ri916's FM14 Anglo/Euro Youth Academy Challenge

[toonbalmy87]

Legia is Bad Noone likes Legia in Poland exept half of Warsaw We will see when Poland join to this challenge I think i go shot Sweden back

well they are sitting top at the moment IRL well everyone loves doing the poznan these day's

[toonbalmy87]

I have the chance to win the League i have 4 games in hand over top i am on41 points and they are on 50 points

[Braumiller]

I have the chance to win the League i have 4 games in hand over top i am on41 points and they are on 50 points

Good luck toon!, going for my first silverware next as well (Swedish Cup final)

[janesy20]

Relegated My first ever relegation on this challenge and on football manager as a whole In short the step up to Bundesliga was just too big. Suffering numerous heavy defeats against the likes of Dortmund, Munich, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg etc... In short survival was a tall ask and we've been relegated with a game to spare. In a sense it's a relief, the save had become more about survival than development and game time could not be given to youngsters which culminated in the stagnated development on the youth side as a whole. Season update to follow provided I keep my job.

[mthielen]

St. Albans City FC: Season 1 Summary

The League

The target for this season was avoid relegation. I've managed a 14th place with a lot of ups and downs. Winning 3-0 to the 2nd only to lose the next game to the team in last place.

For next year i hope to get more consistent results.

FA Cup

I managed to get to the 1st round only the draw a League 1 team, which were just too strong.

FA Trophy

Youth Intake

I had a fantastic youth intake for the first season. I tagged every player with 4 stars or more, which resulted in 12 (!) tags.

Eddie Dunne YP01a

Lewis Cummins YB01b Already got 1 HT of play in the 1st team and already scored his first goal.

Adrian O'Keefe YP01c Played 1 full game and 2 halfs already scoring 3 goals and giving 1 assist. Keeping a close eye on his progress.

Jonny Phillips YP01d

Eddie Jacobs YP01e

Daniel Miller YP01f

Nicky Sheldon YP01g

Richard Page YP01h

Bradley Mitchell YP01i

Frank Gallen YP01j

Paulo Levy YP01k

Christian Tillson YP01L

Transfers

Ok i know their is a transfer listed here, but i've got proof he was signed befor my arrival.

Finances

26k in the red. I hope i'll get back in the black next season although it will be hard.

Targets for next year:

*Doing better then this year

*Get finances fixed

*Integrate youth players as much as possible

If any other screens might be necessary pls ask

[brugi82]

janessy20 Tough luck mate. Getting relegated is always very difficult. I just hope that you won't get fired as a result...

mthielen That's a good start. Intake looks very good indeed, you have a few potential starters there for sure.

toon & braum Good luck on your hunt for silverware!

[brugi82]

I played a bit with my Portugal save, but I just can't stay out of England. Portugal will be my next career if I get fired from Dulwich Hamlet. Already played first season, update inc probably tomorrow.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Braumiller: Congrats on European Qualification! Hopefully you can get to the EL groupstage for the money!

mthielen: WHAT. AN. INTAKE. Either your current squad is terrible, or you hit the jackpot!

[mthielen]

i think my current squad is terrible. Cause even the 5 star potential says 'potential Good Skrill south player' not even leading or Premier player

[TheGreatTraveler]

Terrible indeed

Will hopefully update later today, depending on how the season ends/when I finish it

[brugi82]

i think my current squad is terrible. Cause even the 5 star potential says 'potential Good Skrill south player' not even leading or Premier player

Eh, that is not that great... Still they are going to be better than your current players which is good.

p.s. I hate corners/free kicks and 14.2.0... Led the league in goals conceded from corners and IFKs last season. I guess that now is AI payback time for all previous FMs

[mthielen]

what i hate most are the damn owngoals.

I think last season i made 15, which is insane. Hopefully this season will be better

[TheGreatTraveler]

Yeah, down there the players really aren't good enough If there's anything I learned from my FC United save in FM13, is that the older players should be released/sold once a youth player with a better potential in his position has had a season of consistent football as they really show that they are much more talented.

Hoping to update today as I just finished the season

[brugi82]

TheGreatTraveler How many seasons you had in your FC United save to reach Premier league? What was the hardest level to get out of? Would be great if you could write a short summary for us how many years per level was required?...

[TheGreatTraveler]

Sure, I'd be glad to do that tomorrow.

The most important thing to note is that most others should take longer than me as FC United is one of the higher reputation teams that can get promoted.

[brugi82]

Sure, I'd be glad to do that tomorrow.

The most important thing to note is that most others should take longer than me as FC United is one of the higher reputation teams that can get promoted.

Yes that would be great Thanks mate!

I don't know how important is that starting reputation? I guess after few seasons it shouldn't be much of a difference?

[TheGreatTraveler]

I assume it makes the first few intakes better, since young players would want to play for higher reputation clubs

[TheGreatTraveler]

FC Fakel Voronezh

| Season 5 | 2018-2019 |

| Squad 1 | Squad 2 | Facilities | Finances | Transfers |

Russian National Football League: 7th

Now, finishing 7th is an amazing achievement as we managed it despite 4 previously key players retiring in the summer. And 3 others will also retire this summer, including Alexander Antipenko, our top league scorer ever with 79 league goals. But what really amazed me about the season was how well we did, managing 5 more points and coming very close to a play-off spot despite that not being the objective. The league is getting tougher as each season more points are being required for the 7th place that has been our for the last 3 seasons. 59, 60, and now 65 points as the youngsters develop in a team where there will only remain 5 players from the starting squad, 2 of which are 19 and 20 respectively. The season in itself was a rollercoaster as we were handed once of the most difficult schedules possible, with the first 9 games bringing games against 8 of the teams that finished in the top 10 other than us. But after that, we had an easy schedule as win followed win, with the only real challenge being Ural. Towards the end of the season, we had a 10 match unbeaten run that had us placed 5th, only for the team to fall away with 4 points out of the last 4 matches. But no complaints here as the team looks forward to brighter things next season.

