lukefox44
-
Posts
124 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Articles
FAQs
Online Manual
Support: Blocks
Support: Games
Bug Tracker
SIGames Manual (beta)
Profiles
Posts posted by lukefox44
-
-
Just curious how most people here approach tactics when joining new clubs.
Do most of you have a set tactic you just use constantly and force the team to fit or is it bespoke tactics for each team?
0 -
Luke Fox
Dandong Tengyue
2026
Going into the first season in the Chinese Super League we were initially predicted to finish rock bottom by a comfortable margin, but with another 3 foreign player slots now available to us I was pretty confident i could at least keep us up this year, get a coaching badge and move on.
Coaching Badges
I wasn't sure they'd let me do any more courses as at the end of last season they turned me down saying I'd only use my rep increase to leave, I mean they were correct, but still annoying. After a decent start in the league they eventually let me do the National A licence and then even my Continental C licence towards the end of the season.
Spoiler
How The Season Went
Last season I was worried the finances of the club were beyond repair, but I managed to shift on a lot of dead wood, replace similar level players on lower wages, sold some of my players that were actually worth something and even took some punts on players from the division below to maybe help the finances. This did help a little bit, but the board were pretty good with investing cash when needed and still allowing me some room in the market to make some moves.
We started the season incredibly well, way beyond what I was expecting for this team. I was happy I had improved the squad enough to survive but we were still 150-1 to win the league and predicted to finish 12th, comfortable but nothing to get excited about pre season. This changed massively after we won 2 of the first 3 games and looked good doing so, I was now hopeful of pushing a top half finish, but after 13 games it looked like we could achieve a lot more.
Spoiler
We would stay top of the table until game week 23, only 7 games to go, we were a point behind top, but being chased closely behind us.
Spoiler
Unfortunately we went on some awful form, really faded away, won a few towards to the end to still scrape a Top 4 finish. At the start of the season I would of bitten your hand off for a top 4 finish, but after the way the season went I couldn't help but feel like this was a missed opportunity. Just look at the post positions, we were top for a third of the league season, the team that won it were top for only one day.
Spoiler
Cup was nothing to shout about, we went out in the QF, rested a lot of players because at the time we looked like we were in a title battle.
What's Next?
This was a very good season, but it does feel like a bit of a one off. players are attracting interest from the bigger boys in china and we cant even slightly compete with wages. With such strict limits on foreigners its really hard to find Chinese players up to standard at all and the ones that are don't want to join, combine this with the fact I felt like we got figured out towards the end of the season and the squad I had built I couldn't easily transition away from the 4312 shape, Not a single wide player at the club. My rep is up to 2.5 stars / 45%, so I think I'll resign, holiday through to the winter league sacking start and see what is available. Also wouldn't mind a J League job, as from what I've seen it'll be the best chance at the ACL.
Challenge Progress
Spoiler
1 -
Luke Fox
Dandong Tengyue
2025
After a successful season with Lee Man I was happy to be patient and wait for an opportunity that looked promising, after a while DD Tengyue offered me the job. They had finished 5th the year before and the team looked decent and with no Foreign players contracted, with only being allowed 2 playing and one on the bench into the Chinese second level, I felt like I was a good opportunity to make some smart signings and hopefully finish in the top 2 and gain promotion.
Coaching Badges
Another reason I took the job was they were doing OK financially and even if I failed to gain promotion I should be able to squeeze a badge or two in before I move on. They initially blocked a course because my rep was already half a star bigger than the club and they were scared of losing me. They would eventually allow me to attend the course and gain my National A license.
Spoiler
How The Season Went
Once I joined I had a deeper look at the squad, we had 15 players contracted and 3 set to leave in a month or so. When started looking into transfers there was a massive amount of Chinese players who were free agents what would massively improve our team, because of this we were very active in the market bringing in a total of 20 players.
Spoiler
With the new squad I was confident of at least being able to challenge for promotion, that was until we went 1-0 down in the opening game in under 20 seconds. After spending about 6 hours on pre season this was a real worry that it could all be for nothing.
Spoiler
This turned out to be a false alarm as other than a blip towards the end of the season we were flying, eventually getting promoted by 5 points.
Spoiler
I would of liked to win the league and for a while it looked like we were going to, but realistically it doesn't make much difference and we are off to the top flight of Chinese football.
