In Honor of Sir Alex Ferguson -- Reviving the Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge!

[smp20]

1 minute ago, KeeToMyHeart said:

What an incredible season @smp20! Take a bow sir. 

Cheers @KeeToMyHeart 

[TheEarl]

Incredible season @smp20, this seems like an easy task for you.

[Keano16]

Poor enough season there @smp20, you didn't manage to get all six trophies.....

[jaysdailydose]

3 hours ago, smp20 said:

@jaysdailydose - I use 2 DMs or MCs at the moment but when I've used one DM they've either been a DLP (D/S) or HB. I don't find there is too much difference defensively between a DLP Support or Defend, they still hold the role. I personally wouldn't use a RPM there on his own; it's a cracking role with another DM though.

I've been invigilating all morning for just 3 students, which has meant I've been playing FM :P - update to follow!

Yeah, I've also used RPM with a second DM, but I don't really have the personnel to play two well right now.  Maia would just be a beast as an RPM, and he's being a bit wasted as a DM/D.

I'm like you, I've used a DLP/D before, but it's been a while since DLP/S... but if they still hold on support, that could be OK.  I just wanted Maia to be more of the creative force in the middle, and would have dropped off one of his partners to be the shield.  

Take a look at his awesomeness, you'll see why I'm trying to give him more to do.  He's just turned 21 and still "Can improve a lot."  To have not scored or made a goal in the League, and so little overall, is shocking.  Yes, I don't expect a DM/D to get much more, which is exactly why I'm experimenting.  

[jaysdailydose]

2 hours ago, TheEarl said:

Incredible season @smp20, this seems like an easy task for you.

Meh, he bottled the League Cup.  He's not that good.

[jaysdailydose]

@smp20 I'm cleaning up the leaderboard a bit, but here is your new entry for now:

Smp20 (Newcastle United F.C.) - 14 Trophies, 4 Milestones - 6,800 Points
Premier League (21/22), FA Cup (18/19, 20/21, 21/22), Carabao Cup (20/21),  Community Shield (2019,2021) -- UEFA Champions League (19/20, 20/21, 21/22), UEFA Super Cup (2020,2021), FIFA Club World Championship (20/21, 21/22) - Challenge Milestones: Won FA Cup within Four Seasons, Won Premier League within Seven Seasons, Won Premier League/FA Cup Double within 8 Seasons, Won Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League Treble within 13 Seasons!

-----

I think everything is correct.  Helluva job, bottling of the League Cup aside.  

Edited May 31, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

Leaderboard and new challengers are updated to HERE.

I've cleaned up the board a little bit, to make it easier to read as time goes on.  Things don't seem to run together as much, as I've put line breaks in between milestones, etc.  Should be both easier to read AND to update as time goes on.

I just needed someone with a freakish amount of trophies like @smp20 to make sure on my format.  

Remember folks, while he may complete -- you can always do just as good or better.  Don't let his amazing results deter you!  Keep grinding!

[m0nk3y-b0y]

Well it finally happened

The dreaded Brexit and the 14 foreign player limit has been enforced making this challenge just a little bit harder

[jaysdailydose]

LOL, look at the first 22 minutes, especially.  Damn report is getting cut off because there's so much action.



van Dijk pissed me off SO badly that he was replaced with 27 minutes to go by my 16-year-old defender Jack Clothier.  Because of injuries and suspension, he was the only backup center back of any quality available to the squad.  I didn't really intend him to play, he's only a 1.5* so far, 5* potential or not.  

Funny, I put him in, and West Ham didn't get a highlight the rest of the match... "<so and so> jinks past van Dijk" was so common, I was about to throw things, so I said... "Well, the 16-year-old certainly can't be much worse, and it'll be good experience for him."  

Some damned beautiful goals, though.  
 

[jaysdailydose]

4 minutes ago, m0nk3y-b0y said:

Well it finally happened

The dreaded Brexit and the 14 foreign player limit has been enforced making this challenge just a little bit harder

14 isn't bad, though.  Obviously, could be a lot worse.

It'll just mean that much more when you complete the challenge now.  "I had all these damned rules, and then THIS... I'm a man among wee boys!"

Edited May 31, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[m0nk3y-b0y]

2 hours ago, jaysdailydose said:

14 isn't bad, though.  Obviously, could be a lot worse.

