The Ultimate Football Manager

[burtur]

Great opening season Super Gord. I wouldn't keep my hopes up for a top job right a way though, at least if the mechanics of the job ladder are similar in S.Africa as they are in France

3L1G: Tough luck. On the bright side though, you got a job at a similar club and you are one step closer to vikeologist in the sacking challenge

JBC: So what is the next step? Will you look for another job in Ireland or head to Africa like the rest of the lot?

Arbee: What a momentum you are bulding up there! Looking forward to your first report from Brazil.

Loving that this challenge is attracting more players now...

[Super_Gord]

Thanks burtur, I'm enjoying reading your French adventure so far

What might turn out to be a masterstroke or catastrophe, with a heavy heart I left Jomo Cosmos for my new team for the 2015/16 season.

A bigger transfer kitty, much much bigger wage budget than Jomo Cosmos and little pressure when it comes to season expectations, expecting only mid table mediocrity, with any luck I can coast through this season with a bigger club, waiting for the other big sides to axe their managers!

[predator_scare]

Resigned/Sacked

predator_scare

You'll notice that I said resigned/sacked, and most likely wonder how this is possible, so I will try my best to enlighten you. I mentioned in a previous post, that I would stay with Santos F.C, but most likely apply for the Kaiser Chiefs job if it became available. Well, both the Kaiser Chiefs and the Pirates jobs came available, so naturally I applied for both. I was consider for both, but did not manage to get an interview for either, so then I thought, 'Fine, I'll just stay with Santos for now'.

However, the board had other ideas. They said that the fact that I had applied for two jobs had humiliated them, and that they couldn't take that. So they gave me an ultimatum, if you can call it that. They said that, 'Due to the fact that the fans loved me, and that I had brought success to the club, they would give me the option of resigning with my dignity intact, before firing me if I did not. Of course, I resigned, but I still think that this is unfair, especially considering all I did for them. I'm not sure where I will go now, but all my hard pre-season work has just been undone so I'm pretty annoyed and will therefore not likely be remaining in South Africa. I'll post an update when I've found another club.

P.S - Does this count as a sack or a resignation, as i'm not really sure.

Super_Gord - Nice season you had there, quite similar to mine. You had the sense to move though, unlike me. I've heard Ajax Cape Town have pretty good youth facilities and development, any nice regens?

ArBee - You're storming through this challenge. I'd say it wouldn't be long before you're done, but then I'd just be lying.

3L1G - If I do stay in South Africa, like you, my main goal will be to humiliate Santos F.C (especially the chairman!) so badly, that they beg to have me back. Of course, you could probably guess where I'd tell them to stick their job offer if they did.

[ArBee23]

Fluminense FC - 2020/2021

Before Me

I joined Fluminense after receiving offers from them and Cruzeiro, the state season was over and Fluminense had topped the league but lost in the championship playoff semi final to Vasco Da Gama. They then had the Brazilian First Division and in their first 7 games lost three, won three drew one which led to the manager being sacked. They won one game while managerless then I took over. The season before they won the Brazilian First Division. I have definitely inherited a team capable of winning everything

Brazilian First Division

The squad I inherited was really good with one or two real superstars, I started 5th in the table and the squad really settled into my formation and I seven match unbeaten run, I lost to Santos in a close battle 1-0 and then went on another great run, an eighteen match unbeaten streak! Ending in another loss to Santos 2-1 (Grrrr) I then went the last three games unbeaten. The end of the season was tough, at one point I was 16 points clear at the top but four draws (Including a monumental 4-4 draw with Ceara) and one loss in the last seven games gave Santos a chance to catch me, thankfully they didn't and I won the league by 10 points. Qualifying for the Copa Libertadores (and Sudamericana I think?)

Brazilian Cup

The first round top level teams enter is round 4 so the cup started a few weeks after I took over and it started well beating Vasco 2-0 on aggregate, I then faced Atletico Miniero in the QF and beat them 2-1 on aggregate, in the SF I took on Corinthians and comfortably won 4-0 on aggregate. The prize for this was a final draw against the team I rejected to manage Fluminense, Cruzeiro. I beat them 3-1 in the first leg at home and held them to a 2-2 draw away to win the cup 5-3 on aggregate! The double was complete!

Transfers

My team was light on quality upfront so I signed 24 year old Brazilian striker Vinicius for my highest transfer fee on FM15 of £5.75 Million

I moved a few players on, I sold Tinguinha for £1.2 million, Vitor for £33k, and star right midfielder Guillermo Fernandez for £15 million to Zenit. Getting rid of him was easy as I don't use wingers and his wages were the highest on the team.

Stars of the Season

ST - Vinicius - My signing was amazing delivering 22 goals in 25 games with 8 assists and an average rating of 7.68

AMC - Robert - Won South American Player of the Year! - 32 goals and 27 assists in 60 games! (Obviously not all under me) and avg rating of 7.78

CB - Elivelton - Beast at the back - 3 goals in 48 but a massive 6 tackles per game and avg rating of 7.15

Overview

Absolutely thrilling season running away with the league and managing to get a league and cup double! Next season my aim is to win everything but think this Champions League will be the hardest yet as the Asian and NACL were fairly due to my team being so far better than the poor opposition. I'm excited and nervous as the Rio State Championship, Brazilian First Division, Brazilian Cup, Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana (Maybe) means a heck of a lot of games for the season!

Achievements - 
Korean FA Cup - 2016 & 2017
Korean K League - 2017
Asian Champions League - 2017
Mexican Cup Closing Stage - 2018 & 2019
Mexican Cup Opening Stage - 2018
Mexican Super Cup - 2018
Mexican First Division Closing Stage - 2019
Mexican First Division Opening Stage - 2020
North American Champions League - 2020
Brazilian Cup - 2020
Brazilian First Division - 2020

[vikeologist]

Arbee - well done on your continued success. It doesn't sound as though you're going to have too much trouble with the Libertadores. Are you planning to do South Africa next?

Predator Scare - Yes. I think it is quite difficult to get jobs at the big clubs in South Africa. However, leaving Santos should really help you out. There's a group of second level teams, and hopefully you'll be able to get a job with one of them. Of course you may decide to go to another country, but as people have alluded to, the thing that this challenge has that none of the others do, is the opportunity of revenge.

SuperGord- I'd say Ajax Ct are one of those second level teams, although after a couple of seasons, each of our saves are different because of different boards and how teams have done before. In my save Jomo Cosmos actually have a higher reputation now than Ajax. Hopefully you can win something with Ajax.

On the subject of applying for other jobs, I could remind you that earlier in the save, after I won the FA Cup with Swallows, a job at Supersport (perhaps the number 3 club in South Africa) came up. Even though I wanted to stay at Swallows, I applied for the job at Supersport, just to check that I would be offered it. I wasn't going to take the job. It was an experiment. To my surprise (and frankly annoyance) they didn't give me the job.

Applying for other jobs is dangerous. It really can get you sacked. If you stand a chance with a team in the same league, you might know because you will be the favourite for the job, and quite possibly approached whether you apply or not.

