Britain and Ireland Steel Challenge

[ashton321]

 

BRITAIN AND IRELAND STEEL CHALLENGE

 

The aim of the game is to win all trophies available to clubs in Britain and Ireland whilst using purchasing players who are hail from Britain or Ireland. This is not a new challenge and I think it is still listed as a Steam Achievement. 

Rules:

 

You can start with any experience or coaching badges 

You must start Unemployed 

You can only purchase players who have British or Irish Nationality

You can play in Full or Touch (if you are using touch be sure to have unlocked National Management)

Screenshots are required at the end of the season

Have fun 

 

Available Cups and Leagues

England

Premiership

Championship

League 1

League 2

National League

National North

National South

FA Cup 

League Cup

Johnstones Paint

Community Shield

FA Trophy

 

Scotland

Premiership

Championship

League 1

League 2

Scottish Cup

Scottish League Cup

Scottish Challenge Cup

 

Ireland

Premier

First

Senior Challenge Cup

League Cup

Munster Cup

Leinster Cup

Presidents Cup

 

N Ireland

Premiership

Championship 1

Championship 2

Northern Irish Cup

League Cup

County Antrim Shield

Steel and Sons Cup

Intermediate Cup

Mid Ulster Cup

 

Wales

Premier League

Welsh Cup

theWord Cup

 

European and World

Club World Championship

Champions League

Europa League

Europa Super Cup

 

International

World Cup

European Championships

European International League

 

45 in total

Edited August 21, 2016 by ashton321

[ashton321]

Altrincham - 2016/2017 - National League

 

League - Bit of an up and down season for us. We could never quite pull far away enough from the relegation zone for it to be easy for us. In the end we wrapped up survival with two games to go which set me at ease a little bit. 

Competitions - We managed to win our first game in the FA Cup before going out to league opposition in the first round in a very close game. In the Trophy we were outstanding throughout. At stages it became a bit of an issue and did effect our league form but in the end it is always nice to seal a trophy. 

Transfers - Only the one player signed by me a decent young striker

Finance - Pretty good actually really helped by the good Trophy run.

Stars

Jimmy Lee - On loan from Port Vale, won player of the National League. A really good player. I will be looking to bring him again next year

Shaun Densmore - Decent right back, we really missed him towards the end of the year when he was injured

Jordan Sinnott -Midfielder who controlled things for us. I would like him to be here next year but he is not having it with any contract talks

Next Year

I would like to be a bit more secure next year and hopefully not have to worry about the drop zone throughout.

 

Year           Club              League        Position            Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17        Altrincham        National      17th                Took over in

Edited August 21, 2016 by ashton321

[ashton321]

 

Altrincham - 2017/2018 - National League

 

League - A good season we were mid table and this was all I could really hope for. We did get mixed up in the play off race for a short time but could not keep the consistency needed, in the end mid table was about right for us. 

Competitions - Again we got through to the FA Cup 1st round but once again we were knocked out against League opposition. In the trophy we were not as successful as we lost out in a close game

Transfers - A few guys came in who immediately made the team much more competitive. 

Finance - Still decent but has gone down a little bit from last year

Stars

Jimmy Lee - Came on loan and once again smashed the league he really is too good for this level

Shaun Densmore - Was made club captain this year and responded with another superb season

Brendan Daniels - Fantastic from my left midfielder was really creative for us

Next Year

I am done here now I will wait for my contract to run down and then I am off to seek pastures new. I am going to try and get a job with a league team

 

Year           Club              League        Position            Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17        Altrincham        National      17th                Took over in November, FA Trophy Winners
2017/18        Altrincham        National       9th    

Edited August 21, 2016 by ashton321

[jaysdailydose]

This has always been an awesome challenge, best of luck Ashton!

The only thing that has always stopped me from trying this one is immersion... If I built up all the way from the 6th level in England and won everything in England, reputation alone would dictate that I'd be laughed at (in real life) for taking over in the 4th level of Scotland.

That's just me though, the people who truly get into this challenge always love it and it produces some great stories and fun gameplay!

[jaysdailydose]

I came to a conclusion today, after speaking with the only person known to complete this challenge in Brian Gendo.  I've decided that I'm going to get involved here as well, Ashton321!   I don't know if you're not pursuing the save any longer, or if you just stopped updating because no one else had come to the thread, but I'm starting up today, and I'm also going to do the additional trophies you added (like the Champions League and the World Cup, for example.)

For those that are looking to participate in this challenge and have used the licensing fix, I'm also going to post a list of all the correct trophies so people have a quick reference for both.  Definitely not looking to step on Ashton's or the original creators toes -- just wanting to hopefully make things easier and more appealing to help this great challenge to grow!

The British Steel Challenge - Masters Version

England
Premier League
Sky Bet Championship
Sky Bet League One
Sky Bet League Two
Vanarama National League
Vanarama National League North/South
The Emirates FA Cup
EFL Cup
McDonald's FA Community Shield
Checkatrade Trophy
Buildbase FA Trophy

Ireland
SSE Airtricity Premier Division
SSE Airtricity First Division
FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup
EA Sports Cup
Leinster Senior Cup
Irish President's Cup
Munster Senior Cup

Northern Ireland
Danske Bank Premiership
NIFL Championship
NIFL Premier Intermediate League
Irish Football Association Challenge Cup
Northern Ireland Football League Cup
County Antrim Shield
Toals Steel & Sons Cup
Coca-Cola Intermediate Cup
Rushmere Shopping Centre Mid-Ulster Cup

Scotland
Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership
Ladbrokes Scottish Championship
Ladbrokes Scottish League One
Ladbrokes Scottish League Two
William Hill Scottish Cup
Betfred Cup
Irn-Bru Cup

Wales
Dafabet Welsh Premier League
JD FAW Welsh Cup
theWord Cup

The above trophies are needed to complete the original British Steel Challenge!
The following trophies are part of the new challenge that I'm calling the "Masters" challenge.  This is a challenge with several years of history on another forum and I claim zero credit towards any of this.  The "Masters" way is how Ashton321 originally posted this thread, and this listing is only to clarify the trophies when you've applied the license fix.  These are the extra trophies to complete the additional portion:
 
Masters Club Titles
FIFA Club World Cup
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
UEFA Super Cup

Masters International Titles
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Football Championship
UEFA Nations League

In the "Masters" titles, all normal British Steel rules apply, you may only play British or Irish players -- and the International titles must be won with any of England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

I hope this makes it easier for those that have the correctly named competitions.  Thank you to everyone that was involved in the creation of the original British Steel Challenge -- again, I certainly claim zero credit on this amazing challenge, I'm just getting involved and wanted to try to get even more players to try to become true legends of the British Isles!

[jaysdailydose]

Here's my starting screenshot of my 20-year-old, unemployed manager with literally no business sniffing a job.



I'll post a short update when I find a club stup.. forward thinking enough to bring me into the fold.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2018 Shelbourne Report

 

 

Always quite liked the idea of this challenge, although its never taken off in recent years.

