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

[m0nk3y-b0y]

More silverware

We comfortably dispatched Spurs 4-2 at Wembley to keep the momentum rolling from last season and retain the Community Shield. I'm a lot more confident about our chances this season as we added real quality and that showed in the Community Shield game against a potential title rival.

More points please @jaysdailydose

Challenge Progress:

Domestic Titles

1/13 Premier League Titles: (2018/19)

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

1/4 Carabao Cup (League Cup) Titles: (2018/19)

2/10 English Community Shield: (2018/19), (2019/20)

European Titles

0/2 UEFA Champions League

0/1 UEFA Europa League 

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

Edited May 27, 2018 by m0nk3y-b0y

[m0nk3y-b0y]

Transfers history

So originally I was super optimistic about these transfers and our season but losing our opening game against West Ham 1-0 in spectacularly awful fashion I am now really second guessing myself and our expectations. 

[jaysdailydose]

Going to add your 50 points right now, @m0nk3y-b0y!  

Congratulations on being the first to two Community Shields!  Don't let that one loss get you down... my results with the Saints are so up and down, but they almost always come up strong in the big ones.  And they haven't taken near the silverware you have yet!

Keep up the great progress!

[jaysdailydose]

 Not happy with my side at all currently.  Cannot WAIT for Rudiger to join in January.  Even with a motivated Virgil van Dink and a quality partner in Riedewald, they just can't stop shipping goals, and I am really at a loss at this point.

Board is still "pleased" but it is kind of a shock.  We are currently in 12th, so close enough to the top half, but we are now out of the Champions League, since we couldn't deal with Galatarasay.  Lost the first fixture against, and drew the second, so they advanced on "results between teams."

Yes, we have dealt with injuries this season, but we should be performing much better.  I don't feel it is tactical, either.  I'm playing a back 4, both center-halves on defend duties, and a DM/D shielding the back 4 in Maia.  He has amazing marking ability and PPM's to aid defensively.  

Just far too inconsistent, and too often we give up a goal right after we get one.  I don't understand the lack of concentration, especially from an elite defender like VvD.  Keep a clean sheet against a full strength City, but then lose to Sunderland and then ship 3 to Galatarasay.  

It would be more understandable if morale was poor, but it isn't.  I pride myself on knowing what to say in team talks and team meetings to keep morale solid.  They just flat out are not executing.

I guess I may look at a tactical switch, but I've got two fully fluid versions of my 4-1-2-3 DM Wide, one a Standard mentality, and one in Control.  Different passing, marking, width, etc.  So changing to a new formation would probably be a stressful situation as well -- especially since I don't think anything should be wrong tactically.  

 

One win and I'm exceeding expectations -- just not mine.  So it may seem a silly rant, but they are annoying the hell out of me.

[jaysdailydose]

Apparently, my lads read the forums here, and realized I was a bit pissed with them.  



Charlie Austin certainly took his chance with both hands, as he had the two goals and made one, and honestly, I don't know why he wasn't granted an assist on the fourth.  Very angry with that, as he definitely should have been awarded one.  Regardless, he had missed around 7 weeks with a broken toe, and a neck strain.  He had been working his way back with the reserves, and I'd gotten him about ten minutes in the last fixture, but this was his first start of the season.  Isak is out 3-4 weeks with an injury, and Guidetti is also missing for about ten days.  The big Swede Guidetti has been solid, but hasn't been on the scoresheet much in the league, so this is definitely a chance for Austin to show he should be more involved as a striker.  With our injuries out on our wings this season, and on the recommendations of my backroom staff, Austin has been training to play on the wings, but it was definitely great to see him show up and lead us to a very needed win here, against our rivals!

Edited May 27, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

A 3-0 loss away to Spurs, dropping them to 11th in the League, has finally made this man's position untenable...



Honestly, I'm very surprised he's hung on this long.  Results for City have not been good enough since I was appointed over a year ago.  Purchasing Antoine Griezmann for £86M promised that this campaign could be better, but it has been worse -- and it was the only worthwhile business of Pep's City tenure in my save.  I'd done well against him, and we had some great battles already, but this was absolutely necessary at this point.  I fear for Klopp as well, but he had a big win in this round to relieve some of the pressure -- whereas Pep's men just folded.  

