dafuge's FM20 challenge

[yellowforever]

Nuneaton Town Season 2020/21

Season Review - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Squad

Another good year! To be honest I thought we'd be good for the playoffs as I kept the majority (bar 1) of my first team from last year, and during the summer I didn't add too many players. Part of this was because I didn't really need to, and also because I was confident that we could keep our amazing team spirit and cohesion to get us off to a good start. Chesterfield had a sensational season with only 1 loss so we were never going to catch them, but I thought we were very much the second best team in the league, and eventually took Hartlepool down 2-0 in the final. 

Other things of note are that we made the FA cup 3rd round, before a boring draw to Ipswich at home of which we lost 2-1. We're also expanding our stadium by about 1,700, for the hefty price of £1.7m! With that, and having to turn professional I am very worried about the finances for next season. It's going to be all about survival and consolidation while hopefully not plummeting into debt.

[Thebaker]

On 05/12/2019 at 08:04, DazRTaylor said:

That is an astonishing tactic that doesn't look like it should work with the midfield balance as its too attacking (although IF's were very effective in FM19, i haven't used them in FM20 to see any changes) , how did you decide on that tactic.

[LeProfIamNot]

Did this a few years ago with Kingstonian and had fun.  Gonna give it a go this year with South Shields.

[greenWhale]

Right, I'm also starting a structured upload of savegames with as many as possible teams ready to go. for those interested, I can make them available in the near future.  Here's the current state of  the project.

All saves have all of the UK & Ireland loaded + everything in England.

 

Newest status:  https://imgur.com/InGH4FI

Download link: dropbox

Edited December 9, 2019 by greenWhale

[Winti26]

Scarborough Athletic Season 20/21

Transfers:

We basically built a team from the ground and with me making myself as swiss meant I had 0 scouting knowlege on any player and I just invited everybody without a contract and gave players non contract deals. That lead to to many signings to give everyone a shoutout special since a lot of them never made any impact on the team since I found better players on trial. Later in the Season I sold Lofts to make room for Hunt, who was a better player at CM and Lofts was one of the original players who still had (a way to high) contract on the team. 
If anybody cares here you have my transfers: Part1,Part 2

League:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I went into the season with the Goal Fight bravely for survival, and I never even entered Relegation Zone, to be fair the team that started into the season was already much better then the team that I took over and this goals were based on. 
Still overall it was a very succesfull season and alot better then I ever expected. Season started well with only one defeat in the first month (9 games). August was followed by a not great september with only one win. After that my team found into a great form until mid January in that window we fought ourself into a playoffspot. But again a great form was followed with a really poor form where we only won one game in 7 games. This made the fight for a playoff spot a lot more exciting then it looked like in January but thankfully the boys found back to winning and in the end clinched the playoff in the last game despite losing to Blyth. To end this section I have to call out the most curios result of the season. That is a 6:0 defeat against Tellford, I have no Idea how this happend we were in the middle of a great streak, team just didn't showed up for this one.
Table 

In the Playoffs we met Southport, who we beat twice during the Season. I was scared that us losing the homefield advantage at the last day of the season could have cost us, but a winner in the 120th min brought us into the next round. 3 days later in the next round we visited fully rested Kidderminster. Nobody would have really betted on us winning this game, specially since we lost our star player and heart of the Team RW Will Annan in the last game(Injured for 6 weeks). In addition a lot of starters were just not fit enough to start (I have a strict 90 percent fitness or you don't play rule, maybe that would have been the one game for an exception). The only thing that spoke for us was that we beat them the last time we played them and that was during a losing Period and also without Annan. But long story short we lost.

playoff tree

FA-Cup:

Cup

Expectation in this competition were get into the 3rd qualifying round. We struggled away at Stratford and only got a 0:0 draw. Just for us run over them in the replay and win 6:1. With our goal already reached we could take it more relaxed and we beat league rival kettering, who at that point were better placed then we were. Now only Barrow, who played a division above us, were between us and the first round prober. At home against them I had hope for an upset specially since we played really well in the league right then. We drew 1-1 and got another replay. And in the Replay it ended the way you could expect Barrow beat us, but we put up a great fight and even tied the game at 1 in the 70th min just for barrow to take the leade back in the kickoff highlight.

FA-Trophy:

Trophy

No Expectation in this competition, but I still wanted the money even if it is a lot less then the FA Cup. Qualfying round we beat Leamington who got relegated at the end of the season. In the first round we got our revenge on Barrow(if only we got our win against them in the FA Cup and not here). After beating Alfreton it was Ketterings time to take a FA Cup revenge. After we drew against them in the away game we lost the replay at home and that ended our FA Trophy run in the 3rd round.

General Review

Personal: In this season I got myself 2 Coaching Badges and I'm already studing for the 3rd. I also got myself a new contract, I passed on more money to save the club 25 pounds per week(I hope that is fine within the Challenge, I'm not 100% sure, If I did wrong with that please say so then I will not do it if I get a new contract).

Attributes Characteristics

Team Review: Like I already mentioned in the League part the Player who was/is the core of this team is Annan one of only 2 Players who were on the roster to start with and will still be on my roster next year(the other is my GK). And the Game agrees with me on him being the star.  My signing of the year is according to the game the very first signing I did with this team Striker James Morris, here I can not 100% agree for me CM Josh Benson has at least a very good shot, He is at least the most talented signing of the year but I guess Morris had due to the still of play more influnce on the game. 

