The FM20 Youth Academy Challenge

[Taccoa]

The reset date for Finland is the 30 November

[Sn00gle]

I really like the fact that there is no so much multi nation players in English League at last in the lowest league. That was a really helpful for small teams to sell players with some national caps in np. Kenya or Trinidad and the NT experience give them good boost to improve skills. I guess this time English challenge will be very hard.

[Forest]

how about norther ireland?

[Jintro]

Profile | Club | Facilities

 

Starting this off this challenge in Austria, with the soon to be mighty FC Kufstein. Located on the border with Germany, Kufstein is Tyrol's second city with about 20.000 inhabitants. I hope this gives us at least some base to establish a top flight team. Austria doesn't seem to have a whole lot of mid-size cities, as the other teams promoted were small villages in the <10k range. Kufstein at least has a pretty castle.

I don't know a whole lot about the Austrian competition, outside of the fact that the top tier is dominated by one of Red Bull's playthings. (The fact that they absolutely demolished my KRC Genk in the Champions League is the prime motivator for starting in Austria, can't wait to return the favour even if it is virtually). Non plastic top teams are Rapid and Austria, and Sturm Graz have to have one of the greatest names in pro football.

Before taking on the franchise monster we'll have to survive in the second Bundesliga. We have a 5k (2,5k seated) "Arena", and training facilities like you would expect an Austrian third division team to have. We should have enough warm bodies at the club to fill in the team, but I haven't really gone on a deep dive yet to see if there is some actual quality there. The biggest hurdle will be staying up for now, as Kufstein is one of only two semi-pro teams in the league. Red Bull and Austria have their B-teams in this league, so at least I won't have to battle them for promotion. With three teams going back to the RegionalLiga at the end of the season, this opening post might well be the highlight of my career in Austria.

[Watson156]

Manager Profile, hopefully can get this team back to the top division, and win the Copa Libertadores!

[darren1983]

9 hours ago, jstu9 said:

Exploit or Feature?

In Belgium, if you are not in the promotion or relegation pool you have no games in April/May yet your players are still at the team. I just watched a yt video showing how to make money from friendlies. Play them in a "League". I just did it, invited a number of English clubs, and made ~$250k. So I've set up another one.

But it feels almost exploit-y. Yet it is in the game. So is this ok or should I stop doing it?

As @XaW says, we frown upon exploits like this. 1 a year I think is OK but any more than that is exploiting the game I feel. 

[Fastbasher]

2022/23 Hungarian Division II season review - Putnok

 

The League

We started off on fire, with a 14 game unbeaten run and only one loss in the first 22 games. Promotion looked a real possibility. Then January hit.

Our best centreback was poached on a free, the squad lost trust in me and things went downhill fast. 5-4-1 was no longer an option, and even 4-5-1 was played with two inexperienced centrebacks.

We still held on for a safe 11th place finish and broke our own record for the most draws.

We made the 4th round of the cup.

 

The Players

Máté Fazekas was our fans player of the year and the anchorman who protected the back 4 or 5.

Zoltán Pomozi put in some outstanding performances in goal and was our sole representative in the division II team of the year.

Unfortunately both Máté and Zoltán's contracts are expiring and they won't sign a new one. I will lose them in July.

Szabolcs Kovácsevics was an interesting player to come through our youth system. Great finishing, Jumping and Fitness and standing at 201cm tall, he gives us an aerial threat for the first time.

 

Extra Time

Youth recruitment has been upgraded for a 2nd time. Training and Data facilites are also being upgraded.

I went through another coaching course to get my Continental C licence.

Three players were sold with 50% sell on clauses.

Budafok made the quarterfinal of the cup, but got relegated from the 1st division in 12th place (of 12) with 27 points from 33 games.

 

Transfers

[MikaelS]

22 hours ago, XaW said:

Isn't the 4th tier, just a view only league? The same as the 4th tier in Norway (Right, @MikaelS?  )

Oooh rub it in will ya?

But yes, it is probably a viewable league, not a playable league.

[thomas_e]

NK Zadar

Season Update 2021-2022

Our first season in the top tier of Croatian football. Looking at the table we did really good, finishing 7th, never involved in the relegation battle. But at the same time, we won only 2 of our last 18 games (!!) and we have several key players that want to leave. So plenty of challenges ahead. 