The cup was nothing to talk about, We easily won in the first round against a lower league side, but then the real challenge, we were drawn agent Shanghai Shenhua who were 5th in the top flight. We played very well, even had the lead until the last 15 minutes when they equalised, we fought hard and the boys were tired, I decided to try and hang on the last 10 minutes and get it to the lottery of penalties. This seemed to be working until they scored a 95th minute winning, way after the additional 3+ minutes we were promised. Hurt a bit but we weren't really targeting the cup as a winnable comp, but it did give me confidence that if I stayed beyond this season that i could probably have a fair stab at keeping them up.
What's Next ?
After securing promotion and our very encouraging performance against Shanghai Shenhua, I decided to give DD Tengyue at least one season in the top division, so i signed a new contract and starting planning for next season.
Spoiler
DD Tengyue are a tiny club in terms of reputation, facilities and finances, our lowest home attendance in the league was 136 and a highest attendance of 830, this wouldn't really worry me normally =, but the Chinese top league requires a minimum of a 30,000 seater stadiums. As a result we have had to rent a new massive stadium for now reason and the finances are in the toilet. The board have starting selling off all the facilities and taking out loans to try and cover the sudden £16m hole in the pockets. This could prove to be a disaster of a season if I cant make any signings, our current squad would be absolute whipping boys as we are now. Hopefully I can find some cash in the budget somewhere, if not this could be the end of my time here. I'm willing to give a go to try and survive but it could be fighting the impossible, let's see.
Spoiler
Challenge Progress
Spoiler
1 -
Luke Fox
Lee Man
2023 / 2024
Decided to give this challenge another go after a few years, here is my starting profile and first job.
Spoiler
Decided to go with Lee Man as i saw @Danny_H22 do very well with them.
Didn't go quite as well as winning all twenty league games, did go unbeaten with 2 draws though, won both the HK FA Cup and senior challenge cup as well. Did lose to Kitchee in the Sapling cup semi final in extra time though.
Spoiler
The AFC champions league wasn't much to shout about, out in the group stages, getting only 2 draws against April.25 of North Korea.
Wanted to give a special mention to my 6'7, 20 jumping reach striker, Kenny Aithu, scored an unreal amount of goals, not a defender in the country could match him aerially.
Spoiler
Lee Man were also kind enough to fund two coaching badges for me before we parted ways at the end of the season.
Spoiler
what's Next ?
I resigned at the end of the season as there was nothing more I could realistically do in Hong Kong. I think I want to stay in Asia for now, seems like a natural progression, Hopefully something interesting pops up there soon, if not I'm not fully against moving continent completely.
Challenge Progress
Spoiler
2 -
4 hours ago, Gregg88 said:
@timpy00 @lukefox44 Thanking you my friends! Will keep close tabs on the thread to see progress
I'd given my save a rest which is why I hadn't been here for a while, but your success has motivated me to get back into it.
I've now seen its actually possible haha.
0 -
Congrats mate, some achievement.
0 -
3 hours ago, goonergez said:
in all honesty I’ve enjoyed the different experience though and the same will be said when I go to South America and that. Part of my reason for going into this save was to experience some different leagues etc and so it’s an enjoyable experience so far
That's exactly why I started doing it as well, and with all the different leagues this has been my longest save by far for a long time.
If anything now I'm into Europe it's starting to lose me a little bit.
0 -
17 hours ago, goonergez said:
I’m just reaching the midway point of the season and it seems very much like they are. There was a shortage of central midfielders but I went out and dealt with it upon arrival. The volume of games is mad here though. So many different competitions but to be fair we’re competing throughout. Progress in the champions league has been nice too. Hopefully we can carry the form through the rest of the campaign.
Yeah the games come thick and fast dont they. Just wait until you get to Brazil though, about a 70 odd game season.
South Africa is pretty fun though isnt it, some really good youngster come through.
0 -
17 hours ago, The Regista said:
Yes sir, its THE James Rodriguez. At 34 he's a decent rotation option in the Uruguayan First Division.
I'm staying for the Copa Libertadores campaign. I want to see how this squad compares against the big teams from Brazil and Argentina. Nacional were in the Copa Libertadores this season before I joined, but got knocked out in the qualifying rounds.
This season I did become incredibly lazy with the game though. The standard 4-2-3-1 gegenpress filled in with the appropriate players was the reason we destroyed the Uruguayan campaign, and often we'd be a few goals up before half time. I'm not sure why that is - whether it's something I'm doing or something within the game. Either way, the results are what they are, and because of the results and the unknown of how good the Nacional squad actually is is under a non-AI manager against the rest of South America is why I'm hanging around until the Libertadores campaign is over.
