The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge

We made no transfers during the season we lost one player that was on an amateur contract, not a big loss to be honest.

League Table

League Table

We survived the division on the final day. We were not particularly good all season but we picked up wins against the weaker sides at home and performed okay occasionally away to give us a chance. Going into the final day we faced off against Sertanense at home while Lusitano faced Aguias do Mordal away. Aguias had been pretty poor all season, so the arithimatic did not look good for us as we needed to win against much fancied Sertanense and hope that Aguias also won or with a draw goal difference would come into play. In then it all went to plan to save ourselves as we managed a 3-2 win against Sertanense and Lusitano lost to Aguias 1-0. A 1-1 draw would have been enough for them but fortunately it proved to be what we needed.

Squad

Not a lot of stand out performers especially when your goalkeeper is the only player who got above a 7 rating, you know that things have not gone to plan, but it was enough to ensure survival in then end

Youth Intake

Youth Briefing

The Rest of the Prospects

Summary

Survival by the skin of our teeth in the end for us as this challenge was almost over before it began. The youth intake plugs some gaps in the team for us that likely we can use to improve next season but I am still far from confident that relegation is not just around the corner at the moment. The main benefit this team has is that they professional at this low level and they do start with some decent facilities for the level that hopefully we can make use of to get some key players in through the youth set up.

LazyBandit · July 15, 2021

Alexandroupoli FC Season 2 (2023-24)

League Table

I received news in the offseason that the club was being taken over by a Brazilian investor. So the season started on a very positive note. We finish this stage of the season with the exact same record we did the previous year. We were much better defensively, but also scored less goals. We actually found ourselves just outside the top 4 most of the season, but we we're unable to keep pace with them. Overall a good base to start from in the relegation playoffs.

Relegation Playoffs

We found a little bit of form and managed to stay safe this season. This year's group was much stronger than the previous one, but I'm hoping we'll be able to avoid this stage altogether next year.

Youth Intake Preview

I'm excited for this years batch of new players. I could use some more wingers, but we're still in dire need of a striker.

Youth Intake

A couple of players that can go into the first team immediately and lots of potential. Gounelas looks good and Angelopoulos is our new backup. Hopefully they improve enough to see some starts in the first team this season.

Dionysis Angelopoulos - Pavlos Gounelas - Vangelis Vramentzalis

Progress

We find ourselves in the 4th tier again next season, but we made plenty of improvements. I managed to convince our new owner to upgrade the youth recruitment and the training facilities. I'm excited about what positive changes these will bring about. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well last year's top prospect, Thomas Zarogiannis, has improved in only a year. I've had a couple top division teams showing interest in him, so we may have someone special here.

Intake Map

No new countries added this year, but we did get players from new cities throughout Greece.

Countries: 2/227 (0.88%)

XaW · July 15, 2021

Just sold one of my players to Feyenoord for quite a lot of money. I mean, he is a good player, but was unsure where to play him. He is good at a lot of things, but not fantastic at much. So with a bid like that, I thought I'd sell him and see if I can use the money for some facilities or another upgrade.

Padders · July 15, 2021

Looks like a great deal to me @XaW

XaW · July 15, 2021

Just now, Padders said:

Looks like a great deal to me @XaW

Yeah, I mean, he is a talent, but he was my 3rd choice left wing currently. These two were ahead of him:

In case it isn't clear, I like fast wingers.

TerminalPortugal · July 15, 2021

PORTALEGRENSE (2022/23)

After a pretty tough season last time out, we were much more comfortable now. Some of the players had improved in the off season and through the early part of the season through our training programmes despite the meagre standards and we were never really in danger of relegation this time out, but also never really truly challenging for the playoff spot. Alexandre Landim has been the player that had come on the most and he made a big difference up front this season. Last season he was a bit part player but now he is the main man. Unfortunately he is also quite aware of that fact and essentially wants to leave and there is going to be nothing we can do about it, he had one year left on his deal and then he will likely be off unless he has a change of heart.