It'll just mean that much more when you complete the challenge now.  "I had all these damned rules, and then THIS... I'm a man among wee boys!"

Haha luckily I have a strong English contingent in Pickford,Lascelles,Maguire,Chilwell,Drinkwater,James,Albrighton,Gray and Carey (promising regen) are all in my main 25 man squad with the 1st four all regular's in the starting XI.

Edited May 31, 2018 by m0nk3y-b0y

[theonets]

Amazing work @smp20

 

Also love the absolute randomness of a fourth round loss to Brentford in the midst of all those trophies. Proper Newcastle that.

[KeeToMyHeart]

West Bromwich Albion - Transfers 2018/19

This Summer proved to be very active, as expected. We were given a large budget of around £50,000,000 by the board which was effectively used in this window in an attempt to rejuvenate the squad. 

We released several players: Gareth Barry, Gareth McAuley, Boaz Myhill, Chris Brunt, Ethan Ross, Tahvon Campbell, Jack Fitzwater, Kyle Edwards, Max Melbourne, Bradley House and Jasko Keranovic. All of these players weren't getting game-time last season and therefore stood no chance in making appearances next season. McAuley was the exception, having made 18 appearances but the 38-year-old was not going to be justifying the large wage he was receiving and so was let go. Interestingly, Melbourne (who is a full-back) has completed a move to Reading, perhaps indicating he has some unnoticed potential. Barry has moved to Bolton, McAuley to Sunderland, Myhill to Wigan and finally Brunt has retired. The young players have all made moves to League One or Two clubs - beside Keranovic.

Next I will address the departures. Nothing too interesting to talk about here, other than a lot of deals that did not get completed. Chelsea were sniffing around for Jonny Evans once again - they put in a bid of £40,000,000 in January which I rejected. This time they placed a bid of around £35,000,000, which I rejected and they gave up interest. Craig Dawson received interest from Leicester and Newcastle, with offers of around £15,000,000 being received. Again, I didn't want to risk letting go of a player who provides as a solid rotation in two different areas (right-back and centre-back) and so declined. The Toon also tried to sign Matt Phillips, who enjoyed a terrific season last year under my management. I wasn't willing to let him go, simply due to the fact I want to see what he has to offer in a much improved side and £13,000,000 wasn't going to tempt me otherwise. Finally I rejected a Deadline Day offer from Burnley for Salomon Rondon. £10,000,000 was far beyond an acceptable offer for a player I will be looking to use this season - especially considering I had little time to find a replacement.

Alex Bradley and Dara O'Shea both left the club on a free to join Lincoln and Derry City respectively. The two were both about to be released nonetheless, I was not bothered by the offers from the two clubs. James Morrison had notified me that he wanted to leave the club towards the end of last season, so I planned on letting the midfielder go. However, he rejected deals to join Newcastle and Crystal Palace for £8,000,000 so still remains at The Hawthorns for next season. Jay Rodriguez was another player I looked to ship, however no interest was received for the winger.

Young duo Sam Field and Jonathan Leko have been loaned out for the season once again. Leko certainly looks the more promising of the two at the moment, but that's not to discredit Field. They have both joined Championship sides in a season that I think will potentially determine the direction their careers are to head in at the club. If they impress then I will be happy to keep them on and potentially hand them an opportunity to be welcomed into the first-team, otherwise I will be considering selling them on. James McClean also heads back out on loan after spending the second half of last season on loan at CSKA Moscow - this time he heads to ex-employers Sunderland for the year. This is simply due to him not being a first-team worthy player, but also a lack of permanent interest; so hopefully this loan move can interest potential buyers.

Onto the arrivals to The Hawthorns then. We begin with the signing of Predrag Rajkovic from Hapoel Tel-Aviv in Israel for £5,000,000. The 22-year-old Serb will be the no.1 this season, finally displacing Ben Foster from inbetween the sticks. He has a lot of potential and is a well known name to FM players, I'm sure. For such a small fee I am very happy with this deal and hopefully he can rise to the expectations I have of him.

Oliver Ntcham joins from Scottish champions Celtic for a fee of £15,000,000. Personally, I think this fee was more than justified despite Celtic only paying £4,500,000 the season previous for his services from Genoa. The former Manchester City academy star has the attributes to succeed and will be a real driving force going forward this season. I am particularly excited to see his physical ability as those stats suggest he will be a great, physical outlet. 