I have applied for and been given jobs in different countries, but domestically it's rarely a good idea. Sometimes it's easier to get a job when unemployed. However, I wasn't connected with my current job at Guangzhou, and was offered it even though I was still with Dalian, so it's not as clear cut as I'm making it out.

I have applied for lots of jobs, and it definitely has caused some friction with current employers. It also seems to count against you when you apply for jobs. National FAs don't seem to mind it.

3L1G - I think you can't apply for any other jobs, (because you promised your board). Again, hope you win something with Amazulu.

Is nobody else engaging in international management? I think that getting a job for the Olympics (2016 or 2020) really boosts your reputation. There's lots of jobs available because lots of managers resign after the previous one.

It's difficult in the early stages of the challenge, unless you can turn water into wine like Arbee, but once you get a bit of critical mass behind you, the good jobs are easier to get. f course you reputation can go backwards as well as forwards, and mine definitely has.

Maybe the challenge has 3 stages

Stage 1 - get a job, any decent job, and try to get a good reputation

Stage 2 - manage at the big clubs and try not to get sacked because of a failure to win absolutely everything

Stage 3 - Try to win the international trophies.

It can take a while to get to stage 2 and start actually winning challenge eligible things, but don't give up everybody.

As I've said, I think stage 3 is going to be really tough, just because there's not as many jobs, and the big competitions are at best biennial.

Burtur - You're still at EFC Fréjus St. Raphael, right? Definitely looking forward to hearing how like in the top division is going.

[burtur]

Arbee: 4 titles in one year. Not too shabby!

Vikeologist: Yes. Still at St. Raphael. I'm into April now...so a season report is due tomorrow or friday In terms of jobs though. Declaring interest for jobs at higher clubs doesn't seem to cause stir with the board in my experience. So maybe that will keep your reputation more intact than directly applying for other jobs. Has anyone declared interest in a job and then got it?

[threelions1goal]

Vikeologist - I think you're correct with the "three stage" analysis. I was thinking along similar lines today whilst I was driving home from work (this challenge is taking up way too much of my daily thinking time!!)

I think as you say, once you get your foot in the door, so to speak, job offers will become more available. It is just getting to that next rung of the ladder.

Regarding the international management route to enhance reputations, I've applied for a good few U21, U20, U23 jobs, just hoping to get a break

Arbee - You seem to be doing really well in this challenge. I once did a save in Brazil and as you state, there can be lots of matches.

Predator - resigned or sacked........guess it depends. If you want to keep your dignity, then you resigned. If you want to join the "sack race" between me and Vikeologist, then it was the latter!!!!

Supergord - I too think that Ajax CT are one of the clubs who could** challenge Kaiser Bloody Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, so good luck there

**unless I was managing them!!

Burtur - I want your board!!! They seem to be incredible!!

Oh yeah.....and your "one step closer to vikeologist in the sacking challenge" comment literally made me laugh out loud....lol

[BustaRaymes]

So I have been lurking around in this thread for a while, and decided to see if I get into it. After 2 seasons I can say I did get into it. I'm a fan of long-term saves and this might just be something I'd really enjoy. I have little to no experience in writing stories or cool linking stuff because I'm not much of a computer guy, so I'm going to make this really ugly until I learn more. Just because I can.

KITCHEE

SEASON 1 2014-15

So I started off as a 20 year old with only Hong Kong and India as active leagues. After only a few months, Hong Kong big club Kitchee lost their manager and decided to appoint me, a young Dutch guy with no experience or badges whatsoever. Nice eye, guys. Check out these mad skills:

http://imgur.com/SkCnN38

I've been doing Hong Kong saves since 2004 and although I never really got far, I like the short league and the short term aspect of the challenge makes it a good place to start. Kitchee started the league really bad, but the squad was quite ok. Although a bit old, the quality was good and it shouldn't be much of a problem keeping them up with 11 games to go.

http://imgur.com/vx2TojZ

The board wanted me to get some big names to the club. Now my usual FM-style is like Wenger: get them while they still listen to you and at about 26 or 27 they're getting old and should move on. Not this time. Short-term success is achieved by big names. Besides, my squad was not old enough yet, so after a while I got this fresh beast:

http://imgur.com/0WFRFte

Yes, Kim Byung-Ji was indeed South Koreas goalie during their sweet World Cup run in 2002. Back then, he was only 32, so 13 years later he should be ripe enough for Kitchee.

Already at the club was this guy: http://imgur.com/nBbcP8L. Annan has been in Hong Kong for a while, even getting their nationality so I got a free foreigner spot. Even at his age he's one of the better players in the league.

Also, Lam Ka Wai http://imgur.com/0fM3z8y, the best native Hong Kong player available, was already at the club.

I finished the first season in 6th place, well from relegation, and managed to reach the AFC Cup quarter finals. While I needed some time to find the best formation (I really have a bad habit of trying to get 4-4-2 to work. It never does), things went pretty ok in the final phase of the season. I went on to get some quality players in, pushed the foreign players limit (which is 6) and went for a championship next season.

SEASON 2 2015-16

Competitions overview:

http://imgur.com/3YtRUGE

All in all not a bad year. I really wanted to cross off my first championship, but although I won every single game against South China (both league and cup), I couldn't hold on due to a small squad and a lot of matches. I did however win the FA Cup and reach the semi final in the AFC Cup (which plays every calendar year instead of september - may). Jordan-based Al Faisali just overcame us, although I felt we should've got through to the final. Again, we're in the 2nd round of the AFC Cup. What the continental qualifications mean; I have no clue. It's a 4 team playoff with only weak opponents. I have no idea why I play these and where South China is.

Squad:

http://imgur.com/K4L5YKV

Old. Yes. I have spent some cash during the season to get some talented youngsters in next season. Not for Kim Byung-Ji though, the man is still a beast and he'll probably decide for himself when he's going to be replaced. Unless he dies of old age first.

Best players:

Jaimes McKee: http://imgur.com/JYbwVSd

Matthew Lam: http://imgur.com/NdZjeVV

[vikeologist]

Welcome, Busta.

So Kitchee wanted big names! Well to be fair, maybe you did sign Aleksander Ranjolovic. As for where South China is, you used to share their stadium. Congrats on your first challenge-eligible trophy.

Some of us have mentioned the prospect of meeting our old clubs, and I've just had a couple of nice reunions with 2 of my skanky ex-girlfriends.

First of all Egypt had a friendly against Ivory Coast. We are 2 places ahead of them in the world rankings, although I think that will soon change. A nice one-sided match which we won 4-1.

Then I welcomed Dalian A'erbin to Guangzhou for the first meeting of the sides since I dumped them. Honestly, this wasn't likely to be a contest, and we were 2-0 up after 2 minutes. The final score was 6-0.

So, no regrets; not on my end anyway. I'll probably send them a couple of tickets to our World Cup and Asian Champions League games next year after we qualify.

[burtur]

Great reviews Busta and welcome to the challenge! Congratz on ticking off one trophy.

