[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

16 hours ago, tamertunatt said:

congratulations again, @JoeLapira.I am happy that you are getting better results.I am bad at this game.I decided to comment about tactics,discuss football with someone because.I want to learn something.

If you have any questions, or require help start a thread maybe. Just like this one there is plenty of people willing to give advice and help out.

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

@tamertunatt I have some slight changes since the screenshot which has improved us again. The AML is now IWs this allows more space for my LB to operate. The WTM is not on support duty and the Mez is now on attack. Also I now have just standard passing but a quicker tempo and we are playing some excellent football while still solid at the back.

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

Just an update on this, through injuries and resorting to a tried and tested tactic I have settled on this new tactic. We still are defensively solid and although we are not banging in goals we are definitely creating more chances than before. I decided to limit to TIs as a foundation and make in match changes as required. If anyone has any thoughts or feedback on this feel free to voice them. We had a media prediction of 16th at the start of the season but as you can see from the screenshot we are going pretty well. PS still in the FA Cup and Leasing.com cup aswell.

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

3 minutes ago, zabyl said:

Keep in mind that FBa behind an IWa (WM) is not necessary and risky too. They will have less space between them with both on attack duty. It can be used like that but i don't suggest.

Sorry I meant ill try a FB s, hit the wrong letter 

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

@zabyl I went with counter pressing so we could win the ball back early which I think has helped with my strong defensive performances.

Good point on the right flank though, the reason I have WBs is to make use of the space that the IW leave they cut inside. I'll try FB a and see what difference that makes

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

@Experienced Defender Ive been playing fm since the early cm days and somehow always end up with defensively sound tactics even when I'm not trying lol. I'm very happy with the results just not so much the attacking performance, like if I go 1-0 down we're gonna struggle to equalise currently, which happened in our defeat in the league and Cup game.

 

@NotSoSpecialOne  I see your point re the difference in TIs and roles, never really spotted that so I'll look to settle on a style. And as for the F9+SS combo, it has worked well for me before and maybe its not working now because of my confusion in style.

@Johnny Ace good point actually, hopefully as they get more familiar with it, they will improve. 

I will add i originally had the RCM as a BWMd but felt it was too defensive and there was no real support centrally as we attacked, hence the change. 

Thanks for the feedback lads, definitely something to work with there 👍 

[Defensively sound, blunt in attack, 4-4-1-1]

In my current journey man save i have ended up with Colchester United. Having taken over with 10 games left in the season, it gave my time to assess the team as we were comfortably safe from relegation and had not much chance of the playoffs. I settled on a 4-4-1-1 and during the summer window signed the players needed to work in my tactic. I know its early days, but after 6 league games we have W3 D2 L1 scoring only 5 goals(4 from set pieces) but conceding only 2. We create very little from open play and basically i'm hoping someone can give me advice or highlight some deficiencies in my tactic. Thanks in advance.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Not at my computer so no screenshots I'm afraid. Last time i posted i mentioned how my save had gone a little stale. Well i took some time away from it and messed about with FM17, which helped big time as I went back to this Challenge earlier in the week and my hunger has been reignited. My last report was a brief one about my time in Turkey, which ended with me winning a Treble with Galatasary before moving on to PSG. At PSG we won the league without losing a single match and we also won both French Cups bringing my total to 26/33. I also secured the S.Korea national job and my target is the 2035 Asian Cup. We secured the East Asian Cup and are walking through our W.C qualifying group, so things are looking good. After finishing the season with PSG I resigned with the aim of finding a job in either S.America or Africa as they are my 2 remaining club continental trophies. And guess where I ended up, back at Santos. Although I didn't enjoy my first spell there i feel i have unfinished business there. I took over with 13 games gone in 3rd, have won the following 9 games, opening up a 4 point gap at the top and we are also into the semi finals of the Cup. If i can secure the Brazilian Cup and next season's Copa Lib. then i will have only 3 club cups remaining; 1 league, 1 cup and the African Champs Lge. Which means I can secure them all with one club, hopefully. 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Great to see plenty of progress here, unfortunately i felt my save was getting a little stale so i took a few weeks away from it. Then my brother decided to get me FM 17 for Xmas and now i find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I'm keen to try a one-club challenge like Dafuge's and i'm also very keen to play FM 17 but i dont wanna totally give up on this Challenge as i'm pretty close to completing it. When i last saved, i was 1 point clear of the top of Lique 1 with 15 games to play, and still in the French Cup. I reckon i could finish this challenge off in about another 2-3 months, but can i resist the temptation of FM 17.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Again not enough time for a full season report but I was able to secure another treble with Galatasary by winning the LEAGUE, the CUP and the Europa League. Although the EL doesn't count towards the Challenge its a nice trophy to add to my collection. I've since moved onto PSG in France, taking over with 4 games gone in 4th position. Monaco have dominated recent seasons, but i'm confident we can secure the League at least. Having trouble on the International job front recently though, no countries in either S.America or Asia have had any vacancies since i left Italy. I was hoping some might become available after the 2030 World Cup but only jobs in Europe and N.America came up. 