Russian Cup: Fourth Round

I was hoping for a better draw, and I got one. But it wasn't much better, as we faced Rotor, who were seen as pre-season favorites for the title. Despite some of the back-up players performing admirably, we only managed a draw in regular time and they won through a lucky break in ET. My record in the cup is not encouraging, as I am yet to taste victory while at Fakel.

Youth Intake

A decent intake overall, as the quality inside the team increases. Leaves 7 tags.

Maxim Tseryuta - YP5a (DR)

The right back will probably be part of the first team next season, although a back-up role is more likely at the start.

Maxim Kurdanin - YP5b (MC/AMC)

Another midfielder....... Might need to make a tactic with 6 to place all the young center-mid prospects into one team!

Arthur Dimitriev - YP5c (MR/AMR)

A right winger at last! He went straight into the first team and will rotate with the only other right winger present in the squad, Vladimir Tatarchuk, before taking over as the main man out wide.

Pavel Gerasimov - YP5d (DC)

Pavel is a very promising center-back, and has me excited that he could become Alexandr Solodkov's center-back partner in the future.

Ruslan Kuravlev - YP5e (DM)

Dmitry Meshkov - YP5f (MC/AMC)

Denis Kiselev - YP5g (MR/AMR)

Key Players

Fedor Djachenko (GK)

Was promoted to club captain in the summer and he remained first choice in goal again, although his performance levels dropped a bit. Will remain the starter for now, with the occasional match for Salim Gerasimov/ Still, Djachenko remains a vital part of the team.

Alexandr Solodkov - YP2b (DC)

Calling him a rock at the back would be wrong, as he was much more mobile and more solid than one. He continues to develop at a frightening pace and is one of the club's best players already, with a lot of room to grow into a star.

Vladimir Laptev (DC/DR)

Another season as a starter, although Solodkov has overtaken him as the team's star center-back. Will most likely lose his place in the team next season.

Vladimir Tatarchuk (M(CRL)/AM(RL))

With the lack of right wingers, Vladimir got used to playing every match for 60 minutes, when I would put players who were competent in those positions. He was ever present until the first match after the intake, when Arthur Dimitriev made his debut. Tatarchuk then played in the remaining matches, including some from the bench.

Mars Yurjev - YP3c (ST)

The main reason we did so well this season is Yurjev. Despite barely turning 18, he scored 20 goals in 28 matches this season, including 26 starts. He was a terror to the opposition defenses and really showed his promise. He made 5 assists as well as ending as the MOTM in 8 games.

Alexandr Chekalin - YP1a (ST)

His best season to date as he was consistent regardless of the team's form, ending with 20 goals and 7 assists in 38 matches, although those stats were hindered by his lack of goals in a 4 game period towards the end of the season that was followed by another 3 game drought. However, his development points towards a bright future.

Previous Youth Prospects

Alexandr Chekalin - YP1a (ST)

Alexandr Tkachev - YP2a (MC/AMC)

Alexandr Solodkov - YP2b (DC)

Sergey Vasiljev - YP3a (MC)

Salim Gerasimov - YP3b (GK)

Mars Yurjev - YP3c (ST)

Marat Khudiev - YP3d (DC)

Vladimir Merenkov - YP3e (ML/AML)

Vitaly Popov - YP3f (ST/AMR)

Dmitry Zhirny - YP3g (DR)

Zaur Cherkasov - YP3h (DM)

Andrey Popov - YP3i (DL)

Dmitry Tseryuta- YP3j (DC)

Anatoly Gibadullin - YP4a (MC)

Denis Suleimanov - YP4b (MC/AMC)

Igor Milovanov - YP4c (DM)

Humberto Arenas - YP4d (ST)

Igor Kasimirov - YP4e (ML)

Surprising Youth Prospects

Igor Timofeev - YP1 (MC)

Igor continues to surprise me, as he has earned place on the squad week after week as he rotates between the starting XI and the bench, with his ability to play in any role in midfield a great help for the team. Signed a new contract in February.

Dmitry Safonov - YP1 (ML/AML)

When Vladimir Merenkov got injured for 8-9 months early in the season, Safonov became my first choice winger, and while he put in some weak performances, I was pleased with how he performed overall. Will probably leave at the end of next season.

Off The Pitch...

Two main events this season. Firstly, Alexandr Solodkov became the first Fakel academy graduate to earn a youth cap when he was called up for the Russia U-19 squad., making his debut a few months later.

The second thing was a Junior Coaching improvement, taking it to Excellent. Hoping for a facility upgrade soon, but it seems highly unlikely at this point.

The only permanent sale this season was of Andrey Milovanov, who was not going to get any minutes at the club following the emergence of Andrey Popov.

Goals From Last Season

• Survival ACHIEVED
  
• Integrate youth players into First Team ACHIEVED
  
• Have a cup run FAILED
  
• Continue to let go of "Old Guard" ACHIEVED
  

Goals For Next Season

• Mid-table finish
  
• Integrate youth players into First Team
  
• Have a cup run
  
• Have a cup run, this is important!
  

[Sn00gle]

Great Season traveler !! I cant w8 on your next post

Im actually blow-out Dunno Germany or back to England :/

[mthielen]

What i actually never ask'd is what is considerd as the saving cheat?

I have saved 13 times now and i'm 2 games in the second season. Shouldn't their be a screenshot of that to see if people aren't using this? (just my opinion)

[Sn00gle]

Well much of ppl here are honest and have honor so on my opition its not needed ... Actually if you read previous challenge and here if sbd is sacked just starting again or just stop posting

[mthielen]

Also true Sn00gle.

Just had bad experiences on other challenges with people saving every game.

Sorry for doubting?

And maybe a bit early but to everyone

HAPPY NEWYEAR

[TheGreatTraveler]

I save before every game because my previous computer used to crash a lot. And there is nothing I hate more than having to replay a game that I won/lost and get a completely different result.

