The FM24 Youth Academy Challenge

[glennuk]

Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 22 - Japan J1 League - End of Season Review & Youth Intake

League - 4th

We were first at the mid way point but couldn't keep it up. We were even 2nd and 2 points off top with 4 games to go but only 4 points in those 4 games left us in 4th. Unfortunately it didn't even get us into the Champions league as the 4th spot goes to the winner of the all japan cup (unless they are already in the top 3). It is our best finish yet, so we can't be too disappointed, but I did feel like we could have won the league here!!

The Squad

A great season and I am getting more and more confident in growing depth up front and in the defence. We still need to bolster the midfield. Naoki Kato (YP06F) is our captain and least talented (by attributes) player, but is so consistent in his performances that he is keeping his starting spot. Haruhiko Ninomiya (YP14K) got a mention earlier and has continued to be a great marauding full back back, with plenty of assists, a goal to his name and a place in the J1 Team of the Year.

Youth Intake

We were hoping for a good intake and this may be one of our strongest yet with NINE elite talents.

I signed all tagged

Top 3 - Youth Intake 22

Toshiaki Nakamura (YP22A)

A good looking CB to add to our list of potential heavy defenders. A good personality with an amazing starting work rate and tackling. No key attributes under an 8. The sky is the limit for this youngster.

Yosuke Tanaka (YP22B)

Has future starting keeper written all over him. Good attributes and not the worst height (which has been an option for many of our keepers so far). Is already the 2nd best keeper in the entire squad so could be getting some game time in cups relatively soon.

Daisuke Fukuoka (YP22C)

Very excited to see a striker with 16 finishing and 15 first touch at such a young age. Will almost certainly make it to the first team and could be a key player for us moving forward.

 

Edited March 31 by glennuk

[leicester33]

3 hours ago, Padders said:

Season 88 - 2110/11 - SBC

Another play off finish, this time 3rd

We were actually 2nd for a lot of the season but a few losses towards the end of the season meant we finished 3rd which was very frustrating, Sunderland in good form in the run in

We lost the 1st leg of the Play Off Semi Final 0-1

But turned the 2nd leg around to win 3-1

And we won the FInal!

1-0 vs Ipswich

Chris Bull won Young Player of the Year and 2nd in goal of the season (that goal I clipped above)

A quick update on Dylan Cox, first season at Madrid

Now worth £77m-£114m 

22 goals in 45 games

And got his first England Senior Cap

Unlucky with Dylan Cox. Congrats on being promoted though!

[Koetzer]

Livorno | Season 2027/28 | Serie C/B

After seven games we were bottom with only two points, so I decided to change formation to 4-3-3 and promoted several youngsters to the first team. This change worked, and we were playoffs contenders until another bad run in spring. I hope that was the start of our real progress.

Coppa Serie С

It was actually the first game which we played with the new tactics, and a shootout loss was quite a good result for our backup players.

Squad stats

The main result of this season is two our academy graduates – Balduini and Amelio appearing as regular starters and several others becoming useful backups. Sabattini took the mezzala spot in 4-3-3 and performed well, leading the team in assists. Lack of a consistent goalscorer is our main concern so far, Rossetti scored 10 but only two of these goals came after October. Glad he agreed to sign a new contract anyway, as we don’t have a better striker yet.

 

Transfers – normally you don’t release an A-rated prospect after just two years, but Pedaggi had several serious injuries (for more than a year combined) and hardly can develop into a first team player now.  

Youth intake (preview)

Battocchio *28a | Kouamé *28b | Adamo *28c | Zellini *28d | Manzo *28e | Palmisano *28f | Del Coco *28g

A good defensive midfielder and more wingers for our formation. And it's nice to see all unambitious players in the bottom part of the list  

Facilities need some upgrade, but we can’t afford such investments in this division yet.

[libbyshuss]

Lyra Lierse - Belgium

Pro Jupiler League - 2nd

Croky Cup - Semi Final

Champions League - Knock Out Round

kinda frustrating season where we were so close yet in the end so far to winning anything. All we had to do in the league was win the final game... and we lost it

We had our best season yet in the Champions League until we met Liverpool in the knock out round - they were just a class above. We were lucky to win the first leg and got what we deserved in the second leg

 

Players

I got a new wonderkid! which was nice, as he was really only playing because of injuries!

he also got golden boy!

