One Season Wonder

[pheelf]

The OSW Challenge

This is most definitely the season of the underdog in England. Leicester City, a team which most predicted before the season to get relegated have put in a strong title challenge. They have shown that it is possible for a relegation candidate to battle for the title which makes you wonder whether this sort of meteoric rise is possible in football manager

Observing their rise therefore gave the inspiration to invent the following challenge which I hope people will take part in and most of all enjoy

---

The Aim

Take over a club in the top division of any country in the world that has a media prediction of finishing bottom. Your job is to make them champions of that league at the end of the first season

The Rules

When creating the manager for the challenge, on the Choose Managerial Style screen you must tick both checkboxes that state 'Suggest badge based on CLUB NAME' & 'Suggest experience based on CLUB NAME'. As you need to get the team winning as quickly as possible to mount a title challenge, I feel this measure is necessary to enable the manager to be respected enough to be listened to especially if you want to try the challenge in a league of high reputation. It also provides balance so that you can't manage a team in a low reputation league with high experience and badges.

You are free to select as many leagues as you like although the challenge takes place in only one. You may choose a database of any size you desire. If you are sacked you must restart the challenge and you can loan and transfer whoever you like provided your board allows it. You must check the box marked 'Prevent use of the in game editor' on the selecting nations screen.

Updates

The minimum requirement would be a screenshot of the club being used to take on the challenge that has their media prediction within the screenshot. In addition a screenshot of the final league table should be shown. As it is quite a short challenge it would be nice to see monthly updates with the fixtures played but how much or how little beyond the minimum is up to you.

Difficulty

I'm unsure as to whether succeeding in this challenge is even possible within the confines of the game. There are definitely leagues where this will be a lot easier as the teams are more evenly matched which tend to be in the more obscure leagues, I would think it's near impossible in the major leagues around the world. As the advantages to the human manager tend to kick in over the longer term it will be interesting to see how players approach this challenge. If anyone can manage to win the league, it will be a really impressive achievement.

GOOD LUCK!!

Eligible Clubs

Spoiler

Argentina - Neuva Chicago

Australia - Wellington Phoenix

Austria - SV Grodig

Belarus - Dinamo Brest

Belgium - Waasland - Beveren

Brazil - Avai FC

Bulgaria - Montana

Chile - San Marcos de Arica

China - Shenxin

Colombia - Uniautonoma F.C.

Croatia - Zagreb

Czech Republic - Zlin

Denmark - Hobro IK

England - Bournemouth

Finland - KTP

France - GFC Ajaccio

Germany - Darmstadt

Greece - Kalloni

Holland - De Graafschap

Hong Kong (China) - Metro Gallery

Hungary - Bekescsaba

Iceland -Leiknir R.

India - Aizawl FC

Indonesia - Persiba

Ireland - Drogheda United

Israel - H. Acre

Italy - Frosinone

Malaysia - Polis DRM

Mexico - Puebla

Northern Ireland - Warrenpoint Town

Norway - Mjodalen

Peru - Union Comercio

Poland - Pogon

Portugal - Tondela

Romania - FC Voluntari

Russia - Ufa

Serbia - OFK Beograd

Scotland - Kilmarnock

Singapore - Balestier

Slovakia - Skalica

Slovenia - Krsko

South Africa - Jomo Cosmos

South Korea - Daejeon

Spain - Getafe

Sweden - Atvidabergs FF

Switzerland - Lugano

Turkey - Kayserispor

United States - New England

Ukraine - Goveria

Uruguay - Villa Teresa

Wales - Haverfordwest County

These are all leagues which come with the game but you are free to use added leagues should you want to

 

 

 

[TheEarl]

Interesting challenge. Should be able to play rather quickly but then you should really thinker around to master this one. But just to be clear, the team has to be predicted to finish dead last, not enough to be predicted to finish on a relegation spot?

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

As you can see here the club is predicted to finish in 20th position of the league. The State Championship will just be a warm up and not considered for the challenge purpose.

Pre-season + january update

Only managed to play 1 friendly in pre-season but players got some match practice from several reserve games. However we find our self not totally familiar with the tactic I want to play yet. So its good for me that it is only State Championship matches so far.

Transfers before the season:

Olberdam - Free Transfer - 29 years old - Brazilian - MC - 3,5 stars on Ast.Man. rating

Vicente - Free Transfer - 31 years old - Brazilian - DL/WBL - 4,0 stars on Ast.Man. rating

Hugo - Free Transfer - 29 years old - Brazilian - SC - 3,5 stars on Ast.Man. rating

Demerson - Free Transfer - 28 years old - Brazilian - DC - 3,5 stars on Ast.Man. rating

Currently the club now spends 226 pounds below their wage budget.

January matches

We started the season a bit poorly with 3 games in the State Championship. All of them against teams from lower divisions (below Tier 3.) but could only manage 4 points. However we won the last game comfortably and hopefully we are finding form before meeting the other Serie A teams in the State Championship and then moving on to the Serie A it self. Regarding the State Championship I promised the board a Top 4 position and that might prove hard enough as it is.

Avai FC - Guarani de Palhoca 1-1 Goal from: William.

Camboriu - Avai FC 0-1 No goals

Avai FC - Brusque 4-1 Goals from: Marquinhos, Rafinha, Romulo, Hugo.

Current league position: N/A (But 3rd in the State Champ.)

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. N/A

Matches played in league: 0

Cup progress: N/A

[pheelf]

Interesting challenge. Should be able to play rather quickly but then you should really thinker around to master this one. But just to be clear, the team has to be predicted to finish dead last, not enough to be predicted to finish on a relegation spot?

