[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

1 hour ago, WhiteCat33 said:

@jstu9 it is how I denote I am including the Weak Foot bonus to Current Ability. The reason I calculate it both ways is how massive of a Current Ability boost WF can give to certain positions. Weak Foot is on a scale of 1-20 like every other attribute even though it shows up as a description in game.

Oh wow, that's cool. Thank you for the explanation. I'm going to go explore your sheets now.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

@WhiteCat33What's CA_WF? CA is current ability but what is the WF?

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2035, Fiji, CHALLENGE COMPLETE!

I posted previously my Champions League victory, but I decided to complete the season. So here is the rest of the season and my wrap-up to my career here. (Now I can actually start signing players and trying to destroy my evil rivals).

All of those trophies were won by me and I expect that is the most trophies I have ever won in any save ever. (I actually did just complete a Journeyman save where I won my first EPL and Champions League which actually might come close though). I never won the FA Cup, I think that is the only trophy I never won.

I actually started out in the League pretty poorly. I began 1-1-2 primarily because I was concentrating on the Champions League. I lost two games when I fully rotated my squad. Actually I got bumped out of the FA Cup for pretty much the same reason. However, once the Champions League was over, we finished 9-1-0 in the League to win the League for the 3rd time. We lost in the SF of the Battle of the Giants and the Finals of the Interdistrict Championship to Suva. Grr, Oh well, at least I have won those in the past.

Again we lost a few players over the season. Losing Ravuiwasa to evil Lautoka and followed up closely by losing Koro was not nice. Ravuiwasa was the starter at right wing, and Koro was pretty much my number 1 backup at right wing and striker.

Not that I will ever use any of these guys aside from the few games they played at the end of the season, but those first 3 look like they could be really good players. Prasad and Lal instantly become the backup at those positions and Isikeli Chand might just be one of the better center backs I've had.

I would guess a large number of my players have received a Fiji call-up (either full national or one of the youth teams). I'm not sure if this is my record but I had 23 players called up in March.

Obviously, the national teams rosters vary from call-up to call-up, but this was in early April. Basically everyone under 23 (minus 2) came from my youth setup. Not all of them are still with me though sadly. And sadly I just looked, that 23 yo DC Mosese Khan has retired. He was out of a club this past season. I was SO tempted to sign him, I think he likely was the best center back I ever developed. But he left for Lautoka and he movved to Rewa at some point.... and then never re-signed anywhere. I suspect he was just too expensive to sign and there are literally 3 teams that might be able to afford him (Rewa, Lautoka and Suva... well me I guess now).

I think this is an accurate list of all of the players I produced that got at least 1 cap for the full National Team of Fiji.

My Best 11 (though I have no idea why the stats aren't accurate)...

These should be pretty accurate. Top 20 in competitive games played for me. Only one legacy player made it on the list. Then Goals and Assists over 10+.

If you're curious, Semesa Ali is in Australia playing for Western United FC, he has 51 apps and 20 goals (worth 160k to $1.6M) with them. Pretty much everybody else on these lists that aren't on my team are with Rewa, Lautoka or Suva. Or retired. And it always bothers me when they score on me (shakes fist at Penaia Naicker 29d). Rewa currently has Mohammed Chand, Emosi Quilevu, Simione Narayan and Netani Koro. Lautoka currently has Penaia Naicker, Andrew Ravouvou, and Shoheel Ravuiwasa. Suva has Joeli Kumar, Rishal Naidu, Sterling Apenisa Anare, and Seremaia Naicker. Some of those guys might not make the lists above but they would have.

Then my head-to-head records in all competitive games against the teams in Fiji (well the teams I faced when I reached the Premier League tho I included the games in the Lower Division)

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2035, Fiji

Challenge Completed!!!!!

As stated in the first message, I used a database pack in order to play Fiji. Also, there is no pro/rel under the Lower Divisions (2nd tier) so Lami was the team with the worst record when I took over. @darren1983

But other than that, I somehow completed the challenge!!!

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2034, Fijian Premier League

I finished 2nd in almost everything. Lost the Champions vs Champions to Rewa. Lost the Champions League Final to Eastern Suburbs. Lost the FA Cup Final to Lautoka. Lost the Battle of the Giants Final to Lautoka. Finished 2nd in the League to Rewa. We did find a way to win the Interdistrict Championship.

So, Champions League. We were again so close to finishing this challenge. We actually got put in the same group as the heavy favorite Auckland City and we trounced them. I thought things were looking up. Then they went out in the semis to Eastern Suburbs. I assumed Eastern Suburbs were good but I was hopeful. We conceded a goal at 4'. Ugh. Then we got a red card at 19'. Refs are clearly giving the game to the New Zealanders. But we actually battled back and equalized at 31'. And we played well for a good long chunk of the game until they got back to back goals at 69' and 71'. We did get a consolation goal at 90+3 and another red card at 90+5. Ugh. Ugh.

I'll put the rest of the results up.

But we did get perhaps the best set of youths since I've started this. I'm sure they are absolutely the best set of players I've ever generated but (relatively) the 28'ers might the best.

Here is Mohammed Prasad and Prashant Singh who immediately are starters (actually there are 2 or 3 more immediate starters as well).