Awards

21/22 Season Preview

First my personal goals I want this team to confirm that we didn't get to the playoffs  due to a fluke season, we are for real. So my goal is at least playoffs again, while my dream is at least 3rd so that we don't have to deal with that tiredness in the semifinal. FA-Cup goal  go back to teh 4th quali round. Dream getting a big draw in the first round against some big league one club.

Board Goals: here

I can agree with the mid table finish but I'm not really happy about the new Philosphie to make most of set pieces, reason for that I have no idea how to set up set pieces and also how is that a messurable point what is most of it? Is what I did last season most of it or do they want more? I really prefered the sing under 23 players for the first squad cause that was all that I did anyway.

Finances: I want to keep this club financially healthy at the moment we are stable, but the board now allowed me to spend 1.5 K per week more to spend but doing that would lead to a big minus so for now I will atleast try to keep it the same.

Finance Overview

 

Now to finish it up my personal expierience with this Challenge. This is my first big FM Challenge I'v ever started and at least played a whole season. It gave me a lot of unexpected challenges. For one I've played once or twice with attribute masking on but never with a coach so bad like here, and not being english didn't helped me here either since I suddenly had no info at all about players. It was strange to not be able to rely on the search screen and filters.  I have to say right now I really love this save and I honestly play FM way to much cause of this save.  I still doubt that I will ever get into the Prem but right now I have no temptation to start another save. 

 

 

 

[greenWhale]

Awesome. The best game I ever had in FM was my save with Redditch for tghe dafuge challenge a few years ago. I'm now getting up to speed with FM, after a few years hiatus. When I'm going to dive straight in as well. I anounced I would with Barswell but that game already went sour.

Best fo luck!

[yellowforever]

Nuneaton Town Season 2021/22

Season Review - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Squad - Facilities

Well, I sped through this one! In all honesty it wasn't a particularly interesting season. The league itself was very tight and at one point it looked as if we may have been able to sneak into the playoffs, but unfortunately as injuries hit we dropped down the table like a brick. I didn't make many transfers and just decided to trust the guys who had got me back to back promotions, but there were a few key additions like striker Kion Etete, and turning Saul Shotton's loan into a permanant deal. One thing I struggled for was wingers, there simply were none of the required quality for either loan or free transfer, so I had to change shape to mitigate this. I also wanted us to be more attacking, and the result was lots of goals at both ends of the pitch. Finally got someone (reasonably) decent come through the academy, though by the time he's ready to start I have no idea where we'll be as a club. Stadium upgrade done, didn't really affect my budget/balance at all, but has left us with a hefty loan which is being repaid every month. Next season it'll be a push for promotion hopefully.

[Scab]

St. Ives 2032/33 Season Review

League Table    Playoffs    Season Review    Squad    Transfers    Finances

2nd and playoff loss? This brings back memories...

Made the switch to a 4-4-2 diamond to get Aspin into the side while keeping Atkins and Harrison in there. It pretty much killed our wingers as they're forced into more balanced roles, but the three up top have been a menace. Heck, we score more than anyone else! We may also concede like hardly anyone else, but hey, what's the point of a chart if not to top it?!

Lots more takeover rumors, except this time around our chairman actually wanted out. And out he got. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the new guy is already putting in money and approving much needed facility upgrades, all without adjusting Club Vision or anything else related to what's expected of me, so.... So far so good?

Aim for next season: Let's break this playoff curse.

Season    League              Finish   Notes
2032/33   Vanarama National   2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2031/32   Vanarama National   4th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd, FA Trophy runners-up
2030/31   Vanarama National   7th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd
2029/30   Vanarama National   15th     -
2028/29   Vanarama National   10th     FA Trophy runners-up
2027/28   Vanarama North      1st      League winners
2026/27   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2025/26   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2024/25   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2023/24   Vanarama North      5th      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2022/23   Vanarama North      4th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd
2021/22   Vanarama North      9th      -
2020/21   Vanarama North      15th     -

 

[greenWhale]

2 hours ago, Scab said:

 

St. Ives 2032/33 Season Review

League Table    Playoffs    Season Review    Squad    Transfers    Finances

2nd and playoff loss? This brings back memories...

Made the switch to a 4-4-2 diamond to get Aspin into the side while keeping Atkins and Harrison in there. It pretty much killed our wingers as they're forced into more balanced roles, but the three up top have been a menace. Heck, we score more than anyone else! We may also concede like hardly anyone else, but hey, what's the point of a chart if not to top it?!

Lots more takeover rumors, except this time around our chairman actually wanted out. And out he got. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the new guy is already putting in money and approving much needed facility upgrades, all without adjusting Club Vision or anything else related to what's expected of me, so.... So far so good?

Aim for next season: Let's break this playoff curse.

Tons of respect to you. Keep on going, you'll manage. It's a more satisfying story if it takes time.

[greenWhale]

Update. Got a few more teams after a few more loads. I think getting them all will be out of the question as these are getting harder and harder to pop up. I'll get a few more at least though. Download via dropbox.

