[FM23] A Sitter is Worth a Thousand Goals - A Bradford City Thousand Goal Challenge

[vikeologist]

As I usually do challenges (from the CSE forum), I’ve never actually done a full save with my favourite team, Bradford City. I’m not sure I’ve ever even taken them to the Premier League or even completed 1 full season.

So that’s what I’m going to try to do now, plus the Champions League and all the rest.

To be honest, I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to do this fairly easily, so I’m going to combine it with a challenge I’ve always wanted to do, which is to have a player score 1,000 goals.

This is generally called the ‘Danny Roberts Challenge’ named after a player that Dafuge did it with, maybe as much as 15 or even 20 years ago.

This will make the challenge more difficult, as I will have to find (or have fall in my lap through youth intake) a suitable young striker.

I have never even come close to having a player score 1,000 goals for me. I think my personal record might be about 400. However, I’ve never specifically based an entire save around doing it.

The ‘rule’ for the challenge is that the player must score all his goals for me in competitive matches. This might include international goals if I’m the international manager, but I’ve probably made international management (at least of England) more difficult by having my manager be Icelandic.

I’m not necessarily going to prioritise finding the young striker immediately, as the priority will be to get to the Premier League first, and then find a good enough young striker.

I’m also starting off with no qualifications or badges to make it more difficult. I’m not sure if my manager being a woman will also add difficulty. AFAIK it doesn’t.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Interesting idea for a save buddy. I look forward to seeing how you get on with it.

I think it will be near difficult to get a player to score 1,000 goals for your club. 

Mostly cos players aren't very loyal to clubs anymore and any half decent striker you have will want to leave as soon as a bigger club comes along.

Also your striker would have probably have to play every game for 20 seasons and score 50 plus goals every season.

I aint saying it is impossible but I don't envy you trying to achieve this lol.

Good luck buddy and I am really looking forward to seeing how you get on with this.

 

[vikeologist]

22/23 Season Report

My squad really didn’t fit my preferred tactics. In particular I basically had no wingers. I brought in a couple on loan, but this meant that I had 8 loan players, only 5 of whom I could use in any league match.

It looked for a while that we stood a decent chance of automatic promotion but injuries caused a bad run of results.

In the end we had to settle for the playoffs. We won all 3 matches and were promoted. Honestly, all the matches were close and we were lucky, but it doesn’t matter.

With half the first team leaving at the end of their loan spells plus most of the backups, I’ll have to completely rebuild the team for L1, but at least I’ll be able to bring in some players I want.

As for the 1,000 goal challenge, we had a promising youngster come through the youth intake, and he did score a fantastic goal in his first match, but he’s really not good enough yet. However, all our strikers are leaving, so I might give him a chance next season to learn on the job. I doubt he’s the guy for the challenge though. Too soon.

Top Goalscorer – Dara Costelloe – 24

One of my loan players. Wasn’t anything special. I’m not particularly interested in trying to get him back.

Highest Average Rating (minimum 10 matches played) Scott Banks – 7.06

Another loanee who played on the left wing and was the only player in the entire squad to average more than 7. We really weren’t very good. Not sure how we were promoted.

Man of The Match – Harry Lewis – 6

Not a loanee. Not as good as in real life, (in fact he made some absolute howlers) but in the playoff final he was amazing.  

MVP – Harry Lewis

Just for that final match really.

Current / All time Danny Roberts

Dara Costelloe – 24 goals, 20 years old (and leaving at end of loan).

Domestic
Season	Division	Position	MVP			Notes										
22/23	League 2	6th		Harry Lewis		Luckily promoted via playoffs (with rubbish squad).

 

[vikeologist]

7 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Interesting idea for a save buddy. I look forward to seeing how you get on with it.

I think it will be near difficult to get a player to score 1,000 goals for your club. 

Mostly cos players aren't very loyal to clubs anymore and any half decent striker you have will want to leave as soon as a bigger club comes along.

Also your striker would have probably have to play every game for 20 seasons and score 50 plus goals every season.

I aint saying it is impossible but I don't envy you trying to achieve this lol.

Good luck buddy and I am really looking forward to seeing how you get on with this.

 

It probably is impossible, but I just want to see how close i can get. However, for the first 3 seasons it's just about getting promoted.

It seems my tactics work better at the top level than lower leagues, and certainly I've had players scoring more at that level. I reckon that once we're in the Champions League and the dominant club I can get 60-70 goals a season from my striker at their peak. We'll also need to be one of the top clubs in the world to stop them wanting to leave.

But it would mean finding someone who I can start by about 18 at the latest, and then I need them to be able to take penalties, have the stamina to play every match and not be injury prone. And I need a lot of luck. In reality I won't be doing the DR bit for a few seasons.

Edited June 26, 2023 by vikeologist

[Ronaldo Beckham]

5 minutes ago, vikeologist said:

It probably is impossible, but I just want to see how close i can get. However, for the first 3 seasons it's just about getting promoted.

It seems my tactics work better at the top level than lower leagues, and certainly I've had players scoring more at that level. I reckon that once we're in the Champions League and the dominant club I can get 60-70 goals a season from my striker at their peak. We'll also need to be one of the top clubs in the world to stop them wanting to leave.