We had to appeal to gain a work permit for him, but we eventually successfully captured full-back Fabricio Bustos for around £10,000,000 from Argentinian side Independiente. I was quite worried we were going to miss out on the full-back originally, but thankfully we managed to pull it off, unlike our chase for Spartak defender Ilja Kutepov, who's £4,000,000 move was cancelled due to a failed WP. He has since joined Zenit for double that price. You can see that I am planning to be a little more adventurous and play more attacking football this year, Bustos will be a huge part of this as he will be overlapping with the winger to create opportunities down the flanks. 

Eder provides a rotation option on the left-hand side of the midfield with Nacer Chadli and Hal Robson-Kanu. The Inter loanee is very similar to Chadli and after a very good season with his parent club last season (ten goals in 33 games, with four assists), I am hoping he will be able to replicate that here for us as we look to push on into the top half of the table this season. I was tempted to put in an optional fee clause, however opted against this - which may come back to bite me, but we will see. This was because Inter had him listed for around £8,000,000.

Everyone that knows me knows that I love a good Finnish player. Joel Pohjanpalo is one of my favourites and as I chased after a second striker option to Rondon, the 23-year-old seemed to tick all the boxes. I was looking for a striker that knows where the goal is (ten goals in 29 last season) but also had potential to improve but not being too costly, as we were still looking to improve in a couple of areas. For £7,500,000 I feel that he will be a solid signing this season and should justify his cost over the season. I'm not too sure who will be starting admittedly, as both him and Rondon are equally top attackers and so will be rotating to begin with.

We were crying out for another centre-back option to partner Jonny Evans this Summer and we looked to Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson for £11,500,000. We had a few other options in mind, such as Hearts defender John Souttar but we opted to head for the English defender who is well-rounded and has had experience at this level previously. He had all but two appearances last season for Boro and will be a key part to the jigsaw this season as we look to improve on a rather measly defensive record last season. 

Playing for Japan at the latest World Cup, Yuto Nagatomo brings experience to the club after making 108 appearances for his national side and enjoying a lengthy spell at Inter. Completing his move for £1,300,000, it seemed a bargain fee for the defender who can play either side of the defence and will provide as cover, especially to Kieran Gibbs on the left. His signing has also increased merchandise sales, with the Japanese fans going crazy over his move and therefore this has generated a lot of commercial success for us over in Japan and Asia, which is absolutely fantastic.

The team for next season will now look like this (approx.):

Rajkovic

Bustos-Evans-Gibson-Gibbs

Yacob

Chadli-Livermore-Ntcham-Phillips

Pohjanpalo

(Foster, Palmer, Dawson, Hegazi, Nagatomo, Nyom, Jansen, Harper, Morrison, Eder, Rodriguez, Robson-Kanu, Rondon)

 

Up the Baggies, boing boing!

 

 

Edited May 31, 2018 by KeeToMyHeart

[MarcxD]

West Ham 2021-2022

We had a strong season overall, much more consistent and more readily able to defeat all title rivals and it was enough to win my first title! A bit of bad luck hampered us in the cups though, so no other trophies time around.

Signed a new goalkeeper in Früchtl, the biggest signing of the year. Elsewhere I signed new rotational options for the back positions in Shaw and Weiser, in january I went for another big signing in Ndidi, who is an improvement on the midfield even though I'm not super impressed by how he has played so far. A good multi purpose player in Barco and three very talented regens from South America were also signed, those are more for the long term. 

Note the 8-0 win over Real Madrid...

Man City was on our tail pretty much during the entire season, the other top teams weren't really a threat. 

One slight issue is other clubs going after my players, Emre Mor was unsettled for a bit when I did not sell him to Real Madrid / Bayern and Harry Maguire wanted to be sold to Man Utd. 

Willem Geubbels had had a ridiculous season, especially the first half or so where he just wouldn't stop scoring. 

Hopefully next season we can go for multiple trophies, I hope for some more success in the Champions League certainly.

[smp20]

Cheers for the congrats @TheEarl, @Keano16, @theonets and of course @jaysdailydose 

I'm just coming to the end of another season, spoiler I didn't get as many trophies...but we are the Galactitoons.