I think having the team predicted to finish last will give the biggest challenge as they should be the worst team in the league. I can understand how restrictive it is as it reduces the challenge to one club per nation. Although, if I were to extend it out to relegation spots that would make things really complicated as there are so many different rules for relegation in all the different countries.

[TheEarl]

I think having the team predicted to finish last will give the biggest challenge as they should be the worst team in the league. I can understand how restrictive it is as it reduces the challenge to one club per nation. Although, if I were to extend it out to relegation spots that would make things really complicated as there are so many different rules for relegation in all the different countries.

I totally agree, just wanted to clarify it so there was no chance of misunderstanding. This since you wrote on the top about Leicester predicted to be relegated not necessarily finishing bottom. But for challenge purposes I am totally fine with you.

As for finance rule: Is it ok to spend slightly above budget as long as the club is ok with it, or do you need to have wage spending below wage budget specifically?

What do u think of the outlay for my first update?

[pheelf]

I totally agree, just wanted to clarify it so there was no chance of misunderstanding. This since you wrote on the top about Leicester predicted to be relegated not necessarily finishing bottom. But for challenge purposes I am totally fine with you.

As for finance rule: Is it ok to spend slightly above budget as long as the club is ok with it, or do you need to have wage spending below wage budget specifically?

What do u think of the outlay for my first update?

With regards to the finances, maybe I should clear that up as I meant that you can spend whatever your board will allow you to get away with, so I'll edit and reword that. Your update is very good and that should work out just fine. I'm also going to add a list of playable clubs to the opening post which I feel might be helpful

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

February update

No new transfers this month. But we are beginning to get a bit more familiarized with the tactic. However we played far tougher opponents this month and slipped one position in the State Championship.

February matches

Joinville - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: Romulo

Criciuma - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: Romulo

Avai FC - Figuierense 0-0 No goals

Metropolitano (SC) - Avai FC 1-2 Goals from: William, Hugo.

Current league position: N/A (But 4rd in the State Champ.)

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. N/A

Matches played in league: 0

Cup progress: N/A (will play Mogi Mirim in 1st round)

[Sankalan]

Wow, Brazil!!! That is a dare, really

...or down to 2nd pos.

I am impressed, Really

btw, are expansion packs allowed on this challenge? Might attempt once my laptop is up and running...

[Joe.]

I'm deep into a save at the minute, but if I were to get sacked (which is entirely possible in the current season) I may take a little break and give this a go.

[pheelf]

Wow, Brazil!!! That is a dare, really

I am impressed, Really

btw, are expansion packs allowed on this challenge? Might attempt once my laptop is up and running...

Yes, you may use added leagues if you would like

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

March update

No new transfers this month either. We are now very familiar with the tactical approach, but yet again it was a mediocre month. We got 4 points from the remaining 2 matches of the opening stage of State Championship. This gave us 3rd position and we advanced to 2nd Stage like my promise to the board. Well there we play 6 matches against the other top 4 teams so twice against each opponents. 1-1-1 in the first 3 matches, and we find ourself in 3rd spot still, with 3 matches to go we need to win all 3 or get very lucky. The cup will start in April, while the real league starts only in May.

March matches

Avai FC - Chapecoense 0-0 No goals

Inter de Lages - Avai FC 2-3 Goals from: Romulo 2, Hugo.

Avai FC - Camboriu 1-1 Goals from: Rafinha

Brusque - Avai FC 0-1 Goals from: Hugo

Avai FC - Chapecoense 0-1 No goals

Current league position: N/A (But 3rd in the State Champ.)

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. N/A

Matches played in league: 0

Cup progress: N/A (will play Mogi Mirim in 1st round)

Top goalscorer: Romulo - 5 goals

Most assists: Renato - 6 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,56 Av.rat in 12 games

[vikeologist]

I'm going with Wellington Phoenix from the Australian league. They seem like the easiest option. Only 10 teams, short season. Also the players at the club suit my tactical approach, and I think this is primarily a tactical challenge. Clubs predicted to finish bottom won't have much in the way of transfer funds, and it is likely that most of us will start with little scouting knowledge, although we may bring our real-world or previous attempt knowledge to bear.

How will people feel if people keep trying the challenge with the same team? I only plan to give the challenge one go, because I'm enjoying my new Ultimate save, but if I finish 2nd.....

Anyway, as I say, tactically it looks good, in that I don't have a situation where my best players are wingers who I don't use at the moment.

[TheEarl]

I'm going with Wellington Phoenix from the Australian league. They seem like the easiest option. Only 10 teams, short season. Also the players at the club suit my tactical approach, and I think this is primarily a tactical challenge. Clubs predicted to finish bottom won't have much in the way of transfer funds, and it is likely that most of us will start with little scouting knowledge, although we may bring our real-world or previous attempt knowledge to bear.

How will people feel if people keep trying the challenge with the same team? I only plan to give the challenge one go, because I'm enjoying my new Ultimate save, but if I finish 2nd.....

Anyway, as I say, tactically it looks good, in that I don't have a situation where my best players are wingers who I don't use at the moment.

For me if I fail with Avai FC, I might give it another go, but then it will be with a different team in a different league.

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

April update

Can you ever feel you have an awful month, but yet you didn't loose a single match? Well thats how I felt after April. We played 6 matches, drew 5 and won only 1. In addition to that we got star striker Romelu injured for about 3 months. Signed youngster Alexsandro on loan from Bahia for the rest of the season to provide cover upfront during injury times. We lost out already in the first round of the cup due to away goals against Mogi Mirim. We managed to get into 2nd place of State Championship. Thus qualifying for a 2-leg final against Camboriu. The team we had played 3 times already this season and never won any of them. Can we win this time?