No major losses out luckily. The first three to leave hit my depth. They all would have played some but none were starters. And I'm not sure if Luke Khan ever got a game for me, despite his name (my star right back is named Luke Khan too). (I actually now have 3 Mohammed Singh's - 2 left backs and a center back). The vultures were out circling my National Team GK Manasa Chand so he might be the next to go. I'm hoping my reputation (3rd in Fji now) will help with the defections.

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2033, 11th Season, Fijian Premier League

Ok, let's go, The CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

So, this was my first chance at the Oceania Champions League. We rolled through the group stage, the only one to give us any trouble was Hekari United. They are 1 of 2 teams (Lautoka the other) that was able to pry the Champions League trophy from the grips of Auckland City. In the first 10 years of this save, Auckland City has 8 titles, Hekari Utd 1 and Lautoka 1. Hekari United is from Papua New Guinea. Then we rolled pretty easily through the quarters and semis. My superstar striker Semesa Ali had 10 goals in those 5 games.

But the dreaded Auckland City loomed in the Finals...... and we basically sucked.

They completely crushed us. Ali got a consolation goal late to make it look a bit better. I feel like I can get *to* the Final almost every time, but getting past Auckland City is going to be tough. I suspect Auckland City just has that much better players than everyone else. In truth, I'd assume all of the New Zealand teams just have better players. But I'll soldier on. This might take one more year or 20. Who knows.

We did win two trophies though.

We won the Champions vs Champions Cup for the 2nd time, winning the first leg 3-0 then losing 3-1 in the 2nd leg, winning overall 4-3 aggregate.

Then we won the League again. This time it was much tighter, we were actually in 2nd place on the last day of the season, but we won and Rewa drew. It was very tight but we prevailed. So, I'm in the Champions League again (Actually, i think the League Champion the previous 2 seasons qualify for the CL -- Rewa was in the CL this season and there was no other reason that I could see that would get them there).

June 23, 2033. The Day that Will Live in Infamy

That is the day that we got our first bid for Semesa Ali(29a). In the end, 6 Australian clubs bid for him. And he left the club, there was much crying (mainly be me).

I don't know how good he is but that looks pretty good. Especially for Fiji, that's Messi-like. He's not English Premier League level but 6 Australian clubs tried to get him. In the end he scored 41 goals for me in 2033 and he left in July. And he won Oceania Player of the Year.

And we also lost Simione Narayan, our National Team right winger, as well. I almost lost him at the end of last season, but he left early this year. I was hoping he'd hang around longer but it was not to be. Basically anytime I play Lautoka, Rewa or Suva there are at least 3-4 of my ex star players on their rosters. I'm like a feeder team for them.

Here is the squad. We are down to one superstar in Luke Khan. Manasa Chand (32a) is looking to be a really good GK (I actually didn't start him in the Champions League as he seemed to be struggling early but I think he is the guy now). Seremaia Chand (31a) looks like the real deal in the central defense. Yes, I'm concerned these will be the next two to be poached from me.

Then we get to the youth...

I fortunately pulled a nice looking young striker so he will go straight into the starting lineup. Hopefully he can be as impactful as Ali. The only bad thing is his personality. This will be the final youth pull of my retiring Fairly Professional HoYD. I think I can hire a Professional one for next year, we'll see.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2032, 10th season, Fijian Premier League

We won the League! Our only loss was against Lautoka 2-1 in the 8th game, finishing 13-0-1. Our superstar striker Semesa Ali actually got injured in the 1st game and missed the next 3 months, basically the entire first half of the season. Ketani Koro stepped in and played great scoring 9 in the first 9 league games. But our defense went from being a leaky faucet to being best in the league. We still led the league in goals scored but we also led in goals against. Seremaia Chand (31a) helped I'm sure. He became my best center back. I switched from a CMd/CMs/APs to a BWMd/DLPs/AMa in the midfield. I also tried to play the same players every week vs trying to rotate. And I also used my best AMC (Asish Chand) as that central midfielder DLP so I could play Andrew Ravouvou (30b) as the AMC. Then I played a 1.5 star player (Marcus Kumar) as that BWM since he was the best BWM I had. Which of these, if any, was the key to the success I don't know. But we played well.

We won another Cup too (see above!). We flamed out of the FA Cup, not our best. But the Battle of Giants, we just got on a roll. We beat Suva and Labasa in the group stage, falling to Rewa, but advancing. We get Lautoka in the semis, Semesa Ali is back by now and scores 2. But Lautoka does as well. In the end it goes to penalties, and we win 7-6 on penalties to advance to the Final. We get Rewa again, after just losing to them in the group stage. Scoreless first half, but they score early in the 2nd. Semesa Ali again scores 2 with back to back goals to give us a 2-1 lead. But our old buddy Mohammed Chand 26c equalizes for Rewa in 83rd minute. Extra Time and we go to penalties again. Our first 5 score, their first 4 score.... their 5th goes up the middle and our keeper saves it. 5-4. Another trophy! Now I just need to win the FA Cup. (Well and the Champions League). The Interdistrict Championship was going well until Chand and Ravouvou got poached by Lautoka in the middle of the tournament. Two starters gone just like that. We actually got to the Final against Lautoka and Chand and Ravouvou played in the Final. We lost 2-1.

