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The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge


59ac90a6cc9f8_ultimate-football-image-963(2).thumb.png.215c2ae0434aa491174bb4cfb6e31d0c.png
 
The History:
This challenge was created for FM15 by
 
The Rules:
 
The 32 Competitions you must win to win the challenge
 
10 Leagues
 
La Liga (Spain)
 
Premier League (England)
 
Bundesliga (Germany)
 
Ligue 1 (France)
 
Serie A (Italy)
 
AND 5 OTHER TOP LEAGUES.
 
5 Champions Leagues
 
Champions League (Europe)
 
Champions League (Asia)
 
Copa Libertadores (South America)
 
NACL (North American Champions League)
 
ACL (Africa Champions League)
 
6 International Tournaments
 
UEFA Euros (Europe)
 
AFC (Asian Cup Of Nations)
 
Copa America (South America)
 
Gold Cup (North America)
 
ACON (African Cup Of Nations)
<Not the African Championship of Nations - CHAN>
 
FIFA World Cup
 
 
 
11 Others
 
Domestic Cups from 10 separate nations required where all the top level teams  are entered (apart from Mexico - see post 3)
 
FIFA Club World Cup
------------------------------------------------------------
 
Your manager must be 20 years old at the start of the game,
(or 19 if that happens because you want to use your real birthday)
 
Start Unemployed (and continue unemployed as long as you like).
 
Sunday League Reputation
 
No Coaching Badges (at the start. You can and should obtain them along the way).
 
Starting attributes can be allocated as you wish.
 
No additional languages beyond those generated by your nationality(ies)
 
Any nationality (it doesn't have to be your genuine nationality)
 
Second nationality only if you genuinely have a genuine second nationality and you have used your real primary nationality
 
No disabling attribute masking in the full version of the game
 
No use of in-game editor for anything other than cosmetic changes (e.g. team strips).
 
All other advanced options (e.g. adding players to playable teams) are allowed. (See advice below in post 3)
 
Any version of FM from Football Manager 2015 onwards is allowed, (Classic, Full Fat, Touch, Mobile) but note the instructions for Touch below
 
You can start with any number of nations loaded, any database size, any start date
 
NEW - You can use official SI expansion leagues, i.e. Canada, but apart from those you cannot use any customised databases, for instance to add playable nations or divisions
 
Finally - Don't reload matches. We're pretty laid back about your playing the game however floats your boat, but the whole point of this challenge is that you might fail, in either big or small ways. 
 
FM Touch Instructions
 
To do this challenge on Touch you will need to unlock national management before you start this game. You can do this either by having unlocked it in a previous save and then restarting, or by purchasing it. If you don't do this, you will never be able to manage an international team, which would make the challenge impossible.
 
You could also unlock / purchase the attribute masking before starting, but this is discretionary.
 
All other unlockables in Touch are
strictly banned
so if you have unlocked any, please ensure that they are not activated at the start of the game.
 
I think you need to remove league and nation restrictions at the start of the game so that you can add and remove leagues throughout the game.
 
 
Edited by vikeologist
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League Specific Clarifications

Mexico - Some Central and South American nations have 2 league championships a year; the Apertura and Clausura. Both count in Mexico. The Mexican Cup also counts towards the challenge. Not all the top division clubs (the ones in continental competition) are in it, but it's the only domestic cup in Mexico.

Australia - If you manage Wellington Phoenix, bear in mind that they can't play in the Asian Champions League.

To win the league you have to win the Finals Series playoff at the end (league champions). Winning the regular season doesn't count towards the challenge.

MLS (USA) - For challenge purposes the MLS Cup counts as the league, and the US Open Cup counts as the cup. The Canadian Championship unless you have the official Canadian league add-on), and the league section of the MLS (Supporters Shield) don't count for anything.

South Africa - Either the FA Cup or Knockout Cup count towards the challenge. The Super 8 Cup doesn't.

Uruguay - The Torneo ‌Intermedio counts as a domestic cup. The league is the Campeonato Uruguayo, not just the Apertura or Clausura

A Very Small Piece of Advice

I recommend using the advanced option when setting up the game to add current international players from Asia. This should increase the number of nations available to manage in Asia, and make it easier to win the Asian Cup.

There are lots of different ways of going about this challenge. Should one start at a lower division club in a high reputation nation or the top division of a low reputation nation? Time and experience has provided some measure of insight into this, but I hope that new starters will explore their own path (or read the first 1,300 or so posts to find out). I will give one piece of advice though.

Don't take the first job you're offered at the start of the game. It may be worth waiting 6 months of unemployment at the start of your game for the right opportunity. Starting at too low a club can add several seasons to your challenge. It's going to take you long enough as it is.

Progress Reporting

You can report your progress however you wish, but at the point where you want to be included in the leader board above, could you use the 2 update tables that have become popular.

This is the most basic version of the first one

Season   Team    Position  Notes and Achievements
 

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues (Insert nations)

0/10 domestic cups ()

0/5 club continental championships ()

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments ()

0/1 world tournaments ()

To do these tables you need to 'go advanced'. You click on the code button (#) and then paste in your text. I would suggest preparing your text in the program (probably) on your computer called Notepad.

Edited by vikeologist
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Welcome everyone to the new thread!

Newcomers: to introduce myself, I'm currently one of the closest to finishing this challenge on FM15 (Classic mode), with two landmarks left to achieve, and yet I've had one of the longest journeys there: my in-game manager is 85 years old, and currently trying to restore Hamburg to the heights of Europe to finally claim the Bundesliga and Champions League titles that remain outstanding on my landmark list.

Here's my latest update...

Season 2078/79 - Hamburg



NBK9v39.png

League | Schedule Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3

A fifth season in charge of Hamburg, and after reinventing ourselves tactically (back to my old 4-1-2-2-1 I'd used with Brazil and elsewhere, rather than the far-too-open 4-4-2 of last season) and buying the squad pieces that we needed to support that, we finally began to realise some of the potential of our exciting young squad.

I was bitterly disappointed to lose our unbeaten home record in the final home game of the campaign, but otherwise the campaign went brilliantly. We lost only the most difficult of away games en route to a third-place finish and, finally, a return to the Champions League, and also capped the season with a superb Cup Final triumph over one-time dominators Schalke.

We have a good squad which is almost entirely under contract, so I hope for evolution rather than revolution this summer, with Champions League monies hopefully able to push us on to top titles from here.

Challenge Progress

Club

9/10 top domestic leagues (ARG, ENG, ESP, FRA, IND, ITA, KOR, POR, USA)

11/10 domestic cups (AUS, BRA, DEU, ENG, ESP, FRA, IND, ITA, KOR, MEX, POR)

4/5 club continental championships (Africa, Asia, N.Am., S.Am.)

1/1 club world championship

International

5/5 continental tournaments (Africa, Asia, Europe, N.Am., S.Am.)

2/2 world tournaments (WC, Confed.)