We kept the same style and formation that served us well last season. I tweaked it somewhat to be better prepared against the top teams, but we still try to play with high tempo and direct. We won 7 of our first 11 league games, so already at that stage we took a huge step towards securing our spot in the league, as only one team go down! 

Throughout the year we got worse and worse! We are dismal at defending set pieces, and as soon as we get an injury the player replacing them are just afwul! But thats how it is and we just have to live with it. Can't complain about finishing 7th, but we might struggle big time next season! 

We had a fantastic youth intake and I will see in pre-season if anyone will be promoted to the first team. We already have a 17 year old in central midfield and an 18 year old on left back, so we have to find the right balance! 

Goals for next season: Survive! 

 

Summary

               

Top performers

          

Top 3 prospects

          

 

Season	|   League                            |  Position |  League Cup   |        Europe         |   Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21	|   Druga Hrvatska Nogotemna Liga     |  1st      |  Semi-final   |         N/A	          |   Promotion to top division first year
2021/22	|   MaxTV Hrvatska Nogotemna Liga     |  7th      |  2nd round    |         N/A	          |   Stayed in the league. Good first half of the season

 

[Braumiller]

Season 01 - 202/21

Squad Stats - Transfers - Starting Manager Profile

On The Field Notes
This was a season that slowly built and built, until our momentum was fantastic.
We started off being hard to beat, but not very threatening and drew 11 of our first 20 games in the league and cups.  With the rules in the cups, that equated to being involved in 4 penalty shoot-outs before the end of October!  Once we were out of all the cups, the league performances picked up and we settled on a 4411.  It became a 3 horse race and slowly we wore them down and claimed top spot!
The lads we took charge of were surprisingly good (media prediction of 4th even though we were newly promoted and the board wanted at least playoffs, so there was definitely something there to start with!) and they gave higher league teams trouble in the cups.

Off the Field Notes

• August - Number of coaches increased from 2 to 3
• December - Gained National C license
• April - Gained National B license
• May - Academy coaching improved from Fairly Basic to Average
• May - Youth recruitment improved from Basic to Fairly Basic
• May - Number of coaches increased from 3 to 4

Youth Intake
Dubbed a golden generation, but I think we have all seen that too often
Neil McNeil (01A) - Highest potential of the group, but left back is the one position we have numerous options at already!  Very small, but will give chances next season when able to.  Played him in the meaningless last game of the season and he scored and assisted!
Bryan Anderson (01B) - I really like the look of Bryan.  Double digits for tackling, marking, positioning, determination and jumping.  Will take the leap of faith and start him in the first team.
Richard Anderson (01C) - Technically, very lacking.  Will only get chances if injuries strike
Kevin McCulloch (01D) - I would love to give Kevin chances, but as a lone striker in my formation I am not sure I can just yet

Updated Club Vision

Edited November 9, 2019 by Braumiller

[Peter G]

For those who are doing this in England, how did  you cope given that teams that come up on have like 13 players?

[XaW]

Youth intake 2024

A good youth intake, even if we didn't get anyone with more potential than 4 stars.

In Chad Belford 24d we finally have a talented striker with decent finishing! I hope he can become good for us.

Ron Withers 24f have a fantastic personality and that is partly why I'm picking him. He is a central midfielder, a spot we are sorely lacking talent.

[XaW]

48 minutes ago, Peter G said:

For those who are doing this in England, how did  you cope given that teams that come up on have like 13 players?

I had 3 goalkeepers on the bench much of my first season. Then I kept the entire youth intake, if nothing else to fill up the squad. The first one is the toughest, and you should get used to not filling out the bench.

[keeper#1]

Has one tried to train one of the "spare" goalkeepers to play in the field?  If nothing else, he can be a warm body on the field in case a major injury crisis hits.