 

 

 

[Tivvy18]

Truro City - Season 2020/21 - National League South - 11th

Season Review - I was nervous at the start that the board expected too much of me. In the end we did what we needed to do where it mattered. Obviously I managed to impress people as I somehow ended up winning Manager of the Year. Now my fanboys and I can look ahead to a bright future of eventual Cornish dominance.

League - (Fixtures 1) (Fixtures 2) (Fixtures 3) (Positions)

The board wanted top half, the board got top half. 

Cups - (FA Cup) (FA Trophy)

Perhaps I was too willing to rotate in some of these matches. We didn't do anything of note apart from lose. 

Transfers - I have no clue how people manage to do challenges that ban transfers completely...

Finances - It goes down and then a bit further down.

Youth Intake - They may have the stars but their attributes are all a bit meh. I wouldn't say any of these are particularly worth shouting about but good enough for back up.

Key Players -
Louis Rooney - Top scorer and probably the main reason we did so well. Hoping for more of the same next season.

Ryan Bevan - Probably my best signing from the summer. My captain because I didn't have anyone better at the time.

Any other business - Brexit happened. Seems I have one where work permits are based on value and wages or something. It's a new one for me at the very least.

Looking Forward - I need to strengthen the squad and replace a few who are leaving. I'm feeling quietly confident but feel there are a lot of cracks that need to be fixed before the season starts. I still live in hope for my first ever promotion in this challenge...
 

[Britrock]

Scarborough Athletic 2025/26

The seasons where you're not really playing for anything from January take so long in this challenge! We ended the season in 18th after fairly boring season. We had a few runs of wins which kept us safe , but generally the season was a disappointment. Transfers were busy as always, we tried to lean more heavily on loans this year with mixed success. We did manage to get Brighton as our parent club though, which is an improvement on Luton as long as the players actually want to come and play for us (they finished 2nd in the Championship so its a big drop from the prem to VNL). The cups were the same as always, 1st round of the FA Cup and 2nd of the FA Trophy. Finances aren't terrible, but they're certainly not great either. We got taken over in the summer and there was a period where I thought I might get replaced but they kept me on luckily.

Best XI | Season Awards | Season Review

Edited December 11, 2019 by Britrock

[tremor]

Witton Albion 2020-21

Really had hoped for one of the casuals sides to come up but got tired of the constant reloads. In the end i plumped for Witton Albion (local team to my sister). Pretty good first season, we made some good signings and performed admirably to finish 11th. Onwards and upwards next season!

Edited December 10, 2019 by tremor

[Danny_H22]

FC United 2024/25 Season Review

Profile|History|Table|Transfers|Finances|Squad 1 2

Sky Bet League One: Based on previous form, I don't know why I expected any less. 46 league games and 33 wins was enough for us to absolutely walk the league and claim another promotion. Our form was incredible and we only lost once all season - more importantly than that, we were consistent! 54 points in the first half of the season and 57 in the season half saw us finish the season on 111 points; 20 points more than second place. What a stress free league campaign

The Emirates FA Cup: Whilst our league campaign was stress free, our FA Cup run wasn't! An opening 5-1 domination of rivals Salford gave us hope, but we were soon knocked back to earth when we faced off against Flyde who put six past us and sent us packing

Carabao Cup: To go far in the cup you need some luck and we did not have that this season. We opened up our Carabao campaign against Sunderland and put them firmly in their place, winning 3-1 and earning the right to play Everton at Goodison. We were actually well on our way to winning before Sigurdsson worked his magic in the 89th minute to force a penalty shootout. We had enough about us to pick up the win and set up a match against titans Man City. The difference in class was evident and City didn't even break a sweat whilst putting four past us and sending home

Checkatrade Trophy: A league featuring Flyde, Lincoln and Norwich Under 23s gave me some hope that we could go far in one cup and we lived up to those expectations with 3 wins in 3, scoring 8 along the way. Turns out that Man City really didn't want us to win any cups this season and they sent their under 23s to put an end to any run we could put together

 

Top Goalscorer: Michael Lee is my favourite player. A local lad who grabbed his chance in the first team and didn't look back. Whilst he didn't hit the heights of his 37 goals last season, he did manage 21 to finish as joint top goalscorer along with loanee Ciaran Patterson. Patterson arrived from Villa having never played a professional game so he had to learn quickly. He featured in 46 games, scoring 21 goals and assisting in 11 more as he formed a great partnership with Lee

Most Assists: What can I say about Charlie Massey? West Ham saw it fit to send him to Manchester after his £2.8m transfer from Bristol City. He found himself filling the vacant role of box to box midfielder and really made it his own. 52 games, 7 goals and an amazing 21 assists!

Honourable Mentions: Kieran Hughes earned an honourable mention last season and he has earned an honourable mention this season! Pairing off with Massey in the centre midfield, Hughes acted as our deep lying playmaker. Whilst his goals and assist tally could have been better (G4, A9), he was the ultimate example of consistency. 9 POTMs and an average rating of 7.31 over 53 games

 

Next Season Plans: The Championship will surely prove to be more of a challenge than the other leagues have thus far? My plan, just like always, is to avoid any relegation battles and hopefully put together a decent cup run with some nice away days to increase our finances. We desperately need to improve our facilities and our stadium needs a lot of work; we have actually spent the season playing at Rochdales ground

Season     League                   Position    Notes and Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21    National League North    3rd         Lost in the Playoff Semi Final
2021/22    National League North    2nd         Playoff winner
2022/23    National League          1st         FA Trophy winner
2023/24    League Two               3rd
2024/25    League One               1st

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by Danny_H22

[CMU Chips]

Season Five, 2024/2025 Vanarama National League - 11th

 

After almost being promoted last year I thought we'd have an easy time this season. Bad morale, bad play, bad transfers and bad tactics led to a wasted season. Not sure who will be back next year. Still semi-pro, still haven't had a good youth prospect yet but if we can get promoted we can fix at least one of those problems. This season was a huge financial drain, all the money we made last year is gone. Squad stats and transfers.

