Utd but they had to rely on Liverpool losing and us dropping points. I took an early lead against Birmingham but it wouldnt be enough if Liverpool won. We had a better goal difference so if relegated Preston could get a point and we could hang on, we would be Champions. Preston took the lead and it was all going well. As the clock ran down, it remained 1-0 in both games. Liverpool managed to equalise at Preston but the match finished 1-1. At St Andrews, we were still a goal up and managed to hold on to become Champions!

Cups

League Cup: 3rd Round (Knocked out by Southend)

FA Cup: 3rd Round (Knocked out in a replay by Cardiff)

EURO Cup: 2nd Knockout Round (Knocked out by Blackburn)

The cups did not provide the same success as the league and we made early exits in both the league and FA Cups. In Europe, we advanced from the group stages, beating the likes of PSV and Empoli. We then beat Ankaragucu before meeting Blackburn. A 3-0 first leg defeat meant we had little chance to progress. We won the 2nd leg 2-1 but it wasnt enough.

Summary

The team is getting better and better. With only one signing this season, we were able to win the league. We have money for transfers but I am reluctant to spend big as the team is good enough and young enough to get better. Our squad is quite small but that is due to quite a few players being out on loan to get work permits. I will look to bring in a few more youngsters to add depth but I think the basis of this team is good enough to win things for years to come.

Squad

Last seasons aims

- Qualify for the Champions League - ACHIEVED

- Reach the Quarters of the EURO Cup - FAILED

- Reach a domestic cup final - FAILED

Next seasons aims

- Win the League

- Reach the Champions League Quarters

- Reach the final of a cup

Career so far

2007-2008 Stafford Rangers BSP - 16th (Took over in March)

2008-2009 Stafford Rangers BSP - 12th

2009-2010 Stafford Rangers BSP - 13th

2010-2011 Macclesfield BSP - 4th (Took over in October, beaten in playoff semi)

2011-2012 Macclesfield BSP - 2nd (Playoff winners)

2012-2013 Macclesfield League 2 - 15th

2013-2014 Macclesfield League 2 - 22nd

2014-2015 Macclesfield League 2 - 2nd (Promoted)

2015-2016 Macclesfield League 1 - 16th

2016-2017 Macclesfield League 1 - 12th

2017-2018 Macclesfield League 1 - 10th

2018-2019 Macclesfield League 1 - 1st (Promoted as Champions)

2019 Kuban Russian First Division - 2nd (Took over in August, Promoted)

2020 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 3rd (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2021 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022-2023 Chelsea English Premiership - 20th (Took over in March, relegated)

2022-2023 Russia European Championship Qualifying Group D - 1st (Qualified for EURO 2024)

2023-2024 Chelsea English Championship - 2nd (Promoted)

2024-2025 Chelsea English Premiership - 5th (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2025-2026 Chelsea English Premiership - 1st (Champions)

Honours

2010 Setanta Shield Winners (Stafford)

2012 BSP Playoff Winners (Macclesfield)

2015 Coca Cola League 2 Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2015 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2016 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2018 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2019 Coca Cola League 1 Winners (Macclesfield)

2019 Russian First Division Runners Up (Kuban)

2021 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2021 Russian Cup Winners (Kuban)

2022 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2024 Coca Cola Championship Runners Up (Chelsea)

2024 Euro 2024 Runners Up (Russia)

2025 FA Cup Runners Up (Chelsea)

2026 English Premiership Winners (Chelsea)

[Gazza D]

i have started a new game, so i decided to take part in the career thread

Manager Profile: Gaz Davies

[robbo3d]

Good luck, got a job yet?

[MavReck]

I have started a new game which i plan to keep until fm09

i have started off with Sunday League past experience

Leagues Loaded: All From: England, Spain, Belgium, France, Scotland, Italy, Germany

Manager Profile

[robbo3d]

GazzaD and ReckyD, are you twins or something? Same date of birth in manager profiles and same surname so I assume you are related. Confused me anyway.

Good luck to both of you anyway.

[Alurny]

I have gone on holiday, with automatic reputation.