April matches

Mogi Mirim - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: Olberdam

Camboriu - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: Hugo

Avai FC - Brusque 0-0 No Goals

Avai FC - Mogi Mirim 2-2 Goals from: Rafinha, Romelu

Chapecoense - Avai FC 1-2 Goals from: Marquinhos, William

Avai FC - Camboriu 1-1 Goals from: Renato

Current league position: N/A (But 2nd in the State Champ.)

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. N/A

Matches played in league: 0

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals

Top goalscorer: Romulo - 6 goals

Most assists: Renato - 7 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,60 Av.rat in 17 games

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

May update

The month started with a loss in the State Championship Final. We could never beat Camboriu even in 5 attempts. The lower league teams AI-manager actually did a mini version of this challenge. I don't know if they where predicted bottom of the State Championship, but sure they where predicted somewhere between 6th and 10th position of the 10 teams. They never lost a match in 17 games and won the championship deservedly. We started the League season with a loss at home to Cruzeiro. But it was actually a close fought game that could have gone either way. We have picked up a bit after that and find ourselves in a healthy 6th position after 5 games. Some more injuries meant that I went to the board and asked for more money. It came in form of an extra 250K transfer budget, and I will look for more decent players to cover for my injuries.

May matches

Camboriu - Avai FC 1-0 No goals

Avai FC - Cruzeiro 0-2 No goals

Chapecoense - Avai FC 2-2 Goals from: William, Hugo

Avai FC - Internacional 1-0 Goals from: Wilker

Vasco da Gama - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: William

Avai FC - Sport Recife 2-0 Goals from: Hugo, William

Current league position: 6th (Finalist of State Championship)

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 5 points up to leaders Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro

Matches played in league: 5

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals

Top goalscorer: Hugo - 7 goals

Most assists: Renato - 7 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,35 Av.rat in 23 games

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

June update

A really bad month. My injury crippled team could not resist their opponents. We lost 4 matches and won only two and I can say I will not win this challenge with Avai FC. I will play the season to it ends (or I get sacked) though to see how good we can perform when the injured players come back. The 4 losses means we slipped in the table and the gap to the leaders have widened so much it will take a miracle to come back.

I tried the Brazilian league knowing the financial difference between top and bottom are huge. But I like the league and have had success there before. Also the hope of playing State Championship would boost the moral didn't turn out like that. If it was a different team with easier opponents in the State Championship that might have been a good way to go. But for other contestants I recommend a different league to try out this challenge. I for sure will sometime in the future.

June matches

Gremio - Avai FC 4-1 Goals from: William

Avai FC - Sao Paulo 2-4 Goals from: William 2

Atletico Mineiro - Avai FC 2-4 Goals from: Alexsandro 2, Olberdam, William

Avai FC - Flamengo 0-2 No goals

Figueirense - Avai FC 3-0 No goals

Avai FC - Atletico Paranaense 3-0 Goals from: William 2, Hugo

Current league position: 11th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 11 points up to leaders Cruzeiro

Matches played in league: 11

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals

Top goalscorer: William - 12 goals

Most assists: Renato - 9 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,17 Av.rat in 29 games

[pheelf]

Time to give this a go myself and see if I can't pull off the impossible.

Persiba Balikpapan

The Choice

I haven't been as brave like some of the others taking the challenge and decided to try in one of the weaker nations in the game so I decided to play in Indonesia. Maybe it's because my scouting knowledge is atrocious at the very start but when I look around the squads of the other teams in the league there isn't a team which is so significantly stronger that I feel that I can't overcome with the right tactics and a few new signings.

Setup - Shows that I have checked the box which prevents the use of the IGE.

Club - The club I have chosen along with the media prediction of last

Manager - With the required tickboxes selected

I decided to weight my manager attributes the way I have as I feel that as I'm only going to be at the club for a short time that those attributes will be most helpful although I could be wrong about that.

The Club

Squad - Not the worst it could have been and my main strengths lie in the middle of the park so I will be looking to play at least 3 in the central midfield in a defensive triangle as I don't have any central attacking midfielders. The wide players though are a great concern as I don't have a good fullback or winger which I need to somehow address as I am going to need to use the width of the park in order to break teams down

Finances - I'm pleasantly surprised by these to be honest and the massive space I have on the wage bill will certainly help me to strengthen the areas where we are incredibly weak, I'm really liking the ability to scout Brazil as maybe I can unearth a few gems there which will help us

Tactics

I feel that playing a slightly lopsided 4-1-2-3 is my best bet while on the counter strategy with the objective being that when I recover possession I try to transition quickly to attack and find the wingers to cross to my Advanced Forward and onrushing Central Midfielder (attack). I may alter some of the roles depending on what transfers I can bring in and add some TIs and PIs but as a basic template this is what I'll be trying to build around

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

August Update

A month solely filled with friendlies as I try desperately to bring in new players and familiarize them with the tactic. I have been busy trying to get in new players but I have come to discover that there is a 3 foreign player limit rule in the league which means that I need to rethink buying a bunch of Brazilians and filling up the squad. I've also come to realize that a lot of the highest ability players are quite old which are Indonesian so I'm having difficulty with that also.