[DazRTaylor]

17 hours ago, Britrock said:

Scarborough Athletic 2025/26

The seasons where you're not really playing for anything from January take so long in this challenge! We ended the season in 18th after fairly boring season. We had a few runs of wins which kept us safe , but generally the season was a disappointment. Transfers were busy as always, we tried to lean more heavily on loans this year with mixed success. We did manage to get Brighton as our parent club though, which is an improvement on Luton as long as the players actually want to come and play for us (they finished 2nd in the Championship so its a big drop from the prem to VNL). The cups were the same as always, 1st round of the FA Cup and 2nd of the FA Trophy. Finances aren't terrible, but they're certainly not great either. We got taken over in the summer and there was a period where I thought I might get replaced but they kept me on luckily.

Best XI | Season Awards | Season Review

Well done on survival, though you may want to change you current division to Vanarama National.  

[DazRTaylor]

17 hours ago, Danny_H22 said:

FC United 2024/25 Season Review

Profile|History|Table|Transfers|Finances|Squad 1 2

Sky Bet League One: Based on previous form, I don't know why I expected any less. 46 league games and 33 wins was enough for us to absolutely walk the league and claim another promotion. Our form was incredible and we only lost once all season - more importantly than that, we were consistent! 54 points in the first half of the season and 57 in the season half saw us finish the season on 111 points; 20 points more than second place. What a stress free league campaign

The Emirates FA Cup: Whilst our league campaign was stress free, our FA Cup run wasn't! An opening 5-1 domination of rivals Salford gave us hope, but we were soon knocked back to earth when we faced off against Flyde who put six past us and sent us packing

Carabao Cup: To go far in the cup you need some luck and we did not have that this season. We opened up our Carabao campaign against Sunderland and put them firmly in their place, winning 3-1 and earning the right to play Everton at Goodison. We were actually well on our way to winning before Sigurdsson worked his magic in the 89th minute to force a penalty shootout. We had enough about us to pick up the win and set up a match against titans Man City. The difference in class was evident and City didn't even break a sweat whilst putting four past us and sending home

Checkatrade Trophy: A league featuring Flyde, Lincoln and Norwich Under 23s gave me some hope that we could go far in one cup and we lived up to those expectations with 3 wins in 3, scoring 8 along the way. Turns out that Man City really didn't want us to win any cups this season and they sent their under 23s to put an end to any run we could put together

 

Top Goalscorer: Michael Lee is my favourite player. A local lad who grabbed his chance in the first team and didn't look back. Whilst he didn't hit the heights of his 37 goals last season, he did manage 21 to finish as joint top goalscorer along with loanee Ciaran Patterson. Patterson arrived from Villa having never played a professional game so he had to learn quickly. He featured in 46 games, scoring 21 goals and assisting in 11 more as he formed a great partnership with Lee

Most Assists: What can I say about Charlie Massey? West Ham saw it fit to send him to Manchester after his £2.8m transfer from Bristol City. He found himself filling the vacant role of box to box midfielder and really made it his own. 52 games, 7 goals and an amazing 21 assists!

Honourable Mentions: Kieran Hughes earned an honourable mention last season and he has earned an honourable mention this season! Pairing off with Massey in the centre midfield, Hughes acted as our deep lying playmaker. Whilst his goals and assist tally could have been better (G4, A9), he was the ultimate example of consistency. 9 POTMs and an average rating of 7.31 over 53 games

 

Next Season Plans: The Championship will surely prove to be more of a challenge than the other leagues have thus far? My plan, just like always, is to avoid any relegation battles and hopefully put together a decent cup run with some nice away days to increase our finances. We desperately need to improve our facilities and our stadium needs a lot of work; we have actually spent the season playing at Rochdales ground

Season     League                   Position    Notes and Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21    National League North    3rd         Lost in the Playoff Semi Final
2021/22    National League North    2nd         Playoff winner
2022/23    National League          1st         FA Trophy winner
2023/24    League Two               3rd
2024/25    League One               1st

 

Four promotions in a row.  Great stuff!  

Be careful though - @OrToDaRy282may accuse you of save scumming.

Edited December 11, 2019 by DazRTaylor

[Britrock]

13 minutes ago, DazRTaylor said:

Well done on survival, though you may want to change you current division to Vanarama National.  

Haha, well spotted! Copy/paste catches me out again

[Danny_H22]

4 hours ago, DazRTaylor said:

Four promotions in a row.  Great stuff!  

Be careful though - @OrToDaRy282may accuse you of save scumming.