And in general team's overachieve a bit naturally once you have a team full of youth players since they have been playing together for a long time, so I see no use to replay games.

Sn00gle I'd go to England if you really want to get the youth players into the team immediately cause in Germany you have to wait until they are 18.

[brugi82]

Yeah, I trust all guys here. I seriously doubt that someone is replaying a game until he wins it or something like that... Just look at this thread. People often get relegated/fired...

TheGreatTraveler Good job mate. Almost in the playoffs!

And yeah, Happy New Year everyone

[Braumiller]

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 11 Review (2024)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances | Seasons Records

Competitions

First Division Elite : 6th - Results

Swedish Cup : Quarter Finals

Europa League : Group Stage

Season Review

A (relatively) long season, which stretched our small, young squad past its breaking point a couple of times. Ultimately it was another great season, with several key 'firsts' achieved. While there is nothing to show in the trophy cabinet this year, we made good moves off the field to help build the club.

The league campaign often felt disjointed, due to runs in the Swedish Cup and Europa League. Often throughout the year it again felt like we were having a bad year, but we still managed a very handy 4th place. We gained 3 less points than last year, but lost one game less. When we take into account the constant squad rotation I had to do this year due to all the midweek games (for the first time in our 11 year challenge history) I am now very pleased with the league finish. Amazingly, when all was said and done, we were only 4 points off of top spot. For the first time, a title challenge feels close, perhaps within a couple of years.

The playing squad was very small at the start of the year, and as they wore down our league form suffered. It continued to suffer initially when I began introducing the new youths ahead of schedule, but eventually they found their feet and so did we as a team. We also now have a larger squad as a result!

In Europe we drew Slovan Liberac in the playoff game. A 0-0 draw at home in the first leg meant a very nervous trip to the Czech Republic. There we put in a great performance, winning 3-1 and heading into the Europa League Group stage. The draw was not particularly kind to us, pairing us with the mighty AS Monaco and the tough Dinamo Moscow and Dynamo Kiev. Our first game we secured a very lucky 1-1 draw against Dinamo Moscow at home. Second game away at Dynamo Kiew we played fantastic, but karma evened out and we were unfortunate to be pegged back from 2-0 up to draw 2-2. We then were outplayed at Monaco, but kept it to just 0-2. Then came the performance of the season in the return leg, in front of our largest ever crowd. A 4-1 win at 'home' against AS Monaco. Gate receipts and our win bonus total to almost exactly 1m. Huge for us. A pair of losses in the final two games condemned us to a last place finish, but it was a great learning experience.

In the Swedish Cup we won our group section and then finally won our first quarter final. Add to that a semi final win, and we found ourselves in our first ever Swedish Cup final. Here we met AIK and suffered total heartbreak. A 0-1 loss to a 120th minute goal!

Youth Intake

Nothing to write home about really. Decent depth in possible prospects, but no-one really jumps out. Our trend of small players continues, and to be frank it is starting to be troubling. We are very susceptible to crosses into the box due to our lack of height in the squad.;

Christoffer Holmlund (YP 11A) - A good potential forward, with good options for future AMC or MC.

Adam Sandquist (YP 11B) - Another tiny fullback. Good two feet, but his height and jumping have liability written all over them

Johan Fejzulovic (YP 11C) - To round out our 'high potential youths with holes in their attributes'

this year is a forward with finishing of 2. Training him in it, and hoping he plays well in the u19s squad or on loan next year, and then sell him on for a small fee and maybe a sell on clause

"Frolunda Five"

Emil Eklund (YP 06A) - Easily our best player now, and also Swedens #1. Just 21 years old, he now has 21 caps for Sweden, of which 15 came this year as he was an ever present in their dream run to the European Championships final where they fell 2-0 to France. As you would expect with a Vastra Frolunda player, small for his position, he makes up for it with fantastic saves. Just 12 months left on his contract, I am in the middle of back and forth with his agent to (expensively) extend it.

Tommy Jensen (YP 10) - The main surprise and beneficiary of the squad rotation. I was often stretched worst in central midfield, and Tommy stepped up exceptionally for a 16/17 year old. Making 37 total appearances, including 20 starts including in Europe. He was overlooked last year in the intake for a tag and I am enjoying every week being wrong about that!

Ludvig Johnson (YP 10C) - Another of last years intake to step up, Ludvig originally came in at FC due to a mini injury crisis, but he is now being fully retrained at MC with an eye to a permanent role there bombing forward.

Jacob Olausson (YP 9A) - Jacob was given a much more prominent role upfront this year and he relished it. His pace and acceleration giving us a new dimension. Chipped in with 14 goals and 8 assists. I will be looking to train his weaker foot next season.

Christopher Oskarsson (YP 4B) - Along with Gustav Karlen (YP 7A), Oskarsson is our only viable height at 6' 2", so both of them make up our central defensive partnership right now. Occassionally filling in at DM, but I am retraining others to cover that so I can keep Oskarsson at DC permanently.

Miscellaneous

When comparing this years financials to last years, it is eye opening to see how big a difference a European adventure makes. Last season our total revenue was a shade over 4m. This year it was 9.3m! 1.8m of that was European prize money, and there was also a huge jump in attendances for European nights, due to our Ruddalen ground

not meeting UEFA ground size specifications. We played at other grounds, which allowed us to break our attendance records (17,996 - previous was 5,500) and gate receipts record (663k - previous was 145k) in the AS Monaco game.

With our money generating run in the Europa League we have finally managed to get our first upgrades to both the training and youth facilities at the club, costing a combined 1.5m. These are desperately needed and just goes to show how important regular European forays are going to be, to help get the facilities up to a point where we can continue to progress in the challenge.

Interestingly, the league qualifications show 3rd and 4th get VERY early Europa League entrance, but it has yet to display for me. This might be because of the note below it saying dependant on Swedish Cup winners. (screenshot). The group stages and final knockout round are in March - April of next year, so I might not know our fate until then!

Season 12 (2025) Goals

* Challenge for Champions League qualification.

