ri916's FM15 Youth Academy Challenge

Joe. · March 3, 2015

Nantwich Town - 2015/16 - Vanarama Conference North

'The Dabbers'

Creating An Identity - The Ajax Philosophy

When attempting to build a World Class team from local talents, you need look no further than Ajax. Their impeccable youth set up is the envy of many clubs around the world, and churns out talent after talent consistently over a number of years.

Ajax are a team who try to blood at least 2 new youngsters into their team each season. I'll be attempting something similar with Nantwich, taking a careful approach to see who makes the grade each year and who might need an extra year of development.

In the early seasons, I will be forced into this anyway. My squad has 24 players in total and 4 of those are 15/16 year olds. Of those, only Sam Field would normally be considered around the first team due to his versatility, but as I have no squad depth whatsoever I imagine Gavin Moss and Richard Crawford will get a bit of game time too.

Season Targets

1. Stay clear of relegation

2. Discover a decent central defender in the youth intake

3. Discover a decent striker in the youth intake

XaW · March 3, 2015

I had forgotten how hard the first season is before getting in any youth players. I have a grand total of 17 players throughout the squads. Two of those are on long term injuries, and two others are just plain and simply horrible. Still, they will likely see their fair share of games. Can't wait 'till the youth intake.

Joe. · March 3, 2015

I had forgotten how hard the first season is before getting in any youth players. I have a grand total of 17 players throughout the squads. Two of those are on long term injuries, and two others are just plain and simply horrible. Still, they will likely see their fair share of games. Can't wait 'till the youth intake.

Seems I'm in a slightly stronger position than you with a whopping 23 players.. Just lost one on a free, the bugger.

Forest · March 3, 2015

lol Braumiller, who the **** is Östersund?

again a very nice read as usual

XaW · March 3, 2015

Seems I'm in a slightly stronger position than you with a whopping 23 players.. Just lost one on a free, the bugger.

I've got 99 problems and the squad is one. Still, doing good in the league and I'm in contention for the promotion. I'm hanging in threads though, and my second choice goalkeeper are my only sub for the next game. Hopefully, the youth intake is just around the corner.

burtur · March 3, 2015

RFC Liege

2019/2020

Second Division - 4th

League Table | Past Positions | Squad | Transfers

Season:

I have decided to quit this challenge as I'm not enjoying it as much as I though I would so I will keep this short.

We came flying out of the blocks and won 7 out of the first 10 games, losing just one in the process. Against the top teams too. The start resulted in us winning the first period and thus a playoff spot. We managed to play fairly well during the remainder of the season not hitting any real slump only dropping from 2nd to the 4th spot after the final game of the season.

In the playoffs we played alright and managed a couple of good wins. But in the end Antwerp was too good to handle.

Youth intake

No point in posting this screenshot as it is my last season...but here it is anyway. Finally a good striker, but otherwise not a good bunch of lads.
Season	      League	    Pos	     Cup	Europe	   Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16	 Third Division A   6th	  4th round      n/a       Third period winners - playoff spot?
2016/17  Third Division A  13th   4th round      n/a       Nothing of note
2017/18  Third Division A   2nd   6th round      n/a       Promotion via playoffs!
2018/19  Second Division   12th   6th round      n/a       Nothing of note
2019/20  Second Division    4th   6th round      n/a       First period winners. Third in playoffs.
Misc:

One of my players (Roman Santiago) was called up to the Belgium U19 squad and got his first youth caps.

Goals for this season:

-Top half finish - Success

Well like I said, I have decided to call it a day in this challenge. I have learned a lot in terms of setting up training and some tactical tweaks, but in the end not being able to dip myself into the transfer market is taking too much from the game imo. I had a good run though. Good luck to anybody trying this, I will still be lurking around on this challenge thread as I still find it interesting...just a tad boring to play for myself.

XaW · March 3, 2015

Well, I might lose just about my entire squad after this season since most of my players have "retired from this level of football" and thus are refusing to extend their contract. These are also my best players, so I really hope I get loads of quality youngster through the first youth intake.

Shakes · March 3, 2015

Histon FC - 2040/41 - Sky Bet Championship: 13th

Squad | Transfers

A season of three thirds really.

First third of the season and we looked good for a playoff spot with an outside chance of automatic promotion. Second third of the season we collapsed completely and fell down to the bottom of a closely bunched mid table pack, in around a month we went from a playoff spot to 18th. 2 wins in 15 during the middle patch sunk us and we simply can't move forward until we can get some consistency. This often happens with young players, so not completely unexpected but still disappointing.

Final third of the season was really a pointless exercise, we had enough of a break on the relegation teams that we weren't going down, but we were also never going to catch up the ground we lost. In the end we put together some good results to make our final position respectable, but they don't really mean a lot.

I feel like perhaps I over-rotated my squad to try to get all the young players games which maybe doesn't let the team really gel, I may need to start making some tough decisions on which players are worth investing heavily in and which aren't. The curse of good intakes!

Finances

Minor loss on the season due to pushing the youth facilities up to great.

Key Players

Everyone sucked during the period we played badly so I'm not going to single anyone out as being particularly good just because they played 2/3 of a year.

Youth Intake

(42a) Lee Spink - DR/MR/MC - Probably my first full back to come through with some decent offensive attributes to work with (decent being relative here ...)

(42b) Ian Travis - AML/ML - Sadly the usual curse of the non-striker wide men of crappy finishing.

(42c) Colin Dier - ML - Only this guy has it even worse.

(42d) Danny Clark - MC/DM - Hell of a beard for a 15 year old, someone check his birth certificate!

(42e) Warren Galbraith - DC - Another big defender, when it rains it pours for these it seems

Previous Season Goals

Figure out a way to get playing time for the 5 guys coming up from the youth team. - Partial success. Everyone played, but I'm not sure the amount of rotation was for the best.
Try to win more games than we lose. - Failure, we lost our last game when we needed to win to meet this goal.

Next Season Goals

Work out what to do about the new patch, this season was played under the old one.