[smp20]

League Table ~ Continental Cups ~ Domestic Cups ~ Transfers ~ Player Stats

4 trophies instead of last years 6 and less points in the league, but still a season to be very happy with. An FA Cup Final loss to Chelsea stopped us from repeating the treble; in fact we sucked in all domestic cup competitions. However, we were once again dominant on the continental scene, beating Real Madrid 5-0 in final and also 5-1 and 7-0 against Barca in the groups!

We raided Arsenal for Tierney and Gomez when they failed to qualify for Europe, but the two biggest signings were Mbappe and Donnarumma. Two well and truly world class signings, with the former winning the Balon d'Or. We spent a lot of money, although Donnarumma was over installments, but made some good money on Bernat, Berardi, Butland and Elneny to allow us to continue to improve our squad.

Fergie is now a Newcastle legend, alongside starlets Bailey, Isak and Rashford. In our icon list we find our French trio of Dembele, Mbappe, Upamecano as well as the former Deulofeu. We've now built a competitive rivalry with Man City too .

The St James' Park era is coming to an end; big news in terms of pushing the club forward.

[kozmik]

So, it turns out I really can't be bothered with FM18 any more. I'll start a new challenge save in FM17 if that's ok.

[m0nk3y-b0y]

The January curse hits

So after the January window comes to a close we find ourselves in the same situation as last season. Still in all competitions including another final place booked at Wembley, but our recent form has took a major hit. In the case of the transfers Wilfried Ndidi is a player I never wanted to let go but the second Barca came sniffing around his head was turned and his performances suffered so I finally bit the bullet and let him go while bringing in Emre Can as a more than capable replacement. The other two transfers Hoedt to Real Madrid and Emerson to AC Milan where a case of both wanted to go and they weren't indispensable so I made sure I got the most possible money for both and quickly made sure I covered the positions with better quality in Kimpembe and Robertson (who also counts towards the new brexit rules).

[jaysdailydose]

2 hours ago, kozmik said:

So, it turns out I really can't be bothered with FM18 any more. I'll start a new challenge save in FM17 if that's ok.

Absolutely fine.  I play on FM17 myself.  With having to do that restoration after the flood at my home, I never purchased FM18, and still can't justify the expense with the craziness in my life.  I am on disability, so its a tough purchase yearly on a fixed income -- but ten times worse in a year where we had disaster strike at home. 

For anyone in the future, you may use ANY version of FM, as long as you are able to meet the challenge rules!  Best of luck, Kozmik, just post your new screenshot when ready, and I'll get you updated!

[jaysdailydose]

Adding your new trophies now, @smp20 -- congratulations as always!

It appears your bogey team is "whoever we face in the Fourth Round in the League Cup!"   

Looks like 1,600 more points adding on to your lead, keep up the great work!

(EDIT: And we are current to HERE.  8,400 total points after extending your lead!)

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[kozmik]

48 minutes ago, jaysdailydose said:

Absolutely fine.  I play on FM17 myself.  With having to do that restoration after the flood at my home, I never purchased FM18, and still can't justify the expense with the craziness in my life.  I am on disability, so its a tough purchase yearly on a fixed income -- but ten times worse in a year where we had disaster strike at home. 

For anyone in the future, you may use ANY version of FM, as long as you are able to meet the challenge rules!  Best of luck, Kozmik, just post your new screenshot when ready, and I'll get you updated!

Cheers, mate. Here they are:

[jaysdailydose]

All set, @kozmik -- best of luck with the Hammers! 

[jaysdailydose]

What a final day!



We went in to the final day needing a draw and for Everton not to score a bunch of goals, to seal 7th and a chance at Europe.  Chelsea took the quick 2-0 lead on us, and were coming extremely hard for us, as they could only win the title with a win and a United loss to Hull, as the goal differential was just too steep.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the 13th minute at Old Trafford, and you could almost see Chelsea wilt.  They didn't threaten much the rest of the first half, and then we came alive in the second half.  

I likely made the sub of my Southampton career in the 76th minute.  I was going to bring on another attacker, but I wasn't happy with how I would have had to change my front 3 with the players available.  Almamy Toure has essentially taken Cedric's job at right back, as with his potential, I want him to play as many games as possible.  But Cedric plays well everytime he sees the field.  