[XaW]

XaW - Stratford Town - 2023/24

Table | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Very close to the playoffs last season, and the hope of course were to get one further this time around. I lost a few more players during the summer, and the youngsters are really starting to impact the team now. Lots of them keep getting matches, and most are improving a lot. We started the season quite good and were part of the top of the table through the first half, though we are a bit inconsistent and suddenly stop playing well. But that is the name of the game with the youngsters, and hopefully this will improve as they get more experience. Towards the end of the season Kettering and Chester had ran away at the top, while Stockport, FC United and Brackley were safe for playoffs. The final spot were contested by Barrow, King's Lynn and ourselves. Going into the final match we had it by a single point a head of Barrow, with King's Lynn one point behind them. We lost at home to Brackley, and when both other teams drew it meant Barrow and us were at equal points. However, they had the better goal difference and ended up overtaking us to the final spot. So that's the second season in a row we lost out on a playoff spot on the final day... Hopefully we can do it next year. 

In the FA Cup we beat Mildenhall, St. Ives and Spennymoor before losing to League One team Salford in the 1st round. In the FA Trophy we beat Hyde and Darlington before losing to Gateshead in the 2nd round.

We had a good youth intake where Chad Belford 24d are one to watch.

The leading players this season have been Nabil Shariff, James Hancocks and youth prospect Kevin Clements 21b.

[Peter G]

I've started in Scotland as the Caley Braves. There's a number of players they've offered contracts to - should I cancel them if possible or just leave them?

I've only got 13 players in my squad, guessing I'll be using the grey players at times!

[XaW]

Just now, Peter G said:

I've started in Scotland as the Caley Braves. There's a number of players they've offered contracts to - should I cancel them if possible or just leave them?

I've only got 13 players in my squad, guessing I'll be using the grey players at times!

Cancel if possible, if not possible then they are free to use as normal.

[streety]

Just showing you my transfers.. Transfer in was made before i came in and i lost who i considered to be a good player on a free.. Although i promoted a player who seems to be on par with him at least stats wise. Just hoping no more clubs poach my players

Transfer History

 

[Novafluff]

Hoping to get the first season done today with Nybro! 6 games in and we got a great start, we  are gonna grind for the rest of the day (and night) gonna stream for as long as i got energy for, welcome in! https://www.twitch.tv/novafluff

 

[Peter G]

This is the squad I have to work with for the first season...

 

[Diego D10S]

                                       

                                                                                        Season 2020 / 21

                                                            League Table      Youth Intake     Transfer History

 

Season 2020 / 21 - 6th in Serie C  Group C - Knocked out in Promotion Playoff Qtr Final

Youth intake was nothing special but really good for me as I got players in positions I didnt have any.

Going into the next season without a striker, but training a couple of guys in that position so I think I will be ok.

Most promising from first intake :  Antonio Lino Mattioli and Candido Cosenza

 

GL all !!  

Edited November 12, 2019 by Diego D10S

[Soviet]

What are the goals for Palermo? It's a big club so the board might be expecting quick return to Serie A...

[keeper#1]

 

I spent most of last night and this morning simming in the Dutch Eerste Divisie to see which teams come up.  I was only able to get four teams to come up in about twenty tries (only one team comes up each season) : AFC, IJsselmeervogels, Katwijk (this team came up the most often), and Rijsnburgese Boys.  Each team had the same facility setup:  

Senior Training - Poor

Youth Training - Poor

Academy Coaching - Fairly Basic

Academy Reputation - Basic

Don't know if SI just entered the same info for every team since the Dutch Third Tier is an amateur league....

I chose Rijnsburgese Boys because they had the largest roster of all four clubs with 29 players.  All 29 players are on amateur contracts so I can pick and choose which ones I want to sign on professional contracts, which ones to risk keeping on amateur contracts and which ones to just outright release.

The club is complete blank slate.  No coaches, scouts, physio department besides myself.  At the moment, I am a one-person show.  The FM trophy case is empty.  According the club's wiki page, the club has won the Dutch Hoofdklasse A title (5th tier) three times.