Sanno11 · March 3, 2015

Sölvesborgs Season 15 2029-2030

Swedish Premier Division

s%C3%B6lvesborgs_gif.gif

[League][squad Stats][Transfers][Finances]

Season Review – 9^th

This season was a disappointment and the first season for long time that I felt we took a step backwards. Prior to the season beginning I made the slightly controversial decision to sell one of our stars Kalle Olsson (YP12a). I believe he is a player who will never progress. He could hold his own in the Swedish premier league but was no superstar. So when Modena came in for him I took the 825k and 20% of next sale and ran.

I think losing Kalle did have a negative effect and we struggled to create many chances. His replacement was the youngster Broman (14b) who did well enough but could not replicate Kalle’s creativity. We got thumped in our first game, losing 4-1 but managed to shake that off and record 2 wins and 2 draws for a solid start. In the meantime we had secured a spot in the quarter finals of the Swedish cup. A fantastic 2-0 away win against AIK saw us reach the semis, our best ever performance. Hammarby didn't care for our cup dreams and again beat us 4-1.

We reached the mid-season break with a mixed record having won 5 from 12. My expectations were for a much better second half of the season. Mixed results were again frustrating me and we never hit a solid run of form. Our best patch saw us win 3 in a row; however we subsequently lost the final four games to finish a disappointing 9^th. We have again qualified for group stage of Swedish cup, which my board couldn’t care less about.

Youth Intake

Erik Melander (YP15a) Finally a goalkeeper to get excited about. Yes he is small but we were desperate for someone with his ability and potential. Instantly first team goalkeeper.

Robin Johanensson (YP15b) A really interesting prospect, good physical attributes and good technically. I will need to work on his end product but I am happy to gamble on him.

Key players

Victor Broman (YP14b). Kalle Olsson’s replacement. He is injury prone, unfit and slow but I am remaining optimistic about his usefulness, not as dynamic as a like. (apps 26 goals 10 assists 7)

Erik Lantz (YP14a) Solid season for the youngster and generated interested from all big European teams.

Kristian Josefsson (YP12b) Solid season for my main right back. He is accomplished both defensively and in attack. Needs to be more consistent but one of my key players.

Season Summary

Our first facility improvements have been completed and a new stadium is being planned so fingers crossed Solvesborg are heading the in the right direction. I am considering how I approach this next few years. Whether I sell my better players to allow facility improvements or hold onto them and push for Europe. I don't believe I have any one player who carries the team and if I have a player like that I doubt I would sell him.

In other positive news, Sweden move to 14th in the European nation coefficients table, securing two champions league qualifying spots and 2 Euro cup spots, so I definitely have an incentive to keep improving.

worrell · March 4, 2015

As i wrote in my last update here is some update on the better players in the club and how they improved over the years:

Matteo Mollica YP15a - intake - now : best player at the club so far, i think he reached his maximum already but he improved a lot since day 1. Is very realiable and flexible. Only downside is his injury proneness.

Robert Gaillard YP15b - intake - now : the heart of the team, my favorite player in the club. He has played almost every game for the first 8 seasons. Now has some competition. Very consistent. My penalty taker.

Jean-Claude Leroy YP16b - intake - now : With Jacquet, they are my first choice centre pair. The latest intakes have produced some good defenders and are slowly overtaking the older two since they are better physically.

Justin Cuvelier YP16d - intake - now : was best left wing in the club till last season, very consistent, but at his maximum.

Rudy Jacquet - first i have - now : not tagged at the intake day but probably my best defender now.

Daniel Capresse - first i have - now : came out of u19s after my troubles with the keepers. Since that day he played every match (missed two last season). Improved a lot and probably be my first choice for years to come.

Christopher Karaaslan YP19a - intake - now - he is now my starter on right back. Had to fight hard for his place tho.

Jules Diallo YP19c - intake - now : this guys is playing in the first team since he was 14. He is at his maximum so the younger lads will take his place slowly but he still provides from the centre midfield.

Theo Pierre YP20d - intake - now : this lad is improvig every year rapidly and now is my best midfielder. Plays well as roaming playmaker or central winger for me.

Mohamed Thiam YP20f - intake - now : Had hard time to crack the first team since Gaillard has a strong position in the team. But he is improving and playing well. I now rotate the two.

Alberto Romero YP20g - intake - now : Not the best striker but the best i have so far. The last intake was pretty exciting he might lose his place finally but he plays better every year, so...

Vivaldy Bembo-Leta YP22a - intake - now : Exciting inside forward, misused him in up front but now found his place as the inside forward. Is quite inconsistent but is still improving.

Noe Tixier YP22d - intake - now : fighting for his place on the left back, i am giving him more and more games each year since he is the most attacking option from my full backs.

Allan Fuchs YP23a - intake - now : using him in rotation since he came into the club. Very excited for him since he is playing well. Will probably be first choice in couple of years.

Brahima Diane YP24a - intake - now : quickly growing into the best player in the club and the biggest star of the team. The fans love him and his skill. Scored some vital goals last season.

Anthony Gordien YP24d - intake - now : another new kid on the block. Playing as backup since day 1. Trying to improve his jumping.

Silvere Mouaya : this guy was never tagged and i don't have any screenshot of him. Was on loan and had a bad time but now i am willing to give him the chance since he looks very good now.

ajt · March 4, 2015

Virtus Verona 2019/20 ~ Italian Serie C/A

Season goal: Top 10

Media prediction: 14th

Board expectations: Don't get outclassed too often

League Table | Stats | Transfers | Finances

We played so well in the second half of the season that we have managed to qualify for the Serie C playoff. We have been drawn against 5th placed Juve Stabia. Due to our higher seeding they will have to come and play in Verona. Their manager has already started making his excuses by moaning about our terrible pitch. I hope that the Virtus Ultras will be out in full force. Whatever happens the extended season means extra training time, and some of the youngsters have progressed well recently.

Virtus Verona vs Juve Stabia

I really wasn't sure what would happen as Juve have only conceded 30 goals all season, and we aren't exactly great at defending. We were up 3-0 by half time. The second half was horrific and they had taken the lead 4-3 by 70 minutes. Luckily Dimas completed his hat-trick to take us to extra time. Nothing happened for the next thirty minutes, resulting in a penalty shoot out.

Unbelievably, Dimas, the hat trick hero, 35 year old veteran, and local celebrity blazes the first penalty over the bar. Luckily Juve missed penalty three, and Grassi saved penalty four, so we won in the end anyway. Some of the players are practically dead when the match finally ends, no idea how they will be for the next one.