Toure was on a 6.8 rating and at 71% condition, so I decided to pull him off and put Cedric on.  Within just a few minutes, Chelsea left-wing back Grimaldo is streaking up the wing, and Cedric makes a great tackle on him and is heading the other way.  He puts a 30 yard pass right on Nathan Redmond's foot, who makes one jink and slides a perfect pass to Isak, who ties proceedings at 2-2.  The momentum is ours, and Redmond streaks down and hits the winner just minutes later!  

But it all started with a great defensive play and then a touch-perfect pass from Cedric.  He doesn't get an assist, or any "recognition on Sky Sports News" here... but it looks with the Cup picture that it likely qualified us for Europe for another season.

Speaking of Europe... Man City had lost only 1 of 16 fixtures under Rafa Benitez, and had taken control of the match and were drawing to seal the Champions League for them.  Well, they'd better hope they win the Europa League, because they bottled it in giving up a late winner to Sunderland to lose 1-0, and let Arsene Wenger claim one more Top 4.  I think he'd have been sacked for sure if City pipped him to fourth, but we'll see.

I have to make sure with the Cups and Top Four, but I'm pretty sure the result qualifies us in the final Europa League spot.  I'm not positive, but honestly, if we don't make it, it will be good for me to try to make a real FA Cup run for the milestone, and a creditable Top 4 or even title run.  We've played a TON of football over the last two seasons between FA Cup replays, lots of Champions League and then Europa League contests... and while I can't complain, with winning the UEFA Cup in my first season, a domestic focus for a season wouldn't kill us, as this is the season I usually have my big breakthrough, historically.

I'll do a small seasonal update once I get to reset date, as my update each season is going to have a "What Alex Did" feature to them, that I think you as readers will really enjoy!

#UpTheSaints (I dunno, not normally a Saints fan, sue me.)

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose
Grammar and formatting

[jaysdailydose]

I'm quite shocked by this, actually:

Alex Ferguson II named Premier League Manager of the Year:


Nathan Redmond and Kai Havertz were both named in the Premier League Team of the Year, as well.

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[MarcxD]

2 hours ago, jaysdailydose said:

Adding your new trophies now, @smp20 -- congratulations as always!

It appears your bogey team is "whoever we face in the Fourth Round in the League Cup!"   

Looks like 1,600 more points adding on to your lead, keep up the great work!

(EDIT: And we are current to HERE.  8,400 total points after extending your lead!)

Sorry to bother but you missed my first title! 

[jaysdailydose]

Just now, MarcxD said:

Sorry to bother but you missed my first title! 

I just realized that as soon as I saw the notification, heading there now!   Sorry about that!

[jaysdailydose]

All set, @MarcxD -- the trophy and milestone brings you up to 2,200 points and third place!

I was adding it earlier, went back to check the year that you won, and got sidetracked.  My bad.   All fixed now.  

Congratulations and keep up the great work with the Hammers!

[jaysdailydose]

Manchester City won the Europa League over Sporting CP, thus they will play in the Champions League next season.  

I am actually pretty lost as to who qualifies as of present, but my board confidence says they are "delighted that the team qualified for the Europa League through participation in the Premier League this season" so I am assuming I'm in, but not positive as to which slot I'll have, especially seeing as how West Ham and Arsenal are still both alive for the FA Cup.  I am honestly super confused, as I thought a team winning the Europa to get into the UCL altered the amount of qualifying teams... but I guess we'll just see how it goes down.

I'll save anything else of note for my end of season update, which I should get to later today.  I don't want to keep droning on, even if it is interesting.

(EDIT: West Ham lost the FA Cup to Arsenal, but we qualified.  United won the EFL Cup, but obviously are in the Champions League by winning the title, and Arsenal finished 4th for Champions League Football.  City 5th, Hammers 6th, Southampton 7th, so City gets the League spot, the Hammers got the FA Cup spot, and we got the League Cup slot.  That worked out in the end.)

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

OK, one more mini-update.  Even with finishing strong enough to qualify for the Champions League, and then winning the FA Cup... after winning the title on the final day last year... Arsene Wenger was sacked.  But, in a cool feature that I've never really seen before, he will stay at Arsenal as the Director of Football.

All in all, the great man had a MUCH better finish in my universe than in the real one.  Another title, another FA Cup, moving upstairs at HIS club to become DoF, and leaving with the club qualified for the Champions League.  About the only way Wenger can do better in real life is if he takes the Madrid job he'll likely be offered, and goes and wins their fourth Champions League in a row.