Seasons

CLUB CAREER
                               Leagues        Cups
Season        Club           1st      2nd    1st  2nd   Cont.   CWC   Other & Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15  RSA  Ajax CT        12th                                     Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th
2015/16  RSA  Ajax CT                         R2   R1                 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th
2016/17  AUS  Wanderers       6th             QF
2017/18  AUS  Wanderers                       won                     Sacked after 22 games, in 10th
2018/19  IND  Dempo                           GS                      Sacked after 19 games, in 11th
2019/20  IND  Bengaluru       6th             SF   F
2020/21  IND  Bengaluru       2nd             won  F
2021/22  IND  Bengaluru       1st             GS   won  CC R2
2022/23  IND  Bengaluru       2nd             won  F    CL Q3E
2023/24  IND  Bengaluru                                 CC QF         Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season
2024     KOR  Jeju            5th             SF
2025     KOR  Jeju            8th             SF
2026     KOR  Jeju            8th             QF
2027     KOR  Jeju                            QF                      Left for Pohang after 32 games, in 7th
2027     KOR  Pohang          5th             won                     Took over with 6 games remaining, in 5th
2028     KOR  Pohang                                    CL GS         Sacked after 16 games, in 5th
2028     KOR  Jeonbuk         5th             SF                      Took over with 20 games remaining, in 7th
2029     KOR  Jeonbuk                         R4                      Sacked after 35 games, in 7th
2030     KOR  Jeju                                                    Left for Wellington after 16 games, in 4th
2030/31  AUS  Wellington     10th
2031/32  AUS  Wellington     10th
2032/33  AUS  Wellington      7th
2033/34  AUS  Wellington                                              Left for Perth after 4 games, in 6th
2033/34  AUS  Perth           9th                                     Took over with 23 games remaining, in 10th
2034/35  AUS  Perth           7th
2035/36  AUS  Perth           5th/SF
2036/37  AUS  Perth                                                   Left for Seoul after 12 games, in 2nd
2037     KOR  Seoul           1st             SF        CL won  3rd
2038/39  MEX  Chivas          6th/SF  3rd/ F  QF  won
2039/40  MEX  Chivas         11th     2nd/QF            CL won
2041     USA  New York        1st/won         R4
2042     BRA  Internacional   5th     1st/won won                     Reached 1,000 games in management
2043     BRA  Internacional           1st/won SF        CL QF         Left for Lanus after 34 national games, in 7th
2044     ARG  Lanus           6th             R5        CS P2E
2045     ARG  Lanus                           R5                      Left for Velez after 15 games, in 11th
2045     ARG  Velez           4th/1st                   CS QF    F    Took over with 14 games remaining, in 1st
2046     ARG  Velez           5th/4th         R7        CL won   won
2047     ARG  Velez           1st             R7        CL QF
2049/50  FRA  Monaco          4th             F   R4    EL GS         Sacked after final game of season
2050/51  ITA  Inter           4th             F         EL R2
2051/52  ITA  Inter                                                   Sacked after 16 games, in 14th
2051/52  ITA  Lazio           8th                                     Took over with 21 games remaining, in 12th
2052/53  ITA  Lazio                                                   Sacked after 5 games, in 17th
2054/55  RSA  Wits           10th                 R1                  Took over with 12 games remaining, in 13th
2055/56  RSA  Wits                            R1  R1    CL won   5th  Left for Valencia after 29 games, in 8th
2056/57  ESP  Valencia        7th             R5        EL GS         Sacked after final game of season
2057/58  FRA  Monaco          3rd             SF  F     EL won
2058/59  FRA  Monaco          2nd             SF  R4    EL F
2059/60  FRA  Monaco          1st             won QF    CL R1
2060/61  ITA  Roma            3rd             R1        CL QF
2061/62  ITA  Roma            3rd             R1        CL GS
2062/63  ITA  Roma            3rd             F         EL F          Reached 2,000 games in management
2063/64  ITA  Roma                            QF        CL QF         Resigned after 33 games, in 8th
2064/65  ITA  Lazio          10th             R1
2065/65  ITA  Lazio           9th             QF
2066/67  ITA  Juventus        1st             won       CL R1
2067/68  ESP  Valencia        2nd             QF        EL GS
2068/69  ESP  Barcelona       1st             won       EL R1
2069/70  ENG  Man City        7th             R3        EL won        Took over with 23 games remaining, in 10th
2070/71  ENG  Man City        3rd             R4  R3    CL R1
2071/72  ENG  Man City        1st             won R4    EL SF
2072/73  POR  FCP             1st             won won   EL QF         Reached 2,500 games in management
2073/74  ENG  Fulham         11th             R4                      Took over with 18 games remaining, in 17th
2074/75  DEU  Hamburg         8th             F
2075/76  DEU  Hamburg         6th             R3
2076/77  DEU  Hamburg         4th             R3        EL GS
2077/78  DEU  Hamburg         7th             R3        EL F
2078/79  DEU  Hamburg         3rd             won


INTERNATIONAL CAREER

                        Rank         Cups
Year  Nation           FIFA  NL   World  Cont. Conf. Other & Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2032  Saudi Arabia      12                           Joined 11th Jul, 29th in FIFA Rankings
2033  Saudi Arabia      25
2034  Saudi Arabia      49         GS
2035  Saudi Arabia                        won        Resigned 4th Feb, 38th in FIFA Rankings
2036  Norway            61   C                       Joined 27th Jul, 54th in FIFA Rankings
2037  Norway            57
2038  Norway            44   B
2039  Norway            39                           Resigned 14th Nov, 39th in FIFA Rankings
2042  Tunisia           36                           Joined 20th Jul, 42nd in FIFA Rankings
2043  Tunisia                             GS         Resigned 27th Jan, 37th in FIFA Rankings
2047  South Africa      22                           Joined 17th Feb, 10th in FIFA Rankings
2048  South Africa      19
2049  South Africa                        won        Resigned 7th Feb, 19th in FIFA Rankings
2049  USA               14                           Joined 1st Aug, 9th in FIFA Rankings
2050  USA               19         GS
2051  USA                                 won        Resigned 30th Jul, 31st in FIFA Rankings
2052  Spain              9                           Joined 21st Jul, 7th in FIFA Rankings
2053  Spain             10  won                      Reached 1,500 games in management
2054  Spain              1         won               Left for Brazil 2nd Aug, 1st in FIFA Rankings
2054  Brazil            14                           Joined 3rd Aug, 13th in FIFA Rankings
2055  Brazil            15                GS
2056  Brazil             2
2057  Brazil             6
2058  Brazil                       R1                Sacked 15th Jul, 6th in FIFA Rankings
2058  Spain              8   A                       Joined 21st Jul, 8th in FIFA Rankings
2059  Spain             18
2060  Spain              2                won
2061  Spain                 won                 won  Resigned 9th Jul, 2nd in FIFA Rankings
2062  Brazil             6                           Joined 23rd Jul, 6th in FIFA Rankings
2063  Brazil                              won        Resigned 7th Jul, 8th in FIFA Rankings
 
Edited by NormandyWept
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NW - Are we assuming that newcomers to the challenge need to be introduced to you because they won't have read the nearly one and a half thousand posts on the old thread. I'm sure that they'll all want to do that to respect our history and tradition.:D

This is where I'm at

Challenge Progress


Club
6/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa, S Korea, China, Germany, Spain, Italy)
7/10 domestic cups (South Africa, S Korea, Mexico, China, Germany, Spain, Italy)
4/5 club continental championships (Africa, North America, Asia, Europe)
1/1 club world championship


International
1/5 continental tournaments (European Championship)
1/2 world tournaments (World Cup)

I haven't made any progress since July, (maybe June). I'm in what you may call a bit of a slump.

