My Greatest Challenge: Knocking Fergie Right Off His ****ing Perch. And You Can Print That

[Blanco]

So, are you going to stay and knock Mourinho off the perch he knocked Fergie off?

[B.W.G]

Take that Fergie

[P O\'D]

Hey Fergie wheres your ****ing perch. Well done mate. Now just get the obnoxious one and you can live happy ever after.

[jaycar]

Get in!!! Fudge you fergie

[Nobby_McDonald]

Ha ha, **** off Fergie.

[elbilly]

My haven't you been a busy bee since I last checked in. Cracking success with OM bringing their first title in 30+ years is a very fine achievement indeed. You'll be giving Jose's nurses terrible trouble with his incontinence

[duffy89]

Up yours Fergie!

Jose change yer breeks now son!

[SSC]

Congrats on finally hitting the target! Surely you cant retire now with ultimate glory in sight?! Please dont quit, what are the rest of us going to read?

[Dexter_Morgan]

Well done on a brilliant season and overtaking Fergie Are you going for Mourinho next?

[Lenzar]

You should probably be Sir AK22 now.

[deltablue]

Yesssssss!!!!! Well done finally reaching your title objective.

[AK22]

Thanks for the comments, chaps

Now that I've buried Fergie, I'm not all that certain if I'll be chasing down José or not. My ultimate aim at the start of the save was to overtake Fergie, but this was under the premise that he would still be top of the hall of fame when I did. Obviously, this is now not the case, and I have some serious ground to cover if I'm to catch Mourinho and take that elusive number one spot. I've no intention of starting my FM14 save until they have released the next update, but as the date of that is completely unknown to us (although I am expecting it before Christmas), I'll probably end up ticking over with this until then.

[Bitner]

Congratulations Mate. Sad that you did help the Evil side of São Paulo, but i can surely forgive you. And about overtaking Mourinho, trying to win a WC wouldn't be a good shortcut?

Cheers,

Bitner

[WizardOfOzil]

This is one of the best things I've ever read on the forums. Kudos mate!!

[AK22]

Rightly or wrongly, I've decided to play on for a bit longer. How much longer is still to be determined, though.

And by carrying on, a few interesting offers very quickly came my way:

Spurs are arguably the biggest club in the world, at the moment, so taking that job would really like taking over from Fergie at Old Trafford; a job with ridiculous expectation, and would require me to instantly hit the ground running.

Going back to Betis would be a sentimental decision, although it would be interesting to see if I could add the La Liga trophy to my collection. However, it's international management where I see my future, so it's time to say goodbye to Marseille.

[AK22]

France

You all know where France is, right? I did consider splitting my time with both Marseille and the French national team, but didn't see this as particular realistic, so jacked in my club role as soon as I agreed terms with France. Having recently spent five successful years in domestic football, I'm hoping that this will be a huge advantage as I have already built up a good knowledge of French players; I'll certainly be going back to Marseille to call up some of my former players, anyway.

As we're due to host the 2052 European Championship, we will not play a competitive game until that competition gets underway in just under two years time. Until then, friendlies are the order of the day, which will give me an excellent opportunity to try out a selection of players and tactics, although it is concerning that we won't really know how good/bad we are until we kick off Euro 2052.

Overviewhttp://i.imgur.com/WXNwvwm.jpg[/img]"] | General Information | World Rankings (currently 5th)

[AK22]

This thread is fully deserving of a Hall of Fame slot. Few could expect any more from your career, so I'd nae bother about catching Mourinho!

Thanks Duroliponte! Another season or two is coming your way, although I doubt this will be enough to catch José. I'm not that bothered now anyway, as getting ahead of Fergie was the main objective.

Congratulations Mate. Sad that you did help the Evil side of São Paulo, but i can surely forgive you. And about overtaking Mourinho, trying to win a WC wouldn't be a good shortcut?

Cheers,

Bitner

Well, we're going to try our luck at a European Championship. Home advantage is surely going to help?!

This is one of the best things I've ever read on the forums. Kudos mate!!

Much appreciated, Wizard!