I apologize for the more frequent "mini-updates" but things have just been really interesting in my save, and I think a lot of people are dealing with Champions League Final hangovers, to where the thread hasn't been active today anyway.   I hope some of you enjoy these mini-updates, at least!

I will be on and active all day for scoring updates, or for new challengers!  Hope to see more trophies, and more folks entering our world!

(EDIT:  I love that we've been mentioned as one of Pep's lowest points. :D)

Edited May 27, 2018 by jaysdailydose
Added a laugh. :)

[jaysdailydose]

Anyone else been offered an interview for another job?  Obviously, I'm declining this offer since we're on a challenge, but it's nice to see that they are interested in giving me Pep's old job.

[warlock]

SAF Challenge: Newcastle United

Idly wandering about the forums I spotted this new(ish) thread and as a great admirer of the great man, throw my hat in the ring... So Fergus Alexanderson takes the reins at Newcastle.

And in light of some of the earlier posts, I did take the time to check the club news for an impending takeover and there's nothing on the cards right now. So fingers crossed...

[jaysdailydose]

Welcome to the challenge, @warlock!  

Adding you to our active leaderboard now, best of luck to you and your Magpies!

[jaysdailydose]

It's been a long time since I've had a player win this award.  That will help show how crazy good Kai Havertz has been!

Edited May 28, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[theonets]

Had teams come in for two of my best players. Apparently, playing for Southampton is a much more greater opportunity than playing for Watford in the Europa League. Happy enough with the transfer prices for the two since both are nearly 30

On the ins side, I was initially glad I got the two fullbacks, since that's where I've been weak. Chambers has been horrendous so far for me, making Janmaat look good though. Alonso though, has been superb.

Poor start to the season, and I've been drawn into the toughest Europa League group. I should still qualify but looking at what Arsenal and Palace got, it's annoying

Edited May 28, 2018 by theonets

[MarcxD]

West Ham 2019-2020 

Another gradual improvement over last season, with the added games in Europe which went very well - we reached the Europa League final but it wasn't quite to be. In the league there's still a consistency issue which needs to be addressed to make the next step up. Two trophies though - the community shield and a second straight FA Cup win.

Some good first team improvements in Dunk, Karsdorp and Rajkovic were signed, along with some players for the future in Waters and Munro. I let go a lot of the players that I wasn't really using anymore for cut prices.

The end was rough with a lot of tough games, since my squad isn't very big a few injuries also really hurt, thankfully there was just enough left to grab the FA cup title.

The last game against Arsenal determined the sixth place, the top 5 was a little bit further ahead. 

[warlock]

13 hours ago, warlock said:

And in light of some of the earlier posts, I did take the time to check the club news for an impending takeover and there's nothing on the cards right now

Didn't do my homework properly - the takeover news was much older, and talks much further advanced. Two home draws against beatable opposition was not enough to establish my credentials. And sacked.

So, I'll go again - would like to get Southampton but would take Watford, or maybe Huddersfield.

[warlock]

Well, that didn't take long. A couple of reloads later and up popped Southampton. So here we go...

[jaysdailydose]

I'll get it fixed, @warlock.  No shame, only @smp20 survived it out of all who have attempted Newcastle.  

Southampton is a FUN club for this challenge... best of luck to you!  Hopefully you'll be able to exceed what I do! 

@MarcxD Going to record your trophies now!  I think you MIGHT be the first to win multiple FA Cups, but I just woke up so not positive.  Congratulations, and keep up the nice progress!

[jaysdailydose]

Updates are done, leaderboard is updated with trophies and new challengers to HERE.

I may be a tad grumpy today.  My takeover started just as the winter window opened last night, so I'm under an embargo.  Guangzhou came up with 51M for my 29-year-old forward Dusan Tadic, and I about bit their hand off.  But, I've got to hope the takeover progresses fast enough for me to spend some of the damned money.