Our Semi Final is against Lanciano and consists of two legs instead of one. Lanciano were in Serie B last season and still have a number of good players (as well as loans from their parent club Vitesse, who I despise).

Lanciano vs Virtus Verona

This match was incredibly boring, and completely undeserving of any write up. Despite dominating we conceded twice from corners. We had chances but no away goals scored means we're probably out. Can't see us keeping a clean sheet against this team.

I go into the second leg with one plan – to stop CM Onur Aydin (their dutch turkish loanee). I have set both Emeka & Lonardoni to specific marking, hopefully we can give him a career ending injury.

(0) Virtus Verona vs Lanciano (2)

The match was 0-0 on the day until the 70th minute, when one of Lancianos players somehow managed to score an own goal (with his back) from a corner. On 74 minute minutes our LB Peroni popped up in the box and slotted one into the corner of the net.

Our winner came in the 112th minute, after Lonardoni scored an overhead kick. A capacity crowd of 800 witnessed the miracle of Verona.

Following the game I have to quell Emeka & Gargano as they both want to leave to join bigger clubs. We will play Ascoli in the playoff final. Their average crowd this season is 9000. Ours is 523. De Biasi is suspended for the first leg (away), but Ascoli have a number of injuries themselves.

Ascoli vs Virtus Verona

Lonardoni scored his 29th goal of the season after 6 minutes. Ascoli then equalised from a long ball after 8 minutes. Dimas scores 20th goal of the season after a 17 minute volley. Ascoli's Baldini takes over the match and completes his hat-trick by half time. The Match ends 3-2 to Ascoli, but I take full blame for the goals. I changed my central defenders instructions before the match, forgetting that they are rubbish.

Importantly we scored two away goals and will have De Biasi back for the second leg. One of Ascoli's main centre midfielders has got himself suspended for the second leg. Ascoli currently miss eight players through injury.

(2) Virtus Verona vs Ascoli (3)

One of Ascoli's players made a horrible back pass in the 6th minute which was latched onto and put away by Rante. He had scored his second goal of the game by the 20th minute. He had only scored one goal in the entire rest of the season. De Biasi delivered a long kick in the 40th minute, and after a few collisions it fell to Dimas, who casually tucked it in. We were 3-0 up by half time, with three away goals and the match ended 5-4 on aggregate after Ascoli scored in the second half.

Champagne Supernova

I won the Serie C/A manager of the year award and Lonardoni claimed top goalscorer. Gargano, Peroni & Lonardoni were also in the team of the year. Dimas has decided that he will retire at the end of the season, which will leave a huge gap in our current tactic. The 4-2-3-1 has already been trained over the years and I plan to move to it next season.

I have managed to get an improvement to junior coaching & youth recruitment, and the club are improving the training facilities too. I have also managed to steal Rimini's HOYD, who is a massive upgrade.

We remain in our 800 seater stadium, but our reputation has now increased to one & a half stars Regional.

:applause: The Virtuous Veronan

Francesco Lonardoni

Carried us for the whole season.

The Youth of today

Emeka Onuoha (YP03a) - He's improved a bit, though not as much as I had hoped. I've given up on improving his passing, and have decided to make him my new AMR instead. Hopefully Serie B football (if even for just one season) improves him a bit more!

Filippo Gargano (YP01b) - Gargano continues to play well, I'm tempted to play him as a striker if Lonardoni get's injured. Was selected again in the Team of the Year.

Gualtiero Barison (YP04a) - Has improved quite a bit so far. Wasn't a starter this year (due to our promotion push) but will go into the first team in Serie B.

Renato De Biasi - Has had to play in midfield but will finally move to AML next season.

Performance of the Season

Virtus Verona 6 - 2 Montebelluna

Montebelluna were one of the newly promoted sides in 2017 but have improved over the years. We were 5-1 up by the 29th minute. Not sure how we only managed to trade 1-1 for the rest of the match

Youth Intake

Kristian Lleshi (YP05a) - Really impressed at how he has progressed so far, will be our starting right back next season.

2019/20 goals

top 10 - :thup:

2020/21 goals

play the young defenders in the first team

avoid relegation

this update has been done for a while but have been moving house

Braumiller · March 4, 2015

Lot's of updates (and I owe one as well, maybe later today!)

Congrats ajt :thup:

Looking good Sanno11 - with 4 European spots to play for there is definite incentive there!

Shakes, you are so much closer to the playoffs than the relegation spots! One good season and that golden ticket might be yours!

burtur - sad to see, but understandable I hope you find a more fun save somewhere

worrell, excellent season! Big things ahead!

Joe., good luck!

PS. I hate penalty shoot-outs......

v1n1akabozo · March 4, 2015

...

You've been my inspiration all along m8, although you have a deeper knowledge regarding to tactics i just can't give up on England hahaha.

XaW · March 4, 2015

XaW - KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk - Belgian Third Division A - 2015/16

Table | Past positions | Squad | Transfers | Finances

My first season in charge of Beerschot Wilrijk (I always need to proof read that name) was a very successful one. Even though I expected us to struggle due to our small squad we actually managed to do quite well, including a great promotion! Our first match of the season ended in an embarrassing loss at home, but from that we never looked back. Since we have loads of attacking players and very few competent defensive players I set up a "let's score more than you"-tactic that seemed to work out pretty good. We had some injury problems around christmas, but we made it through and got in some much needed youth players in march.

In the Belgian Cup we managed to go on a bit of a run beating Willebroek, Olsa Brakel, Antwept and KV Kortrijk before losing in the 7th round to Anderlecht. Antwerp are from the second tier while both KVK and Anderlecht are from the top tier. This netted up a bit of much needed cash, but we lost lost loads. Around £150k in red each month have put us firmly in financial problems even though I have been very careful with our wage budget and of course not bought a single player.

Youth players:

New Players:

This years youth intake was pretty good. We got in some talents and one in particular I'm excited about.

Staf Lenaerts (YP1a) - Report - A huge talent. Already got his debut and even scored.

Dean Nys (YP1b) - Report - Promising left midfielder.

Yannick De Backer (YP1c) - Report - Left back with some skill. Got his debut due to injuries.

Wout Horemans (YP1d) - Report - Midfielder with defensive qualities, something I've been lacking.