[AK22]

France - Aug/Sep 2050

So, the French adventure started with a friendly at home to Paraguay; quite a difficult prospect when considering their world ranking (6th).

France vs Paraguay - August 2050 (Friendly)

An encouraging start, which saw Bilal Renard continue his terrific goal-scoring form for the national team. If we can play like this consistently, we could be on to a winner here, especially with players such as Ousmane Sery and Mohamed Sassi in the squad.

Russia vs France - September 2050 (Friendly)

This turned out to be a lot more one-sided that I had originally expected. We were right on the money throughout, and despite the Russians not being on it at all, we were full value for the four goal advantage we finished with.

France vs Canada - September (Friendly)

Fair play to Canada, they came to France and had a go. Better teams would have sat in, and tried to frustrate, so credit to them for mustering up a few attempts at goal. Unfortunately for them, this was also their downfall, as we continued to pick them off at regular intervals throughout the match.

[Wavelberry]

How tempted were you to go to Tottenham and manage Christian Wisnewski?

[chile_paul]

Slightly surprised not to see you managing Tottenham, but a great opportunity to lift some international trophies

[Nobby_McDonald]

Only problem with international management is that every other season you can't win any points.

[P O\'D]

finish with a world cup I like it

[AK22]

France - Oct, Nov & Dec 2050

Another two friendlies to compete before the turn of the year, neither of which should have caused us too many problems.

France vs Colombia - October 2050 (Friendly)

I set up to attack the Colombians, although we didn't control the match as well as I had hoped. Still, even without Renard in the starting line-up, we registered enough chances to record a solid victory.

Romania vs France - November 2050 (Friendly)

We pummeled the Romanian goal throughout the match, but struggled to fashion enough telling chances to kill the game off. Thankfully, an injury time own goal secured us the win, and continued my 100% record with France.

End of Year Rankings - 2050

Ballon d'Or Winner - Salvatore Cofano (Man City)

[AK22]

How tempted were you to go to Tottenham and manage Christian Wisnewski?

Slightly surprised not to see you managing Tottenham, but a great opportunity to lift some international trophies

Spurs was a very enticing offer, and a brilliant opportunity to add to my success. I haven't had much success in England yet either, so that was another thing going in their favour. However, quite a big overhaul of their aging squad was required, and that added with the pressure of the expectation of winning the league, it wasn't quite the perfect job that it looked.

Only problem with international management is that every other season you can't win any points.

finish with a world cup I like it

Possibly, but it's a bit boring! One game a month is hardly a full-on schedule

[duffy89]

Bit of a change to see you on the international front but France should be a great job.

Do you reckon you'll manage a club as well if the right offer comes in?

[AK22]

France - March - June 2051

I twiddled my thumbs through the winter months, participating in a bit of scouting and watching some domestic games in full, before recommencing national team action in March.

France vs Belgium - March 2051 (Friendly)

The Golden Age of Belgian football is well gone now, so it's not surprising we secured such a one-sided result against our neighbours.

France vs Honduras - March 2051 (Friendly)

By playing five in midfield, Honduras proved a difficult team to beat as they were able to dictate the play in the middle of the park. Thankfully, another late goal saved the day, earning a hard-earned win on my 67th Birthday, and kept the run of consecutive victories going.

France vs Brazil - June 2051 (Friendly)

A tough match this, against opposition of serious quality, and a game that would give a good indication of how we'll fair against the world's best teams. It turned out to be a strange game, with Brazil dominating possession, but with us registering the better chances of goals.

Slovenia vs France - June 2051 (Friendly)

Hardly one of Europe's big boys, so it was pretty much expected that we would win comfortably. And that is exactly what we did.

[AK22]

Bit of a change to see you on the international front but France should be a great job.

Do you reckon you'll manage a club as well if the right offer comes in?

I wouldn't rule it out completely, but, realistically, I see me continuing with just France until the Euros, then reevaluating afterwards.

[Lenzar]

Aren't you the wrong side of the channel?