They are supposedly investing another 70M in the club, according to the news.  I don't need it, I just need you jackasses to hurry TF up.

[smp20]

Just got back from a Bavarian beer festival - much to update as I've played a lot whilst travelling/hungover.

[smp20]

Well this is a whole season update in one! At face value it was a fantastic season, but somewhat bitter-sweet given how close we were from winning the coveted treble (PL, FA Cup, CL) and ended up with just one major trophy. We bottled the Premier League, drawing against Wolves and losing against West Brom were a real blow. It was still in our hands in the final game but we needed to equal/better City's result. We drew with United and City won in added time at West Brom (I friggin' hate the Baggies!) to climb above us in the dying seconds of the PL campaign. We followed this up with a really drab performance in the FA Cup final, losing 1-0 to Chelsea. However, we did end the season in style by beating Bayern in the CL final .

The January window saw Moaning Mangala granted his £43m move to Real Madrid. We replaced him with £44m signing Jordan Henderson to give us leadership and battle in the midfield. A little controversial considering he started out at Sunderland, but he's from the North East and will win all the fans round.

Premier League

Champions League

Domestic Cups

Transfers

Player Stats

Facilities

 

[Constantine]

Really struggling to get into save this year since ending online game with my mate so i might just try this. Simulating to 6th November as i write... 

[jaysdailydose]

1 hour ago, Constantine said:

Really struggling to get into save this year since ending online game with my mate so i might just try this. Simulating to 6th November as i write... 

We will definitely be happy to have you, @Constantine, and I am doing my best to keep everyone engaged with their saves and the rest of the challengers, so should be a lot of fun!  

As soon as I see your screenshots, I'll add you to our active leaderboard!  Thanks for joining in the fun!

[jaysdailydose]

@smp20 not quoting your post for brevity, but AMAZING job being our first challenger to secure a UEFA Champions League win, even if you did bottle the treble.  I think we can all agree, if there's one trophy you want to take away from that scenario, you got the right one.  

Keep up the great work, going to add your accomplishment to the board now!

(EDIT: That achievement moves you up to second place in our active leaderboard, trailing only @TheEarl -- great job once again!)

Edited May 28, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[Constantine]

Because of my avatar, there was only 3 clubs i would manage in this challenge: Newcastle, Liverpool or Everton. It took me a while, dozen or so reloading (bloody Moyes being awful and finishing 19th most of the time) but here i am. Finally. 

[jaysdailydose]

54 minutes ago, Constantine said:

Because of my avatar, there was only 3 clubs i would manage in this challenge: Newcastle, Liverpool or Everton. It took me a while, dozen or so reloading (bloody Moyes being awful and finishing 19th most of the time) but here i am. Finally. 

 

I must admit, I don't recognize the avatar. (I'm from across the pond.)  Feels weird that you could play Liverpool OR Everton, so I guess it's a good thing you got Newcastle!

Just be VERY careful at first, almost everyone who has played Newcastle has had to deal with an immediate takeover, and without immediate great results, they've lost their employment.  

Only Smp20 has been able to survive with Newcastle, but when he did, he also became the first one of us to take down a UEFA Champions League, so... if it works, it can work big.  Just watch out for it!

Adding you to the board now, and best of luck to you with the Magpies!

[jaysdailydose]

With Constantine's addition, we now have *20* players who are competing with us on the revival of this challenge!

I'm really shocked and happy about the response to this, and the friendly competition and community it has already spawned.  I'm a longtime supporter of challenge play, especially The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge, now administrated by Vikeologist, the Dafuge challenge by the incomparable Dafuge, and the Youth Academy Challenge, which has passed down over the years, and is now administrated by darren1983.  Other great challenges such as The San Marino Challenge, rarely done better than by our fellow challenger Makoto Nakamura, and one that is very rarely mentioned anymore, The British Steel Challenge.  