Season	|   Division	    | Position |    Europe	|        Top scorer       |    Achievments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16	| Third Divison A   |  1st     |      N/A	|  Jaric Schaessens (22)  |    Promotion

Shakes · March 5, 2015

You've been my inspiration all along m8, although you have a deeper knowledge regarding to tactics i just can't give up on England hahaha.

Honestly it's just willingness to keep on going despite it taking so damn long that's mostly got to where I am, don't know how many people are crazy enough to get to 2042 without even seeing the top league.

Haven't had as much time to play so haven't been commenting as much here lately. We'll see how much my tactics are worth once I get the chance to play under the latest patch ...

nastymiller · March 5, 2015

My as well give this a bash, my first ever attempt.

Manager Set Up also here.

I actually only have a chairman, so I will edit this post later with the squad link again once I have an assistant manager - for now, this is the squad. An assistant manager came in after a couple of days, so this is now the squad I have - 22 on my own players and 1 on loan, but he leaves in 4 days time so he won't be used.

Facilities and Income.

The club I have decided to try this with is Histon and the papers are expecting a 22nd place finish, so keeping the team up will be seen as a job well done. In terms of transfers, Adam Yates joins from Matlock on the 1.7.2105 and I can't cancel the transfer and Alex Melbourne joined on the 9.6.2015 which was before my time.

Just to point out my team was down to just 15 players by the time the out of contract players had refused to re-sign. It's going to be a long old slog....15 players! 6 players refused to re-sign and 1 retired.

Joe. · March 5, 2015

Nantwich Town - 2015/16 - Vanarama Conference North

'The Dabbers'

Youth Intake Day #1

So today I reached my first youth intake of the challenge. I was hoping for a striker and a central defender, I didn't really need wingers...

Youth Intake

Top Players

Kristian Smart - Good dribbling skills and a decent amount of pace, a good work rate and high determination - this kid could be in and around the first team for a few years, though I may have to adjust my tactics to accommodate him fully. He's left footed too so he'd be at his best cutting in from the wide positions. Vision and finishing stats let him down somewhat.

David Higdon - Again, good pace and acceleration. I like my left wingers to cut inside, but being entirely left footed he won't be able to do that. Seems my tactics will maybe have to become a mirror image of itself! Hopefully this kid will develop into something pretty decent. Was my Assistant Manager's pick of the bunch.

Rob Lloyd - This central defender is only rated as having 2 or 3 star potential. He's slow and has poor positioning, but at 6 foot 6 I'm hoping he'll simply bat everything out of the air and maybe get a few goals too.

A Son?

Paul Cartwright - He shares my surname, he's a bit naff and he's funny looking.. but it seems there's no family relationship there.

Season Targets

1. Stay clear of relegation - TBC

2. Discover a decent central defender in the youth intake - Potentially a success!

3. Discover a decent striker in the youth intake - erm.. No. Just no. Only one striker and he's crap

Braumiller · March 5, 2015

Congrats on the promotion XaW!

Good luck nastymiller!

Joe., don't hold your breath on a natural striker, they seem like gold dust this year. You may have to retrain an AMC or MC (of my top 7 forwards currently, only one started out as a forward. The other 6 have been retrained there)

Putting screenshots together for the first of two updates I owe here.....

Joe. · March 5, 2015

Joe., don't hold your breath on a natural striker, they seem like gold dust this year. You may have to retrain an AMC or MC (of my top 7 forwards currently, only one started out as a forward. The other 6 have been retrained there)

Yea I was thinking I'll have to do that.. The one AMC in this intake has finishing of 3, so maybe I'll blag another year out of it and see what crops up in my next intake (should I get that far).

MADA · March 5, 2015

yep, you won't be getting a striker!

Braumiller · March 5, 2015

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 15 Review (2029)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances

Competitions - (Results - First Half - Second Half)

Premier Division 2029: 1st - Champions!

Swedish Cup - 2028-29: Winners!

Europa Cup - 2029-30: Won Group, progress to knockout rounds next season

Swedish Cup - 2029-30: progressed to group stages next season

Season Review

Yes!

Our first Swedish Premier Division title!

A fantastic season in which we played to our potential pretty much the whole year. AIK and Djurgarden ran us close all the way, with the title finally being decided on the penultimate round of matches. The title was won on the back of a great defensive effort. In the first half of the season we only lost twice, both on freakishly bad defensive outings (2-5 and 0-3), but outside of that we conceded just 6 in the 13 other league games. And then just 9 conceded in the second half's 15 games.

This made it a Swedish double for the season, after we won the Cup in the first half of the year, beating Djurgarden 2-0 in the final.

Our Europa Cup adventure again started at the earliest possible moment in the 1st Qualifying Round. Both here (Airbus UK) and the 2nd Qual Rnd (Linfield) we received very easy draws and progressed easily.

In the 3rd Qual Round we drew Rosenborg again who were out for revenge after we beat them in the Playoff round last year. In two very close games we sneaked through 4-3 on aggregate.

If that was close, the Playoff round was a squeaker! A very tough draw against Stuttgart, we put in a fantastic first leg performance at home, a 3-0 win! The tie looked over, but alas no. Stuttgart mirrored our home performance and after 73 minutes were 3-0 up themselves and in the ascendency. Thankfully we finally had a quality attack and Olle Danielsson (YP 08B) scored for a precious away goal. Stuttgart continued to batter us, but no more goals and we progressed to the group stages, just!

In the Group Stages we drew Sevilla, Dnipro (again!) and Maccabi Haifa. I was thrilled with our performances here, topping the group with 4 wins, 1 draw and a single loss. Into the hat for the knockout stages next season!

Youth Intake

Overall a disappointing intake, but two players do stand out

Filip Nilsson (YP 15A) - A very interesting young AMC, who I am hoping to nurture into a goalscoring threat. He possesses the tools and PPM (Tries Killer Ball Often) to be a creator, so I am hoping to add to his game and build our future AMC player.

Ari Saaristo (YP 15B) - Another tall and high potential DC, following on from Peter Mellberg (YP 14B) last year. While Ari will run into the same lack of first team opportunity issues that Peter has, Ari is much better on the ball and has a fantastic starting passing rating for a youth DC. I need to find ways to get first team minutes for both Ari and Peter.

