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FM18 Academy Challenge - A Rising Power in the North


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stockport-countyfc.png

 

This year it’s on !!

 

FM can be a solitary pursuit and whilst there are generic Academy Challenges I think it’s interesting to share similar experiences so I’ve started doing Club Specific challenges.

Last year saw me launch the ill-fated Dulwich Hamlet Academy challenge seeing me and a few others make good progress (making the Championship) before being ground into the dirt and retiring to lick our wounds.

Still, I for one are wiser for the experience and are back for more, there is no more satisfying way to play the game if you ask me.

However, this time I think the challenge is achievable based on using a stronger starting team, the quality of regens I’ve seen so far, the Youth Recruitment expansion being readily available and a favourable Match Engine.

 

These are the rules of the challenge which will be discussed further below;

 

Club: Stockport County

Starting Manager Experience: Sunday League

Maximum Duration of Challenge: 31 seasons (end of 2050 season)

Nature of challenge: You may not sign ANY players and use only the starting squad and your own academy produced players

Objective: Win the Premier League

 

Club Choice > I wanted to avoid the holidaying process of last year’s challenge, this year we can just grab the Club from the get go with no messing around and get on with it. Stockport have good support and a good sized ground with a capacity of 10,400 which means we can build from a solid base with a good financial footing.

In real life the Club have stated their ambition to be back in the Football League by the end of the 2020 season and have made a decent start to the season. Stockport are close in proximity to the Blue & Red giants of Manchester and may locally be referred to as the '3rd Giant' (although sleeping). 

At the end of the 1997-1998 season Stockport finished 8th in the Championship narrowly missing out on the play-offs for entry into the Premier league. After that they have seen a steady decline falling to Conference North in 2015 where they have been stuck for a couple of seasons.

Manager/Time limit > I felt rather than go on and on and on we needed a finite end date to complete the challenge which is realistic. Create your own back story, but something along the lines of a 40 year old who could never make it as a player, but has come to the attention of the Club owners due to his passion for the game, man management skills, business acumen and keen eye for an up & coming player. With a vacancy for a new manager, no sign of any progress from the usual merry go-round of lower league managers they’ve decided to give you a go….. You also come cheap! 

31 seasons would see you as a 71 year old, not that uncommon in this day and age.

 

As this is an Academy Challenge you may not sign any players not produced by your Academy during your time at the Club. You WILL lose your best players constantly.  You MAY go back and re-sign them as and when you can get them back. This will infact be a key strategy. (you cannot go back historically and sign players produced before you arrived).

 

Objective; Win the Premier League with only Stockport Academy players by the end of the 2050 season.

 

 

So that’s the challenge laid bare, are you up to it? 

we_need_you_2412937.jpg

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Tips and tricks.

With a solid tactic and a bit of luck the starting squad is good enough to get you that first promotion in your first season.

I’d upgrade Junior Coaching once per season if possible. It increases the starting CA of your incoming academy players. It does increase your running costs considerably so you might want to hold off on the final step (exceptional) until you are in the Championship/League 1.

Youth Recruitment is now upgradeable from the get go, push this as hard and fast as your finances allow. This should increase the PA of your players.

Whilst increasing Junior Coaching/Youth Recruitment influences the quality of your Academy intake it’s not the be all and end all. Doing everything you can to increase your reputation should see you get rewarded in the end (improving facilities etc), the level you are playing at has a massive bearing on your reputation and you can expect a jump following promotion.

Be prepared to lose your best players. Maximise the money you get for them, try and get 50% profit of next sale. Don’t be upset, think of them as a pool of talent you can access in the future. 95% of the time they’ll rot in an under 23 team and will happily re-join you when you move up a division, they will likely have improved a fair bit as well.   

If a player has not requested to leave, negotiate any bids to a ridiculous amount, set it to non-negotiable and you can fend of Clubs through an entire transfer window unless your Chairman jumps in and accepts a bid. Which happens a lot, especially if your finances are weak.

I prioritise high ‘judging player ability/potential’ for my assistant manager as that’s the easiest way to get a good insight into how good regens are and how good they can be.

If other Clubs are targeting a Youth Player, it’s a sure sign he has high potential.       

 

 

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I started a save in Beta so a bit of catching up to do.

Season 1.

Up at the first time of asking, fairly comfortable with Jason Oswell starring with 40 goals.

No youth prospects of note but managed to upgrade both Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment and agree an upgrade to Youth Facilities.

Vanarama_National_League_North_Overview_

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  • 2 weeks later...

Distinct lack of updates in here @Mr U Rosler :)

You know I follow you after last years Dulwich Hamlet escapades.

I am attempting it with Billericay this year! Took me four attempts to get out of the VNS. First 3 resulted in sackings. Final / Current attempt won the league. :)

Looking forward to more updates from you :p

 

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1 minute ago, Mr U Rosler said:

Yep, messing around with tactics at the moment. I'll be on this soon 👍

Yeah i know the feeling. :)

I ended up settling on a 4-3-3 as well. Score a lot of goals, sadly concede a lot too. But much more consistent than any of the other formations i tried.

My thread can be found here if you're interested:

Be warned, I am lazy and record youtube videos instead of typing and taking loads of screenshots :)

 

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/02/2018 at 11:15, bucket said:

You said you’re not allowed to sign any players, but you’ve also mentioned that your ex youth players would be happy to re-join should you go up. Isn’t that defeating the object of the game? 

You aren't allowed to sign players, apart from your own Youth players that have moved on. You can re-sign them :)

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