League

League Table

Fixtures

In the end we did well by finishing in 4th place this season, we had a good run of games in the middle of the season and early on which we took advantage of. We still have too many runs of games where we can't buy a win. The end of the season was like this as we could have pushed further but ended up dropping off.

Transfers

No business this season at all

Youth Intake

Youth Briefing

Rest of the Prospects

The youth intakes have been good but it is a little premature to judge them as yet. The club now have a B team which was created half way through the middle of this season by the board. At the moment they are not playing much football but they are meant to be playing in the district leagues. Hopefully this would be a good avenue to test out some of the youngsters and give them football to improve. Regardless there is clearly some talent and as they become close to first team ready I am incorporating them into the first team

Squad

I feel like the squad has come on a long way since last season and we appear to be starting to have an impact on some of these players, in terms of improving them. The issue will be in retaining the services of the ones that will actually be able to help us to ascend from the Campeonato.

Summary

XaW · July 15, 2021

Follo Fotballklubb - Season 2031 (Season 10) Review

Table | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Going professional really helped us bounce back up the table, so we qualified for Europe again next season. I'm actually surprised at how hard this league is now, but then I had the update of how highly the Norwegian league is. Eliteserien is currently the 8th highest, judging from the nation coefficient! No wonder I'm having a tough time competing in the domestic competitions! For example, Molde is a regular in the CL group stage and while they usually finish 3rd, they have gone far in the Europa League knockouts. So fighting for a European spot is actually quite the achievement I think.

In Norgesmesterskapet we beat Finnsnes, Sogndal, and Strømmen before losing to Odd in the 4th round.

Youth

Not a bad intake, but clearly one of the worst for a long while.

Samuel Asfaha 31b is an interesting midfielder with a good personality.

Statistics:

Spoiler

A couple of African countries added to the list in Eritrea and Sudan.

2nd team:

They only played friendlies

U19 team:

In the Norwegian National U19 Championship they finished 12th and got relegated. They had a horrible start, and even a good finish couldn't save them.

In the Norwegian U19 Cup they beat Levanger, Sogndal, Mjøndalen, and Bodø/Glimt before losing to Viking in the quarter final.

Records broken;

Most league apps overall: Christian Haug Mikalsen - 255
Highest transfer fee received: Simen Myklebust 28d - £2.83m to Feyenoord

Trophy cabinet:

PostNord-ligaen Avdeling 2 - 2022

Norwegian U19 Championship Oslo - 2024, 2026, 2027

XaW · July 15, 2021

I had another winger sold now for a massive fee to China:

I mean, I didn't want to lose him because he is amazing, but that fee. I couldn't say no. He also only had a year left on his deal and didn't want to talk about a new one, so I think I made the right call.

libbyshuss · July 15, 2021

England - Hitchin Tow2021/22 - Season 1

Vanarama National League South

Finish: 9th

Season Summary

A really good first season that could have been so much more if not for a mid-season slump knocking us out the play-offs

League - we started ridiculously well. 10 wins from the first 14 games saw us go top in November. We had a wobble in December, with no victories in 8, but rallied to get back into the play-offs. But then we went on a terrible run with only 1 victory in 13 which dropped us out of play-off contention. We finished well, unbeaten in the last 5, but not well enough to get back into the play-offs. Still, an encouraging first season.

FA Cup - I really need to throw off my domestic cup hoodoo and get some results. The money is really nice! But this season wasn't it, a fourth qualifying round defeat to Wrexham in the league above us.

FA Trophy - 3rd round exit to Kettering

Players

So I was kinda limited in what to do as we only had 12 players in the squad! It made picking a team nice and easy but was a real struggle once suspensions and injuries kicked in.

The first XI picked themselves and, to be honest, it wasn't too bad. Some really nice players at this level

Max Ryan - The pick of the bunch. A great striker always helps and he's good and young. double bonus!

Youth

So I needed a HoYD and found this fella. Awful attriubtes but what a personality! Never had one that good at this level before, I'm quite pleased.