[Goonertillidie]

Weird set Sunday League Reputation and No Coaching Badges but gettin offers from teams in MLS

[ArBee23]

Vikeologist, Either South Africa or Europe buddy.

Predator Shame you were sacked, looking forward to see where you end up next

SuperGord Ajax Cape Town are a really cool choice, it may take a while to get to the top level but you could win everything with them

ThreeLions I love that your first game was against your old team, looking forward to your season review to see how you did compared to them

Burtur Great 12 months for me for sure. When is your next update coming?

Busta Welcome buddy, I managed Kitchee I think on FM13, fair to say I didn't do well. If I remember rightly I joined them halfway through the season with them bottom of the league and I lost every game bar one. Sacked... So you're already doing better than I did.

[predator_scare]

Shrewsbury Town - Hired

predator_scare

Job Offer

After well over a year out of management, and lots of rejections, I have manager to secure the job at Shrewsbury Town. I couldn't face starting up at a club in SA's second division again, as they were the only clubs that I managed to get interviews with somehow, so I loaded up Europe and managed to secure League 2 Shrewsbury, which I am very happy with. Low expectations and good finances means that this is a perfect club to use to get my rep up in England, so that I can get to some higher clubs. Only in October (2016) so I've got plenty of time to improve the team.

Predator - resigned or sacked........guess it depends. If you want to keep your dignity, then you resigned. If you want to join the "sack race" between me and Vikeologist, then it was the latter!!!!

3L1G - ​I'm going to count it as a sack, so - Sack Race: 1

[ArBee23]

I've just got to add something here, my tactic is purely crazy. In my first 4 games of the season I have had 191 shots! With 71 on target scoring 16 goals. I don't know how I'm having SO many shots but I love it haha The standard in the state leagues isn't great but wowser

[streety]

A quick update for those new to the challenge..

Update

I took over at African Warriors in South Africa and got them promoted to the South African Premier League where I struggled with the team and had a mini revolt on my hand whilst staring relegation in the face but the team and I survived my first season at the top table in South Africa. I decided to resign from my post and have gone to Another country I have never managed before. France.

2016/2017 season

Pre Season

So having walked in at Strasbourg it was not much of a team hardly any backroom staff..and ooh some money to spend!...Lets get started! First things first Parent Club when I walked in the club did not have one but had two feeder teams. AS Monaco are now my Parent club. Next Staff I bought in a few new faces but most importantly I felt the need for better coaches and more importantly a better HOYD a few scouts including Louis Saha.

Next up players..the squad was a mess (it is going to be a work in progress) and considering the French are big on youth.. I had none to call up but being in the National league I'm focussing on a blend of experience with a few young players in the squad. The new additions have been freebies that have or should i say being bought(still need to finalise on a few)

Fixtures

Strasbourg 1 - 1 Schaffhausen

Strasbourg 2 - 0 Servette

FC Mulhouse 0 - 3 Strasbourg

Strasbourg 0 - 2 AS Monaco

Pre season friendlies done it's time to pick the lucky few to join the squad

Tactic

I was going to go 4-4-2 but scrapped it for a modified 4-3-3 the players are still getting used to it but watching the matches the team are looking good and playing some good stuff.

Goals this season?

it surprised me that this team are not favourites and the bookies have priced us 20-1 but I'm quietly confident

[burtur]

Don't stop believing in Journey!

burtur's 2016/17 end of season report

Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël - Ligue 2

League Table | Positional Graph

So after back-to-back promotions it was now time for us in St. Raphaël to play with the big boys in Ligue 1. We were of course again tipped to go straight down, with our odds 2000-1 to win the league, but we don't pay attention to such b-s.

The television money in Ligue 1 is surprisingly big..and in fact huge for club like St. Raphaël, just under 12m pounds to be exact. So the board was quick to expand the scouting range to anywhere in the world an allow me to add as much backroom staff as I wanted without me even asking. They also granted me my wish of better training and youth facilities so all was rosy in pre-season.

I quickly realized however that my wage structure was nowhere near good enough for me to sign some decent talent. I could only offer max £9k a week, which we all know is not good enough. I mean, those players have families to feed for gods sake. Anyway, I had to completely renovate my squad again and the talent I managed to get in wasn't exactly going to compete with Zlatan. I was confident however we had enough about us to keep our heads above water.

We had a fine start to the season winning two and drawing in the opening five fixtures which included visits to PSG and Rennais. We then only managed two wins and two draws out of the next 8 games before going on an 11 match run without a win. Plainly it wasn't going well and we were in a real relegation battle. Our main problem was not seeing games out. We were in control in most of our games and often taken the lead. But my strike force wasn't up to standard and my fringe players were nowhere good enough. So I believe lack of quality in depth did cost us late on in games.

But we kept at it and following that horrible run we went on an 8 game unbeaten run, which all but secured our spot in the league. As it turned out we ended up 14th in the league which I think we can be pleased with all considered.

In the two cups we were again quite lucky. Drawing teams we were really supposed to beat, aside from the 3rd round of the league cup where we sent Marseille crashing home after a convincing 3-1 home win which was arguably our performance of the season. We ended up making to the semi-finals in both cups before losing out against St. Etienne in the League Cup and Rennais in the FA Cup. The latter was particularly disappointing as we led the game throughout but conceded two goals late on. Rennais then went on and comfortably beat Ligue 2 outfit CA Bastia in the final. So there went a great chance to secure my first challenge eligible cup! But to quote Steven Gerrard "Oh well, there is always next season". Wise words from a trophy-shy man.

During the season there were A LOT of sackings and managers moving around. Both in France, England and Spain. Man Utd are now for instance on their third manager! I decided to focus my attention to my current club and then assess the situation at the end of the season, rejecting all contract talks during the season. A week before my contract ran out the club entered talks with me. They offered me a wage budge of 120k and a transfer budget of 5m. It wasn't good enough so I simply resigned. I leave EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël with a heavy heart but my head up high but I am fairly confident I can get a decent job in Ligue 1 now, maybe not at the top clubs but at least at mid-table clubs. I must further my career!

After I had resigned there was only one interesting job available. Stuttgart in Germany, they are in the second bundesliga but a huge club so I figured I had chance. To make a long story short, they laughed at my interest leaving me with a egg on my face. Had I made a huge mistake?

My former board decided to hire legendary Spanish coach Jose Antonio Camacho as me successor so my former tutees will now have a old dog teaching them new tricks...we'll see how that goes.

So I guess it is the waiting game for me again. Although I won't be sitting on my couch doing nothing as I applied for the vacant Costa Rica position and they immediately offered me the position. My first international job and I figure this might be a good step in my career. The 2018 World Cup is just around the corner and Costa Rica are currently ranked 27th in the world, so who knows what might happen? I figure it can only help enhance my reputation in the world of football by participating there. That said we must first qualify but I am fairly certain we will manage that, we currently sit in third position with 4 games to go, 5 points ahead of Guatemala. The top 3 teams qualify for the World Cup.