* Continue and increase squad rotation

                                                League Position            Europe                  Notes
Season 11 (2024) - Premier League                      4th          Europa League Group Stages      Swedish Cup Runners-up
Season 10 (2023) - Premier League                      3rd
Season  9 (2022) - Premier League                     10th
Season  8 (2021) - Premier League                      6th
Season  7 (2020) - Premier League                      6th
Season  6 (2019) - First Division Elite                1st                                          Promoted as champions
Season  5 (2018) - First Division Elite                6th
Season  4 (2017) - First Division South                1st                                          Promoted as champions
Season  3 (2016) - First Division South                2nd                                          Lost in promotion playoffs
Season  2 (2015) - First Division South                5th
Season  1 (2014) - Second Division West Gotaland       1st                                          Promoted as champions

[TheGreatTraveler]

Very good season Braumiller considering you were in Europe AND had a cup run!

Unlucky to lose to a last minute goal in the cup Final, but AIK were going to be tough.

Still, you were only 4 points from 1st so a highly productive season, with the win against Monaco surely the highlight!

I quite like the look of Ludvig Johnnson -YP 10c. Reminds me of Leon Thorne in my FC United career, a striker turned midfielder with goal-scoring threat. And that certainly helped his career at the club lat longer, as he played AND scored in the 6 levels of the Pyramid, as well as being club top scorer until 2032 or so.

[Braumiller]

Thanks!

I quite like the look of Ludvig Johnnson -YP 10c. Reminds me of Leon Thorne in my FC United career, a striker turned midfielder with goal-scoring threat. And that certainly helped his career at the club lat longer, as he played AND scored in the 6 levels of the Pyramid, as well as being club top scorer until 2032 or so.

Aye, he reminds me a little of Antonio Lebron from my Veldwezelt game last year, who also was a natural FC who was turned into a MC.

[brugi82]

Dulwich Hamlet - Season 1 Review (2014/2015) - Skrill South

League Table | League Positions | Transfers

Introduction

After I got sacked from Maidstone in 5th season (after relegation from Skrill Premier) I picked a club from London which will hopefully improve our chances for good players. Also it won't hurt that Dulwich have "fairly basic" youth recruitment network which is excellent. Hired & Manger profile

Competitions

Skrill South - 17th

FA Cup - 2nd qualifying round

FA Trophy - I continued tradition from my Maidstone save by losing every game in this competition so far.

Season Review

Well, every start is difficult. I installed striker-less approach and for the most part of first season players were learning system and new positions. I decided that it is much better to pick one style and stick to it than moving from style to style every season like I did in my previous career. Team really dominated some games. We bagged 2 6-0 wins, but we also lost matches where we had 6 CCC chances and opponent had 1... Even though we were 2nd team in scoring at one point of season, goals completely dried up in second half of season. Toward the end of season I slightly adjusted our formation (from 4-6-0 to 3-7-0) and it helped a bit. What should have been easy survival turned into nail-biting one. Corners and IFK's definitely didn't helped as we conceded mind boggling 24 goals from set pieces.

Youth Intake

Noth that great intake. Highest rated player is only "Leading Skrill South" potential.

Jordan Amos (YP 01A) - Our main keeper will retire after second season, so this guy will get his place between the posts.

Sunday Emmanuel (YP 01B) - Looks raw, especially technical side. I will try to improve his passing and turn him into DLP.

Olivier De'ath (YP 01C) - Will get lots of playing time since we don't have a lot of competition for LWB spot.

Miscellaneous

Board accepted to upgrade junior coaching and it stands on adequate now.

Goals for next season

Survive. 2nd year or 5 year plan.

Upgrade anything.

Give youth some first team action.

[brugi82]

Braumiller Good solid season. European football will definitely help finances/facilities. Title challenge is there, you just need to take it next season.

[Sanno11]

IJsselmeervogels Season 2 review

[League] [squad Stats] [Transfers] [Finances]

IJsselmeervogels became a professional football club before the start of the 2015/16 season, which was another encouraging development and the planned facility improvements were completed. On the pitch we started very slowly, winning only one game in the first 15. This however doesn't tell the full story as over half were draws. I kept the same tactical approach and I could see it becoming more effective. We are that horrible little team that can soak up pressure for long periods of the game and then poach a goal on the counter, in some games I felt guilty about how well this worked. We managed a 4 game winning streak to keep us safe in mid table. All though we finished with less points this season was far more comfortable as the newly promoted side in the Jupiler league were truly awful, so all fears of relegation were eased fairly early in the season.

We finished the season with more draws than anything else, but considering our squad I am thrilled by how comfortable it seemed this year. We conceded the third fewest amount of goals and finished with 13 clean sheets.

Key Players

Colin van Eijk The 13 clean sheets were not solely this guys doing but he was an important factor and performed well all year

Richie Barroilhet Managed to contribute 11 goals and 7 assists which is excellent considering his role as a lone striker who I imagine spends most of the games chatting with opposition defences until we eventually win possession back.

Eelco Horsten This guy was excellent all year and is top 5 for the league in tackles per game, I begrudgingly include him as he asked to move to bigger club and the 'relationship has broken down' between he and I, so not sure how long he will stay.

Youth Intake

Well I guess I should be happy as this one player is an improvement on last season at least.

Ferry Erdogan (YP02a)

I think this guy stands a chance of making it, he is physically ready and performed well in the action he saw in final few games, Unfortunately his position is one I actually have a back up for!

Season Summary

On the pitch I am very pleased with how we coped with the season and became a very hard team to break down. However with three of my starting line up retiring this summer and three aged 31+ I am going to need miracles and a lot of luck next year. I have to admit I considered giving up with IJsselmeervogels and trying somewhere else but I have decided until I actually fail I will see what happens.

The board have agreed joint improvements of Youth and training facilities again so fingers crossed, next years intake is the one that renews my hope.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Brugi: Nicely done surviving with an unorthodox formation. Hopefully the intake players improve more than your assistant thinks they will.