I was even more pleased when he delivered this preview:-

And then the intake itself was unbelievable. For the first time ever, i signed every single player. Not just to fill out the squad either, but because potentially they could all be good. woohoo!

A really nice spread of nationalities as well! Time to start an intake map I think....

Finances and Improvements

Well, one bonus of a stupidly small squad is a stupidly small wage bill. i was well under budget so mad some nice savings over the season. Finished with 170k in the bank and the board pleased so I got meself some coaching badges and the first improvement in facilities. I shall keep badgering them whilst we have the money.

It's a start!

All I need do now is not get relegated in the second season again....

Career

TerminalPortugal · July 15, 2021

PORTALEGRENSE (2023/24)

We finally got everything right on the pitch this season and we jumped ahead to a lead in our Group of the Campeonato, which would only grow as the games came along. We only started to falter at the end of the season but we had a large lead in the league and we booked our place into the playoffs without much trouble at all. I felt that it was a bit too early for us to get promotion as we predicted pre-season to be amongst the strugglers like the seasons before, but the players we ready as we got past Fontinhas over two legs and then we beat Merelinense by the skin of our teeth in the semi final second leg with a late goal that would prove enough. At that point we had assured ourselves promotion but there was still a final to contest against Lusitania Lourosa, and while they were big favourites, it did not show on the pitch as we got the 2-1 win that confirmed us as overall Champions of the Campeonato.

This season some of the youngsters that we got through over the past few years in the intakes came to the fore. Rodrigo Pedro was a stalwart from central midfield, a creative fulcrum for us this season. He wants to leave and we will see if we can persuade him to stay following out promotion to the Terceira. Pedro Almeida was meant to be the sidekick up front to Lamdim, but we were forced to sell him early in the season and Almeida took over from him up front and was brilliant for us, again he is another that wants to leave but we have managed to secure him until 2027, so I am not forced to sell, and he has performed well despite wanting a move away, hopefully again the promotion has an impact on his desires. Celio Alves featured once as soon as he came through the youth intake, and is our youngest ever player at just 15 years old at the time, but then he had featured less as he tried to find his position in the team. While initially I saw him as a winger, with Lamdim going and some injuries up front he eventually got his shot at striker and him and Almeida have made a great partnership bagging the goals and assists between them.

There are others on the way that could break into the team, but as yet they are still either playing a game here and there for us or improving in the Under 19's.

Fixtures and League Table

League & Cup Table

League Fixtures

Playoff Fixtures

A greats season for us as mentioned as we won the whole Campeonato and achieved promotion. We also this time finally advanced past the 1st Round of the Taca de Portugal eventually losing out to top division Moreirense in the 3rd Round.

Transfers

Unfortunately we could not hold on to Lamdim who eventually moved on to top division side Gil Vicente for just over £16K and he even already played a substitute appearance in the Liga NOS. Elsewhere business was limited to providing U19 football to some youngsters who had their path blocked because of a congested squad in the U19's, they generally were the worse players who went off to Bota Fogo in the Acores U19 league, and a couple of players found themselves surplus to requirements at the club with minimal potential and we allowed them to move on. No transfers in as per the rules of the challenge.

Youth Intake

Youth Intake Briefing

Other Prospects

A good intake as we have become accustomed to, this time around we got a Romanian youngster in which is a bit of change from the Portuguese and Portuguese ex colonial nationals which normally come through. Again these players will feed into the Under 19s and we will assess them, try and improve them and bring them up when they are ready to contribute for us. The major weakness of the first team is the defence which really has not been good the whole time I have been at the club so youngsters in this area who impress are likely to make a quick move to the first team where we badly need reinforcements.

Squad

Summary

Finances did not take another big jump into the red, primarily because the owners have been pumping money in, we are now very much up against the wage budget as I have generally decided to keep players who are on the periphery because we have no way of bringing in players. Due to the club being in the red at the moment improving facilities or the recruitment network is out of the question at the moment, but once we do balance the books and perhaps make a profit we will be looking to improve that as soon as we can.