In other news. Man Utd have unearthed a goalkeeping talent who has one of the best names in world football imo

Managerial career - clubs

Season           Club                League        Pos       DC1         DC2      Continental        Other
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15  EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël  French National   3rd    7th round      n/a          n/a             n/a
2015/16  EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël      Ligue 2       1st   11th round   3rd round       n/a             n/a
2016/17  EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël      Ligue 1      14th   semi-final   semi-final      n/a             n/a           

Landmarks

[b]France:[/b]
[i]French National[/i]
Third place (1)   2015 (EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël)
[i]Ligue 2[/i]
Winner (1)   2016 (EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël)

The journey so far:

Prologue

Season 2014/15

Season 2015/16

[BustaRaymes]

vikeologist I did actually get Randjelovic, but he wasn't bringing what I expected. In january he had only scored 7 or 8, I snapped up McKee as a backup but he actually passed Randjelovic as the first striker. I missed South China in those CL playoffs as they were champions and should be in there I guess. And I like the tough games and rivalry. But I'm not really sure I understand the rules regarding the Asian continental cups. Oh well.

ArBee23 I tried multiple Hong Kong saves (all with Happy Valley though, I just imagine everone's always smiling there), none went very well.

burtur​ Thanks

[vikeologist]

Busta - I could be wrong, but I think Asian nations qualification is dynamic, meaning that eventually the league would get an ACL place, but it's unlikely to happen soon in your save, so once you've won the league there's nothing else for you there. On the other hand, winning the other continental cup would enhance your reputation.

Gooner - I think that it's possible to get jobs in most of the top divisions at the start of the challenge, MLS included, but they're not necessarily going to be great jobs to take.

[Super_Gord]

predator_scare - The Santos sacking is a tough one to take, I had a similar situation when applying for other jobs, only I was told to apologise or resign, they accepted my apology and I left for Ajax CT 4 days later, congrats on the Shrewsbury job, you've got a long but hopefully successful journey on there.

vikeologist - It was a definately a dangerous move applying for this job, I almost got given the heave ho by Jomo, but an apology saved my skin.

threelions1goal - Appreciate the well wishes buddy, looking forward to seeing how you do at Amazulu.

ArBee23 - Yup Ajax CT have a real good setup, with some pretty good youth players, this season certainly turned out interesting!

burtur - You made some great progress, it must've been tough to wrap it in with EFC Fréjus St. Raphaël, after such a great run with them, hopefuly you can grab yourself a big name in the future!

And welcome to BustaRaymes - Nice read there and a trophy to boot, well done

[Super_Gord]

Ajax CT 2015/2016 Season Review

Champions

This turned out to be a pretty crazy season, the board had very little expectation, seemingly happy with a comfortable mid table finish, but I was having none of that!

The squad was looking light up top, I was desperate to get in a 20 goal a season striker before the league kicked off and ended up shelling out £135,000 on Davide Somma from Ferencvaros, as it turned out 20 goals wasn't enough for him, he ended up bagging 35 goals in 30 games averaging 7.78 a game. He literally won games on his own, I highly doubt I'll make a transfer again in this challenge that will have a greater impact than Somma did on a season. Loanee's certainly played a strong part in our season, Cris a 38 year old from Pescara and Waldo Ponce, yes Ponce, from Universidad de Chile came in at centre back to provide some experience to a rather shaky looking back 5.

We made top spot our own from matchday 7 and held on to it all the way up to the last game of the season, 2 points seperated us and Orlando Pirates who had a much greater goal difference than us, we had a home game against 3rd placed Sundowns, whilst they were away to Bloem Celtic who had nothing to play for, we played out a 2-2 draw and Orlando threw away a 2 goal lead to also draw 2-2, I've never had such a tense feeling waiting for the final score to come up! Also, shoutouts to Jomo Cosmos who battled away at the bottom all season, but didn't have enough about them to stay up sadly!

Cup competitions were disappointing for different reasons, dumped out of the KO Cup by Kaiser Chiefs in round one after getting a pasting 3-1, then making it to the semi finals of the SA Cup against SuperSport United who were simply plodding along in the league, dominating the game and losing 2-0 away from home, very frustrating.

I also managed to avoid a mini player revolt mid season, Abbubaker Mobara my star CM kicked up an almighty stink about wanting to leave the club after I rejected pretty derisory bids from Kaiser Chiefs for him, after team meetings and low team morale for a week or two I managed to flog him to Hungarian side Ujpest for a pretty tidy 800k.

All in all I'm pretty happy with that season, first top league title ticked off, now it's a stab at the African Champions League next season and the possibility of International management should anything come up!

[b]Management Career[/b]

2014/15 - Jomo Cosmos - South African National First Division - Champions
2015/16 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - Champions

[b]Challenge Landmarks[/b]

Top League Title - 1 - South African Premier Soccer League

[predator_scare]

2016/2017 Season Review - Shrewsbury Town

predator_scare

Play-Off Winners

Competitions

Fixture/Results 1

Fixtures/Results 2

Having picked up Shrewsbury Town around October/November, one place above the relegation zone (22nd), managing to get them to finish 4th was a great achievement, especially as we later won the play-off's meaning that we gained promotion to League 1. A few dodgy performances early into my reign made me wonder if taking this post had been the right idea, but a switch to my 3-1-3-1-2 formation that had worked so well with Santos meant that we started rake in the results and climb up the table. In the play-off semi-final, we comfortably dispatched Wycombe Wanderers 4-2 on aggregate before seeing off Luton Town 3-0 to end Shrewsbury's 23 year barren spell. In the cups, we were out in the League cup and the Johnston's Paint Trophy before I got there, while in the FA Cup, we made it to the second round before a disappointing performance saw us go out against York City.

A few jobs higher up have become available, which I am looking at, but as I doubt I will get them I will most likely be staying with Shrewsbury next season, which I am fine with.

Squad

Transfers

Top Goalscorer - Scott Vernon - The club's oldest player still has the quality to bag 29 goals in 47 appearances, also chipping in with 4 assists and and average rating of 7.14.

Top Assister - Josh Ginnely - The 20 year old who came through the youth system, had a great season with 17 assists in 31 games, also adding 5 goals to the team with an average rating of 7.20.

Highest Rating - Mickey Demetriou - In 39 appearances, the DL/ML (and our set piece taker) had an average rating of 7.33, while also contributing 5 goals and 10 assists the to campaign.