Last years Golden Boy was having a good season up until March when....

 

Youth

This year look like the best intake for a good while, although not quite up to 2039 standards. But still quite excited by the top 3

 

Where Are They Now? 2046 edition

Francis Azeez - back up keeper, been out on loan, probably not gonna be any better than back up though

Yaro Kraftt - looked such a good prospect and yet.... he is awful! i still have him for some reason.

Geilson Felicio - Great player, golden boy winner, not a wonderkid but gonna be a first team player for years. Declared for Brazil but no caps yet

Aldo Coppin - He's been out on loan and done ok. Probably will be a good squad/back up player

Anthony Bosc - he went to Antwerp, no regrats

Fabian Gielen - sold for 20k, far more than he is actually worth

Pasquale Monti - defender, not a good one either. and i'm so desperate for decent defenders.

 

Career

[Anners]

Previous Post:

On 25/03/2024 at 14:49, Anners said:

Previous Post:

2064/65 Season Report

Club: Tranent FC (Scotland)
League: Scottish Premiership

 

League:

Have we finally kicked up another level? We actually started quite slowly, but after about November, we just seemed unstoppable. There's a fairly clear difference between our league games and our European games (as you'll see), but we've hopefully got to the point where we can actually start dominating the league. The youth players breaking through are of the highest standard we've ever had and we're seemingly doing a better job of keeping our best players now.

We still don't have a talismanic figure who is head and shoulders above everyone in the squad, but we're so much more better all over the pitch instead.

Cups:

"So much more better all over the pitch instead" he says. Gets knocked out of both cups reasonably early. Probably why we ended up going on a massive run in the league!

Europe:

We get knocked out of the Champions League in the League Phase for the first time in 12 years. Aleksandar Zhelyazkov picked up a broken leg playing for Bulgaria at the start of October and you can see we found finding the back of the net difficult without him in those European games. We've actually got a very good defence, but we just couldn't find the back of the net as only one more point would've seen us scrape through.

World:

Oh this is a new thing...! Due to our Conference League win and winning the competition in a "good" year, we actually qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup!

Somehow we almost won the entire thing! A 94th minute equaliser from Real Madrid, which to be fair was incredibly deserved, meant we lose in the final. We do seem to be on the edge of an "interesting" season at least. A breakthrough is coming at some point!

Youth Intake:

I missed the youth candidates filter on the squad, annoyingly so it's a little bit out of order! Some good depth here, none of them look anywhere close to getting near the first team though sadly. We are struggling a little bit for top, top prospects, but considering at this point I'm sending anyone that can go out on loan on loan to get football, it's actually meaning we're getting depth in the first team out of nowhere. I'd have given up on a few of the 2-3 star potential players previously, but as they're getting first team football almost instantly, they're progressing a lot quicker I've found.

Last 5 Years:

 

2065/66 Season Report

Club: Tranent FC (Scotland)
League: Scottish Premiership

 

League:

Three in a row now and I'd like to think it's fairly safe to say we've finally stepped up to that next level that's been evading us for so long! It was actually another very straight forward season and we were a class above anyone in the league itself. Annoyingly, the only 2 losses were after the League Cup Final and on the last day to St Johnstone. Defence only conceding 23 times was fantastic, although a lot of that was in the 2nd half of the season through rotations and resting players.

Cups:

Absolutely destroyed in the League Cup, although we did get away with a penalty win in the Scottish Cup against St Johnstone. Means we take a nice and our first domestic treble!

Europe:

We get through to the Quarter Final for the first time and we narrowly lose out to eventual winners Barcelona. We're getting closer and closer and we're definitely starting to get there. Had a lovely reunion with Connor Grant who apparently still likes us:

He'd have probably got us over the "dominating" Scotland step a couple years earlier than I did if he stayed. Not that I'm salty or anything..

Youth Intake:

Again, not actually that much to see in our Youth Intake. Although we're having so many players develop that our staff get wrong it's a bit silly now.

