dafuge's FM18 challenge

[TrevKep]

Season 5

Onwards and upwards.  Champions again.  This time setting goals / points / and disciplinary records (I like to get stuck in ).

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20 points ahead of Blackburn in second might be the biggest margin I've won a league by.  I also had a good run in the League Cup but eventually succum to Brighton in the semi's.

Again I leaned on the loan market heavily but I've picked up one or two gems relatively cheap.

Firstly Dave Timmons who doesn't look like much but at League One level hes very handy.  I picked up Dave for £14k from Telford last season.  He started the season as 5th or 6th choice striker but due to the limit on loan players he ended up cementing a play in the first team and progressed to become (according to my Assistant) our highest ability striker.

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However I feel my best striker is Stuart Blair.  Blair initially agreed to join on a bosman but as I had some spare funds and few players in my squad who weren't on loan I paid Derry £80k to bring him in early.  He hit the ground running with hat-tricks in his first two appearance and whilst he had a few baron spells he ultimately was my top scorer with 32 in all comps. 

multi hosting

 

The hard Brexit has been an absolute wounder.  I've found a couple VERY good Africans who agreed to sign for the Boro but due to lack of appearances or low International ratings I could get them permits.  Hopefully I can find a few more who are interested now I'm in the Championship but if not I will keep stocking my squad with loans. 

[Cloondawg]

Season 1 (2018/19) - Vanarama National League North

Competitions:

Overview

Vanarama National League North (Table | Results):

Board Expectation: Fight bravely against relegation. Media Prediction: 21st.

Finish: 17th.

We got off to quite a good start with 7 points out of the first 4 games, but then the lack of quality in the squad really started to show. The next win didn't follow until October and good results were sporadic at best until late December. With having to bring a lot of new players in, most of which only slight improvements on what we already had, the players struggled to get any sort of consistency and struggled to adapt to the league. However, when I had settled upon a tactic that seemed to work and I'd found my best team, things started to click. James Spruce was brought in on loan from Bristol Rovers in November, but was initially out for around a month - his debut for the club uncoincidentally aligned with the start of our best run of the season in Jan and Feb with 6 wins out of 10 games and Spruce banging them in. We hit another very bad run in March and were still involved in a big relegation battle, but just about stumbled over the line for survival in the league, securing this on the 2nd last game of the season.

FA Cup (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Second Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in First Round by Plymouth Argyle.

I was very pleased to have a decent run in the FA Cup in my first season here. We turned over Evo Stick side Aylesbury Utd, before scraping through an epic tie with Wealdstone at a time when we couldn't buy a win in the league. Then we sneaked through a tie with Vanarama National League side Poole with a 1-0 win to make the First Round. An exciting tie at Top Field in Hitchin saw us face League 2 outfit Plymouth, but they had too much for us in the end and knocked us out with a 4-2 victory. We got back into the game twice making it 2-1 and 3-2 late on, but in truth they dominated and Darren Pratley's screamer sealed out fate in the 89th minute.

FA Trophy (Results):

Board Expectation: Reach Third Qualifying Round.

Finish: Knocked out in First Round by Tranmere Rovers.

Eased through the Third Qualifying Round against Chasetown, but a First Round tie away to National League side Tranmere, who actually finished 3rd this season, proved too much and we got beat 4-1.

Club:

Squad (End of Season Awards):  There isn't very much quality in the squad and a lot of the better players we had this season were only on loan, which is a worry for next year. We're weak at the back and shipped a lot of goals (6th most in the league), but did manage to score a lot especially once we went 2 up front and Spruce + Macfoy-Johnston got a good partnership going. Improvements need to be made at the back next season.

Transfers: We brought in a number of players, which meant things took a while to click and get going so next season I think I'll look at making fewer changes if possible. I'll hopefully to bring back some of the players we had on loan too.

Key Players: 

James Spruce - Came in on loan in November from Bristol Rovers, but was out injured until mid-December coinciding with a great run of form that kept us up. He scored 19 goals in 24 games and chipped in with a few assists too. A revelation.

Dion Macfoy-Johnston - Struggled to get going, but really benefitted from being up top with Spruce and formed a great partnership with him. Finished as my top goalscorer with 22 goals and most assists with 8. Signed a new contract to play for another year at Hitchin.

Tom Ouldridge - In on loan from Swindon in December and contributed immediately. Played well on the right wing in a position which we were weak.

Charlie Smith - Inherited him from the start of the game. An ever present in the team, he started 39 games in the league. 5 goals and 5 assists was a decent return. Got him signed up for another year here.

Jack Broadhead - Brought him in on a free before the season started to add some physical presence in midfield and he did exactly this. Gets stuck in and gave the defence some protection. Another one signed up for next year.

Best Youth Intake Player: Declan Rook - Has some decent mentals, may give him a few chances in the team next season.

Overall Best Eleven 

Finances: Look fairly stable and the FA Cup run definitely helped with that.

Manager Profile: Got my National C licence and a few improvements to my attributes.

Season    Team           League                             Finish   FA Cup      FA Trophy   Top Goalscorer         Most Assists          Notes  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19   Hitchin Town   Vanarama National League North     17th     1st Round   1st Round   Macfoy-Johnston (22)   Macfoy-Johnston (8)   Avoided relegation

 

[themonk9223]

we've done it!!

 

first of i just like to mention i had taken a break and forgot to post, so its been a while and i had progressed before i realised. anyway without further ado..

with only 3 losses we won the premier league! unbelievable!!

not only have we had a good year in the prem we have dominated else where too

a massive win in europe! looking forward to playing the the big one next year!

 

transfers-

a few young players for reserves with decent potential. Elano was by far the best signing scoring 20 goals this season. 

record signing panico also was solid at the back.

another superstar to retire this season was leo messi

again still looks like he would be my best player even at 38.