Managerial Career

[TABLE=class: grid]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]Team (Country)[/TD]

[TD]League (Tier)[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Cup 1 (FA Cup)[/TD]

[TD]Cup 2 (League Cup)[/TD]

[TD]Cup 3[/TD]

[TD]Continental[/TD]

[TD]Other[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014/2015[/TD]

[TD]Santos F.C (South Africa)[/TD]

[TD]National 1st Division (2nd Tier)[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Quarter-Final[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]Champions and Promotion[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015/2016[/TD]

[TD]Unemployed[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016/2017[/TD]

[TD]Shrewsbury Town (England)[/TD]

[TD]League 2 (4th Tier)[/TD]

[TD]4th[/TD]

[TD]Second Round[/TD]

[TD]Second Round[/TD]

[TD]First Round[/TD]

[TD]N/A[/TD]

[TD]Play-Off Winners and Promotion[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Trophy Cabinet

[TABLE=class: grid]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]Team (Country)[/TD]

[TD]Trophy[/TD]

[TD]Type[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014/2015[/TD]

[TD]Santos F.C (South Africa)[/TD]

[TD]National First Division Title[/TD]

[TD]League (2nd Tier)[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016/2017[/TD]

[TD]Shrewsbury Town (England)[/TD]

[TD]League 2 Play-Off Final[/TD]

[TD]Play-Off's (4th Tier)[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Challenge Progress

[TABLE=class: grid]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]Progress[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014/2015[/TD]

[TD]None[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015/2016[/TD]

[TD]None[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016/2017[/TD]

[TD]None[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[ArBee23]

I might have bumped into a major issue here, I have added Brazil and Argentina a few seasons into my save and the Copa Libertadores doesn't appear to be loading for me yet even though I qualified. Looking at the image you can see its due to start in 2017 even though i'm in 2021!

[vikeologist]

Arbee - I know this was an issue with the BETA. I thought it had been eliminated from release version onwards, which is why I didn't bother to mention before.

Actually there was potentially an issue if you'd loaded Mexico at any point, which you obviously had. here's a post from the league specific south American bugs forum

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/399730-South-America-(Official)-Specific-Issues

A fix for this issue was included in the 15.2.1 Update that was released in December. Unfortunately as it is competition related it means that if the problem had already occurred in your save game then it is not possible to repair it. If you have a save game from before the end of 2017 then the 2018 Copa Libertadores should then be scheduled correctly.

I started with version 572980, (although I don't know exactly when that was) and the Libertadores is working for me. I didn't start with any South American leagues loaded, but I have Argentina and Brazil loaded now and I don't have a problem.

It's certainly worth everybody checking that all the continental cups continue loading after 2017, especially if you started this challenge early on.

Are you using the latest version of the game (ie, do you get updates?) If any of you were using some kind of pirated version of the game, (which you would obviously have to deny, deny, deny), then this could be the reason, but if we're legit and auto-updating, then we should be ok. Also, do you have any kind of edited leagues?

I'm really sorry that you've had this happen. I thought SI had fixed it.

[ArBee23]

It's a legit version of the game, I do have auto update on but this save started before the most recent update I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. I don't have any edited leagues either in this game.

Is my save ruined now then do you think? Will I not be able to win the Copa Libertadores at all?

I'm gutted if that's the case cos it's the best save I've had in years!

[vikeologist]

You'll need to post it on the bugs forum, and I'm sure they'll try to help, but it seems to be a known problem, and you would need to go back to a save from before the end of 2017.

I can appreciate how gutted you must be. It's very scary with this challenge, loading and unloading leagues, that something like this could happen which completely destroys the whole challenge. I regularly check that competitions are loading properly. I should keep more older save versions in case something does go wrong.

However this is the first time it has happened to someone doing this challenge. I'm so sorry.

I started the challenge 11 November last year, so it's not as though all challenges started before the December update were affected. All our saves should be ok, but clearly something has gone wrong with yours.

When did you start? You can see in game status.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2029 Guangzhou End of Season Report

A league and cup double. My first league championship for 6 seasons, so it felt good to be back on top again.

We were top of the table all season, and for the first half completely dominant, but near the end of the season the goals dried up with a lot of 0-0 draws, and the reigning champs, Beijing, always likely to be our main competition started catching up. They in fact only lost 1 league game all season, and it wasn't to us.

In our penultimate game, with Beijing now just 3 points behind, we were losing; they were winning, and I thought that it was going to be taken out of our hands. (In the tie on points, Beijing would have the advantage because we had lost and drawn our two games with them). Luckily both of us ended up drawing those games.

We needed just a point from our last game, at home to Qingdao 2nd from bottom who needed a win to avoid relegation. They scored the first goal and we had to win from behind, but we managed it. So stressful.

The FA Cup was less stressful. We beat Shandong 6-0 on aggregate over the two legs.

So now I guess I'm going to stay at Guangzhou to try to win the Champions League. Chinese sides haven't done well in the competition of late, so we'll have to see how it goes next season. Guangzhou weren't even in it last season. Getting a job at Jeonbuk, or even my old side and current champs Seoul in South Korea might be easier, but as long as I win the league every single year, I think my job will be safer at Guangzhou.

As for international football, Egypt qualified for the World Cup by winning all their qualifying games including the 2 game playoff at the end. We stand a good chance of being the highest ranked African team soon. Mind you, the objective in the WC isn't to win it, though that would be nice, but to do well enough for me not to be sacked so that I can take the team to the African Cup of Nations. After the last ACON, there were a few other countries, (Cameroon and Nigeria notable) that had vacancies, but I thought that Egypt had a deep and fairly young squad, and so far it's going very well. Reigning ACON and reigning ex, South Africa and Ivory Coast respectively, both lost in the playoffs.

Season    Team            Position    Notes                                        Challenge Landmarks
14/15    Swallows(South Africa)    14th        Took over after 14 (of 30)games in 16th bottom position. Dodged relegation.
15/16    Swallows        12th        South African FA Cup winner. Continental qualification.                1 domestic cup
16/17    Swallows        3rd        Champions League qualification
17/18    Swallows        3rd    
18/19     Swallows & Kaizer Chiefs2nd        Quit Swallows mid-season. Took over Kaiser Chiefs with 9 games of the season left
19/20    Kaizer Chiefs/ChU23    2nd        Won 2 domestic cups.
20/21    Kaizer Chiefs / China    2nd        Lost in Champions League Final on away goals
21/22    Kaizer Chiefs/China    1st        Lost in Champions league semi-final. Won 36 straight matches and East Asia Cup    1 domestic league
22/23    Kaizer Chiefs/ China    n/a        Won African Champions League. Humiliated nation of China.            African Champions League
2023    Seoul            1st        Won South Korean League                                2nd domestic league
2024    Seoul / Brazil U23    3rd        Won FA Cup                                    2nd domestic cup
2025    Cruz Azul        9th        Won FA Cup (Opening Stage). Then I was sacked.                    3rd domestic cup
2026    Chivas            2nd        Manager for one match. Lost title in extra time of 2nd leg of league final.
26/27    Chivas /Ivory Coast    6th/1st        Won NACL. Lost Closing stage final of Mexican 1st Div (again)            NACL
27    Chivas / Ivory Coast    5th        Lost in Opening Stage semi-final and resigned after CWC Q/F
28    Dalian / Ivory Coast    11th        Lost in FA Cup Final / Lost in 2029 ACON Q/F
29    Guangzhou / Egypt    1st        League / Cup double. Qualified for World Cup                    4th cup, 3rd league

[vikeologist]

In all the drama of Arbee's potentially fatal bug, I didn't congratulate my fellow champions.

SuperGord - Well done on showing the rest of us that you don't have to be the manager of the biggest club in the country to win the league. I mean, I do, but you clearly have some skills. You should now have no problem with getting a full-cream international job; maybe even one where you stand a chance of winning a challenge-eligible trophy. As I've alluded to though, international management brings a range of good things; not least players from that nation wanting to play for you.

