vikeologist Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Oh dear. I'm going to be Mr Buzzkill. No the initial stats aren't ok. The total coaching attributes and the total mental attributes need to be the same, although you can have more point allocated to, for instance, tactical than the other coaching stats. Incidentally I do think there's 1 attribute that gives us a huge advantage if we allocate more points to it. I'm not going to say which, and why, though. It's my secret, (and not one that I have used yet). The coaching badges and past experience are correct of course. The 20 year old thing is important, but if you put your real birthday in and it turns out that you're 19 when you start, that's ok. Basically your manager needs to be 19 or 20 at the start. I think this is integral to the challenge. I think being older would give us a big advantage. So, the age thing is here to stay. Sorry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReclaimTheKop Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Thanks for the reply. So I can adjust the attributes but the overall coaching and mental need to be the same? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReclaimTheKop Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Is this ok? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Is this ok? Yes, that's fine, and you're correct that you can adjust the attributes within each half. There's a 'style focus' sliding scale on the choose magerial focus screen (see the initial screenshot you provided), and it needs to be in the middle. I assumed this would result in the same number of points on both sides, but apparantly it doesn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I think I am better off going back to my FM15 save as I am not really enjoying FM16 that much. Is it allowed or do I need to continue on FM16? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 I think I am better off going back to my FM15 save as I am not really enjoying FM16 that much. Is it allowed or do I need to continue on FM16? Either FM15 or 16 is fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelions1goal Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I have an interview with Liverpool. I’d obviously like to get the job because I am already familiar, and in platonic man-love, with at least 3 of the players. However I have real problems getting new jobs when I already have an international job. How do people answer the question about combining the club and international roles? I'm unable to help regarding this matter as I've never been in that position yet - but I think I'm soon going to be!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelions1goal Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 32/33 Pumas End Of Season - Closing Stage (If you can't beat 'em.....join'em!!) After being sacked by my old club (in Mexico) Tigres, partly because I could never get the better of Pumas, I remained unemployed for a while - mainly because Norwich & Napoli wouldn't employ me!! I was also approached by the Greece national side, but I didn't fancy that, so politely declined the role. I then saw that the Pumas job had become available in Mexico after their poor showing in the Opening Stage, so I applied for the job and was successful - the bonus being that they were already in the Quarter Final of the NACL, a competition I had reached the Semi Final in before, but was knocked out. So the league campaign went very well and we finished 1st at the end of the closing stage, which meant the play offs beckoned. QF of the Play Offs saw us against Monterray where we managed to draw the away leg 1-1 and win the return 2-1. SF saw us pitted against Pachuca, where we managed a narrow 3-2 victory in the away leg and with 3 away goals, I was pretty confident, but we only managed a nervy 0-0 at home, but nevertheless, we were in the Final I'd already won the league in Mexico, so for the purpose it wouldn't count if we won the final, but it's always nice to win a trophy.... .....which after a 4-0 away win in the first leg against Atlas, pretty much ensured we'd wrapped the game up. We lost 2-0 at home, but it was never in danger and we were 4-2 winners and, the Champions of Mexico!! My real priority was the NACL because if we could win it, then that trophy would count towards my challenge. So, in the QF we were drawn against Monterray of Mexico and exactly the same as the league Play Off, we had a 1-1 draw in the first leg (this time at home) so the second leg would be tricky, but we pulled off a 2-1 victory so were through to the Semi Final. In the SF, we were drawn against another Mexican team - Atlas, again with the first leg at home. As in the previous round, we could only manage a 1-1 draw, so it was a little nervy when we travelled away, but we won comfortably 2-0 and were into the Final.......against my old team Tigres!! As I've previously said, when I was manager of Tigres, I could never get a result against Pumas, so I was hoping that tradition would continue. We were drawn at home in the first leg and we absolutely battered them, possession wise, shots, corners, the amount of times we hit the woodwork.........we lost 1-0!! Don't know about you guys, but sometimes when you're playing FM, do you have to literally stand up and just walk around your living room (or wherever you are playing) with your hands on your head, not quite believing what you've just witnessed?? Well, that's what I done - my wife thinks I'm stupid!! It was all down to the second leg, which went superbly. We went into a 1-0 lead and held on all through the match, ensuring extra time - I'd gambled by saving 2 subs so I'd have fresh legs for the extra 30 minutes. Brought both my subs on at the start of extra time and in the 94th minute, we scored to make it 2-0 and 2-1 on aggregate. When Tigres pulled one back with about 5 minutes to go, I thought it was merely a consolation as I had 2 away goals........WRONG!! Away goals don't count in the final, so it was dreaded penalties But, I needn't have worried as we held our nerve and we won the shootout!! These screenshots show we'd overturned the first leg defeat that we'd won the NACL and that I'd carried on Pumas proud tradition So, we'd done the double All Competitions I'm probably going to resign now as my work in Mexico (and N. America on the club side of things) is done. I did toy with the idea of having a crack at the World Club Championship with Pumas, but I think I'll stand a better chance with a European or S. American team - if I can win their continental competitions I've also been included as one of Englands top managers funnily enough, overtaking Roy Hodgson........if only he'd have given me a phone call, I could have helped him during the Euros!!! Speaking of International football, I've taken on the role as Jamaica manager - they are halfway through the World Cup qualifying campaign, but more importantly (for this challenge) the Gold Cup starts in a couple of months and theres only USA ranked higher than Jamaica, although Mexico B could pose a treat too. Sorry for the lengthy update, but I'm happy to have got my first club continental trophy!! Onwards and upwards.......... Season Team Country Pos Notes 15/16 Linfield N. Ireland 6th Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season 16/17 Cliftonville N. Ireland 3rd Took over in January, Euro Qualification 17/18 Cliftonville N. Ireland 4th League Cup Winners 18/19 Cliftonville N. Ireland 1st Champions, Manager Of The Year 19/20 Shanggang China 1st Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year 20/21 Shanggang China N/A Resigned after being knocked out of Champs League 20/21 Jeonbuk S. Korea 4th Cup Winners, Knocked Out 2nd Round Champs League 21/22 Jeonbuk S. Korea N/A SACKED 4th in league, QF of Champs League, SF of FA Cup 22/23 Pohang S. Korea 6th Cup Winners, knocked out in SF of Asian Champs League 23/24 Pohang S. Korea N/A SACKED after first match of the new season!! 