Sanno11: Nice season, as far as I'm aware survival while you form a team of Youth players is always progress. Not the best intake, however Erdogan looks good, a little bit of work on the physcials and on tackling, positioning, and Marking and he could become a midfield destroyer, allowing the more technical players to really get the team going.

[Braumiller]

Sanno11, I would say that is a very good season! Defensively sound and I agree with TGT in that Erdogan looks like a great addition. Being professional already is also a real big plus!

brugi82, good survival! Always the toughest first step. Good luck in season 2

[Bartrcm]

Put my Leça save on hold because I didn't had any fu, with it anymore. Made it the last 2 seasons into Europe (maybe updtae the last 2 seasons later), but didn't see any improvement into intakes, and there was also very little price money.

But I started this challenge again, and went for a very first time ever to Spain.:

Meet the new manager of CD Castellon!!!

Allready played my first season.

CD Castellon - Secunda division B3 - Season 2013-2014

Biggest problem with the team was the fact that there was only 1 GK.

Odds: 40-1 and 16th position

Finished: Champion!!!!!!

Just an unbelievable season. The team played as a team from day 1. Only moment in a whole season the team was on a bad run, with no wins in 6 games (these were actually the games I had to play with a grey-out GK). Took the lead with 5 games to go and never looked back.

The problem was that you can be champion of your league but you are not sure of promotion. The 4 champions of every division are drawn in 2 games, and only the winners of these games win promotion. The 2 losers

have to battle with 6 other teams for the last 2 promotion spots. Luckily for us we won our promotion game, and will play in the second divsion next year.

Copa del Rey: didn't enter the cup. Don't know how they decide who can play in the cup, and who don't.

Youth intake: Needed desperatly a GK and got 1. Tagged 3 players, but signed a couple more to be backup, but won't play any game when I don't suffer a injury crisis.

Jésus Lasso de la Vega (YP2a): the GK I needed and will get a lot of play-time next season.

Hugo Sola (YP2b): hopefully develop a lot at the U19.

Abel Garcia (YP2c): Same as Hugo Sola.

Aims for next season. Survive, survive, survive and hopefully enter the cup so I can gain some money to upgrade my facilities.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Well done Bartrcm! Promotion in the first season!

As for who plays in the cup it is all the 1st division and 2nd divison teams plus a few from the third. Not sure how they decide that though, but you will be in it next season

[Bartrcm]

Well done Bartrcm! Promotion in the first season!

As for who plays in the cup it is all the 1st division and 2nd divison teams plus a few from the third. Not sure how they decide that though, but you will be in it next season

There were also a couple non-league teams. So don't really understand.

Entered the cup this season, so that's good.

[Braumiller]

Congrats Bartrcm, that is an awesome first season in charge!

[toonbalmy87]

SeaSon 7

League/ 3rd

Swedish Cup / Group

Europa League / 3rdQualifying Round

League Table

Great Season and finally got enough money to get some new youth facility's and extend the stadium

Squad

Transfers

Finances

Star Players -

1 Top Goalie for will be for some while

2 Another Great Year by the Wizard Winger looks like he has peaked so looks like ill be finding someone to replace him during the season

3 Still smashing the goals in Plays either False 9 or Advanced Forward but he was over shadowed by YP2

Youth Candidates -

YP1 / Awful person decided to sell after missing 5 training sessions i got 750k for him

YP1A / still would like more Goals

YP1B / had a great year

YP1C

YP2 Starting to really improve alot starting to become my main striker

YP2A

YP2B

YP2C

YP3/ Decent season missed a chunk of it due to injurys

YP3A/ Work horse in the middle

YP3B

YP4 / forgot his pic but he improved on the assist

YP4A/ Didnt get a look thanks to the form of YP2

YP4B/ Didnt get a look in due to other wingers being alot better than him

YP5/ no game but improved well over the season

YP5A/ Improved alot over the season

YP5B/ will not make the 1st team

YP6/

YP6A/

YP6B/

YP7/ Report -

YP7A/ Report

Europa League 3rd Qualifying

1

[Braumiller]

Great season toonbalmy87!

Unlucky on the Europa League, tough draw there for sure.

Love the look of Callerud(YP7), lots of options for his usage

[mthielen]

St. Albans City FC: Season 2 Summary

The League

The minimum expectation was avoid relegation and i've managed a mid-table finish.

I made 4 goals more then last season and conceded 3 less. Which is not a big difference.

I do have 10 points more then last season. If i gain another 10 points next season i'll be contending for play-off spots.

FA Cup

I managed to get to the 2nd round only the draw a League 1 team, which were just too strong again.

Peterborough did manage to get to the final as a League 1 team, which is impressif.

FA Trophy

3rd round defeat against Salisbury, which also made it to the final.

Youth Intake

Another big Youth Intake. I kept it to the 4.5 stars+ for the tags, otherwise i would have had to tag all players.

Did manage to give another 11 tags.

Dave Selby YP02a

Aidan Oakley YP02b

Simon Mapleson YP02c

Adam Pierce YP02d

Tosh Cunningham YP02e

Raheem Barber YP02f

Arel Barber YP02g

Shane Kearns YP02h

Kenny Spriggs YP02i

Danny Batch YP02j

Callum Sowunmi YP02k

Previous Intake with highest Potential

Eddie Dunne YP01a Didn't play this season.

Christian Tillson YP01L 1 appearance, did very good.

Daniel Miller YP01f Had a dozen appearances, didn't impress yet.

Lewis Cummins YP01b Had a handfull appearances. Scored 2 goals and 1 assist, very promissing.

Nicky Sheldon YP01g 1 appearance, but didn't impress yet.

Adrian O'keefe YP01c 15 appearances, scoring 7 goals and giving another 6 assists. Was breaking into the 1st team but got struck by one injury after another. But even with the injuries he impressed.

Transfers

Only outgoing transfers.