CLUB CAREER

Season     Club			Pos	DC1	DC2	Cont	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	1st    	R.4	R.1	n/a	Champions and promoted to League 1.
2016/17   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	2nd	R.4	R.2	n/a	Promoted to Championship via playoffs.
2017/18   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	3rd	R.5	R.3	n/a	Reached playoffs but lost out on chance to go the Premiership. Challenge Cup WINNERS!! Resigned from Berwick.
2018      Suwon FC(KOR)		3rd	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 12 league games remaining. Promoted to K-League Classic via Playoffs.
2019	  Suwon FC(KOR)		9th	R.5	n/a	n/a	Favourites for relegation but survived.
2020	  Suwon FC(KOR)		11th	R.5	n/a	n/a 	Left Suwon for Swallows(RSA) with 9 games to go.
2020/21	  Swallows(RSA)		7th	R.2	WIN	n/a	Took over with one game played. KO Cup WINNERS!!
2021/22	  Swallows(RSA)		6th	n/a	R.2	n/a	Left after 10 games to join Vancouver Whitecaps.
2022	  Vancouver(USA)	1st	n/a	n/a	Q.F	MLS CHAMPIONS!!! Won Canadian Championship. 22/23 NACL still ongoing.
2023	  Vancouver(USA)	3rd	n/a	n/a	WIN 	NACL CHAMPIONS!!! Left for Busan.
2023	  Busan(KOR)		1st	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 22 Games gone in 5th. League Champions!!!
2024	  Busan(KOR)		7th	WIN	n/a	WIN	Very poor league performance. Korean Cup Champions!!! ACL Champions!!! Resigned from Busan.
2024/25	  Roma(ITA)		3rd	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over with Roma in 4th position, 22 games gone. Italian Cup Champions!!
2025/26	  Roma(ITA)		1st	WIN	n/a	S.F	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Champions League in the Semi Final.
2026/27	  Real Madrid(ESP)	1st	WIN	n/a	R.2	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Europa League in the Second Knockout Round.
2027/28	  Dortmund(GER)		1st	WIN	n/a	WIN	Fantastic season, completing the TREBLE!!!
2028/29	  Dortmund(GER)		3rd	Q.F	n/a	R.1	Won Club World Championship!! Left during Winter Break for Chelsea.
2028/29	  Chelsea(ENG)		1st	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over in 11th after 18 games. League and Cup Champions!!!
2029	  Santos(BRA)		1st	R.1	n/a	n/a	Took over after 6 games. Won the League and the Copa Sudamericana.
2029/30   Galatasary(TUR)	1st	WIN	n/a	n/a	Took over after 17 games. Won the League, the Cup and the Europa League.
2030/31   PSG(FRA)						Took over after 4 games.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year	Nation        	WC     	Cont.  Conf.  	Notes & Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015	
2016	Scotland u19	n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for European U19 Championship.
2017	Scotland u19				Resigned as Scotland u19 Manager.
2018
2019	China u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Resigned as China u23 Manager without playing a match to take over Tunisia
2019	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for 2020 CHAN.
2020	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Qualified for 2021 ACON.
2021	Tunisia		n/a	WON	n/a	ACON WINNERS!! Secured  2022 World Cup Qualification.
2022	Tunisia		3rd	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Finsihed 3rd in World Cup. Left Tunisia for Costa Rica after World Cup.
2022	Costa Rica	n/a	n/a	n/a	CAM WINNERS!! 
2023	Costa Rica	n/a	WON	n/a	GOLD CUP WINNERS!!! Left Costa Rica.
2024	Brazil u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Olympics WINNERS!!! Resigned from Brazil u23s.
2025	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for World Cup.	
2026	Italy		WON	n/a	n/a	WORLD CUP WINNERS!!!	
2027	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for Euro 2028.		
2028	Italy		n/a	WON	n/a	Euro 2028 Champions!!!	
2029	Italy		n/a	n/a	WON	Confederation Cup WINNERS!! Resigned from Italy.
2030