Our squad:

Simione Narayan really seemed to improve this year. He just got his first cap for Fiji and at the end of the year, Lautoka tried to steal with from me. He's actually the first player I was able to keep (for now). I'll wager he'll be gone by the end of next year.

Here is one of the Financial emails you get (this was April 1). I have actually kept my balance above 0 the entire time (Ok, it went to -500 in mid 2027). And it rose to almost 100k at the end of 2031 so I asked the Board to improve the Junior Coaching. I got it to Exceptional. And you see that massive downward crash this season? Yeah, I'll soon be very poor due to these facilities. (By the end of the season we actually got back to +80k from winnings and sponsors)

Another thing I found interesting was this. One, I never get scouting emails so this was new. Two, Emosi Qiolevu is a star player, a Fiji National Team player. He left Lautoka at the end of last season saying he wanted to test the waters. Then he sat as a Free Agent for months. This email was from February, and he didn't sign with anyone (Rewa) until I think May. Crazy it took a star like this 6 months to sign with anyone. I would have signed him back in a heartbeat if I could.

After last season where I didn't lose anyone, this season was different. We lost Naicker at the start of the season though by then he was third choice striker so not a huge loss. But losing Chand and Ravouvou back to back like that was a gut punch. Then we lost Naidu was my 2nd choice right wing. Like I said above they tried to take my first choice right wing (Simione Narayan) as well but for now I was able to keep him.

I have never had a bid for Semesa Ali or Luke Khan, my two best players, 5-star Fiji National Team players. Not one. I'm thankful for that but still surprised. My working theory is they are just too good for anybody to sign. Basically no one is good enough for them to want to sign with. I actually tried to negotiate with Ali and he wouldn't talk to me. So, if anyone bids for him, he's gone. But that is the one good thing about non-contracts, they are with the team indefinitely. I can only offer non-contracts to players but all the other teams in the League have about half their roster on salary. So, when I lose a player they are generally signing an actual contract.

Not an inspiring youth pull. Manesa Chand will likely be my starter at GK going forward. His attributes are better than what I have now. Then a couple backup types. Players just don't develop in this league unless they are playing every game. I have noticed that my starters will develop, but I don't think I've seen any backup improve much at all. But when I say my starters develop, that actually is only like 1 or 2 a season seem to gain much of anything.

Off to the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!! The O-League. Lautoka actually won it in 2031, so we do have a chance. However, this is Auckland City's (from New Zealand) trophy. They have won it 8 of 10 times since I started this challenge. I just looked, Lautoka beat them in the semis when they won it. Even though Lautoka are our bitter rivals, it does give me some hope that a team from Fiji can win it.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Season 9, 2031, Fijian Premier League

My 4th trophy. This one is the Champions vs Champions competition which I think is the equivalent to the Community Shield. I might need to start expanding my trophy shelf. We played Lautoka who had just won the league, we won the first leg 2-1 and drew the 2nd leg 1-1 on an 89' equalizer goal. A nice 3-2 aggregate victory.

As for the league, we took a step back. Still a very strong 3rd place finish, I had dreams of winning the league behind my star striker Semesa Ali (29a). Ali is still with us (I was expecting him to leave to be honest) but he actually had a much quieter season. Still excellent but he went from 34 goals, 21 in the league to 17 goals, 13 in the league. We started 2-1-0 but lost 3 in a row to Suva, Labasa and Ba. We finished the season strong though going 4-1-0 in our last 5.

Cups: You'd think I would do better in these. Made it to the FA Cup Final falling to Rewa in extra time 2-1. I think that's the largest crowd we've ever played in front of, all 3997 of them. Netani Koro (30d) scored an equalizer for us at the 86' but alas it was not to be. One issue with these Cups is they are usually during International Breaks so I'm often missing players. Two, games are ever 3-4 days and the Battle of Giants, the games were every 2 days this season. Also, I tend not to prioritize them vs the League. But it would be cool to win the FA Cup and Battle of Giants trophy before I'm done.

Squad:

Asish Chand(30a) looks to be good. Not entirely sure where to play him, I moved him around a bit but hopefully he can join Khan and Ali as my superstars.

I did not have a single player leave the club in 2031. Must be some kind of record. Prashant Kumar was in the reserves so not a loss. I have offered contracts to pretty much any significant player over the past few seasons whenever they get an offer from another club. I think I have offered a contract to Mohammed Lal (my starting center back) probably 50 times a season. Filipe Sakai (backup at right back) about the same, 40-50 times. I don't know if this is 100% necessary but with all the losses I've had, I can't afford not to. It seems to work alot of the time, but its not 100%. I've lost players after offering a contract, but they are typically the stronger players.

This is actually probably my worst youth pull since I've started this (relatively). That GK might go right into the starting spot. And Seremaia Chand might go straight into starting. My central defense has been the hardest hit when players leave. I did get my Junior Coaching up to Exceptional late in the year. I suspect that will kill my finances (but if I spent the money that the board allows me to spend we'd be ridiculously in debt anyways).

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

19 hours ago, lewis999 said:

Playing this challenge in Italy and it feels really difficult. Livorno started with adequate or average facilities in everything and i'm grinding away. Spent 7 seasons in Serie C before winning the league and now in my first Serie B season. I was losing a lot of money in Serie C and thought it'll be fixed when I reach Serie B, turns out its not and i'm still somehow losing money despite only having a wage bill of 22k a week. I've tried to find any others playing in Italy but don't have the time to search the entire thread.