You've seen with the couple of newgens I posted that we've got some cracking players coming through - the main battle is trying to fend off European and bigger South American sides (Boca are already after one, and they just won the Libertadores).
Unless my transfer period is incredible, I'll be on the hunt for a new job in a year or so - ideally in South America again and hopefully with a World Cup win on the CV!!
Yeah those youngsters you've got look very good. With those sort of players you should have a decent Copa Libertadores, some of the big Brazilian teams are a whole other level though haha.
I found in South America the top jobs seem to pop up quite often, so a decent world cup and you should be set.
0 -
On 23/02/2021 at 17:13, goonergez said:
After a successful first 18 months in management, I have just completed my first move as a manager. I had a really good spell with Royal AM, culminating in a promotion and culminating in a solid 5th placed finish in the South African Premier League. Realistically I was going to struggle to compete for honours with them though, and so I had already decided that now was the time to have a look around at other potential options. After a poor season it looked like Sundowns were the most likely to part ways with their manager, but in the end it was a surprise departure that gave me my new position.
Shortly after clinching a first South African Premier League title since the 2014/15 season manager Conti Khubeka resigned from his position and announced his retirement from management altogether. Frustratingly I had just signed a new one year deal with Royal AM after feeling like I wasn't going to get my move. Thankfully the excess compensation didn't scupper my chances though and shortly after attending an interview I was handed a contract to join Kaizer Chiefs.
As soon as the job became available I was sure it was where I wanted to go. After a solid first role I felt like I had earned the position, and now I can try and compete for major honours.
This club is much better equipped and the resources are vast. I will have the opportunity to try and retain the league title, as well as ply my trade in the African Champions League. The opportunity to pick up some trophies was the main reason for my move. Hopefully I can settle in quickly and we can have a real go at trying to win some silverware. It won't be easy, but I am confident that we can give it a real go and I am excited to get stuck in.
It's sad to be waving goodbye to Royal AM, but it was an opportunity that I simply couldn't miss.Season Team League Position Notes & Achievements 2020/21 Real Kings FC SA 1st Div 2nd (P) Won promotion play-off 2021/22 Real Kings FC SA Premier 5th Qualified for Confederations Cup 0/10 Domestic Leagues 0/10 Domestic Cups 0/5 Club Continental Championships 0/1 Club World Championship 0/5 International Continental Tournaments 0/1 World TournamentsFinishing 5th in your first season in the SA top flight is not easy at all, looks like you're flying in this save.
Are the Kaizer Chiefs set up for instant success?
0 -
20 hours ago, The Regista said:
Erm... Not quite sure how to put this...
Just... dominant.
Some season that mate.
You staying or you on the move?
0 -
Luke Fox
Borussia Dortmund
2035 / 2036
It's been a while since I've played this save but just managed to finish a very interesting season.
After concentrating on the Senegal job for so long I was a bit worried about what jobs in Europe i would be able to get, Dortmund hadn't even finished in the top 3 in the league for 4 season but with the money the had I was hoping to have a good season and hope for a massive club to offer me a job and start working towards the Champions league.
I was also reunited with two of my ex players, which was nice.
Francis Juma -Who I gave him his Professional debut at Anderlecht almost 10 years ago.
Spoiler
Mahamane Rachid - Who I signed for £30m at DL Pro
Spoiler
Dortmund won the cup the year before I joined so we had to play Bayern Munich in the Supercup. Bayern had won 11 of the last 12 league titles, so this was a good opportunity for me to see where we would be as squad in the upcoming season. It was a very close game that ended 2-2 and we won on penalties, the result might not be the most important but the performance gave me a lot of confidence. As a side note it was Bayern's first game in their new 110,000 capacity stadium, but they've obviously been so successful over the years the Supercup means nothing them and they sold us 87,000 tickets.
Spoiler
Europa League
I will get the Europa League out the way first, it would of been nice to win it, but the league and focusing on qualifying for the Champions League took priority.
Group Stage
SpoilerSome pretty poor results but we just got through.
First knockout round
SpoilerNot an easy draw but a home win followed by a very good away performance saw us progress.
Second knockout round
SpoilerFavourable draw, rested some key players in both legs, through relatively easily.
Quarter finals
SpoilerThis should of been a winnable tie, but we were outclassed at home by a Spurs that finished 8th in the Prem.