I had originally thought we'd get a few people back involved, as this IS a very old challenge at this point, it had just lacked the competitive nature and the leaderboard previously.  I never figured I would put all my other challenges on "Pause" as we've gotten so much involvement that I don't feel right focusing on another save while being the administrator of this challenge.

Not that I mind, I am absolutely loving my save, and this challenge! 

I am very excited that we've already reached a point where we have twenty competitors, and I think we may be able to keep the SAF Challenge in the community for years to come now, as an active challenge!  I hope it continues to grow, and thank you all so much for coming together and helping us honor an amazing manager while he is still on his sickbed.

I think even the great Sir Alex himself would get a kick out of this.  

Anyway, enough of my babbling.  Thank you for being here and helping us revive this challenge.  It's awesome.  Best of luck with your saves, and to any prospective challengers out there -- "What are you waiting for?  We're having a blast here!" 

Edited May 28, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

I did have someone ask a question about signings in IM, thinking they had made an error.  The 8/11 rule is PERMANENT signings.  Loanees do not count.  Ferguson's numbers do not include loan players.  

I myself have two loanees as well, so you are definitely OK.

(EDIT: I want to clarify though, you shouldn't have a mandatory fee in place to where it is essentially you have already bought the player, but the purchase doesn't occur until you'd be within limits.  They have to be actual loanees.  I should have been more clear on loanees at the start, but I'll make sure it says permanent signings in the OP.)  

Edited May 28, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

That rule originally read:

"You MAY sign permanently NO MORE THAN 11 players in a season, and ONLY 8 signings may feature in the first-team that season!  Sir Alex never signed more than this ever in a season."  

I am just adding the word permanent a second time after the ONLY.  I forget the Premier League loan limits per season, but you can sign as many loanees as you like to cover holes you aren't able to fill within the challenge rules, or thinking you'll be able to work a deal in the future with them, so you bring them in.  All that is more than fine.  It was only ever a permanent signings rule.  

Use the loan market to your advantage if you need, just remember, if you are at your 8/11 limit and this is a player you want to play, you MAY NOT set a Mandatory Future Fee to where it essentially makes it a deferred permanent signing.  That would be against the spirit of the challenge.  As long as you aren't guaranteed the player permanently after the season, everything is gravy.

I hope that clears it up, once I got the message privately I felt it was something that needed to be covered publicly so there is no potential confusion long-term.

[Keano16]

Decided to throw my hat in the ring to get back into FM so here we go...

(Yes, I forgot to remove Irish, although that will hardly have an effect.)

The Hammers it is!

[jaysdailydose]

Best of luck with the Hammers, @Keano16 -- adding you to the active board now!

[KeeToMyHeart]

I never usually manage in the Premier League as it's not really my cup of tea. But, this thread has captured my interests so I thought I would join in. 

 

Watford it is then. Hopefully I can lead the Hornets to better things..

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by KeeToMyHeart

[jaysdailydose]

1 hour ago, KeeToMyHeart said:

I never usually manage in the Premier League as it's not really my cup of tea. But, this thread has captured my interests so I thought I would join in. 

 

Watford it is then. Hopefully I can lead the Hornets to better things..

 

Wow!  Glad to hear we have inspired your first post on these forums, @KeeToMyHeart!  Welcome to the posting world, and also to the challenge!

I'll go and get you added to the leaderboard now!  Best of luck to you and Watford, and if you have any questions, feel free!

[jaysdailydose]

Not sure how much my slower start to the season will hurt, but things have shaped up rather nicely with our club having ten fixtures remaining this Premier League season.  We are only still contesting the Europa League with the League, and out of both domestic cups, so we aren't looking at a massive workload this season, either.

Here's the table with our Saints having ten to play:


Only five points off the Top Four is achievable, although obviously Arsenal does have the game-in-hand, so treating it as eight points off the Top 4.  Unlikely, but we have beaten both Tottenham and Arsenal this campaign, unlike last season.  