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NW - Are we assuming that newcomers to the challenge need to be introduced to you because they won't have read the nearly one and a half thousand posts on the old thread. I'm sure that they'll all want to do that to respect our history and tradition.:D

:D

Let's be honest, even reading the summary table at the end of my posts is quite the history lesson for aspiring Ultimate Challenge aficionados!

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Hopping to the new thread, although I'll be staying with FM15 for quite a while. Still, I was one of the primary posters pushing for a new "never-ending" thread to try to get us up there with the "name" challenges, so I figured I'd better get my American arse here, stat! :)

I just advanced to the Barclay's Premier League where I'll be starting play in 2020-21. I've one League Two, League One, and the Championship in a four-year period -- and feel I'm on the verge of starting my silverware collection!

Welcome to all new challengers, and thank you Vikeologist for getting things going for the future! :)

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I mentioned on the old thread some of the potential challenge killing bugs I'd be looking out for, (or even actively trying to make happen) but of course one important thing was to check that the old 'bug' is still in place; namely that an unemployed 20-year old manager with no relevant qualifications, experience or skills could get a job as manager at an even vaguely reputable football club.

Thankfully nothing has changed. I got a job!

It will be interesting to see what kinds of jobs new starters get, or accept; and for that matter if they start at a lower level than the job I was given. I'm probably not actually going to continue with that save. I'm just playing around, and wanted to see if I could get a job with a specific club in that division. (I couldn't. No other club in that division even offered me an interview, and my desired club laughed when I expressed interest in the media).

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It took me the better part of two months to get a job.

Most weren't even bothered to invite me for an interview. Those that did usualy found an excuse not to hire me.

So that seems to be working as it should.

I'll do my first update when I finish this season. Hopefully tonight.

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So we have a new common thread for FM15 and FM16 hmmm. OK Lets give it a go!

My name is The Earl and I was the first manager to complete this challenge in FM15 (Full version). Currently I have started another try in FM15 with even heavier rules. I might give FM16 a go soon, but not yet. Please read my last couple of updates from the old thread:

Sorry but I am not going to post more stats from my game today anyway. I decided to jump into another "project" and will shortly post more updates from that instead.

What did I decide to do? Well I am not going to play FM16 straight away, so I am doing The Earls ultimate Ultimate FM Challenge.

What is this you may ask?

Well here are the "rules that I set for myself.

- Start an entirely new career on FM15. Full version. Start out as 20 year old with 1 nationality, 1 language, no coaching badges, Sunday League experience. (My nationality is French in this game by the way, born in Paris).

- I can´t win the same competitions as in my previous game, with some exceptions, but at least never win them with the same team(s).

- I have to win top division in England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy. But to do this I will have to manage a team that in-game is in Tier 2 (or lower) and take them to the top-flight and win the league with that team. If I get sacked or move clubs, I will have to find a new team in Tier 2 and start over again. (Or move to another country for a while). Just as a note: In my previous game A.Madrid went down to Tier 2, so they would have qualified as long as I took charge while they are in Tier 2.

- Cup wins in those 5 countries doesn't count with the exception of French FA Cup and DFB Pokal in Germany, as I never won those on my old savegame. It will still have to be with a team that I bring up from Tier 2 though.

- South Africa: I have to manage a team there as its the only country manageable in Africa. But I will not count league or cup wins in S.Africa, just African Champions League, and it can't be with Kaizer Chiefs.

- I can never manage any team at all in: Brazil, Mexico, Scotland, Portugal, Holland, South Korea.

- I can manage a club in Greece, but I can't count cup win there, as I have already won the Greek Cup.

- As for national management, I can't win World Cup with either France or Paraguay. I can't win Copa America with Brazil, I can't win Asia Cup with South Korea, I can't win Euro Nations with Italy nor Confederations Cup, and I can't win African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast or Gold Cup with Mexico.

This should make one amazing challenge, that I am not sure if I can do, but it will test my skills to the limit. Especially it will be interesting to see how I can win UEFA Champions League as I can never manage any of the big clubs in Europe, unless they suffer a relegation to Tier 2 domestically first.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris Earl III stepped nervously into the boardroom of Francisco Artés Carrasco Stadum, Lorca, Murcia, Spain. Just 20 years old he was given an interview as manager of La Hoya.

Would he get the job? And what could this unproven manager accomplish if he got the job?

Stay tuned for more info...

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vikeologist - In reponse to your question in the old thread, I was lucky enough to dodge the Copa Liber bug, my memory isn't great and I'm not gonna trawl through the past thread but wasn't it something to do with having the Brazil leagues active before a certain year? Something like that anyway.

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Super_Gord, Blackdevil and Karax - Looking forward to your reports of your FM16 Ultimate experience; especially Karax because the other two are veterans. There are definitely tactics or approaches that one can use on this challenge.

Have any of you new starters done anything significant with the distribution of your initial manager stats? I kind of fudged the 'clarification' issue by saying that we can adjust each side of the stats, but it has to stay balanced. The thing is I don't know if this initial distribution would make a difference or not. There are definitely stats which haven't improved much for me at all on my save. Do people think that we should just allow people to do whatever they want with the initial stats?

Blackdevil - Your manager is only 19! This doesn't matter, but you may be the first teenager, and hopefully not as jaded by life as the other challengers' managers.

SuperGord - Can't see your profile (or other screenshot) at all. Don't know if its a problem at your end or you're an enemy of the Chinese state and falling foul of the Great Firewall.

Karax - I'd say two months is quite quick to get a job actually. I mean, you have to wait for the season to start and someone to underperform, and we can probably get slightly higher division jobs in the latter part of the season once clubs are rooted at the bottom of the table and prepared to give absolutely anybody a job.

LGRT - Always glad to hear from you. Just to let you all know. I did send LGRT a private message warning him that we were about to start a new thread. This challenge was a really great idea, and we have LGRT to thank for that. I really hope that you do have another stab at your challenge sometime.

NW - Glad you're (finally) in the Champions League, and anticipating your ultimate victory soon. I wonder if our avatars will age in the game. Will be fun to see what a NW or (in the other challenge a Dafuge) look like in their senescence.

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SuperGord - Can't see your profile (or other screenshot) at all. Don't know if its a problem at your end or you're an enemy of the Chinese state and falling foul of the Great Firewall.

Perhaps! :lol: does imgur fall foul of the restrictions? Can anyone else please check the links to see if they work for them, much appreciated!