[TrickyTree91]

Been away from this challenge for a while. So not updated on here for a few seasons.

Managed to get up from League 2 at the second time of asking. Picked up a few experienced players for the season which made a massive difference;

Matty James - Former Leicester man chipped in with 5 goals and 5 assists, average rating of 7.12. 

Sam Vokes - Fans player of the season, 16 goals in 34 games, also with an average rating of 7.12.

Danny Drinkwater was a disappointment but still did a steady job.

After a mid-table finish in my first season in League 1, I'm coming up to January in second campaign, sitting top of the table by a point. Managed to sign former Liverpool and England midfielder Jordan Henderson which has seen us control possession and dominate games.

Will update further at the end of the season...

 

 

[thomas_e]

Congrats @themonk9223! 

Good luck in the Champions League! 

[Nylyf]

Hi, has anyone managed to get Tiverton? Have reloaded for hours but was not able to get them..

[Jellico73]

8 hours ago, Nylyf said:

Hi, has anyone managed to get Tiverton? Have reloaded for hours but was not able to get them..

What I ended up doing was create a custom database with the team I wanted in the League (in my case Enfield Town), and then holidaying a year.  If they stayed up I took over them then, if not it was back to the drawing board.  I'm not sure the 'save a day before promotion' trick really does a good job of randomizing what teams go up, it always seems to be the usual suspects with an outlier every once and awhile.  I was so desperate to get Enfield in i tracked then thru multiple (73 times, I wasted a morning...literally), and the best they ever finished was 4th.  You'd think there's be a 2nd or 3rd in there from time to time....

Jellico73

[TrevKep]

Season 6

We are Premier League!  After narrowly missing out on promotion in our first season in National League South we have bounced our way up the leagues and will be in the Prem next season.  Championship was a cake-walk...racking up 105 points we're going up as Champions.

I sold my best defender (Stuart Williamson) at the start of the season as I got an offer I couldnt refuse (£5m + 50% sell on) but the board didnt give me very much of it to reinvest in the squad so I was (yet again) heavily reliant on loan signings.  I did however manage to finally bring in one of the young Africans I'd had an eye on for a season or so.  The hard Brexit has made it really challenging but Serigne Fall proved a great signing and was better than the outgoing Stuart Williamson (see previous post for screenshot)

Yet again Blair and Timmins helped fire me to promotion.  Blair notched nearly a goal a game.  Timmins had 28 goals and 28 assists in 36 starts.

 

We're building a new stadium (just 15k) next season so we've agreed to ground share with Reading for the next two years.  I've got a £20m budget so I should be able to finally start to build a squad of our own and not rely on loans...that being said if there are a few wonderkids who can be brought in for a season or two from the big boys I wont turn them away.

[TreppyCharm]

Matlock - End of first season

We certainly didn't make it easy on ourselves, but we did stay up despite 1/5 relegation odds.

A large number of inbound transfers and loans were required due to the dilapidated starting squad. Hoping for less transfers and more squad stability next season.

[Andrew Haines]

As I do most years I've been waiting for the last patch before buying the latest version. It's out so let the challenge commence. I'm going with Lancaster City.

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[reerdo]

Right I am going to jump in and have a go at this, with a twist. I am going to try it with only using players that come through my own youth academy so no buying or loaning what so ever. The reason for this is I am utterly rubbish at judging players in the lower leagues and have as much success in the transfer market as Del Boy does becoming a millionaire.

So without further ado and a good couple of hours siming season one I present to you my team . . . . 

 

I was rather pleased when they came up as one of my options (I didn't do the save on the 24th thing and just went with what I was given) as they are fairly local to me and my parents used to live there for a while.

I really want to try my tactic from the Community Tactics Challenge so to start with I am going to go in with the totally unfit for lower league set up of . . . .

I will obviously work on a 'Plan B' for when this totally doesn't work at all.

One thing that will be a struggle early on is the total lack of a left back other than Will Putt so will need to look to retrain someone as back up

[Andrew Haines]

Unfortunately my first shot at the challenge was unsuccessful. I was relegated in my first season. I didn't really get my head around the changes to the scouting system.

I felt a little unlucky to be relegated as I sat outside the relegation zone by a point with two games to go. I picked up four points from the final two games which I would have expected to be enough. Tamworth who were sat behind me however won their final two games and dropped us into releaation.

I'm going to have another crack, this time as Stalybridge. One of my best every games was with Stalybridge back with CM 2001/02. 16 years on I can still remember that my midfield was the regens (back when regens were a thing) of Rivaldo, Zidane, Davids and Beckham. Fond memories.

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[jimmy3]

I've been doing the youth challenge, not taking part in the thread but following the rules, pretty respectable first season, finishing 12th with Leatherhead, but something just happened that I wasn't aware could happen.

That's Salisbury there! It's possible for teams below the Regional Premier Divisions to show up after two seasons!

Before anyone asks, unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, I've used my real name and DoB on my manager, so I'm not willing to share the save file, but I wanted to give a heads up that it's possible.

[jimmy3]

OK, I guess this file wanted to be played.

I still had the holiday man file from when I found Leatherhead.

I ran it on until 24th June a year later, as I knew Salisbury were presumably in the league needed to be promoted to a playable league, and saved there...

And Salisbury showed up on the first try! So it's a pristine unplayed file, with Salisbury available.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/4iam9tycmk6m1i1/Dafuge+Challenge+-+Salisbury.fm

Large Database, Players loaded from the three regional leagues, and players from top clubs in Europe. (Technically this wouldn't include Salisbury, but it looks like their players are present).

It has ALL leagues set as View Only, except for the English leagues set to playable.