Ha, thanks! I am the first to admit that my run looks suspect, but its all genuine. FC United is definitely the least challenging of all the teams I could have picked

[OrToDaRy282]

57 minutes ago, Danny_H22 said:

Ha, thanks! I am the first to admit that my run looks suspect, but its all genuine. FC United is definitely the least challenging of all the teams I could have picked

FC United is a bit more realistic because they have the fanbase to generate some more money than other teams.
But maybe you're just waaaaaaay better FM-players than I am ^^ 
Each to his own I guess. 
I'll keep my thoughts for myself in the future. 

[Danny_H22]

2 minutes ago, OrToDaRy282 said:

FC United is a bit more realistic because they have the fanbase to generate some more money than other teams.
But maybe you're just waaaaaaay better FM-players than I am ^^ 
Each to his own I guess. 
I'll keep my thoughts for myself in the future. 

Yeah I have been stadium sharing since season 2 due to capacity limitations and had a decent cup run early in my game which funded training facility upgrades. We have definitely had more money than our competitors during every pre-Championship season.

I do also consider myself a very good FM player having played religiously since CM95

[Winti26]

Okay I'm in a little dilema. I'm in the offseason after my first season. In the first Season I signed a young european player, since brexit didn't happend at that point I had no problems with signing him. One year later brexit happend every eu player needs a work permit. Since I play in the national league north not suprisingly he hasn't enough caps to get a work permit so I can't resign him. So far all good, bad for me but fair. But now I discoverd that after his contract run out he is still on a month to month contract in my team and I don't have to offer him a new contract.
My question now will he be able to play when the league starts or will he not be able to play because he has no workpermit? If he cant play I would like to know now and release him and save a bit of salary. 
And also if he could play if I don't offer him a new contract, would this be even allowed within this challenge, because imo it's close to game the system. At the moment I tend towards  just release him anyway because that's sounds like cheating to me. But I really like that player and it would be a shame to lose him if this would be totally fair use.

 

EDIT: Okay I made a seprate save and simmed ahead to test it and I can answer the first Question yes he is able to play despite not having done anything to fulfill the workpermit. I honestly feel like it's to cheaty to do it, and unless someone can say me 100% that that's the way it should work, I will release him, Cause this situation is to easy to exploit, as long as I stay semipro I don't have to offer him a new contract and no other team will offer him a contract since he won't get a work permit. So not only can I play him without workpermit but the contract he would want is 500 pounds but I can keep letting him play with a 200 pound contract.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Winti26

[greenWhale]

13 hours ago, OrToDaRy282 said:

FC United is a bit more realistic because they have the fanbase to generate some more money than other teams.
But maybe you're just waaaaaaay better FM-players than I am ^^ 
Each to his own I guess. 
I'll keep my thoughts for myself in the future. 

I think it's best to do just that, even though I suspect there are always those who cheat. Some put a lot of effort into recruiting the right players for their team, micro-manage training,.. There's no way to tell who's cheating so it's best to assume everyone's playing as honest as you are yourself, denkt ge niet?

 

This being said, I abandoned my Barwell save a after a few months in game. I learned the new mechanics and am now confident I can do better in my next save. I went for Peterborough but after a few nights reloading, I couldn't get them. I went with Folkestone in stead. Should be challenging enough.

Anyone looking for a save game, I have 60%+ of the teams oploaded. I commit myself to reloading a few times every evening to get even more.

 

 

 

[joehelsing1]

So i'm mid season first year with Biggleswade Town in a relegation position.

I'm losing money pretty quickly despite being under budget.

I have about 20-30 trialists at the club at any one time and they play 2 home friendlies per week. 

Does doing this cost money?

 

Thanks in advance.

[DazRTaylor]

I am still going with Bamber Bridge, though have also started this again with South Shields as I come from North Shields, so thought they would be fun.

About to finish my first season with them but not sure if I will update this thread or not.

[CMU Chips]

Season Six, 2024/2025 Vanarama National League - Challenge Failed

Didn't expect to be making a post this quickly. Signed some good players and thought the tactics were ok. We were predicted 4th in the league. First game we generated 12 clear cut chances... and lost 2-3 on two goals from outside the box and a 30 yard free kick. Next game was very even but we ended up losing late. Third game we didn't allow a chance or half-chance but couldn't finish and lost 1-0. Fourth game we were 1-0 up when they had a player sent off. We dominated possession until 15 minutes left when they had another player sent off. After a volley from outside the box and a corner goal where they had 3 players attacking in the box, I retired from the club. I might try this challenge again in the future but for now don't really have any desire to play FM20.

[Faramir]

 

Hornchurch Urchins- End of 2022-23

After running with the top of the pack in VN most of the season, we stumbled in the final two months and barely made the Playoffs - finishing 7th. It was a nail-biting final day of competition as we lost our match 1-0 to Harrogate and had to cross our fingers and toes to hang on to the final Playoff spot. We played poorly in our final two matches and I was worried facing Barnet in the 1st round of the playoffs - as we had difficulty with them and were playing on the road. We eked out a 1-0 win as our backline and keeper played superbly in supporting a 40th minute blaze by Keiran Evans. In the second round we faced 2nd place and heavily favored York. York grabbed the early lead with a strike in the 12th minute, but after suffering a straight redcard in the 41st minute- we pressed the attack in the 2nd half. It looked like it might be for naught as their backline and keeper were stellar, but a 35 yard rocket from Tom Price finally earned us the equalizer. We put them away in the closing moments as Ricardo Rees scored to complete a pretty passing sequence and we were on to Wembley to face fellow surprise finalists- 6th place Hartlepool. 