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Super_Gord, Blackdevil and Karax - Looking forward to your reports of your FM16 Ultimate experience; especially Karax because the other two are veterans. There are definitely tactics or approaches that one can use on this challenge.

Have any of you new starters done anything significant with the distribution of your initial manager stats? I kind of fudged the 'clarification' issue by saying that we can adjust each side of the stats, but it has to stay balanced. The thing is I don't know if this initial distribution would make a difference or not. There are definitely stats which haven't improved much for me at all on my save. Do people think that we should just allow people to do whatever they want with the initial stats?

Karax - I'd say two months is quite quick to get a job actually. I mean, you have to wait for the season to start and someone to underperform, and we can probably get slightly higher division jobs in the latter part of the season once clubs are rooted at the bottom of the table and prepared to give absolutely anybody a job.

I'm used to get a job on the first round of applications. guess I'm a bit spoiled :p

I actualy got a job late into the season. I ended up in China with about 8 games to play.

I erred on the side of caution and left my points distribution halfway.

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Blackdevil - Your manager is only 19! This doesn't matter, but you may be the first teenager, and hopefully not as jaded by life as the other challengers' managers.

Ah yes, started in June/July. No doubt in a years time I'll have grey hair and high blood pressure and cynical view of the world.

The hardest part of job hunting is finding a club with the right sort of kit colour.

And I've just noticed that my DoB has changed to 1994 so Albano is now 21....

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FC Haka Season Review 2015/16



xkVDiFi2.jpeg

League Table - 3rd

Took me a while to get a job, received knock backs from teams in Ukraine, Romania and Belarus before FC Haka decided I was the chosen one, they play in the Finnish First Division which is in fact the 2nd league in the structure. Turns out FC Haka used to be a mainstay in the top league and Europe before what I can gather several financial difficulties crippled them and now they're stuck with me. I took over with them in 5th position with only three games to play, after a bit of tinkering I shoe horned in my 5-2-1-2 formation from last year and lead them to a strong finish winning all three games and picking up manager of the month along the way.

My major problem is finances, a good chunk of my squad are leaving at the end of their contracts or are already signed up to another team for next season, so it looks like an almost full rebuild will be on the cards.

It begins!

2015/16   FC Haka             3rd                Finnish First Division
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Ah yes, started in June/July. No doubt in a years time I'll have grey hair and high blood pressure and cynical view of the world.

The hardest part of job hunting is finding a club with the right sort of kit colour.

Well, you'll notice that this challenge does allow the use of the in-game editor for cosmetic purposes. My teams may be crap, but I need them to look snazzy. Mind you, it's kind of silly that I buy it just so I can change the strips. Also the power of the IGE scares me, and especially how easy it makes cheating. It would be easy to accidentally click on the wrong button and move a player to my team, although I suppose I could just disable the IGE.

I also used the IGE to establish that my guy hates certain clubs, although for the sake of a harmonious thread, I will choose to draw a veil over the specifics. Of course this is against the rules of the challenge. Let me know if you object to this, so that I can use the IGE to make my guy hate you.

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Season report 2015



Dalian Aerbin

aerbin_zpss6xye35a.jpg"]aerbin_zpss6xye35a.jpg[/url]

Competitions

After aplying around the world the good folks of Aerbin took me in. They play in the second tier of China.

At the start of the season they were among the favorites to go up. After 23 games, however, they found themselves 15th. Just in the relegation zone.

That's where I came in. 7 games later we are 9 points clear of relegation.

This was to the liking of the board who are allready promising a big increase in budgets for next season.

Season   Team    Position   Notes and Achievements

2015	Aerbin	   10th	    Team was 15th when I took over

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It's unlimited. The only thing to show that it's the beta is the little note in the bottom left hand corner saying it's in beta. That'll be removed on Friday the 13th.

Minor update:

Albano attended a couple of interviews in his search of his first mamagerial role before being offered and accepting the post at Παναιγιάλειος Γ.Σ. (Panegialios F.C.) based in the town of Αίγιο.

It's an 11 hour drive down the coast from his home town of Velipojë in Northern Albania to Αίγιο in the South West of Greece.

The team is in the 2nd tier of the Greek league and 4th from bottom, in the relegation zone and 4 points from safety but with enough games to aim for a mid table finish....if we win those games that is.

Now to decide what my tactical philosophy will be....choices choices.

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mayihavecookie's Challenge, Season 9

Season 2022/23

180px-Borussia_Dortmund_logo.svg.png

Borussia Dortmund - Bundesliga

League Table | Schedule 1 | Schedule 2 | Schedule 3 | Schedule 4 | Manager Profile

Oh what a strange season with a very lucky ending for us. I set my goal to win the league first try and if possible take the DFB Pokal as well. We invested some money to build a squad that would be strong enough to beat the invincible Bayern. Playing with a big transfer budget for the first time in my career I realized how hard it is to bring in the right players if you're rich but the other teams are rich as well. Forget about German talents, it's impossible to catch a talented young German player from another Bundesliga team unless you're willing to buy 30 millions +, so I had to go for old players and foreign players instead. I bought Mesut Özil from Bayern who was still strong enough for a good season, English goalkeeper Fraser Forster, also Dutch striker Adam Maher as a F9 to support Ballon d'Or winner Gabriel Barbosa and Hungarian CB Kenny Otigba. The biggest part of my budget was spent on world class Swiss left back Ricardo Rodriguez.

We started really well in the league with 7 wins out of our first 8 games and a draw away to Bayern. Then of course Rodriguez, who hadn't been injured since 2019, tore his hamstring and was out for 3 months. We still played a really good first half of the season with 44 points from 17 games sitting comfortably in first place. I decided the team was strong enough to reach my goals without any more transfers, we were first and Rodriguez would be back after the winter break, making us even stronger. Two days after the transfer window was closed, Rodriguez broke his leg and was out for the rest of the season, leaving us with a real problem in left back. Then we lost at home against Bayern due to a stupid goal in injury time and away against Köln and we were already down to 2nd place. We didn't really recover. Always won two or three games then lost again, even against teams like 1860 München. But somehow, I still don't really understand how, we suddenly were given a last chance to turn it around when Bayern lost away to Augsburg four games before the end of the season. We played Bremen the next day and I knew, if we won this match we would make it. We were down 2-1 after the first half and I cursed my team. Then I decided to change to the 4-4-2 I succesfully used with Cameroon. We equalised after 80 minutes and in a dramatic showdown, Gabriel Barbosa scored the winning goal with a header in injury time. We then played the remaining four games with the new tactic and got the 12 points we needed with a 5-0 against Stuttgart, a 4-0 against Frankfurt, a 4-2 against Hoffenheim and a 3-0 against Augsburg. Bayern lost their last game against Hannover and we even finished four points before them, 1st in the league.

In the Champions League we were handed a tough group with Inter, Arsenal and Maccabi. We went out with 8 points so we went into the 1st Knockout Round of Europa League. We beat Olympiakos, Everton, Roma and Man Utd on our way to the final. There we beat Napoli 3-0 with two freak goals, making us Europa Lague winners even tough I rested most of my first team for the cup final against Bayern.