[Andrew Haines]

Stalybridge Celtic

 

Conference North – 2018/19 – 4th

 

Overview

Having started again after my challenge as Lancaster ended in relegation in my first season, promotion at the first time of asking was pleasing. The higher reputation of Stalybridge helped, as did the increased wage budget. A bit of experience with the new scouting system was also advantageous.

We were fairly established in the playoffs and edged further towards the top end in the latter stages of the season. As I was able to bring in better players we became stronger and I went into the playoffs confident. Non of the games were easy however with narrow victories over Boston and Tamworth setup a final with Stockport. We were the better team but succumbed to a late equaliser at 3-2 in the 91^st minute, setting up extra time. We were running on empty but managed to nick the game 4-3 with a goal by Owen Gallacher to see us promoted.

The squad is solid and have renewed their contracts into next season but further strengthening is necessary if we are to get into the league.

Key Players

Elvis Otim – Ugandan Winger who contributed double figures for both goals and assists. One of the few mainstays in the team all season.

Owen Gallacher – The young forward stuck 24 league goals having signed from Newcastle on a free.

Armand Gnanduillet – The star upfront in the run in to the playoffs, Ivorian Gnanduillet scored 8 in 15 from the deep lying forward position.

 

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19         Conference North                4th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted

 

[Warhawk]

Sorry for the delay again everyone.

Standings are updated.

@dkouv, your players are up on your champion page.

@tajj7 and @themonk9223, I have created pages for you as well which you can access from the home page.  At the moment I just have your season results and cup results.  tajj7, yours are probably complete but let me know if I'm missing any; themonk9223 I only have incomplete cup results for you, from your last season plus the FA cup in your second to last season, and I could tell you at least reached the final in the Trophy in your first season,  If you can, let me know what else you made it to the quarter-finals in.

Also, if you guys could provide me with a manager profile screenshot at the end of the challenge, plus screenshots of 5-8 key players in your challenge with a short 2-3 sentence blurb (look at dkouv and thomas_e if you want an example), I'll add them too.

[Jellico73]

22 hours ago, Andrew Haines said:

Key Players

Elvis Otim – Ugandan Winger who contributed double figures for both goals and assists. One of the few mainstays in the team all season.

I have him on my Enfield save as a loan player, playing as an M(R).

When he's good, he's very good, but he's made a few mistakes for me that just leave me scratching my head.

Jellico73

[Jellico73]

 

 

Episode 26 has been posted.  Form has been up and down, but we've managed to stay midtable thus far.  Have some new signings as well that should bolster the defense.

Thanks for watching!

Jellico73

[reerdo]

Well that didn't go according to plan . . . sacked by 'Ricay' before Christmas. So for attempt number two I will be going with . . . Warrington

Though when I turned up to meet my backroom staff it was eerily quiet . . .

 

[themonk9223]

On 06/03/2018 at 15:52, Warhawk said:

Sorry for the delay again everyone.

Standings are updated.

@dkouv, your players are up on your champion page.

@tajj7 and @themonk9223, I have created pages for you as well which you can access from the home page.  At the moment I just have your season results and cup results.  tajj7, yours are probably complete but let me know if I'm missing any; themonk9223 I only have incomplete cup results for you, from your last season plus the FA cup in your second to last season, and I could tell you at least reached the final in the Trophy in your first season,  If you can, let me know what else you made it to the quarter-finals in.

Also, if you guys could provide me with a manager profile screenshot at the end of the challenge, plus screenshots of 5-8 key players in your challenge with a short 2-3 sentence blurb (look at dkouv and thomas_e if you want an example), I'll add them too.

i been on hiatus for a week or so. i will go in later an do it all. 

[allisiaa]

Giving this a go with Mickleover. Profile: https://imgur.com/a/Kxxjd

[themonk9223]

@Warhawk

my manager

pretty much got got successive courses all the way to pro license.

  

here's my competition history and wasn't really competitive in competitions that i didn't win.

my best eleven the 2 st were on loan for 2-3 years respectively, booty was my super 6ft8 poacher. though imo i would have moller in the starting 11 due to the fact he scored 55 league goals and  in 1 season! albeit being the vanarama south and he was a 31 y/o league 2 quality player.

Peter Aird

ill start with my no.1 and captain. solid in the sticks and got him on a free! he refused a contract at boro and initially rejected a bosman move here, after no one else come in for him he was released and then only agreed to join if i gave him vice captain. the same year my captain left and he stepped up. 2 years and 27 clean sheets with plenty more to come i hope.

Gianni Panico

my 1st big money signing. a whopping £40.5 million CB. and worth every penny! so solid at the back its even his media description. instrumental in us winning the title in his first season and you cant argue with those physicals. all i'm saying is 19 strength.

Didier Demel

from my biggest spend to my greatest bargain! and i'm not joking... 215k yes 215k. he is world class. found him through a media post about his international antics. had decent stats and good potential so why wouldn't i snap him up? 11 goals in 22 league games is nothing to be sniffed at.

Walter Lima

£15.5 m. look at those playmaker stats! an average well rounded player with the eyes and brain of a certain mesut ozil. currently retaining him to play cdm too. disappointingly he hasnt had the assists to show for it. but the combination of 6ft4 17 strenth was too good for me not to put him in the cdm position and spray the long balls to the wingers or strikers.

Martell Tatlor-Crossdale

mr. martell had to give him a shout out because he may not be good enough now but he has been with me through the leagues. an ever present figure who is my leading league apps and goal scorer and 132 and 70! out on loan now and will hopefully sell him otherwise he will remain in the u23s. has been a great service to this club.

