smp20

Winning the CL bumped Fergie's rep from 2/2.5* to 4.5* and I think I'm along the right lines with the "Known For" - just waiting for our "Class of 92" to develop....

Road to Istanbul Champions League Final 2023 First we needed to navigate through a tough group which contained former CL finalists Dortmund, current Serie A winners Roma and a wonderkid stacked Salzburg. For whatever reason Salzburg's wonderkids were no match for us at all as we thumped them home and away, while the best result was beating Roma 4-0 at Elland Road. We managed to go undefeated against Dortmund to top our group and experience against Bundesliga opponents was key to our future success. Red Bull couldn't find their wings in Leeds as we overcame an away deficit in extra time. The comeback from 5-2 down after 135 minutes against holders Bayern was something to behold, although we were helped by a red card. We were extremely lucky to come away with a draw at Anfield as we were dominated, but you've got to take the good times and the bad times (I'm looking at you Sheffield United) and we had a surprise early Champions League final awaiting us! The Line Ups Upon seeing the line ups and seeing their recent results I was quietly confident going into the match. They had a solid defence but it was a team that lacked cutting edge as shown by their lack of goals. My biggest worry was the recent appointment of ZZ, who is normally one of nemesis' on FM. The Goals In under two minutes we found ourselves ahead after Rapha was presented the goal with just a keeper to beat. Midway through the second half an enticing cross was easily met by man mountain Weghorst to tuck away to double our lead. The Result And that was it! We drew another early red card just like vs Bayern and Inter's heads were gone. They were more interested in kicking lumps (7 yellows, one red) that actually trying to score, managing just one shot on target the whole game. Leeds United are Champions of Europe! The Accolades

I get the feeling April will be a key month @Hootieleece - best of luck, you can do it! Nice work @Deisler26 in the FA Cup, I feel a final coming on!!

In crazy fashion we've found ourselves in the Champions League Final! We came from well behind twice against German opposition. First against RBL, followed by holders Bayern who were 5-2 up on aggregate before a centre back red card and we pushed our way back into it. Liverpool were well on top at Anfield but we managed to hold on and keep the score at 2-2. We face an Inter side that are struggling in Serie A but managed to knock out United and Real Madrid. As an aside, I'm not sure Leeds back at Istanbul will go down well with the Galatasaray lot - good job hooliganism doesn't exist in FM!

Nice intake @Deisler26! I've had two now and they've both been woeful.

When your underperforming back up left back thinks he is prime Romario

Now that was a real sucker punch

We've managed to get one back as a long ball to the far post tucked home as subs Cresswell and James combine.

A dull first half and we're behind courtesy of a Rodri screamer

Man City vs Leeds United 2022-23 Carabao Cup Final Line Ups As expected it's a very strong City line up. We will have to pray to the FM gods that Haaland has a quiet game! We're without the suspended Milner and cup-tied Calvert-Lewin, other than that we had a full squad to pick from. Harrison pips both Jeong and James to the right wing position to give him a chance to excel against his old club.

February 2023 Update Pre-World Cup Results Prior to the World Cup we were in decent form, especially in the Champions League where we managed to top a tricky group thanks to a 4-0 thumping of Roma and 6-2 of Salzburg. We even managed to beat rivals United after being 1-0 down at half time. The worst moment was the 1-0 home loss to struggling Sheffield United which left Fergie scrambling for more fire power. Transfers We need more types of options up top so we ended up breaking the bank on DCL to add a combination of pace and aerial ability up top. He became our 8th and final signing. Fan-favourite Cooper wanted to seek a new challenge so we let him leave, while the arrival of DCL meant sicknote Bamford was surplus to requirements and he was sold for a decent fee. A string of poor performances, fines and losing his spot to Meslier led to a big falling out between Fergie and Onana. No teams were willing to pay a reasonable price tag so he was shipped out on loan to Bayern. Delap joined him in the Bundesliga to gain first team experience with Hertha Post-World Cup Results A lot of wins broken up with the odd loss here and there. Frustratingly we're out of the FA Cup early again to lower league opposition. We also got thumped by Energy Drink FC with two late goals giving us a glimmer of hope at Elland Road. However, we do have our first shot at a trophy as we soon face Man City in the League Cup Final. Premier League Table We're in the battle for a Champions League spot which is what I was hoping for. Sheff Utd getting the double over us has really riled me though. Player Stats We have a decent core squad, but I feel we're still a bit weak at the back beyond our starters which will be a task for the summer. He may have come through the academy, but this kind of big time Charlie rubbish combined with being the worst performer in the squad is the easiest way to get yourself exiled!