"Frolunda Five" - 2029 Edition

Karl Storm (YP11D ) - A great season, scoring 16 times from midfield and assisting 8 times.

Eric Holmstrom (YP12A ) - A solid season from the central defender turned full back. To be honest, Eric has not progressed as much as I had initially hoped, and his assistant managers report on him continues to deterioate, but he is playing well enough to warrant first team status

Eric Lindberg (YP 07B) - Our other full back, Eric was equally as effective, both defending and supporting the attacks.

Kevin Gustavsson (YP 09A) - Top scorer for the season, Kevin was a crucial piece of the team regardless of where he lined up (23 times at AMC, 14 times at FC and twice at MC).

Andre Holgersson (YP 09C) - Similarly for Andre, he performed very well in different roles (27 times at FC, 15 times at AMC and twice at MC)

Miscellaneous

So, the 'easy' half of the Swedish version of this challenge completed! Very happy to hit this milestone and also gain entry to the Champions League for the first time.

We managed to secure our first feeder club which will potentially provide youths into our intakes. Happily this was from a great country (Spain) and I am hoping we reap some rewards from this. This year there was 1 Spanish kid in the intake, but he was not of sufficient quality to keep around. Hoping to start collecting these feeder clubs, to maximise our reach for intakes.

Season 15 (2029) Targets

* Match or improve on last seasons league position (3rd) - Achieved

* Match or improve on last seasons league points (56) - Achieved

* Match or improve on last seasons league goals scored (58) - Failed

* Match or improve on last seasons league goals conceded (34) - Achieved

* Match or improve on last seasons league goal difference (+24) - Achieved

Season 16 (2030) Goals

* Retain the league title

* Improve on last seasons league points (64)

* Improve on last seasons league goals scored (47)

* Improve on last seasons league goals conceded (23)

* Improve on last seasons league goal difference (+24)

The Journey So Far...

Season 01 - 2015 - Second Division (West Gotaland) (1st - Champions)

Season 02 - 2016 - First Division South (10th)

Season 03 - 2017 - First Division South (2nd - Playoff Winners)

Season 04 - 2018 - First Division Elite (13th - relegation playoff winners)

Season 05 - 2019 - First Division Elite (8th)

Season 06 - 2020 - First Division Elite (11th)

Season 07 - 2021 - First Division Elite (8th)

Season 08 - 2022 - First Division Elite (1st - Champions)

Season 09 - 2023 - Premier Division (8th)

Season 10 - 2024 - Premier Division (8th)

Season 11 - 2025 - Premier Division (6th)

Season 12 - 2026 - Premier Division (5th)

Season 13 - 2027 - Premier Division (3rd)

Season 14 - 2028 - Premier Division (3rd)

Joe. · March 5, 2015

Nice one Braumiller - and congratulations on the league title!

Braumiller · March 5, 2015

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 16 Review (2030)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances

Competitions - (Results - First Half - Second Half) - (seems I forgot to screenshot the results, will edit them in when home tonight)

Premier Division 2030: 3rd

Swedish Cup - 2029-30: Lost in Quarter Finals

Europa Cup - 2029-30: - Lost in 2nd Knockout Round

Champions League - 2030-31 - Lost in playoff Round

Europa Cup - 2030-31 - Won group, progressed to knockout rounds next season

Swedish Cup - 2030-31: progressed to group stages next season

Season Review

A disappointing 3rd place finish in the league, which we lost very early on in the year. We lost and won our first two games, and then frustratingly drew our next 5, dropping 13 of a possible 21 points. We were way behind the league leaders and could never catch up, despite only losing 2 more games all season (both 2-1 at home against Djurgarden and Malmo, both after taking an early lead). Sadly, the poor start also cost us second place, after Hammerby scored an 86th minute winner in their final game of the season to pip us to the spot, and our newly gained 2nd Champions League spot! So, we will be back in the Europa Cup next season, although the silver lining is that we have shot up the nation coefficients recently, and our entry is directly into the Group Stages (eliminating what had previously been 8 matches to get to that point!). Djurgarden also drop straight into the Champions League group stages as Champions this year.

Our first adventure in the Champions League this year was a heartbreaker.

Our first taste of Europe this season was the continuation of the Europa Cup, after we won the Group Stages at the end of our previous season. We drew Partizan in the 1st Knockout round and won 3-2 on aggregate (lost 0-1 away, won 3-1 at home).

2nd knockout round was against Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04). We played awful in the first leg away, getting spanked 5-1! The second leg was almost the miracle of Frolunda! We played out of this world, and were winning 4-0 on the night (5-5 on aggregate, but we had the away goal) as the clock ticked into the 94th of 94 minutes. Then, a ball into the area fell unkindly and they scored.... Heartbreak. Made worse by the news that they actually went on to win the Cup a couple of months later!

Our first tie was in the Champions 3rd Qual Round, against TNS of Wales. Two easy legs meant we had a playoff round tie against Maccabi Haifa, whom we played in last years Europa Cup Groups, winning at home and drawing away.

This year we played very badly at home, and lost 0-1.

Up against it, we played great in the away leg and won it 1-0 ourselves.

And so to the dreaded penalty shoot-out, with ~8m in cash for the winners.... We both missed our first penalties and then proceeded to score our next 9 each (inc both GKs). Eventually we missed our 11th kick, and when they scored theirs I saw a huge pile of cash go up in smoke before my eyes.....

Consolation prize was of course a Europa Cup Group entry. Drawn with Celtic, Trabzonspor and Anderlecht we won our group after 3 confident home wins, 2 away draws and one bad loss at Celtic.

Youth Intake

Another similar intake to last year, and one I expect will be more the norm these days. A relative weak intake overall (compared to our now stronger first team squad), but with a couple of standouts who get tagged.

Patrik Selen (YP 16A) - Very excited by this kid, and I will play him as much as is possible in order to get him progressing and learning a new position ASAP. Fantastic potential, no huge deficiencies (selfish, brave as a door mouse and a little too competitive - but I can live with all of those), but he has qualities we are currently lacking. I will be training him as our new False Nine striker, due to his fantastic vision, dribbling and first touch. He also has great finishing and good composure. His pace is well below where I prefer it, but I am too excited by this kid to care. Once he has learnt his new position, I will begin to try and traing F9 type PPMs to add to his game.