Jay Lynch

only here as good ol' jay is the best player to come out of the youth system. was a decent player at the time but never really progressed. scored on his debut and that was the only goal he ever scored. playes 28 games most of which were in league 1 where he actually had an impressive 7.13 rating.

Verdict...

will continue to play this save in the future and has been very enjoyable.

[Warhawk]

OK, you're all set.

[themonk9223]

@Warhawk thanks mate

[pauso]

I'll give a try with Whitby. If they don't sack me i'll post a screenshot at the end of season 1

[TrevKep]

Season 7

Wow massively exceeded expectations and finished 2nd in the Prem (1st season).  The title was never on but due to a strong run at the end of the season we finished ahead of the likes of Man City and Chelsea.  

Again I was forced into a tricky decision at the start of the year and had to accept an offer for my best player.  Fall went off to West Ham for £20m which allowed me to wheel and deal in the transfer market.  I brought in nearly an entire new squad (about 4 players remain from my Championship promotion).  I also managed to sell Timmins for £9m to Ross County (where the F did Ross County get £9m?!? )

For whatever reason once in the Prem I could secure a work permit for just about everyone so I searched far and wide for talent.  My wage budget is still pretty small and not too many players want to come to Farnborough but Arioli was probably my best find.  He set me back just £1.5m and was given wonderkid status initially.  He probably has progressed as far as he can but I might keep him around for next season.

That being said my star performer was a young Italian upstart on loan from Napoli.  His stats speak for themselves (if his mental stats were a little bit better he would be unstoppable) and he topped the charts in terms of goals and assists (took corners).  Napoli wont let me keep Caselli for another season but if he ever becomes available I will do my best to bring him back to the 'Boro.

We also picked up the FA cup...smashing West Ham 5-2 at Wembely.

With restrictions on the number of Foreign players we can have in the squad (17) its going to be difficult to build a squad that can compete on two fronts.  I have no home grown at club players and very few home nation players.  I will try and pick up some home grown talent in the summer but they usually all come through the big clubs and there's little to no chance of signing them.

[Tivvy18]

It's been a while but I'm back in for another attempt at it this year. Hopefully this time I will actually manage to get promoted at least once! I'm sure Weymouth will not regret their decision to hire me...

[Andrew Haines]

Stalybridge Celtic

 

Conference National – 2019/20 – 4th

 

Overview

A strong finish to the season lifted us from lower midtable (we were 18^th after 20 games) solidly into the playoffs. Promotion was not to be but we made it to the playoff final courtesy of a routine 2-0 win over Hartlepool at home and an extra time 3-2 win over Newport in Wales. The final at Wembley saw us up against Salford who were promoted with us last season. Salford finished in 5^th a place behind us so I was confident. We were largely outplayed however and went down to an 85^th minute goal losing 2-1.

I am not too disappointed not to go up. The strong finish and general quality of the team points towards a successful season next year. I am short a left back and a central defender but if I can sort this out we’ll have a good year.

Key Players

Callum Roberts – The young forward scored 24 goals in 28 games while leading the line although he is naturally better as an inside forward.

Caolan Lavery – A journeyman striker picked up following his release from Sheff Utd. Scored 14 goals despite an injury hit season.

Ben Gladwin –Gladwin was picked up on a free from Blackburn and gave me my first natural wide playmaker in that role on the left.

 

Record

Season          League                          Position          Europe                        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19         Conference North                4th                                             Playoff Winners, Promoted
2019/20         Conference National             4th                                             Playoff Finalists

 

[pauso]

my odds for first season..

[larxus]

Season 2021/22 Review

Tonbridge Angels FC

Season Review: Lost out in the playoffs finals to Wrexham, but reaching the playoffs was a miracle in itself. To be fair, I was using the 3 strikers tactic, just because I wanted to see what the hype was all about. We broke the record for goals in a season though my team's quality in defence meant that we shipped a shipload too. So you can guess what my aim for next season would be.

Board expectations:

Vanarama National: Fight against relegation

Media prediction: 24th

FA Cup: First Round

FA Trophy: Second Round

Results:

Vanarama National: 4th | League Table | Player Stats | Team Stats

FA Cup: Third Round

FA Trophy: Semi-Finals

Season Summary:

Transfers

Finances

Key Performers:

Josh Walker: Brought in initially to be an upgrade to Bako. When we switched to the 3 striker formation, realised I need both of them. There were days when he was simply not effective upfront or missing clear cut chances, but he was instrumental in our final push to the playoffs, bagging 8 goals in the final 5 matches.

Offrande Zanzala: Top our scoring AND assists charts. If only his passing is a bit better, I would feel a lot happier playing him as the False 9.

Jack Paxman: A familiar performer. I can't stress enough how much he's needed in my midfield. Without him, we usually don't create much chances.

Youth Prospect:

Not worth mentioning.

Next Season's Goals:

1) Top Half

2) Central Defence is my main weakness at the moment. 

Year   Division          		Position   FA Cup		     FA Trophy		    Notes
2018   Vanarama National League South   13th	   Fourth Qualifying Round   Third Round
2019   Vanarama National League South   2nd	   Fourth Qualifying Round   Third Qualifying Round
2020   Vanarama National League South   2nd	   Fourth Qualifying Round   Third Round
2021   Vanarama National                4th	   Third Round               Semi-Finals

[Jellico73]

Episode 29 of my challenge has gone live, as Enfield Town fights for a midtable finish their first year in the Vanarama.  We scoring, we're not defending, and are skirting disaster in more ways than one.

Check it out here:

 

Thanks for watching!

Jellico73

[KVJ92]

I have had a few tries already. 1 with Farsley for 5 seasons before losing patience. Was in playoff twice and lost in the semi-final (1 and 2 game for me) 

Then I tried with Enfield. 12th first season followed by 5 points in the first 10 games and I rage-deleted the save. 