But it would mean finding someone who I can start by about 18 at the latest, and then I need them to be able to take penalties, have the stamina to play every match and not be injury prone. And I need a lot of luck. In reality I won't be doing the DR bit for a few seasons.

Yeah sorry if it sounded like I was pooping on your idea. 

I was just saying mathmatically it will be a tough one but no impossible.

I do hope you do it as it would be really cool to see. I look forward to seeing how close you get.

 

[vikeologist]

7 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Yeah sorry if it sounded like I was pooping on your idea. 

I was just saying mathmatically it will be a tough one but no impossible.

I do hope you do it as it would be really cool to see. I look forward to seeing how close you get.

 

Oh no, I didn't think it was pooping. It's just that I've settled on a tactic this year that seems to be producing results that make this viable for the first and only time.

But I don't expect to succeed, and really this is mostly just a straightforward make my club the best in the world thing.

[karanhsingh]

Following! What tactic are you using?

[vikeologist]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Following! What tactic are you using?

Slightly modified downloaded tactic from FM22 Beta times. 22BETAME21.7PILGRIMAGEKnapLordIWB41230P259(41221P98ALLCUPS.fmf

Is using downloaded tactics (even modified ones)against house rules? Understand if people don't want to follow based on that, but it's not the tactical side of the game that I'm interested in, as much as player development.

[vikeologist]

23/24 Season Report

 

With 4 matches to go we were in 3^rd place, out of the automatic promotion places on (considerable) goal difference, but it was in our hands because the top 2 had to play each other. We were at least guaranteed a playoff spot.

Barrow 1-0 Up to 2^nd place.

Wigan 3-1, still in 2^nd, but still only 2 points between 1^st and 4^th.

In the penultimate matches, we play Stoke in 3^rd place, and the teams in 1^st and 4^th play each other. So the automatic promotion places could be decided right there.

 

Stoke 0-1 That was a disaster, and with the top team winning as well, it means we need a miracle in the last match to be promoted automatically. Stoke need to not win at home against the 3^rd from bottom side, (and obviously we would need to win as well).

Lincoln 2-1 Managed to turn the match around with the winning goal in the dying minutes, but it was all for nothing as Stoke won.

I mean, really unlucky not to get promoted with 91 points.

So, playoffs, which I’ll do tomorrow. So this is just part 1 of the season report.

Oh, we won the Pizza Cup. Hoo bloody ray!

[Sahaj Oberoi]

Interesting save.

[karanhsingh]

Hope you go up !

[vikeologist]

23/24 Season Report - Part 2, Playoffs

 

Semi-final

Plymouth    1-1    Bradford

Bradford     2-0    Plymouth

The second, home leg at least was fairly comfortable. I hoped that Fleetwood who also had a lot of points during the regular season, would fail, but they made it to the final on penalties.

Final

Bradford     3-3p  Fleetwood

3-1 up I took off some of my best players who were on yellow cards and likely to be sent off. It wasn’t an unfounded fear. Richie Smallwood, my defensive midfielder, picked up 27 yellows and a red this season. Last season he picked up 16 yellows and 5 reds. He spends more time suspended than playing matches in the second half of seasons.

They pulled a goal back, and then our striker who I had to keep on in case of penalties was sent off.

91 minutes – They equalise, it’s ruled out.

94 minutes- They’re awarded a penalty. We save it.

96 minutes – Their relentless pressure pays off and they equalise. We’re down to 10 men.

Nonetheless, nothing happens on extra time, and it goes to penalties.

Which we lose.

 

Obviously, a disappointing season in the end. I probably would have succeeded if I’d had a larger squad. I had a couple of spaces and wage room, and still had some deadwood in the squad, but I was being conservative. I also want to give chances to and develop younger players.

It does mean that we made some money. We should be capable of promotion next season. I only had 4 loan players, and none of them were really fixed first teamers.

 Squad Screenshots

Spoiler

Top Goalscorer – Jamie Walker – 21

An attacking midfielder. I play with one striker and none of them really inspire confidence in me.

I used 3 this season.

Joe Hugill (loanee)– 18 goals. Minutes on pitch per goal – 155

Charlie Wyke (loanee) – 6 goals. Moppg – 190

I brought him in at the end of the season to replace Hugill and take us over the line. Given his stats and the fact that he was the guy sent off in the playoff final, that didn’t work.

Jaden Williams – 13 goals. Moppg – 108

A 19 year old I bought at the start of the season. He did ok, but is rated much lower than the 2 loanees, and I didn’t really have faith in him. However, he has improved, and it’s possible I’ll run with him next season. I don’t think he has anywhere near the quality or personality to be my Danny Roberts though. That will have to wait.

Given this is a 1,000 goal challenge, you might at this point think I’m going to struggle to get 100 goals out of a striker in his career, but I’m confident the right guy will be able to put up big numbers in the Premier League.

Highest Average Rating (minimum 10 matches played) Jamie Walker – 7.20

31 next month but should have a couple more productive seasons in him.

Man of The Match – Jamie Walker – 12

MVP – Jamie Walker

Current / All time Danny Roberts

Jamie Walker – 35 goals, 30 years old

Domestic
Season	Division	Position	MVP			Notes										
22/23	League 2	6th		Harry Lewis		Luckily promoted via playoffs (with rubbish squad).
23/24	league 1	3rd		Jamie Walker 		Lost in playoff final on penalties. Won Pizza Cup.