24/25 Seoul S. Korea 3rd Took over with 14 games played, qualified for Champs League 25/26 Seoul S. Korea N/A SACKED - Team finished 2nd & won FA Cup 26/27 Kaizer Chiefs S. Africa 1st Champions 27/28 Kaizer Chiefs S. Africa 1st Champions, KO Cup Winner, S/F Champs League - Resigned 28/29 Houston USA 2nd 1st in West Conference, Lost in MLS Shield Final, SF of NACL 29/30 Tigres Mexico 4th Closing Stage, SF of Champions League 30/31 Tigres Mexico 3rd Opening Stage - Lost in Final to Pumas - reached SF of Cup 30/31 Tigres Mexico 1st Closing Stage - Won in Final - Champions!! 2nd Rnd Copa Libertadores 31/32 Tigres Mexico 1st Opening Stage - Lost in Final to Pumas, Qualified for KO stage of NACL 31/32 Tigres Mexico 7th Closing Stage - Lost in SF of Play Offs, Lost in SF of NACL.....SACKED!! 32/33 Pumas Mexico 1st Closing Stage, Won in Final - Champions!!, NACL Winners International 2026 Cameroon Africa Resigned after 2 matches 2026 Morocco Africa Eliminated in Group Stage at World Cup, qualified for ACON 2027 Morocco Africa ACON Winners - resigned straight after 2029 Australia Asia Qualified for World Cup 2030 Australia Asia Knocked Out In Group Stages, lost every match - SACKED!! 2033 Jamaica N. America Challenge Progress Club 4/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China, S. Africa, Mexico) 4/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China, S. Korea, S. Africa) 1/5 club continental championships (NACL - Pumas) 0/1 club world championship International 1/5 continental tournaments (ACON - Morocco 2027) 0/2 world tournaments () Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 threelions1goal, nice selection to get Pumas for the double! Who's the new manager for Tigres? And also, congratulations on winning the North America Champions League as well! Well done to see Mexico strong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pug 407 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 threelions1goal You Can Also Try 4 The South America Champions League With Pumas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
numero uno gunner Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Season review 2025-26 Juventus and Colombia I went all out for the Champions League this season, and as such prioritised that competition. We ended up finishing second in Serie A, four points adrift of league winners AC Milan. We retained our Italian Cup, thrashing Roma 5-0 in the final, but as I had already won that competition, it didn't really matter very much. We made life difficult for ourselves in Europe, finishing runners-up in a group of Arsenal, Lyon and my old club Red Bull Salzburg. As a result, we drew Atletico Madrid in the last 16. A 1-1 draw at home set up an exciting away leg. We went 1-0 down, but Pjaca grabbed a deserved equaliser. As the game was running into extra time, Atleti nicked a winner, and sent us crashing out. I saw out the rest of the season, and then resigned in the aftermath of our cup win. I've already landed my next job, but more on that in my next update. Internationally, it was a big, big year for my Colombia team. Three fairly routine friendly games in the build up to the World Cup, and we remained unbeaten. However, the draw for our group at the WC was extremely tough. Turkey (17th in the rankings), USA (12th) and Belgium (3rd!) were our opponents. I was hoping to get out of the group, and then see what happens. A ding-dong 2-2 draw with Turkey, where we were 1-0 up and then 2-1 down inside 25 minutes. Joaquin Cuellar grabbed a deserved equaliser, and we started our campaign with a point. Next up was the USA, who had beaten Belgium 1-0 in their first game. Harold Preciado got his second of the tournament, before 35 year old Duvan Zapata doubled our lead. The USA pulled one back through a penalty, before we had a man sent off just after the hour. The onslaught came, but we held out, and went top of the group, as Turkey lost to Belgium. In the final game, Turkey smashed USA 5-0, giving them 4 points. I knew a draw would be enough to top the group, and we raced into a 2-0 lead, with Angulo and Gil grabbing the goals just before half time. Belgium pegged us back with 15 minutes to go, knowing a winner would put them through and us out, but it never came. Our reward for topping the 'Group of Death'? England, ranked 5th in the world. Luis Gil put us in front on 31 minutes, before Saido Berahino scored in first half stoppage time to send us in at the break all square. Gil scored again just before the hour, before Lewis Cook drew the game level seven minutes later. Both teams went for it, but extra time was needed. They had the better chances, before we hit them on the counter with four minutes to go, scoring through Juan Pulido and sending me into raptures in my technical area (and my living room!). Moments before, I was literally about to make my final substitution to bring on someone who can take penalties! Surprise package Jamaica were next up for us in the quarters. A brace from Luis Gil was enough to see us through in what was ultimately a dull affair, but to be perfectly honest, I didn't care. I had had to make several changes due to poor fitness, so I was really pleased to have got through. The Dutch were waiting for us in the semi finals, and I genuinely believed this was where our crazy run would end. Edinson Guerrero put us 1-0 up, but a double Dutch smash put us 2-1 down at half time. Cuellar equalised just after the break, and then it was a topsy-turvy second half. Both teams attacked, but it was a header from a centre-back with 6 minutes to go which decided the tie. Take a bow, Eder Alvarez Balanta! A flick header from a free kick gave us a 3-2 win, and sent us into the final! I was expecting to play our arch-nemesis Brazil in the final, so imagine my utter delight to see them beaten in the semi finals by shock finalists Ivory Coast! Juan Pulido put us 1-0 up, before a dodgy penalty allowed our African opponents to send us in at the break 1-1. Alain Martinez, my own Juventus playmaker, scored seven minutes into the second half to give us a deserved lead. We looked in complete control, before they sucker punched us with 3 minutes left to send us into extra time. No further goals were scored, and there were actually very few chances, so it went to the dreaded penalties. Zapata missed our first, and they scored. Cuellar scored our second, and they missed. 1-1 after 2 penalties each. Gil scored, as did they. 2-2. Guerrero scored, and then they missed again. 3-2 to us, with Juan Pulido striding up to take our fifth penalty. The nerves were jangling. The noise in the stadium building and then falling as he places the ball on the spot. He looks nervous as he strides back. The referee blows his whistle, and he runs forward. The keeper dives the wrong way, and the ball nestles in the opposite corner! Champions! Unbelievable scenes as the whole of Colombia celebrates! I'm going to stay on as Colombia manager and see if I can add the Copa America next summer. I've blooded a lot of younger players, although my centre back pairing have a combined age of almost 70! I don't know when the Confederations Cup is, but I may have a blast at that if its possible as well. Club Season Team Position Notes and Achievements 2015/16 Dungannon 10th Won Northern Irish FA Cup and kept Dungannon up after taking over with 3 games to go 2016/17 Dungannon 8th A solid but unspectacular season 2017/18 Yiteng 8th A settling season in China 2019 Jiangsu 1st Won Chinese Super League and FA Cup, as well as claiming MOTY. 2020 Jiangsu 1st Won Chinese Super League and Asian Champions League 2020/21 Aberdeen 9th Won Scottish League Cup 2021/22 Monterrey 5th/5th Won Opening Stage, knocked out in semis of closing stage. Won NACL. 2021/22 Salzburg 1st Won league and cup double 2022 Corinthians 1st Won league 2023 Corinthians 8th Won Copa Libertadores 2024/25 Juventus 1st Won Serie A and Italian Cup 2025/26 Juventus 2nd Won Italian Cup Season Team Notes and Achievements 2016/17 Congo Resigned without playing a game 2016/17 Cameroon One win away from WC qualification 2017/18 Cameroon 2nd round of 2018 World Cup 2019 Cameroon African Cup of Nations winner! 2021 Poland An abject failure! 2022 Ireland 4 wins, 2 draws and promotion to European International League Division B 2023 Ireland 2 wins, 2 defeats from 4 qualifiers before taking Colombia job 2024/25 Colombia Currently top of WC qualifying and ranked 4th in the world 2026 Colombia World Cup winners! Challenge Progress Club 5/10 top domestic leagues - China (Jiangsu), Mexico (Monterrey), Austria (Salzburg), Brazil (Corinthians), Italy (Juventus) 5/10 domestic cups - Northern Ireland (Dungannon), China (Jiangsu), Scotland (Aberdeen), Austria (Salzburg), Italy (Juventus x 2) 3/5 club continental championships - ACL (Jiangsu), NACL (Monterrey), Copa Libertadores (Corinthians) 0/1 club world championship International 1/5 continental tournaments - ACON Cameroon 2019 1/2 world tournaments - World Cup - Colombia 2026 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelions1goal Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 threelions1goal You Can Also Try 4 The South America Champions League With Pumas Yeah, Pug, I was aware of that and I did have a crack at it whilst I was manager of Tigres, but found the South American Teams too strong. Plus, I'd been in Mexico now for the best part of 4 years......my feet were getting itchy!! Numero Uno congratulations on the World Cup, no less!! That isn't too shabby!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 threelions1goal, it's going to be more excited to see Puma going to win a Club World Cup, but I hope you might be prepared to go on another team outside Mexico and continue this challenge. By the way, who's the new manager of Tigres? Good luck on the next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 It's taken me a couple of days to update the first page due to travelling, but congrats to NuG on the world cup, and good to see a thread stallwart, 3L1G, make it onto the leaderboard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Clyde Season 2015/16 So i’ve decided to start this challenge and after a long wait for any club to take me as their manager despite countless applications, Clyde in the Scottish League 2 offered me the job. They were sitting in 3rd with only 6 regular season matches to go. I managed to finish in the same position with a few good results including a 7-1 thrashing of Queens Park. We then beat Arbroath and Stranraer over two legs to secure promotion to League 1. Time to make some new additions and keep moving upward! Season Team Position Notes and Achievements 2015/16 Clyde 3rd Promoted to League 1 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 () Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelions1goal Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I and good to see a thread stallwart, 3L1G, make it onto the leaderboard. Thanks Vike - I finally managed to scrape on there!! Welcome Fadedaf and good luck!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelions1goal Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 2033/34 - Inter Milan End of Season Competitions After winning the NACL with Pumas, I resigned and started the hunt for another job, hoping to get quite a high profile club. Although there were many jobs available, some I didn't think I'd be able to get (Barca being one) so I was selective with who I applied for. Then the Bremen job became available, I attended the interview and was successful as they offered me the job........just as Arsenal offered me an interview!! So I declined the Bremen job, attended the Arsenal interview and was convinced I'd got the position.....only for them to give it to somebody else. Disappointed was an understatement Cruz Azul approached me, but my work in Mexico is done so I took a punt on becoming the manager at Inter Milan and couldn't believe when they gave me the position. I took over in March and they were in 7th position. The boards expectation was that I qualify for the Euro Cup, which was easily achievable and as the competitions link at the top of this review shows, I finished in 6th place and therefore achieved what the board wanted. The trouble with Inter Milan, in my save, is that they are riddled with debt - even though it states the club is worth "£136m" Coupled with that, the squad I inherited has 29 players, 14 of whom are over the age of 31, so alot of work would be needed during the close season. When the board set my wage budget at £1.5m per week (the club was already spending almost £2m pw) and my transfer budget at only £2.06m then I knew my work was going to be cut out. I then received the news that the training facilities had been downgraded, so I approached the board asking them to make minor improvements to keep up with our rivals, but they wouldn't even discuss it and they refused.........the option of leaking the story to the press was there, so with the hope of them changing their mind, I leaked the story, thinking at worst, I'd get a slap on the wrists. They immediately called an emergency board meeting asking why I'd leaked the story. I replied that it was in the hope of them reconsidering their decision. They asked me why I thought I shouldn't be sacked. I thought the best answer would be "I don't know who you'd get who would be better than me" It turned out to be the wrong answer Sacked And this time I did feel gutted as Inter are by far the biggest club I've managed so far on this challenge. In my new job hunt, I think I'm going to have to set my sights lower as since the Inter sacking, I've been "laughed off" by - Dortmund, Wolfsburg, Atletico, Roma, Napoli & Dynamo Kiev.......I think I now know my place!! Internationally, I was manager of Jamaica (ranked 43rd) and we were in the Gold Cup. We were drawn in a group with - Trinidad & Tobago, ranked 70th, we won 2-0 Panama, ranked 129th, we won 3-0 Martinique, not even ranked, we had a 0-0 draw, but finished top of the group. The QF saw us drawn against El Salvador, ranked 85th, we made hard work of it but managed a 1-0 win In the SF we were drawn against a very good Mexico B team....a very, very good Mexico B team but a masterclass in counter attacking football, saw us come from a goal down to win 2-1, despite us only having 5 shots compared to their 19!! In the final, we played the U.S.A. who were ranked 17th in the world, so I thought I try my counter attacking brand of football again........we got hammered 4-1, so finished runners up!! It's another 4 years to the next Gold Cup, Jamaica aren't going to pull up any trees in the World Cup, if they qualify, so I decided to resign - I'd have probably stayed on if I knew what would happen at Inter, later in the season!! Season Team Country Pos Notes 15/16 Linfield N. Ireland 6th Took over in December, sacked before the end of the season 16/17 Cliftonville N. Ireland 3rd Took over in January, Euro Qualification 17/18 Cliftonville N. Ireland 4th League Cup Winners 18/19 Cliftonville N. Ireland 1st Champions, Manager Of The Year 19/20 Shanggang China 1st Champions, Cup Winners, Manager Of The Year 20/21 Shanggang China N/A Resigned after being knocked out of Champs League 20/21 Jeonbuk S. Korea 4th Cup Winners, Knocked Out 2nd Round Champs League 21/22 Jeonbuk S. Korea N/A SACKED 4th in league, QF of Champs League, SF of FA Cup 22/23 Pohang S. Korea 6th Cup Winners, knocked out in SF of Asian Champs League 23/24 Pohang S. Korea N/A SACKED after first match of the new season!! 24/25 Seoul S. Korea 3rd Took over with 14 games played, qualified for Champs League 25/26 Seoul S. Korea N/A SACKED - Team finished 2nd & won FA Cup 26/27 Kaizer Chiefs S. Africa 1st Champions 27/28 Kaizer Chiefs S. Africa 1st Champions, KO Cup Winner, S/F Champs League - Resigned 28/29 Houston USA 2nd 1st in West Conference, Lost in MLS Shield Final, SF of NACL 29/30 Tigres Mexico 4th Closing Stage, SF of Champions League 30/31 Tigres Mexico 3rd Opening Stage - Lost in Final to Pumas - reached SF of Cup 30/31 Tigres Mexico 1st Closing Stage - Won in Final - Champions!! 2nd Rnd Copa Libertadores 31/32 Tigres Mexico 1st Opening Stage - Lost in Final to Pumas, Qualified for KO stage of NACL 31/32 Tigres Mexico 7th Closing Stage - Lost in SF of Play Offs, Lost in SF of NACL.....SACKED!! 32/33 Pumas Mexico 1st Closing Stage, Won in Final - Champions!!, NACL Winners 33/34 Inter Milan Italy 6th Qualified for Euro Cup - Boardroom disagreement - SACKED!! International 2026 Cameroon Africa Resigned after 2 matches 2026 Morocco Africa Eliminated in Group Stage at World Cup, qualified for ACON 2027 Morocco Africa ACON Winners - resigned straight after 2029 Australia Asia Qualified for World Cup 2030 Australia Asia Knocked Out In Group Stages, lost every match - SACKED!! 2033 Jamaica N. America Lost in Final of Gold Cup - Resigned Challenge Progress Club 4/10 top domestic leagues (N. Ireland, China, S. Africa, Mexico) 4/10 domestic cups (N. Ireland, China, S. Korea, S. Africa) 1/5 club continental championships (NACL - Pumas) 0/1 club world championship International 1/5 continental tournaments (ACON - Morocco 2027) 0/2 world tournaments () Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 threelions1goal, It's getting bad when you get gutted in Inter Milan, but still fall short on winning the Gold Cup with Jamaica. I hope you have new hope to be prepared if you want to go back to Inter Milan soon. 1.) Who is the new manager of Tigres and Inter Milan? 2.) Did you hate gutting while being sacked? 3.) Will you go back to Inter Milan for your future career soon? I hope you have new hope in Italy by the time you have your decision to coach a team. I'm hoping you have the right choice to do it to return or go another club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 As I said earlier, I was considering going back to my FM15 career and now I am going to resurrect it. I'll provide short summaries of my first few seasons whenever I get the time with a view to switching to more detailed updates when I catch up with the in-game time. FK Gjøvik-Lyn - 2. divisjon avdeling 2 - 2014Having applied for various jobs, the first club that offered me a job were Norwegian 2. divisjon team FK Gjøvik-Lyn. Gjøvik-Lyn were predicted to go down at the start of the season but at the start of the game, they were vastly overachieving and in 7th place (out of 14 teams). When I joined, the team had 19 points and sat in 7th place after 13 games. It took until my eighth game for me to register a win as we slid dangerously close to the relegation places. 7 points in our last three games was enough for us to survive though. I was able to get my National C License but the club was facing some financial problems and as such, unwilling to fund another one for me.FK Gjøvik-Lyn - 2. divisjon avdeling 2 - 2015I made a bit of an overhaul of the team by getting rid of some deadwood while some players left after their contracts expired. The transfers in looked fine and I was confident of pushing on and putting in a challenge for promotion. Unfortunately, it didn't really work out. After 7 games, we had 8 points and were already 10 points behind leaders Brummundal. Much of the damage was done in our first 4 games as we picked up 1 point out of a possible 9 in the league and got knocked out of the cup by a lower division team. Two 4-1 wins were certainly an improvement but after a 4-5 loss to Kongsvinger and a 1-1 draw at Vidar, I decided to resign. CLUB CAREER:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Season | Team | League | Country | League Position | Notes |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2014 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 8th | Took over mid-season; dropped a position || 2015 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 9th | Resigned after 7 games. |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Clyde Season 2016/17 My Second season (and first full season) in charge of Clyde started very poorly, immediately being knocked out of two cup competitions and sitting near the bottom of the table after about 10 games. our fortunes turned however and we slowly started to work our way back up the table. Several times we threatened to have a mid-season slump but pulled out thanks to well timed good performances. We were entrenched in the playoff places for many weeks of the season, even taking the top spot for a week here and there before the final run in to the end of the season, where we lost only 1 in 10 matches and secured the title on the final day. Inspiring performances by our two wide midfielders, Jamie McCluskey (17 goals, 16 assists) and Mekhi Leacock-McLeod (16 goals, 4 assists) helped us across the line but our inconsistent defence and lack of a good, high scoring striker let us down a bit. The board have yet to let me go for even a single coaching badge and the club is in a very bad state financially, granting no requests and letting me retain almost no transfer revenue. I can't see myself staying at this club for more than one more season as a result of this so will be applying to some higher reputation clubs this season. I'd also like to take control of an international team, even at youth level but so far all applications have been immediately rejected. [table="width: 300, align: left"] [tr] [td]Season[/td] [td]Team[/td] [td]Position[/td] [td]Notes and Achievements[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]2015/16[/td] [td]Clyde[/td] [td]3rd[/td] [td]Promoted to League 1[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]2016/17[/td] [td]Clyde[/td] [td]1st[/td] [td]Promoted to Scottish Championship[/td] [/tr] [/table] 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 () Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Interviews Moss FK - Moss were the first team to respond to my job applications and although the interview went well, they chose a different manager.Kettering Town - Newly promoted to the Conference regional leagues and with a good budget. Unfortunately, I think I became a bit overexcited in the interview.Nest-Sotra Fotball - This came on the same day as the Kettering job. They chose a different manager.FC Honka - Finnish 2nd tier team but they had a far superior reputation than Gjovik-Lyn.JJK - Same as above and I thought it would be very difficult to get either of these two jobs.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2015I couldn't believe it when Honka offered me the job and snapped their hand off for it. Only 4 games remained of the season and runaway leaders AC Oulu were close to getting promoted with Honka looking comfortable in 3rd. All the games were close as we won 2 and lost 2 to secure 3rd place.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2016We were dismal in the cup and got knocked out by third tier Tervarit in a game we lost 4-1. In the league, it seemed to go pear-shaped early in the season as the defeat at SJK dropped us to 8th in an extremely tight table and the board demanded an explanation for the poor performance. They let me stay on provided I got 8 points from our next 5 games and we did it, getting 10 during that spell. For most of the season, we stayed in the leading pack with SJK, JJK and newly promoted Kemi Kings but a return of 10 points in our last 7 games cost us promotion as we finished 2nd with 48 points, four less than SJK who were spending twice the amount that we were spending on wages.I'll take 2nd place but it could really have been so much better if we had picked up more than 1 point from our 3 games against SJK.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2017The board expected us to win the title this season and the media had us as clear favourites at 4-6 with recently relegated AC Oulu only being given Evens.We went further in the cup than last time around, reaching the 6th round before being unluckily eliminated by SoVo Somero. We started well in the league and never gave up the lead in the table although it was a bit surprising to lose to newly promoted OPS Oulu, that too twice. In the end, we finished 20 points clear of second placed TPS and set a record points total by picking up 63 points from our 27 matches. CLUB CAREER:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Season | Team | League | Country | League Position | Notes |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2014 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 8th | Took over mid-season; dropped a position || 2015 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 9th | Resigned after 7 games. |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2015 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 3rd | Took over with 4 games left || 2016 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 2nd | Nearly got promoted || 2017 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 1st | Won the Ykkönen and got promoted!! |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEarl Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Interviews Moss FK - Moss were the first team to respond to my job applications and although the interview went well, they chose a different manager.Kettering Town - Newly promoted to the Conference regional leagues and with a good budget. Unfortunately, I think I became a bit overexcited in the interview.Nest-Sotra Fotball - This came on the same day as the Kettering job. They chose a different manager.FC Honka - Finnish 2nd tier team but they had a far superior reputation than Gjovik-Lyn.JJK - Same as above and I thought it would be very difficult to get either of these two jobs.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2015I couldn't believe it when Honka offered me the job and snapped their hand off for it. Only 4 games remained of the season and runaway leaders AC Oulu were close to getting promoted with Honka looking comfortable in 3rd. All the games were close as we won 2 and lost 2 to secure 3rd place.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2016We were dismal in the cup and got knocked out by third tier Tervarit in a game we lost 4-1. In the league, it seemed to go pear-shaped early in the season as the defeat at SJK dropped us to 8th in an extremely tight table and the board demanded an explanation for the poor performance. They let me stay on provided I got 8 points from our next 5 games and we did it, getting 10 during that spell. For most of the season, we stayed in the leading pack with SJK, JJK and newly promoted Kemi Kings but a return of 10 points in our last 7 games cost us promotion as we finished 2nd with 48 points, four less than SJK who were spending twice the amount that we were spending on wages.I'll take 2nd place but it could really have been so much better if we had picked up more than 1 point from our 3 games against SJK.FC Honka Espoo - Ykkönen - 2017The board expected us to win the title this season and the media had us as clear favourites at 4-6 with recently relegated AC Oulu only being given Evens.We went further in the cup than last time around, reaching the 6th round before being unluckily eliminated by SoVo Somero. We started well in the league and never gave up the lead in the table although it was a bit surprising to lose to newly promoted OPS Oulu, that too twice. In the end, we finished 20 points clear of second placed TPS and set a record points total by picking up 63 points from our 27 matches. CLUB CAREER:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Season | Team | League | Country | League Position | Notes |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2014 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 8th | Took over mid-season; dropped a position || 2015 | FK Gjøvik-Lyn | 2.divisjon avdeling 3 | Norway | 9th | Resigned after 7 games. |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2015 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 3rd | Took over with 4 games left || 2016 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 2nd | Nearly got promoted || 2017 | FC Honka Espoo | Ykkönen | Finland | 1st | Won the Ykkönen and got promoted!! |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ohhh! I am from Moss, would have loved to see someone start this challenge with a team from my home town! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Due to having quite a bit of free time over the next couple of months I've decided to give this challenge an attempt as a way to open myself up to more leagues than I usually play (the big 5 from Europe mainly) I loaded up the leagues from Asia, South Africa as well as Mexico & the MLS with the plan being to do these before moving to Europe/South America starting profile So after missing out on a couple of jobs due to my refusal to play defensive football I finally got a job on New Year's Eve in South Africa.... Black Leopards become the first stop on what I hope to be a long journey to the top. They play in the South African 1st division and when I took over after 13 (out of 30) games they sat 15th (out of 16) A quick look at the squad showed I only had 1 RB 3 CBs and no LBs as well as a pretty long list of injuries, so a very quick recruitment drive saw me bring in a LB on loan and spend some money on a LB that can also cover at CB and with that we were off The team took to me pretty quickly as we won our first game but then failed to win any of our next 3 (2 draws and our first loss) before settling into some good form form - we only lost 1 of our next 13 games (a cup game away to Premiership side and all round big boys Orlando Pirates) and somehow found ourselves 2nd in the table and mounting a very unlikely title challenge with 2 games to go we were 1 point off the top & 1st played 3rd while we were at home to the team in 10th place the league leaders drew while we were smashed 5-1 at home! A draw in our next game and win for Amazulu saw them win the league by 4 points League Table Position Graph This meant us going into a mini league with Santos FC (who finished 3rd) and FS Stars who finished 2nd bottom in the Premiership. We won both our away games but lost both our home games (losing to a 90th minute goal at home to Santos would turn out to be the key) meaning we ended on 6 points, 1 point off the top. After we beat FS Stars 4-0 we picked p injuries to all 3 of our CBs meaning I was forced to play kids and a RB that can kind of play CB - no surprise our 2 losses came in the 2 games we didn't have any of our CBs. Mini League Table In the end a pretty good first season, hopefully with all 30 games next season I can win the league and not have to go through the mini league again Career Overview Season Team Country League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015/16 Black Leopards KSA National First Division 2nd Took over on 31.12.2015 Challenge Progress Club 0/10 0/10 0/5 0/1 International 0/5 0/2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 d1983 - Welcome to the challenge. Is it your first attempt? Anyway, great first season. DB08 - Congrats on promotion. Nice short seasons in Finland then.Keep meaning to manage in the Scandanavian leagues, and never get around to it, probably because I can't get jobs at the level I want at the start of this challenge. Fadefaf - No idea how to make your username sound like a droid from Star Wars. 2 seasons, 2 promotions probably merits the respect of being unabbreviated anyway. Are you tempted to quit Clyde, or committed to staying until you get a better job in situ? 3L1G - the thing about jamiaca is that they stand a (very good) chance of winning the caribbean Championship, which could have enhanced your reputation. On the other hand, not having an international job will definitely make it easier for you to get a new club job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 d1983 - Welcome to the challenge. Is it your first attempt? Anyway, great first season. Cheers. Yeah 1st attempt at this one, usually play Dafuge challenge each year. Felt like I needed to expand my horizons a bit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Ohhh! I am from Moss, would have loved to see someone start this challenge with a team from my home town! Would have certainly joined them if given the chance but given how things turned out, I think I'm glad they rejected me. DB08 - Congrats on promotion. Nice short seasons in Finland then.Keep meaning to manage in the Scandanavian leagues, and never get around to it, probably because I can't get jobs at the level I want at the start of this challenge. Thanks and yeah, Scandinavia really helps you blast through the seasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReclaimTheKop Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Started this challenge for the first time a couple of weeks ago and got KA in the Icelandic 2nd tier as my first club. Four years in and we have won the top division 2 times and won the Icelandic cup. Does this league and cup count towards the challenge? I don't know what to do next now. We've built a really good young squad but it's very difficult to keep hold of players. I don't know weather to stay and see how far we can get in Europe or if to move on to a higher reputation league. Decisions decisions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Season 2016/17 Review Black Leopards - South Africa After missing out on the title by 4 points last season then missing out on promotion in the mini league by a point I was determined to go up as champions this year, due to financial implications a reduced wage bill and no money for transfers I went looking for loans to boost my squad (Transfers) while selling when I got a good offer. As a result there was a fair amount of turn around in playing squad but I felt we were stronger all over this year, we started the season as 2nd favourites with the bookies and on the opening day we played the favourites - recently relegated FS Stars, a comfortable 4-1 victory was the start of 8 straight league wins which meant we stamped our quality down early and never let up, eventually winning the league by 10 points. The fact that even 3rd place this year would have won the league last year shows how far we've come in the 18 months I've been in charge. The title win was helped in no small part thanks to the 24 goals from on loan striker Justin Jacobus. Squad I signed a one year extension to my deal as want to give the Premiership a crack but doubt I'll stay beyond this season, the financial situation just gets worse despite me bringing in nearly 100K in transfer fees and reducing the wage bill from 24k a week to just 15k (having so many loan players that I don't have to pay for certainly helps) the main issue though for me is the financial problems mean the board won't pay for me to study a course and not sure I'll be able to really leave South Africa without a course or two to help build my reputation. Career Overview Season Team Country League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015/16 Black Leopards KSA National First Division 2nd Took over on 31.12.2015 2016/17 Black Leopards KSA National First Division 1st Promoted as champions Challenge Progress Club 0/10 0/10 0/5 0/1 International 0/5 0/2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Fadefaf - No idea how to make your username sound like a droid from Star Wars. 2 seasons, 2 promotions probably merits the respect of being unabbreviated anyway. Are you tempted to quit Clyde, or committed to staying until you get a better job in situ? I am definitely tempted to quit Clyde as I've had so many applications rejected so far, but i think i'll ride it out until the end of next season and then see whats available. Also i definitely should have considered potential star wars droid abbreviations when choosing my username. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Started this challenge for the first time a couple of weeks ago and got KA in the Icelandic 2nd tier as my first club. Four years in and we have won the top division 2 times and won the Icelandic cup. Does this league and cup count towards the challenge? Yes, all top divisions and cups where all the top league teams enter count. Well done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Vikeologist's 2023 Ghana ACON Report I was very optimistic going into this competition. We were the top ranked African team, and we had comfortably beaten all the teams ranked close to us in friendlies. The group stage was somewhat ominous. We qualified in 2nd place with a win and 2 draws. We came unstuck because we didn’thave enough central defenders. For the quarter-final against South Africa (who you must remember I left to manage Ghana because I didn’t think S Africa could win the tournament) out of the 4 central defenders I had selected, 2 were injured and 1 was suspended. One of my injured defenders was close enough to fitness to be selected, but he managed to get himself sent off, which meant thatI was playing a left back in his position. Predictably enough the match turnedinto a free for all. At one point we were 4-2 down, but manage to level the scores with only 10 men. I thought it was going to go to penalties, but S Africa scored the winner near the end of extra time. S Africa lost in the final, to Mali.It was a real lost opportunity. Winning the ACON would have transformed my challenge, and given me a real chance of completing quicker. I’m not suggesting I was unlucky. I caused my misfortune by not selecting enough players who could play in avariety of positions, and by telling the team to get stuck in. Had we qualified for the semi-final, the only central defender i'd have had available to me would have been the guy who was suspended for the quarter-final. The board sacked me, as they expected me to at least reach the final. Fair enough. I have applied to a couple of other top African nations that now find themselves managerless, but actually I think I may take a couple of years away from international management, as just having a club job will make it easier to get a toppish club job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 vikeologist, not good in African Cup of Nations and that's an unlucky sacking. I would expect that these African teams are easy to pick, but the tournament is not much difficult. So, what are you gonna do, coaching an African nation for the African Nations Championship, or would rather go back to South Africa? Did you hate gutting when you got sacked? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Vikeologist - tough break in the ACON, must have been especially gutting to lose to the team you left Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Clyde Season 2017/18 My Third season in charge of Clyde turned out to be my best yet, with the team really coming together. We actually started this campaign very well, although with some more established bigger clubs of Scottish football being in this division such as Hamilton, St Mirren and Motherwell we ended up picking up a few narrow defeats here and there. The first half of the season we spent largely in the playoff positions and got some very good results such as an incredible 5-4 win against then-leaders St Mirren and a 2-1 win in extra time to give us a big upset against Hearts in the League Cup. This season however we really did have a mid season slump, kicked off by a 3-0 defeat to Rangers in the League Cup quarter final. We dropped right out of the playoff places and were knocked out of one cup, but eventually we were able to find our form again for a run of five wins in a row. We were then thrashed 6-2 by Falkirk in the Scottish Cup to knock us out of another competition. We progressed steadily through another competition however, the League Challenge Cup. While the top teams do not enter this competition so it does not count towards the challenge, it's a reputation booster and always good to try and win more trophies. We ended up winning the Challenge cup with a solid 6-1 win over Hamilton in the final which was perhaps our best performance of the season. The league was going very well also, as we picked up lots of important wins, propelling us further and further up the table. We lost only 3 of the last 13 games of the season (and won the other 10) to continue this teams habit of finishing seasons strongly and we actually ended up winning the league! securing it with a game to go with Hamilton our closest rival. I put this success largely down to our two quality additions to the striker department before the season in Andy Ryan (27 goals, 11 assists) and Dale Carrick (30 goals 9 assists) while our two young centre midfielders Ally McKerracher (who has been with us since League 2!) and Thomas Reilly (signed for this season) were consistently solid. A member of our team managed to win the young player of the month award for every month except for 2. Our two star wide midfielders from last season (Mekhi Leacock-McLeod and Jamie McCluskey) continued their good form with 25 goals and 20 assists between them. I also managed to get the job as manager of Poland under 19s. We managed to win 6 out of our 8 games this season but failed to qualify for the U19 Euros from a tough group. The Board still refused to let me get any coaching badges as well as getting even worse financially despite all the prize money coming in. Two of my backroom staff left to become managers of Scottish clubs in lower divisions as the board refused to grant any of my requests. As a result I continually applied to higher reputation jobs, mainly overseas and eventually started getting somewhere near the end of the season, where Partizan Belgrade wanted to take me on as manager but couldn't afford the compensation. Finally, i found a club that i was happy to join, Lech Poznan from Poland. They finished 5th last season but are one of the bigger clubs in Poland and i think we have a great chance to win at least one competition next season. I can't say the same for Clyde however and if i had stayed could not have seen us getting anything more than mid table at best. [table="width: 300, align: center"] [tr] [td]Season[/td] [td]Team[/td] [td]Position[/td] [td]Notes and Achievements[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]2015/16[/td] [td]Clyde[/td] [td]3rd[/td] [td]Promoted to League 1[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]2016/17[/td] [td]Clyde[/td] [td]1st[/td] [td]Promoted to Scottish Championship[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]2017/18[/td] [td]Clyde[/td] [td]1st[/td] [td]Promoted to Scottish Premiership, Winners of league Challenge Cup[/td] [/tr] [/table] 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 () Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Season 2017/18 Review Black Leopards - South African Premiership League Table - a very good first season in the top flight, we never dropped lower than 7th and with 7/8 games to go we were just a couple of points off a 4th place finish (and continental football) but the players just switched off and we only won one of our last 7 which was on the final day. Telkom Knockout - not much to see here as we were smashed in the first round by Kaizer Chiefs Nedbank Cup - a good run to the semi finals here before losing to league champions Sundowns Transfers - again with no money to spend it was frees and loans, worst transfer was an out one in the shape of young Tsktetsi, a player I spent 2 years getting ready for first team football, but 100K was too much for our board to turn down so we lost him. He's unhappy with the amount of game time he's had so I'm going to try and bring him home on loan next season Squad - bunch of frees and loans, missed the goals from Jacobus this year with our top scorer only getting 14 and even then he missed 2/3 months with injury. Need to strengthen all areas I think Finances - finally looking better Key Players Siphelele Ntshangese - easily our best player, the number 10 role is is and no one comes close when he misses games Ayanda Nkosi - scored 1 goal in 20 games last season (all as sub) scored 14 this year and was top scorer Phathutshedzo Nange - wide player that started the season as back on both sides but ended as a key player Career Overview Season Team Country League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015/16 Black Leopards KSA National First Division 2nd Took over on 31.12.2015 2016/17 Black Leopards KSA National First Division 1st Promoted as champions 2017/18 Black Leopards KSA Premier League 7th Challenge Progress Club 0/10 0/10 0/5 0/1 International 0/5 0/2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Fadedaf - well done with Clyde and good luck at Lech Poznan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Vikeologist's 2022/23 Southend Report It was a record breaking season for Southend in our first premier league season. Worst discipline, goals conceded. I had hoped that we would qualify for Europe, but losing our first 5 matches was a wakeup call. We soon made our way out of the relegation places, but were never close to the top 6 places. It was a really boring season, with no possibility of either qualifying for Europe or relegation, so once we had been knocked out of both cups (by Championship sides frustratingly) I took the opportunity to blood some of my youngsters. Then at the end of the season we lost 5 matches back to back, and suddenly by the final match our 10-point margin of safety had come down to just 3, and we went into the final match of the season needing a point to be safe. Admittedly for us to be relegated the 4 sides below us would have all had to win, one of which was our opponents. We lost once again, badly, but luckily enough of the teams below us sucked one last time and we were safe. It’s hard to stress enough how much smaller Southend is than all the other clubs in the premier league. Our capacity is less than 13k, and even though the board are now building a 25k capacity stadium, that’s going to take 2 years. Really though, the season went badly because of my poor signings, particularly in defence. Most goals – Rushian Hepburn- Murphy – 21 goals. Not a bad first season in the top flight for RHM, and after just 3 and a bit seasons with the club he became the all-time leading league scorer. Average-Rating – Nicola Weiss 7.43. Probably the only player who had a good season. He’d been on loan from Liverpool the previous 2 seasons, but I was planning on not having him anymore. The he became available for 3.5million, and even though I was stacked in central midfield, I couldn’t not buy him at that price. Man of the Match – Nicola Weiss – 6. I didn’t take a new international job, because I thought it would improve my chances of getting a better club job, but maybe, as usual, I’ve been aiming too high. I now have a lot of top leagues loaded, including 3 Scandinavian nations and Greece. I’m not sure if even a top job in one of these leagues would be a step backwards, but I didn’t even get an interview when the Everton job was available. Season Team Position Notes Challenge Landmarks 15/16 Unemployed n/a I have my standards and I'm sticking to them 16/17 Southend (England League 1) 13th Yawn 17/18 Southend 13th Wake me up when tomorrow comes 18/19 Southend 8th Missed out on playoffs in final game of the season 19/20 Southend 1st English league 1 Champions. League cup semi-finalists 20/21 Southend 4th Lost Playoff final in extra time. League cup semi-finalists again 21/22 Southend 1st Won league by a country mile. FA Cup semi-finalists. 22/23 Southend 15th Lost final 6 matches and achieved safety in final game of the season (if being thrashed by on of the other relegation contenders counts as an achievement). Year Team Achievements 2019-22 South Africa 2020 CHAN Champions. Eliminated in group stage of 2021 African CoN Qualified for 2022 World Cup Eliminated in group stage of 2022 World Cup. Quit to manage a better team in Ghana. 2022-23 Ghana Lost in World Cup 2nd round Sacked after losing in Q/F of ACON - to South Africa. 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 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 vikeologist, great job on getting Southend coming back in business. I have to say that you hope to get a job in Everton or another team in Europe. Good job once again! Did you hate gutting when you're sacked? I hope you get another African job, so that you will get another trophy in your collection. So, who's the new manager of Ghana? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Fadedaf - well done with Clyde and good luck at Lech Poznan Thanks, good luck in South Africa! never managed there before but i guess i'll have to at some point in this challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IgnorantLobster Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Anybody got any recommendations for leagues to set up at the start of the challenge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
apchivers Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Anybody got any recommendations for leagues to set up at the start of the challenge? There are a lots of ways to start the challenge, which is the beauty of this challenge. If you're looking to get a trophy ticked off the list quickly, I can recommend Northern Ireland. Managed to get the Linfield as my first job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
numero uno gunner Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 @IgnorantLobster - It really depends on where you fancy starting. I was indecisive, so loaded a random range of leagues. Off the top of my head, I loaded: Northern Ireland (where I ended up starting with Dungannon), Republic of Ireland, Wales, Iceland, Finland, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, South Africa, China, South Korea and Australia. Essentially, I went down the route of wanting a top flight team as my first club, and waited until that happened. I was a long way away from top flight clubs in most of those leagues though! Looking back, I didn't have that much of a plan when I started out. Quite a few people on here started in a lower league in Europe and worked their way up, whereas I jumped from club to club. The beauty of this challenge is that there isn't a 'right' way to do it! I hope you keep us updated with your progress. It takes a little while to get into the challenge, but its worth it. @vikeologist - You've been doing well with Southend, but I'd guess you might have hit the wall with them. There's only so far you can take a small club I guess. Rather than moving onto another English club, or top flight European club, would you consider jumping to a top flight club elsewhere? Mexico, Brazil, Argentina or South Korea could offer you opportunities to win a few trophies and build your reputation further. Just a thought. @fadefaf - It seems like you've worked wonders at Clyde, and have definitely earned your chance at a bigger club. Good luck, and don't injure yourself doing the Poznan! @darren1983 - A good season in the top flight in South Africa. Is the plan to have a real crack at the league, or wait for a better opportunity (either in South Africa or elsewhere) and scarper? I think I'd be tempted to take up a role at one of the better clubs in the league if the chance arises. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Lobster- It's difficult to say exactly what level you can get a first job at. When the challenge started with FM15, it was possible to get a job in the top flight of S Africa or China for instance, but I believe if you're using 16.3 that's nop longer possible. To save you time, I don't believe it's possible to get a first job in S America anywhere. Possibly in Peru or the bottom Brazilian division, but I'm not convinced. I'd load quite a few nations up with all available divisions, and don't be in a hurry to get that first job. I waited a year for my job with Southend, and even that (getting a first job with a L1 side) seems to be impossible with 16.3. Being patient can save you a lot of time instead of taking a job at too low a level and having to grind your way up. @vikeologist - You've been doing well with Southend, but I'd guess you might have hit the wall with them. There's only so far you can take a small club I guess. Rather than moving onto another English club, or top flight European club, would you consider jumping to a top flight club elsewhere? Mexico, Brazil, Argentina or South Korea could offer you opportunities to win a few trophies and build your reputation further. Just a thought. The frustrating thing is that my ability to get jobs has taken a big hit in the last year. Tottenham laughed off my application, whereas a year ago I'd have got an interview. My reputation is quite high, and hasn't gone down since leaving Ghana, but I'm going to have problems getting a job i want. The thing is that I'm fairly sure I could help Southend win the Premier League eventually, but I want to get to 'the top' as quickly as possible and it's a calculation whether moving club will get me there quicker. Not winning the ACON was a big blow to my hopes of completing the challenge the quickest. First time i just wanted to complete it, but unless I make progress real soon I'll probably start again with FM17, assuming I'm able to buy the game in China. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 vikeologist, once you got the win in the Premier League, then I hope you could get big hopes when you compete in different clubs. As for the African nations, I suggest that you have to re-take your job in Ghana or coach Nigeria, so that by 2025, that's going to be a African Cup of Nations competition and also the Confederations Cup. I hope you would get big time for this once you finish coaching Southend. I would say it's hard to get a job because coaching Ghana is a mistake at the start. I hope also that you have to complete the challenge fairly for sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 It would be an ACON and Confederations Cup by 2025 if I was never to be knocked out of a cup that I hadn't won yet, but I'm not as lucky as that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 @darren1983 - A good season in the top flight in South Africa. Is the plan to have a real crack at the league, or wait for a better opportunity (either in South Africa or elsewhere) and scarper? I think I'd be tempted to take up a role at one of the better clubs in the league if the chance arises. Think this is going to be my last season with the Leopards, just can't compete with the big 3 teams and it's only going to get harder as a team in the 1st division just got a tycoon takeover and they're paying one player 32k a week - I spend 21K a week on my whole team! My wage bill is 900k a year, Orlando Pirates (biggest side in the league) spend 3.4m a year - this first division side is spending 9.5m this season Going to try and win a cup then bugger off I think (have added the English leagues and might add Ireland and/or Scotland before the season ends) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEarl Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Think this is going to be my last season with the Leopards, just can't compete with the big 3 teams and it's only going to get harder as a team in the 1st division just got a tycoon takeover and they're paying one player 32k a week - I spend 21K a week on my whole team! My wage bill is 900k a year, Orlando Pirates (biggest side in the league) spend 3.4m a year - this first division side is spending 9.5m this season Going to try and win a cup then bugger off I think (have added the English leagues and might add Ireland and/or Scotland before the season ends) That 1st division side must be a dream to take over if a opening occurs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 That 1st division side must be a dream to take over if a opening occurs. Yeah, they started the season slowly so was keeping an eye on them, but they're running away with the league now so not too hopeful of taking over Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Also just to ask - if a cup is only open to top flight teams does it still count towards my overall total? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcricky Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 The Start So, with summer coming up and plenty of free time on my hands I thought I’d have a crack at this. The leagues I have enabled are; Austria (top 2 divisions), Belgium (all 3 divisions), Denmark (all 3 divisions), England down to League 2, France (top 3 divisions), Portugal (top 2 divisions), South Africa (top 2 divisions) and Sweden (top 2 divisions.) I have followed all the rules, at the start of the game I am still a 19 year old, with my 20th birthday coming up in August. And with a young age comes a naivety, I have gone straight into looking for a job. After several refusals from Barnsley, Scunthorpe and Swindon, all in League 1, I looked deeper into the football league pyramid, League 2. The Accrington Stanley job became available as John Coleman left to go to Swindon. Almost instantly I was offered the job and on the 30th of July 2015 I was announced the Manager on a one year deal. Targets this year League 2: Top Half/Push for Play off FA Cup: No expectations Capital One Cup: No expectations JPT: Reach Area Final These targets may be quite optimistic as we are predicted to finish 17th, however with the right recruitment I believe that we can achieve these goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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