The final saw our sole loanee- Harrison Myring from Coventry convert a deft cross from Dilan Markandy for only his 2nd goal of the season and a 22nd minute lead. We played staunch counter-attacking defense from that point on and benefitted from a sturdy crossbar that bounced out a late header on a corner to preserve our 1-0 win that will move us into League Play. The Board approved making us a Professional club in the summer- a great step for us- but we remain a pretty poorly funded club with our weekly wage bill limited to 14K at this point.

https://imgur.com/tM7dcPF

https://imgur.com/M4ZcAHM

https://imgur.com/gvL9duf

https://imgur.com/BuKVg52

https://imgur.com/a00dm5e

 

 

 

[Dons]

Leiston Season Summary 22/23
Vanarama National
Position 1st
Squad - Table - Profile - Finances - Transfers - Review

A season which was only really close at the end. 2 draws in the last 3 games, and the last game would decide if Halifax, Wrexham or Leiston would be crowned. All teams won their last game and saw us as champions. 1 point ahead of Halifax and 2 of Wrexham.
The defense was the main reason for our succes. We didn't score as many goals, compared to the two other teams, but we only let in 26. Saul Milavanovic and new signing Vontae Daley-Campbell (previously Arsenal and Leicester) and a new goalie Nicolas Tié (previously Chelsea) played magnificantly. Didn't manage to get a new DL, but it all worked out.

In the attack Harvey Bradbury, in his 3rd season for us, let the charts with 25 goals and new signing Anthony Spyrou (previously Norwich and Reading) was consistent both as MR and in the attack. Played mostly 4-4-2, but also gave DazRTaylor's tactic a go. That proved really handy, especially when playing against on the paper better teams, which leads to the cups. We played against 4 L2 teams in the FA and reached the 5th round, where we "only" lost 2-0 away to Everton. In the FAT we went all the way to the finals, and in a lucky penatly shootout beat Dulwich-Hamlet.

Had a player being purchased for a crazy amount, even though I do not really understand why they would pay 625k for Terry Jordan. Besides his determination, he doesn't seem that impressive. Nevertheless the transfer was out of my hands, as the greedy no wanting to spend money boss accepted the transfer. The best part of this season was finally going pro and being promised a new stadium - well, sometimes in the future, as board decided to yet again rent a stadium. Have had all my coaching requests accepted, but every other request to improve the club has been rejected. Again.

We weren't as blessed with low injuries this season, but it was managable due to squad size. 

 

[G_D_K]

On 10/12/2019 at 14:15, greenWhale said:

Update. Got a few more teams after a few more loads. I think getting them all will be out of the question as these are getting harder and harder to pop up. I'll get a few more at least though. Download via dropbox.

 

 

 

Good luck---I'm up to about 50....last half dozen vacations have netted only one new team.  Gonna keep at it and continue hosting new saves back on page one thru the holidays at least.

[greenWhale]

15 minutes ago, G_D_K said:

Good luck---I'm up to about 50....last half dozen vacations have netted only one new team.  Gonna keep at it and continue hosting new saves back on page one thru the holidays at least.

Thanks! I got one more again, so now I have 55 teams. It will take forever to get more, as these are increasingly harder to get. But I'll keep at it. Dowload link.

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by greenWhale

[Scab]

St. Ives 2033/34 Season Review

League Table    Season Review    Squad    Transfers    Finances

Boom! Up we go!

Got the wingers going and that seems to have made the difference. Well, that and the fact that no other team did very well this season. Between 2019/20 and now, no club has won with any less than 88pts. Normally, you'd need over 90, but even that has frequently only been good for 2nd. We just clinched it with a mere 76, all while conceding a whopping 80 goals. If you want to call it luck, I won't argue! Heck, we had more points than this last season!

The squad is largely the same. Wilson retired and Osei-Bonsu left. Once again, the one to highlight is Atkins, earning himself Top Goalscorer and Player of the Season for the 2nd year in a row. Couldn't wish for a more reliable striker, really. It's kind of wild to me that he's approaching his 30's as one of our early academy players. It's been a long journey, and the goal still feels really far away.

Oh, and we're turning professional. The board asked and I said yes (though I think we had to anyway to be in L2?) but I have no idea if it's actually a good idea. We don't make very much money. Time will tell?

Aim for next season: Stay up. L2/L1 teams usually destroy us in the FA Cup.

Season    League              Finish   Notes
2033/34   Vanarama National   1st      League winners
2032/33   Vanarama National   2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2031/32   Vanarama National   4th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd, FA Trophy runners-up
2030/31   Vanarama National   7th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd
2029/30   Vanarama National   15th     -
2028/29   Vanarama National   10th     FA Trophy runners-up
2027/28   Vanarama North      1st      League winners
2026/27   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2025/26   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2024/25   Vanarama North      2nd      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2023/24   Vanarama North      5th      Lost in Playoff 2nd Rnd
2022/23   Vanarama North      4th      Lost in Playoff 1st Rnd
2021/22   Vanarama North      9th      -
2020/21   Vanarama North      15th     -

 

[DazRTaylor]

22 hours ago, greenWhale said:

Thanks! I got one more again, so now I have 55 teams. It will take forever to get more, as these are increasingly harder to get. But I'll keep at it. Dowload link.