[streety]

After 5 games the team are still looking for a win. and have been priced at 325 - 1 to win the league..looks like it a battle to survive

[Novafluff]

Looking like we might have an okay first intake

[darren1983]

So after 3.5 seasons with Kingstonian I finally gte my first junior coaching upgrade  

[streety]

Looks an ok youth intake coming in a bit disapointed theirs no DM oh well

[Watson156]

So my first youth intake from Brazil and this is what I get:

Not too bad. I'm not a fan of Mazinho, as he is a right footer player left mid which I don't like, but it was a position that we were short on so he will be useful. The most useful player for right now is Eugenio Henrique who will be only our 4th centre mid, and will hopefully have a bright future ahead. Darlan Carlos was liked the most by the assistant manager, and while I can see a future for him, he plays in one of our most populated positions. 

The lack of a good striker is a bit of a problem, hopefully that will be sorted next season. Overall I am glad that we now have some extra bodies for next season and they are mainly in positions that we were becoming short on. I just hope that we can keep hold of them!

Edited November 10, 2019 by Watson156

[Ross Ingersoll]

holy smokes, some of you have already played 4 seasons??

[Braumiller]

Ok, I thought I was going crazy earlier today when one of my original players, who barely gets a look-in became accomplished in a new position out of nowhere!  But now my (01A) player from the intake has as well, and I have his original intake screenshot to go back to and verify!

Intake link - https://i.imgur.com/5blyMTc.png
Now (late October of season 2)

His training is controlled by me and is set to DL (Full-Back - Support)......  But his DC has jumped to accomplished

Anyone else seen this in FM20?

[Watson156]

AMERICA FUTEBOL CLUBE (RN) - AMERICA (RN)

 

STADIUM: ARENA DAS DUNAS - 32,000

TRAINING FACILITIES: AVERAGE

YOUTH FACILITIES: BELOW AVERAGE

YOUTH RECRUITMENT: AVERAGE

JUNIOR COACHING: AVERAGE

* * *

Season: 2020

Campeonato Potiguar - Runners up. Lost to our fierce rivals in the grand final, which really stinks!

Copa do Brasil - We got a terrible draw, against Serie A team CSA. We kept in respectable but in truth we never had a chance. 

Serie C | Table - We did well in our division, but then when it came to the promotion playoffs, we never got going.

Squad - Overall the squad isn't too bad but we have become very reliant on a few players. The defence overall was pretty solid, but the midfield and forwards were only ok in patches. We didn't really have any consistency throughout the season.

Finances - We are in a mess, that is despite bringing in £150k in transfers. The only slight positive is that there hasn't been any prize money added to that yet

Transfer History - Not at all happy with the players that we let go but that wasn't my choice. Italo, was my choice. The others were all first team players which significantly affected our team.

 

Looking forward to next season I am hopeful that I can find a tactic that will work well. I am finding it very difficult to get any sort of consistency with this team, and will need to decide during the Campeonato Potiguar whether we are going to be more of a defensive team next year, or are we going to just try and outscore the opponents every game. 

I am also dreading who will leave this team. If I could keep a hold of all of these players then I think that we might be able to get promoted, but if as I expect to happen we lose 5 -6 of them then it will be another season in Serie C. 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by Watson156

[darren1983]

34 minutes ago, Braumiller said:

Ok, I thought I was going crazy earlier today when one of my original players, who barely gets a look-in became accomplished in a new position out of nowhere!  But now my (01A) player from the intake has as well, and I have his original intake screenshot to go back to and verify!

Intake link - https://i.imgur.com/5blyMTc.png
Now (late October of season 2)

His training is controlled by me and is set to DL (Full-Back - Support)......  But his DC has jumped to accomplished

Anyone else seen this in FM20?

Not seen that myself but I have seen that randomly some players will just stop their individual training after I've set it. Very annoying.

[darren1983]

Season 2023/24 Review Vanarama National League South

 

League - For the first time it actually felt like progress, after a slow start (for a change) we finally looked like a side that I like, during the winter months we only lost 3 of 18 games making me dream of an unlikely promotion push, however our form dropped off again in the new year as we were consistently inconsistent, throwing away leads all the time. I got sick of reading about how a late goal cost us a win/draw Still 12th place with more wins, less losses and less goals conceded with lots of game time to youngsters (we often started with 4 or 5 youth players in the side with another 3 or 4 on the bench) is progress. It's a youth only save so small progress is fine.