 

Probably won’t be doing the European, World or International side of things, but that still leaves a whopping 38 landmarks to achieve.

 

There was only one immediately available job that interested me at the start of the challenge, and that was Shelbourne. I really feel that it is the only viable option if you’re going to jump straight in. Because of that I’m not going to give player names. Of course, maybe on the latest build the  Shelbourne job isn’t vacant at the start of the game. (There’s no reason to take one of the available jobs at the start of this challenge. If Shelbourne hadn’t been available, I’d have waited).

 

The job had an advantage. The season is midway through, (if you choose the English league start date when creating the save), and Shelbourne were in 2^nd place in the Irish 1stDivision, just 2 points behind Galway Utd with 10 matches to go.

 

And then there’s a disadvantage. Shelbourne’s first match was against Galway. My side struggling with the new tactics / formation were 4-0 down by half time. In a ding-dong second half we ended up losing 6-4.

 

We then won 8 of our remaining 9 matches. Unfortunately the one we lost was the other match against Galway in the penultimate match where a win (or as it turned out a draw) would have secured the title.

 

This is the thing about taking over a club half way through the season for this challenge. Your success depends on a smaller sample size of results.

 

We were still in the playoffs, and we did indeed get promoted relatively easily, but that was sort of a bad thing. If we’d lost in the playoffs the overwhelming likelihood is that I’d have won the league next season. However, I did try to get promoted, and as discussed below, always trying to win is an absolute rule I’m going to adhere to in this challenge.

 

So what to do now. The Irish league ends in November, so there’s no point taking another job midway through the season unless the team is at or very near the top of their division. Anyway, I am enjoying managing Shelbourne. Because of the misery I went through on the Ultimate Challenge, enjoying playing the game is more important to me than progress in challenges. So, I'll stay with them for the moment.

 

Some thoughts from my first half season.

 

·        Because this challenge is, or was, dormant, I’m just going to do my own thing in terms of screenshots, and my thing is always laziness.

 

·        I’m sticking to the rules in the initial thread, albeit a smaller version of the challenge.

 

·        This challenge is a lot bigger than it seems.  17 divisions to win, and  38 trophies in total. The Ultimate Challenge is only 33 landmarks. And I’m doing the smallest version of it. No wonder only one person has completed it.

 

·        The tough thing is having to win each division. Promotion, whether as runner-up or through playoffs, is usually going to be a bad thing.

 

·        On the other hand, when clubs sack their managers at the end of the season because they’ve been relegated, it’s a good opportunity to take over with a good chance of getting promoted straight back up.

 

·        I maxxed out my qualifications and experience. No point making this challenge any harder than it needs to be. Although I started with quite a small team, there’s no reason to start at the bottom. One could probably get quite a good first job. It also gives you an advantage with squad respect and training.

 

·        Thought that my first signing wasn’t British, because I’d forgotten about that requirement, but luckily his second nationality is Irish.

 

·        By not winning the league, the season was a write-off, even though, or even because, we gained promotion through the playoffs.

 

·        I did sort of want to lose the playoff final, but I still tried to win. My personal rules for this challenge are that I won’t put out weakened sides or manage the team badly in attempt to lose matches and stay in the same division for another season. It does make playoffs a lot less stressful though. I watched the matches with a very que sera sera attitude.

 

·        I’m not sure how Irish people feel about Republic of Ireland being counted as part of the challenge. Still, I’m enjoying playing in that league as I never have before.

 

·        I might manage the Scottish national side at some point, but there’s no way I’m going to manage England in an attempt to do the International extension of this challenge.

 

·        I probably won’t complete this challenge anyway. I didn’t complete any challenges in FM18. I nearly completed the Ultimate Challenge (2 international trophies away, and I lost in the final of those competitions the last 3 times) and the Youth Challenge, (because I got a son in the game and played him instead of a potentially world class striker that came through in the same intake.). My philosophy for challenges now is when the fun stops, STOP!

 

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 0/38

Club
 England 0/12 	 				
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 Northern Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by vikeologist

[GloryFan2002]

Doing this challenge on the FMCU forum, will be sure to update an EOS report on here though!

On 23/12/2016 at 09:50, jaysdailydose said:

I came to a conclusion today, after speaking with the only person known to complete this challenge in Brian Gendo.  

@Barney Butterball completed it in FM13/14 I think 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2019/20 Tranmere Report

 

 

Managed Shelbourne for half the season, and left them in mid-table.

My plan is to apply for jobs at relegated clubs in the hope that they have the resources to go straight back up as Champions. I didn’t get offered interviews in time at clubs going from League 1 to League 2 in England, but I was quite content to move to Tranmere newly relegated to non-league.

Obviously half the first team wanted to leave. I’ve learned how to manage that, and did sell a couple of players to alleviate the financial problems.

We won the league by a country mile with 8 matches to spare.

I was not as successful in the cups. Went out at the first hurdle in the Irn-Bru Cup to an Irish side. I don’t even know what this competition is, but I’ll have to add it to the list of trophies for the challenge.  Maybe it’s replaced one of the Scottish trophies in the list. Also went out in the FA Cup 1st Round to a league side, which sounds understandable until you realise that we were at home and running away with the league, and our opponents we rock bottom of League 2.

By far the biggest disappointment however was going out of the FA Trophy on penalties in the semi-final second leg. I forgot to restore my left back to the team for the first leg after a suspension and we lost at home, but I have a solid no reloading matches policy.

Our first league match after this failure was against Billericay, the club who’d just knocked us out, and we won 5-0, because, of course.

It does make me realise that I’m not going to complete this challenge. In the Ultimate Challenge there’ve been a few people who completed the challenge without ever losing a cup match they needed to win. I’m not going to be that lucky. I’m just going to have to accept that my list of landmarks for this challenge is going to have lots of cup sized holes that I probably won’t ever fill.

Anyway, I do at least have my first challenge landmark, and 2 promotions in 2 seasons; or rather 2 half-seasons and a season. My rep has gone from 45% to 50%. Every little bit helps. Also, if I win both the North and South National Leagues, I’ll have the opportunity for at least a couple more bites at the FA Trophy cherry.

I do plan to stay at Tranmere for a few seasons, or at least until they fail to win a successive league title. It won’t help my reputation to move club every season. However, with so much stuff to win, there are so many shiny toys out there in the form of clubs that I’d like to manage, and I have been looking at the job vacancies as the seasons closed.

Quite apart from the challenge, Tranmere could really have done with the money from an FA Trophy final. Their financial state after a season without cup success is not optimal. It’s going to be hard work to win the league again next season.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 1/38

Club
 England 1/12 	(VNL)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3


 

[Motlhen]

1 hour ago, vikeologist said:

I’m not going to be that lucky.

What's your media prediction for League Two this season? & do you rate your chances in the Checkatrade Trophy? 