Brentmeister · July 15, 2021

2 hours ago, libbyshuss said:

England - Hitchin Tow2021/22 - Season 1

Vanarama National League South

Finish: 9th

Season Summary

A really good first season that could have been so much more if not for a mid-season slump knocking us out the play-offs

League - we started ridiculously well. 10 wins from the first 14 games saw us go top in November. We had a wobble in December, with no victories in 8, but rallied to get back into the play-offs. But then we went on a terrible run with only 1 victory in 13 which dropped us out of play-off contention. We finished well, unbeaten in the last 5, but not well enough to get back into the play-offs. Still, an encouraging first season.

FA Cup - I really need to throw off my domestic cup hoodoo and get some results. The money is really nice! But this season wasn't it, a fourth qualifying round defeat to Wrexham in the league above us.

FA Trophy - 3rd round exit to Kettering

Players

So I was kinda limited in what to do as we only had 12 players in the squad! It made picking a team nice and easy but was a real struggle once suspensions and injuries kicked in.

The first XI picked themselves and, to be honest, it wasn't too bad. Some really nice players at this level

Max Ryan - The pick of the bunch. A great striker always helps and he's good and young. double bonus!

Youth

So I needed a HoYD and found this fella. Awful attriubtes but what a personality! Never had one that good at this level before, I'm quite pleased.

I was even more pleased when he delivered this preview:-

And then the intake itself was unbelievable. For the first time ever, i signed every single player. Not just to fill out the squad either, but because potentially they could all be good. woohoo!

A really nice spread of nationalities as well! Time to start an intake map I think....

Finances and Improvements

Well, one bonus of a stupidly small squad is a stupidly small wage bill. i was well under budget so mad some nice savings over the season. Finished with 170k in the bank and the board pleased so I got meself some coaching badges and the first improvement in facilities. I shall keep badgering them whilst we have the money.

It's a start!

All I need do now is not get relegated in the second season again....

Career

Every youth candidate is at least 4 and half star potential! Nice!

How do you know your youth level is 4? is this an England thing?

Edited July 15, 2021 by Brentmeister

Padders · July 15, 2021

Season 71 - 2091/92

A really really poor season

Some how stayed up by 1 point, getting a 1-1 draw on the last game of the season and Bradford (22nd) lost 6-2

The squad isn't good enough and wage expenditure still by far the lowest in the division

Proffa · July 15, 2021

44 minutes ago, Brentmeister said:

Every youth candidate is at least 4 and half star potential! Nice!

How do you know your youth level is 4? is this an England thing?

I think youth level is England only.

The current ability / potential ability stars are always relative to your current team at the moment. So, it's easier to get "great" intakes at first. Still, it seems to be a very good intake.

scarp · July 15, 2021

Brora Rangers 2047/48

Champions League Group Stage | Champions League KO Stage

Uhh.. where to start.. We played absolutely fantastic whole season long and managed to get treble, as well as reach Champions League semifinals. I feel like we are overly over-achieving and I am afraid we may see another drop in form next season. Even though most of the key players want to leave, I just won't let them go. They're on long term contracts and we definitely do not need the money anymore. They're usually pissed for a while but a trophy or two change their minds quickly. McMahon is this season's superstar with 18+16 from left midfield and he's only 18! McWilliams - Maclean - Chaoui is decent trio in defense but we are seriously lacking a right defender. The unsung heroes are Fraser Jack & Neil Buchan who both are with us since 2nd tier days and they're still starting and now reached CL semifinals with us. Gerard Fox is getting worse but we got a great income from youth-intake. Even though Paul Thomson's numbers still look great, he is (and always was) a streaky striker, meaning he can net three hattrick in three games and then not produce a single goal in next five games. That's why I am trying new players there - especially Owen Gray scored couple of very important goals in CL for us. We are also getting another stadium expansion.

Transfers | Youth in-take

Key players: Stuart Doig, Mark McMahon & Alex Maclean

Youth watch: Angus Stewart, Sandy Chalmers & Jonathan Wallace

Brentmeister · July 15, 2021

I don't think I've ever had a player score 8 goals in a game before! It was a Copa Libertadores match too.