I'd stop posting mini-updates, but the save keeps producing interesting stuff.



(EDIT: Also a bit of a disappointment for our youth side... the lads had advanced all the way to the U19 Champions Cup Final, but the Germans did the business against us.)

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose
U19 Champions Cup Disappointment :(

[jaysdailydose]

Pricks didn't take a point off me, though.   Two draws between us this season, and as you'll recall, United was one of the sides I beat on the way to my Europa League title last year.



EDIT: Anthony Martial wrote his name into United lore with an extra-time winner in a 1-0 win.

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

Another "non-update" update... but this will likely be my largest purchase of the entire save, and if not, at least the most important to progressing the club.

City wanted Ward-Prowse and he got his head turned, Guidetti figured out he wasn't of standard to play here (took a loss, but oh well, it meant my other strikers were clearly up to the task) -- and I had to sell Cedric to get it over the line.  All of this is before the reset date, though, so I am assuming I'll be given more money in the window.  

He's been one of my favorite FM players for years, and with our facilities, and a manager who will play him every damned game... look out.  

[jaysdailydose]

Southampton F.C.
2017/18 Season

League Table · Schedule · Transfers · Youth Intake

A great season for Southampton F.C, as while even though we failed to win a trophy this season, we have truly progressed the club for the future, while continuing to play European football for a third consecutive season.  Great transfers for players such as Alexander Isak, Antonio Rudiger, Timo Werner, Jairo Riedewald, Almamy Toure, and Jetro Willems give us much hope for the future. 

We will be pushing to qualify for next season's Champions League, and perhaps even make a credible title challenge with the correct moves.  We have the wonderkid Breel Embolo coming in on a huge transfer to open our summer, but we must replace stalwarts like James Ward-Prowse and Cedric in the first team.  

My future updates will be longer as I move away from mini-updates to more seasonal updates, so I'll leave it here for now, and we'll do the Fergie Vs. Fergie comparison!  Obviously, some seasons will have different amounts of games, as in 85-86, for example, Manchester United played 42 league fixtures.

Fergie Vs. Fergie Comparison

85/86 Manchester United: 42 played, 22 wins, 10 draws, 10 losses, 76 points - 4th Place --- 16/17 Southampton: 38 played, 11 won, 6 draws, 21 losses, 39 points - 17th Place
United: No Trophies --- Southampton: UEFA Europa League

86/87 Manchester United: 42 played, 14 wins, 14 draws, 14 losses, 56 points - 11th Place /// 17/18 Southampton: 38 played, 18 wins, 6 draws, 14 losses, 60 points - 7th Place
United: No Trophies --- Southampton: No Trophies

Career League Thus Far: 
Manchester (85/86 thru 86/87) 84 Played, 36 wins, 24 draws, 24 losses, 132 points --- Southampton (16/17 thru 17/18) 76 Played, 29 wins, 12 draws, 35 losses - 99 points

 

Challenge Progress

Domestic Titles

0/13 Premier League Titles

0/5 The Emirates FA Cup Titles

0/4 Carabao Cup (League Cup) Titles

0/10 English Community Shield

European Titles

0/2 UEFA Champions League

1/1 UEFA Europa League 

0/1 UEFA Super Cup

0/2 FIFA Club World Championship

Edited June 1, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[theonets]

An awful season finally comes to an end. 

We had some awful, awful results this season, a 6-1 thrashing by Leeds, but the best for me has to be this one

We actually created enough chances to score 4 or 5 but scored 1, they created enough to score the same but scored 7.

No surprise then, that I ended up finishing 12th

This 12th place position is scary, not because I was good, but because I got 4 points from my first 5 games, had a mini awesome run, then AFCON's happened, and then after that, I was dreadful again, with those two thrashings listed above

However, luckily, the season also had something called the Europa League.

 

As you might notice, I was really, really, really lucky with the fixtures. That Monaco game is absolutely astounding because I was looking to sell the guy who got a hattrick to get in a supposed 5 start potential wonderkid. He's scored that hattrick, gotten almost as good as Deeney, is only 21 and now has 5 star potential. I was interested enough to look online and he supposedly has a PA set between 150 and 180. I think I might have gotten the 180 in this save, he just seems incredible at this point.

 

His stats currently

Anyway, after all that, we had Villarreal who were garbage, and finally got Arsenal in the semis.