 

I have had Cray, Merstham, Coalville, Kings Langley (these come up once every 20 or so saves with me), Bamber Bridge, Lancaster & Mickleover Sports all come up.  So they can happen.

[LeProfIamNot]

South Shields FC 2020/2021

League Table    Season Review    Stats    Transfers    Awards    Profile    Finances    Promotion Odds

 

Such a crazy first season.  I started like I always start lower league management.  Dump the players that won't fit into my system and sign as many youngsters released from the big clubs in the country.  I maxed my trials out and signed a lot of teenagers from the who's who of academies.  I started out picked for 20th and when my signings were done, the bookmakers had us coming in 3rd.  I felt there was no way we wouldn't win the league.  Given my past history, I was sure we would dominate and win the league by 15-20 points.  Boy was I wrong!

I forgot how difficult managing in England is.  The last few years I've moved around Scandanavia, Russia, staying out of England completely.  The intensity as far as fixture congestion goes is so hard during the first half of the season.  We did fantastic but had 2 stretches where our form dropped.  Towards the end of the season I was sure we wouldn't win the league.  We were dropping points against teams in the relegation zone.  But luckily, Kidderminster slipped a bit in the last 3 games and it allowed us to slip ahead and take the league.

My plan for next season is exactly the same.  Take as many trials as I can and continue with free transfers from the large clubs.  With only 2 scouts and low player knowledge, you just can't make headway going that route.  Taking 30-40 trials at a time is the best way to go.  I've been keeping tabs on the players I didn't sign last summer though, so I have a nice catalog of players now.  I have lots of dead wood at the end of the season so I'll probably be making a lot of signings again.  I'm confident we'll hold our ground and stay up, but I really don't think we'll be winning the league again.

The other thing to add is the advantage managing this club brings.  Our wage budget was 2nd in the league which gave us a great jumping off point.  And with a professional status, we have a huge advantage.  I believe National is going to be difficult, though, so we'll see how it goes.  Our wage budget isn't that much larger than last year.  I really maxed the budget and, in fact, went over it by a bit.

Standout Performers

Harlem Hale is a Southamption release.  HIs physicals and flair was too good to pass up.  I played him as my AML inside forward and he just tore up the league.  He was voted our player of the season and was runner up goal scorer in the league.

Jeremie Mukendi is a Tottenham release.  His physicals and determination was a must sign.  He lead the line as my pressing forward for the second half of the season.  He started the first chunk of games and did very well, but his excellent starting form dropped off a ledge and he had to sit on the bench for a while.  My other striker was playing quite well but when his form dipped, Jeremie got another chance and hit the ground sprinting.  He scored hat tricks like they were going out of style.  He had 17 goals in our last 13 games and established himself as a powerhouse.  My staff is telling me that he's League Two level right now and I have him signed for another 2 seasons.

There were a few other nice signings but nothing as excellent as these two.  I'll be looking for both these players to contribute heavily if we're to make a dent in National this season.

Goals Moving Forward

Squad building.  I need more youngsters with great physicals and I need more of them to have high determination.  I'm not sure how well we'll be able to keep our pressing game going forward, as the board is now expecting that from us.  Playing pressing, attacking football in National is going to be tough but we're sure going to try.  I'm no going to worry much about finances.  The board are very liberal with wages and they have shown that they will back the club financial when needed.  They provided cash injections 3-4 times during the last year so they seem like a stand up bunch when it comes to putting their money where there mouth is.

Season Results

Season			League					Finish		Notes

2020/2021		Vanaramal National League North		1st		1 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year

 

[greenWhale]

5 hours ago, DazRTaylor said:

I have had Cray, Merstham, Coalville, Kings Langley (these come up once every 20 or so saves with me), Bamber Bridge, Lancaster & Mickleover Sports all come up.  So they can happen.

I suspect the ones of 1750 and above are all feassable to obtain. The ones below that would requitre a lot of luck. Like I said: I'll keep at it. Feel free to add the ones you like to your post.

[Britrock]

Is there a central place to see all the players that have been released by a club? They don't seem to show up in the transfer history so I have to go round the clubs individually before the end of June and invite everyone I want on trial and then add them to my shortlist so I can pick them up once they're released. There must be an easier way that I'm missing out on?

[CityAndColour]

35 minutes ago, Britrock said:

Is there a central place to see all the players that have been released by a club? They don't seem to show up in the transfer history so I have to go round the clubs individually before the end of June and invite everyone I want on trial and then add them to my shortlist so I can pick them up once they're released. There must be an easier way that I'm missing out on?

You just need to pick the "released players" option when looking at a club's transfer history.

[Danny_H22]

43 minutes ago, Britrock said:

Is there a central place to see all the players that have been released by a club? They don't seem to show up in the transfer history so I have to go round the clubs individually before the end of June and invite everyone I want on trial and then add them to my shortlist so I can pick them up once they're released. There must be an easier way that I'm missing out on?

Click on the globe, country, transfers and then released. Off the top of my head, that’s the spot 

[tremor]

2 hours ago, Danny_H22 said:

Click on the globe, country, transfers and then released. Off the top of my head, that’s the spot 

After all these years of playing I never knew you could do that! Amazing... Much much easier

 

[tse1231]

Signing in with Gosport Borough.