Leagues included are:

England - League 2

Spain - Division 2

Italy - Division 2

Waiting for a job now

[LCFC]

Brilliant posts robbo3d; lol at Alain Martin going from £105,000 a week to under £5k. What leagues do you have loaded? I've not managed to have a long career (game) in this years version but it one of my aims for 09!

[MavReck]

GazzaD and ReckyD, are you twins or something? Same date of birth in manager profiles and same surname so I assume you are related. Confused me anyway.

Good luck to both of you anyway.

Yeah we are twins

[robbo3d]

Brilliant posts robbo3d; lol at Alain Martin going from £105,000 a week to under £5k. What leagues do you have loaded? I've not managed to have a long career (game) in this years version but it one of my aims for 09!

Cheers, got England, Italy, Spain, Russia and Turkey (all leagues) loaded. Wanted more but my laptop wouldnt be able to handle it once I got 20 years in. Its going a little slow now with just those leagues running.

Midway through my next season. Turned down the Holland and England jobs to concentrate on Chelsea, though I would love to manage England later in my career. As I am quite happy with my team, I used this season to completely revamp my youth squad, releasing a lot of players that were not up to it and bringing in new scouts to find the best youngsters around. Its looking good at the moment and the coach reports for over half of my u18 squad now say that they have the potential to become a leading Premiership player! Whether you believe the coaches is another thing but its looking good anyway.

As for Alain Martin, I cant believe he's finally gone. He was never worth 105k a week. I had the assistant sorting out contracts, needless to say I dont anymore!

[MavReck]

Me and My brother are going to start this again as i can't get a job with Sunday League reputation, so going up to Semi-Pro

[robbo3d]

It tends to take a while. Most havent got a job on sunday league rep til february. Best thing is to go on holiday and click the appropriate job boxes (apply for jobs, return when offered).

[robbo3d]

Chelsea - English Premier Division - 2026-2027

Media Prediction: 2nd

Transfer Budget: £23.5mill

Transfers

This season saw a lot of players leave the club, though none were of any decent standard. The majority were unwanted youth and reserve players who I deemed would not ever cut it in the Premiership.

I was happy with the team that won us the title last season so only made one signing for the first team squad - Mohammed Abdullah joined from my old club Kuban and became a first team regular midway through the season.

Another 18 players were signed to replace the outgoing youth and reserve players. With quite a large transfer and wage budget and not wanting to spend a lot on the first team, I decided to hire the best scouts I could find and search for the best youth players available. With the Champions League (hopefully) set to become a regular competition, quality 'homegrown' players are needed so signing the best youngsters available should mean we have no problems there. I much prefer to sign young players and bring them through to the first team than splash out millions on the best players around and I felt now was the time to set up decent youth and reserve squads

Transfers

Outside the first team

The overhaul of the U18s and reserve teams obviously had an affect as both sides won their respective leagues and the U18s won the U18 cup to secure the double.

Reserve Squad

Reserves Table

U18 Squad

U18's Table

League

After last season, I was expecting great things from the side and I was extremely confident that the league would be won without too many problems. After a strong first half of the season, I topped the table with 23 games played. Then it all went wrong. 2 points from 5 games dropped us to 4th in the table and despite a late run, we could not improve our postion and finished in an extremely poor 4th.

Cups

League Cup: Winners (Beat Liverpool in Final)

FA Cup: 4th Round (Knocked out by Aston Villa)

Champions League: Winners (Beat Arsenal in Final)

The disappointment of the league campaign was not evident in the cups. We comfortably won the league cup without much trouble, beating Liverpool 3-0 in the final.

The highlight of our season though, was the champions league. In the group stages, we were drawn against Valencia, Celtic and PSG and qualified with 5 wins from 6. From there, we were comfortable 8-2 aggregate winners against Cagliari in the 1st Knockout Round and 4-2 winners against Aston Villa in the Quarters. The Semi Final saw us face Sporting CP and despite losing the first leg 2-1, a 3-0 2nd leg win put us in the final.