Welcome, Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Benvenuto!

Nice recovery from the brink of the sack there @Deisler26 hope you can beat Utd in the cup! Welcome @Hootieleece all the best with Bournemouth, one of the more difficult ones and an option I didn't have on FM22.

Yes you're absolutely spot on there!

October 1st 2022 Update Transfers Out As always lets start with the outgoings. There were several U23 players released or loaned out, above being the players we sold for cash. Bogusz had decent potential but being a CAM didn't really suit our style so we got good money for him. Robin Koch was let go as he was unhappy with last season's playing time, while the rest were sold to trim the squad. Transfers In It was a busy summer as we looked to build a squad that could compete across the league, domestic cups and European football in a World Cup disrupted season. First in was right winger Woo-yeong Jeong, also being our most expensive capture, he brings quality now as well as being a potential future PL star. Early on in pre-season we added Adarabioyo for his release clause to bolster our backline, followed by academy-grown Charlie Taylor to cover left back and Onana to compete with Meslier for the No.1 jersey. We were looking for a big man option up top and Weghorst fit the bill perfectly. We didn't add any more players until deadline day where Milner returned to his boyhood club for 50% of his wages and wonderkid Livramento was added as a long term replacement for Luke Ayling. Overall some good business with room to add one more player in January once it's assessed where we need further recruitment. Results A good start but of late our results have faltered. A home draw against Blackburn followed by losses to the red and blue of Merseyside left me wondering if we'll be able to maintain the same feat of last season's CL football. 5 points from 3 games in a tough CL group isn't bad though. Premier League Table I don't think we'll be challenging for the title this season, but let's hope we can push on and aim for 4th place again. Squad With a loaded September schedule we've been rotating a lot. At the moment a clear First XI hasn't been established, which I think has contributed to our average start. Weghorst has been excellent up top, however other new signings such as Onana and Jeong have failed to perform.

2021-22 End of Season Update Results We finished the season in reasonable form, winning 5, drawing 4 and losing just two. The highlight was the 6-2 thumping of Leicester in their backyard, while drawing our final home game against Wolves was probably the most disappointing. Premier League Table Despite drawing our final two games, we managed to stay in the final Champions League spot thanks to Spurs beating Chelsea on the final game of the season . Player Stats Eddie Nketiah was by far the standout performer under Fergie, proving to be a shrewd signing from Arsenal as he scores just shy of a goal a start. We will be looking to bolster the squad for the upcoming season, especially now we'll be playing Champions League football. Key targets will be an aerially dominant centre back, another winger ideally right footed, a big man option up top and a left back to push Firpo for his place. Sessegnon is not worth paying £40m+ for.

March 1st 2022 Update Transfers Out Lets start with the players that left Elland Road. Forshaw was deemed surplus to requirements and we were lucky to find suitors in Asia. Rodrigo threw his toys out the pram after losing his playing time to youngster Gelhardt so he was moved on to Udinese who will sign him permanently for £8.25m in the summer. I was also pleased to receive a bid from the Saudi-backed Geordies for our backup centre back Llorente; on paper he's better than Cresswell but the Leeds local was given the place and has performed well enough to keep it. Dallas was the only player that we didn't really want to lose, but when PSG come knocking with a big bid for a 30 year old, you've got to consider it. Transfers In The first player through the door was Leeds-born academy graduate Lewis Cook who comes in to bolster our defensive midfield and link up with Phillips. I wanted to bring in young, hungry attacking recruits so Liam Delap was brought in as a potential future star and Nketiah returned to familiar surroundings after being transfer listed by Arsenal. The final signing was Sessegnon on loan, who came in as a replacement for Dallas, covering our left hand side. Results January didn't get off to the best of starts after we were thumped by the league leaders and then slumped to defeat in the FA Cup against bloody Luton! Fixtures favoured us from there on in picking up plenty of PL points but requiring last minute winners from youngster Gelhardt against Watford and Burnley. Premier League Table With 11 games remaining, not only was European football a possibility, but even a chance of getting Leeds back into the Champions League! Competition is tight though, with just 4 points separating 2nd and 7th.