Transfers - I was pleased to get Lestaluhu as he is a young talented defensive midfielder who I signed in installments over 40 months. Outside of him however I opted to sign experience as that is all we can get when it comes to free transfers. I will be looking around for a AMR, AML, GK and ST to bolster our ranks as we still have masses of room on the wage budget and we are quite weak in those areas

Tactically, I decided to add the PI 'Fewer Risky Passes' to my Full Backs and Defensive Midfielder

August Fixtures

Well that was pretty underwhelming, especially the abject humiliation we suffered against our U21s. I'm glad to see us win our final friendly before the season starts for morale purposes. Unlike in Europe I know I still have until the end of September to try and acquire some new players which if those fixtures are anything to go by we are going to need.

Looking forward to the upcoming month:

PSM (H) - They are expected to finish in mid-table so I hope that I can grab a win to start the season

PBR (A) - Another side predicted to finish in mid-table so a win would be nice against them also but as it is away I'd settle for a draw

Mitra Kukar (H) - A must win game as they are predicted to finish in 15th so I expect to win at home to them

Persela (H) - A team that are also expected to finish in a lowly position so I would like to win

Overall we should be aiming to finish the month with at least 10 points as if we are to challenge for the league title then this is one of the easiest run of games we are going to have. If we can start well that might give our morale a nice boost.

League Table

Will post once we start the season

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

September Update

It has been a pretty disappointing start to the season if I'm being honest but I'm hoping that things will start to improve now that the transfer window has shut and we can begin to settle down the squad and familiarize the tactic

Transfers - I think I have strengthened as much as I could hope for during the transfer window and I am pleased to acquire some good players from other teams in the league. Seeing as I have basically bought in two starting lineups worth of players it comes as no surprise to me that they haven't gelled yet so I will be working hard to get the tactic familiar and then work on the team cohesion in training.

Tactically, I made a number of changes which were prompted by the opening day result which I'll explain in the next section

September Results

PSM (H) - What an embarrassment this turned out to be. We were terrible and were absolutely destroyed down the flanks. Seeing that, I've decided to push my Wingers back into the MR and ML positions. We conceded 3 headed goals from crosses and one tapped in from a low cross. For 2 of those headed goals my goalkeeper must have thought he was superman and came flying out of the goal only to miss the ball completely and allow the striker to head into an empty net. We conceded a penalty for the other goal which was from...you guessed it a cross into our box. I'm also ditching the counter mentality as it didn't work out and my forward line was so isolated therefore I'm switching to Control and putting another striker up the pitch while putting in the Close Down Less PI for my DM.

PBR (A) - Much better after the changes were made to the tactic, the goal we conceded was a goal of quality with an impressive passing move from the opposition so I'm not too disappointed

Mitra Kukar (H) - This game was rather frustrating but we were in the game much more so an improvement on our last home game

Persela (H) - We went 2-0 down in the first half which had me wondering what I'd got myself into but we showed some gumption and fought back well to rescue a draw, we might have won but I was just glad to arrest the slide

October Fixtures

Semen Padang (A) - Coming up against Semen (don't laugh) will be a challenge as they are expected to finish 8th so we'll have to try our best to make ourselves hard to beat

Persib (H) - I'm hoping that we can give them a good game as they are expected to finish near the top of the league a point would be welcome if we can't get all three

Sriwijaya FC (A) - Top side expected to be runners up so if we can draw it would be a good result

Perseru (A) - Relegation rivals so we need to win this game

Bali United (H) - If we are going to start to rise up the table we need to win these sort of games against mid-table opposition

Expected points : 8/15

League Table

7 points off the top isn't the best of starts but at least nobody has a 100% win record and there is only a gap of 3 points between 2nd and 15th. I think this is a good sign as it could indicate that there isn't too much difference between the quality of the teams which should mean that if we can get on a good run then we could go flying up the table

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

October Update

It is beginning to look impossible already as we continue to struggle

October Results

Semen Padang (A) - We were lucky to get a point as we equalized in the 90th minute when I put the mentality to Overload

Persib (H) - Considering their position in the table this is a good point

Sriwijaya FC (A) - Another very decent point against one of the better sides in the division even though we gifted them an own goal

Perseru (A) - We didn't show up at all here and deserved the loss

Bali United (H) - This loss against one of our rivals shows just how bad our defending has been

The problem we have is that we just can't win and seem to concede so many goals that are assists from crosses it's ridiculous

November Fixtures

Arema (A) - This is a massive game for us and we need to get a win to turn things around

Persipura (H) - It will be difficult but we have to start winning at home to stand any chance

Expected points : 6/6

League Table

Rock bottom and bereft of confidence, this is going to take some turnaround but I'll continue until it's mathematically impossible for us to win the title which might not be too long if we continue the way we're going

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

November Update

Oh dear...

November Results

Arema (A) - Well...when you give the opposition a penalty and score an own goal in the first half you're always going to be up against it...talk about shooting yourselves in the foot

Persipura (H) - Another abysmal performance

December Fixtures

Barito Putra (A) - If we can't beat them who are having a season just as wretched as us then who can we beat?

Gresik United (A) - Anything would be a bonus at this point

Borneo (H) - We have drawn with them in the friendlies we have played so it would be nice to win

Persebaya (A) - We should be beating them

Expected points : ?/12

League Table

Never mind the title we seem to be getting cut adrift at the bottom of the table...we must start winning as we are the only team which still hasn't

[vikeologist]

Challenge Discussion.