Remaining Fixtures for Southampton F.C.:


We've beaten City, and this time around it is at our patch.  Rafa Benitez left Newcastle to take over when Pep was sacked, and has done a fine job since being promoted, getting them solidly in the European picture.  Qualifying for the Champions League may be a bridge too far at this point, same as us, but it IS possible, and Rafa has had them up and firing since taking over.  I'd figure the Europa League is likely for them, and I think they'll be quite good under Benitez next season.  Griezmann has come alive under him.

Watford and West Ham both played very, very good football against us in the previous fixture, and Chelsea always plays us very tough.  There are definitely a lot of points to be had here, so I can definitely make this a quality season.  Our expectations are only the top-half, and while the board wasn't happy with our FA Cup exit, they said they understood why we were knocked out by Premier League Newcastle in the third round.  Early Prem opposition at a horrible time in the schedule for us spelled doom for the FA this year, but they only went to 41%.  The board has been very good with me so far, and that was no different.  They are very happy with last year's trophy, for sure, and I've done an excellent job of meeting all of our club philosophies, and especially with league results improving, they have every reason to be happy.

I've also been able to be plenty happy with them, I always got the staff requests I asked for, and they've obviously finished off upgrading all of my facilities to the highest levels.  Sure, they only needed one more upgrade a piece, but it was like £7.5M, so not that small of a drop in the bucket.

My transfers for the winter window were awesome in my opinion, as with the sale of Dusan Tadic for all that sweet Chinese money, I was able to bring in Timo Werner, and I'm making sure he gets some work and training on the left, as injuries (and the quick sale of Tadic) weren't ideal for the wing spots this season.  I also brought in Serge Gnabry on loan as he was looking to leave his club, and will look to sign him in the summer window.  As I'd said earlier in the thread, Antonio Rudiger came in to shore up the back line, and Anwar El Ghazi comes in to provide cover for the excellent Nathan Redmond, who has been extremely good all season.  (11 goals and nine made, averaging 7.31 in 35 appearances in all competitions.)  Nathan asked for a new deal within the first couple of fixtures, and I told him we should wait until after the season away from the craziness of the season.  He bet on himself, and it certainly worked.  Playing like that, it'll be my honor to pay the lad.

Here's a list of all of our signings this season (8 permanent signings, 3 non-permanent loanees):


Hoping to finish strong this season, but I think I'll be ready for a title challenge next season, and certainly fighting for the Top Four at very least.  We have played this well even though our strikers have really left a lot to be desired this season.  Kai Havertz has been our top scorer, with 16 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions, averaging 7.40 as an 18-year-old.

I don't think I need too many additions to the squad for a solid challenge next season, although if I could get a close-to-world-class goalkeeper, and another dominant central midfielder, I think I'll be quite strong.  I expect Timo Werner and Alexander Isak to provide an amazing strike force for seasons to come... and it may even see me switch tactics to a three-at-the-back before too long, so I feel OK with playing two strikers at once.  

Even though the season isn't quite over, I hadn't done a "big" update in some time, and with it being after the winter window, and getting close to squeaky-bum time in the League, I figured I'd drop some fun info down on the thread.  

I'll definitely be on and playing tomorrow afternoon and will do any updates to the board then.  Best of luck and continued success to all challengers in your saves!

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by jaysdailydose
Formatting.

[Constantine]

8 hours ago, jaysdailydose said:

I must admit, I don't recognize the avatar. (I'm from across the pond.)  Feels weird that you could play Liverpool OR Everton, so I guess it's a good thing you got Newcastle!

Just be VERY careful at first, almost everyone who has played Newcastle has had to deal with an immediate takeover, and without immediate great results, they've lost their employment.  

Only Smp20 has been able to survive with Newcastle, but when he did, he also became the first one of us to take down a UEFA Champions League, so... if it works, it can work big.  Just watch out for it!

Adding you to the board now, and best of luck to you with the Magpies!

Constantine is a main character in DC comics Hellblazer series. He's born in Liverpool but writers never clearly said whom he support although there are bits and pieces that puts him closer to the Reds. As for why Newcastle... Well, defining moment in his life happened there so i though why not add them to the mix.