January 1st 2022 Update Results Things really could not have got off to a better start! 9 wins out of 10 including Spurs, Arsenal and our fierce rivals United and Chelsea. A poor performance against a decent Leicester side was all that kept us from a 100% record going into the new year. Premier League Table Leeds' flirtation with relegation is nothing but a distant memory as now the Elland Road faithful start to believe in the possibility of the return of European football to Leeds. Tactics Here's the tactic and the current best 11 which includes the three local Leeds lads. Yes, it's Sacchi and it's still the same as FM13.... Telling the board we'd at least get a mid-table finish as opposed to the expected avoidance of relegation gave us a bit more dosh in the coffers to spend. We will bring in a maximum of 4 players, as 4 first team players joined in the summer (Harrison, Dan James, Junior Firpo and 2nd choice keeper Klaesson).

Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! If you're gonna do a fraudulent SAF challenge, you may as well do it with one of United's biggest rivals, right? Unfortunately I don't have an image of the league table, but as you can see above Leeds were sitting in 19th position as of 6th November and 10 games played, with my first game to be played against Villa on the day of arrival. We all know Leeds well. They're notoriously disliked. Nevertheless a successful history, with a few titles and near misses in Europe, as well as a big fanbase. They're a giant in the making just as Man Utd were when Fergie took over in 1986. The club culture is very much in line with what a (relatively) young Fergie would have wanted. And here he is! I think the attributes do him justice. His reputation should be higher, but I didn't want to give him any unrecognised caps... Here's the squad. While it has a core of aging players, there are some emerging talents and a sprinking of academy-grown players in Phillips, Shackleton and Cresswell who are all Leeds born too! Phillips is the heartbeat of the side (hands off City!) and Raphinha is a creative genius. There's also work rate in abundance.

The Frauds, Clubs and Progress @noikeee - FM22, Norwich City, Season 1 Complete (4th) @smp20 - FM22, Leeds United, Season 1 Complete (4th), Season 2 Complete (Champions League Winners + 5th) ABANDONED @andychar - FM23, Fulham, Season 1 @Deisler26 - FM23, Crystal Palace, Season 1 Complete (Survived, FA Cup Winners) @wynter - FM23, Nottingham Forest Torino, Season 1 @Hootieleece - FM23, Bournemouth, Season 1 Complete (Survived) @smp20 - FM22, Southampton, Season 1 @Kubson - FM23, Brentford, Season 1 Complete (10th) @Helginho - FM23, Bochum, Season 1

Alright ladies and gents! I've been nominated to start up the thread, I'm not as creative as some others so apologies in advance this may not be the most exciting opener. The aim of this thread is to give regular FMCU posters a place to take on a challenge together. We have a group of "frauds" that have already started up, but this is open to everyone that wishes to contribute! The write up below is shamelessly stolen and slightly adapted from the challenge thread so thank you very much @jaysdailydose! Now we are frauds after all, so these restrictions are loose. The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge Your Manager 44-years-old, December 31 birthdate, Scottish, No Additional Languages, International Player (Continental Level)/Continental Pro License (preferential, you can be any manager profile you want!) Sir Alex was 44 years old, coming up on his 45th birthday, when he took over Manchester United on November 6, 1986. He spoke limited German and French, so no additional languages should be given. He was a Scottish International with 9 goals in 7 caps, born December 31, 1941, and had a quality club career in Scotland (As an aside, at the time Fergie's caps were not counted by the Scottish FA so I went for Pro Footballer, National Level as playing experience) . Sir Alex had taken his badges by the age of 24, and had already won two European trophies in the Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Super Cup by the time of his appointment at United, so I'm sure we'll have no arguments over our manager! Challenge Rules and Restrictions You may load any database size and leagues you wish You must always have a player produced by your club's academy in every match squad (not just HG at club, but actually directly through the academy) You MAY sign ONLY 8 PERMANENT signings per season! Sir Alex never signed more than this ever in a season. ALL Options should be unchecked except for "Do Not Add Key Staff" -- you may do cosmetic edits, so your use of the editor IS ON YOUR HONOR. You MAY sign any player that you can scout. You do not have to scout them, but you MUST be able to do so. You MAY NOT ever do transfer business of any kind with your fiercest rival. (Liverpool/United have not exchanged a player since 1964.) [Phil Chisnall to Liverpool] You MAY NOT edit the game in any way other than cosmetic enhancements. No editor, no edited databases. A relegation is immediate challenge over at any time. A sacking is immediate challenge over at any time. International management is NOT allowed at any time. Any version of the game is OK (and encouraged) that can meet these restrictions. When starting the challenge, take a screenshot of your manager profile and the league table on November 6th for confirmation! NOTE: For the "academy player in squad rule" -- if you do not have an eligible player registered at the beginning of the challenge, you do not have to be compliant until your first chance to register players (January 1st of your first season.) It isn't a requirement, but you SHOULD try to develop your academy and youth coaching to their highest levels, and you should try to establish a coaching tree of former players. The Challenge Holiday until November 6, and take over the club 19th in the Premier League table. (Manchester United were 19th on 6 November, 1986) In 27 seasons, you need to complete the following... Milestones Win the FA Cup within 4 seasons - Ferguson won his first cup, the FA Cup vs Crystal Palace in 89/90 Win the Premier League within 7 seasons - Ferguson won his first Premier League in 92/93 Win a Premier League/FA Cup double within 8 seasons - Ferguson won his first Double with United in 93-94 Win Three Premier League/FA Cup Doubles within 13 seasons - Ferguson's Treble Included His Third League/FA Cup Double Win the Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League Treble within 13 seasons - Ferguson Won the Infamous Treble in 98/99 Achievements Premier League (13) FA Cup (5) League Cup (4) Community Shield (10) UEFA Champions League (2) UEFA Europa League (1) (Replaces the Cup Winners Cup) ** UEFA Super Cup (1) FIFA Club World Cup (2) (One Replaces Intercontinental Cup) ** A third UEFA Champions League will meet the UEFA Europa League requirement! Let the fraudulence commence!!!