Lennart Muljevic (YP 16B) - A good potential left back, who if he applies himself has a very good chance of making that shirt his own. That is a big IF though, due to his personality being 'Slack'! I see tutoring in his future, with the hope of improving that!

"Frolunda Five" - 2030 Edition

Kevin Gustavsson (YP 09A) - I played Kevin more as a forward (25 times) this year than an AMC (10 times) and the reward was more goals. Unfortunately we lost him for a month at the end of the season due to injury and it may have cost us.

Eric Lindberg (YP 07B) - Again, Eric pops up on the list due to his continued steadiness. He is now coming under pressure from Jesper Berglund (YP 13A) for first choice selection.

Michael Borjesson (YP 14A) - A coming of age season for Michael. He was a great presence in the middle of the park, spreading and recycling the play with quality.

Karl Storm (YP 11D) - More often the attacking foil to Michael's holding midfielder, Karl didn't hit the peaks of last seasons goalscoring, but he was still a crucial part of the team.

Rikard Johnsson (YP 10A) - Starting the season out as an MC backup to Michael and Karl, Rikard forced himself into first choice decision making with great performances, sometimes starting at AMC to accomodate all 3.

Miscellaneous

So, we failed to defend our title from season 14. Overall, we played well enough to be in the hunt, but we set ourselves too far back in the pack early on with our 1 win in our first 7 games (almost a quarter of our 30 game season). We actually only fell off by 1 point over last seasons total.

We came agonizingly close to overcoming the eventual Europa champions, and then even closer to getting to the fabled moneyland of the Champions League group stages.

A season of so close, but yet so far.

Off the field we did better. I was very surprised to be able to get another upgrade to our youth recruitment, now at 'Well Established' and we were able to secure our 2nd feeder club with the express intention of providing youths directly into our intake (this time Stevenage of League Two, England).

The past few seasons our intakes are relatively lower in potential ratings, but as long as we continue to receive 1-3 possible future first teamers, then it is hard to complain. This year we received what looks like 1 sure-fire future starter, and one possible if he overcomes some personality issues.

The board also decided to increase the stadium capacity at the beginning of the season, and once it finished after 5-6 months, we can now accomodate 13,440 fans. This also saddled us with a 3rd loan we now have to pay off, which total to 180k repayments a month, with currently 1.8m of payable interest....

I know I would never have been able to keep him, way back when, but Niklas Wikstrom (YP 05A) is still at Chelsea. He has signed 3 (I think) new contracts in his time there, and has increased his wage from an initial ~40k pw to now 100k pw! He is now valued at 30m and has no-one on his interested list

Season 15 (2029) Targets

* Retain the league title - Failed

* Improve on last seasons league points (64) - Failed

* Improve on last seasons league goals scored (47) - Achieved

* Improve on last seasons league goals conceded (23) - Failed

* Improve on last seasons league goal difference (+24) - Achieved

Season 16 (2030) Goals

* Improve on last seasons league position (3rd)

* Improve on last seasons league points (63)

* Improve on last seasons league goals scored (54)

* Improve on last seasons league goals conceded (24)

* Improve on last seasons league goal difference (+30)

The Journey So Far...

Season 01 - 2015 - Second Division (West Gotaland) (1st - Champions)

Season 02 - 2016 - First Division South (10th)

Season 03 - 2017 - First Division South (2nd - Playoff Winners)

Season 04 - 2018 - First Division Elite (13th - relegation playoff winners)

Season 05 - 2019 - First Division Elite (8th)

Season 06 - 2020 - First Division Elite (11th)

Season 07 - 2021 - First Division Elite (8th)

Season 08 - 2022 - First Division Elite (1st - Champions)

Season 09 - 2023 - Premier Division (8th)

Season 10 - 2024 - Premier Division (8th)

Season 11 - 2025 - Premier Division (6th)

Season 12 - 2026 - Premier Division (5th)

Season 13 - 2027 - Premier Division (3rd)

Season 14 - 2028 - Premier Division (3rd)

Season 15 - 2029 - Premier Division (1st)

ajt · March 6, 2015

Virtus Verona 2020/21 ~ Italian Serie B

Season goal: Avoid relegation

Media prediction: 22nd (1000-1 odds )

Board expectations: Attempt to avoid relegation

League Table | Stats | Transfers | Finances

Great first season in Serie B. In the end we survived by only two points, however in truth we were safe with four games to go, and I played many more young players in the last games. We concede way to many goals, but we score score a lot too so it has balanced itself out.

Francesco Lonardoni continues to be our main goal threat, and De Biasi won the Serie B Young Player of the Year award. The board have decided to expand the stadium for the first time, so we will relocate to a 3000 seater in the mean time. The stadium is owned by the Verona Women's football team.

:applause: The Virtuous Veronan

Francesco Lonardoni

A familiar face, 26 goals in Serie B!

The Youth of today

Filippo Gargano (YP01b) - Did okay, was less productive than last year but then the standard of teams faced was that much higher. Hopefully will improve next season.

Renato De Biasi - Scored a lot of goals from the wing. Not sure how much he can improve and may have to be sold off if he refuses to sign a new contract.

Gualtiero Barison - Has improved quite a bit, have a feeling this guy could play in the Serie A one day.

Kristian Lleshi - Played well considering he was only 16 for the majority of the season.

Performance of the Season

Brescia 2 - 5 Virtus Verona

Our biggest win of the season and against a team that we will no doubt meet in Serie A in the future.

Youth Intake

Umberto Barberini (YP06a) - Really excited about this one. Currently retraining him as a DM to fit my new tactic (the classic 4-1-2-3).

Giuseppe Corallo (YP06b) - Going to try him out as my new LB as a few of my other guys are getting old now

Mauro Protto (YP06c) - Not sure if he will make it at the club but worth a tag since we lack CMs.

Enrico Vigato (YP06d) - could be a good RB

2020/21 goals

play the young defenders in the first team - :thup:

avoid relegation - :thup:

2021/22 goals

avoid relegation

Joe. · March 6, 2015

Virtus Verona 2017/18 ~ Italian Serie C/A

League Table

Performance of the Season

Brescia 2 - 5 Virtus Verona

Our biggest win of the season and against a team that we will no doubt meet in Serie A in the future.

Even though they just got relegated?