Thought about Chesham United due to family links but their culture was very restricting. Sign no-one over 30 or under 23.

GB Want me to develop youth and play attacking possession football. Much more my style! 

[Britrock]

12 hours ago, CityAndColour said:

You just need to pick the "released players" option when looking at a club's transfer history.

 

12 hours ago, Danny_H22 said:

Click on the globe, country, transfers and then released. Off the top of my head, that’s the spot 

Thanks guys, I just found that you can go to a competition, look at the transfers then choose "Released players" from the drop down as well.

[themonk9223]

FOOTBALL LEAGUE UPDATE

Margte promoted to the football league 2 after  play-off success.

after just about surviving the drop last year, we sneak into play-off spots this year.

£26k wage buget aswell as £175k transfer budget for the season

league tables

Spoiler

transfers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

transfers

Spoiler

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by themonk9223
photos

[LeProfIamNot]

On 15/12/2019 at 06:37, tremor said:

After all these years of playing I never knew you could do that! Amazing... Much much easier

 

Word of advise, don't wait until June.  Get reports on all the youngsters on the last year of their deal a number of months before June.  Lots of them will start getting set for release way before June.  Even the ones that aren't set for release can be brought in on trial way before June.  By the first of June, I usually already have most of my targets trialed with 100% knowledge, shortlist ready.  I start offering contracts and get them signed before the end of June.  Once you get into July, competition becomes much tougher.

[CMU Chips]

3 hours ago, LeProfIamNot said:

Word of advise, don't wait until June.  Get reports on all the youngsters on the last year of their deal a number of months before June.  Lots of them will start getting set for release way before June.  Even the ones that aren't set for release can be brought in on trial way before June.  By the first of June, I usually already have most of my targets trialed with 100% knowledge, shortlist ready.  I start offering contracts and get them signed before the end of June.  Once you get into July, competition becomes much tougher.

Only downside to this that I've seen: some youth prospects wage demands seem to drop heavily once they've actually been released and are no longer at a high rep club. I tried to sign a player in May that was set to be released from Arsenal and he wanted 1.4k p/w. July 15 I noticed he was still without a club and he signed for 600 p/w.

[Britrock]

Well that's the end of that. Things just fell apart and the team just stopped winning. The defence would just let endless balls over the top, I tried to drop the defensive line and then we'd just concede endless goals from set pieces. I tried all kinds of tactics but nothing worked. Bit of a sad ending after so long.

[adineen98]

After a slog with Scarborough last season that only saw me reach the vast heights of the National League, I'm giving this a go with Truro City this year.

[CMU Chips]

On 13/12/2019 at 12:58, greenWhale said:

Thanks! I got one more again, so now I have 55 teams. It will take forever to get more, as these are increasingly harder to get. But I'll keep at it. Dowload link.

 

I have a link to a few more here. Been reloading for a few days looking for three or four teams that I'd restart with. Teams in this folder are Bishop's Stortford, Banbury, Coalville, Lancaster, Mickleover, and Morpeth. I only have the leagues from England (including lower leagues) loaded.

[Zilla Blitz]

Season 1 Summary: 2020-21
Season Review | Table | Manager Profile | Transfers: 1, 2

Season Notes
Nuneaton Town were slated for relegation as a newly promoted team, but had a handful of decent players on the team and over £4k in wage room. Nevertheless, we started out the season horribly and sat in 21st place after 18 matches. But our reinforcements started clicking and led us on a long charge through the middle of the season that saw us rise to 7th place. We hung on to that playoff spot for the back third of the season, but got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. We’ll be back next year!

Results

Season	     Division	     Position	Champions League    Notes	
2020-21	     National North  7th        -                   Lost in 1st Round of Playoffs

Video Playlist

[xilere]

On 03/11/2019 at 17:19, Scab said:

Giving this a go with St. Ives.

In light of FM20 seemingly focusing on the long term, I'll be trying to do this in combination with the youth academy challenge. I have a tendency to not finish these challenges, so maybe a slower-burn club-culture-building approach will be a better fit. 

 

On 03/11/2019 at 23:27, XaW said:

Alright I'm starting this again. And like last year I'm doing this at the same time I'm doing the youth only challenge.

I've taken over Stratford Town, wish me luck!

Don't you think doing this with youth only challenge is a bit mazochistic?

[xilere]

Is there any team with full time player contracts and full time training (as opposed to part time contracts and 2 day training) with this challenge?

If not, what do you have to do to be able to offer full time contracts to players?

Edited December 19, 2019 by xilere

[Scab]

4 hours ago, xilere said:

Don't you think doing this with youth only challenge is a bit mazochistic?

I think doing this challenge at all is a bit masochistic. 

3 hours ago, xilere said:

Is there any team with full time player contracts and full time training (as opposed to part time contracts and 2 day training) with this challenge?

If not, what do you have to do to be able to offer full time contracts to players?

South Shields start fully Professional.

For the others, you need to ask the board to go Professional and have them say yes. Likely won't happend before League Two as most Semi-Pro teams already lose money paying P/T wages, but if you somehow manage to increase the cash flow (cup success, probably) they might.