Thanks mate! I should do that as well regarding post-match auto-save. I'm still on FM22 as I don't foresee buying FM23. As I'm in Vietnam at the moment it's more difficult to activate on steam and to be honest I'm still happy playing FM22 Apologies all I couldn't get back into this save after the crash

When you've forgotten to turn back on monthly auto-save after holidaying and this happens

Everton academy graduate Djankpata has been in scintillating form so I've decided to offer a longer contract.

Marine: 1st September 2024 Update Transfers Out Djalo and Fanning were both reasonable youngsters but lacked the personality profile that I was looking for. We managed to find new clubs for them to ply their trade. Transfers In Rydel --- Smith --- Grogan --- Hooper --- Quansah As to be expected it was a busy summer of squad building. Without the depths of scouting knowledge as professional clubs it was down to using local knowledge of players that had recently been released from local clubs and combining our own scouting with numerous trials, therefore it took weeks to settle a squad. The only early signing was Rydel - I had seen enough of him in a couple of training sessions to see he was exactly the kind of player I'm after. He's determined, hard-working, extremely fit and versatile. The next player confirmed in was a loanee who didn't even make it to a competitive appearance as he was released after 28 days - just not at the level. The next highlighted player is Kieran Smith, our only 30+ aged signing and he slots in to be our club captain despite not being the most talented. Grogan is a solid centre back and although he's on high wages in comparison, I think he's worth it. He can also cover defensive midfield. We finally managed to land a half decent left winger in Hooper, however he picked up a six-week injury so we're struggling in that department again. Out of all the signings, Quansah sticks out like a sore thumb. He'd recently been released by Liverpool's Development Squad and it's clear to see that he has the ability to be playing at a much higher level. A very good part-time wage of over £400pw and the option of staying close to home to be a star player seemed to have swayed him away from being part of another pro-clubs development squad. Results Pre-seasons don't get much better than that! We managed to draw against Crewe and defeat Accrington, great results against football league sides. We were able to carry on this momentum into the league season as we start with a 3-1-0 record and also managed to progress in the FA Cup. Squad Overview Overall I'm happy with the balance of the squad. if you exclude the 3 youth players in there to make up the numbers we have a first team of 18 players. The only position we're really lacking depth is left wing and we'll be looking to address that with a loanee. All of our signings have been local players, with those heralding from further away being some that were already at the club and Neary, who spent time on loan at divisional rivals Bootle. Doyle was the only player to be offered a new contract at the club, although Lonsdale has been retained on a non-contract basis. Djankpata and Smith have had excellent starts to the season, as has our centre back partnership of Quansah and Grogan.