Nice work anyway, and Barberini looks pretty handy. Onwards and upwards!

ajt · March 6, 2015

Well they did have a fairly successful period in the past bouncing between Serie B & Serie A so it wouldn't surprise me to see them there again one day (although their current manager seems to be a bit rubbish). And yeah he does I just wish he had higher leadership so I could make him club captain

rferry · March 6, 2015

FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny

2021/2022: 13th in the Premier Division, Won the Relegation Playoff, Lost the Quarter-Final in the Russian Cup

Table | Results | Statistics | Transfers | Youth Intake

Here's the squad that we take into the Premier Division:

Out: AM(RLC) Y2e Kalinin's sale went through at the end of the year. D(RL) Lavrov had maximized his potential and sent at top.

In: AM® Y3c Artur Leonov steps right into his place. D(RLC) Y2c Zaitsev moves from super-sub to take on his natural D(L) position. And AM(RLC)/ST© Y4a Pavel Mikhailov will challenge the veteran attackers.

It was a rough season of course. We tried everything in the playbook to keep our spirits high. Friendlies, cup victories, squad rotation, anything, everything. Even unpredictable tactics to barricade the door at home to squeak out results and occasionally attacking in away games to get some morale boost to whomever scored the meaningless goal.

Well, at least we survived to play again. The competition will make us tougher. On a similar note, we improved the quality of competition for our loaned-out players by partnering with an Ukrainian First Division squad.

Seasonal Summary:

2015: Started challenge

2015/2016: 15th in the First Division, Fourth Round in the Russian Cup

2016/2017: 13th in the First Division, Fifth Round in the Russian Cup

2017/2018: 10th in the First Division, Quarter-Final in the Russian Cup

2018/2019: 5th in the First Division, Sixth Round in the Russian Cup

2019/2020: 4th in the First Division, Lost the promotion playoffs, Fifth Round in the Russian Cup

2020/2021: 2nd in the First Division, Promoted, Fifth Round in the Russian Cup

2021/2022: 13th in the Premier Division, Won the Relegation Playoff, Lost the Quarter-Final in the Russian Cup

Joe. · March 9, 2015

Nantwich Town - 2015/16 - Vanarama Conference North

6th Place

'The Dabbers'

Media prediction: 22nd

Board expectations: Battle bravely against relegation

Actual Finish: 6th

Transfers

League Table

Season Review.

Overall, a much better season than I'd anticipated. I had a few dodgy spells from December onwards and was happy to settle for a mid table finish, but three wins in my last 4 games pushed me very close to the playoff places.

Cup Competitions - Best to not talk about this, really

Results - Part 1 - Part 2 - As you can see, some poor spells in there. A tactical switch in the final 4 games came good, bumping me up from 11th place to 6th, but it was too little too late as far as the playoffs were concerned

Star Players

Mark Winslade - Without the 22 goals from this chap, this would be a whole different story. His form tailed off towards the end of the season, but was still an important part of the side.

Shane Lewis - My 'keeper. He has no real competition for a first team place, which makes him invaluable. Was asking for £700 p/w mid season to renew his contract and I thought I was going to lose him, but with weeks left he signed a new £220 p/w deal. He's still young, so hopefully I can keep hold of him until something good comes out of my youth team.

Josh Wycherly - One of three centre backs in the squad, had a solid season. Whilst I rotated the other two, Wycherly was one of the first names on the team sheet and chipped in with 4 goals too.

Ones To Watch

Kristian Smart - An impressive first 4 games saw him pick up two goals. I'm using him as a Raumdeuter, which is a position I've never really given a go before. I'm hoping he can make a strong contribution next season

David Higdon - Not quite good enough for first team football yet, but I'll be hoping to bring him in as next season progresses.

Rob Lloyd - I'll play this kid in the cup games and see how he does. Not better than my current defenders, but I just like the look of him

Season Targets

1. Stay clear of relegation - Success

2. Discover a decent central defender in the youth intake - Potential Success

3. Discover a decent striker in the youth intake - Fail

Next Season Targets

1. Although I was comfortable this year, I still aim to avoid relegation

2. Bring two youth players into the first team picture

worrell · March 9, 2015

Great seasons eveyone!

I am currently leading the league, just after my Youth intake and going into the finish with no other competition to distract me!

Knocked out in both cups early and did not make it from group in CL PSV, BvB and Valencia (CL winnder last 2 years) was a very tough group and 4 points were more i could ask for.

Hopefully we can still make something from this season and challenge for the title.

Braumiller · March 9, 2015

Joe., excellent season! :thup:

rferry, nice survival! First is almost always the hardest.

Ditto ajt!

Will work on my next update tonight, also halfway through the season after that. A lot to report on.........

Joe. · March 9, 2015

Joe., excellent season!

Cheers, man.. I think the 6th place flatters me a bit, but I'll certainly take it.

Joe. · March 10, 2015

So this is good news...

...this, not so much

aaaand to add injury to insult, this is not ideal for one of my hotter prospects

druvo · March 10, 2015

After being away from this challenge for a while I decided to take a look at this thread... and wow, some of you have come very far. This got me excited to try again. I'm convinced I'll do better this time after getting used to FM15 and finding a tactic that I believe in.

I decided to join a few of you in Scotland, taking over Formartine United.

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Manager profile - General info - Facilities - Finances

(My first season update will come right after this because I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed it again before writing an opening post)

Now time to spend a few hours reading through the updates I've missed :lol: .

druvo · March 10, 2015

Formartine United - Season 2015/2016 (1)

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League - Squad - Transfers

The first two matches of the season saw us go out of two cups. First up was Brora (a team in the 5th divison) in the Challenge Cup and then Premiership side Kilmarnock in the League cup. We were fairly beaten in both games. Looking back, it might have been a blessing in disguise as it allowed us to concentrate on the league. At first we had mixed results and after 9 games we were sitting firmly in mid-table. Then something happened, maybe the players got fully used to the tactic. We went on a 16-game unbeaten streak (14 wins and 2 draws) and the other teams couldn't cope. Despite only winning 3 of the remaining 11 games we were never in danger of losing the top spot.

We also had a memorable run in the Scottish cup, winning 3 games including 3-0 vs Hibernian before going out in the fifth round to Inverness CT.