I haven't had one upgrade or even a coaching course since I started and it feels like it might get a bit stagnant, anyone know if Italy have any financial bugs that could be causing this, my outgoings feel like they should be REALLY minimal. Only 3 coaches, 22k wage budget etc. 

Really frustrating.

How expensive is your youth setup? That's what I always run into when I do this. I always end up with not having enough money to upgrade facilities and fall in the trap where you just can't progress.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

12 hours ago, jrobertgordon13 said:

I might attempt this in Oceania next year, so I’m watching closely.

I've enjoyed it so far. Though I haven't reached the Champions League I think it is winnable, at least potentially. I guess I'll see if I can manage it. The only thing that's annoying is the constant offers on your players.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2030, Fiji Premier League, Season 8

Semesa Ali (29a) is good. 34 goals in all competitions, 21 in the league. I truly hope I can keep him even though I know that inevitably he will leave. We started 3-0-3 in the league, in the middle of the pack and then went on to win 8 in a row to finish 11-0-3. 33 points. Only behind Lautoka by 3 points. We were never really in the hunt for the title but in retrospect, we were actually up 2-0 on Lautoka early in the season. We conceded 3 goals in the last 25 mins and lost 3-2 including a 82' winner. In retrospect, if we win that game or even just draw it, we win the league. (Luckily I didn't realize the significance at the time - aside from the annoying loss).

Cups: We got out of the group stage in all 3 Cups for the first time. And we repeated as CHAMPION of the Interdistrict Championship. Go Lami!

Our 3rd trophy! Hopefully 3rd of many more!

The squad:

So we started the season with what I thought were 5 very good players. We ended it with 2. Ali and Khan are both National Team level players. Actually the 3 we lost (Emosi Qiolevu, Mosese Khan and Joeli Kumar) are National Team level players too. Within two months Lautoka took both Qiolevu and Khan. I'll get my revenge. Then my mortal enemy Suva (who was in the Lower Division - yeah they got promoted straight back after getting relegated last season) got Kumar.

I'll throw out one of my original players, Jope Narayan. He primarily has played as a right wing but I have played him at the left and at striker. He's a club legend (well in my eyes). He's actually the only player during my save who has goal or assist in every one of my 8 seasons. He's not really good enough anymore but I keep him at the club.

I've kept track of appearances, goals and assists. Here's the Top 10 in each.

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

2029, Fijian Premier League, Season 7

We started the season pretty rough going 0-2-3 but we quickly settled in mid-table pretty early on. Relegation was sitting there for good chunks of the season but we finished the season with an unbeaten 2-4-0 stretch. All in all, we settled in around mid-table and finished a very solid 4th. We have played Suva 3 times over the past 2 seasons at home. All sellouts (granted our capacity is 800 but...). I think Suva is our big rival. Works for me since I hate them They, on back-to-back days in July, stole my starting left back (Naicker 27e) and center back (Anare 27b). Aside from maybe GK, I get hit the hardest with losses in the defense. I think I lose at least one starting defender every year. It's hard to keep up.

But the good news regarding my evil nemesis Suva is.....

They somehow got relegated. They have won the League 5 of the 7 years I've been playing this. They are the strongest team in Fiji. How they got relegated, I have no idea. But good riddance, have fun in the Lower Division. (Yeah I know they'll probably come straight back up but I can dream).

Eagle eyed viewers will note Semesa Ali 29a at the bottom. I'll talk about him later.

Cups Results:

A solid result in the FA Cup. We lost in the Final 2-1 to Lautoka. We never seem to do well in the Battle of the Giants. But we won the Interdistrict Championship! Our second trophy!!!

The silverware is piling up now.

Here is a comparison of two players. The first is Edward Mani who was one of my "stars" in my first season, I think he still holds a number of records for the club. The second player is Emosi Qiolevu 27a, my star left wing. He just got his first 2 caps for Fiji at 17 yo.

So our youth system is definitely working. I'm starting to produce National Team level players.

So, let's show our youth pull this season...

So, we got a number of depth pieces, alot of this group is uninspiring. EXCEPT for 29a Semesa Ali who is a Fairly Professional striker. Instantly becomes my best player and single most important player on the team. At 15yo.

This is him at 15. Just compare him to Mani or Qiolevu above and Qiolevu is a National Team level player. He is easily the best player I've had in this save. In relative terms, he might be the best player I've ever had in any save.

But he scored 6 goals + an assist in the Interdistrict Championship and generally took us to the title. He's going to be good.

We have 5 really strong players. The new striker Semesa Ali(29a), the left wing Emosi Quilevu (27a), our very strong right back Luke Khan (28a), our dominant center back Mosese Khan (28c) and our AMC Joeli Kumar(28b). If we can keep these guys here, we can win lots of trophies.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Season 6 in Fiji, Fijian Premier League, 2028

The Fijian Premier League is 8 teams, you play each other twice for a total of 14 games. These games are spread out from January to September. So, sometimes there are 2-3 weeks between games.