Other Business:

We've got 2 players in the NXGN list, landing 1st and 6th! Brian Leighton and Steve Court. Leighton is probably the first player I've had that I've been able to keep hold of that is very clearly too good for the Scottish Premiership. Another year or so of development and he might be able to get into that World Class group. Court on the other hand looks to have some real high potential and has the highest value of anyone in the league by about £40m. He'll be getting a lot of minutes in this upcoming season, as I'd sent him on loan to Hearts for the 2nd half of the year last year and he completely ripped apart the Championship.

Last 5 Years:

Edited March 30 by Anners

[Stekalo]

 

GUISELEY (ENGLAND)

SEASON 1

2024/25

 

Elite  Danny Ashworth Y25EA1 | Craig Smalley Y25EB2 | Felix Hagman Y25EC3 | Oliver Cook Y25ED4 | Flavius Rotar Y25EE5 | Steve Swany Y25EF6 | Mark Styles Y25EG7 | Stephen Owino Y25EH8 | James Page Y25EI9 | Bernard Camilleri Y25EJ10 | Sanchez Roden Y25EK11 | Adam White Y25EL12 | Oran Crook Y25EM13

Top Curtis O'HaraY25TN14| Yamba Da Piedade Y25TO15 | Daniel Gòmez Y25TP16

 

 

 

 

Season     Reputation            Qualifications     Att  Def  Fit  GkD  GkH  GkS  Tac  Tec  Men  SeP  WWY  Ada  Det  PlK  YoK  LoD  PeM  Mot
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At start   Minimal   (0.50*)     None                 1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    5    1    1    1    1    3    3    1
2024/25    Minimal   (0,50*)     Nat B License ↑↑     6↑↑  6↑↑  3↑↑  1=   2↑   1=   6↑↑  6↑↑  6↑↑  3↑   5=   1=   5↑↑  5↑↑  5↑↑  8↑↑  7↑↑  6↑↑

Club Facilities

 

Season     Training Facilities  Youth Facilities  Youth Level  Corporate Facilities  Junior Coaching  Youth Recruitment  Club Reputation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Start        Adequate            Adequate          3               Basic              Average            Basic         Below Avg(1*)
2024/25         Adequate            Adequate=         3=              Basic=             Good↑              Basic=        Below Avg(1*)=

Season Record

Season     Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference     Win Percentage
2024/25      52        27       5        20         142            129                +13                51,92%

Overall Career Record

After Season   Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference     Win Percentage     Time At Club
2024/25          52        27       5        20         142            129                 +13               51,92%              363

Transfer Sale Record

Date               Player                    Position               Club Sold To                 Country                   Transfer Fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trophy Haul

Season     Competition Won
--------------------------

Trophy Cabinet

League Titles
-------------

Cup Competition Victories
-------------------------

Career Overview

Season     Champions League    Europa League    Europa Conference League             League                   Position        F.A. Cup           Carabao Cup            Achievements
2024/25           -                  -                     -              Vanarama National League North         7th    4th qualifying round     Second round    Missed out on promotion playoffs

Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                          Cumulative Number of Appearances
2024/25  Steve Swan Y25EF6                              3

Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                          Cumulative Number of Goals
2024/25  Mark Styles Y25EG7                             2

Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                          Cumulative Number of Assists
2024/25  Mark Styles Y25EG7                             1

Record Number of Clean Sheets (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                          Cumulative Number of Clean Sheets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edited March 31 by Stekalo
inserted career overviews

[CJ'43]

 

Kavala Football Club / Αθλητικός Όμιλος Καβάλα

Season 22 - 2045/46

Schedule / Squad / Transfers / Finances / Manager

 

Season Summary: after missing out on Champions League qualification, we were confident that this time we'd be able to finish in the top 4 spots and qualify for UEFA's top competition again. We had some unexpected losses in the regular phase, but we were able to finish the first half of the season in the top spot after a run of 12 unbeaten games and one point ahead of Olympiacos. In the championship group, we lost 3 matches and were overtaken in the first position by Olympiacos, but we were able to win 4-1 in Athens, leaving the decision to the last day, where we defeated AEK at home and saw Olympiacos lose to Panathinaikos, as we lifted our second-ever Greek title. Kavala's Super League stats

In the cup, we reached the semi-finals after leaving behind Aiolikos, Chania, and Aris from the lower division, before falling against Olympiacos with an aggregate of 3-2.