 

Now considering that 7-1 thrashing above, I expected to be humiliated. However, see that first leg. Arsenal had a fixture just 48 hours before it, and were idiotic enough to play their first team. Ozil's wonderstrike gave them the lead in the second half, but they never had the legs to see that lead through, and then I literally parked the bus second leg. One striker, 3 defensive midfielders, and 1 central midfielder ahead of him. Easy 0-0 draw.

 

Which brought us to the final. Schalke are obviously a much better team, but their defence was aging, and worse than ours, which is monumental considering ours is garbage itself.

It started very well for us, we scored off a free kick, and then Success made it 2-0. Cathcart then scored at his own end as well to make it 2-1.

In the 80th minute, I brought Deeney on. In the 80th minute itself, we got a penalty. In the 81st minute, Deeney missed the penalty.

In the 91st mintue, I got the dreaded last minute highlight when you have more than a minute of added time left. They were attacking..... we won the ball, countered, Fahrmann fumbled and DEEEEENEY made us Europa League winners

 

Joy aside, we get into the CL, but 

It's obvious our defence can't cut it. 70 goals conceded is just not acceptable.

 

Challenge Progress:

Domestic Titles

0/13 Premier League Titles 

1/5 The Emirates FA Cup Titles: (2017/18)

0/4 Carabao Cup (League Cup) Titles

1/10 English Community Shield (2018/19)

European Titles

0/2 UEFA Champions League

1/1 UEFA Europa League (2018/19)

0/1 UEFA Super Cup

0/2 FIFA Club World Championship

Challenge Milestones

Win the FA Cup within 4 seasons

Win the Premier League within 7 seasons

Win a Premier League/FA Cup double within 8 seasons

Win Three Premier League/FA Cup Doubles within 13 seasons

Win the Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League Treble within 13 seasons

 

Anyway, do we have to win within the milestone? I don't think the PL is happening, even though only 4 seasons are left. I think I left buying talent for the future too late, finally doing it now.

Chambers has been exceptional, Alonso's pace has seen him beat too often, but still good. Keita and Kessie have been nice. Cahill has been garbage, Abdennour,  a last minute panic buy because Kone wanted to leave has been injured most of the titme.

 

Big surgery in defence next season hopefully.

Edited June 2, 2018 by theonets

[jaysdailydose]

You don't HAVE to win within the milestone, you just get a "Yellow Card" completion with your point total.  I personally think you worry too much, you still have multiple seasons to get your first Premier League.

When we were talking in your last seasons, I doubt you'd have predicted getting your FA Cup AND a European trophy already -- but you did.   

And Penaranda has been amazing in my save, and funny enough, he's at Watford in my save, too.

Going to go add your points now, it was a late morning for me.  Keep up the great work, my friend!

(EDIT: That trophy moved you up to fifth place, with 1,150 points.  You're doing great, 4 seasons is an eternity to worry on the Premier League.)

Edited June 2, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[theonets]

2 hours ago, jaysdailydose said:

You don't HAVE to win within the milestone, you just get a "Yellow Card" completion with your point total.  I personally think you worry too much, you still have multiple seasons to get your first Premier League.

When we were talking in your last seasons, I doubt you'd have predicted getting your FA Cup AND a European trophy already -- but you did.   

And Penaranda has been amazing in my save, and funny enough, he's at Watford in my save, too.

Going to go add your points now, it was a late morning for me.  Keep up the great work, my friend!

(EDIT: That trophy moved you up to fifth place, with 1,150 points.  You're doing great, 4 seasons is an eternity to worry on the Premier League.)

Biggest issue is my team is so inconsistent

 

Won the European Super Cup, and this is the first time I beat Chelsea. So worth the wait though

FM being FM though asks the best question 

 

Great in one off games like this, but now watch us lose the next game to some **** team for no reason despite having 30+ shots, 4-5 clear cut chances and no goals  

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by theonets

[jaysdailydose]

UEFA Super Cup added to your score, @theonets!  Keep up the great work!

[jaysdailydose]

I'll be here a lot of the day to do scoring updates, but I am taking a break today as wife and I may be in and out for her grandfather's medical issues today.  (For those that have missed my prior posts, he has Parkinson's, Diabetes, and Dementia now at 76 years old.)