[vikeologist]

3 hours ago, Motlhen said:

What's your media prediction for League Two this season? & do you rate your chances in the Checkatrade Trophy? 

13th.

We were predicted to finish 7th in the VNL a year ago. Our first match was against top predicted Salford who we beat 5-0 and who finished in the bottom half of the table. The media predictions are useless. 

No idea about how we'll do in the Checkatrade Trophy, (I suspect I'll stand more chance in L1), but I'm sure our exit, whenever it arrives, will be suitably infuriating.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2020/21 Tranmere End of Season Report



I achieved back to back division wins with Tranmere. It did look a bit dicey for the first half of the season. Doncaster and ourselves leapt out ahead, but because we lost our first meeting, we were 6 points behind about half way through the season.

In the second half of the season though we gradually overtook them securing promotion, all but mathematically, with 3 matches to go, eventually winning the division by 13 points.

3 years, 3 promotions.

We went out of the 3 cups relatively early, but we wouldn’t have been expected to win even the Checkatrade Cup.

So now the question was; should I stay or should I go? I wasn’t sure I could do the threepeat with Tranmere.

The job at my favourite club, Bradford, became available; the 4^th sacking in 3 years; 5 if you include the real life sacking of Michael Collins which isn’t included in the game. What’s the point of doing this challenge if you don’t manage your favourite British teams, although I’m not sure I’m going to be masochistic enough to try to complete any of the challenge with my boyhood club, Hibs.

So, I’m still going to be in League 1 next season, but with a bigger club. Ideally I’ll take them back to The Premiership.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		?


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 2/38

Club
 England 2/12 	(VNL, L2)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

Promotion Count: 3

 

 

[Cheekybananafm]

I like the idea of this challenge but I need something answering before I start.

If I get promoted from a league does that count towards the challenge or do you have to win the league? If you got promoted ending 2nd it means you would have to, at some point go back that division and win it. Including promotions probably makes it a little easier I guess

Cheers

[GloryFan2002]

7 hours ago, Cheekybananafm said:

I like the idea of this challenge but I need something answering before I start.

If I get promoted from a league does that count towards the challenge or do you have to win the league? If you got promoted ending 2nd it means you would have to, at some point go back that division and win it. Including promotions probably makes it a little easier I guess

Cheers

You have to win the league

[vikeologist]

4 hours ago, GloryFan2002 said:

You have to win the league

That's what makes this challenge such a bugger to complete. There's a really good chance that I'll get promoted this season without winning the league. But as I've mentioned before, it did make the playoffs in the Irish league a lot less stressful.

Incidentally, I will try, sort of, to win all the trophies contained in the first post, including the World Cup, and have included the international side in my challenge progress log. It's just that in my mind the version of the challenge that I will fail to complete is a smaller version, if any challenge with 38 trophies can really be considered small.

[yugular]

this challenge looks fun! Good luck to all participants!

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2021/2 Bradford End of Season Report 

 

 

We finished 2^nd, and were automatically promoted, which was good for Bradford, but bad for my challenge. However, it’s fine. This challenge is pleasurably free of stress. Every failure is a consolation prize. It’s nice to get my favourite club promoted. If it was another club, I might leave now and try with another Division 1 club, but I’m probably going to stay another season here, and see if I can get them promoted to the Premier League. I have improved the club quite a lot, including the backroom staff.

 

We had chances to finish top. With 6 matches to go we played 1^st place Luton who we were just one point behind, but they scored a goal and successfully parked the bus to defeat us.

 

I’d have to come back to League 1 anyway because I didn’t win the Checktrade, going out in our fifth penalty shootout in all cups this season.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 2/38

Club
 England 2/12 	(VNL, L2)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

Promotion Count: 4


 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2018 by vikeologist

[BitesizeFM]

Decided to start this challenge, I see from @vikeologistthat promotions don't count but will just play, try and win the league but know that promotion is a nice back-up! Wish me luck!

[BitesizeFM]

Let's do this! Job accepted in Mid-October and I'm off to Leyton Orient, currently 23rd in the National League

[vikeologist]

@BitesizeFM Welcome to the challenge. Nice to have company.

Vikeologist's 2022/3 Bradford End of Season Report 

Runners up again, and beaten sickeningly by local rivals, Leeds for the Championship. It wasn’t particularly close on either side. Throughout the second half of the season, we always looked destined for 2^nd place.

One element of this challenge that’s come to the fore this season is that once you get to Championship level, the requirement to only sign UK / Irish players starts to become limiting for the first time. I don’t know exactly how limiting it was this season, because I only scout eligible players, and not many foreigners appear in my searches, but this was the first time I found it difficult to find good players.

I’ll be leaving Bradford now I’ve got them to the top division. I think they’re unlikely to survive without me, but then again, maybe that will grant me the opportunity to take over again at some point.

I’m not sure who I’m going to go to next.  There’s no obvious candidates; for instance a big club who’s been unexpectedly relegated.

Update: I took the job at Derby; newly relegated from the Championship to League 1. I still need both the division title and the Checkatrade trophy, though of course I could win the latter with a Premier League U23 side.

I was offered the job at Alloa who will be in the bottom Scottish division next season. If I win the lowest playable leagues, I can start removing divisions and make the game go faster. However, I think the best plan is to take jobs not much higher or lower than one’s present one, because then you can use your recent scouting and shortlisting.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 2/38

Club
 England 2/12 	(VNL, L2)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

Promotion Count: 5

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2023/4 Derby End of Season Report 

 

 

 

We ran away with the league title, but flopped out of the Checkatrade Trophy at the group stage. Obviously I’ll be able to win it with a Premier League (U23) side, even if I need to use my senior team, I’m not sure that would really be in the spirit of the challenge, but I won’t be coming back to League 1, (or 2).

The major new development is that I’ve dipped my toe into international management, taking the Irish Republic job. I was also offered the N Ireland job at the same time. My only match so far has been a one leg playoff against Turkey in the Euros Playoffs semi-final, which we lost 3-1. Turkey have much better players, but that seems to be lost on the FA who were cheesed off.

I’ve no interest in trying to achieve the international side of this challenge, but it will be interesting to see how much I can develop the 5 nations. Ireland are currently 60^th ranked, 9 places below Northern Ireland, but I think they are potentially better than their northern neighbours. Well, my second match is going to be a friendly between them, so we’ll sort of find out.

Logically I should stay with Derby and try to win the Championship with them next season. However, I would be interested in going back to manage in Ireland in tandem with my national job. Not that it would be the same players. Nobody from my national squad plays in Ireland. Anyway, irish clubs wouldn’t be able to afford the compensation so I’d have to quit rather than transfer jobs.

There are plenty of other jobs that might catch my eye. Bradford finished rock bottom of the Premier League, so if the manager is sacked, I might go back there, but Derby are probably a better bet for winning the Championship.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st


International
Year	Team				Achievements



Challenge Progress 2/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

Promotion Count: 6

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2024/25 Derby End of Season Report 

For almost the first half of the season I thought we were favourites for the title, but Newcastle had a fantastic second half of the campaign, winning the league by 24 points, while our record in the back half was only 7^th best. We stayed in 2^nd place throughout, but automatic promotion was only secured in the last match.