As mentioned I'm planning on just one go at this challenge, but my attempt has been hampered by not being used to the registration rules for Australia. Any unused player can just up and leave the club with a chunk of compensation money. If I were to try again in Australia there would be two options. one would be to start agin with Wellington from the start. The other would be to take part in the 16/17 league with whatever club was predicted to finish bottom that season. As things stand that is clearly against the rules of the challenge, but might be better than being able to start again with the same club with all the added knowledge of the squad. It may be more interesting as well.

Pre-season and October Update

We're into the semi-finals of the cup, chiefly because we've only played lower league punchbags.

Current league position: 7th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 4 points

Matches played in league: 3

Cup progress: Into the semi-finals

Top goalscorer: Blake Powell 5 goals in 6 matches, but now injured for 5-6 weeks.

Most assists: 2 players - 2

Top performer Roly Bonevacia 7.68 A.R.

[TheEarl]

A small side note: Do you know of any teams that actually did this in real life? Leicester is close but for sure most predicted Bournemouth bottom of this years Premier League.

My local team in Norway, Moss FK did this way back in 1987. That time all norwegian football was amateur football. Moss FK had been promoted from Tier 2 in 1986, and was predicted to go straight back down and predicted bottom of the 12 team league.

Key factors for the achievement was the manager: Nils Arne Eggen who later with his local team Rosenborg won the League 11 consecutive times and qualified for 8 consecutive Champions League. In addition he had some great players for a newly promoted team, amongst them Einar Jan Aas who was supposed to be captain for Brian Cloughs Nottingham Forest. Due to injury he quit his proffesional career and returned to Moss FK to stear them to a famous league victory.

The league was decided in the very final game between Molde and Moss at Moldes venue. Moss won 2-1 which was enough to claim 1st position. Molde finished 2nd. Funny enough Molde was predicted to finish 11th and second to last as they where the other newcomer team in the league.

[Sankalan]

I am pretty new to football, so cannot give an example, but in the Indian Premier League(Cricket) in the first season, everyone said tht Rajasthan Royals was the poorest teaam in the league, but they went on to win that season. Also, Deccan Chargers ended up at the bottom of the table, so come next season, Deccan Chargers were called the weakest team. And Deccan chargers won that edition.

But then, If someone can point out a real life manager who has taken a 7th tier English team to Champions league(Dafuge) or San Marino to the World Cup or Won all continental Club and National Championships within 29 years(or even better 22 years) I would surely be <insert appropriate expression>

[vikeologist]

If it's ever been done it's probably one of these

https://in.news.yahoo.com/football-tales-unexpected-10-surprise-233301096.html

but i can't find historical odds for the league campaigns as a whole.

[pheelf]

A small side note: Do you know of any teams that actually did this in real life? Leicester is close but for sure most predicted Bournemouth bottom of this years Premier League.

My local team in Norway, Moss FK did this way back in 1987. That time all norwegian football was amateur football. Moss FK had been promoted from Tier 2 in 1986, and was predicted to go straight back down and predicted bottom of the 12 team league.

Key factors for the achievement was the manager: Nils Arne Eggen who later with his local team Rosenborg won the League 11 consecutive times and qualified for 8 consecutive Champions League. In addition he had some great players for a newly promoted team, amongst them Einar Jan Aas who was supposed to be captain for Brian Cloughs Nottingham Forest. Due to injury he quit his proffesional career and returned to Moss FK to stear them to a famous league victory.

The league was decided in the very final game between Molde and Moss at Moldes venue. Moss won 2-1 which was enough to claim 1st position. Molde finished 2nd. Funny enough Molde was predicted to finish 11th and second to last as they where the other newcomer team in the league.

I struggle to name any teams which were considered the worst in the league that went on to win the title. Other than Nottingham Forest in 1977/78 (although I don't know if they were considered the worst team at the time) I can't really think of any other teams. Hellas Verona's winning of Serie A in 1984/85 comes kind of close but they got promoted to Serie A for the 1982/83 season and had performed well before they went on to win it 3 years after promotion so it's not over the same timescale. I can name plenty of occasions when heavily unfancied teams have gone on to win cups (Greece 2004, Denmark 1992, Wimbledon 1988 etc) but not leagues.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2010/09/21/2129048/top-10-promoted-teams-who-stunned-their-top-league

Some of the clubs listed on the link above give some interesting examples but again I'm not entirely sure whether they were considered the worst teams in the league before those seasons started. Maybe somebody with an in depth knowledge of a really obscure league might be able to give a further example. I feel it may be tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack though as such events are incredibly rare which makes Leicester's success all the more astonishing. I'm pretty sure that even though FM lists Bournemouth as being the worst team that there were plenty of pundits before the season that tipped Leicester to finish bottom, this link shows some of the pre season predictions.

Before the season started a lot of pundits saw Leicester as the weakest team especially when they hired Claudio Ranieri which many considered a poor choice that would be incapable of motivating a team likely to be in a relegation fight and were quite derogatory toward him, how wrong can you be?

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

July update

The month started out according to "script" with a loss 1-2 to Corinthians. But we came back with 7 points from the next 3 games and climbed the table a bit. Before we lost again to Palmeiras 1-3 in the final game of the month. Best game was definitely when we beat Santos by heavy margin, while the disappointment was playing 0-0 at home to Ponte Preta who was 19th at the time. We missed a penalty in that game, played for long time 11-10 men but then had two players sent of ourselves in the later parts of the game. The gap up to league leaders are now 13 points with 22 games remaining.