FA Cup - a little run here almost making the first round proper, beat 2 sides from leagues below us but Dagenham (who were 10th in the league above) were too strong for us

FA Trophy - another nice little run here too, again beat 2 sides in the league below but Yeovil (5th in the league above) was too far. These games were frustrating as we lead the away game 2-0 at HT and lead the replay 1-0 when we had a man sent off after 80 mins, conceded soon after then conceded twice in 2 minutes right at the end of extra time. These games came as we were flying in the league but it was after the loss here that our form dropped off.

Squad - Slowly becoming more and more a home grown squad, lots of minutes for young players this years

Transfers - none in and no sales, I did release a few older players as keeping them as backup was blocking my own players coming through

Finances - poor as expected, board keep injecting cash to help us through, keep getting board takeover messages but then they fall through

Youth Intake - Our best yet, can't knock 3 5* PA players at this level (when I took the screen shot I misnamed my players as being Y03 not Y04 and that's why the nicknames are different in this screenshot)

Gary Corne YP04A - CB, his lack of pace is a worry as is his heading for a 6'1 16 year old.
Steve Treleaven YP04B - - attacking midfielder, could play wide or as a CM in my current setup, will see how he develops before making my mind up (though will likely be CM)
Michael Colin YP04C - another CB with not a lot of pace, might require me to look at having a deeper line than currently use
Cameron Andrews YP04D a left footed right winger is something I like, my wide players are currently wingers but now have some potential inverted wingers on both sides with Nick Chapman YP01B getting some games this season
Gareth Miller YP04E - ok looking midfielder, will maybe look at him in the DM role as not quite attacking enough for my CM roles

Career Progress

Season		League		Position	Coaching		Recruitment		Notes

2020/21		VNLS		4th 		Fairly basic		Basic			Lost in promotion semi final	
2021/22		VNLS		18th 		Fairly Basic		Basic
2022/23		VNLS		18th 		Fairly Basic		Basic
2023/24		VNLS		12th 		Average			Basic

 

[Diego D10S]

@darren1983 have only seen it when I have trained a player in a new position as Fullback Support and it changes to just DL(playing position) when he have played enough matches in that position. I keep a close eye on training from month to month and havent seen anything change besides in that exmple

Edited November 10, 2019 by Diego D10S

[Fastbasher]

My Ass Man is telling me his contract expires next week. But it looks like it still has two years to run to me.

[Kazushi80]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb Braumiller:

Ok, I thought I was going crazy earlier today when one of my original players, who barely gets a look-in became accomplished in a new position out of nowhere!  But now my (01A) player from the intake has as well, and I have his original intake screenshot to go back to and verify!

Intake link - https://i.imgur.com/5blyMTc.png
Now (late October of season 2)

His training is controlled by me and is set to DL (Full-Back - Support)......  But his DC has jumped to accomplished

Anyone else seen this in FM20?

Was he playing as a central defender in the youth team?

[Fastbasher]

2023/24 Hungarian Division II season review - Putnok

 

The League

This was very much the opposite of last season. With no right back and two poor centre backs, we struggled in defence. We spent most of the season in and out of the relegation zone until our March youth intake solved some problems. Two quality centre backs and an average right back were signed.

Despite losing our last two games, we clung on for survival. Only the top 5 teams scored more goals than us, but we set a record for goals conceded in div II. This was with a 4-5-1 cautious setup.

We went out in the first round of the cup, losing 1-3 in extra time to non league Dunaharaszti.

 

The Players

Despite being injured for the first three months of the season, Szebasztián Szilágyi was our top scorer and player of the season. Also one of the few players left who did not come through our youth system.

Dániel Bene YP24a was the best of this years' youth intake and was one of the key players to solve our defensive issues.

Milán Sipos YP24f is a talented looking keeper at this level and will be the successor to István Elek when he leaves soon.

 

Extra Time

Youth recruitment is being upgraded again, from 'good' to 'established' and the Junior coaching budget is also being increased.

I passed my Continental B coaching licence and am now studying for my Continental A licence.

My backroom staff have also been studying and I signed them all to a new contract. My HOYD and Goalkeeping coach both have a Continental Pro licence, while 3 others have a continental A licence.