---------------------------

The day of the DFB Pokal final, I had already made my decision to leave Germany and look for another challenge. It was a season full of surprises with very frustrating periods. Dortmund will have some problems to solve next year. Many players are starting to get old and are making more and more mistakes. Özil and Gündogan are injured most of the time and Barbosa had a bad season and wasn't even shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or this year. Also the finances went to insecure due to the absence of Champions League money and the expensive old players. But someone else will have to solve these problems. I won the title I needed with some luck and I am happy to leave sooner rather than later.

I went into this game knowing it would be my last one with Dortmund. And before I even knew what was going on, we were down 0-2 after 5 minutes. For the rest of the first half, my team was chasing after the ball like children. Bayern dominated and had some big chances to decide this game, but somehow we made it to half time just two goals down. In the break with all the players gathered around me, I informed them of my decision to leave Dortmund. There was nothing to lose anymore and I hoped they would react positively and try their best to give me a win as a farewell present. It worked. Loran scored with a header just five minutes into the second half, and for the rest of the game we were chasing the 2-2. Neuer couldn't be beaten anymore though, and in the final minutes of the game Bayern scored twice to win 4-1, beating us in the final for the second time in a row.

The next day I got a call from a number starting with +34. A Spanish manager trying to buy Gabriel Barbosa? I was no longer the right person to call for that.

It was Florentino Perez, and he offered me the manager post at the biggest club in the world.

...

Flying to Madrid, I couldn't help looking back at my short career in disbelief. Who would have thought that moving to China would turn around my life like that. Maybe my Director of Football at Renhe thought it was a good idea to make that English loudmouth youngster - the captain of his youth team who had just learned Chinese - become manager of his team. Or maybe he was just really really desperate. The other players however weren't that impressed with his decision. But they learned soon enough that it was worthwhile listening to what their new manager told them. Success came fast and after two and a half years we surprisingly won the Chinese Super League. I was still only 22 years old, but two times Chinese Manager of the Year and winner of the Super League and FA Cup. This was enough to get me a job at a South Korean top team. With Chunnam I didn't manage to win the league, but I won my first continental title, the Asian Champions League. After a year I moved to Jeonbuk, where I won the ACL again, as well as the K League Classic and the FA Cup. Around that time I also became manager of the South Korean national team. There I experienced the first big disappointment of my career when we were knocked out of the Asian Nations Cup in the quarter final and I was sacked for the first in my career.

Then I decided to turn my life around again and move to Africa. There I had some big success during my three seasons at Kaizer Chiefs where we won everything we could. In addition to that I spent three and a half wonderful years as manager of the Cameroonian national team, winning the African Cup of Nations and reaching third place in the World Cup 2022. Then I was offered the Dortmund job and, only 29 years old, I was manager of a European top team. And even though I needed some luck, I won my first big league title after just one year.

I got my suitcase and took a taxi to the hotel. What surprises would the next year bring to the new manager of Real Madrid?

I took over France after their 2nd Round out in the World Cup and we won our Nations League group with Spain and Holland with 10 points from 4 games. We also beat Uruguay and Belgium in the friendlies. The year 2023 didn't start so well though. In the first game of the Euro qualifiers we beat Bosnia & Herzegovina luckily 1-0 thanks to a last minute penalty goal. Then we embarrassed ourselves with a 0-2 defeat in Iceland before being hammered by England in the Nations League semi final. We should easily qualify for the EURO from our easy group. But we'll have some work to do before next summer.

[b]CLUB CAREER

Season     Club             Pos   DC1   DC2    Cont    Notes & Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014  CHN Renhe             11th  QF    n/a    n/a     Took over after 13 games in 16th 
2015  CHN Renhe             2nd   QF    n/a    n/a     Chinese Manager of the Year
2016  CHN Renhe             1st   Won   n/a    R2      Won Chinese Super League & FA Cup
2017  KOR Chunnam           2nd   R4    n/a    Won     Won Asian Champions League
2018  KOR Jeonbuk           1st   Won   n/a    Won     Won Asian Champions League, K-League Classic & FA Cup
19/20 RSA Kaizer Chiefs     2nd   Won   QF     n/a     Won SA Cup
20/21 RSA Kaizer Chiefs     1st   Won   R1     open    Won SA Cup, Be The Coach and Premier Soccer League
21/22 RSA Kaizer Chiefs     1st   R1    QF     won     Won African Champions League, left after 13 games in 1st
21/22 GER Borussia Dortmund 3rd   F     n/a    n/a     Took over after 26 games in 9th
22/23 GER Borussia Dortmund 1st   F     n/a    EL won  Won Bundesliga and Europa League


[b]INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Year   Nation        NL     WC     Cont.  Conf.  Notes & Achievements[/b]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018   South Korea                               Joined 22.7.18
2019   South Korea                 QF            Sacked 6.2.19
2019   Cameroon                                  Joined 17.2.19 World Ranking 29th
2020   Cameroon      
2021   Cameroon                    Won           Won African Cup of Nations
2022   Cameroon             3rd                  Resigned 10.7.22 World Ranking 4th
2023   France                                    Joined 17.7.22 World Ranking 7th

Challenge Progress

Club
4/10 top domestic leagues (China with Renhe, South Korea with Jeonbuk, South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, Germany with Dortmund)
3/10 domestic cups (China with Renhe, South Korea with Jeonbuk, South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs)
2/5  club continental championships (Asia with Chunnam & Jeonbuk, Africa with Kaizer Chiefs)
0/1  club world championship

International
1/5  continental tournaments (African Cup of Nations with Cameroon)
0/2  world tournaments

(Sorry for the long post, I thought I'd take the chance to update those of you who joined recently about my career so far. Good luck to everyone starting this! I really hope there will be no problems with this beta that make it impossible to finish the challenge.)

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FM 16



FC Haka Season Review 2016/17

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League Table - 1st

Finland has a really long post/pre season, 4 months in total, which I'm guessing is down to the winter months, we played 8 friendly games and a smattering of Finnish Cup games, not much success in either. Cobbled together what I thought was a more than capable squad, that was until two of my so called key signings both injured their cruciate ligaments within a game of each other and with no scope to sign anyone else I was left begging the Premier League sides for some young replacements, both from HJK who were pretty pivitol in our season.

Our season was very up and down, regularly stuffing sides 4-1, 5-2, 4-0 whilst also going down to stupid single goal defeats, it was pretty much a two horse race all season between ourselves and JJK, we took 6 points off them and still couldn't gain any distance on them. The title went down to the final game and they were three points ahead, we managed to win a tricky game away at MP 3-2 whilst they lost at home to one of the also-rans KTP 2-1, despite KTP having 9 men for the final 20 minutes, crazy stuff!

I seriously have my doubts over this team and their chances next year, not sure if I should take a stab at it with them or bail out to an established Premier League side.