 

My 7^th straight promotion, 8^th straight if you include the one season I completed on FM1 before starting this challenge. That’s a bit misleading though, because it doesn’t include the final half season with Shelbourne, though as we were in the top division, it’s not as though promotion was actually a possibility there.

 

I’m a little bit annoyed at not securing the Championship landmark. I still don’t think I’ll complete the whole challenge, so it doesn’t matter.

 

I’m definitely going to leave Derby now. I’ll quit once I’ve done a bit more scouting. I’ll have to quit as I’ll probably be going to a much smaller club who won’t want to pay any compensation.

 

It  might be a good idea to apply for the job at Halifax who’ve just been relegated from the VNL. I’m just not feeling it at the moment. Plus their finances are insecure.

 

A year ago I was managing Ireland, but I left them after 2 defeats when the Scotland job became available. I am Scottish, so I hope to be there for a long time. I have a lot of good young players. My one wonderkid, an attacking right winger, doesn’t play any of the positions in my formation, but I’m squeezing him in as a striker for the moment.

 

Despite one defeat, embarrassingly to my ex, Ireland, we have won promotion in the Nations League from C to B. I expected there to be a playoff for the group winners, but apparently not.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st		
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd		Promotion


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C.


Challenge Progress 3/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 0/3

Promotion Count: 7

 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by vikeologist

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2025/26 Carmarthen (and Scotland) End of Season Report

 

 

 

My run of straight promotions came to a halt; because I took over at Welsh top flight club, Carmarthen. My approach to this challenge has changed, and from now on I’m going to take over clubs that I want to manage, even if they’re not the lowest hanging fruit.

Carmarthen are nowhere near the biggest club, so I didn’t expect to be able to win all 3 Welsh trophies in my first season, but I almost did.

I won the league and Welsh Cup, but was sent out on penalties in the semi-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup. I don’t mind staying a bit longer, taking them into Europe, albeit probably briefly, and seeing how far I can develop the club. Hopefully I can win that final trophy next season and move on, but if it takes longer, I will stay as long as I'm enjoying it.

To be honest, I may stay even longer. There was a fantastic career thread I enjoyed reading that stopped just as they'd got Carmarthen into the Champions League group stage, were having a new stadium built, and things were about to get really interesting.

 

 

Things continue to go well with Scotland. We won every match in our World Cup Qualifying, including beating Belgium twice, and are now 24^th in the world.

I’m about to have my first new-style World Cup Finals, and we have an easy group stage with hosts, USA, and South Africa. It’s a young and promising squad. I’d be surprised if we actually won anything, but I’m not targeting that side of the challenge anyway.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. Qualified for 2026 World Cup.


Challenge Progress 5/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 2/3	(WPL, WC)

Promotion Count: 7

 

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2026/27 Carmarthen (and Scotland) End of Season Report 

 

 

Near the end of the season, I had a choice to make regarding my approach to this challenge.

We had failed to win the remaining cup I need in Wales, and worse, were only going to finish runner up in the league, and thus no Champions League football, and money, next season.

The Larne job in N Ireland became available. They were going to win the league and were still in one of the cups. Here was a golden opportunity to pick up at least one extra landmark. I.n The Ultimate Challenge, taking over a team just before the final of a competition or near the end of the league when they’re in top place, is coined ‘doing a vike’. Truthfully, I haven’t actually done a vike in years.

The choice was whether to plod along managing the teams that I have an attachment to; Carmarthen, Hibs, Bradford City, even when that’s making it difficult for myself, or to make progress in this challenge as quickly and mercenarily as possible.

I was very tempted, but taking over Larne 9 points clear with 5 matches to play would have felt like a hollow victory.

Also, if I do complete the challenge, I will need that other cup at some point.

Mostly though, I think I’ve improved the Carmarthen team a lot. Maybe they haven’t gelled this season, and some signings have disappointed, but I think we’ll be better next season.

The season did get off to a good start, and nearly a fantastic start.

We nearly qualified for the Europa League group stage. We had a 2 goal aggregate lead, but gave away a penalty and then a ridiculous own goal.

The cup I need is the Nathaniel MG Cup, and once again we went out in the semi-final.

TNS beat us in the first league match, and then ran away with the title. We were comfortably second, but finished 7 points in arrears, which was about as close as we ever got to them.

 

 

With Scotland, there’s so much to tell, but as the international side is only a side challenge I don’t intend or expect to complete, I’ll keep it brief.

In the 2026 World Cup, we easily won our 2 group stage matches, but had the misfortune to come up against Holland in the first knockout round.

With 4 minutes to go in the first half, we were 2-0 up and I thought this was going to be an easy victory. By the time the half time whistle blow, we were 3-2 down, and we eventually lost 4-2. It’s pointless to be too upset about losing to a top ten side, although of course now I wish I’d parked the bus.

The England job was available at the end of the tournament, but I didn’t apply for it.

We had an easy draw in the Nations League, with Denmark and Norway, and won all our matches to gain promotion to division A. We're currently ranked 17th.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B


Challenge Progress 5/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 0/7	
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 2/3	(WPL, WC)

Promotion Count: 7

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2027/28 Carmarthen (and Scotland) End of Season Report 

 

 



So, on to my third season with Carmarthen, still needing just that one (Nathaniel MG) cup, and for the third time of asking we fell short, or to be exact, shorter going out in the QF.

Our failure to win the league the previous season meant that we had to take the tough road of Europa League qualifying, and we were unlucky to get Maribor in the first round and go straight out, ending our chances of making any money from the season.

We did however regain our league title though, and we did it by a country mile.

The best part of the season though was that we somehow managed to win the Irn Bru Cup, meaning that the season wasn’t a dead loss challenge wise. Not sure where it should go, but I think it really qualifies as a Scottish competition.

I’m obviously going to give it one more part-season at least in Wales to try to get the NMG Cup. Not sure yet whether I’ll stay beyond that, but I’d also like to get to at least the group stage of the Europa League, or who knows, maybe even the Champions League.

 

 

 

As regards the Scottish national side, we didn’t have it all our own way in Euros Qualifying only getting a draw and defeat against Russia, but we still qualified reasonably easily via the second placed team table. We now have a tough group draw against Belgium, Spain and Switzerland.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B


Challenge Progress 6/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 2/3	(WPL, WC)

Promotion Count: 7

 

 

 

[2481]

@vikeologist doing very well there! As a fellow Scot it's nice to hear of some international success  Considering to give this challenge a go to give me a break from my All European Small Club to Big Club challenge with Cesena. Looks pretty hard but I like the idea that you have to keep bouncing from club to club in order to chip away at the list of trophies. I always get stuck at one club and never want to leave, so this could be a fun alternative to that. Hmmmmmm.

[vikeologist]

@2481 I think it will be hard for me to complete the challenge, so I'm more interested in enjoying it, even if I stay a while with the same club. 

At first I bounced from club to club, but the thing is that I can pretty much win the league every single season if I cherry pick clubs, (though not as you will note from my progress so much with cups), which quickly started to become boring, so I'm now about to start my 4th season with the same club. Mind you, once I get that pesky remaining cup, I will leave.

Edited January 19, 2019 by vikeologist

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2028/29 Carmarthen Report 

 

To recap, in my 4^th season with Carmarthen, I only needed to win the elusive Nathaniel MG Cup, having won the Welsh Cup and League, plus (very unexpectedly) the Irn-Bru Cup for teams from all the home nations.

 

We did it, and my time in Wales can now come to a close. It will be a bit of a wrench to leave, because we have accomplished so much.

 

Even though I’ll be leaving mid-season, it has been a long, long season. It was our 44^th competitive match of the season, and it was only late January.

 

The main reason for that number of games was that we reached the group stage of the Europa League. In fact we had a shot at the Champions League group. All we had to do was get past Dundalk who we beat in the Irn-Bru final last season. Unfortunately, that was a bit of a fluke result, and we were outclassed in both legs.

 

Obviously I wasn’t expecting much from the Europa League group, but we won our first 2 matches, including against Lazio. We came very close to finishing second in the group. We just needed to win our penultimate match, We were 2-1, up and I was going to substitute both my players who had been booked, but one of them was sent off before that could happen, and later in the match the other players was as well. With only 9 men, we could only manage a draw, and then Lazio kicked our arse in the last game.

 

But that doesn’t really matter. The club obviously made a lot of money, and will be going professional at the end of the season. Without me though. It has been fun building up the club, but progress is painfully slow.

 

Also, we are by no means certain of even retaining the league. My squad of part-time players are, as you may imagine, a little bit tired, and we ae in 3^rd, 5 points behind the leaders, with just 10 matches to go.

 

It is tempting to stay for those 10 matches though, plus however many Welsh Cup fixtures.

 

The 44 matches don’t of course include my international exploits since the last update, but I’ll leave that for another time.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	n/a		NMG Cup, and reached group stage of Europa League.


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales		


Challenge Progress 7/38

Club
 England 3/12 	(VNL, L2, L1)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

Promotion Count: 7

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by vikeologist

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2029/30 Newcastle Report 

 

 

 

After completing the landmarks for Wales halfway through the previous season, I stayed at Carmarthen until the end of the 28/29 season, finally triumphing in what was quite an exciting title chase. There were no interesting jobs became available, but I quit at the end of the season.

I then took over at Newcastle, newly relegated from the Premier League. This was a mistake; not because I didn’t win the Championship at the third time of trying in this challenge, but because it was just boringly easy.

We won the league with 4 matches to spare.

Also, I kind of wanted to manage my favourite club, Bradford, again, who are currently still in the Championship, having been relegated straight back down after my promotion to the Premier League with them.

I’m going to have to be a lot more careful about the jobs I take, so I don’t get too bored with this challenge. Managing in a different country should help, but there are other options. If I go to a premier League club, there will be plenty of different trophies to try to win, and going to the lower English leagues could be a challenge.

Internationally, I have a few years to catch y’all up on.

I was sacked by Scotland in 2028 after only picking up a point in the Euros. This was a pity as I hoped to stay for much longer than 4 years.

I then took over at Wales, but results have been good, but not good enough. We finished 2^nd in the Nations League, and very narrowly failed to qualify for the 2030 World Cup.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup


Challenge Progress 8/38

Club
 England 4/12 	(VNL, L2, L1, Ch)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

Promotion Count: 8


 

 

[bigmattb28]

I've been on with the pentagon challenge and blogging it, but it's gotten stale recently, going to be starting this challenge tonight when I get in from work. Will post updates, it's been great reading your comments.

[vikeologist]

31 minutes ago, bigmattb28 said:

I've been on with the pentagon challenge and blogging it, but it's gotten stale recently, going to be starting this challenge tonight when I get in from work. Will post updates, it's been great reading your comments.

It will be good to have company. Are you going to go for all 45 landmarks including the internationals?

[bigmattb28]

1 minute ago, vikeologist said:

It will be good to have company. Are you going to go for all 45 landmarks including the internationals?

I will definitely be posting my progress mate, going to be using a made up Scottish Motherwell supporting manager  I will probably play this alongside my Pentagon challenge save.

As for the internationals, initially no. Unless the game produces some good newgens to give nations not called England any chance of winning anything internationally I won't bother. No disrespect but neither of the Irelands, Wales or Scotland at the start of the game have any chance of winning anything, but I may take up international management in the game however. Does the rules say you can ONLY manage in Britain & Ireland? I'm thinking early on, or maybe later on depending on how it goes managing in another country to boost the rep?

[vikeologist]

21 minutes ago, bigmattb28 said:

I will definitely be posting my progress mate, going to be using a made up Scottish Motherwell supporting manager  I will probably play this alongside my Pentagon challenge save.

As for the internationals, initially no. Unless the game produces some good newgens to give nations not called England any chance of winning anything internationally I won't bother. No disrespect but neither of the Irelands, Wales or Scotland at the start of the game have any chance of winning anything, but I may take up international management in the game however. Does the rules say you can ONLY manage in Britain & Ireland? I'm thinking early on, or maybe later on depending on how it goes managing in another country to boost the rep?

Nothing in the rules about managing other nations. I mean, there's no one monitoring the rules anyway, so we can do whatever helps us to enjoy the save, I think. Personally I'm only managing home nations, but I'm on my 3rd already, and it seems that they don't give you the job for a second time, so if I don't manage England, I only have N Ireland left, but I'm not trying to achieve the international side anyway. There was an outside chance I could have won something with Scotland though.

Edited February 25, 2019 by vikeologist

[bigmattb28]

Started last night, the leagues I have loaded, Holland is there for variety just in case I decide to go there

Manager profile

I've played a few months of the save, got a job and done some games. I'll get a proper update up either tonight or tomorrow.

[bigmattb28]

I've completed the first season of this challenge @vikeologist but as I'm blogging it I will hold of posting my progress here until I have on my blog. How are you getting on?

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2030/31 Bradford Park Avenue Report 

 

Took over newly promoted to Vanarama North Bradford Park Avenue. Thought it would be a challenge, but honestly, I also thought I’d be able to challenge for promotion in season 1.  In fact we spent most of the season uncomfortably close to the relegation places. The bottom 3 teams were very bad, so there was never much actual danger, but it was certainly disappointing. We finished in 15^th place thanks to picking up 17 points from our last 7 matches.

 

I actually tried to jump ship mid-season to my old and favourite club Bradford City, but they clearly haven’t forgiven my abandonment. I did want to manage them again, and try to take them to Champions League glory, but maybe that’s not going to happen.

 

At the moment I plan to stay with Park Avenue, but I will be looking at summer job vacancies.

 

Internationally with Wales things were better. We won promotion from a weak Nations League B group against Croatia and Bulgaria, and our Euros Qualification has got off to an ok start with a draw against Portugal.

 

 

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.


Challenge Progress 8/38

Club
 England 4/12 	(VNL, L2, L1, Ch)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

 

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by vikeologist

[bigmattb28]

I've actually restarted my challenge @vikeologist with the new 19.3 update, as I hadn't done much I thought it be best to restart. I am blogging again and it can be found:

 

https://jockmcghee.home.blog/a-jocks-journey-man/

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2031/2 Bradford Park Avenue (and Wales) Report 

The Vanarama North with Bradford PA is proving to be quite difficult. We finished 7th, which was enough to get us into the play-offs, which we were bundled out of straight away comprehensively. We’re one of the smaller clubs, (4^th lowest average attendance and wage bill) and we don’t have the training facilities to improve promising players. I play attacking football, we were by some considerable distance the top scorers in the division, but we are dying as well as living by the sword.

We were 5 minutes away from getting into the FA Cup 3^rd round, which would have given us an away tie at Liverpool.

Our bank balance is going steadily downwards, but still the board are pressing ahead with improving our training facilities.

I intend to stick around. It’s frustrating, but it has only been 2 seasons. Hopefully normal service will resume next year.

Internationally we qualified for the Euros. Hopefully I’ll do well enough against Germany, Italy and Greece not to be sacked.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros


Challenge Progress 8/38

Club
 England 4/12 	(VNL, L2, L1, Ch)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

Promotion Count: 8


 

 

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2032/3 Bradford Park Avenue (and Wales) Report 

 

Midway through the season I’d had enough at Bradford PA. We were the smallest team in the league, and by Christmas essentially stood no chance of winning the league. We were in the playoffs, but promotion through the playoffs counts for nothing in this challenge.

Dundalk, the favourites for the Irish Premiership, approached me for an interview, which I decided to attend. They then didn’t offer me the job, but I’d essentially already decided that I wanted to leave. Easy success is boring, but it’s better than difficult mediocrity.

The job at my boyhood club, Hibs became available, and I jumped at the chance to end my Park Avenue purgatory.

Bradford PA were 5^th when I left. Without me they plummeted down the table and ended up in 10^th.

 

So let's start again

Vikeologist's 2032/3 Hibernian (and Wales) Report 

Hibs were 6^th when I took over, more or less assured of finishing in the top half, but with work to do to make it to the top 5 and (probable) European qualification. We made it to 3^rd place in the final match of the season, which is important as it puts us into the Europa League group stage.

Talking of the Europa League, we were still in that and made it to the quarter finals where were knocked out by fellow-Scots Rangers in a tie we should have won.

We were also still in the Scottish Cup and made it to the final against Cletic where we…

Well, I’m writing this before playing the match, so let’s see what happens /happened.

Oh well, we lost 5-0. It was a close match until we had to chase it in the second half.

Still, quite a productive final third of a season though. Now I can get rid of the plyers who don’t fit my system, and hopefully plug the gaps.

We’ve made a lot of money this season, though pretty much all of that is going to go into improving our training facilities and making our utterly inadequate stadium capacity slightly less so.

As for my international job with Wales, last summer’s Euros seems so long ago, I can barely remember it. We started off with a good 0-0 draw against Germany, but a draw against Greece and defeat to Italy meant that we were knocked out in the group stage. We were also relegated from Nations League A losing all 4 matches against Holland and Portugal. This might all sound bad, but frankly it’s to be expected, as we haven’t been in the World top 30 for ages. We’ve made a good start to World Cup qualifying with a couple of wins against our 2 main rivals (for 2^nd place in the group) Bulgaria and Lithuania, so we should make it to another tournament.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.


Challenge Progress 8/38

Club
 England 4/12 	(VNL, L2, L1, Ch)			
 Scotland 1/7	(Irn Bru Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

Promotion Count: 8

 

[bigmattb28]

I've had to stop this 6 seasons on as the game isn't generating fixtures for northern Ireland clubs at the start of the 6th season.i am absolutely gutted.

[vikeologist]

22 hours ago, bigmattb28 said:

I've had to stop this 6 seasons on as the game isn't generating fixtures for northern Ireland clubs at the start of the 6th season.i am absolutely gutted.

Sorry to hear that. I've had a challenge derailed in a similar manner, (not this one which thankfully).

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2033/4 Hibernian (and Wales) Report 

 

Until the final matches, this was shaping up to be a disappointing season. Particularly hard was losing in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Raith. We went into the final round of 5 matches in 4^th place, but won all of them to secure 2^nd place and a Champions league spot. Our final match was actually against champions Rangers, but we’d have needed to win by 8 goals to win the league on goal difference, and unsurprisingly, that didn’t happen.

Still, in the end, it’s been a productive season. Some promising players with itchy feet have signed new contracts, our facilities continue to be improved, and our bank balance is healthy.

Next up is a World Cup with Wales. We qualified fairly easily, but one has to be realistic about our chances of progressing far beyond our group of Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 8/38

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2034/5 Hibernian (and Wales) Report 

 

After 4 barren seasons, I finally won some silverware this season.

In the Betfred Cup Final, we were by far the better team, but Celtic kept scoring amazing goals against the runoff play, and in the end we needed penalties to clinch my first Scottish trophy with Hibs.

In the league it looked for a moment that we might throw away a 7 point lead (over both Rangers and Celtic) with 6 matches to go. We had it won all but mathematically with 2 matches to go, (6 points ahead with a +11 goal difference), but in the end we went into our final match of the season having to avoid losing by 5 goals in order to win the title.

Shortly after 60 minutes we were 4-0 down. We managed to stem the flood. The match finished 4-0, and we were champions, not on points, not on goal difference; on goals scored. Without doubt, the most rubbish way I’ve ever won a title,  and almost a disaster that would have haunted me forever. Having won, I’ll have forgotten before I even post this update.

 

 

 

So that just left the Scottish Cup. When we knocked out Celtic in the quarters, and Rangers also exited, it looked extremely likely, but we needed penalties (again) to reach the final. There we faced Aberdeen, who we’d beaten 9-0 just 3 matches before.

It wasn’t as easy this time, but we scored a couple of goals in quick succession in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory.

So, much to my surprise, that’s it. I’ve won all 3 domestic trophies I need in the one season. (I won the Irn Bru Cup with Carmarthen, which is lucky because my Hibernian Reserves side didn’t even come close).

I was expecting to be at Hibs for a lot longer, and frankly, I’m not sure I want to leave yet, but we’re not going to win the Champions League in the near future, and the odds are against us even competing in the Europa League any time soon.

I had an interview at Man Utd even before the cup final, but having an international job reduces the chances of my getting that, and that makes me question the point of even continuing with the Wales job.

Last summer, for the second time in a row, I didn’t get the Scotland job again, and I’ve probably taken Wales as far as I can. We avoided relegation from Nations League B, consigning Scotland to that fate, which was sort of satisfying. It may be a good idea to quit. 

It's not that I particularly fancy managing in the English Premier League next. It's just that now is probably my best chance to land a big job.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 10/38

Club
 England 4/12 	(VNL, L2, L1, Ch)			
 Scotland 4/7	(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3	(WPL, WC, NMGC)

Promotion Count: 8

 

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2034/5 Man City Report 

 

 

 

TL;DR Quit Hibs and Wales. Took over Man City. Nearly sacked, but in the end won the FA Cup and Champions League.

 

 

At the end of last season I was mulling over whether to stay with Hibs, ostensibly in the hope of winning the Europa League with them one day, maybe, but it wasn’t really an option, and I doubt I’m going to complete the whole challenge anyway.

I quit Hibs, and my Wales job as well. I didn’t get the Man Utd job; maybe because I was still Wales manager when I had the interview, but I was offered a job at  Man City.

I had a quick look and thought that I could use the current Man City squad without too much rejigging. As it turned out I was wrong, but I took the job anyway.

It was good news for agents as I had to buy and sell a lot of players to attain enough players in all the positions I need.

I brought in £476 million in transfer fees, and only paid out £366 million for my 4 new players.

The upheaval almost caused my demise. Near the end of the season I was in 5^th place and in danger of not making it to the top 4 and Champions League qualification.

I was also in grave danger of being sacked, and not being able to manage the club in the FA Cup and Champions League finals I had or was about to reach. I was probably just 1 defeat from the can.

However, we finished in 4^th, and I was at least going to go to the finals, and then maybe be sacked.

Our performance in the 2 competitions was very different. We won the FA Cup Quarter Final, Semi-final and Final on penalties. What can I say? We’re good at penalties.

In the Champions League we struggled to even get through the group stage, and our tie against Arsenal in the quarterfinals was close, but apart from that it was very easy.

We beat Roma 11-0 in the 2^nd round 1^st leg, Real Madrid 6-1 in the semi final 1^st leg, and in the final we were 5-0 up against Atletico after half an hour, finally winning 6-1.

So I can add the FA Cup and Champions league to my haul, and now my job is safeish.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 13/42

Club
 England 5/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 1/4 	(CL)

Promotion Count: 8

 

[vikeologist]

Quick mid-season update

Having won the FA Cup and Champions League last season, I obviously had my sights on the League and Carabao Cup this season.

However, there were plenty of other trophies I needed to pick up. Charity Shield, European Super Cup, Club World Cup and (by taking control of the U23 team), the Checkatrade Trophy.

Reader, at the half way point I’ve failed at everything but the league, which to be fair I am top of (or at least was before going on the CWC jolly).

Lost the Community Shield on penalties.

The Super Cup took place in an internationals week, meaning a match pretty much between 2 youth teams, which we lost.

The Club World Cup was the worst. 2-0 up in the first half of the semi, I took off our best player for some rest. Almost straight away a player picked up a straight red, and we ended up losing 4-3 in extra time. This is terrible, not just because I was punished for my complacency and arrogance, but because it means we’ll need to win the Champions League again.

We went out of the Carabao in the Q/F, and went out of the Checkatrade on penalties in the second round before I could recall all the youth players I’d foolishly allowed to go out on loan before I realised that you can only play 2 over 21s in this tournament.

We are doing fantastically well in both the league and champions league, so I should eventually be able to get another shot at these competitions, but the first half of this season has been a nightmare with regard to completing this challenge.

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2036/7 Man City Report 

 

After failing to gain ever trophy I needed in the first half of the season, the second half was more successful. We won the league, (it was fairly comfortable from early on), and just as importantly for this challenge, retained the Champions League. Thus I will have another shot at all the landmarks I failed to pick up this season; SuperCup, Charity Shield, Club World Cup, and last but not least, the Checkatrade Cup with my reserves. I also still need the Carabao Cup.

On a sidenote, it is interesting that even though, as per the rules of the challenge I only sign players with UK/Irish nationality, still not a single one of my first XI plays for a home nation internationally. I do have 2 England strikers, but they’re on the subs’ bench most of the time. Most of the players I’ve bought have duel nationality.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League
36/37	Man City	EPL		1st		League and Champions League


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 14/42

Club
 England 6/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL, FA Cup)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 1/4 	(CL)

Promotion Count: 8

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2037/8 Man City Report 

TL;DR Won Community Shield, European SuperCup, Club World Cup, Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup and League. Didn't win Carabao Cup

 

So this season was Mission Mop-up, with 4 trophies to pick up; 5 if we somehow ended up in the Europa League via the Champions League, though I’d probably get the sack if that ever happened.

The Community Shield was against West Ham who last season achieved the FA Cup / Relegation double. We had a man sent off for a straight red when 1-0 up, but still won 5-3.

Once again, the European Sup Cup was moved to an international window meaning that it was essentially 2 reserve sides playing each other. We were 3-1 up with 10 minutes to go of normal time, but they pulled it back to 3-3 with the last kick of the game. In the end we won on penalties, despite only having 2 First XI players.

The Club World Championship was the big one after having thrown it away with complacency in the semi final last year.  We only had to beat Vancouver and Sundowns which we did easily enough, and atone for last year.

I won the Checkatrade Trophy with my U23 side. Unlike last season, I didn’t send any players out on loan to ensure that I had them available for this I had 5 players in the team in their last year of eligibility and my 2 over 20s for the latter stages included the first choice Brazilian goalie, who to be fair genuinely is my substitute GK.

The rest of the season didn’t matter, although we did retain the league and win the FA Cup.

The one I didn’t win was the Carabao Cup. There’s a pretty strong argument for trying to get that cup with another side; one who are in the Europa League, currently or next season, but I’ll have to see if such a position becomes available. If Man Utd instead of City had offered me a job a couple of years ago, I’d have probably been able to check off the Europa League then.

On the other hand, I obviously stand a better chance of picking up the Carabao Cup with City, who I’ve made into the best team in the country.

Arsenal only finished 5^th, and are thus in the Europa League next season, so there’s a strong chance that job will become available. Unai Emery has been the manager there for 20 years now.

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League
36/37	Man City	EPL		1st		League and Champions League
37/38	Man City	EPL		1st		Community Shield, European SuperCup, Club World Cup, Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 18/42

Club
 England 8/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL, FA Cup, CS, CT)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 3/4 	(CL, ESC, CWC)

Promotion Count: 8


 

 

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2038/9 Man City / Watford Report 

 

 

 

 

A tale of 2 cities. 3 actually.

 

I left Man City after 18 matches (in 3^rd place) after we lost our Carabao Cup Q/F.

 

Shortly afterwards I took charge at Watford, who had not only just won their Carabao Quarter, but were also in the Europa League. The 2 competitions I need to win.

 

Not everything was rosy at Watford though. The club were in 17^th place, immediately above the drop zone. We fair shot up the table in the second half of the season and finished in 7^th place, but that won’t get us into the Europa League for next season.

 

The club is also in the red financially. They have the smallest ground on the division, and this meant that I made very little headway getting them into the black, despite being in European competition.

 

Of course none of that would have mattered had my gamble paid off with required silverware, but unfortunately we went out to subsequent winner Arsenal in both semi-finals.

 

I did not get on with the Watford players, who were all paid, but wanted more money. I thought they deserved less money, given their whole having played rubbish and having got the previous manager sacked.

 

Watford certainly was a change from Man City where I had hundreds of millions to spend, but nobody to spend it on.

 

Anyway, come the end of the season with no money, no Europa League and no time for the underperforming prima donnas, I looked for an exit.

 

It has come on the form of Middlesbrough (whose manager just got a better job) and who finished 5^th in the league.

 

This is what the challenge is going to be until I win the Europa League, attempting to be the manager of one of the 3 teams in the competition, (Or back to a Scottish team if I win the Carabao first).

 

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League
36/37	Man City	EPL		1st		League and Champions League
37/38	Man City	EPL		1st		Community Shield, European SuperCup, Club World Cup, Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup
38/39	Man City	EPL				Left after matches 18 matches in 3rd place.
38/39	Watford		EPL		7th		Took over after 18 matches in 17th place. Failed to win either Carabao or Europa League.
39/40	Middlesbrough	EPL


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 18/42

Club
 England 8/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL, FA Cup, CS, CT)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 3/4 	(CL, ESC, CWC)

Promotion Count: 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by vikeologist

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2039/40 Middlesbrough Report

I took over Middlesbrough hoping to win both the Carabao Cup and Europa League. I only achieved the first. For the second year in a row, my team was knocked out of the Europa League by Arsenal, who for the second season in a row went on to win the damn thing. Once again, we weren’t even that close to matching them, which makes me pessimistic about our chances next year. (We are in the Europa League again both by dint of winning the Carabao Cup and league position).

 

Honestly, I was tempted to just take a job in a lower league, and try to win some of the many landmarks I still need rather than spend an entire season just trying to win one trophy, but I’ve decided to give it one more season.

 

I’m not fantastically optimistic though. I bought a couple of expensive old players trying to achieve short-term goals, (half of which to be fair I reached). We won’t necessarily be a better team next season.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League
36/37	Man City	EPL		1st		League and Champions League
37/38	Man City	EPL		1st		Community Shield, European SuperCup, Club World Cup, Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup
38/39	Man City	EPL				Left after matches 18 matches in 3rd place.
38/39	Watford		EPL		7th		Took over after 18 matches in 17th place. Failed to win either Carabao or Europa League.
39/40	Middlesbrough	EPL		6th		Carabao Cup, Europa League S/F


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 19/42

Club
 England 9/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL, FA Cup, CS, CT, Carabao)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 3/4 	(CL, ESC, CWC)

Promotion Count: 8

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by vikeologist

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2040/41Middlesbrough Report

 

Thought we had a really good chance to win the Europa League, (my only reason for being here) if only because my nemesis Arsenal weren’t in the competition for once.

Unfortunately we came unstuck in the quarter final against Roma. We won the home leg 1-0, but early in the second leg we had a player sent off. Late in the match it was 2-2 on aggregate, and I’d parked the bus to try to get through on away goals, but they managed to get a third.

With 4 league matches to go, there’s a 99% chance that Middlesbrough will qualify for the Europa League again next season, so I could give it one more shot, but this season, and probably the last few seasons, chasing after Europe’s Cup for losers has been pretty boring. I almost quit last season. This time I’m definitely gone.

I actually knew what job I wanted next. Bristol Rovers who have been relegated from the Vanarama National, but it turns out they appointed a new manager the day before my Europa League disaster. That’s their third relegation in a row, so it would have been a really interesting job, but presumably I actually missed out on it by about a week.

Domestic
Season	Team		Division	Position	Notes										
18	Shelbourne 	Ire 1st		2nd		Promoted through playoffs.
19	Shelbourne	Ire Prem			Left midway through season with club mid-table (5th).
19/20	Tranmere	Van NL 		1st		Lost in FA Trophy S/F on penalties.
20/21	Tranmere	L2		1st
21/22	Bradford	L1		2nd		Automatic promotion as best losers. Good for Bradford. Bad for my challenge.
22/23	Bradford	Ch		2nd		Runners up (and promoted) again
23/24	Derby		L1		1st
24/25	Derby		Ch		2nd
25/26	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League/Welsh Cup Double
26/7	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	2nd		Welsh Cup
27/8	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		League /Irn Bru Cup
28/9	Carmarthen	Welsh PL	1st		NMG Cup, league and reached group stage of Europa League.
29/30	Newcastle	Ch		1st		Cakewalk.
30/31	Bradford PA	Van North	15th
31/32	Bradford PA	Van North	7th		Knocked out in 1st round of playoffs.
32/33	Bradford PA	Van North			Left at end of January with team in 5th place. 
32/33	Hibernian	Scottish PL	3rd		Took team from 6th to 3rd. Europa League Q/F, Scottish Cup Losing Finalists
33/34	Hibernian	SPL		2nd		Finished 2nd on inferior goal difference. Qualified for CL.
34/35	Hibernian	SPL		1st		League, Betfred Cup, Scottish Cup
35/36	Man City	EPL		4th		FA Cup and Champions League
36/37	Man City	EPL		1st		League and Champions League
37/38	Man City	EPL		1st		Community Shield, European SuperCup, Club World Cup, Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup
38/39	Man City	EPL				Left after matches 18 matches in 3rd place.
38/39	Watford		EPL		7th		Took over after 18 matches in 17th place. Failed to win either Carabao or Europa League.
39/40	Middlesbrough	EPL		6th		Carabao Cup, Europa League S/F
40/41	Middlesbrough	EPL				Lost in EL Q/F. Left in 5th place with 4 matches to go.


International
Year	Team				Achievements
23-24	Ireland				7 months, 2 matches, 2 defeats.
24-28	Scotland			Promotion from Nations League C. 
					2026 World Cup 2nd round.
					Promotion from Nations League B
					2028 Euros - 1 point from group stage and sacked.
28-35	Wales				Failed to win promotion from Nations League B or qualify for the 2030 World Cup
					Promotion from Nations League B.
					Qualified for 2032 Euros and knocked out in group stage
					Relegated from Nations League A.
					Qualified for 2034 World Cup


Challenge Progress 19/42

Club
 England 9/12 		(VNL, L2, L1, Ch, EPL, FA Cup, CS, CT, Carabao)			
 Scotland 4/7		(Irn Bru Cup, Betfred Cup, SPL, Scottish Cup)
 Ireland 0/7
 N Ireland 0/9
 Wales 3/3		(WPL, WC, NMGC)
 European & World 3/4 	(CL, ESC, CWC)

Promotion Count: 8