How many South African teams qualify for the ACL in your save at the moment?

Predator Scare - Congratulations on your successful return to the world of employment and continued perfect record of promotion. I don't know why you managed a whole year unemployed. Sometimes the managers at the top jobs meet expectations and don't get sacked, and thus don't start the cascade of job opportunities that one would want in this challenge.

How old is Scott Vernon? Old enough to be your father in the game?

In some ways it's a pity that the game seems to ignore our tender years for the challenge, although in my save I am now 35, and older than all my players. It's becoming harder and harder to sleep with their wives while they're busy with all the extra training I've made them do.

[ArBee23]

You'll need to post it on the bugs forum, and I'm sure they'll try to help, but it seems to be a known problem, and you would need to go back to a save from before the end of 2017.

I can appreciate how gutted you must be. It's very scary with this challenge, loading and unloading leagues, that something like this could happen which completely destroys the whole challenge. I regularly check that competitions are loading properly. I should keep more older save versions in case something does go wrong.

However this is the first time it has happened to someone doing this challenge. I'm so sorry.

I started the challenge 11 November last year, so it's not as though all challenges started before the December update were affected. All our saves should be ok, but clearly something has gone wrong with yours.

When did you start? You can see in game status.

Sadly I haven't kept a save from that far back being in 2021. Think I'm just going to have to start again. I wish my computer could handle loading lots of leagues to avoid this but it's a crappy laptop and would die with more than 5 nations!

I started on 22 Feb 2015. Game Version 585343

To clarify, with the latest update if I start a new game I have to have Brazil loaded before 2017? Or is it a non issue now?

[vikeologist]

Why don't you report it on the bugs forum. This is an issue that they said they'd fixed in January.

Also, if they know why it's happened, they'll be able to tell you how to avoid it, or maybe even fix your save.

[ArBee23]

Already deleted in anger. I'll be back. Great group of people and I'll be reading with interest. There's no objection to playing FM Classic for this challenge is there? I wanted to check before I go again

[threelions1goal]

Amazulu Season 2017/18

Table

Transfers

Confidence

So, after being sacked 5 games into the season I applied for a few jobs, as previously reported and managed to get the gig at Amazulu, taking over on 12th January.

Not alot of time to do much in the transfer window and it resulted in a pretty inconsistent remainder of the season. When I took over they were 12th in the table and I managed to work my magic and finish 13th.......lol

The Board expected me to reach the Quarter Finals of the cup, which I achieved and was hoping to go further - obviously those annoying Chiefs of Kaiser put pay to that.

This was sweet though and I don't care how fortunate it may have been - hey I need all the highlights I can get!!

So, close season and I've many average players coming to the end of their contracts, a couple on high wages, so they'll be gone, as will the majority of the backroom staff I inherited as they are pretty pooh as well.

Looking at you guys winning trophies for fun makes me realise I may not be very good at this!!!!! But, perseverance is the key............

Season     Team                       League                             Position           Achievements 
14/15       Platinum Stars          South African Premier              8th             None
15/16       Platinum Stars          South African Premier              6th             Super 8 Cup
16/17       Platinum Stars          South African Premier             10th            None
17/18       Platinum Stars          South African Premier             Sacked
17/18       Amazulu                  South African Premier             13th           None

Incidentally, how do you guys get your code thing looking so neat, please??

[threelions1goal]

Already deleted in anger. I'll be back. Great group of people and I'll be reading with interest. There's no objection to playing FM Classic for this challenge is there? I wanted to check before I go again

Don't leave us!!

I know I'd be miffed if the same thing happened to my save.

The positive spin is at least it happened early rather than say 15 seasons and you'd won lots of trophies??!!

Dunno about Classic mode - it doesn't bother me, but I'm sure I read early in the thread that Classic mode had some impact on the game.......not certain though, without checking bud!!

[ArBee23]

Don't leave us!!

I know I'd be miffed if the same thing happened to my save.

The positive spin is at least it happened early rather than say 15 seasons and you'd won lots of trophies??!!

Dunno about Classic mode - it doesn't bother me, but I'm sure I read early in the thread that Classic mode had some impact on the game.......not certain though, without checking bud!!

I'm not leaving bud, I'm hoping to get a game started tonight. I was into 2022 and won a lot of trophies so yeah gutted but hey if I can do it once I can do it again! I just checked through the thread and haven't seen any objections to FMC so I will be running FMC as it's much faster and better for me.

South Africa looks tough but I like your attitude buddy

[Super_Gord]

ArBee23 - That totally sucks man, so much progress lost to a bug, I don't know what bearing FM Classic has or doesn't have on a save but it's good to see you sticking with it, so keep on keeping on, I don't think I'd have the heart to start over!

predator_scare - Congrats on the playoff success, looking through the fixtures I noticed my boys (Hartlepool United) managed to be unbeaten against you, if only that were true to life these days!

vikeologist - A league and cup double, damn you're starting to chalk up the landmarks, which has been your toughest league so far?

threelions1goal - We'll all have our ups and downs, you're just getting your sticky start outta the way, on route to success!

[Super_Gord]

Ajax CT Season Review 2016/17

League Table - 5th

I guess the honeymoon period is well and truely over, after such a great opening season last year I was hoping to strengthen with a few signings and really push Kaiser Chiefs all the way again this year, it couldn't of been farther from the truth. Despite 650K worth of new talent injected into the squad we laboured from fixture to fixture, 4 of our 7 defeats we lost by a goal to nil after dominating the match, the most frustrating part being that there were no runaway leaders in the league, with 10 games remaining the top 6 including us were seperated by 3 points, we ended up closing the season out by winning only 2 of our last 9 games.

Equally disappointing was our African Champions League journey, we were drawn against the current champions from Tunisia Etoile du Sahel in the preliminary round who were champions in 2015 & 2016 beating them 7-1 over 2 legs only to crash out against Hearts of Oak 2-1 on aggregate despite battering them both home and away. Domestic cups were the same as last year, out in the 1st round of the KO cup to Swallows and another semi final defeat in the SA Cup, this time to those friggin' Kaiser Chiefs!

International management is still a way off it seems, after the African Nations I applied for no less then 7 available jobs, only to have 7 prospective employers laugh me off in the process, oh goody.

My time in South Africa may possibly be up soon, the board are not happy and there isn't any job currently available that would be worth sticking around for, I either pull out my map of Asia or face the music here, possibly both!

[b]Management Career[/b]
2014/15 - Jomo Cosmos - South African National First Division - Champions
2015/16 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - Champions
2016/17 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - 5th

[b]Challenge Landmarks[/b]
Top League Title - 1 - South African Premier Soccer League

[vikeologist]

Arbee - I'm also glad you're going to give it another try. I think even with starting again, you're going to be the first to achieve at least the club portion of this challenge. Given the quick success you have with sides, you may well be good at international management as well, but that will definitely be the hard part of achieving this challenge for all of us.