But with the league there are 3 Cups. The FA Cup which is held in May. The Battle of the Giants which is held in July/August. Then the Interdistrict Championship is held in October. The format is the same for each of the Cups. The 8 Premier League teams are broken into 2 groups of 4. You play each other once. The top 2 go into a one game semi-final, winners play in the Finals. So a minimum of 9 more games with a max of 15. The champion of the League plays in the Oceania Champions League which I haven't really looked at the format yet. I'll get there eventually (hopefully). Then there is a "Champions vs Champions Cup," which I'm not entirely sure how you get in. Probably the winner of the League vs the winner of the Cup? I'll worry about it when I get that far, lol. By reputation the Cups go.... BoG > FA Cup > Interdistrict > C vs C.

After having two strong youth pulls I felt reasonably ok about going into the season. I figured the bigger clubs (Suva, Rewa, Lautoka) would likely crush me but I was hoping to just survive. There's got to be one team that I can beat, right? I just need to beat one. I figured I would pretty much ignore the Cups as far as I can and solely focus on the League. The League games are spaced out, but the Cup games are every 3-4 days so you treally need depth to win those and I don't have that yet.

We started off 0-2-4, managing draws against Nadroga and Lautoka. But our first win came against Nasinu on April 1st. We lost our next 2 but we managed to win 2 in a row against Ba and Nadi in May. We were still near the bottom but Ba was having a horrible season (luckily). We somehow managed to win our last game of the season against Rewa, a big upset. In the end, we finished 6th, pretty comfortably ahead of Ba who got relegated.

I really didn't worry about the FA Cup or Battle of the Giants. The Interdistrict Championship is after the League and I can use all the youth pulls so we did better there, making through the group to the Semis. We lost 2-0 to Lautoka in the Semis.

The '26es and '27es dominated the playing time. All those players I had been playing a couple seasons ago just aren't good enough. As I keep improving my facilities, the better my youth and the old guard (meaning the 18yo) are just not good enough anymore.

Emosi Qiolevu 27a is the star here, another left wing. Sterling A Anare 27b leads the defense. And if you look at my squad you will see some '28ers in there. I can't play youth players in the league (due to registration), but I can play them in Cups, the Interdistrict Championship to be exact. That Cup is where I give my new fresh faced stars their first game time. Luke Khan 28a is the star here, a right back. Along with Joeli Kumar (AMC) and Mosese Khan (DC). Yep the '28ers look to be even stronger than the last 2 pulls. Here is the youth pull.

The '26 to '28 youth classes have been great.

Mohammed Chand is the loss here but truthfully most of these guys were backups and reserves. So for I think the first and only time during this save, I didn't really lose anybody major (Ok, Chand was a loss but he was replaceable).

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Season 5, 2027

Promotion! I wont draw that out. I won a trophy too.

We had that great youth pull from last season, really building out our squad. So after 3 straight last place finishes, I figured we had a shot to at least compete. It was an up and down season, we won 2, lost 2, won 2, lost 1, then won 2. Last game of the year, even with Rakiraki on points, one of our nemesis', we are up in goal differential though. We play Taveuni, they play Tavua. We are up 3-0 in the first half, all we need to do is win...... until Taveuni starts to score. 1, then a 2nd. Then in the 66th minute an equalizer. 3-3. We try valiantly to score a goal to win, but we fail. Draw. Our first of the season. I hadn't been looking at the score of the other game. But they had a crazy back and forth game too. That ended in a 3-3 draw. The result....

Our first trophy! We both go to the Lower Division Promotion Playoff though. Us, Rakiraki plus the top 2 teams from the other Division (Bua and Tailevu/Naitasiri). 6 games, 2 against each team. After 5 games, Rakiraki and I are even with 8 points. However they lead on goal differential. I play Tailevu/Naitasiri and they have Bua. So we need to do better than whatever Rakiraki does. We score (Veremo Chand 25a) in the 43rd minute and milk that the rest of the game. Win 1-0. And Rakiraki can only draw against Bua 1-1. And we finish first in the playoff!!!

Promotion!

So those youth pulls, the '26ers really led the way. Mohammed Chand 26c scored 14 over the season. The core of my team were those kids.

My brand new sparkling GK Mohammed Naidu 26a had a great season and then got poached by Suva (yeah I have a personal vendetta vs Suva - my goal is to destroy them after them poaching a number of my players) at the end of the season.

But I knew that I needed a strong youth pull to stay up. I had gotten my Junior Coaching to Good by the end of this season, Youth Recruitment to Average. And we got this....

A superstar left wing, a superstar center back, a superstar AMC, a damn good midfielder, a good left back, another solid center back and a solid striker. Following the last youth pull, this really stocked me up. Also, note I got a 2 star GK thankfully. Ratu Dakunaiduca 27n came at the right time, after our starting GK got poached in back to back seasons. As an aside, I did hire a HoYD in 2025 (Fairly Professional). He has been able to bring in some Fairly Professional players.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Seasons 1-4, 2023-2027.

I'm going to give you the summary of my first 4 seasons in one post. Before Season 1, we already lose our starting midfielder and center back on non-contracts. All of our players are on non-contracts, so having other teams trying to sign my players is just part of the job. Losing key players is just part of the save.

However, we win our first two games. Things are looking good. Its a short season, only 10 games. But we lose our starting striker, he who scored a hat trick in game 1 off to Rewa (shakes fist at Rewa - they are one of the better teams in the Premier League). By the end of the year, we lose 6 starters to these poachers. We actually had a pretty solid season, going 5-1-4, finishing third. Rakiraki won the league, a team from the division got promoted to the Premier League.