Club
8/10 top domestic leagues (USA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG,BRA,TUR)
7/10 domestic cups (RSA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG,TUR)
3/5 club continental championships (N.America, Asia, Europe)
1/1 club world championship


International
3/5 continental tournaments (Africa, N.America, Europe)
2/2 world tournaments (World Cup, Confed. Cup)

24/33 Total

 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Not much time so cant do a full report but progress has been slow over the last few weeks. I won both the Brazilian LEAGUE and the Copa Sudamericana with Santos but I wasn't happy at the club and left after Suda final to take over at Galatasary in Turkey. Galatasary were 4th after 17 games, 7 points behind top spot. They were also still in the Turkish Cup and the Europa League. I know I had a chance to have a crack at the Copa Lib. with Santos but I don't think i could have endured another season at the club, whereas now I have 2 more Challenge trophies to aim for. 

CLUB CAREER

Season     Club			Pos	DC1	DC2	Cont	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	1st    	R.4	R.1	n/a	Champions and promoted to League 1.
2016/17   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	2nd	R.4	R.2	n/a	Promoted to Championship via playoffs.
2017/18   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	3rd	R.5	R.3	n/a	Reached playoffs but lost out on chance to go the Premiership. Challenge Cup WINNERS!! Resigned from Berwick.
2018      Suwon FC(KOR)		3rd	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 12 league games remaining. Promoted to K-League Classic via Playoffs.
2019	  Suwon FC(KOR)		9th	R.5	n/a	n/a	Favourites for relegation but survived.
2020	  Suwon FC(KOR)		11th	R.5	n/a	n/a 	Left Suwon for Swallows(RSA) with 9 games to go.
2020/21	  Swallows(RSA)		7th	R.2	WIN	n/a	Took over with one game played. KO Cup WINNERS!!
2021/22	  Swallows(RSA)		6th	n/a	R.2	n/a	Left after 10 games to join Vancouver Whitecaps.
2022	  Vancouver(USA)	1st	n/a	n/a	Q.F	MLS CHAMPIONS!!! Won Canadian Championship. 22/23 NACL still ongoing.
2023	  Vancouver(USA)	3rd	n/a	n/a	WIN 	NACL CHAMPIONS!!! Left for Busan.
2023	  Busan(KOR)		1st	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 22 Games gone in 5th. League Champions!!!
2024	  Busan(KOR)		7th	WIN	n/a	WIN	Very poor league performance. Korean Cup Champions!!! ACL Champions!!! Resigned from Busan.
2024/25	  Roma(ITA)		3rd	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over with Roma in 4th position, 22 games gone. Italian Cup Champions!!
2025/26	  Roma(ITA)		1st	WIN	n/a	S.F	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Champions League in the Semi Final.
2026/27	  Real Madrid(ESP)	1st	WIN	n/a	R.2	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Europa League in the Second Knockout Round.
2027/28	  Dortmund(GER)		1st	WIN	n/a	WIN	Fantastic season, completing the TREBLE!!!
2028/29	  Dortmund(GER)		3rd	Q.F	n/a	R.1	Won Club World Championship!! Left during Winter Break for Chelsea.
2028/29	  Chelsea(ENG)		1st	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over in 11th after 18 games. League and Cup Champions!!!
2029	  Santos(BRA)		1st	R.1	n/a	n/a	Took over after 6 games. Won the League and the Copa Sudamericana.
2029/30   Galatasary(TUR)
	
INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year	Nation        	WC     	Cont.  Conf.  	Notes & Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015	
2016	Scotland u19	n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for European U19 Championship.
2017	Scotland u19				Resigned as Scotland u19 Manager.
2018
2019	China u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Resigned as China u23 Manager without playing a match to take over Tunisia
2019	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for 2020 CHAN.
2020	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Qualified for 2021 ACON.
2021	Tunisia		n/a	WON	n/a	ACON WINNERS!! Secured  2022 World Cup Qualification.
2022	Tunisia		3rd	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Finsihed 3rd in World Cup. Left Tunisia for Costa Rica after World Cup.
2022	Costa Rica	n/a	n/a	n/a	CAM WINNERS!! 
2023	Costa Rica	n/a	WON	n/a	GOLD CUP WINNERS!!! Left Costa Rica.
2024	Brazil u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Olympics WINNERS!!! Resigned from Brazil u23s.
2025	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for World Cup.	
2026	Italy		WON	n/a	n/a	WORLD CUP WINNERS!!!	
2027	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for Euro 2028.		
2028	Italy		n/a	WON	n/a	Euro 2028 Champions!!!	
2029	Italy		n/a	n/a	WON	Confederation Cup WINNERS!! Resigned from Italy.

Club
7/10 top domestic leagues (USA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG,BRA)
6/10 domestic cups (RSA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG)
3/5 club continental championships (N.America, Asia, Europe)
1/1 club world championship


International
3/5 continental tournaments (Africa, N.America, Europe)
2/2 world tournaments (World Cup, Confed. Cup)

22/33 Total

 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Good to see some new faces starting the Challenge, will be interesting to see how ye get on and good to see others making good progress. How has FM17 been for those who are playing it?

In my own game, I won the Confederations Cup with Italy and resigned a couple of days later. I'm gonna miss Italy, I've essentially had the same squad since I started WC qualifying so it sort of felt like a club team. Speaking of clubs, we're joint top of the Brazilian League with 21 games gone, we were already out of the Cup but we have got the Copa Scudamerica to compete for, although it doesn't count towards the Challenge, its a cup nonetheless. 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@SavoNFFC, best of luck with the ACL, hopefully you can avoid Seoul. What reputation are you on, its seems strange that you havent been able to secure any of those International jobs.

@Fadedaf; congrats on the Norwegian double. Its always nice to see people winning things in different leagues. Any preferences on your next destination?

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Wasn't long before i got a new job. Santos sacked their manager after their first game of the season, which was a draw. I resigned from Chelsea to ensure that compensation wasn't issue and a couple of weeks later i was Santos manager. The caretaker manager had being doing well, winning 4 and drawing one of his 5 games in charge. Unfortunately they had been eliminated from the Brazilian Cup though, but i took the job nonetheless. So after 6 games we were top of the table, let my Brazilian adventure begin.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

2028/29 Season Review

Chelsea

League

So having taken over Chelsea with 20 games left in the season, but a massive 17 points behind City, my plan for this season was to focus on the FA Cup and use the league to assess the squad and see what I needed to win the league next season. But a small glimmer of hope appeared after our 3rd game which happened to be a win over City, this was our 3rd win a row and for City it was their 3rd defeat. So now we were only points behind City with 17 games left. Could it be done? Having only suffered 1 defeat and a couple of draws in our next 14 games we were in with a shout. By this stage United were on top 4 points clear of us in 3rd with City in the middle. All 3 of us won our 2 next games but in the second last game, it all changed. City and United both lost and we won, meaning we went in the last game with a shot for the title. We were away to Villa, while United were at home to QPR and City were away to Sheffield United. We went into the game without our 2 first choice strikers but at least we had a fighting chance. The final game was the most nerve racking game of this save. Come half time we were 2-1 up, City being held and most importantly United were 3-1 down. I actually could watch and left the room. I asked my missus to keep an eye and make any changes in case of sending offs or injuries. Thankfully there were none and by the time i came back into the room we were Champions.