And because of my success I am now trying to get Tooting & Mitcham promoted. I will probably reload this week to see if I can get them. Otherwise I will take one of the other I'm getting. Right now Coalville is the favourite. But I really want The Terrors!

I completed the challenge back in FM12 and in FM17 i got Enfield to the Championsship a month before FM18, so never got further with the save. 

[13-gigi]

Got promoted to Premier League and Hatton was a top quality player again!

[13-gigi]

Moving  away and another loan to the list!

The first: Edgar Street's purchase

The second: Edgar Street's expansium 2 years ago and now just 1 year from going back home, the third one!

[KVJ92]

On 13/3/2018 at 10:11, KVJ92 said:

I have had a few tries already. 1 with Farsley for 5 seasons before losing patience. Was in playoff twice and lost in the semi-final (1 and 2 game for me) 

Then I tried with Enfield. 12th first season followed by 5 points in the first 10 games and I rage-deleted the save. 

And because of my success I am now trying to get Tooting & Mitcham promoted. I will probably reload this week to see if I can get them. Otherwise I will take one of the other I'm getting. Right now Coalville is the favourite. But I really want The Terrors!

I completed the challenge back in FM12 and in FM17 i got Enfield to the Championsship a month before FM18, so never got further with the save. 

New manager for Marine.

I couldn't wait. And I decided not to go with Coalville. I wanted a team near London, but didn't get any of the teams that I had decided I would take. So I took over Marine. 

[TrevKep]

Season 8

So close.  So so close.  How have I not picked up one of the trophies?!?

Firstly the league.  Brutal.  I've been going back and forth with Man Utd all season.  I'm one point clear on the last day of the season.  Its my 3rd game in 5 days.  My squad are broken and battered.  I've tried to rotate between the games but we just ran out of legs.  We lose away to Southampton on the last game as Ziegler see's red in the second half just when it looks like we are getting back into it.  2nd again.

We picked up another FA Cup but its all about the Champions League.  We're up against Man City.  We've both enjoyed a victory over the other.  Both thrillers.  4-2 Man City at their place and 4-1 to the Boro at ours (well Reading as the stadium is still being built).  Its a great start as we go 1-0 up early.  Its fiesty with 4 cards in the first 25 minutes.  I tell my players to stay on their feet.  Ziegler picks up a second yellow in the 30th min (the FM rage meter is at max).  He's let us down again.  Man City quickly turn it around.  We have 3 or 4 real good chances but it finishes 2-1.  It was a great run putting out Bayern (3-2 agg) then Real (7-2 agg) and finally Barca (5-1 agg) before falling short in the final.

 

We go again.  I've got £120m to spend and a strong squad to build on.  Next year will be our year.

[tremor]

Tooting & Mitcham United 2021-22 Overview:

Took a big old break, work and home-life got too busy to focus but now I'm back... just finished my Season in League 1 with The Terrors and I'm not sure it could have gone much better!

... maybe aside from getting beaten in the final by Man City U23s, but they had Sane', Aguero and Sterling in their starting line-up so only losing 0-2 doesn't seem so bad!

Think the Championship is going to be a massive step-up though so i'm just praying for survival! Hopefully find a few more gems during pre-season again, but hoping a lot of the old guard can step up too.

Will need to pick up another Central Defender, Ball Winning Midfielder, Right wing-back and a left footed striker and a Goalie too. People have started poaching my back-room staff which is also frustrating...

[tremor]

Forgot to post my profile update:

and 2 more bits of excellent news to go with the promotion!

Upgrades all round!

[iBlue]

I need serious help!

I must have spent the last 10 hours reloading on June 24...

I could possibly be past a 1000 reloads. My mental state has been slightly damaged.

Please help me!!! I need a Worthing save

[KVJ92]

On 16/3/2018 at 15:30, KVJ92 said:

New manager for Marine.

I couldn't wait. And I decided not to go with Coalville. I wanted a team near London, but didn't get any of the teams that I had decided I would take. So I took over Marine. 

I dont get this game. Can't seem to figure out the tactical part. Tried to keep it really simple and changing during the game if I spotted something. First 3 games was crap. Then 7 games won. Suddenly they don't know how to play anymore. I know my midfield isn't among the best in the league. But I dont get how I can go through 7 league games only conceding 4 goals. And after that conceding 19 goals in 8 games. 

Leiston, St. Albans og Aldershot is FA cup qualification. 

[Jellico73]

2020/2021 Recap

Well, our first season in the Vanarama went better than expected.  Picked to be relegated, we instead had a death grip on 12th place until the end of the season, when we went 1-5-4 in our last 10 games, finishing 15th.

The good news?  We scored 112 goals.

The bad news?  We allowed 105.

The interesting?  We were shut out in just three matches.

Highlights of the year:  An 8-0 thrashing of Ebbsfleet that saw their manager fired before the game was over I think.  A 6-2 extra time win against Hampton & Richmond Borough, and a 6-1 beat down of Glenn Tamplin and Billericay.

The low lights:  Losing Lucas Green-Birch to a season ending ACL injury.  Getting thiumped by relegation bound Aldershot Town 4-1, and in our last game of the season, going 4-0 up against Dover Athletic 30 minutes into the game, and leaving with a 5-5 draw....

In 24 matches, Green-Birch had 16 goals, 16 assists, and 6 POM's.  When he went down, Tom Ashton again stepped up, ending the season with 34 goals, 18 assists, and 6 POM's. 

Honestly, does this look like a player who has had 91 goals, 54 Assists, 22 POM's and a 7.29 rating over the last 119 games?