Semi finals
SpoilerFinal
SpoilerBundesliga
We started really well going unbeaten in our first 10 games, but so did Hertha who had a Tycoon take over earlier in the save and have some serious money to spend. Big favourties for the title Bayern Munich didn't start as quickly as us.
Spoiler
By the halfway point of the season we were still unbeaten but Bayern had found their form and were only 1 point behind us, despite us only dropping 8 points from a possible 51.
Spoiler
Ten games later and with only 7 left in the league we finally lost, but again Bayern were right on our tail, 2 points behind. I couldn't shake them off, it felt like we won every week, but so did they, i can see why they've been so dominate in Germany in recent history.
Spoiler
Game week 30 saw Bayern lose on Sunday to Schalke, giving us the chance on Wednesday to beat RB Leipzig to go 6 points clear with only 4 games to go and surely mean we were too far ahead to be caught. We only managed a draw and with 4 games left 4 points ahead, this was going down to the wire.
Spoiler
Game week 31 and this time we played before Bayern. We put in a poor performance and lost 1-0 to Freiburg, a win for Bayern against relegation threatened Werder Bremen would've seen them to within a single point of us. But against the odds Werder Bremen managed a draw and afforded us a touch more breathing space, all be it only 3 points.
Spoiler
Game week 32 and with Bayern in striking distance of us should we lose I was getting nervous, I shouldn't of been as we smashed Koln 7-2 and put the pressure on Bayern playing later to keep up with us. Bayern were playing another relegation threatened team in Stuttgart, I thought there was no way they could throw points away in back to back game against this sort of opponent. They did Stuttgart got a vital point in their survival push and a vital point in the title race for me. 2 games left and 5 points clear, surely we couldn't bottle it now.
Spoiler
Game week 33, Bayern played rock bottom Wolfsburg who were all but relegated, a first half red card for Wolfsburg and Bayern went onto win 3-0. We were playing Schalke, I was excited at the prospect of lifting our first league title in 12 years against our biggest rivals, but likewise they would love to derail our title push. That's exactly what they did, we took an early lead and I was half thinking the job was done, but they levelled the scored just before half time. A point would of left us 3 points ahead of Bayern but with a goal difference +10 higher still all but securing the title for us. Schalke not content with just postponing our celebrations but completely cancelling them buy scoring an 84th minute winner giving Bayern a realistic chance on the last day.
Spoiler
Game week 34, the final day of the season, a draw would win us the title as long as Bayern didn't win by 10 goals. We played Werder Bremen who had done us a massive favour a few games ago by holding Bayern to a draw, Bayern played Augsburg. Bayern won 4-1 but that didn't matter as we also won 4-1 and the title was ours. We also tried to help Bremen for their role in our title win, at 4-1 when I felt confident the game was won we stopped going forward and just knocked it around the back not even trying to score. This proved to be crucial for them as one more goal scored by us would of seen them drop into the relegation playoff on having scored fewer goals than Stuttgart. It was the least we could do.
Spoiler
It was a very good season, even if we did limp over the line a little bit. But to beat out Bayern is no easy task, just look at the past winners. In this save i seem to be having a few of these really lose run seasons and its the most fun I've had in a save in a long time.
Spoiler
The quality of our season was also reflected in the Bundesliga team of the season.
Spoiler
What next
After our poor performance in the Europa League I was sure the Champions league was possible for this Dortmund team, but they handed me a £125m transfer budget and with some sales i could really strengthen and have a good crack at it. I decided to give it one more year in Germany but then Barcelona offered me an interview and they appeared to be one of the best if not the best team in Europe (They even have Predrag Medic, who I Loved at Palmeiras). I was undecided on whether to take the job if offered it, but it turned out not to be my decision as they went in another direction. So I will have a crack at the Champions league and cup this year with Dortmund and hope something pops up.
Challenge update
Spoiler
2 -
29 minutes ago, Safe Hands said:
What I've enjoyed so far is playing in leagues I'd never even think of loading up. I'd never have managed in the Mexico 2nd division or South Africa. I've got the bug for this now but I'm realistic that I'm not very good at the game so will struggle to do a quarter of this. We'll see though one good job you can knock 3 of in a season but that can also turn to nothing because of 3 own goals from your left back. Suppose that's the appeal of the challenge. Cant wait to knock my first off ,if I wven get there
Yeah that's why I've stuck with this challenge, even if I never get the chance to complete it, this has been my favourite save on any FM for a while.
