Obviously, the football world was shocked when Sir Alex Ferguson became gravely ill this weekend, needing emergency surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage. In a way to honor the great man and show him that we are all thinking about him while he's ill, I felt I would revive an older challenge that seems to have fallen by the wayside to other challenges over the years. That challenge is The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge, of course!
The first time I saw this challenge was from poster "The Hudd" on Neoseeker many years ago, and he and any before or since him would deserve the credit for initially thinking the challenge up, I am just reviving it! There are two thoughts of how the challenge should be done, but I think the full replication approach is insanely difficult, and there is just too many arguments for how to do full replication with the Scottish years. So, I will bring the generally recognized challenge, and just add a small twist to it! Enjoy! The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge
Your Manager 44-years-old, December 31 birthdate, Scottish, No Additional Languages, International Player (Continental Level)/Continental Pro License ***
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. 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 MUST LOAD ONLY England to the Sky Bet Championship, with a small database. No additions! ** You must always have a player produced by your club's academy in every match squad.
You MAY sign permanently NO MORE THAN 11 players in a season, and ONLY 8 PERMANENT signings may feature in the first-team that 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 main 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 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.) Thank you to @TheEarl for pointing out this potential issue to where it could be fixed!
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.
** - I feel if people are competing, they should have the same setups for their saves. That setup allows poor computers in the competition. Competitive scoring system is below!
*** - If you are playing on FM17, your manager should be International Footballer (National Level) The Challenge Holiday until November 6, and take over the club second-bottom of the Premier League. (Manchester United were second-bottom on 6 November, 1986)
In 27 seasons, you need to do THIS... 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!
Scoring for Competitive Challengers While completion is the important thing, I have devised a scoring system for those that would like to compete, and I will be making a Challenge Hall of Fame.
UEFA Champions League Win - 1000 points
Challenge Milestone - 500 points
UEFA Europa League Win - 400 points**
UEFA Super Cup/FIFA Club World Cup Win - 200 points
Premier League Win - 200 points FA Cup Win - 200 points
League Cup Win - 100 points
Community Shield Win - 50 points FULL Completion of ALL CORRECT Trophies and Milestones within 27 years will net you *10,000* points. If you are able to obtain more trophies, your points will be added to the Hall of Fame as a higher score, but ONLY IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST THE CORRECT TROPHIES. So, if you win 20 Premier Leagues in 27 years, but you've only won 2 Champions Leagues and no Europa's, you WILL NOT outrank someone who has the correct trophies. If you don't win your first FA Cup in 4 Seasons, we will acknowledge your point total, but NOT as a "Full Completion." I hope this makes sense, if it doesn't, I'll gladly break it down.
** If you are using a third Champions League for a Europa League, one of them only counts 400 points. If someone wins the Europa League, they won't be looked at as a "lesser" completion just because you won 3 UCL! THANKS EVERYONE WHO GETS INVOLVED, AND GET WELL SIR ALEX!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Obviously, the football world was shocked when Sir Alex Ferguson became gravely ill this weekend, needing emergency surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage. In a way to honor the great man and show him that we are all thinking about him while he's ill, I felt I would revive an older challenge that seems to have fallen by the wayside to other challenges over the years. That challenge is The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge, of course! The first time I saw this challenge was from poster "The Hudd" on Neoseeker many years ago, and he and any before or since him would deserve the credit for initially thinking the challenge up, I am just reviving it! There are two thoughts of how the challenge should be done, but I think the full replication approach is insanely difficult, and there is just too many arguments for how to do full replication with the Scottish years. So, I will bring the generally recognized challenge, and just add a small twist to it! Enjoy! The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge Your Manager 44-years-old, December 31 birthdate, Scottish, No Additional Languages, International Player (Continental Level)/Continental Pro License *** 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. 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 MUST LOAD ONLY England to the Sky Bet Championship, with a small database. No additions! ** You must always have a player produced by your club's academy in every match squad. You MAY sign permanently NO MORE THAN 11 players in a season, and ONLY 8 PERMANENT signings may feature in the first-team that 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 main 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 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.) Thank you to @TheEarl for pointing out this potential issue to where it could be fixed! 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. ** - I feel if people are competing, they should have the same setups for their saves. That setup allows poor computers in the competition. Competitive scoring system is below! *** - If you are playing on FM17, your manager should be International Footballer (National Level) The Challenge Holiday until November 6, and take over the club second-bottom of the Premier League. (Manchester United were second-bottom on 6 November, 1986) In 27 seasons, you need to do THIS... 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! Scoring for Competitive Challengers While completion is the important thing, I have devised a scoring system for those that would like to compete, and I will be making a Challenge Hall of Fame. UEFA Champions League Win - 1000 points Challenge Milestone - 500 points UEFA Europa League Win - 400 points** UEFA Super Cup/FIFA Club World Cup Win - 200 points Premier League Win - 200 points FA Cup Win - 200 points League Cup Win - 100 points Community Shield Win - 50 points FULL Completion of ALL CORRECT Trophies and Milestones within 27 years will net you *10,000* points. If you are able to obtain more trophies, your points will be added to the Hall of Fame as a higher score, but ONLY IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST THE CORRECT TROPHIES. So, if you win 20 Premier Leagues in 27 years, but you've only won 2 Champions Leagues and no Europa's, you WILL NOT outrank someone who has the correct trophies. If you don't win your first FA Cup in 4 Seasons, we will acknowledge your point total, but NOT as a "Full Completion." I hope this makes sense, if it doesn't, I'll gladly break it down. ** If you are using a third Champions League for a Europa League, one of them only counts 400 points. If someone wins the Europa League, they won't be looked at as a "lesser" completion just because you won 3 UCL! THANKS EVERYONE WHO GETS INVOLVED, AND GET WELL SIR ALEX!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