Edward Mani was my best player, 3 goals and 4 assists. Though somehow Peni Singh scored 5 goals this year. You can see I have a number of pretty good veterans in the squad and things were looking good.

My first superstar! Rahul Prakash! Terrible personality but someone I can build my team around.

By the start of Season 2, I didn't have a player over 17 years old. Lost 3 more starters this season. So, I was playing all the kids I took over plus the '23 youth pulls.

The facilities when I took over were Poor Training, Poor Youth, Basic Junior Coaching and Limited Recruitment. I have hit this hard and heavy over the seasons. This is an absolute necessity. By the end of Season 2 I got my Junior Coaching up to Average and Recruitment to Basic.

Prakash (23a) had 8 goals with 5 assists. Jope Narayan had 4 goals, 7 assists. Peni Singh had another 6 goals. He's a 1 star striker but he can score goals, he had 5 goals in one match. This season was just one where we scored a ton of goals (24) and gave up alot (29). Last place of course, we just aren't very good. Luckily the Board is patient.

Unfortunately, we didn't get alot out of our youth pull this season....

Players really don't develop here. I've seen a few players gain a half star here and there but my facilities and coaching are just so primitive, that I just don't get much improvement. And who knows what the potential of these guys actually is. I think at this point, I didn't even have a Head of Youth Development because no one would sign with me.

Season 3 - 2025

I had Jope Narayan on the right side (actually, no he played all over), Prakash(23a) on the left. Edward Mani was my other attacker. They had been playing pretty well last season. But this season I just couldn't score goals. After 24 last year, we could only muster 8 this year. Luckily we gave up fewer goals as well. Another ho-hum last place finish.

The bad news was Rahul Prakash(23a), our superstar, our everything was poached at the end of the season. So, no more of him. Yes, this is an endless battle.

If and when I finish this challenge, my goal is to buy every single top player from every team in this country and then place their stars in my reserves and never play them. Or maybe put them on super stressful training programs so I can destroy all their top players. Or something. I hate these teams and their poachiness.

I got a few solid pieces in this youth pull, but again none that are game changing.

Season 4 - 2026

The key here is I've been developing my Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment every chance I can. I haven't seen much improvement yet in my youth pulls but by the end of this season I have my Junior Coaching to Adequate and Recruitment to Fairly Basic. But this is the season I finally start getting some nice youth pulls.

Less said about the actual season, probably the better. Last again. No attack, no defense. Just assume I'm losing a couple (or few) starters every season to poaching. 2026 I lost my starting AMC and starting GK.

But here is where we start to change.

We got a replacement GK, a starting AMC, a starting Striker, a starter in the midfield and a starting left wing. This was easily the best group of youths we'd had and will really be the backbone of the team for the next season.

Here are the transfers. I think all of them were starters for me when they left....

 

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Off to Fiji!

First, I needed to use one of the megapacks to use Fiji. I used the one from Timo, which I assume is reputable. I know Ive seen people do saves in leagues that don't come with the game. Two, Fiji (at least in this pack) doesn't have promotion from a lower league. However, I'm fairly certain I read somewhere that it's ok to use a league if you chose the team that had the worst record in the league the season before. So, hopefully neither of these things are deal breakers.

So....

So, I had been managing in Mexico, I got I think 4 seasons in and I felt like I was treading water with not much hope in sight. So, I decided to try Fiji (mainly I'm a Survivor fan so it's on the mind).

Lami FC finished 0-3-7 in the Vodafone Senior League - Viti Levu Division. There are two divisions in the Vodafone Senior League, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. 6 teams in each, top 2 teams in each division go into a Lower Division Promotion Playoff, winner getting promoted to the Fijian Premier League. They had the worst record between the two divisions.

If either of the two things I list up top are deal breakers, oh well, I've already invested too much into this already to stop now. Plus, I'm having fun.

 

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Tecos Fútbol Club

Battled relegation all season. It was between us, UdeG and Colima FC all season. I was able to beat both of them late in the season to help me stay up. But it will likely be more of the same for next season. I finished 14th in each stage but that's not a strong finish. I'm one sneeze away from being relegated. I need to get to start moving up the table to stay in this league.

So, Raya2 won the opening stage, Mineros the closing stage. But Celeya was promoted. Raya2 won the trophy to determine who was to be promoted and they can't be promoted. I assumed that would mean Mineros would be promoted, but nope. Celeya was knocked out in the semis in both stages and does not have the most points over the past 3 seasons. So I assume its just because they had the most points this season.

I do have some youth playing a good number of minutes (Morales, Ramos, Pineda etc) but I do feel like I'm relying too much on the veterans that have pretty much left me in the relegation zone season after season.

My 4.5 star GK Estrada won't sign a new contract with me so he's likely gone. I'll give it another try before he goes, but it's not looking good. I tried to play Botello who is 2 stars and the top prospect in the initial '24 class, but he hasn't really progressed a whole lot since I've had him. In truth very few players have progressed much over the seasons. There are a few of course but it seems like there might be ne player per class that progresses.