July matches

Corinthians - Avai FC 2-1 Goals from: Demerson

Avai FC - Ponte Preta 0-0 No Goals

Goias - Avai FC 2-5 Goals from: Eder Luis 2, William 2, Marquinhos

Avai FC - Santos 4-0 Goals from: Eder Luis 2, Vicente, Romulo

Palmeiras - Avai FC 3-1 Goals from: Romulo

Current league position: 9th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 13 points up to leaders Atletico Mineiro

Matches played in league: 16

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals, about to enter Copa Sudamericana

Top goalscorer: William - 14 goals

Most assists: Renato - 9 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,13 Av.rat in 34 games

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

August update

August was a busy month with 7 games. 6 league games and a Copa Sudamericana match. I honestly didn't even know we where in the competition. We started off on the wrong foot loosing 0-4 to Coritiba in a match that was even but we where awful infant of both goals. Then we bounced back with a 2-1 win against Joinville. Then a match between us and table-neighbor Fluminense which we lost 2-3. Then season turned for the second half. We started off with match against the good side Cruzeiro. We lost at home in the opening of the season, but managed a draw this time around. Chaperones up next which we drew in the start of the season , this time at home we won 1-0. Then we met International twice. First in Copa Sudamericana at home and won 3-0, then away match in the league and we won again 3-2. The best league run in a month since the opening month saw us grab 10 of 18 points maximum. We climbed to 8th but the gap to league leaders widened by 1 point to 14.

August matches

Avai FC - Coritiba 0-4 No goals

Joinville - Avai FC 1-2 Goals from: William 2

Fluminense - Avai FC 3-2 Goals from: Eder Luis, Romulo

Cruzeiro - Avai FC 1-1 Goals from: Romulo

Avai FC - Chapecoense 1-0 Goals from: Eder Luis

Avai FC - Internacional 3-0 Goals from: William, Olberdam, Romulo

Internacional - Avai FC 2-3 Goals from: Romulo 2, William

Current league position: 8th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 14 points up to leaders Palmer's

Matches played in league: 22

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals, currently playing International in Copa Sudamericana 2nd Preliminary round, away match to go 3-0 up.

Top goalscorer: William - 18 goals

Most assists: Renato - 11 assists

Top performer Renato - 8,04 Av.rat in 41 games

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

December Update

Well at least we exorcised one demon by landing our first win but this is proving to be a real struggle and morale is fading. Mercifully, next month the transfer window opens and I will be using the opportunity to try and get in some quality defenders as the ones we have are pretty awful and I feel if we could keep a clean sheet once in a while we might just win some games as we don't have as much of problem scoring it seems.

December Results

Barito Putra (A) - Wasn't overly impressed that it took a 90th minute own goal from them to rescue a point for us

Gresik United (A) - At last!!...It was a topsy turvy kind of game swinging one way then the next but we managed to win and that's all I care about

Borneo (H) - I was gutted to lose this game the way we did, it was 3-3 after 25 minutes and then nothing else much happened until they scored a header from a corner in the 88th minute

Persebaya (A) - Yet another game where poor defending costs us the win, we shouldn't have to score 2-3 goals every match just to get a point

PSMS (H) - 1st leg of the 1st round of the cup I thought might be useful to raise morale but it didn't really work out that way

Points gained : 5/12

January Fixtures

Persija (H) - As it is one of only 2 home games in the month we need to win this to close the gap to safety to 5 points. Lose this game and it's going to set a terrible tone for the rest of the month

PSMS (A) - We should win but who knows at this point, it's not all that important either way

Persiram (A) - This looks like a tough game, if we could manage a draw that would be great

PSM (A) - Another hard game, a draw would be welcome

PBR (H) - I want to try for a win

Mitra Kukar (A) - A must win game

Expected points : 11/15

League Table

20 points off the lead or alternatively 7 wins, it's going to take a miracle and us winning practically every single game until the end of the season which isn't going to happen. I'll keep going until we get sacked (although my job status is stable) or it becomes mathematically impossible. I will be looking for some pacy defenders (relatively) as my back line as it stands is incredibly slow and we need to stop players just running in behind us or into space to receive crosses

[TheEarl]

The Earls One Season Challenge

Club: Avai FC - Brazilian Serie A + Santa Caterina State Championship

September update

A month of ups and downs. It started well but ended so badly. 2 wins 1 draw and 3 losses in the league. It means with 10 matches to play the mathematical chance is still there, but the real opportunity is long gone. We are now 20 points behind league leaders Palmeiras. Going to play to the end of the season still as we have a chance of winning Copa Sudamericana still and even if that is not an object of this challenge I would like to see what we can do there as well as see where we can finish in the league. We are now down to 10th position.

September matches matches

Avai FC - Vasco da Gama 2-1 Goals from: Rafael Longuine, Romulo

Sport Recife - Avai FC 2-3 Goals from: William 2, Romulo

Avai FC - Gremio 1-1 Goals from: Rafinha

Internacional - Avai FC 2-1 Goals from: Hugo

Avai FC - Atletico Mineiro 0-1 No goals

Avai FC - Bolivar 3-0 Goals from: Hugo 2, William

Flamengo - Avai FC 1-0 No goals

Sao Paulo - Avai FC 2-1 Goals from: William

Current league position: 10th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 20 points up to leaders Palmer's

Matches played in league: 28

Cup progress: Lost in 1st round to Mogi Mirim on away goals, currently playing International in Copa Sudamericana 1st Round, 3-0 up after first leg.