I'd suggest that everybody saves their game near the end of 2017, and then check in 2018 that the Libertadores has indeed loaded.

3L1G - To get the code thing looking neat, it's a good idea to use Notepad, and use tabs on notepad, then copy and paste it over to here. However, as you may have noticed, my code thing goes awry once I edit a post, so I may not be the best person to advise on this. It always looks perfect when I first post my summaries though.

Hopefully getting rid of some of the dead overpaid wood will result in a breakthrough season.

Supergord - Mexico was a nightmare for me, because there's quite a few teams who think they should be winning every season, and sack their managers if that doesn't happen. Even if you have the best team, one bad match in the league playoffs can seal your fate. I think South Korea was much the same. It's much easier in China with Guangzhou when I can just financially suppress all the other sides. I've bought Beijing's best player (who was probably going to leave at the end of his contract anyway) even though I don't really need another central midfielder.

[burtur]

Wow, lots of posts!

Arbee - That must be gutting! Great that your starting over and here is to hoping you get of too a good start. I must admit though that I'm a bit nervous with my save. I am now into 2018 and haven't loaded up the SA-leagues. Gonna do that now an check if my save is ok.

Super Gord - Great work winning the South African league with Ajax CT! Off to a flyer in this challenge

3L1G - Keep at it bro! Perseverance and fiddling with the tactics is key. I personlly like to hire assistant managers who are good at judging players, that helps alot with team selections. But who are my to give you advice? I only have Ligue 2 title under my belt

Vikeologist - Great work on your home turf! Guessing you are now hunting for that Asian CL and then off to South-America?

Predator Scare - Nice work with Shrewsbury! Us Europeans gotta stick together bro!

[ArBee23]

SuperGord - Are Ajax CT at all affiliated with Ajax? By that I mean are you able to take advantage of their amazing youth system and get a couple of loanees to help?

Vikeologist - I don't know, I think the save I had was one of those special saves where things go your way. I've never had a save that good so can't see me replicating it haha.

Burtur - I hope you haven't fallen foul to the same bug as me pal. Good Luck

[BustaRaymes]

ArBee23 Ajax CT is indeed affiliated with Ajax, but it's purely organizational. Some aging Dutch players have played there (maybe Hans Vonk rings a bell?), but never on loan from Ajax. It's mainly a branch, players like Steven Pienaar, Thulani Serero and Eyong Enoh made the step from CT to Ajax.

Now I'm afraid for my save as well. I mostly start journeyman saves with every new FM, so I used a starter save I set up a while ago.

[Super_Gord]

ArBee23 - Like BustaRaymes said indeed they are and believe me I've tried to get some players from them but they don't send anyone, not even the kids!

[ArBee23]

ArBe23 - Ultimate Challenge

Profile

I started Unemployed with Sunday League Reputation , I loaded South Africa & Brazil (Due to previous issues) After applying for every job I was approached by

Jomo Cosmos - 2014/15

During the season my team was taken over but sadly nothing really changed except I became untouchable in board confidence, I gained nothing financially sadly.

Squad

The squad was OK but I decided on a few reinforcements/additions of better quality. I added Dennis Masina, Mxollsi Mayongo, Bevan Fransch, Boltumelo Mafoko in Summer and signed Tsepho Ramokala and Papa Gaoussou

League

The team was decent but there were some challenges ahead, I started with a win but had draws and losses throughout. It was a really tough season but once my players got going they really strung together some great results. Fixtures 1 , and Fixtures 2 including great results against main rivals for the title Santos FC and Royal Eagles as well as incredible goal fests against, Wittbank Spurs, Black Leopards and Cape Town All Stars.

I managed to win the League comfortably in the end but there were moments in the season I though I would fall especially when I kept drawing. I was thrilled to gain promotion and win the league. Great Prize Hmm lol

Cup

My cup run was short lived I beat Maluti FET 3-0 in the preliminary round and then went out to Swallows 3-0 in a poor showing against the South African Premiership opponent in the FIRST round.

Star Players

Star Striker - Peter Chukwudl

Midfielder - Matsilele Sono

Midfielder - Bamuza Sono

Overview

A fantastic season overall with some players really impressing me, I really didn't expect to win the league I was hoping for the playoffs but really exceeded those expectations. I'm now considering that I may need to resign as I don't think Jomo will be anywhere near able to compete in the premiership. I will have to see what happens

[burtur]

Arbee is back with a vengence!

Don't call it comeback, I've been here for years!

[ArBee23]

Arbee is back with a vengence!

Haha Love it.

Welllll the South African Premiership is hard!!!!

[Super_Gord]

Congratulations ArBee, Jomo Cosmos treating us both well!

[dap1987]

For me (unlike Burtur!!) I would NEVER manage manchester united.

Ever.

I'm a City fan, have been since I was seven years old, way back in 1976. When oposing fans chant "Where were you when you were *****" the answer simply is, at Maine Road and various other grounds around the country, watching, undeniably some of the sh!ttiest, ***** football that has ever been seen!!

Trouble is, when your club is in your heart, you love them. Unconditionaly.

With City, the money changed everything, we won the lottery the day the Sheik took us over.

Now, as a traditionalist, I wrestled with my conscience. My club had now become everything I didn't like about the modern game, but what could I do??

As somebody famous once wrote, I simply had to "Roll With It"!!

The moment when Aguerooooooooooo won the league, 93:20 on May 13th 2012, is the single best moment of my life - surpassing the birth of my kids (they know this!!)

Yes money bought the success, but that moment as a Blue (and as many fans of other clubs can appreciate) well, you cannot put a price on that goal and the sheer joy it gave to so many people. As Paul Lake said, there have been people who have since passed away, but for them, the moment when Sergio scored is their last memory and, again, you cannot put a price on that.

Since then, for me, everything has changed. How can that moment ever be topped?? To pip your rivals to the title, on goal difference, with virtually the last kick of the whole season?? It will never be beaten, for me.

I now get to see City a few times a year (I now live in Norwich) but get my kicks from watching non-league football. Money isn't quite so important and you meet some real good people, travelling around the country to footballing "hotbeds" such as Eastbourne Borough, Coalville Town and North Ferriby united!!

Back on thread - I must admit, I would struggle to manage a team who plays in red (I really don't like that lot from Trafford!!)

Not saying I 100% won't, but the offer would have to be good!!

Finally, Vikeologist, as you say, the creator of this thread does seem to have disappeared - its a shame, because he has created the most enjoyable save I've played for many years!!

Oh yeah, and I managed to beat Kaiser Chiefs last night.....!!!!

One of the most true things i've ever read on here and nothing to do with FM!

I'm a City fan too mate, born in 1987, my dad took me to Maine Road every other week, i grew up through the 90's and watching United win everything whilst we were relegated several times. I went to Wembley in '99 and cried like a baby at the last game at Maine Road (I was 14-15)

Now, my love for the club is still as strong as ever but my interest levels have dropped, i still live in Manchester but I have no interest in going to games, I don't like the atmosphere and all the day-trippers.