 

Here's our progress so far:

SEASON	LEAGUE	STANDING	FA CUP	FA TROPHY	TOP SCORER	MOST ASSISTS	BEST RATING
2018/2019	Vanarama South	5th	4th Qualifying	3rd Round	Tom Ashton, 40	Tom Ashton, 23	Tom Ashton, 7.63
2019/2020	Vanarama South	1st	4th Qualifying	2nd Round	Lucas Green-Birch, 38	Tom Ashton, 20	Lucas Green-Birch, 7.61
2020/2021	Vanarama Nat.	15th	4th Qualifying	4th Round	Tom Ashton, 34	Tom Ashton, 18	Tom Ashton, 7.41

 

And those interested can follow along here as well:

 

Thanks!

Jellico73

[TrevKep]

Season 9

After coming so close last year I was pretty confident we would bag at least one of the trophies this time round.

We walked the league.  Man City set the early pace but once we went top it was never in doubt.  11 points clear of 2nd place Utd.

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We under performed / ran into big teams early doors in the domestic cups being knocked out by Liverpool (league cup) and Man Utd (FA cup) respectively.

Then onto the Champions League.  On route to the final we put Monaco (6:1); Man City (8:1) & PSG (8:4) to the sword.  Barcelona met us in the final with home advantage as it was being played at the Nou Camp.  It was a nervy affair.  We went in at half time 1-0 down so I made some attacking changes.  We equalise in the 69th minute and really should have scored a few more.  We pick up an early goal in extra time and hold on to secure the win.

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What a journey.  I've really enjoyed the ride but to be honest if we hadn't won the CL at the end of this season I'd have to walked away for a bit after what happened the season before.

Last season's star performers

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[Tivvy18]

Weymouth - Season 2018/2019 - National League South - 15th

A season that threatened to go somewhere ended up with a disappointing slide into 15th place. Though my aim was always to survive, being only a few points off of the play offs mid-season gave me a little bit of hope that the season wouldn't end after 42 matches. However, with survival secured the team took an early holiday and hopes of anything more faded away. So it was job done but I feel like it could have been so much more...

League - (Fixtures 1) (Fixtures 2) (Positions)

It started off rough, got better and then went down hill again at the end.

Cups - (FA Cup) (FA Trophy)

Nothing to shout home about in either cups, being knocked out in our first match in both.

Transfers - It's been a busy season as I've been trying to strengthen the thread bare squad I started with.

Finances - Better than what was originally being projected but, as always, still not looking too great.

Any other business -

Brexit has been announced and I assume I have a soft one? It's my first time playing through to a Brexit decision but it doesn't sound like it is going to be a bad one.

The board have decided a new stadium is in order as our old one costs too much to run. 

Looking Forward - Was it my tactics or was it my players? Either way, I need to work out what went wrong over the summer and strengthen the team. I would like to think the play offs wouldn't be a too ambitious target but I would be happy as long as we improve on our finish this season.

[KVJ92]

Marine - Vanarama National League North - 2018/2019

 

League Table - Losing too many games. If we can turn some of them into getting at least 1 point I reckon we can go in playoff next season. 

FA cup - Lost to a team from a division higher than us which they ended up winning. 

FA Trophy - Lost to 4th place from our own division. 

Squad - Have already extended some of the contracts, but will need to find a lot of new ones. 

Transfers

Finances - Not looking good

Key Player Profiles:

Matty Hamilton - top scorer. Broke his leg in January. 

Dwight McNeil - 15 goals and 12 assists. Was forward for a brief period but most of his time was spend on the wing. 

Liam Canavan - Although a few is better than him according to my ass man, he just played better. 

Career Overview:

Season          Team              League                                     Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/2019       Marine            Vanarama National League North             12th         n/a

Next Season:

Hopefully playoff. Depends on the players I can get in. 

[Punchdrunk]

Not played FM for a few years but I’m back.

 

Taken over Dulwich Hamlet so will be a challenge getting to know the team as well as the changes in FM!

[KVJ92]

Marine - Vanarama National League North - 2019/2020

 

League Table - Turned the losses into draws for most of the season. Got to playoff final and lost 2-1 after leading 1-0 

FA cup - Lost to Nottingham Forest in 2nd round. Gave me £72k in TV money and a soldout stadium. Nottingham ended up 2nd in League One. 

FA Trophy 

Squad - Have already offered extensions for the starters for this season. Hopefully I can find improvements and use some of this years as backup

Transfers

Finances - FA cup run saw us going up to £100k balance at one point. 

Key Player Profiles:

Matty Hamilton - top scorer. 

Theo Hudson - 16 goals and 12 assists from a winger. 

Theo Wharton - 52 games in central midfield with an average rating of 7.33. 

Career Overview:

Season          Team              League                                     Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/2019       Marine            Vanarama National League North             12th         n/a
2019/2020       Marine            Vanarama National League North              5th         n/a

Next Season:

Promotion.

[13-gigi]

At the end of the day we're still not cut for it even our good start of season, but we went to a really bad second half of the season with just 8 points and fell to relegation zone just before the final match.

[michaeltmurrayuk]

Altrincham - National League North 2018/19 - Season 1

So here we go again, if a little late this season - I did actually start this back on release but until recently haven't really managed to get into the game. (To save time these write ups will likely be smaller than usual, whilst I won't be able to upload videos as Windows has decided FM18 isn't a game so won't let me capture the highlights and the in-game option takes too long to process).

I also changed up the extra leagues I added this time adding the top divisions from Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain aswell as N.Ireland, Wales and Scotland to help out with Brexit.

Starting Profile - I think I already posted this, but may aswell post it again, though it seems I forgot to set any favourite teams

Also a bit of a different challenge this year as I have taken on Altrincham who were my local club when I was growing up (just about edging out Stockport County) and are a bigger team than I normal take on, having been a mainstay of the Conference since it was formed and have just suffered back to back relegations to put them in the challenge. It also means we get an actual stadium, though there isn't much room to expand it.