The final was to be a clash of arguably Englands top 2 teams. I would face Arsenal, the league champions in what would coincidently be my 1000th game as a manager. A truly entertaining match saw us come from a goal behind to lead with just 8 minutes left, only for Arsenal to equalize and send it into extra time. Despite taking the lead again, Arsenal scored in the 118th minute to take it to penalties. Arsenal missed their first three but we weren't much better and only won when Arsenal missed their final penalty. Despite failure in the league, we were Champions of Europe!

Summary

As a club, we are in a position where we could begin to dominate English football. We have the staff, the youth and reserve teams, the finances, the fan base and the players to do it. We may have had a bad season in the league this year but I only see us getting better. Anything less than the title this season is a failure and I will be going all out to win a treble!

Squad

Last seasons aims- Win the League - FAILED

- Reach the Champions League Quarters - ACHIEVED

- Reach the final of a cup - ACHIEVED

Next seasons aims

- Win the League

- Reach the Champions League Semi Finals

- Win a cup

Career so far

2007-2008 Stafford Rangers BSP - 16th (Took over in March)

2008-2009 Stafford Rangers BSP - 12th

2009-2010 Stafford Rangers BSP - 13th

2010-2011 Macclesfield BSP - 4th (Took over in October, beaten in playoff semi)

2011-2012 Macclesfield BSP - 2nd (Playoff winners)

2012-2013 Macclesfield League 2 - 15th

2013-2014 Macclesfield League 2 - 22nd

2014-2015 Macclesfield League 2 - 2nd (Promoted)

2015-2016 Macclesfield League 1 - 16th

2016-2017 Macclesfield League 1 - 12th

2017-2018 Macclesfield League 1 - 10th

2018-2019 Macclesfield League 1 - 1st (Promoted as Champions)

2019 Kuban Russian First Division - 2nd (Took over in August, Promoted)

2020 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 3rd (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2021 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022 Kuban Russian Premier Division - 1st (Champions)

2022-2023 Chelsea English Premiership - 20th (Took over in March, relegated)

2022-2023 Russia European Championship Qualifying Group D - 1st (Qualified for EURO 2024)

2023-2024 Chelsea English Championship - 2nd (Promoted)

2024-2025 Chelsea English Premiership - 5th (Qualified for EURO Cup)

2025-2026 Chelsea English Premiership - 1st (Champions)

2026-2027 Chelsea English Premiership - 4th (Qualified for Champions League)

Honours

2010 Setanta Shield Winners (Stafford)

2012 BSP Playoff Winners (Macclesfield)

2015 Coca Cola League 2 Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2015 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2016 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2018 JPT Runners Up (Macclesfield)

2019 Coca Cola League 1 Winners (Macclesfield)

2019 Russian First Division Runners Up (Kuban)

2021 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2021 Russian Cup Winners (Kuban)

2022 Russian Premier Division Winners (Kuban)

2024 Coca Cola Championship Runners Up (Chelsea)

2024 Euro 2024 Runners Up (Russia)

2025 FA Cup Runners Up (Chelsea)

2026 English Premiership Winners (Chelsea)

2027 English League Cup Winners (Chelsea)

2027 European Champions League Winners (Chelsea)

[crouchaldinho]

Chelsea - English Premier Division - 2026-2027

The final was to be a clash of arguably Englands top 2 teams. I would face Arsenal, the league champions in what would coincidently be my 1000th game as a manager. A truly entertaining match saw us come from a goal behind to lead with just 8 minutes left, only for Arsenal to equalize and send it into extra time. Despite taking the lead again, Arsenal scored in the 118th minute to take it to penalties. Arsenal missed their first three but we weren't much better and only won when Arsenal missed their final penalty. Despite failure in the league, we were Champions of Europe!

Does it get much better than winning a Champions League final in your 1000th game as manager?!

How absolutely class is that?

Great career - Keep up the good work!

[Gazza D]

i am in February yet to get a job, i turned down an early chance to get into management as i didn't want to start off as Stranraer as my brother started a career with them

[Gazza D]

Tuesday 4th March, Gaz Davies becomes the new manager of Cambridge city Manager Profile

Cambridge City are currrntly in 16th position

[Chirpin]

Alright im gonna start this again. Loading all leagues from Australia, England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Starting with a semi-proffesional reputation so ill update in a minute when i get a job.