Top goalscorer: William - 22 goals

Most assists: Renato - 13 assists

Top performer Vicente - 7,84 Av.rat in 44 games

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

January Update

I think we have been taken over by the fear of losing now and should we get a lead in a game it has almost become an inevitability that we won't win and end up drawing the game. I made a few tactical alterations but it still isn't giving us any wins. If you add to the mix the fact that I'm on an ultimatum from the board who want 6 points from 5 games then it's fair to say that the fat lady may not be singing but she's definitely clearing her throat and this is likely to be the penultimate update

January Results

Persija (H) - Another game, another draw

PSMS (A) - Was poor to be eliminated in the cup but we're in terrible form and morale is appalling so it was always going to be difficult to rouse the team to put in a good performance

Persiram (A) - They were 3-0 up in 25 minutes so we had no chance, the board weren't happy but I was able to convince them that the defenders made a lot of mistakes which they did and they overlooked the result

PSM (A) - Another morale sapping mauling which led to another board meeting, this time they didn't want to accept the excuse so set me the points target

PBR (H) - Better but not the win we so desperately need

Mitra Kukar (A) - Another game where we threw away the 3 points

Points gained : 3/15 (An atrocious return this month)

February Fixtures

Persela (A) - It's the easiest game we are going to have this month so we must try to get a win

Semen Padang (H) - They are doing really well, here's hoping we can get something out of the them

Sriwijaya FC (H) - Another daunting looking fixture which will be the final game of the ultimatum (provided we make it that far). I really hope I don't need to get something against them or I'm getting my P45

Persib (A) - It doesn't get any easier...I may not even get to play this fixture anyway

Expected points : 4/12

League Table

Well...I don't see myself as the greatest ever player of FM but even still I would have liked to at least been competitive in the relegation fight. 4 points off 17th place and 12 points off safety is pretty rubbish really

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

February Update

I don't know whether to laugh or cry really. Where has that form suddenly come from? We are almost near the end now though as mathematically it's only just still possible to overtake 1st and that possibility will go at some point in the next month, as I don't wish to proceed with the relegation fight I'll resign when that happens and post the final league table

February Results

Persela (A) - In the game dubbed 'El Sackico' we were comfortable winners which gave us our 2nd win of the season. It also led to Persela's manager being shown the door

Semen Padang (H) - This was a shock but interestingly totally deserved, they didn't really look like troubling us which was nice to see

Sriwijaya FC (H) - Another surprising win against a team in the upper reaches of the table, a little more uncomfortable this time but still deserved

Persib (A) - After 3 wins in a row I thought we might complete the month unbeaten and it looked good as we went into half time at 1-1 but they scored their winner in the 50th minute and we couldn't come back

Points gained : 9/12 (Championship winning form...shame we didn't start the season like this as we might have been looking at a completely different picture)

March Fixtures

Perseru (H) - After our good form I don't think we should fear a home game against them and I will be looking to win to keep the game going

Bali United (A) - We should try to give them a game and see what we can get

Arema (H) - More than likely the game will be over by this point but if not we should be aiming to win

Persipura (A) - If it's still going a draw would be a decent result

Expected points : ?/12

League Table

10 games remain for a total of 30 points on offer. We are 27 points behind the leaders so we are on the edge of this challenge being over

[vikeologist]

November Update

First the good news. We're into the Cup final. The bad news, we're bottom of the table. No league wins this month, and bad defeats in our last 3 matches.

Actually, this isn't the end of the world, due to the fact that the league seems to go into some kind of playoff after 27 games. We just need to get up to at least 6th, and with just 10 teams, that's just a 3 point margin.

However, apart from the cup semi, we seem to be playing worse and worse. I'm much less optimistic than i was after the first month.

Current league position: 10th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 12 points

Matches played in league: 8

Cup progress: Into the final

Top goalscorer: 2 players on 6 goals

Most assists: Troy Danaskos - 4

Top performer Roly Bonevacia 7.34 A.R.

[pheelf]

Well my game crashed after the last update and the latest autosave I had was on the day of the Persela game which annoyed me greatly. I therefore decided to holiday the fixtures with the assistant playing my tactics up until March. Surprisingly all the results came out the same (WWWL) the first time of trying and even though the league table was different the scenario was pretty much the same

[pheelf]

Persiba Balikpapan

March Update

Seeing our results up until the point I resigned is seriously making me want to have another try with Persiba and this time play the tactic I've changed to from the very start. I changed the mentality to Standard, pushed my DM up to CM for a flat 4-4-2 and made my RCM a CM(S) while I changed my LCM to a DLP(D). I also changed my DF(S) to a DLF(S), my W(A) to W(S) and added the TI 'Hit Early Crosses'. The transformation has been remarkable.

March Results

Perseru (H) - This was a really comfortable win in the end and we actually looked a good team during the game

Bali United (A) - WOW!!...What makes this even more extraordinary is that it could have easily been an even bigger win if we took all the good chances we created. We completely outclassed them and it wasn't even like there was any extenuating circumstances for them like having to play with 10 men or serious injury, we just humiliated them in front of their own fans

Arema (H) - We probably should have won this one too but once again sloppy defending cost us

Persipura (A) - After the last game it became mathematically impossible so I resigned before I had the chance the play this game, the caretaker manager won the game in the end

Points gained : 7/9

Final League Table

They still got relegated as after that game against Persipura their form just collapsed again, no doubt because they weren't playing my tactic but at least I gave them a fighting chance and they didn't finish bottom.

[vikeologist]

December Update

Well, at least we recorded a win. still bottom of the table and 6 points away from a Finals Series slot for the top 6. Can't say it's going well, but the thing about the A-League is that where there's life, there's hope.

At least i have the Cup Final in January to look forward to.

Current league position: 10th

Points gap to leader or down to 2nd pos. 18 points

Matches played in league: 13

Cup progress: Into the final

Top goalscorer: 2 players on 7 goals

Most assists: Troy Danaskos - 5

Top performer Roly Bonevacia 7.34 A.R. (He's been injured)

[Sankalan]

Because I am simplistic, I will do this challenge with FC Pune City in Hero Indian Super League. Currently trying to edit a fmf file to get the transfer windows and schedule right

[Sankalan]

Okay, I am skipping through the Initial screenshots. Basically, I have made only 5 additions to the team:1*GK 2*DC on loan from Fiorentina(Although due to 6 foreign player limit, only the GK will get game time) and brought in Visnu Maharaj and Aman Verma on frees.

Here is my tactic:

From hereon, I will share news items pertaining to every individual match, as there are only 14. Keep in mind that my target is to finish 4th or better, as thereafter, there are playoffs to decide the winner.

[Sankalan]

So, we start off against League Favourites ATK at home. And this happens:

[TheEarl]

Good to see you back playing the game Sankalan

[Sankalan]

Thank you Earl

Okay, two more games are done.

This is the first:

Nice game, We got a penalty at the right time. So pretty much the same tactics, and a new result.

Now here is the second.

Some might be happy with a draw. Not me. Because we were leading for a long time, and then I realised why I should not play my Indian keepers. Bawdekar decided to play hero and came off the line to snatch the bal from Balwant singh. Ofcourse the ball was not caught and went behind him. Now we are always taught to never look back. Bawdekar took it seriously and did not turn back, so Singh could overtak him and kick the ball into an empty net, and the game calls it a 'well timed finish'

Due to international callups, we had our next match postponed. So, now, we will be playing 3 times in 4 days. Wow!

[Sankalan]

So Now for our 3 game 4 days:

Well, we attacked better, they defended better. We were slightly better overall, but shared the points.

Yes, we were lucky. Could have done without the perfect defense we have.

I switched to a 5-defender formation here. Apparently it worked.

[Sankalan]

So, Basically, the win with the 5 defender formation lured me to continue using it.

Well, nothing to say here.

Or here. Both matches were boring.

Although, boring is the last word I can use here. But we need to win. And next up we go to Kolkata to take on the only team that defeated us

[Sankalan]

It was a big day next, for e were challenged to revenge our home defeat against Kolkata at the Salt Lake Stadium. It ould also lead us to a 9 match Unbeaten run if we did.

Well, If you google up, ATK won the 2014 season in real life, and this is probably why. So mch for our unbeaten run.

And finally we win!!! Dudu showed class with a hattrick. From this match on, though, we are without Visnu Maharaj, our best Indian Centre Back

And again. The league is so short that a couple of wins can change all. If we win our Next Match against Kerala, we will secure a playoff spot. Northeast and Kolkata are already in the playoffs.

[leonavich]

This is interesting, but virtually impossible. I agree one of the more likely would be in the A-League, however in a league such as that, is the minor premiership required or just winning in the finals after the playoffs?

I may give this a go if I ever move on from my San Marino save. Does it require FM16 or can we use the worst predicted team on our preferred version of the game?

[Sankalan]

If it is possible, it is possible in the ISL.

The Kerala game was not just won, it was smashed by Dudu. And the last game just remains a formality.

And we dominated my Home team. So, off to the Playoffs. Here is the league table

Somehow, Kolkata managet to finish second, so we are up against Kolkata in the Semis.(Actually, in the game, pairings are decided by drawing, not by places as in real life, but we were still drawn against Kolkata)

[Sankalan]

Well, we geared up to face Kolkata for the third time in the season, and I was hoping to get third time lucky

And it did not happen. Bolado did score a consolation, but we lost 2-1 at home.

We had to travel to Kolkata. The journey was gloomy and everyone was already making up their excuses on why they lost. And then this happened

It took us 4 attempts, but it happened at the right time.

Now, we had to play the final against Chennayyin FC!!!

[Sankalan]

One thing i missed in the last update was that I am again using Bawdekar as my goalie, assuming that with 5 defenders, he cannot do much wrong, ad it allows me to make space for an additional Foreign outfielder. Vishnu Maharaj was also back for the playoffs. We went to Chennai hoping to defeat the team that would go on to win the League in 2015(Real life):

And we won it!! Dudu worked his magic again. Now we had to only defend our lead at home.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

It was actually looking difficult after Jeje's goal, but we held our nerves and scored twice in the second leg!!!

[Sankalan]

As an epilogue, I would like to acknowledge that it is pretty easy to win here in this league with the botto team, due to the franchise system:I quoted examples from the IPL and ISL is just its poorer cousin. The media itself was not very good:

As you see, the top 3 teams according to the league stage were supposed to finish in the bottom half.

Finally, There were some differences from real lif in the game:

• The league matches are always played on in a day(2 sometimes, but rarely) and 2 matches never take place simultaneously. I could not get this to work even with offset dates. But this is only cosmetic.
  
• There is a rule limiting to 6 foreigners at most at any time on field. But you can have more foreigners in the subs, which was not the case here.
  
• Many foreign teams have stakes in these teams, in my case it was Fiorentina, but it is not likely for them to loan players. Tis could not be replicated in the game
  
• there is no way of explaining to the game that India has two separate legue structures, ISL an I League. So ISL was made a child of I League
  
• The final is one legged in a neutral venue, here it was two legged
  
• 
  

[leonavich]

Well done, seems India may be the league to do it. No team really has terrible odds either considering, so the teams must be all fairly equal?