Finances

Went from 26k in the red to 50k in the black. Biggest part in this is the away game in the 3rd round of the FA cup which banked me over 150k.

Targets set previous year

*Doing better then this year COMPLETED

*Get finances fixed COMPLETED (for now)

*Integrate youth players as much as possible PARTIALLY COMPLETED althou my biggest prospects haven't got much fieldtime yet, in the defense a lot of youth played all the time.

Targets for next year:

* Avoid relegation (my keeper is retiring and i haven't got a good replacement ready yet)

*Keep finances in black

*Integrate more youth players

If any other screens might be necessary pls ask

[brugi82]

toonbalmy87 Good season mate. You are becoming Euro competition regular.

mthielen That's proper progress. I know how difficult it is to improve in England since that is my country of choice for this challenge too

My mid-season updateI think I just had a career saving intake. 4 5* players, 3 wingers 1 amc. All of them are great especially left winger who's potential is League 2.

[janesy20]

What i actually never ask'd is what is considerd as the saving cheat?

I have saved 13 times now and i'm 2 games in the second season. Shouldn't their be a screenshot of that to see if people aren't using this? (just my opinion)

Not really, I save my computer after nearly every game because my laptop overheats and shuts down alot. Any matches played I holiday until I get the same outcome as the original maatch i.e win, draw, lose. The amount of times I've saved doesn't mean I cheat.

[toonbalmy87]

2 games 13 saves what?? i dont do that because if you keep doing it changes the results further down the line

[mthielen]

2 games 13 saves what?? i dont do that because if you keep doing it changes the results further down the line

2 games in the second season

[TheGreatTraveler]

Coming to the end of a very weird season, will hopefully update tomorrow!

[brugi82]

Coming to the end of a very weird season, will hopefully update tomorrow!

How about that promised short career summary from FC United?

[Braumiller]

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 12 Review (2025)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances | Seasons Records

Competitions

First Division Elite : 3rd - Results

Swedish Cup : Quarter Finals

Europa League : Playoff Round

Season Review

Well, that was certainly eventful!

I started the season out with very high hopes for the year. I wanted to challenge for both domestic trophies and enjoy another European season with a group appearance as a target to aim for. Well, the good form from last year did not carry over into the new year. I am still at a loss as to what happened, but our trusty tactic began to splutter badly. In the league I lost 5 of my first 9 games of the season, seeing us firmly in the bottom half and for the first time players were publically talking about how we are underachieving (and they were not wrong!). This led to a rethink on our tactical approach now we are a bigger club (6th ranked reputation in Sweden). Thankfully this worked, and then some! We went on an 18 game unbeaten streak in the league (there were defeats in Europe sprinkled in) that saw us salvage a terrible start to the season. In the end we finished 3rd, which is a good position for us and an excellent one given where we were 1/3rd of the way into the year. I cannot help but think of what might have been if not for the bad start, but hopefully next year we can truly challenge for the top spot for the first time.

In the Swedish Cup we fell 0-1 in extra time at Malmo in the semi finals.

In the Europa League we were trying to reach the group stages again, and their relative riches for a club like ours. Starting in the 2nd qualifying round meant a lot more effort to get their. 2nd Qualifying Round was against Shamrock Rovers, winning 5-3 away the home leg looked straight forward, but we found ourselves 4-3 down late in the game and under heavy pressure. We nicked a 4th very late on, to make it 9-7 on aggregate and progress. 3rd Qualifying Round found us against Aberdeen, who on paper were a tougher assignment than Shamrock. However, first leg away in Scotland and it was one way traffic, with a fantastic 6-0 result! The home leg was similar, with a 4-0 win for 10-0 on aggregate! The Playoff game found us playing AZ of Holland. Again, away first leg and we were thouroughly outplayed and 3-0 down, until a late penalty gave us a glimmer of hope with the away goal, a 3-1 loss. In the home leg a first half goal gave us the advantage on the night, but still needing 1 more goal to squeak through on away goals. Sadly, that never came despite camping in their half for the majority of the game, so we fell at the final hurdle before the $$$ group stages, 3-2 on aggregate.

Youth Intake

A very interesting intake, with 3 tagged and a couple to possibly keep an eye on if they impress in the u19s;

Oscar Karlsson (YP 12A) - Interesting little playmaker here. Can currently only play at AMC, which I do not currently play, so I will be retraining to MC. If sitting alongside another MC who can do the leg work, Oscar has the potential to be a very nice playmaker in the middle of the park.

Niklas Wendt (YP 12B) - I like the look of Niklas as a ball winner in either the DM or MC role. Lovely physicals for a 16 year old and just enough technicals and mentals to push for a spot on the first team bench and grab minutes when games are already won. Fanastic height too (which I desperately lack all over the pitch).

Tomas Hermansson (YP 12C) - Another striker with terrible starting finishing! The rest of his game looks good and there is a chance to retrain him at MC for cover there.

"Frolunda Five"

Ludvig Johnson (YP 10C) - Ludvig is progressing very nicely and currently has one of the MC spots wrapped up. 8 goals and 8 assists from 37 appearance in the middle of the park

Abdussamed Ibrahim (YP 09) - The main beneficiary of the enforced tactical switch. I had no other first team right winger options, so Abdussamed was recalled from his loan and thrown in at the deep end while others are being retrained. A simply fantastic return of 8 goals and 15 assists from open play means he will be first choice for the forseeable future.

Jonas Stromberg (YP 08A) - Mr Reliable on the pitch, but starting to cause issues off of it. 21 goals in 29 appearances in a shortened season due to injury. I have received an offer of 1.4m for him, which I rejected and then led to him being unhappy at not being allowed to leave. He has spoken to press a couple of times about it, and might need to be soldif he continues to do so. The money would be a huge help, but his goals are very nice.

Jacob Olausson (YP 09A) - Played second fiddle upfront to Stromberg and often used his pace out wide on the left rotating with Enis Ramic (YP 05G). Still managed to be the only Frolunda player with doubel digit goals and assists this year.