FA Cup

This was my focus for the season as i wanted to finish the season with a trophy. We breezed through the first couple of rounds beating Swansea and Chesterfield. We then went on to require replays against Man Utd and Villa in the next 2 rounds before struggling to overcome Bradford in the Semi Finals. We were scheduled to face Everton in the final and as like the final League game we had to do it without our 2 first choice Strikers. Armado Ferriera stepped up to the plate with a hat trick to secure us that League title, could he do it again? Well his early goal calmed my pre-match nerves but Everton soon pegged us back. It was a very nervy game and went to Extra Time where both teams shared another couple of goals in ET and so it was to penalties. Again i left the room and again by the time i came back we had done it, we had done the double, my 4th domestic league and cup double in a row.

Champions League

Although I won this last year I wouldn't have mind winning it again. That ambition was very short lived though as we lost in the 1st knockout round on away goals to Bayern.

World Club Championships(2029)

My final trophy with Dortmund was the CWC, I said it was an easy run in an earlier post and as you can see it was. We beat Shandong in the Semis quite easily and followed up with another comfortable victory over Boca Juniors in the final.

Player of the Season: Ashley Donnelly: 32 goals in 42 games, 8 of those helped us reach the FA Cup final.

Club Challenge XI: Same as the earlier post, Donnelly was the only one who might have made it I couldn't justify him taking the spot of either of the other 2 strikers.

So 2029 has been a very successful year and we still had the Confederations Cup to come in the Summer. Now that I had secured the English League and Cup i figured there was no real reason for me to stay at Chelsea, so i am hunt on for a new job.