Thanks for the advice about a takeover. Nothing so far points to something like that happening in my game, not in the immediate future but i guess you never know with Mike Ashley  

[jaysdailydose]

7 minutes ago, Constantine said:

Constantine is a main character in DC comics Hellblazer series. He's born in Liverpool but writers never clearly said whom he support although there are bits and pieces that puts him closer to the Reds. As for why Newcastle... Well, defining moment in his life happened there so i though why not add them to the mix.

Thanks for the advice about a takeover. Nothing so far points to something like that happening in my game, not in the immediate future but i guess you never know with Mike Ashley  

Gotcha, yeah, I must admit I've never been a big comics guy.  It makes a ton of sense now.  

And yeah, it definitely does a good impersonation of Mike Ashley, we had a fun discussion about that one and the takeover that WAS pending with Staveley, but she's not going to sit and play his games.

I'm glad to hear it doesn't appear to be a potential problem, it killed at least one save, and I think it was multiple if I recall correctly.  Got the job, near immediate takeover start, poor results because they just got to the club and no tactical familiarity, etc -- and then the sack.  

Then the only guy so far who survives it wins our first Champions League, and damned quickly in the save as well.  Go figure.   Might be a very good omen for you and your club!

I'm only playing another match or so, it is almost 2AM here and wife and I are going to sleep in a few.  I hear the notification beep when I'm playing in case someone needs a trophy update, and I heard your reply beep.  Have a good one, and hoping for good things from your Magpies!

[jaysdailydose]

Hitting continue up to the last match I'm playing tonight, and see this awesome Champions League result...just WOW. 



The first leg matches the week prior saw Tottenham put six past Barcelona at Wembley, to win 6-1.  

It kind of looks like our league is a bit tough, no?   Arsenal and United are also winning their UCL ties, but theirs are 1 goal margins, even if United's is against Real Madrid.

Interesting stuff before sleep, figured I'd share.


 

[TheEarl]

This thread is like the old days, so much activity, I love it.

Unfortunately the next 7-8 days, I am so busy at work

I have finished the 3rd season, but no time to write about it yet. I will try to squeeze in an update as soon as possible.

[jaysdailydose]

11 minutes ago, TheEarl said:

This thread is like the old days, so much activity, I love it.

Unfortunately the next 7-8 days, I am so busy at work

I have finished the 3rd season, but no time to write about it yet. I will try to squeeze in an update as soon as possible.

I honestly think it is the competitive aspect.  Not that the other challenges aren't great, they obviously are, but they are all "Complete it or don't."  

Where here, you can win lots of extra things, exceed what is necessary, and really test yourself against others as to who can win the most trophies.  Also with the scoreboard, having the milestones that actually put fast timetables in which you have to accomplish things presents a new challenge to great players.  I mean, most of us, if you give us a Premier League squad, we are going to win everything... before long.  Having to win specific trophies, specific doubles, specific trebles -- on specific timetables... I think it really drew some people in.

I could be wrong, people may have just wanted to help honor Sir Alex with a competitive challenge in his honor.  

But, I definitely think the competitive, yet still COMMUNITY, aspect of the challenge is a big part of it.  For whatever reason it happened, I *love* it.

Edited May 29, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

We had to have a perfect second leg to do it, but we've met expectations for the UEFA Europa League for the season... now, we can concentrate on trying to retain our trophy!



It is our only chance at silverware this season, so I hope I can keep advancing... but I figured after the first leg that it would be tough for us to advance.  Their goalkeeper was standing on his head, the first half was frustrating because he made some truly fine saves.  

We've drawn Valencia in the Second Knockout Round, so a tough tie awaits.  As does my bed.   Have a good evening/morning, everyone.
 

[wynter]

Much like Earl, will be back on the weekend. Assignments taking priority 

[warlock]

Sorry for the lack up updates from me - I'm really struggling with this. Have restarted the Southampton save twice now, trying out different tactical approaches but nothing seems to be working. If anyone doubts the impact of morale and momentum in FM, this challenge is instructive.