2015/16   FC Haka             3rd                Finnish First Division
2016/17   FC Haka             1st                Finnish First Division               Promoted to Premier League

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Blackdevil - So have you taken over Panegialios (and I so had to cut and paste that) quite late in the season? Hope you guide them to smooth safety. I've never even heard of that team. I couldn't even find them in FM15, because their name is spelt differently. Are you happy with their kit colour? A Newcastle black and white striped thing. Probably best to not criticise that, but I kind of hope you decide to emulate your new club's rather homoerotic club badge and make them all play in the nude.

Panegialios.jpgThat would at least have been a genuinely new feature for FM16.

MIHC - Dortmund, my old club from the game. Mind you I've also managed Kaiser Chiefs and (in a my first ever abortive attempt at the challenge that I drearily bring up from time to time) Renhe. I should have managed Jeonbuk in S Korea. They offered me the job. I stayed at Seoul. They won the league. I was sacked.

A 3-0 win in the Euro Cup final? Hmm, that sounds like a good plan.

Good luck at Real Madrid.

SuperGord - I didn't realise that Haka were in the second division down. (You did say. I didn't pay attention). Good luck in the top flight. Taking over fallen giants in the second division down, (and I'm including Dalian in this) seems to be a theme with FM16 starters.

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Vikeologist's 2044/45 Newcastle and Brazil End of Season Report





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I finally won some silverware with Newcastle; the Euro Cup; a 3-0 victory against Man City. I still haven’t progressed in the challenge for forever, but winning it means that we’ll be in the group stage of the Champions league rather than the playoffs.

For much of the first half of the season I thought we were in with a chance of winning the league, although checking now I realise that we were top of the table on just two brief occasions.

The New Year brought injuries and losses to (at the time) key rivals Man Utd in the League Cup semi-final (where we threw away a big lead from the first leg), league and FA Cup.

We set a new record for goals scored in the Premiership. I signed a young Brazilian who will soon be (if he’s not already) one of the best strikers in the world. Sucks for him that my Brazilian national team plays with no strikers, although he does usually come on as a sub. My 3 main strikers scored 105 goals just between the 3 of them.

The problem is my defence. I’ve spent 37 million on 3 defenders in the last couple of seasons, and even they wouldn’t have the nerve to say it was money well spent, given the balance of performance against the fortune I’m paying each of them. I’ve made some cheaper signings in defence as well, but they’ve sucked as well.

Hopefully I can offload some of my overpaid donkeys but their ages and wages will be a problem.

Anyway, I go into next season, once again, believing that we are cast iron certainties to run away with the league. Our young players are developing well, and I’ll now have mo’ money to go with my mo’ problems.

Arsenal and Man City (the latter of which has turned down more than one job application from me in this challenge) wanted me to replace their sacked managers, but I’m Newcastle till I die, (or win the league, but dying seems the more probable endpoint).

Not much to report with Brazil. I managed the U23 side in the Olympics, where we lost in the final. We’re 2nd in the World Cup qualifying competition and will qualify for the World cup in a year comfortably. It is a very old squad, and it’s troubling that we’re not even the best in South America, never mind the world, but there wouldn’t be much point being the best at the moment anyway. We’re ranked 8th, and I suppose we need to ensure we’re seeded top at the world cup, but then it shouldn’t really matter who else is in our group anyway. I’ve already won the World Cup anyway. I just need to qualify for the Confederations Cup (which I’m going to be watching on TV in 2045).

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
30	Guangzhou/Egypt/USA	1st		League / Champions League double						Asian Champions League
31/2	Hertha Berlin		6th		German Cup losing finalists. Qualified for UEFA Cup
32/33	Hertha Berlin/S Korea	6th		UEFA Cup losing finalists. 
33/34	HB/ SK/ Dortmund	6th		Moved team after 12 games. Won East Asia Cup again, this time with Korea.
34/35	Dortmund / SK / Egypt	1st		League and cup double. Quit South Korea after AC Q/F ignomy			5th cup, Bundesliga
35/36	Dortmund / Colombia	2nd		German cup winners.
36/37	Barcelona / Colombia	2nd		CL Q/F. 	Confederations Cup Finalists 					CWC
37/38	Barcelona / Holland	1st		League, Cup, Champions league treble. World Cup with Holland.			Euro Champions League, 6th cup, Spanish league. World Cup.
38/39	AC Milan / Holland	1st		League and Italian Cup winners. 						7th cup, Serie A
39/40	Holland			n/a		Won European Championship							European Championship
40/41	Sochaux	/ South Africa	7th		Took over Newcastle at end of season.
41/42	Newcastle/South Africa	5th		FA Cup Semi-Finals. World Cup disaster.
42/43	Newcastle / Brazil	6th		CO Cup Q/F, Euro Cup 2nd K/O Round
43/44	Newcastle / Brazil	7th		FA Cup Finalists
44/45	Newcastle / Brazil	4th		Euro Cup winners

Challenge Progress

Club

6/10 top domestic leagues (South Africa, S Korea, China, Germany, Spain, Italy)

7/10 domestic cups (South Africa, S Korea, Mexico, China, Germany, Spain, Italy)

4/5 club continental championships (Africa, North America, Asia, Europe)

1/1 club world championship

International

1/5 continental tournaments (European Championship)

1/2 world tournaments (World Cup)

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I was wondering if I was the only one that likes to map out his career path.

I barely started my second season and am allready thinking of where I want to manage my 2nd, 3th and even 4th team.

I realise these plans won't survive past the first job offer, but still it's nice to plan ahead.

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Definitely have always had at least a vague plan. Doesn't always work out. Planned to finish in Europe, but after China I just felt like making the move. After England and France, which I still plan to next, I'm hoping I can get the Libertadores in Argentina, and then have my choice of nation for the tenth and final one. I've considered Australia, Wales, Scotland and (if I don't need the tenth cup) dealing with unfinished business in Mexico.

The complicating factor is though that often you want a specific club. There's many people have waited in vain for the managers of Bayern and PSG to leave.

Funnily enough, when I first started this challenge, the job I wanted was Dalian, who were then a top division team, but they turned me down. Years later, they came crawling to me, and I left them before I won anything with them. Led them hand in hand to the bedroom, dimmed the lighting, loosened their tie. Then Guangzhou rang and I left them hanging.

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europe is last on my list too. At least the 5 big countries. Might go for turkey and holland before that.

Am really loving my stay at Dalian so far. They have such a good setup. I don't know how they managed to slip so far but I am greatfull. Don't think I could have started at a better club.

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I was thinking that with the new thread we could have side challenges.

We used to have a 'Sacking Challenge' to celebrate those of us who do not always meet with success in our ventures. That sort of died a death once it became clear that Normandy Wept had set a record that would never be equalled.

NW - How many times have you been sacked (or resigned in order to avoid being sacked)? By my count it's 10, but maybe you jumped before you jumped before you were pushed internationally more than I realise.

Actually, I'm on 10 as well; most of those international. Plus Colombia really, really should have sacked me. I feel a wave of guilt engulfing me every time Brazil play them.

Maybe we could also have a Cunning Linguist Challenge, which may be easier now than managers can do intensive language courses. (At least I think they can). I think that my manager can speak at least 6 different languages fluently now, but I don't have the game loaded. Does anybody have 7 fluencies or more?