Christoffer Holmlund (YP 11A) - A great season of impact performances off of the bench. 5 starts and 9 subs appearances returned a haul of 6 goals and 5 assists. One to watch, if given the chance upfront.

Miscellaneous

Both the training and youth facility upgrades that the board promised last year were completed. A huge need and just the first of many expensive steps here, but it is nice to see tangible benefits from our great run to the Europa League groups last year. European money is going to be the life or death of this challenge for sure. This year, with no group stage money and increased wages for many, we lost just over 3m, although 1.5m of this was for the facility upgrades. Still, losing 1.5m a year is not sustainable obviously, so I need to begin challenging for the title and reproduce the form we ended the season with, for a whole season.

I am very happy with the current development of our playing squad. The newer regens have much better starting fundamentals and it is beginning to show on the pitch as they are now forcing their way into the team.

Season 13 (2026) Goals

* Challenge domestically for league and cup

* Reach the Europa League groups (starting in the 3rd Qualifying round this year)

* Continue youth development

[TheGreatTraveler]

How about that promised short career summary from FC United?

Completly forgot about that, guess I should do that too

Braumiller: A good job to comeback into third from such a bad start to the season. I think if Stromberg continues to cause problems, you should consider selling him and giving Homlund more playing time.

Good to see you getting facility upgrades as well

[brugi82]

Braumiller: Awesome job adjusting your tactics and turning around that terrible start. You have some very nice prospects, very pacy too. And from the last intake Oscar is a real playmaker. I think he will dictate play for Vastra Frolunda for a long time

[TheGreatTraveler]

FC United Of Manchester - 2013-2032 - Career Review Part 1

My best career on FM to date without a doubt, as I managed to take FC United from the rags of the Blue Square North (as it was called then) all the way up to the riches of the Prem and the Champions League using only the original squad and the youth players coming through. I am will be reviewing my progress here in sets of seasons that I believe belong together, with some groupings logical (all seasons in one division) and some less so. So without further a due, lets see what I learnt in my 19 seasons at FC United.

Note: The amount of seasons refers to how I did it, yours may take more or less

Integrating The Youth (4 seasons)

Obviously you will be integrating youth players into your squad throughout the challenge, but what I'm speaking about is about the original Integration as your squads age decreases and your youths become important players. This stage is complete when you can basically put out a side made completely or almost completely of youths and feel confident they won't struggle in your current division (normally the last playable division). Here I will briefly describe each season (with some borrowing from my original updates) and a description of how the squad was looking at that point in youth terms.

Season 1: 2013-2014

Blue Square Bet North: 17th

How I originally described the season:

It was an interesting season to say the least. We started off very brightly, in the play-off spots for the first few weeks of the season even. However, it was not meant to last as we became extremely inconsistent-losing against bottom of the table team's before beating top of the table teams the week after. The end of the calendar year was specially tough as we hit an injury crisis-forcing me to play tired players and give debuts to some youngsters. It ended up being a blessing in disguise as one the youth players(whom I had not tagged ahead of the season) showed his worth, making a few more appearances before the season ended. We where unable to go more than 5 games without losing(and that was around October, including 3 draws). I got a new contract in March, a one year extension to my original one year deal. We then went on to lose the last 4 games of the season, but by then I was already safe.

That Years Intake

The main players, in hindsight, were Adam Abbott-YP1a and Dominic Roberts-YP1b, with the rest not making any lasting influence at the club. Towards the end of the season, I gave Abbott playing time and it benefitted greatly on the long term.

My look on it 19 seasons into the future:

A great season, as we survived. That has to be the goal the first season in this challenge every time, and if you succeed at it you should be very pleased. Injuries will hamper your season greatly with the small squad you have, but once the intake arrives in March you should do fine in that sense. The other important thing to do is to immediately incorporate any youth you believe to be ready or almost ready (at least 5 silver stars) with high potential into the first team, first from the bench when games are already won or lost, and then given starts should you earn survival early. We didn't have cup runs that year, but they are certainly helpful for finance building. As for the integration of youth, the first season is always the hardest as you normally have very few ready for first team football.

Season 2: 2014-2015

Blue Square Bet North: 13th

How I originally described the season:

To say it was an inconsistent year would be understating it. We where first at one point, in the relegation zone at another, and finished in the middle of the pack. We started of brightly, grabbing 13 points out of the first 18 available, and putting FC United, for the first time, in first place in the BSN. What followed was the most demoralizing period of my time at the club. 8 straight deafeats(Including the FA Cup) almost saw my head on the chopping block, but thankfully the side was able to rally around and grab seven points out of 12, which was followed up by our long cup run to the FA Trophy Second Round. The winter period was very bitter sweet. After our eventual elimination from the FA Trophy, we managed to go 16 games unbeaten. Yet, only 5 of those results where wins, meaning we where unable to make quick strides forward. Grabbing 11 points out of the last 16 helped us a lot as well to finish in mid-table and secure myself a new one year deal. A good enough season in the end.

That Years Intake

This years intake would end up being vital, as it would be the intake to take us up to the Blue Square Bet Premier. The notables were Karl Prior-YP2a, Derek Wilson-YP2b, and Leon Thorne-YP2c, With the long term importance of each ironically inversely proportional to their starting ability.

My look on it 18 seasons into the future:

Improvement on the first season looks nice, but the real improvement as far as the challenge is concerned is in the game time given to the young players. Adam Abbott-YP1a broke into the first team and was one of the first name on the team sheet by the end of it. He developed a lot, specially in Marking, Tackling, and Positioning due to the added playing time. 1 out of the 11 positions had a youth starter. Dominic Roberts-YP1b developed well and made his debut, but he still wasn't ready for a place in the team. Regardless, he was still one in the future (an example of late bloomer prospects that just need time!). As well, 7 other youngster from the first season got playing time with the team becoming younger.