On November 6 in my save Southampton have had an abysmal season with just two wins, three draws and six defeats. For my first game, Gabbiadini is injured, Austin is just back from injury, Hoedt is banned for three games, Lemina for one. The Saints have sold Pied, and replaced him with Joshua Brenet (decent RB) but made no other signings. My first game is at home against bottom club Everton, and we conspire to lose 1-0. Next we're away to fellow-strugglers Leicester and produce a stunning performance for a 3-1 win. Corner turned? No, we next go to Spurs and get hammered 5-1, then Chelsea at home and lose 3-2 to a Morata wondergoal in the 95th minute!

And it's not just the results; the players simply can't play - defenders constantly caught out of position, our passing is abysmal throughout, and forward players miss chance after chance. I'm beginning to suspect devilry - about half of the squad have season average ratings of 6.66 (yes, really). There are quite a few who aren't playing as well as that .

So, we're into December and we have home games against West Ham, Watford and Huddersfield so we'll try to pick up some points in those - and ignore the away games at Arsenal and Man City. Then try to reinforce in the January window. I'll let you know how that goes!

[KeeToMyHeart]

First three games as manager and it's fair to say they've provided entertainment!  

We came back from 2-0 down to beat Huddersfield.

Came back from 3-1 down and then 4-3 down to draw with the Saints.

Then finally gained a credible point against top of the table Arsenal. 

 

Up the Hornets.

Edited May 29, 2018 by KeeToMyHeart

[Kubson]

Mind if I join?  So the team I'm going with is Stoke! No wins in 11 games, this is going to be fun, isn't it? 

[warlock]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

I'll let you know how that goes!

Well, it didn't go to plan. First game, apart from losing, I also lost Boufal for a month, and Romeu for two months. Next game, Foster is out for two months with a broken wrist, and worst of all, Tadic will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury. I think I'll bin this one, and try again with someone else.

[MarcxD]

West Ham 2020-2021

A big step up, it was an amazing season. Not only did we finish in the top 4 for the first time, we also won the Europa League, EFL Cup and the Community shield again. Couldn't do a three peat for the FA cup sadly. New arrivals really helped to get in there. There was a point where I seriously thought about the title, perhaps next season.

Spent a bit more money this year, with some great new players joining us in the likes of Emre Mor but perhaps especially the january signings of Jadon Sancho and Willem Geubbels.

A huge lead on the rest where goals scored is concerned, certainly a good sign. The top 5 was really tight throughout the season.

I also won manager of the year for the first time!

[jaysdailydose]

18 hours ago, Keano16 said:

Decided to throw my hat in the ring to get back into FM so here we go...

(Yes, I forgot to remove Irish, although that will hardly have an effect.)

The Hammers it is!

The Irish doesn't matter at all.  As long as your only spoken language is English. (Which it is with Irish.)  

No problems at all!

[jaysdailydose]

3 hours ago, Kubson said:

 

Mind if I join?  So the team I'm going with is Stoke! No wins in 11 games, this is going to be fun, isn't it? 

Welcome to the challenge, @Kubson!  I'll add you and Stoke to our active leaderboard now!  Best of luck to you!

[jaysdailydose]

54 minutes ago, MarcxD said:

I also won manager of the year for the first time!

Heading to add all of your new trophies to the leaderboard, @MarcxD!  Awesome job, and keep up the great work and amazing progress!

[KeeToMyHeart]

Sadly things took a turn for the worst at Watford for myself. After a terrific start with four wins and two draws, we came undone against bottom of the table Brighton. From there our season proceeded to plummet and after a disappointing run, I was sacked. 

As I write this I'm simming once again to learn from my mistakes and have another go. Hopefully I can fair a little better in the long-term this time around.  

[jaysdailydose]

3 minutes ago, KeeToMyHeart said:

Sadly things took a turn for the worst at Watford for myself. After a terrific start with four wins and two draws, we came undone against bottom of the table Brighton. From there our season proceeded to plummet and after a disappointing run, I was sacked. 

As I write this I'm simming once again to learn from my mistakes and have another go. Hopefully I can fair a little better in the long-term this time around.  