CLUB CAREER

Season     Club			Pos	DC1	DC2	Cont	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	1st    	R.4	R.1	n/a	Champions and promoted to League 1.
2016/17   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	2nd	R.4	R.2	n/a	Promoted to Championship via playoffs.
2017/18   Berwick Rangers(SCO)	3rd	R.5	R.3	n/a	Reached playoffs but lost out on chance to go the Premiership. Challenge Cup WINNERS!! Resigned from Berwick.
2018      Suwon FC(KOR)		3rd	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 12 league games remaining. Promoted to K-League Classic via Playoffs.
2019	  Suwon FC(KOR)		9th	R.5	n/a	n/a	Favourites for relegation but survived.
2020	  Suwon FC(KOR)		11th	R.5	n/a	n/a 	Left Suwon for Swallows(RSA) with 9 games to go.
2020/21	  Swallows(RSA)		7th	R.2	WIN	n/a	Took over with one game played. KO Cup WINNERS!!
2021/22	  Swallows(RSA)		6th	n/a	R.2	n/a	Left after 10 games to join Vancouver Whitecaps.
2022	  Vancouver(USA)	1st	n/a	n/a	Q.F	MLS CHAMPIONS!!! Won Canadian Championship. 22/23 NACL still ongoing.
2023	  Vancouver(USA)	3rd	n/a	n/a	WIN 	NACL CHAMPIONS!!! Left for Busan.
2023	  Busan(KOR)		1st	n/a	n/a	n/a	Took over with 22 Games gone in 5th. League Champions!!!
2024	  Busan(KOR)		7th	WIN	n/a	WIN	Very poor league performance. Korean Cup Champions!!! ACL Champions!!! Resigned from Busan.
2024/25	  Roma(ITA)		3rd	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over with Roma in 4th position, 22 games gone. Italian Cup Champions!!
2025/26	  Roma(ITA)		1st	WIN	n/a	S.F	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Champions League in the Semi Final.
2026/27	  Real Madrid(ESP)	1st	WIN	n/a	R.2	League and Cup Double!!! Knocked of Europa League in the Second Knockout Round.
2027/28	  Dortmund(GER)		1st	WIN	n/a	WIN	Fantastic season, completing the TREBLE!!!
2028/29	  Dortmund(GER)		3rd	Q.F	n/a	R.1	Won Club World Championship!! Left during Winter Break for Chelsea.
2028/29	  Chelsea(ENG)		1st	WIN	n/a	R.1	Took over in 11th after 18 games. League and Cup Champions!!!
2029	  Santos(BRA)
						Took over after 6 games.	
INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year	Nation        	WC     	Cont.  Conf.  	Notes & Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015	
2016	Scotland u19	n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for European U19 Championship.
2017	Scotland u19				Resigned as Scotland u19 Manager.
2018
2019	China u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Resigned as China u23 Manager without playing a match to take over Tunisia
2019	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for 2020 CHAN.
2020	Tunisia		n/a	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Qualified for 2021 ACON.
2021	Tunisia		n/a	WON	n/a	ACON WINNERS!! Secured  2022 World Cup Qualification.
2022	Tunisia		3rd	n/a	n/a	CHAN WINNERS!! Finsihed 3rd in World Cup. Left Tunisia for Costa Rica after World Cup.
2022	Costa Rica	n/a	n/a	n/a	CAM WINNERS!! 
2023	Costa Rica	n/a	WON	n/a	GOLD CUP WINNERS!!! Left Costa Rica.
2024	Brazil u23	n/a	n/a	n/a	Olympics WINNERS!!! Resigned from Brazil u23s.
2025	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for World Cup.	
2026	Italy		WON	n/a	n/a	WORLD CUP WINNERS!!!	
2027	Italy		n/a	n/a	n/a	Qualified for Euro 2028.		
2028	Italy		n/a	WON	n/a	Euro 2028 Champions!!!	
2029	Italy		n/a	n/a	

Club
6/10 top domestic leagues (USA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG)
6/10 domestic cups (RSA,KOR,ITA,ESP,GER,ENG)
3/5 club continental championships (N.America, Asia, Europe)
1/1 club world championship


International
3/5 continental tournaments (Africa, N.America, Europe)
1/2 world tournaments (World Cup)

20/33 Total

 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

If i recall there's only 5 teams in the Competition, the 3 MLS sides are straight into the Semis while 2 other sides are in a preliminary round to see who's the 4th team in the Semis. But look if people wanna include as a Cup id have no problem claiming it as my 6th Cup 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Also, @Fadedaf; i would resign from the Eagles. Potential employers might be put off when they have to pay compensation to get ya. As you say yourself, you've taken them as fae as you can, its time for a new chapter. 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@TheEarl; I had that Canadian Cup problem in my save. I took over the Vancouver Whitecaps without knowing there was even a seperate Cup competition for the Canadian sides. I won the MLS and the NACL with them anyway so im not really that bothered. Personally i dont think it should count as the MLS sides go straight into the Semis, so 2 wins and you have a cup towards the Challenge. Wouldnt that be too easy?

As for Mexico, my understanding is that either the Opening and Closing stages count, as long as you win the playoffs in the end.

 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Here's my own Challenge XI, this is for club level only as I will be doing a separate one for International players:

GK: Boalefa Pule(Swallows) - Heroics in 2 shootouts helped secure my first Challenge Trophy.

RB: Lee Joo-Yong(Busan) - Key player in ACL winning team. 2 goals and 5 assists in the ACL alone.
CB: Cakarevic(Dortmund) - 17 years of age, 35 games with an average rating of 7.78. 
CB: McGreever(Berwick) - Captained my Berwick side 3 years in a row and only missed 2 league games.
LB: Alex Telles(Roma) - Always reliable, played every single game for me at Roma.