Cheez3y · July 15, 2021

Well I got a real superstar in my intake :eek:

Spoiler

XaW · July 15, 2021

Just brought in the best HoYD I think I've ever had! :eek:

Cheez3y · July 15, 2021

7 minutes ago, XaW said:

Just brought in the best HoYD I think I've ever had!

Holy

TerminalPortugal · July 15, 2021

PORTALEGRENSE (2024/25)

I did not feel particularly confident going into this season as we were clearly still not up to this kind of level and I expected us to struggle. The start of the season was very tough as we had to wait until out 6th game of the season to pick up our first points and that was very fortunate ending with a 4-4 draw and 92nd minute equaliser on our part. We won in the 1st Round of the cup and this seemed to galvanise us to get our first win of the season against Marinhense 2-1. However the first part of the season saw us lose most games and we were looking very much like we were for the drop. Every time we got a result we then lost the next few games to put us adrift again. In December we did not get a win at all and only picked up 2 points overall and at this point I was pretty sure we would be relegated from the league. However things picked up with a shock 3-1 away win at Trofense and then at the end of the month we got a draw and two wins to lift us out of the relegation places. Unfortunately against Uniao de Leiria, Almeida our talisman and key player got himself injured for 3 months and again I sank into despair assuming that we were done for, but credit to players we managed to get the odd result here and there against the likes of Lank Vilaverdense and Marinhense to complete the double over them to give ourselves a chance. Two wins in March pretty much meant that we were safe as the teams below us faltered. Three wins in April meant that we were shooting up the table and it now looked like we would survive comfortably and despite a poor April, that is exactly what happened as we finished in 19th place on 43 points, 10 points ahead of Agueda who got relegated in 23rd.

A good season by our standards and really it gives me a lot of confidence going forward. On the transfer front things have been a little difficult, Celio Alves had a bit accepted by the board for only a few thousand, and we were not able to change their mind due to the bad financial situation at the club, but we did managed to find another club for him that would pay £20K and future fees in Mafra, which at least made me feel as if we got some value for him. Unfortunately we were not able to ever get Rodrigo Pedro around the negotiating table again and he is moving on a free transfer to top division side Rio Ave. He will be a huge loss for us next season and I do fear how good we will be without him in midfield. He was our most creative player this season so it is tough to take.

Pedro Almeida still has a contract that goes until 2027, but it looks like he will go then or have to be sold before because he is not willing to even discuss his contract and has again started talking about moving. I know I cannot replace him and suddenly the attack without him and Alves starts looking pretty poor in opinion.

The main positive on the player front has been that I think we might have a decent defence brewing with youngsters coming in and really starting to improve things. Sergio Paulos, Michael Marta, and Joao Carvalho look like players that I think will improve and become the future of the defence and at right back Pedro Manuel is well on his way to being a great player for us there. The tiny Joao Domingos also looks like a winger that can add some real fire power in what has been a position on the pitch that has generally been a bit of a problem since we took over with middling players the only players that we have available so far in this career.

In the final interesting news Jorge Gomes, the president won another term by winning the club elections. I was pretty thankful as that meant at least in my mind that my job was safe and he always invests a bit of money in the club over the season which is the only reason why we are still afloat to be honest

Fixtures and League Table

League Table

First Half of Fixtures

Second Half of Fixtures

Transfers

The main transfer as already mentioned was that of Alves who left the club for £20k, elsewhere there was another loan and a youngster without much potential left the club. Obviously I have already mentioned that Pedro will be leaving the club for Rio Ave when the window reopens. No transfers into the club as per the rules.

Youth Intake

Youth Intake Briefing

Other Prospects

I don't like to mention to much about the youth intake before I have had time to really spend a bit of time training them and seeing how they respond, but immediately looking at this crop Antonio Bonacho looks like he is pretty much ready to be in the first team. So I have called him up to the first team squad and will look to play him here and there where I think it might be appropriate. At 15, despite his immediate talent for the side, we need to be conservative with him.

Squad