[Chirpin]

Im now the manager of Unterhachind in the German South 2nd Division. I would give a link to my profile but i dont know how to post them on this site. I knew how to on the other but yeah...

http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=profileatstartofcareerbu6.png

EDIT: That should be it up there.

[LCFC]

Does it get much better than winning a Champions League final in your 1000th game as manager?!

How absolutely class is that?

Great career - Keep up the good work!

Haha thats exactly what I was thikning when I read it.

Congratulations on the Cup wins Robbo3d and good luck this season!

[Villa-Joe]

Nice to see You Going Well Robbo, its LolleyJ! Been a while!

Now, shall i start one of these up again?

[threelions1goal]

Ok

Taking a break from the Dafuge Challenge, I've been reading posts in this thread for a few days and decided to give it a go - well, until around mid November anyway!!

Loaded up the following leagues to the following levels (a combination of the 'norm' and what my PC could handle)

England - League 2

Scotland - Division 3

Italy - Serie C1

Argentina - Division 2

Brazil - Division 2

Chile - League 1B

(I think they are the names of the lowest South American Leagues off the top of my head!!)

I set my reutation as Semi-Pro and then holidayed......

I was offered the Stranraer job after afew days, but I fancied starting in South America, with Chile being my preference after reading the "fun" that other poster had had there.

Lo and Behold, I was made up when this offer Dropped into my inbox......

Currently 18th in the closing stage of the Division 1 season

Board wants an established position in the division by the end of 2 years.

My AssMan is confident it can be achieved.

Potentialy, compared to some who have started careers on here, I have landed on my feet, time will tell..................

[darren1983]

Well done on the tittle Robbo

[seanefc]

Just started this...

Ive made several attempts at career games before, but they have never really lasted that long.

Had about a million goes at 'evertonblokes challenge' which basicly involves trying to win every competition in the game above domestic level, i.e. CL, UEFA Cup, Libertadoros, Sudamericana + North American/Asian and African equivilents + all international competitions. Never really stuck with it though....

Ive started unemployed as a Kyrgystani/Uzbek manager, with a semi-pro reputation.

several job offers already, teams in the 2nd tier in China, Korea, Bulgaria, Hungary, Mexico and Russia...

(on a side note, i was quite supprised to get any offers, i tryed starting unemployed a few days ago with a PROFESSIONAL reputation, and got virtually no job offers!, until randomly i was offerred the Nigeria job! - is it possible that having too high a reputation actually puts smaller clubs off ofering you a job? possibly think they couldnt afford the wages or something? (patch 8.0.2))

[robbo3d]

Cheers everyone, it was great to win the Champs League but in my 1000s game meant it was even better! I started the next season and was offered the Juventus job. They won Serie A last season and I seriously considered it before turning it down. Maybe I should have taken it as my time at Chelsea is getting a bit stale so I am taking a break from the game. Havent had much time anyway. I'll probably do something completely different for a bit and then come back to that save in a bit.

Good luck to everyone just starting a career game.

[seanefc]

a quick post that may be of interest...

i took over at Hohhot Heima in the chinese first division...

i quickly realised my mistake when i looked in their reserve team to find that 9 players have global 12 month bans!!

god knows what they did!!!

anyway, i am reloading and looking for a slightly less crazy job

[seanefc]

Got my first job!

Its a team ive managed before, Ansan Hallelujah in the Korean N-League

very attractive due to the large transfer budget, and the fact that it seems pretty easy to pick off very good players from other N-League teams for little money!

A high-ish standard to start with i suppose, but it should be a fun challange (how can anyone not enjoy managing a team started by christian missionarys, and playing against the likes of Kookmin Bank, Korea Railroad & and the fantastic 'Daejon Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power' club!)

[jams1234]

After reading this thread through, I reckon I might start a game when I finish my current Man City one, as a career game would be long term seeing as I can't play 09 cos it's not coming out on 360!