RM: Everson Felipe(Dortmund) - 24 assists and 11 goals, best set piece taker that i've managed. 
CM: Florenzi(Roma) - Most important player for me at Roma, played in several positions and never let me down.
CM: Mason(Vancouver) - Key player during the NACL winning campaign with Vancouver.
LM: Cuneyt Kacar(Dortmund) - 23 assists and 18 goals, tore so many right backs to pieces.

CF: Joao Afonso(Dortmund) 40 goals in 48 apps, 11 goals in the CL, 3 in the final.
CF: Gens Luis(Real Madrid) 41 goals in 43 appearences. Best player i've managed.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@numero uno gunner; Congratulations 

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@Fadedaf; Hard luck with the Champions League, but don't get too disheartened. You've had a good start to the Challenge and you'll have chances again to have a crack at it. As you say maybe it's time to move on, any idea where you'd like to head next?

@vikeologist; It was a big divide but having played 3 league games last night the gap is now down to 8 points. We won all 3 and City lost all 3 with the 3rd one being a 2-1 win for us over City themselves, so there's a glimmer of hope for a title challenge yet. Plus, we also safely navigated 2 rounds of the FA Cup so that's on track. Even though I only had a transfer budget of 8 million, I was able to secure 2 wide players, one for each side and both have slotted into the team seamlessly. Ya, Chelsea is a very good job to get, they already have a strong squad and I should get the funds in the summer to make it an even stronger squad.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

Congrats on the K-League title @vikeologist, getting Jeonbuk as your second job is a really good move. 

On my own side of things, I won the CWC with Dortmund. It was quite easy in the end and I'll include it in my end of season report. And so where to next now that i had won everything i needed with Dortmund. Seeing as i still needed continental trophies in S.America and Africa but still also needed the English and French leagues, along with 3 other leagues and 5 other cups it was going to be an interesting decision. Anyway the day before the CWC final, Massimo Allegri was sacked by Chelsea even though they had won the 2 previous league titles. I knew this meant they were having a poor season but i applied nonetheless. I got the job and by the time i did with 18 games gone Chelsea were a massive 17 points behind Man City in first. So that was any hope of a immeadiate league win out of the picture, but i didnt mind as it meant i had 20 games to assess my squad with the aim of winning the league next season. We were still in the FA Cup and Champions League, so thats where my focus was going to lie, particularly the FA Cup. The board's minimum expectation was Top 4, which would appear difficult given the terrible start but in fact Liverpool, who are currently in 4th are only a mere 4 points clear of us. The trickiest part would definitely be the squad, although it is really strong in most areas there isnt one natural wide player and given the fact i play 4-4-2 this will prove an interesting problem to solve.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@Fadedaf; best of luck with the African Champions League, it would be great to get that continent out of the way so early.

@Samme2351; welcome to the challenge. The 2nd tier of Romania looks an interesting place to start.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

@vikeologist; Ya it's definitely the right decision to stay at Dortmund, when I finished up playing last night i was in late October so not long till the CWC now anyway. The Man City job was available during the summer and i guess that turned my head a bit. I'm not bothered about being the quickest to finish the Challenge, i just wanna complete it to be honest and no i haven't quit Italy. When i took over my goal with them was to try and win the WC, Euros and Confed. Cup and I've got 2 out 3 so far. The Asian Cup is a concern though, the next one in my save is in 2031, hopefully one of the bigger nation's manager gets the chop after the 2030 World Cup. It will be interesting to see what jobs are available if I do win the CWC, with S.America and Africa left on the club continental list I'd say i'll probably head in one of those directions.

[The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive]

45 minutes ago, TheEarl said:

On a rare occasion a club who is qualified for CWC becomes available. But you should not count on it to happen. Most likely it will occur in a World Cup season, but I would go for Dortmund as with the team you build up with them for sure you can win it. 

Ya i've stuck with Dortmund and have started the season with them. We lost the German Super Cup to Bayern again but beat Man Utd to win the European Super Cup. We've won the rest of our games so far, 1 in the cup and 3 in the league. The 2 previous CWC's have been won by Gelsenkirchen and Bayern so hopefully we can continue the recent German dominance of the competition.