As always the initial Expectations were to avoid going back down, with the Bookies expecting a bottom half finish, though the Media Predicted we'd go straight back down.

Transfers - Busy season as I went about rebuilding the side, bringing in 46 players though most were on non-contract terms and ended up being released, I also sold a couple of players including one for a club record £1K. Also looks like we have a new feature this year as AI teams took a couple of my players on trials though they never followed up.

National League North - An excellent season as we stormed to the title setting a new goals record of 110 just about beating Fylde's old record of 109, but narrowly missing out on getting 100 points.

I should admit I adopted the overpowered 3-4-3 formation - though to be fair it's not that much different than the old narrow 4-3-3 formations that were deadly in the earlier years of the challenge (and it's rather close to an old 3-5-2 formation I used on CM01/02) and whilst it's overpowered it's not a perfect formation as it still requires players suited for the roles and good enough to either defend or score.

We got off to a slow start as I was still bringing in better players and tweaking the tactic as we lost our opening game and then drew and won four each of the next eight games as we kept on making awful mistakes in defence and some of my strikers were struggling we also managed to rescue four points thanks to injury time goals, I also had Defender who managed to get three red cards before I got rid of him.

We then kicked into gear winning the next seven games in part thanks to Striker Poole scoring an insane 14 goals in those games which included a 9-3 win over Stockport

That pushed us to the top of the table until heavy defeats to Stalybridge and Southport knocked us back down taking us into December where we won five on the trot including victories over York and Fylde to open up a nine point gap at the top.

Going into the new year we won 12 of the next 14 games which put us one win away from the title and with us 3-0 up at half-time in Southport it seems we celebrated early as a second half collapse saw Southport snatch a draw, of course them injuring three of my players didn't help.

Though this allowed us to secure the title at home as we thrashed Chorley 5-1 scoring four first half goals this time to make sure securing the title with four games to spare.

FA Cup - Decent run as we just about beat non-league Spalding after missing two pens, we then played out a dour 0-0 draw against Boston before having a lively replay as we fell 2-0 down and brought it back to 2-2 all within the first half hour, then on the stroke of half time Boston were reduced to 10 men and we eventually scored the winner. This set up a tie against National side Barrow and we gave them a good fight but a couple of defensive errors let us down, though of course they went on to beat Wigan in the next round so losing to them wasn't that bad.

FA Trophy - Better luck here as we made it all the way to Wembley, smashing non-league Leiston which set up a crazy tie against Guiseley where we took a 2-0 lead, but then allowed them back into the game with two goals in a minute before we went straight back up the other end and grabbed a last minute winner. We then blew past the other sides before setting up a semi-final with Tranmere.

In the First Leg it was a closely fought game not helped by defensive errors on both sides, but we claimed a slim advantage as we grabbed another late winner. Whilst the Second Leg was even more crazy we took an early lead but lost Striker Heardman to injury in the process however his replacement Comber extended our lead and added two more by half-time to secure his hat-trick and added his fourth from the spot late on, though our performance was helped by Tranmere's defence imploding four of our goals were directly the result of defensive errors.

This set up a Final against York who'd beaten Aldershot on pens and is generally the case the final was a nervy affair however we were boosted by our Keeper just about being fit enough to play in the final, though in the end he wasn't really needed as York struggled to threaten our goal and we claimed a sold win with a double from Striker Heardman who reacted first to a loose ball to give us an early lead, before smashing in a towering head late on to secure our second piece of silverware.

Squad and Home

In Goal was Brad Watkins who arrived midway through the season and proved to be a solid pair of hands.

In the Centre of Defence was Mich'el Parker (and no that doesn't appear to be a typo) who had a solid season, playing to his left was Loanee Sam Graham who improved massively over the season to become my best defender, whilst on the right was Matthew Keogh who was the best of my other options.

At Right Wing Back was Jay Wilson who was a natural winger, and I tried him up front but that didn't work so instead redeployed him as a Wing Back and after a slow start (not helped by an eight week injury) improved as he adapted to the role over the season. On the Left I brought in Zoumana Bakayogo to add a bit of experience and quality to the side, providing cover was Kieren Aplin who did well despite not really being ready yet.

In the Centre of Midfield playing as my Deep Lying Playmaker was Irishman Conor Levingston who had an excellent season, partnering him as my Box-to-Box Midfielder was Nigerian Tosin Kehinde who looks like he could be a great player and I snapped him up especially after he only wanted £230 p/w and a three year contract. Providing cover was Conor Tee who was a little bit unlucky as he just couldn't displace Levingston despite being better.

Upfront playing on the Right was James Poole (who is my only pre-existing player) and he was on fire ending the season as the leagues top scorer and being named player of the season and that was with him missing two months of the season with injuries. Down the Left was Jordan Greenidge who had a bit of a slow start but once he got settled put in some excellent performances topping the leagues assist and accuracy charts. One problem I did have initially was finding the Central Striker the best of my initial bunch was Andrew Nelson however he would struggle in the air, eventually I found my man in Tom Heardman though I did have to wait nearly three months to sign him whilst I freed up some wages, another option I had was Loanee Connor Comber who was brought in when my Strikers were getting injured and stepped up with some fine performances to keep the team ticking over with his goals against Tranmere securing our place at Wembley.

Academy - We also got some good news in our youth intake producing Aaron Bradley who is highly rated by my staff and actually impressed in the handful of games I gave him at the end of the season, it's just a bit of a shame he's a Midfielder as that is where we are well stocked.

Best XI - Pretty much spot on, though I'd swap Comber for Heardman.