[smithers08]

Going to give this another try , unemployed with sunday league rep , england and scotland leagues loaded on large db

[ToMexico!!]

Loaded up my best FM08 game ever again..returned to the mighty Frankfurt/England Manager save...to remind you all i've knocked up this table to show you my manager progression.

Season       Team                     League                        Finished          Achievements/Other
07/08        Nk Krka                  Slovenian Second Division     1st               Promotion
08/09        Nk Krka                  Slovenian First Division      -                 Resigned 6 games into the season
08/09        Aschaffenburg            German Regional North         -                 Resigned After 1 Day
08/09        FC Eschborn              German Regional West          11th  
09/10        FC Eschborn              German Regional West          7th               Resigned At the End of the Season
10/11        Gratkorn                 Austrian First Division       5th                
11/12        Gratkorn                 Austrian First Division       2nd               Champions/Promoted
12/13        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          1st               Qualified for Europe through Fair Play
13/14        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          9th          
14/15        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          2nd
15/16        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          1st               Champions
16/17        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          1st               Champions/Austrian Super Cup Winners
17/18        Gratkorn                 Austrian Premier Div          -                 Austrian Super Cup Winners/Took over at Juventus
17/18        Juventus                 Serie A                       1st               Champions/Champions League Winners
18/19        Juventus                 Serie A                       1st               Champions/European Super Cup Winners
19/20        Juventus                 Serie A                       2nd               Resigned
20/21        Cesena                   Serie B                       -                 Resigned
20/21        Frankfurt                Bundesliga                    2nd                
21/22        Frankfurt                Bundesliga                    1st               Champions/German Cup Winners
22/23        Frankfurt                Bundesliga                    1st               Champions/German Cup Winners/Champions League Winners
23/24        Frankfurt                Bundesliga                    1st               Champions/German Cup Winners/Champions League Winners
                                                                                     World Club Champions/European Super Cup Winners
24/25        Frankfurt                Bundesliga

Not included National teams in this of which i have managed Czech Republic/Greece and currently England.

All in all i've won 9 League Titles, 14 Cups in 776games with 458wins/170Draws and 148 Losses.

[ToMexico!!]

Gah broke the page. Sowi

[Proccy]

Right at long last, here is my Istres season update. I have only recently started playing again after the thought of FM09 stopped me, so this report may not be as thorough as it should be.

Istres/Ghana 2014/2015

Well promotion was expected from Ligue 2 Orange from me this year as the very least from the board. I bought an awful lot of players in, which really broke the wage budget and put the club's finances in jeopardy. The players were of a decent standard though, the pick of those being: Valery Mezague, Charles Kabore, Malik Courturier, Arnar Forsund, Aime Lavie, Mourir Diane and Cedric Faure. These players all turned out to be real fixtures in the side towards the end of the season, with Mezague winning 3rd place in Player Of The Year.

So, to the league, and we got off to a very bright start, playing good football and, more importantly, getting results. We found ourselves in the top 3 promotion spots for most of the season, and never really looked like budging. It looked for a long time that we would be crowned champions, but Chateauroux got some important wins while we stuttered and they won the title, while we took 2nd place, despite struggling to score goals and win games towards the end.

However, I alreadyy know that my spell at Istres is about to come to an end. My contract is up at the end of the season and I've already turned down one contract offer from the club. But why? I here you ask. Well, a number of the players I brought in came in on one-year contracts, and we simply didn't have the finance to renew their contracts. From the list above, Lavie, Faure and Diane are all on their way as well as many others. So, basically, I know we'd get slaughtered in the top division of French football. The coward's way out, I know, but I know I'm making the right decision for my career. Plus, I've already been linked to a number of high-profile jobs, such as Lyon, Bordeaux, Rangers and recently relegated Man City (whose finances are INSECURE!!). So, I'm hoping to get a decent job when I leave.

Ghana

With Ghana, I have just begun qualifying for the African Nations and my group is:

COMOROS

GHANA

GABON

UGANDA

Not much to say about this, apart from the fact that I have won all my games so far with 2 to play. So, I'm looking very good to qualify barring a miracle. Incidentally, I just beat Comoros at home 5-2 and I got the news item afterwards saying '5-2 win not good enough for Ghana fans'!! We are now ranked 15th in the world. I couldn't believe it when I saw it but Portugal under Jose Mourinho are ranked 22nd!!

Anyway, I'm done, so thanks for reading

[paul _reiid]

after reading all this i decided to join torquay im top by 2 points in march and have 2 games in hand im in the final of the setanta shield and fa trophy wish me luck on a treble

[blowcrapup]

I'm going to start a career game up later tonight after my failed go at JoseRR's challenge. I don't know what leagues I'm going to load yet but I've decided not to use real players. I'll let you know details when I start.

[blowcrapup]

Have started my game.

Loaded leagues

Austria - First Div up

Belguim - Thrid Div up

England - League 2 up

France - National up

Germany - 3rd Div up

Holland - First Div up

Italy - Serie B up

Mexico - Both Leagues

Portugal - Vitalis up

Spain - BBVA up

Turkey - first div up

USA - MLS

I'm not using real players for added interest and I'm using a small DB to speed it up. I'll update when I get a job.

[Proccy]

Right at long last, here is my Istres season update. I have only recently started playing again after the thought of FM09 stopped me, so this report may not be as thorough as it should be.

Istres/Ghana 2014/2015

Well promotion was expected from Ligue 2 Orange from me this year as the very least from the board. I bought an awful lot of players in, which really broke the wage budget and put the club's finances in jeopardy. The players were of a decent standard though, the pick of those being: Valery Mezague, Charles Kabore, Malik Courturier, Arnar Forsund, Aime Lavie, Mourir Diane and Cedric Faure. These players all turned out to be real fixtures in the side towards the end of the season, with Mezague winning 3rd place in Player Of The Year.

So, to the league, and we got off to a very bright start, playing good football and, more importantly, getting results. We found ourselves in the top 3 promotion spots for most of the season, and never really looked like budging. It looked for a long time that we would be crowned champions, but Chateauroux got some important wins while we stuttered and they won the title, while we took 2nd place, despite struggling to score goals and win games towards the end.

However, I alreadyy know that my spell at Istres is about to come to an end. My contract is up at the end of the season and I've already turned down one contract offer from the club. But why? I here you ask. Well, a number of the players I brought in came in on one-year contracts, and we simply didn't have the finance to renew their contracts. From the list above, Lavie, Faure and Diane are all on their way as well as many others. So, basically, I know we'd get slaughtered in the top division of French football. The coward's way out, I know, but I know I'm making the right decision for my career. Plus, I've already been linked to a number of high-profile jobs, such as Lyon, Bordeaux, Rangers and recently relegated Man City (whose finances are INSECURE!!). So, I'm hoping to get a decent job when I leave.

Ghana

With Ghana, I have just begun qualifying for the African Nations and my group is:

COMOROS

GHANA

GABON

UGANDA

Not much to say about this, apart from the fact that I have won all my games so far with 2 to play. So, I'm looking very good to qualify barring a miracle. Incidentally, I just beat Comoros at home 5-2 and I got the news item afterwards saying '5-2 win not good enough for Ghana fans!! We are now ranked 15th in the world. I couldn't believe it when I saw it but Portugal under Jose Mourinho are ranked 22nd!!

Anyway, I'm done, so thanks for reading

In response, my new job is at Birmingham City, recently relegated from the Prem and favourites for promotion. From what I can see, we have a decent side here, especially in the strikeforce, with Arturo Lupoli, Dave Nugent, Garry O'Connor and Andrew Keogh. Plus, we have some veteran ex-Prem foreigners in Khalid Boulharouz, Mathieu Flamini and Albert Riera. So far I have played 2 friendlies, beating Wolfsburg at home 2-1 and beating AGOVV of Holland 4-0 away.

EDIT- I forgot to mention that Birmingham are in the UEFA Cup despite being relegated also!! Also, I have almost finished my friendlies, beating De Graafschap away 5-2 and Eindhoven away 6-0. My final friendly is away to PSV!!