(Excluding my AFCON quarter final curse)
0 -
3 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:
I only have Argentina, Brazil, China and South Africa leagues loaded up at the moment. I can't remember what I did for the database but I think it was just a large database with nothing extra loaded. I forgot to load international players from all the continents.
Have I ballsed up and will I have to start again ?
I only ask cos of needing to get international jobs for the challenge.
In my set up I added all international Asian players, but that was the only change that I made.
I'm in 2036 (I think) and the international teams are fine for me as it is, just starting to notice the overall player count starting to decrease a touch.
Some relatively big clubs in playable leagues I've had loaded from the start have a few greyed out players in the youth teams. Seems to be a known issue with some teams only creating 3 or 4 Newgens per intake.
0 -
1 hour ago, vikeologist said:
@lukefox44Adding the top leagues from S Africa, China etc might eventually reverse the diminishing of international jobs. (It might not have that impact immediately, and you're probably always fighting against the tide of disappearing jobs.
If it's any comfort, and frankly it won't be, you're still a very. very long way away from the record of consecutive ACONs lost.
Incidentally your table is wrong. Nigeria in 2035 should be Senegal, but I dare say if you wait long enough, it will be Nigeria again.
The worrying thing is I still have them loaded, the International team are still fine but it starting to get noticeable that it wont last for ever.
What can I say I just love Nigeria, already been there twice and trying to write myself back into it haha.
0 -
Luke Fox
Senegal
World cup 2034 & AFCON 2035
World Cup
Groups
SpoilerThrew away an early two goal lead against Romania but easily beat New Zealand to top the group.
Second Round
SpoilerLosing 1-0 to a pretty poor Iran team until a 78th min penalty put us back in the game, it looked as if it would go to extra time but we snatched it with a last kick winner.
Third Round
SpoilerWe were drawn against a very good Holland team and it looked like a very tough ask. The first half ended 0-0 but surprisingly we were on top and had the best chances, we finally made the chances count and went 1-0 up just before the hour mark, They started throwing men forward and the pressure we were under was immense, as the game went on I started to think that we could maybe hold on. That was until the equalized right at the death to take it into extra time. By this point we were tired, they were a much more physically equipped than us and it was starting to show. We still had a few decent chances on the break but it was looking inevitable that they would score, we were just trying to hang on and take it to the lottery of penalties. It was going to plan until the 120th minute when they finally found the break through, they scored again on the break to make it 3-1 and we were out. Winning the World cup was never really realistic with Senegal but to go out like this to a team that went on to make the final was a killer.
Quarter Final
SpoilerSemi Final
SpoilerFinal
SpoilerAFCON
Groups
Spoiler
Second Round
SpoilerPretty comfortable win, 4-0 at half time I took my 3 best players off and dropped the tactic to the least intense tactic I could possibly set up, Very Defensive, No closing down, short slow passing and waste time. If I had learnt anything from my previous international failures its that condition is key if you want to go deep in tournaments.
Quarter Final
SpoilerMy Quarter final curse strikes again, pretty sure this isn't the first time its been the Ivory Coast either. Another game we dominated and just couldn't make our chances count and they punished us.
Semi Final
SpoilerFinal
SpoilerWhat Next?
SpoilerThe Senegalese FA wanted me to make at least the final of the AFCON but only to get out the groups of the world cup. With me over performing in the world cup they were very happy with me, I was hoping this would out weigh my failure at the AFCON, I wanted to stay on, they had other ideas.
I've now got to weight for another decent international job to become available, but if I'm honest the player count is starting to get smaller and I'm starting to worry I wont have many more chances at either the Asian Cup or the AFCON. Bit frustrating as the club side of the challenge is going really well so far, to be fair I've tried to the Pentagon numerous times and never even got close, so if I can do that ill be happy.
Challenge update
Spoiler0 -
2 hours ago, Gregg88 said:
I am very much that poacher as we speak! Haha. Taken over at Sundowns and i'm picking all those players up. I need to head down to South America, but unsure which country! Don't fancy a long season in Brazil, but I love the players that come through. Hmmm.
It's nice when it's you doing the poaching, less so when it's your players being poached isnt it haha
A season in Brazil probably takes as long as almost 2 seasons in Argentina, but in my save at least, the level in Brazil was much better and if you can get one of the top jobs it will probably take less time than building an Argentine side up.