[AK22]

France - August & September 2051

Over the course of the summer our World Cup qualification group was drawn, with the Swiss likely to pose the most difficulty in a fairly straightforward group; they'll be plenty of opportunities to improve the goal difference in the ties against San Marino and Liechtenstein. After this, another handful of friendlies...

France vs Togo - August 2051 (Friendly)

The call up of Argentine-born, Oscar Insaurralde, caused quite a stir with the French media, although he thoroughly put them in their place with a debut goal. Togo never really turned up.

France vs Cameroon - September 2051 (Friendly)

Another convincing display against African opposition, although they did manage a shot on target (which was one more than Cameroon). Insaurralde scored again; that's two in two for Mr. Controversial.

France vs Paraguay - September 2051 (Friendly)

So, bang goes the 100% record then. And against a team we've beaten previously too. There's no doubt that Paraguay rode their luck, making the most of their chances at goal, as we played quite well and deserved more than we got.

[AK22]

Aren't you the wrong side of the channel?

Quite possibly so. I usually try to avoid the 'impossible job', though

[Rikulec]

San Marino not in the last seeds? How are they doing?

[Fond Foat]

Caught up after a lot of reading. Fantastic thread and great work! How old are you in game now?

[AK22]

France - Oct, Nov & Dec 2051

Three more friendlies before the turn of the year, and a chance for some fringe players to book themselves a place at the forthcoming Euros.

France vs South Korea - October 2051 (Friendly)

A solid performance against the South Koreans saw Elouan Vidal score a brace in a pretty one-sided game. I'm pleased that we're back to winning ways again after the defeat to Paraguay.

France vs Ghana - November 2051 (Friendly)

Wow, Ghana were poor. They're a team in the top twenty in the rankings too, so I was expecting a much closer game than we got. Even after we were reduced to ten men, they still couldn't get a foothold in the match.

France vs Jamaica - November 2051 (Friendly)

Our final match of 2051, saw the Jamaican visit a cold and damp Lens. Again, we pretty much did as expected, and secured a comfortable victory without difficulty.

End of Year Rankings - 2051

Ballon d'Or Winner - Fernando Olmo (Barcelona)

And here's the draw for our forthcoming European Championship group. Not a bad selection at all, so we'll be expected to qualify comfortably for the knockout rounds; the home advantage will help too, no doubt.

[AK22]

San Marino not in the last seeds? How are they doing?

Off the top of my head, they are still abysmal and ranked near the bottom, but will check for definite later.

Caught up after a lot of reading. Fantastic thread and great work! How old are you in game now?

Thanks Fond Foat I'm 67 in-game, so just coming to my managerial peak

[Nobby_McDonald]

Only three teams in Group F?

[AK22]

France - The Build Up to Euro 2052

With no winter/spring friendlies scheduled, our next games were the four lined up in the weeks prior to the forthcoming European Championship.

France vs USA - May 2052 (Friendly)

An injury time headed goal from a corner earned us a draw against a weak American side. Definitely not the best performance I've seen.

France vs Belarus - June 2052 (Friendly)

A mad ten minutes saw all four goals find the net, in a game that was as one-sided as the scoreline suggested.

France vs Portugal - June 2052 (Friendly)

One of the more competitive friendlies we've played recently, where Portugal probably deserved more than they got. A lucky win.

Scotland vs France - June 2052 (Friendly)

Our last pre-Euro 2052 game, and hardly the performance of a team fancied to do well in the competition. A win is a win, but we certainly shouldn't have allowed Scotland to control the game as much as they did.

[AK22]

Nailed on Euro 2052 winners. Nailed on.

I admire your confidence!

Only three teams in Group F?

Greece should be in there as well.

[deltablue]

Vive la France!

[AK22]

France - European Championship 2052 Group Stage

As host nation, we enter the European Championship as one of the favourites. In fact, we're 2-1 joint favourites, alongside the likes of Spain, England and Italy, something that is shared by the French FA, who are expecting a final appearance. However, with no competitive games contended since my arrival, I'm not overly certain what can be achieved; watch this space!!