The Hungarian co-efficient has increased. We now get two teams in Champions League qualifying and five in Europe in total. Prize money for both divisions and the cup has also increased.

Budafok were relegated for the second consecutive season under the management of my former Ass Man.

 

Transfers

Last years' youth star, Balász Horváth YP23a, attracted interest from most of the division I clubs. He wanted to move. After some tough negotiating I accepted two offers. He joined Gyirmót for 180k gbp +50% of transfer profit. The other offer I accepted was for a straight 200k.

His sale will help fund another upgrade and hopefully Gyirmót sell him on for millions.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Fastbasher

[vikeologist]

15 hours ago, Diego D10S said:

                                       

                                                                                           Transfer History

 

S

I lost Accardi on a free as well, despite throwing absolutely everything I had at him contract-wise. It really hurt, because he's the only right back I have, and I'd prefer not to be retraining guys out of their natural positions they might be useful in.

Going to have to avoid looking at which of your inherited players are developing, as it would be unfair for me to get spoilers. If you want, I'll try to not do the same in the text parts of my reports.

 

14 hours ago, Soviet said:

What are the goals for Palermo? It's a big club so the board might be expecting quick return to Serie A...

As Diego hasn't replied yet, in my save, it's to make the playoffs, every season for the next 5 years, but in Serie C, that really just means the top half. 

[Jintro]

Does anyone know how long it takes before you can ask for coaching badges again? I asked in June, starting out, but now it's almost September and the option is still not available again.

Not that I'll be able to enjoy them in this save: 1 win against our fellow semi-pro team, all losses to the pro sides (we play along well enough, but just can't find the net) and my players hate me. My time in Austria may be up before I get unpacked.

Some nice progress for others in this thread, good luck everyone.

[Novafluff]

A great first intake! we actually decide to sign them all Almgren considered the top prospect but i believe Israelsson has the best shot since he got the best personality out of the top 3 the other one is Mortensen all natural as CM so we might think about retraining someone to striker since two of them has accomplished there

[Fastbasher]

17 minutes ago, Jintro said:

Does anyone know how long it takes before you can ask for coaching badges again?

I think it varies. Not sure on what conditions.

When I have completed a badge, I have been able to ask for another course immediately. Not always granted though.

[Fastbasher]

Interesting. A player poached before I ever get to view him. I hope that 5% turns out good.

[XaW]

1 minute ago, Fastbasher said:

Interesting. A player poached before I ever get to view him. I hope that 5% turns out good.

I like that feature! Haven't seen any myself... I guess that says enough about the level of my youngsters...

[Fastbasher]

I can't even click on him to see stats or scout. The 5% should be in my transfer clauses, so hopefully I can view him when he comes through Pécs' academy.

[Fastbasher]

I guess I can write off the development of this player. It's a shame. His marking had just increased to 14.

What are the worst injuries you guys are having?

[Rizz0therat]

I've been relegated and fired in my third Season at Basford. This may actually be the first time I've ever been relegated in my FM/CM history, and I've been playing since CM96/97. So that was fun.

I am going to start again in maybe Scotland or Wales, maybe Europe.

[Braumiller]

5 hours ago, Kazushi80 said:

Was he playing as a central defender in the youth team?

That is a great call.  Went and checked his game log and he did play 3 games as DC in the reserves.....  Somewhat annoying, when you can have positional retraining going for months and months and nothing, and then a few reserver team games and boom!  Hmm, might be time to see if I can use this for retraining advantages.

And just got my season 2 intake tease;

That paints a good picture, although it appears it will be lacking in two of my main needs (a goalscorer!  and any kind of decent DM)

[streety]

Just finished my first season in Sweden. Will post update soon.

 

On another note how do you get the YPXXX to show?. ive looked but not a clue

[BillHoudini24]

20 minutes ago, streety said:

Just finished my first season in Sweden. Will post update soon.

 

On another note how do you get the YPXXX to show?. ive looked but not a clue

You have to write it down yourself by adding a nickname to each player.

[streety]

1 minute ago, BillHoudini24 said:

You have to write it down yourself by adding a nickname to each player.

Thanks, I thought so but wasnt to sure