0 -
8 hours ago, Safe Hands said:
Cheers mate thought it might be a bug as other teams seem to have tied their players down as tried to fight fire with fire. Anyway 10 games left in season so will pose my 1st proper club post over the weekend. Enjoy reading everyone's although was excited to try Brazil until I read yours thinking of actually knocking it off as a playable league 90 a game season
Try offering the players a contract but change the start date to end of season, I can't remember if i tried it or was just happy to start from scratch.
Brazil is a long season, but it's a pretty fun league. I had the same thoughts as you and tried Aregntina for the Libertadores, Argentina has a more normal 38 game season but in my save at least the Brazilian sides were much much better.
0 -
56 minutes ago, Safe Hands said:
Has anybody managed 2nd division south africa? How do you renew your players contracts. Teams are just cherry picking my players and I cant do anything about it
I did very early on and from memory theres a league rule that only allows 1 year contracts, so at the end of every season its chaos.
The team I was at weren't very good so I used it as an opportunity to bring in players as well, replaced basically my whole squad in one window, so that's always an option as well haha.
Me and @_JHTB_ were talking about how frustrating it was early on in this thread.
0 -
10 hours ago, berrers said:
Flamengo retained the title and we could only finish runners up after we blew a 2 goal lead in the penultimate game at home to Atletico Mineiro to draw 2-2 with a bizarre own goal in the 84th minute when one of my centre half's attempt to clear the ball cannoned into the net of my other centre halfs back.
Flamengo held a 2pt lead going into their final game versus Vitoria and they managed to hold serve and win 2-0. We done our bit beating Goias 3-1 away from home but it wasn't enough and we only have ourselves to blame finishing the season trophyless!
That's basically exactly how my first season in Brazil went, close all the way and lost out to a silly result or two. I was lucky to take over a few games into the league and not have to deal with the state champsbut its disappointing as hell though isnt it, all those games for nothing.
It's a long season but with a few decent signings you could easily clean up the league and Libertadores next year I think, if you stayed that is.
0 -
On 02/02/2021 at 18:47, timpy00 said:
@lukefox44Very nice season in Brazil, with seasons like that you can scratch a lot of cups off the list in no time.
Cheers mate, was a nice season. Yeah a lot of people here seem to struggle with the cup side, I'm doing ok at the minute, it's the international game im struggling with haha.
Congrats on the promotion, hows it looking to stay up next season? Holland is always a fun country to play in as well.
0 -
Luke Fox
Palmeiras
2032 / 2033
After the heartbreak in the league last season I was confident in the squad we had but we need some more depth, the games come thick and fast in Brazil, its crazy. I didn't make any crazy signings that would play in the first team, just some decent options in our easier games, the most notable was probably bringing a 34 year old Douglas Luiz back to Brazil from Aston Villa, as a Villa fan I couldn't not. Maybe more important than our signings was the players we managed to keep hold of, a lot of the big European clubs were sniffing around pretty much my whole back 4 and for big money too, I got some offers of £30m+. I did look at cashing in and replacing them with cheaper options that were hopefully as good, after all we only had £25m in the bank and at one point had a collection of offers worth over £100m, but there wasn't really anyone that we could bring in and money in the bank doesn't get you points.
State Championships
This wasn't anywhere a priority for me and I mainly used those back up players I bought in, but even with the first team hardly ever playing we had some good results against some good Serie A teams, Corinthians, Santos and Bragantino.
Spoiler
Serie A
We started off really well and were unbeaten after 10 games, winning 8 and drawing 2. Caue Santos was firing again with another run of 12 goals in 6 games, but despite our brilliant start Flamengo had also started unbeaten and we were level on points, it felt like it was going to be a long close season.
Spoiler
We then went on to win our next 9 league games in a row and started to build up a bit of a lead at the top.
Spoiler
It was starting to feel like we were unbeatable, even when we rested players around Copa Libertadores games we still won and mostly relatively comfortably. We eventually lost on our 29th league game, I was hoping for an invincible season but it wasn't to be, we even dominated the game as well.
Spoiler
We won the league with 7 games to go, we did lose another game but a very dominant season.
Spoiler
We only conceded 32 goals in 38 games and most of those come at the end of the season, we also kept 18 clean sheets, scored over 100 goals and almost a 100 points. Caue Santos ended the season with 49 goals in 36 games from only 112 shots at an average of a goal every 60 ish minutes, the most prolific forward I think I've ever had over a full season.