Sheikh Mansour has allowed me to see something I never thought I would and see my club become a major power, nothing will ever top the Aguero moment, nothing ever! Winning it last year I didn't feel anywhere near the same level of excitement or joy, it just didnt feel right!

My mates say what would happen if Mansour left, and my answer is I wouldnt care, i loved the days of the 90s, proper fans, **** football and players who played for the club ... i'd go back to them days anytime! My dreams came true when Aguero smashed in that winner and thats all I need now!

In terms of this challenge, its brilliant! I dont have time to play FM anywhere near as much as i'd like, due to a little one being born in 2012 (my Mrs wouldnt let me call him Sergio!!) but this challenge seems very interesting and I might give it a go!

Loving reading all the stories and will always check for updates

[ArBee23]

Congratulations ArBee, Jomo Cosmos treating us both well!

Yes, I've enjoyed it but think as soon as a decent job comes up i'm off. although the premier league season is now over and only one top flight job has come up and they laughed at me (Kaiser Chiefs)

[Super_Gord]

Ajax CT & Jamaica Season Review 2017/2018

League Table - Champions

This is why you stick with managers! I was under some serious board pressure pre season after our poor season last year, to the point were other managers were seen in the stands eyeing up my seat, I was starting to question my tried and tested 5-2-1-2 that had worked so well, but being a pig headed FM player I stuck at it to great success! We were hovering around the top 3 spots for most of the season alongside Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs without pressuring either, the last 4 games of the season we closed the gap and landed top spot taking Kaiser Chiefs apart 3-0 away from home.

To cap off a great league win we also secured the SA KO Cup beating Wits in the final 2-1, we were a whisker away from making a double a treble, losing on penalties to Black Aces in the final of the SA Cup.

Davide Somma continues to be the greatest signing I think I've ever made, he's now clocked up 93 goals in 90 league games across his three seasons at the club.

After complaining about my lack of international credibility I was offered the role of Jamaica manager not so long after, merely using them for fun right now, not played any game of significance, winning all three friendly games against Bolivia, St Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla

Man I love managing at Ajax CT but I'm feeling like taking a final attack on the African Champions League next year before making the journey across to Asia, the South Korean and Chinese leagues have been loaded in anticipation!

[b]Management Career[/b]
2014/15 - Jomo Cosmos - South African National First Division - Champions
2015/16 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - Champions
2016/17 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - 5th
2017/18 - Ajax CT - South African Premier Soccer League - Champions

[b]Challenge Landmarks[/b]
Top League Title - 1 - South African Premier Soccer League
Domestic Cup Wins - 1 - South African KO Cup

[BustaRaymes]

Another week done, another season finished, and prizes to be crossed off.

KITCHEE

SEASON 3 - 2016-17

AFC Cup win:http://imgur.com/P1eUtE8.

I forgot to make a screenshot when it happened, but this should do. As the AFC cup is played per calendar year, the view starts at the latter stages and ends with the new season's group stage. All in all stuff went very smoothly, only the second game against Selangor was quite intense. We were outplayed during some periods in the game but defense has been on top all year, and the strikers were all in good form. Also nice was the fact that we had to face Al-Faisali in the final, the team that knocked us out last year.

The good strike force also resulted in http://imgur.com/IWKdvN4 - a league win! Same story here actually, the team was good, there were some nice big wins and stuff went our way. Of course when the AFC Cup was done, I had no interest in those games (or FA cup for that matter) so I could easily rest important players in the games I didn't really have to win.

Competition overview:

http://imgur.com/UWdf7Wg

We lost the FA Cup final, which was a small blow. It's actually the only game the best eleven lost this season, and the 15-5 shots ratio shows we should've won it, but that's the joy of football. Besides, the FA Cup was crossed off last season, so no harm there. However, I would've liked to win it again as I'm ending my Hong Kong career, there's nothing else to be won here and to have a serious go at the Asian CL, I need to go to China or South Korea. I'm going to leave an amazing squad though, and if it were a normal save I'd want to see if I can keep this club at the top and lift Hong Kong football, but ain't nobody got time fo' that. Not me anyways.

Squad:

http://imgur.com/gdad3KI

Old dudes. Yes, still. I got some youngsters in (Chan Wing Cheung scored 8 as a backup for McKee, at just 16 years old!) but they were merely cover. In Hong Kong, most of the better (foreign) players are aging, and some are aging hard. Like I said I would like to continue this because I'd love the challenge of offloading the old guys while holding on to the quality, but no. Not this time.

Players to remember:

Kim Byung-Ji:

http://imgur.com/he3KgHW

47 years old. 47. I can't stress it enough: 47. He got worse very fast this season during a 2 month injury, but he's still the number one choice. Retiring however. I was hoping to take him with me to my next stop

Audis Peréz:

http://imgur.com/56wYqIk

One of the few younger foreign players who wanted to join. Although there was a lot of interest for him, I could keep him at the club for the rest of the season.

Matthew Lam:

http://imgur.com/UoLJblj

Hong Kong / Canadian star player. In the matches he didn't play, we really had a hard time, although his cover was not bad at all. This guy just kept dribbling, crossing and shooting for 90 minutes each game.

Aleksandar Randjelovic:

http://imgur.com/9gLAc8p

I got him last season as a striker, but this season he had to play right wing. Jordi Tarrés, would-be star player, was injured the whole effing season (not one big injury, just every time he started practicing again, he picked up a new one), and McKee proved to be a better striker last season. This year he showed me I was wrong: 22 goals in 20 games as a right and sometimes left winger. Hello sir. He too missed the first month or so due to injury, but damn has he made a comeback.

Christian Annan:

http://imgur.com/tOqxpdg

Still going strong on the left side. I rotated subbed him more due to his age, but he still produced at age 38.

Jaimes McKee:

http://imgur.com/0uS6jcl

Technically weak, but fine striker. With a strike force of Randjelovic and Annan cutting inside from wide and McKee as a poacher up front, there were only 3 official games this season in which we didn't score.

Nice start to the career thanks to Kitchee. I'm going to let the last few games go (Asian Continental qualifications group, the one I don't understand because next to Kitchee and South China there are two non-league clubs competing) and resign, on to China or South Korea.

Challenge related prizes:

Domestic cup: 1 - Hong Kong FA Cup - Kitchee 2016

Top League: 1 - Hong Kong Premier Division - Kitchee 2017

AFC Cup: Kitchee 2017

[BustaRaymes]

Waaiiit a minute. AFC Cup is the Asian version of the Europa League, but I guess the topic starter meant the Asian international tournament?

While waiting for a job in China / South Korea, I got the Tunisia international job. Should be an outsider for African Nations.

[ArBee23]

Waaiiit a minute. AFC Cup is the Asian version of the Europa League, but I guess the topic starter meant the Asian international tournament?

While waiting for a job in China / South Korea, I got the Tunisia international job. Should be an outsider for African Nations.

There's the AFC Cup (Europa League) and the AFC Champions League (Champions League) for clubs. Congratulations on your cup/league double, great achievement!

Super Gord- Well done on winning the league, I didn't think it was possible outside Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates!