Turning Hong Kong into the best League in the World!

[north_london_fan]

I am currently 28 seasons deep into my FM19 in Hong Kong. I have managed Dreams F.C. since the beginning and have just taken charge of the Hong Kong National team. My first competitive game in charge will be against my former side England in the group stage of the 2046 World Cup. The other team I have been drawn against is Uraguay, so I am next expecting much from this tournament. We are currently ranked 62nd in the World rankings. The highest we have ever been is 59th.

At club level we are aiming for a 28th League title win in a row and have collected 99 Cups trophies over the years. The Hong Kong First Division League is the 14th best League in terms of reputation in Asia.

The aim of this save is to turn the Hong Kong First Division League into the best league in the world!

I will post seasonal updates as well as the League reputation as and when it changes.

Edited March 17, 2020 by north_london_fan

[north_london_fan]

2046 World Cup update:

As I expected we did not make it out of the Group Stage. But, I would say a 3-1 loss to England is a respectable scoreline. We did also, at one point, have a 4-2 lead against Uruguay. However, we ended up losing 5-4 in the end which is disappointing. Although we did not win a game, I am content with how we performed. We now have the East Asian Cup Qualifying stage and AFC Asian Cup to look forward to next season, which are two competitions that the Nation are yet to win. Can we surprise a few? I hope so!

[north_london_fan]

End of 2046/47 season:

This season we won our 28th league title in a row as well as 3 other cups. We unfortunately lost in the Sapling Cup Final Stage 1-0 after going down a man early.

[north_london_fan]

2047 update:

 

At club level, we won our 4th Asian Champions League trophy! Which gained us entry into the Club World Cup, where we ended up reaching our first Final but, ended up losing 4-0 to Tottenham. I would say we did pretty good, especially because we went down to 10 men in 2 of the 3 Club World Cup games and I called up 15 players from my club side to the Hong Kong National Team.

 

With Hong Kong, we achieved a joint best ever 3rd place playoff win in the AFC Asian Cup, after losing in the Semis and we got our best ever finish in the East Asian Cup where we came in 2nd place!

 

Before having played all the games in this calendar year, we sit in our best ever World Ranking of 55th and our League has the 14th best reputation in Asia. By the end of this season, I would expect both of these rankings to shoot up.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2047/48 season:

This season we won the League, FA Cup and Senior Challenge Shield.

Hong Kong made it through to the Final Stage of the Asian World Cup qualifiers. I am pretty sure we will qualify for the Finals.

Despite us winning the Champions League and our good run in the Club World Cup,  our League Reputation has dropped. Our National team World ranking is still 55th.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2048/49 season:

For the first time in 4 seasons, we won all 5 domestic trophies that were up for grabs. Which included our 30th consecutive League title win. We also have the Champions League quarter-final to look forward to. Unfortunately, we lost our 141 game unbeaten streak in league this season.

This season I upgraded our club's training facilities from adequate level to average. Which has cost us over £5 million to complete! I wonder how much it would cost to upgrade them to the best available training facilities. We are also in the planning stage of a potential stadium expansion, which, if it goes ahead, will cost us £1.8 million. Then the Dillan Pickford Stadium will have a seating capacity of over 9,000!

Our league reputation is now back up to the 14th best in Asia. Our World Ranking has risen slightly to 52nd place. We have already qualified for the 2050 World Cup Finals.

[north_london_fan]

One of our former players had just signed for Barcelona!

[Mascarpone]

Working on a similar save in Vietnam, so I'll definitely be looking at this thread every now & then! Is there a thread about the pre-2046 Dreams FC?

[north_london_fan]

5 hours ago, Mascarpone said:

Working on a similar save in Vietnam, so I'll definitely be looking at this thread every now & then! Is there a thread about the pre-2046 Dreams FC?

There is one from 2035 onwards. But, I left Dreams FC for Eastern AA. This save is the same one with the difference being rather than leave the club, I stayed and carried playing.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2049 update:

We made it to the Champions League Semi-Final where we lost 3-2, over 2 legs, against the record 11 time winners Guangzhou Evergrande.

We have qualified for the 2050 World Cup Finals. We once again finished 2nd behind China in the East Asian Cup. However, this time round we lost on goal difference rather than points.

Chinese teams are our biggest rivals at both club and international level. Although, I have beaten Chinese clubs in the Champions League before, against the Chinese National team we are yet to draw against them. In fact, 5 of our 7 defeats at Hong Kong have been against China.

Going forward I would like a point in the World Cup. But, to be honest I would take 2 narrow losses in the Group Stage, especially now that we have been drawn against Uruguay and France. I aim aiming to win the East Asian Cup next time round and would like to be in the Final of the AFC Asian Cup.

As it stands we are ranked 52nd in the World Rankings and 14th in the Asian League reputation charts.

[north_london_fan]

We now have a new owner at the club. As he has put £3 million+, as well as the £4 million+ we got from sponsors, I have decided to upgrade both our stadium's maximum capacity and our youth facilities

[north_london_fan]

End of 2049/50 season:

This season we won every domestic trophy available and will go into the Champions League quarter-final at the start of next season.

At the World Cup, we topped a group which contained France and Uruguay. Unfortunately, we lost to Mexico 3-2 in the first knockout round. Which is not bad considering, they would have won the World Cup, in the end, if not for an extra time loss against Italy in the final. After the tournament, our 3-2 win against Uruguay was named as the best match and we broke the record for the youngest ever goal scorer at a World Cup finals.

We have moved up to a record World ranking of 45th.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2050/51 season:

After 5 games this season, we had already dropped 7 points. At one point we were in 6th place and I started to panic a bit. But, thankfully our form picked up and we only drew 2 games in all competitions for the rest of the season. We won the rest of the games.

So far the only competitions we failed to win was the Community Cup. Carrying one from last season, we were once again knocked out of the Champions League by Guangzhou Evergrande, but, on away goals this time round. We will continue our run into the Champions League quarter-final next season, where I hope to add to our 4 wins of this competition.

We failed to reach the final of the AFC Asian Cup, losing in the quarter-final stage to Japan on penalties after the scores finished at 2-2. Which to me is bitterly disappointing as had we won that game the only teams left would have been North Korea, Australia and Iran and I think we could have beaten any of them. I just hope we do better in the next East Asian Cup.

Our World ranking is 44th and our League reputation has dropped to 15th.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2051 update:

We won the Asian Champions League for the 5th time this year. However, we did not do particularly well at the Club World Cup, where we lost in the quarter-final and then in the 5th place play-off.

At international level we did even better winning the East Asian Cup and now we sit at 42nd in the World rankings.

[donportuga]

Great carrer so far, really enjoying it.

Please show us your squads

[north_london_fan]

3 hours ago, donportuga said:

Great carrer so far, really enjoying it.

Please show us your squads

These are our key domestic players, international players and domestic hot prospects.

[north_london_fan]

Just now, north_london_fan said:

These are our key domestic players, international players and domestic hot prospects.

... and our squad as a whole.

[north_london_fan]

We have just had our youth intake day with only two players worth mentioning. Our new young striker looks especially promising though.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2051/52 season:

This season went okay, as we won every domestic trophy available to us except the Community Cup. This includes our 33rd League title win in a row. The unfortunate thing is, we were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages. We came 3rd in our group and only lost 1 game. The main problem was too many draws. What makes it even more annoying, is that had we beaten Melbourne City on match day 6 we would have gone into the knock out rounds as runner up.

At least, we won our first trophy as Hong Kong manager. We also beat China on our 7th match against them.

Our League reputation went back up to the 14th best in Asia. We still sit at 42nd place in the World rankings.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2052/53 season:

All in all, we had a great season for both club and country. This season, we went on a 63 match unbeaten run in all competitions, which included an unbeaten qualifying campaign for the World Cup with Hong Kong. We won all domestic trophies and if it were not for a difficult draw in the Champions League we may have gone the whole season without a loss. Although we won all of our Group Stage games, we drew Guangzhou Evergrande in the Champions League Last 16 stage and lost 4-0 on aggregate.

At it's highest point our World Ranking went up to 39th in the World. The league reputation keeps bouncing between the 14th and 15th best in Asia every season. So I will just have to keep playing this save until the prize money in the league increases significantly. From the start of the save you got around £50,000 for winning the league, now it is about £200,000. So it should keep going up over time and the good thing is there is prize money for every team even if you get relegated.

This season we only bought in loan players to fill our foreign player quota, as I am saving up to improve the facilities. We are also coming up to the 25th anniversary of my stadium, so I am hoping to have a second stadium named after me. I wonder how the naming works for new stadiums on FM19? I have had two stadiums named after me before on FM 17. My manager name was my initials D P and the first stadium was P Stadium and then P Park. On FM 19 they used both my names followed by Stadium. So will the second one be Dillan Pickford Park?

[north_london_fan]

End of 2053 update:

In the East Asian Cup we finished runners up and had we not come back from 3-0 down against South Korea it could have been a lot worse.

We had the World Cup draw and we will play England and Jamaica in the group stage.

We are 41st in the World rankings and our League reputation has gone back up to the 14th best in the Continent. 

[north_london_fan]

End of 2053/54 season:

This season, with Dreams FC we managed to go unbeaten in all competitions throughout the whole season. We now have the Champions League Quarter Final to play early next season after won our first ever tie against a domestic team in a Continental competition.

In the World Cup we made it to the first knockout round but lost once again in this round to Mexico narrowly.

Our World Ranking has moved back up to 39th.

[north_london_fan]

I have asked the board for a new stadium and they agreed. I wonder if they will name it after me again?

Edited March 11, 2020 by north_london_fan

[Stouters]

Hi, That's one hell of a save you have on your hands. Could you answer me a question? As the league rep has gone up, has the league gained anymore or had a change to the qualifying spots?

[bigmattb28]

Sorry to be 'that' guy, but winning the league with the same team over and over surely won't increase it's rep (see Celtic and the SPL). Maybe move on and take over another team in that league?

[north_london_fan]

2 hours ago, Stouters said:

Hi, That's one hell of a save you have on your hands. Could you answer me a question? As the league rep has gone up, has the league gained anymore or had a change to the qualifying spots?

At the start of the save the League reputation was the 28th best in Asia and we had one team qualify for the Champion's League group stage and one go into second preliminary round. It is now the 14th best in Asia in terms of reputation and we have gained a place in the second preliminary stage. Which in 37 seasons is not a lot. I was hoping that by doing well the prize money would increase then the other teams in the league would have more money to spend. I was hoping this would make the league more competitive in the long run, but I might have to switch teams to see if that increases the Leagues reputation faster.

[north_london_fan]

1 hour ago, bigmattb28 said:

Sorry to be 'that' guy, but winning the league with the same team over and over surely won't increase it's rep (see Celtic and the SPL). Maybe move on and take over another team in that league?

I wondered why the league's reputation was not going up. I might give this a try.

[Stouters]

3 hours ago, north_london_fan said:

I wondered why the league's reputation was not going up. I might give this a try.

I would say it can only go up a certain amount when winning the ACL with just one team. Collectively, Hong Kong teams need to pull their weight a little. Managing another team or even a 2nd team will help. Do you look at the nations club coefficients? I'm trying something similar with the Danske Bank Premiership in Northern Ireland. Similar starting prize money and current prize money, although i'm only in 2028.

[north_london_fan]

23 minutes ago, Stouters said:

I would say it can only go up a certain amount when winning the ACL with just one team. Collectively, Hong Kong teams need to pull their weight a little. Managing another team or even a 2nd team will help. Do you look at the nations club coefficients? I'm trying something similar with the Danske Bank Premiership in Northern Ireland. Similar starting prize money and current prize money, although i'm only in 2028.

Having just looked at the club coefficients we rank in 9th place. What do you mean by managing a 2nd team? Can you manage more than one club at the same time?

Edited March 12, 2020 by north_london_fan

[north_london_fan]

End of 2054/55 season:

This season we won every domestic game and even made it to the Champions League final. Unfortunately though, we lost in extra time with a last minute goal. We made it to the quarter finals of next season's Champions League campaign.

We came 4th in the AFC Asian Cup with Hong Kong.

Our league reputations is just hovering between 14th and 15th place in Asia. To improve this, I am thinking of joining another team in the league. Eastern AA have just sacked their manager, so I have my eye on this job. But, I may have to resign to get it, as I do not think they can pay my current employers the required compensation.

[north_london_fan]

My new team...

 

...and Dreams FC have announced their new stadium which is the second stadium that they have named after me!

[Stouters]

Yeah, you can have a 2nd team through adding a manager. There might be an issue when the 2 teams are as good as each other and both boards expect a title win. 

[north_london_fan]

3 hours ago, Stouters said:

Yeah, you can have a 2nd team through adding a manager. There might be an issue when the 2 teams are as good as each other and both boards expect a title win. 

Oh right, I did not know this.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2055:

So far we have had a great start at our new team. We sit at 3rd place in the league table and have our first cup final to play. Which is made even better when you consider that we have never won a top flight trophy in the club's history and that the board expect us to avoid a relegation battle. We are predicted to finish in 8th place by the media. This season we brought in 11 new players and sold one. We even made a profit on transfers . With the Winter transfer window coming up there may be more in comings as we have £40,000 budget and over a quarter on wages left. 

 

We have also won our second East Asian Cup with Hong Kong which moved us back up to 39th in the World Rankings.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2055/56 season:

All in all, this was a very good season. Unfortunately, though we did miss out on Continental football, at the last game, where we only needed at draw to finish 3rd. But we lost, and finished 4th on the basis of the results between teams rule. On a more positive note, we did reach 2 cup finals, winning one, and so the Senior Challenge Shield became the club only trophy to date!

We also took Hong Kong to a record 37th place in the World Rankings.

This wingback and goalkeeper were the best that our youth intake had to offer.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2056 update:

At the half way point of the league season, we are unbeaten and in second place. Although I would not rule out a league title this season, I would take 3rd place in a heartbeat. This season so far we made 12 transfers in and 10 out, most of which were released players.

We currently lead our group in the final Asian qualifying stage for the World Cup. We are currently on a record 20 games unbeaten streak at international level.

Our league still sits at 14th place in the rankings and we are tied for 37th in the World with Hong Kong.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2056/57 season:

This season we won the league, losing only 1 game, and FA Cup double.

Our youth intake went okay with this full back and winger both looking promising.

We have also qualified for the World Cup with 3 games to spare.

[north_london_fan]

There is now the first £1 million pound transfer made by a Hong Kong team,  which was my former side. When they signed this Olympiakos defender for a fee which could rise to £1.4 million. They have done well to get the deal done because Inter Milan were slightly interested. Their first choice Goalkeeper and record appearance has been snatched up from them because of a £93,000 release clause by Al-Faisaly. Which is a massive shame because he was amazing for me when I was there, he even came through the academy. I just hope he does not retire from international football, because aside from this striker he is by far our best player. The move into their new stadium seems to have been delayed until December.

[north_london_fan]

Here is our World Cup draw where we are expected to, at least, reach the second round. Which given that our group stage opponents are both Turkey and Ecuador, I think that is doable.

[north_london_fan]

After making our Champions League debut at Wong Tai Sin, we broke a couple of club records. We played Hebei China Fortune in our first group stage game and we smashed them 6-0, which is now our biggest ever win. One of our players going into this game was on a 25 hour goalless run. But, played brilliantly and scored 4 goals in this game, which is our record for most goals by one player in one match.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2057/58 season:

This season we ended up finishing runners up in the league and won the Sapling Cup. We also had a good run in the Champions League where we came second in our group and got knocked out in the round of 16 stage.

The World Cup went badly and as we had a difficult draw, I thought I would, at least, have kept my job. But despite a 75% win rate, 2 trophies and over 12 years in charge my career at Hong Kong is over! I am still very bitter about this  and am considering my future in Hong Kong. I will still continue this save, but whether I remain in Hong Kong I do not know.

[north_london_fan]

I just noticed my replacement at Hong Kong only lasted just over 200 days and only managed 8 games. To be fair though he did win 7 of them. I wonder if they regret sacking me?

Edited March 19, 2020 by north_london_fan

[north_london_fan]

I have decided to stick to managing in this league in the long term. Although, I seriously considered managing in a different league altogether. Looking back, whenever I have managed in a country and left for another, I have always gone back to said country.

So in short this save is back on, especially since I am over my international sacking. On that note...

 

...End of 2058/59 season

This year we did not make it past the qualifying for the Champions League group stage or win any of the cups. We did however, make it 2 league title wins in 3 seasons.

The League reputation has moved back up to 14th.

[north_london_fan]

I guess switching teams worked. After years of the league's reputation hovering between 14th and 15th place, it has finally gone up. The Hong Kong First Division League now sits as the 13th best league in Asia, in terms of reputation. Which is the highest it has ever been.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2059/60 season:

Overall we had an okay season, where we only just qualified for the Champions League Qualifiers. We did win the FA Cup and reached the knockout stage of the Champions League, where we lost to the league winners in the Round of 16.

In terms of this season's youth intake, this young defender is already good enough for the first team at 15 years of age!

[north_london_fan]

The League reputation has gone up again. I think Dreams FC's route to the Final of the Champions League may be the main reason for this. I am so proud!

[north_london_fan]

This season's youth intake day went decent with 2 good prospects. This midfielder was the best of them.

[north_london_fan]

End of 2060/61 season.

This season was the first of the save where I did not win a single trophy. Although we did reach the FA Cup final and came runners up in the League. However we did terrible in the Champions League where we lost in the qualifying stage yet again.

[north_london_fan]

It looks like there is going to be a new owner at the club and I do hope they will invest, as our financial situation is not doing too great.

[north_london_fan]

There is a club takeover in the works and rumour has it I may be replaced by this nobody . I hope not.