Spoiler
Club World Cup
The team had won the Libertadores a few seasons before I joined and mid season we had the club world cup, more games in a season in Brazil is never a good thing but we were drawn against Kaiser Chiefs and Barcelona so it would be a good test to see how good we really were on the not just the continental stage but the world stage. We beat the Kaiser Chiefs 4-2 relatively easily and had set up a winner qualifies match against barca. We lost 3-1 but that doesn't tell the whole story, at 1-1 we missed a penalty but the game was still very even but two pieces of brilliance sent us out, like I said extra games in brazil isn't a good thing so disappointed in the loss but only 2 extra games is a bonus.
Spoiler
Copa Libertadores
Group stages
SpoilerPretty straight forward, our draw was our last game after we already won the group and I played the kids to give our big guns a rest. We beat Velez easily twice which as they were maybe the best team outside of the Brazilian teams in the whole tournament.
Second Round
SpoilerA 5-1 away win meant i could again make 11 changes for the second leg and we were already comfortably through to the quarters.
Quarter Finals
SpoilerWe played Millonarios, another good non Brazilian team but a 3-1 first leg win followed by 3-2 in the second leg saw us through.
Semi Final
SpoilerEven though Botafogo were doing pretty averagely in the league this was still a challenge for us. We went 2-0 early on but a late goal gave us only a one goal lead to take back home. Our two away goals proved vital as we lost 1-0 on the night but went through on away goals, this was a close call they were pushing all game. We hadn't lost in all comps for a long time at the point of this game and we certainly hadn't had to defend this much for a while, but we held on and onto the final we go.
Final
SpoilerThe final was against Flamengo, the team who snatched the league title from us last year, I couldn't see the same team ruin my season twice in a row and to be honest I've enjoyed Brazil but I don't think I've got another 70+ game season.
We went 2-0 up inside 10 minutes and were absolutely cruising for the next 30 minutes. That was until my Left back who is joining Arsenal on a free at the end of the season went in for a 2 footed lunge in the middle of the pitch with no danger or need to what so ever. We were less dominant with 10 men but still comfortable, we ran the clock down, held the ball and went on to win 2-0.
Best Copa Libertadores Player
SpoilerOur Serbian Winger was incredible all year but especially in this tournament, he has a £16m release clause to foreign clubs and despite major interest from the likes of Man Utd and Bayern Munich we managed to keep hold of him all year. I think when I go to Europe I will be seeing him again, he has the potential to go a long way.
What Next
SpoilerI've left Palmeiras now as I won everything on offer but the cup and I'm not playing a 75 game season for a chance at a cup. I've just taken the Senegal job, ranked 13th in the world and the top African club, we have a world cup and then an AFCON in 2034, so I might stay without a club job for a year unless a very good opportunity pops up. With only the European Champions League left on the continental side that will be my next move, hopefully to a if club in the top 5 league but we will have to see what comes up.
Challenge update
Spoiler
4 -
Luke Fox
Palmeiras
2031 / 2032
After resigning from Racing in Argentina I was a little unsure of what my next move should be, I couldn't decided between going to Europe and trying to up my rep before returning to South America or to try and stay and work towards the Copa Liberatores. The Palmeiras job become available but the club was a bit higher rep than my manager so I wasn't sure I would even get an interview. They were under performing in the league and had been knocked out of the Liberatores in the second round but the quality of squad was evident and they should really of been doing a lot better. I was a bit surprised to be offered the job but excited to get started trying to turn it around, the board wanted me to qualify for the Libertadores and that seemed to be very achievable. This is the league when I took over, only 2 points from the top 7 but the top end of the table looked well out of reach.
My first few games in brazil were a bit of a shock. I was playing in a league I had never been to before and some of the formations and styles of play were like nothing I've come across yet in any league on this game. I regularly came across this formation.
I soon realised that playing a standard back 4 probably wouldn't end well, we would just get out numbered every time the opposition attacked. So I set up a back 3 formation for the first time in a long time.
It was also the first time I played two up top for a while and found it to be very good. Caue Santos had only 4 goals in the 15 matches before I joined but the new system seemed to really suit him, he went on a massive goal scoring run, he got 20 goals in my first 11 games including a real purple patch of 12 in 6 at one stage.
Spoiler
With our early form we managed to climb the table from 11th when I joined to 6th for a few weeks and then up to 2nd in what seemed like no time at all and maybe a bit surprisingly within touching distance of top club Corinthians who were 5 points clear at the top and 12 points ahead of us when I joined.