So, I don't want to get involved with a new season, so I am taking a day to play one of my other favorites in Town of Salem.

Updates and new challengers will be added, though, I'll still hear the notifications!  Best of luck to all of our current challengers, and always hoping to see more challengers join our fun!

[superbowl145]

Will be willing to join this challenge...Fantastic job done by the Newcastle United manager 

[jaysdailydose]

34 minutes ago, superbowl145 said:

Will be willing to join this challenge...Fantastic job done by the Newcastle United manager 

Awesome.  Just post a screenshot of your manager profile and the league table on November 6 when you start, and we'll get you on the board!

[superbowl145]

One of the temas I wanted to have  (Newcastle, Huddersfield and Crystal Palace where the others)

[wynter]

Not ideal results vs Newcastle and Tottenham when we were trying to consolidate our spot ion the Top 4. Luckily, the games immediately after them were a prime opportunity to bounce back and gain some points so we took the hits and kept on coming. Chelsea are immense this season and leading the league on merit so the loss didn't really sting all that much.

We've got an absolute war on our hands for 4th spot between 4 sides and we're going to have to be near perfect to make it ours.

Joaquin Torres is a god btw

11 Goals, 14 Assists. One of my favorite Raumdeuters I've ever used, he's a creative machine.

[smp20]

@MarcxD - congrats on your first PL title  

@theonets - fantastic work in the Europa League, if you can turn your European form into consistency in the league you will be competing for European spots for sure.

@jaysdailydose  - very solid first full season, just 5 points off the CL spots so I reckon with the right additions you'll be up there with them next season.

@wynter - nice work with Bournemouth, fingers crossed you can hold on to that 4th spot. Joaquin really does look class!

@superbowl145 - welcome to the challenge 

I've been zooming through the seasons here, into March 2025!! Will post my end of season review shot from last season.

[smp20]

Our first season of complete domination in all competitions picking up all 7 available trophies. We've now got a quality English core to the side after bringing in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reiss Nelson and Reece Oxford. We also had a 'best of his generation' goalkeeper come through the youth ranks

[smp20]

Youth Intake 2025

I'm up to date now with the save with this mini update of our latest youth intake. Marlon Joseph is an outstanding prospect, the best since Derek Harmison. He's got blistering pace; I will be re-training him to right wing.

[wynter]

Really liking the look of Nolan, incredibly well rounded. Might make the Vazquez transfer permanent if only to have him on board to tutor this kid into a future star.

[jbutton]

A tough season comes to an end, we started off well and looked to be challenging for a CL spot but a complete midseason meltdown saw us not win a game in 8 matches and saw our league position slip to 16th but a strong end to the season saw us recover to 10th. We went out of the second round of the league cup to Aston Villa in a game we dominated. However our FA Cup run saw us make the final but ultimately lose 4-1 to Manchester United after Luka and Lemina decided they'd play expertly placed through balls to Mario Icardi who duly finished and went on to complete his hattrick later in the game after Erik Durm got sent off.

 

With relatively little money to spend we had to be shrewd with our business and pulled off some real bargains whist getting rid of players on big wages who don't make the team.

 

Sorloth eventually finished top goalscorer which is a major positive, he's still only 24 and has scored a lot of goals for us, 17 in season 1, 17 in season 2 and 27 in season 3. He finished top of the average rating list but didn't win any awards and came third in European Golden Shoe due to playing more than 1st and 2nd place who both scored 27 goals.

Sorloth basically carried us through the FA Cup including a hattrick against City in the 6th round.

Goal for next season is to win the FA Cup and get European football.

 

[jaysdailydose]

I am a little busy today, so I will do your updates later, guys.  Just know I am aware of them, especially the 7 trophies, and will get them all updated later on today.

Didn't want anyone to think I'd disappeared.

[wynter]

If everyone could just lose 5 straight I'd be very happy 

[wynter]

FA Cup Down @jaysdailydose

We were leading by one point on the last day and bottled it, drawing to Spurs in devastating fashion. Champions League Secured though, and with the right signings this squad won't be going back down.

[jaysdailydose]

I still need a little more time guys.  We are dealing with dementia in our family, and it's been a rough weekend.  

Just wanted to touch base, I know I was *on it* up until this point, but I think you all will understand completely.  

Going to the hospital for a few hours, will try to bring us up to date tonight.  Thanks for understanding.