At the start of season we only had 16 players (5 being strikers) but they suited my tactic perfectly. I really think we can do well in League one next season with the addition of a few promising youngsters. The only worry is the lack of cover in defense.

Top players:

1. Jordan Brown: Voted Scottish League 2's player of the year. A versatile midfielder and also a great penalty taker.

2. Craig McKeown: Can not overstate how important this guy is to my team. 7.41 average rating from a CB is just amazing. Fans player of the year.

3. Paul Millar: My main striker. 22 goals in 42 games.

Youth intake:

Not the best, not the worst. The main thing we needed was numbers and that was what we got. It looks like I'm set when it comes to central midfielders for a while. Many tags because it was the first one.

George Connolly (16A): Central midfielder with decent passing and a lot of potential. Will be trained as an advanced playmaker. He already got his debut.

Ross Dickson (16B): Very nice technique and first touch. If only his passing was a bit higher...

Willie Ferguson (16C): Much needed cover for the centreback position. He can also be an emergency option as a fullback but hopefully not often due to his speed. Got his debut.

Marc Hendry (16D): Another midfielder. With 20 determination I'm hopeful that he can reach his potential and do a job for us when needed.

Ryan Hendry (16E): Despite having same surnames, Marc and Ryan are not brothers. Yet another midfielder. He's got some decent techniqual attributes.

Sandy Hutton (16F): And finally... a midfielder. Good passing and technique.

Finances

It's looking alright. Without the £54k from winning the league it would have been another story, though. Also we got some good news just now: Professional!

Goals before season:

None

Next season:

*Safe mid-table

*Better cup-runs

*Integrate youths

toonbalmy87 · March 10, 2015

finding it really diffcult to get into champions league groups arghhh think i may need 8 more seasons to win it

toonbalmy87 · March 10, 2015

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BK Olympic - Season 11

Champions League Groups stage a thumping 10-1 win over PSV then couple injury's and it all fell apart

Swedish Cup - Winners & (ongoing)

League Table(Champions)

Key Player

YP1B - Sold For £3.4 Mil

alos into next season and i am in 2nd place with 3 games in hand over 1st and 3 points behind!!! i am 8 points in front of 3rd lace with 5 games in hand over them :lol:

chocolatecoatedballs · March 11, 2015

U Montemor - 2nd division yr 3.

I didn't get to play for a while, but over the last couple of days, I finished my season.

so last year we finished 18th, in what I thought we could have done better. So the season started and we were winning more than we were loosing, all my youths were starting to get better than the older guys and by mid season we were sitting in 5th, in one game I had 3 red injuries and 2 yellow injuries in the 1st half. Things started to really get exciting near the tail end of the season as we went on a 9 game unbeaten run with 2/3 being wins, our highest position on the league table was 2nd, promotion territory!With 8 games till the end of the season, 4th or third was a real reality or so I thought. Then everyone in the team forgot what they were doing, ran out of motivation, because hardly anyone was getting ratings above 6.4 and there seemed little I could do. The team meeting made it worse, they were saying I was expecting too much, rotating players did nothing, they just didn't want to play ball for some reason. So what could have been a brilliant season had it's shine taken off at the end and we finished in (still a respectable) 6th. League table

Portuguese League Cup

Once again I was put into the group with the newly relegated premier club (who went on to win the league easily), but second place was anyone's, just not ours. We started pretty poorly and did not progress past the first stage. I actually started the year thinking I would concentrate on the cups and if we won the league cup (I knew there was no chance with the Taca de Portugal/FA cup variant) our reputation would go up, if not the prize money would be helpful. But those thoughts soon escaped the realms of possibility, haha.

Taca de Portugal

I really wanted to do well in this competition, to try and get a bit more money flowing, we were knocked out in the second round to Chaves, a team that has never beaten us till that point, not even when we were in the third division. Ah well, we got to concentrate on the League then.

Other ramblings

So it really wasn't a bad year, all my YP's got plenty of time and started to really get in the swing of things. Yoann (YP01C) CD became a force in central defence, rising to 3 1/2* over the year, he also got a call up to the French U19 squad. Ricardo (YP01D) GK didn't progress a great deal, but something happened half way through the season, because he was pulling off some amazing saves. Miguel (YP01A) AMC/ST progressed as well, becoming the highest scorer for the club with 20 odd goals.

The prize money for getting 6th place was an eye opener, as we were given 666K monies!

I was finally able to do my first coaching badge! I think I have worked out a trick, put another coach into your coaching category then ask.

So next year I want to do better in the cups, if I am to get any upgrades before I go up to the top level, I need some good runs.

Youth intake 3 tagged

Carlos Leonel (YP03A) - DL/R - Fairly professional - 5 * PA, he is right footed, but prefers to play on the left? He actually did better than expected when I played him.

Michael (YP03B) - MC - Determined - 4* PA, He was just what I needed, as two of MC's are very inconsistent, one averaged 6.5 over the season. So I was excited to get to play him, so he gets injured during the 15 minutes he plays and then he get's back from recovery and gets injured in training

Jorginho (YP03C) - ST - Fairly sporting - 3 1/2* PA, another one I needed, an all out striker, he scored in the first 5 minutes of coming on his first game! became the youngest scorer for the club and in the League.

1st Team

Finances

Transfers

rferry · March 11, 2015

FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny

2022/2023: 14th in the Premier Division, Won the Relegation Playoff, Lost the Quarter-Final in the Russian Cup

Table | Results | Statistics | Transfers | Youth Intake

We try to fight off our rivals Arsenal Tula from taking M© Y1b R. Andreev. Eventually they offer his release clause outright. So Y6a Vylgin will step into the role. Eventually I could see Y1d V. Andreev move back to the M© from advanced playmaker, but not yet.

We blow all of funds (and the annual sponsorships) on new facilities, and by mid-year, we're in the red again. Oh well. I guess no January transfers for us.

A stellar October sees us rise to the mid-table before collapsing in a series of away games. We found ourselves again close to relegation. Luckily we held all the tiebreakers with Terek Grozny so they got the automatic boot and we had to survive on away goals in a contest against Gazovik Orenburg.

Another stellar youth intake. Is it possible to have way too many midfielders? Maybe, but I'll take this one: M©/AM© Y7a Magomed Toboev. At least there's a 4-star defender.