Tough break, but you aren't the first, and definitely won't be the last challenger to be sacked!

Just post your new screenshot when you're ready and I'll update your club on the leaderboard!  Best of luck with your new journey! 

[jaysdailydose]

New challengers and trophy points are now current to HERE.

Welcome to our four new competitors since yesterday in KeeToMyHeart, Keano16, Constantine, and Kubson!

Congratulations going out to @MarcxD on a beautiful three trophy haul for the 2020/21 season, including conquering the Europa League!  Keep up the great work with your Hammers! (These successes have moved you up to fourth place on the active leaderboard!)

I'll be here pretty much all day playing, and the notification sound will play if any new challengers enter, or if anyone needs trophy updates!  

Best of luck and continued success to all of our challengers!

Edited May 29, 2018 by jaysdailydose

[jaysdailydose]

6 hours ago, warlock said:

Sorry for the lack up updates from me - I'm really struggling with this. Have restarted the Southampton save twice now, trying out different tactical approaches but nothing seems to be working. If anyone doubts the impact of morale and momentum in FM, this challenge is instructive.

On November 6 in my save Southampton have had an abysmal season with just two wins, three draws and six defeats. For my first game, Gabbiadini is injured, Austin is just back from injury, Hoedt is banned for three games, Lemina for one. The Saints have sold Pied, and replaced him with Joshua Brenet (decent RB) but made no other signings. My first game is at home against bottom club Everton, and we conspire to lose 1-0. Next we're away to fellow-strugglers Leicester and produce a stunning performance for a 3-1 win. Corner turned? No, we next go to Spurs and get hammered 5-1, then Chelsea at home and lose 3-2 to a Morata wondergoal in the 95th minute!

And it's not just the results; the players simply can't play - defenders constantly caught out of position, our passing is abysmal throughout, and forward players miss chance after chance. I'm beginning to suspect devilry - about half of the squad have season average ratings of 6.66 (yes, really). There are quite a few who aren't playing as well as that .

So, we're into December and we have home games against West Ham, Watford and Huddersfield so we'll try to pick up some points in those - and ignore the away games at Arsenal and Man City. Then try to reinforce in the January window. I'll let you know how that goes!

As far as Southampton strategy goes, my save is on FM17, so not sure how helpful I can be.  I think you may be trashing the save and restarting anyways, but here's what I did.

Tactically, I went with a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide, and at this point I've got two versions of it.  One with a Control mentality, and the second one is a standard.  The control I use short passing, and the standard I use mixed.  Club philosophy being both possession and attacking football, direct passing is out, though I've started working on a third tactic as far as familiarity goes when I can fit in the time.  That one will use Direct passing.  I'd never play the full tactic in a game, but I'd like to have a fluid direct passing style for in-game adjustments.  

The original squad when I took over left much to be desired in the same areas as you, but being FM17, I at least had Virgil van Dijk, and I've been able to retain him thus far through massive levels of interest.  

I agree with you 1000%, morale is likely the most important thing in Football Manager, and has been for a lot of versions now.  It is imperative to make sure you use your team talks, your praise/criticism outside of matches, and your team meetings to your advantage to maintain morale, especially during bad spells of form.  You can use a team meeting about every 3-4 weeks, and they are the biggest morale booster for the squad you can find.  You just have to make SURE that you use the right dialogue option, because why it can be powerful to help your club, the wrong choice and your squad coming back red can cost you the entire dressing room!

I'm curious how much you and others focus on your backroom staff at the starts of your saves.  Myself, I find absolutely everyone I want to hire before I even hit continue the first time.  Staff is SO important, especially in situations where the only way to survive and improve is player development, and that is the case for all but the luckiest of us with the "Holiday Sim."  

You definitely have the right idea with your upcoming fixtures.  Results against the Big Six, especially before your first transfer window, are going to be amazingly few and far between, so focusing on the other points is the correct idea for early survival and improvement.  I definitely have faith that you'll get it turned around, let us know how it goes!  

#UpOurSaints