Season 3: 2015-2016

Blue Square Bet North: 13th

How I originally described the season:

Another bright start had me hoping we would end up fighting for the play-off spots, but a huge drop in form in October and November left us WAY to close to the relegation zone. However, once Karl Prior-YP1a started banging them in, the team climbed up the table to a respectable 13th place. I was hoping for an improvement from last season and a top half finish. We did neither of those but where just 1 point way. However, my defense worries me a lot. We conceded the most goals in the BSN this season, even more than last placed Tamworth. If some of the defensive youngsters make huge strides early on next season, our 4th best attack should lead us to a play-off challenge.

That Years Intake

The importance of this year's intake would be much more long term than the previous ones, with Robbie Gammon-YP3a and Sean Coleman-YP3b the only ones to make immeditae impacts before later disapearing while Declan Rowlans-YP3c and Stuart Thompson-YP3d would end up having more prosperous careers with the club long term.

My look on it 17 seasons into the future:

Despite not improving in points or position, the development from the youths made this one of the most important seasons of the challenge for me. Adam Abbott-YP1a was not only the starter at right-back but our best player as far as my assistant could see. I laugh when I see my assistant used to think he could be a good BSP RB. He payed in the Prem. Dominic Roberts-YP1b Continued to develop and by the end of the season was ready for the first team squad and would challenge the original keeper for his spot. Karl Prior-YP2a was the star of the team that season managing 18 goals and looked set to lead the team for years to come. Derek Wilson-YP2b played a lot as well, and while he didn't perform as well, he did develop a lot. One of those seasons that are vital for a player even if they do badly. Leon Thorne-YP2c simply was fighting with one of the original strikers to be Prior's partner up front throughout the season. Little did I know he would outshine Prior and lead the team up the leagues... As of this point, Abbott, Prior, and Wilson were starters. Two other tagged youths were also starters (At ML and DC), taking me to 5/11 youths who could comfortably start any game.

Season 4: 2016-2017

Blue Square Bet North: 3rd (Promoted Via Play-Offs)

How I originally described the season:

I can't describe in words what a great season we had. As per usual, we started of very brightly and where in the play-off spots in the first few weeks of the season. But unlike past seasons, this time we where able to keep ourselves in the play-off spots throughout the season. After releasing a big part of the 'old gang' after last season, the youngsters now where the heart of the team. Charlie O'Reilly became my captain and had a wonderful season at DC, fixing our biggest problem from last season-our defending. Dominic Roberts became my starting keeper at long last and was able of making some very important saves in key games. The play-off semifinal was against Workington, who had done the double over me in the regular season. However, a late goal from substitute Jay Walcott gave me the lead ahead of the second leg, when we got a convincing 3-1 win to secure a place in the play-off final against Grimsby. And what a game that was. They got ahead early on, but Leon Thorne was able to equalize. They went ahead once more few minutes later, but then Karl Prior was the one equalizing for us. The game continued at this incredible pace, with Dominic Roberts having his best game in goal so far, before Derek Wilson's cross went in by accident to send FC United to the BSP!

That Years Intake

This intake was less important than the last three, but it did provide for a future club legend (more on that later ), a starter for many years. Surprisingly the highest potential player would never make it at the club due to the high amount of midfielders, but the two who did were Ian Rooney-YP4b and Johnny O'Connor-YP4c, with both increasing in importance season after season.

My look on it 16 seasons into the future:

The first promotion. I still consider the Grimsby match one of my favorites due to not only the result and the manner of it, but also the fact that the three players who scored were three youths of the same age and year. Adam Abbott-YP1a May not have scored in the play-off final or at that season, but he was vital for the club from the right back spot. He's 15 Marking was noticeable as the right was solid as a rock for us. Dominic Roberts-YP1b Started the pre-season looking to fight for the starting spot and by the start of the season had won it. While he did make some youthful mistakes, he also had amazing games like the play-off final to help the team win promotion. Karl Prior-YP2a Had a better season, but his stardom was lost to the unexpected star. Regardless, his 19 goals were vital, with the 19th getting us back into the game when I thought we were done with. Derek Wilson-YP2b improved as the season went on, from a terrible start to the season to ending the season as MOTM of the pay-off final with the winning goal, as well as the assist for Prior's goal. His goal in the final will remain one of the greatest moments of this career, and his name will not be easily forgotten by me. Leon Thorne-YP2c, the unexpected star himself. Somehow, the player supposed to be Prior's partner upfront out shone him, scoring 21 goals. That he scored in the final was a reward for his amazing season, one I had not been expecting. Robbie Gammon-YP3a went straight into the team, becoming a midfield presence in our 4-4-2 and certainly a big part of our improvement at the back-up by helping out the defense. An undisputed starter at 17. Sean Coleman-YP3b-AM(LC)/M(LC) earned his spot in the team throughout the season, to the point that he started the play-off final on the left-wing. A starter on the wing or in the center of midfield. Declan Rowlans-YP3c-DC/DM/MC mostly played from the bench due to his versatility. Despite the lack of game time, his time would come... Stuart Thompson-YP3d-DM/MC played very little and looked to be not nearly good enough, but time would give him the redemption he deserved as he would play in the Prem. So now in our 4-4-2 we had the goal-keeper being a youth prospect. Abbott in right-back, with Charlie O'Reilly-YP1e, the first youth captain, in DC. While not playing to much this season, I would have had no problem playing Rowlands there, with left-back being used by a 33 year old left-back. On the right we had Wilson, with Gammon and Coleman in the center on most games and Charles Chukwu-YP2d, flair based winger, played most games on the left (he was injured for the play-off final). Up top we had the unstoppable partnership of Prior and Thorne. 10/11 as we moved into the BSP, and the team was mostly made of youths with only 4 non-youths at the club. Sadly for 5 of those who started most matches, their time would be over before the club made it into the Football League.

[brugi82]

TheGreatTraveler Such a fantastic read! Awesome, awesome job. Enjoying it so much. Can't wait for part 2 (I think the most difficult part of English challenge, Skrill Premier).