I've to come to the realization that really I should be looking at 3 things when I chose one of these teams. The first 1) is the thing I do look at and that is facilities. I always pick the team that has the best facilities. But 2) you need $ and I think looking at the fanbase or average attendance is probably important too. I average 1500 fans. Imagine if I had 15000 fans. Then 3) do you have a newgen on your roster that could be world class(or just really good for your level). I wonder if that is really the most important thing to look for. What youth are already at the club that can develop into really strong players.

My youth pulls have been pretty uninspired the past couple seasons. There are a couple players here so hopefully they can develop.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Tecos Fútbol Club

I got this at the start of Season 4.

Which would be great if I could use it, lol. Oh well we get 26k every year + whatever we get from the friendly.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Tecos Fútbol Club

Season 3, 25/26, Mexican Tier 2

A struggle. We could not find any kind of form in the opening stage. More of the same in the closing stage. Then I decided to remove all PI's (and started to sub at halftime) and we went undefeated (4-2-0) in our last 6 to reach 10th. We lost 0-0 on penalties (6-5) in the playoffs. I still am primarily relying on the veterans. I do have a few youngsters that are progressing but many aren't. I need them to progress. I've been hanging around the relegation zone and if I have a poor next season, I might be in trouble.

My center defense is really weak. Pineda has developed well so he is a solid center back, but I was starting a 2.5 gray star and a 1 star there for large chunks of the year.

My 4.5 star GK Estrada gave me the "Considering my options" thing so he's gone in a year. I have a couple young promising GK's but I don't think either is progressing that much. But I'm going to have to trely on one of them soon. As you can see below, my Board sold my star center back Martin Gimenez, and I had the option of loaning him back. I clicked Agree before I thought about it. Once I realized that I couldn't play him, I just removed him from the roster and a month later terminated the loan.

Not the strongest youth pull. Hopefully one of them develops.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Tecos Fútbol Club (formerly Club de Fútbol Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara)

Season 2, 24/25

I was wondering why our abbreviation in the game was UAG instead of maybe TEC. I guess we were called the above before. This was a long dredge of a season. I basically have one "veteran" at each position now, with all youth backups, and unfortunately some of those backups are not exactly the cream of the crop. With the notable exception of center back where everyone is gone. I have a 17yo (ok had if you read above) who played a little bit in the 1st season (and even had a hat trick of goals from corners in one game - in both season 1 and 2) but he improved dramatically in the 2nd season, going from a 2-star backup level player to probably the best player on the team. 4-stars. That would be Martin Gimenez. I started a 16yo youth pull next to him. He looks to have improved but not as by much, that would be Christian Pineda who is 2 stars now. And if you read a few posts above this, I lost Gimenez in the offseason before Season 3, so back to 15-16yo youth pulls in defense.

I do have a number of good lucking prospects at almost every position. I'm hoping Gustavo Ramos can take over at right back. I have a couple good young DM's in Erick Espinosa and Juan Gomez. Victor Morales at right wing. Luis Aguiler at AMC. Juan Jose Moreno at striker. And I think there are potentially 2 good strikers on the horizon with Diego Alonso Gurrola and Jose Eugenio Cendejas. Hopefully they all keep developing and getting alot of fiorst team minutes soon.

The Board offered me a B team which I accepted. In retrospect I'm not sure I need it. But I think what I will do is keep youngsters in the U20's for their first year or two, give them a game or two when I'm up or down big. Then send them off to Tecos III on loan for a season or two until they are ready for the first team. The players I have sent to Tecos III the past 2 seasons seem to have developed some while the players I sent to the B team didn't do a whole lot. So I think I will send the guys I don't have high hopes for to the B team. You know, the guys with m's and o's at the end of their name (i.e 25o, 24p). We'll see if that works.

So yeah a pretty miserable season. 15th and 18th in the two stages. Not really a whole lot to report really.

Note the valuation of Gimenez compared to everyone else. lol. I've gotten rid of or the players have left of most of the big contracts that I had. We had multiple guys on contracts around 4k a week. Now, only Lopez is left. I have cut our payroll in by at least half in the 2 seasons.

Another solid looking GK, Cendejas I have already mentioned. And a few others that have some potential. Collard, in all of his 1/2 star glory is now a starter. He is 6'4" though with 15 Jumping Reach so I bet he is a corner machine. So that might save me.

Training facilities dipped. I really need to get to Liga MX. The only problem with that is the team that promoted in S1, got relegated from Liga MX in S2.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

In regards to the last post, the team that bought Gimenez offered to loan him back. I eagerly and excitedly agreed to getting my best player back. Until the realization hit me.

I can't take him back, can I? That's against the rules, right? Or can I use him since he hasn't really left the club, he just basically have a future transfer agreed? I'm confused.

Will I have to try to stop the loan back? Or cancel it? Or just throw him in the Reserves? Or can I use him?

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

I just finished Season 2. I lost my top 3 center backs last season to the Board, wanting other challenges, not wanting to sign etc. I had one youngster that was progressing well though. In this 2nd season he blossomed, one of the best players at the team. Pretty much the player that had *any* value at the club. He was valued at the max range of 700k, which is literally 10 times more than the rest of my team combined probably.

I get a lowball offer from someone. Like 48k with clauses that might push it to 300k iirc. He complains, he wants to leave. I agree I'll sell him at $1.1M. I figure no one will go that high but if they do, I have $1.1M.