Switzerland vs France - June 2052 (Euro 2052 Group Stage Match Day 1)

We kicked the tournament off with a pleasing win against the Swiss, in Marseille, of all places, setting an early benchmark to measure against. Class and conviction very much words of the day.

France vs Czech Republic - June 2052 (Euro 2052 Group Stage Match Day 2)

The Czechs set themselves up in a Christmas Tree formation, something that I've rarely come up against in the 40 seasons of my career so far, and caused us a lot of problems. In fact, they managed to nullify any attacking edge I was hoping to display, stifling us in the middle of the park, and ended up winning the possession stats. They also managed a very lucky goal, setting up a shock result, which meant we faced a nervy final group game.

France vs Norway - June 2052 (Euro 2052 Group Stage Match Day 3)

Lucky, lucky, lucky. Having gone behind against the run of play, I really thought the football gods were against us, and that we would spectacularly crash out of the competition in the group stages. Thankfully, we managed to rally round, equalising from a corner, before finding a winner in the last ten minutes. This sent us through to the knockout rounds, as runners-up to the Czechs, where we'll face Sweden next.

[AK22]

Vive la France!

Allez!

[elbilly]

Oh scraping through! Hopefully that's it for your indifferent form and it's all good from here in. Good luck!

[James430]

Well done on getting through

[AK22]

France - European Championship 2052 Knockout Rounds

After scraping through the group stages, the pressure now increases as we enter the knockout rounds. Remember, the FA expect us to reach the final!

Sweden vs France - June 2052 (Euro 2052 Second Round)

To be fair, after failing to win our group, I couldn't have handpicked a better team to face in the Last 16 than the Swedes. Bilal Renard help himself to a first half hat-trick that killed the game off after twenty minutes. Job done!

France vs Netherlands - July 2052 (Euro 2052 Quarter Final)

On paper, this should have been our biggest test of the tournament so far, with the Dutch on good form coming in to the competition. However, they were nervy, and, despite controlling possession, failed to find a way to break through our resolute defence. Two second half goals from Renard added to our advantage, securing our place in the last four.

France vs England - July 2052 (Euro 2052 Semi Final)

This was a torrid game, one that I'm sure the neutral would not have enjoyed sitting through. Just look at the high foul count and the low number of shots at goal; this will tell you what a war of attrition the match really was. That said, though, there was late drama, when we scored a headed winner from a corner in the 83rd minute. We just about held on, so we are off to the Final to face Spain. Olé!

[AK22]

Oh scraping through! Hopefully that's it for your indifferent form and it's all good from here in. Good luck!

Well done on getting through

Thanks! Things have certainly improved since the Group Stages, anyway

[AK22]

France - European Championship 2052 Final

We've done what was expected from us, and reached the final of the tournament we hosted. Spain were listed alongside us as joint favourites, so I was expecting a close game, one that really could go either way. Or maybe even to penalties!

France vs Spain - July 2052 (Euro 2052 Final)

Wow, what a game this was! Spain made all the early running, taking a very early lead, before we were reduced to ten men after nine minutes. I was furious, as well as being certain that there would be no way back. This position worsened a few minutes later, as Spain took advantage of the extra man and doubled their lead; we were surely on the way to a hammering in our capital city. Thankfully, we managed to get through to half time without the situation deteriorating further, and allowed us the opportunity to regroup and re-motivate the team. Despite being serious up against it, the team came out for the second half with renewed vigour, and, regardless of the numeric disadvantage, managed to fashion three clear cut chances at goal. Of course, these all fell to the prolific Bilal Renard, the man of the moment, who found the net every time, turning the game on it's head in ten minutes flat. The Spanish were stunned, and couldn't really reaffirm their dominance in the final twenty minutes of the match. The rest they say is history. Champions!

[AK22]

José Watch

After my first foray into international management, it's great to win a trophy at my first attempt:

This has given me roughly 200 HoF points, which has slightly closed the gap to José, but not by enough to make him sweat.