Overall XI - Despite being based on the same data this one prefers Alpin on the Left?

Finances - Are actually look good as we made nearly £500K this season, ~£150K came from the FA Trohpy final, with most of the rest of our income coming from pre-season friendlies (you can make money from away friendlies by picking the ones which give you a high fee as this is generally fixed but you also get a cut of the gates and have no expenses so you can bring in £10K-£20K per game which over a dozen games adds up for this level - though this may have been fixed in a patch as next season no-one bigger seems interested).

Having solid attendances and a decent sized stadium helped as well our average attendance was 31% (~1,900) which was the sixth highest, whilst our salary costs left us 10th, with York spending nearly £1m and failing to get promoted, which was three times the amount we spend.

Facilities - Advantage of picking a bigger side is we actually have some decent facilities, our Below Average Training Facilities are rated at 1.5 stars which is about five years worth of requests dealt with, whilst our youth facilities aren't great I did somehow get the board to increase our Youth Recruitment twice which makes it Average and puts it on par with Football League clubs so hopefully we'll continue to produce youth players with potential, also got the board to upgrade our Youth facilities at the end of the season in the hopes that'll increase our Youth Level.

Profile - Most of my Attributes have already increased a few points, as I nearly reach one star rep, with the board finally letting me take a coaching course at the end of the season. I also signed a new contract reducing my wage from £750 to £210 p/w which should free up some of the wage budget. I also claimed the Manager of the Year award and claimed three Manager of the Month award, but no job offers so far.

Brexit - Looks like it's coming nice and early this time, with the Premier League getting a 17 FGN player limit which isn't bad (though I think the game has closed the U21 loophole). The Conference will use Work Permits (which pretty much means no non-domestic players) whilst I not sure about the Football League last year it said Work Permits but used the squad limits from the Prem, if it's Work Permits then that is going to make the Football League hard. Thankfully Scotland stayed with the UK, though their will be a hard Irish border, so hopefully Levingston will pick up a UK passport.

EDIT: And it looks like the Football League will be using the Prem rules rather than Work Permits which is good.

New Stadium Plans - Well so much for my finances as it seems the board have randomly decided to build a new stadium, but with only a 4,000 seated capacity which is smaller than our current ground and falls more short of the Football League rules than our current ground does

Plans For Next Season
The goal is to get my normal back-to-back promotions, as normally the National League isn't that much harder, and the quicker you can get into the Football League and turn pro the better.

Transfer wise first I'm going to try and renew the loans and a new Centre-Back and possibly a Striker and Right Wing back would be nice.

State of The World
Premier League - First season claimed by Utd, with City, Arsenal and Spurs making the top four, with Bourneouth a shock in seventh, at the bottom Brighton, Watford and Huddersfield all went down. This season Arsenal claimed it with 92 points, ahead of Spurs, City and Utd, whilst Leicester jump from 17th to 7th, newly promoted Fulham, Boro and Leeds are all straight back down.

Manager wise Conte was replaced with Jardim, Giggs is at Palace, Koeman is at Leicester, Enrique replaced Klopp at Lpool, Low replaced Guardiola, Zidane has replaced Mourinho, Benetiz went to Dortmund with Newcastle appointing Cocu, Stoke had Deschamps but replaced him with Monk, Pullis is still at WBA whilst Dyche has just joined West Ham.

Championship - Brighton and Watford return with Derby, whilst Blackburn go down to League One.

League One - It's taken 10 years but Fleetwood have finally reached the Championship as they attempt to win the challenge, at the bottom Blackpool drop down to League Two.

National League South - Challenge side Billericay win the league, with former challenge side Whitehawk following htem up.

FA Cup - Spurs beat City, after Utd beat Fulham last season.

League Cup - more disappointment for City as they lose to Chelsea on pens, whilst West Ham beat Liverpool last season.

Champions League - Real beat Utd to make it four in six years, with A. Madrid beating Bayern last season. In the Semi Utd beat Spurs, who beat City in the Quarters, with Arsenal losing to Leverkusen in the First Round.

Europa League - Liverpool beat AC in extra time, which makes up for last season where they lost to Bilbao in the Final. Chelsea went out to Paris in the 2nd Knockout Round, with West Ham finishing bottom of their group.

Italy - Juventus stormed the league with 110 pts winning 36 drawing 2 !!!

World Cup - Spain beat Colombia in the Final with England losing to Spain in the Quarters.



Leaderboard points (FM Mode)(My Steam Username is same as here if anyone wants to add me)
(points / position)
Single Game: 868,235 (224,637th)
Single Season: 868,235 (184,209th)
Single Season England: 868,235 (97,956th)
Single Season National North: 868,235 (94th :cool:)

Career Overview

Season	League	League Finish	Achievements	Leaderboard Points	Av. Attendance
18/19	National North	1st	Promoted & FA Trophy Winners!!!	868,235	1,927 (31%)

[Andrew Haines]

My save as Stalybridge ended in sacking a few weeks back. Despite promotion in my first season and a playoff final the following season I was expected to get promoted but a bad run gave me a dreaded meeting with the board. They set me a target of 11 points from 15 and I only delivered 10.

I've spent the best part of a month working on tactics with little success. Also, I had a go at a couple of Euro Challenges which also ended in failure. I've really struggled with the tactics this year.

I think I've got a decent 4-4-2 together so I'm having another crack at this challenge. I didn't want Stalybridge again as I try to avoid the bigger teams that are available and like taking on a really obscure team. I was hoping for Lancaster but St Neots came up. I've played them in past seasons and am fond of them so I'll give it ago.

profile

[Andrew Haines]

@Jellico73 I got very excited when I saw you are using my background pack (never seen it used by someone doing this challenge to my recollection). Good luck with Enfield!