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Can't seem to go on a course to learn chinese. Just checked.

If you do the linguist one it might be fair to note how many languages you start with that are fluent. For example I'm dutch and according to the game that means i'm fluent in three languages allready. Others might start with only one

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Blackdevil - So have you taken over Panegialios

Yea, in game they are listed as "GS Panaigialeios" and the main thing with kit colour is the ease it is to see the commentry which white on black is.

The first game I had a bit of a fright as we didn't appear in our black and white kit, at first I thought it was their beach attire but it turns out it was the second all white kit we were using.

I have shouted at the players at times demanding they emulate past sporting hero's...maybe I'll have to change what I'm saying to avoid any arrests for indecent scenes.

I joined the club in March with 9 games to go. I did finish the season last night but the game crashed so I was left with my save from after my first game. It's a bit disappointing but thankfully not too many games to make up and I'm now 5 games from the finish (and saving regularly :))so hopefully a proper update later today.

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NW - How many times have you been sacked (or resigned in order to avoid being sacked)? By my count it's 10, but maybe you jumped before you jumped before you were pushed internationally more than I realise.

I was sacked by Ajax CT, Wanderers, Dempo, Pohang, Jeonbuk, Monaco, Inter, Lazio and Valencia at club level, also resigning from Roma before they would surely have sacked me, so ten. At international level I left Norway and Tunisia more because I couldn't achieve things with them, and Spain to move to Brazil, but I was once sacked by Brazil (before later returning successfully).

Therefore it's 10 club sackings and 1 international, for 11 in total. Beat that :D

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I almost feel as if I'm missing out when you "boast" about the number of sackings :( That's more sackings than I've had in the Championship\Football Manager series.

Thinking about it though, I've rarely done a save that spanned that many years and encompassed many teams. I've usually done a couple of seasons and then moved to a new save.

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I almost feel as if I'm missing out when you "boast" about the number of sackings :( That's more sackings than I've had in the Championship\Football Manager series.

Thinking about it though, I've rarely done a save that spanned that many years and encompassed many teams. I've usually done a couple of seasons and then moved to a new save.

Yeah exactly, you have to move a lot in this challenge and sometimes you end somewhere you can't turn around or that doesn't fit you well, inevitably. Eleven sackings is still a lot, but it's quite realistic really for a manager with this long a career.

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Season 2015/16: GS Panaigialeios

Appointed on the 24/03/2016 with nine games to go until the end of the season it gave plenty of time to turn around the clubs fortunes particularly with the how close the point difference was.

They'd been on a slump for the first two months of 2016 and hadn't won in ten games, although only four of those were defeats, before my appointment in they were in 15th place and in the relegation zone with the bottom four teams to go down.

The first game came just three days after my appointment against one of the promotion chasing teams. With little time to do anything I resorted to my "default" "4-1-2-3 DM wide" system that has served me so well over the years.

The lads responded to my passioned plea to do something decent and defended resolutely throughout the game. Wave after wave of attack was repelled with the occasional foray forward from ourselves. It was on one of those time wasting runs forward down the left in the 85th min we won a free-kick after our forward was brutally assaulted (or tripped if you will) and we were awarded a free-kick. Out on the left flank, 40 yards from goal, the Brazillian fella I'd just sent on a few mins earlier stepped up to take it. I watched filled wth optimism as surely if anyone can take a free-kick it's a Brazillian...although at our level it's the same as anyone else. He hoofed it high into the box and some Greek guy who I won't insult by trying to pronounce his name rose high out of the crowd like a boss in an MMO and powered in a header. The stadium fell silent bar the sounds of my team clapping him on the back and my ferocious roar from the sideline. Thankfully the lads were able to concentrate and saw out the game to give my reign a 1-0 winning start.

With the morale of the players lifted we went on to win six of our final nine games, drawing once and loosing twice.

On a personal note I'd been turned down for vacant posts at Trikala and Zakynthos prior to being appointed manager of Panaigialeios and I had wry smile at their final league finishes. I'm not bitter, honest!

Challenge Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues ()

0/10 domestic cups ()

0/5 club continental championships ()

0/1 club world championship ()

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

Seasons:

CLUB CAREER
                                      Leagues         Cups
Season     NAT      Club               1st    2nd      1st    2nd    Cont.    CWC    Other & Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16    GRE      Panaigialeios      8th                                           Last 9 games






INTERNATIONAL CAREER
       Rank        Cups
Year    Nation    FIFA    NL    World    Cont.    Conf.    Other & Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




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An American Werewolf in Football!



http://AmericanWerewolfFootball.wordpress.com

Stevenage F.C. - 2019-20

StevenageFC_zpsyvtw9dbh.png

All Competitions | Profile One | Profile Two

The hard work is really beginning to show through, and the 2019/20 season will be looked at as the year our club turned the corner and really began to establish itself in the English game. The Boro won the Sky Bet Championship by a comfortable margin, with our lads having the league clinched with four fixtures to play, and scoring over a century of goals for the first time in club history. We also made another cup final, this time the Capital One Cup, but again we were found wanting in a cup final -- this time by Jurgen Klopp and his dominant Chelsea side.

Obviously, the biggest takeaway is that we have made it to the Promised Land of the Barclay's Premier League, and the financial bonanza that it entails! We were led to glory by the leading scorer in the Championship in the young Dutch wonderkid Ed Smits (on loan from Man United), whose 32 goals led the Championship -- and Championship Player of the Year Michael Folivi (on loan from Watford), who had 25 goals and 13 made in the league with an league-leading average rating of 7.72, which was a Sky Bet Championship record. We also wouldn't have done it without our Supporters Player of the Year, Andreas Pereira. Pereira scored 12 goals, but his 19 assists led the Championship, and his 7.63 average rating in the league would have most likely secured him Player of the Year in most seasons.

They don't get a ton of credit, but I wanted to take a moment and give some recognition to my main back five for this season. Goalkeeper George Long was absolutely crucial in a lot of games, and left-back Kyle Walker-Peters, center-halfs Domingo Mateos and Coll Donaldson, and right-back Norman Webb (on loan from Arsenal) were absolutely fantastic all season, helping push us to an amazing +63 goal-differential.

Our meteoric rise has also shown my manager to advance a lot on a personal level, as he was awarded with his first Manager of the Year award, and is now viewed as a club legend at Stevenage FC! I also completed the last of my coaching badges this season, and with the league win and strong cup showing, my reputation is now Continental. Our club is now valued at £105M with only £3.7M in net debt, which is nearly all from the upgrades to bring Broadhall Way up to the required standard of the top flight.

Staying with my club philosophy, we did make a major player sale in the offseason, as we had a side ready to meet Kyle Walker-Peters £13.5M release clause. He was only valued as a £5M player at the time of his sale, and the deal had a clause guaranteeing us 25% of his next sale, so it was a very good deal for the club, and would have been accepted -- release clause or not. I was able to bring in what I feel is a capable replacement in young Dutchman Theo Huisman, who was transfer listed by PSG, for a very fair price of £1.9M. We also purchased long-time loanees Harry Donovan and Michael Folivi with a bit of our newfound bounty. I felt the deal for Folivi was an extremely good one as strikers are nearly always overvalued, and we got him for less than his value after a season like the one he had. Folivi is touted in the media as the next Wayne Rooney, and if he delivers on that promise, we are sure to be able to consolidate in the Premier League.