Season     Team              League                     Finish    Cups                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    4th       Cupen 1st Round
2014       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    2nd       Cupen 2nd Round
2014/15    Taranto FC 1927   2nd Divisione Girone A     4th       N/A
2015/16    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     6th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro SF
2016/17    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     4th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro 2nd Round
2017/18    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     N/A*      * Resigned 14/12/17
          Tigre             Primera B Nacional         11th      Sacked 26/05/18
2018/19    S. Urfaspor       1. Lig                     1st       Türkiye Kupasi 2nd QR
2019/20    S. Urfaspor       Süper Lig                  8th       Türkiye Kupasi 2nd QR
2020/21    S. Urfaspor       Süper Lig                  N/A*      * Resigned 12/01/21
          Rangers           Scottish Premier League    2nd       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup SF
2021/22    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    2nd       Scottish FA Cup Winner, Scottish League Cup QF
2022/23    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    1st       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup QF
2023/24    Rangers           Scottish Premier League    1st       Scottish League Cup Winner, Scottish FA Cup 4R, CL 1st KO
2024       Toronto           MLS                        8th       N/A
2025       Toronto           MLS                        N/A       * Resigned 16/03/25
2024/25    Betis             La Liga                    11th      N/A
2025/26    Betis             La Liga                    4th       Copa del Rey 4th Round
2026/27    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League Last 16, Copa del Rey 5th Round
2027/28    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Europa League Winner, Copa del Rey Winner
2028/29    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League QF, Copa del Rey QF
2029/30    Betis             La Liga                    3rd       Champions League SF, Copa del Rey SF
2030/31    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 7th       N/A
2031/32    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 2nd       DFB Pokal 2nd Round
2032/33    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 2nd       Champions League Winner, DFB Pokal Winner
2033/34    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League Winner, DFB Pokal Winner, CWC Winner, German SC
2034/35    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 2nd       Champions League 1st KO, DFB Pokal Winner, Euro SC, German SC
2035/36    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 2nd       Champions League Winner, DFB Pokal 2nd Rd, German SC
2036/37    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 2nd       DFB Pokal Winner, Europa League Runner-Up, CWC Winner, Euro SC
2037/38    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League Winner, DFB Pokal 2nd Rd, German SC
2038/39    Dortmund          Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League Winner, DFB Pokal 3rd Rd, CWC Winner
2040       Palmeiras         Brasileirão                3rd       Paulistão Quarter Final, Copa do Brasil 4th Round
2041       Palmeiras         Brasileirão                1st       Paulistão Winner, Copa do Brasil Quarter Final
2042       Palmeiras         Brasileirão                1st       Paulistão Runner-Up, Copa do Brasil Runner-Up
2042/43    Newcastle         Championship               2nd*      * Only final seven games    
2043/44    Newcastle         Premier League             7th       FA Cup 5th Round, Capital One Cup 2nd Round
2044/45    Newcastle         Premier League             6th       FA Cup 6th Round, Capital One Cup 3rd Round
2045/46    Newcastle         Premier League             N/A       * Resigned 09/12/46
          Marseille         Ligue 1                    3rd       Coupe de France Quarter Final
2046/47    Marseille         Ligue 1                    1st       CL Group Stage, EL 1st KO, Coupe de Ligue QF
2047/48    Marseille         Ligue 1                    1st       Champions League 1st KO Round, Coupe de Ligue Runner-Up
2048/49    Marseille         Ligue 1                    1st       Champions League QF, CdL Winner, CdF Runner Up
2049/50    Marseille         Ligue 1                    1st       Champions League Winner, Coupe de Ligue Winner
2050	   France
2051	   France
2052	   France	     European Championship	Winner

[AK22]

And this, boys and girls, is where we may end this save. Now there's been an update, I'm looking to get my FM14 save underway shortly, so please keep an eye on a forum near you for my next career thread!

Thanks for reading

[Wavelberry]

This was immense and very enjoyable reading. Could you post up your biog and retire or summat so we can get some lovely closure?

[B.W.G]

Excellent career

[Lenzar]

An epic career that I may go back and read from the start one day.

Hope you have this much luck with FM14.