The &%$# Board. One, only $525k???? He's worth double that you morons. Two, not a single % of next sale clause. Grrrrrr. Why this board is this idiotic and trying to actively sabotage this team, I don't know. I protest the sale, of course none of the options are what I want to say. My defense was abysmal last season. I have one other guy who I have hope for and a couple 15yo that are so far away to not even consider at this point.

So, I now have no defense (of course I guess the Board doesn't know this is a Youth Academy save...). We get peanuts for the guy and with no clauses that will pay us out in the future. Sorry, had to vent.

[The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge]

Tecos Fútbol Club

After doing a Journeyman save where I started with the lowest badges and ended up winning my very first Premier League and Champions League. My adventures through Indonesia, Colombia, Brasil and finally ending with Arsenal in England (ok there were a few detours here and there including stints with Azerbaijan, Nigeria and France). I figured I might get back to this challenge. I've tried it a couple (few?) times and I've usually done pretty well but ended up getting bored or losing interest so I have never completed it. In truth I don't even see how its possible to do, lol. Still I try. So off I go to Mexico!

I had the choice between Tecos and Colima FC. Tecos had the better facilities, they are at Average, Adequate, Average and Average, so I went with them. And I don't forsee improving any of those before I get into Liga MX. We start in the Mexican Expansion League (MEL) which is the 2nd tier of Mexico. There is an opening and closing stage. The top 12 teams (out of 20) compete for the stage title. Then the winners of the opening and the closing stage battle it out at the end of the season in the "EL Champions Trophy" which determines who gets promoted to Liga MX. No Cup at this level.

Then relegation (in both Liga MX and the MEL) is based on average points over the past 3 seasons. As you will see poor Colima FC who came up with me got relegated even though they didn't finish last in either stage. But they had the lowest average points over the past 3 seasons (well just 1 for them). I guess it protects a team from having just one horrible season from getting relegated. There are 3 teams that cannot be relegated (Pumas, Raya2 and Tapatio - I think they are B teams but haven't verified that)

Opening Stage: We struggled early, we were near the bottom of the table. But we finished strong, going 3-3-0 in our last six taking us to a finish of 13th. Then we pretty much kept winning in the Closing Stage. We were at or near the top of the standings the entire closing stage. We won our first 6 games, so ended up with a 12 game unbeaten run between the stages. How we won, I have no idea. I suspect a combination of luck, trying to keep morale high, tactical familiarity and squad rotation. But I don't think we are that good. But finishing first is pretty cool.

In the end, finishing first doesn't really mean much. The top 4 get a bye for the round of 16. I won my QF games against Dorados but fell to Alebrijes in the SF (2-4 A, 2-2 H). Alebrijes won the closing stage and then beat Atlante for promotion. Puebla got relegated from Liga MX. Alebrijes finished 11th and 7th in the 2 stages, so yeah only the playoffs really matter.

Here are the superstars. I tried to give some playing time to the youngsters but for the most part went with the veteran crew. The problem is I had plenty of players who had "slight concerns" and "considering my options." So I've already lost a number of players, mainly backups. Then of course the Board in their infinite wisdom accepted a couple of bids on a couple key players. So we got maybe $20k for guys I can't replace. (And I can give a spoiler for Season 2, our top 3 central defenders - Teran, Rodriguez and Basalda - are all gone for the reasons I just stated (we're screwed).

We are $$ poor, looking at our finances, we seem to generate about $1M in revenue. Our salaries themselves amount to almost $2M a year. Add another $1M for everything else so yeah, I don't think I'll be updating any facilities anytime soon.

We have 2 affiliates. I think I'll be using Tecos III to send players out on loan. I'll try to figure out if this is the best way to do this. I'm not sure if it is best to keep them in my U20's or loan them out. That is something I will try to solve over the next several season. I think I might keep them in house until they are 17 or 18 and then loan them for a season or two but we'll see (they need to be 17 to go to Tecos III).

Youth pull was March 15th but I couldn't register any of them so some of them will make their debuts in Season 2. But this group looks pretty good. Hopefully they can develop.

[Signing young south americans for english clubs/work permits]

I haven't managed in the Premier League in FM for awhile but one of the fun things I used to do would search through the young talented youngsters in Brasil and Argentina and sign them etc. I just started a save with Everton on FM23 and tried to sign someone and it said the player would not be able to secure a work permit in England. So I didn't sign him.

So... how does one sign youngsters when they won't qualify for work permits? Do I have to wait until they are much older? Do I just not sign them? Do I need to just figure out how to manipulate the rule?

[The FM22 Youth Academy Challenge]

The Magic Season 8, 2029-30

We have settled into mid-table. Not good enough to consistently compete with the big boys but good enough to win most against the teams nearer the bottom.

We did have a really nice run in the FA Cup, making it to the Finals, losing to Sundowns 2-1. We had a red card and a penalty called against us. I think it was rigged.

I think I may have found a striker. Mark Van Neel (28e) scored 17 goals this year. Basically everyone puts (low) bids for this guy every transfer window, one after another. So, I'm guessing he's good. So I've been playing the past couple of years but he burst out this year. Hopefully he stays. Though I did get a couple good youth strikers in the pull this season.