Then after being so dominant all season out of no where Corinthians lost 4 games in a row, including tow games to teams battling relegation and from no where with 10 games to go we were 6 point clear at the top and in great form. It was in our own hands but with 2 of our last 4 games against Corinthians who were 6 points behind us and Flamengo who were 9 points behind it was going to go down to the wire.
After winning 15 games from my first 17 league games it was looking good and even seemed like we had teams a bit scared. Fortaleza who were in 7th place and doing pretty well dropped there normal 4231 system to this 5410 monstrosity
Spoiler
After a few games we found ourselves 7 points clear with 8 games to go, we played Bahia who were sat in 15th at the time and it should of been an easy win for us. Somehow they absolutely murdered us 5-1, both Corinthians and Flamengo won, our lead was down to 4 points ahead of Flamengo and 5 in front of Corinthians.
6 Games left and we played a poor Atletico Mineiro team who were in 16th place. We only just managed to snatch a 1-1 draw with an 84th penalty, we were lucky to only drop 2 points and not all 3. Corinthians won but Flamengo only drew, our lead was still 4 points.
Our next game was even worse, we gave away a late penalty and lost 1-0, both Flamengo and Corinthians won cutting our lead to 1 point with 4 games left but with Flamengo up next and Corinthians still to play.
Flamengo beat us 2-0, we were 2nd for this first time in around 10 games. We were 2 points behind Flamengo and level on points with Corinthians, but we had the bottom two clubs left to play, so 3 wins was very possible and its probably what we would need to be in with a chance.
Flamengo played a day before us and a win would of put us back top, only on goal difference. However only a 94th minute penalty saved us from defeat against 19th place Parana. Corinthians won, leaving both Flamengo and Corinthians on 72 points and us on 70 with 2 games to go.
In our next fixture we struggled to a 1-0 win over an already relegated Chapecoense who only got 24 points all season. Flamengo beat a decent Santos team 2-1 and Corinthians lost to relegation threatened Bragantino. those points incidentally keep them up.
Before the last game of the season Flamengo had 75 points, we had 72 and Corinthians had 72. We play Corinthians and Flamengo played Botafogo who needed a win to guarantee a Copa Libertadores spot. We needed to win and Botafogo to win or if they drew we needed to beat Corinthians by 6 goals, so we really needed Botafogo to do us a massive favour. We won with an injury time penalty but it was all for nothing as Flamengo scored early on and would 3-0 comfortably, meaning we finished 2nd by 2 points.
I would like to blame the one loss to Flamengo late on in the season but the reality of it was we still had chances to win the league but our poor form in the last 6 or so games was what cost us. We dropped points we should not have and as you can see in the screenshot below Flamengo and Corinthians were pretty relentless in the run in.
Spoiler
When I joined I didn't even consider chasing the title, but having spent 9 weeks top towards the end of the season but to fall short was disappointing.
What's next
With our unexpected challenge for the title this year I'm very optimistic for next season in both the league and on the continental stage, especially with the money we have in the bank and being able to move on some of those foreign players for decent money and re invest it wisely. There was a mid season AFCON as well and I was offered the Senegal job, they are the highest ranked African nation, so my job will be to qualify for the world cup next year and preform enough to not get sacked and then onto AFCON in 2 years.
Challenge Progress
Spoiler
1 -
13 hours ago, The Regista said:
@lukefox44Any news on the new job?
I took the Palmeiras job and it was instantly noticeable the step up in quality from Racing, even if they weren't having a good season when I arrived. Just finished the season and need to calm down a touch before I can do a full write up.
Hows it going with Wolfsburg? Looks like you've made some exciting signings. Also welcome to international management and the not at all frustrating AFCON.
@dkouv congrats with Australia mate, living my dream I've been waiting for that job to become available for about 7 seasons now haha.
@_JHTB_ looks like you made China look a lot easier than I did haha. I was the same in my last season one late loss from going unbeaten, gutting isnt it.
0
The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments
Posted
@corinthiano
Yeah I used to do that a lot, retrain the wingers into Mezzala's or just move them on. I just found that every club I went to needed a major rebuild that way.
@OldManGravz
Are the tactics completely different from each other, like some possessions based, some defensive, etc ? I've really been enjoying trying to implement a style of play but changing the shape to suit the squad I have.