We were also able to keep Smits on loan for at least one more season, as one of our two allowed domestic loan deals. Those two leading our line give me a lot of hope for our first campaign in the big show -- and indeed, we have started the new campaign top of the table after 3 matches, with 7 points taken from our first three fixtures. We did crash out of the Capital One Cup at the first time of asking -- but that is for next season's update. :)

For now, we hope you will wish us luck in the Premier League, and we thank you as always for following American Werewolf Football! :)

Progress

Club

0/10 top domestic leagues

0/10 domestic cups

0/5 club continental championships

0/1 club world championship

International

0/5 continental tournaments

0/2 world tournaments

[b]Club Career:[size=2]

[i]2015-16: England - Sky Bet League Two - Stevenage FC:[/i] Above mid-table finish was expected, we crashed out in the Playoff Semi-Final to miss promotion.
[i]2016-17: England - Sky Bet League Two - Stevenage FC:[/i] Expected to win title, won League Two with record point total of 104.  Promoted.  JPT Finalist, great cup performances. 
[i]2017-18: England - Sky Bet League One - Stevenage FC:[/i] Initial expectation of Playoffs, won League One Title with five fixtures remaining.  JPT Finalist 2nd straight season. 
[i]2018-19: England - Sky Bet Championship - Stevenage FC:[/i] Above mid-table expected, finished 4th position and lost in extra-time of Championship Play-off Final to miss promotion.
[i]2019-20: England - Sky Bet Championship - Stevenage FC:[/i] Expected to challenge for the title, won title with four fixtures remaining.  Capital One Cup Finalist.[/b][/size]

[b]International Career:[size=2]           

[i]2015-Present:[/i] Unemployed internationally.    [/b] [/size]  

[b]Minor Trophies:[size=2]

[i]Sky Bet Championship (2019/20), Sky Bet League 1 (2017/18), Sky Bet League 2 (2016/17) [/i]     [/b] [/size]        

[b]Personal Accolades:[size=2]

[i]Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Year (2019/20) [/i]  [/b] [/size]

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vikeologist - You're gonna win that Premier League title sooner or later!

blackdevil - Sounds like a promising start, thoughts on next season,they good enough to go up or on the lookout for a bigger club?

jaysdailydose - That is one hell of a rise with Stevenage! Sticking with them all the way or hoping for a bigger club to poach you?

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jaysdailydose - Congrats on the promotion Jay and good luck for the new season.

Super_Gord - I don't know is the short answer but I'm going to stay until the end of my contract which is the end of this season. With 3 league games of the new season gone I'm hopeful of getting promoted as champions. I'll be disappointed if we don't.

I'm undecided if I want to build this club up or do a club crawl :) Will have to evaluate at the end of the season, but the club is over 300k in debt with no players of any value to sell that'd make a dent in the debt. And the board want me to sell some players to help with it....but who? It'd only bring 22k in at most and the squad isn't big enough to loose too many players.

I can't even do any coaching badges :mad: so might have to stay as it'll be difficult to get anything much better anyway.

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FM 16


FC Haka Season Review 2017/18


xkVDiFi2.jpeg



I was toying with leaving the club during the post season, FC Inter Turku a more established Premier League side offered me their manager's job, I was actually at the contract discussion stage when I thought I'm going to have a crack with Haka, glad I did. The board announced that we were going full time and that the scouting range had been increased to cover all of Europe, this was a major factor in our success, it allowed me to bring in a few youth loanees from Premier League clubs in England and some experienced players from Denmark and Bulgaria. We lost our key striker halfway through the season as he had a minimum fee release clause in his contract which I totally overlooked, he went off to Hearts in Scotland for a pittance
:(

Took a while for us to find our feet, we skirted with the bottom two after 6 games and then we went rampant, an 11 game unbeaten run including 9 wins propelled us to the top, IFK Mariehamn ran us close but we managed to hold them off and take the title with a game to spare.

We also managed to make it to the Finnish Cup final, sadly losing 1-0 in extra time to FC Lahti, the double was not to be.

Despite qualifying for some round of the Champions League it's time for me to depart Finland for a new challenge, probably going to remove some of the weaker nations (Belarus, Bulgaria) and try for a new club in Poland or Austria, if anyone will have me!

2015/16   FC Haka             3rd                Finnish First Division
2016/17   FC Haka             1st                Finnish First Division               Promoted to Premier League
2017/18   FC Haka             1st                Finnish Premier League               League Winners

Challenge Progress


Club
1/10 top domestic leagues (Finland)
0/10 domestic cups
0/5 club continental championships
0/1 club world championship


International
0/5 continental tournaments
0/2 world tournaments

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jaysdailydose - That is one hell of a rise with Stevenage! Sticking with them all the way or hoping for a bigger club to poach you?

Thanks very much, I have to be honest and say that this is undoubtedly my favorite save in my entire time playing Football Manager! :)

I think there are maybe 3-4 clubs where I would realistically consider jumping ship at this point, if they became available. I only have England, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa loaded as we speak, but I may add one our two other of the "big" European nations in to give myself more options now that my reputation has improved.

In England, I'd only consider moving to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, or United. It has to be a situation where I'll immediately begin to fight for multiple trophies or I'm going to stick with them all the way.

I still have work to do to get this squad seriously thinking about a Champions League place -- I'm just waiting for the financial situation to stabilize as I get the TV money in. The last time I had really looked things over club wide last season was probably around February and the club was worth £8.5M -- now its worth £105M. That I have become a club legend will definitely make it harder to leave unless I've accomplished what I need to in England, but I won't rule anything out.

I don't really see any of those 4 jobs opening up, anyway -- Klopp has been amazing at Chelsea, Arsenal has Unai Emery and he's done OK since he came in. Roy Keane is at United and won them the Champions League in 2019 so he's fairly secure as well. Liverpool really came on after hiring Argentinian Ramon Diaz last season... they were languishing below mid-table when he came in and he got them to a CL place... I just don't see any real benefit to leaving unless things really go South, as I think I'll be on the financial level of the other clubs soon enough.

Thanks for following! :)

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A bug report in the South Africa section reminds me that when I started the game; not only did I escape the 'challenge-killer' which actually only appeared in the 15.2 update, but there was also a bug in South Africa (where I started) that was hugely advantageous. I think when I signed players on trial, they could play for my first team. I figured this was just a quirk of South Africa, and I'm all for people working for me without pay. They were like interns; apart from the fact that I didn't sleep with them. Once I realised that it actually was a bug (which to be fair to me happened because I reported it) I'd already gained from it quite a bit.

Have the FM16 players found any bugs affecting their games at all? (either positively or negatively).

I used to post warnings that it wasn't a good idea to start this challenge on a beta, but so far the beta seems quite solid.

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