However, our European campaign started on the wrong foot, losing to Valencia in the first game of the group phase. We were able, however, to win 4 games and draw the other 3, reaching the 8th place to qualify for the Round of 16, where we beat Rangers. In the quarter-finals, we faced Panathinaikos, and the 3-0 win at home was a comfortable advantage; however, we struggled in the away game, losing 2-0 but still qualifying for the next round. We faced Sporting, and a 2-0 win in Lisbon was once again a decent advantage. This time at home, we controlled the match and won again, reaching our second-ever European final. Last time we were in the Europa League final, five years ago, we lost 2-1 to AEK.

We traveled to Austria to face Roma. The game was actually pretty boring, aside from a Roma goal in the 7th minute, ruled offside by the referee, with no real chances for either side. In extra time, Roma had the best chances to take the lead; however, our keeper showed a lot of class, stopping a total of 6 shots in the game to take the match to penalties, where Nikos Tsokaktsidis 32a shined once again, stopping the last two shots by Roma players, and we scored four of our penalties to take home our first-ever European title! Roma vs Kavala match stats

 

Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c was one of the most influential players this year. The center-back was elected the 2nd most promising player in the world in the NXGN list. He also won the Talent of the Year award in the league for the best young player, with Christos Vertopoulos 40b in 2nd and Stefanos Torosidis 40a in 3rd place. Nikos Siaperas 36d was the best Greek player in the league, followed by Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c and Dimitris Chatzigiannis 36e. Part of the Super League best XI were Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c, Dimitris Chatzigiannis 36e, Nikos Siaperas 36d, Apostolos Karounis 34a, and Tryfonas Synodinos 37d. Inspired by this thread, I made our GKs sometimes take our penalties, and Nikos Tsokaktsidis 32a was able to put 3 in the back of the net this season. I was elected Manager of the Year for the 5th time.

 Nikos Siaperas 36d was also the 3rd best player in the Europa League, where three of our players made it to the best XI of the competition.

Our assistant manager, Pau Martí, retired from football. Sammy Braybrooke, former Leicester player, is now my second man.
The Greek national team qualified for the World Cup, and eight of our players were in the pool to represent Greece in the tournament; however, only Tryfonas Synodinos 37d made the final squad. Still, five former Kavala players will be in the tournament.
 

Youth intake: A few interesting players as Giorgos Lyberakis 46a and Savvas Zirnas 46b, but not our best intake in recent years... Our U19 team, however, continues to show great form, winning their 13th consecutive league title and their 3rd consecutive Youth League. They also won the Euro/South American Super Cup again. Back-to-back European titles for the young Kavala boys... can we repeat their history and lift the Champions League title next season...?

 

Team history:

 

Manager history:

Edited April 10 by CJ'43

[leicester33]

5 minutes ago, CJ'43 said:

 

Kavala Football Club / Αθλητικός Όμιλος Καβάλα

Season 22 - 2045/

Schedule / Squad / Transfers / Finances / Manager

 

Season Summary: after missing out on Champions League qualification, we were confident that this time we'd be able to finish in the top 4 spots and qualify for UEFA's top competition again. We had some unexpected losses in the regular phase, but we were able to finish the first half of the season in the top spot after a run of 12 unbeaten games and one point ahead of Olympiacos. In the championship group, we lost 3 matches and were overtaken in the first position by Olympiacos, but we were able to win 4-1 in Athens, leaving the decision to the last day, where we defeated AEK at home and saw Olympiacos lose to Panathinaikos, as we lifted our second-ever Greek title. Kavala's Super League stats

In the cup, we reached the semi-finals after leaving behind Aiolikos, Chania, and Aris from the lower division, before falling against Olympiacos with an aggregate of 3-2.

However, our European campaign started on the wrong foot, losing to Valencia in the first game of the group phase. We were able, however, to win 4 games and draw the other 3, reaching the 8th place to qualify for the Round of 16, where we beat Rangers. In the quarter-finals, we faced Panathinaikos, and the 3-0 win at home was a comfortable advantage; however, we struggled in the away game, losing 2-0 but still qualifying for the next round. We faced Sporting, and a 2-0 win in Lisbon was once again a decent advantage. This time at home, we controlled the match and won again, reaching our second-ever European final. Last time we were in the Europa League final, five years ago, we lost 2-1 to AEK.

We traveled to Austria to face Roma. The game was actually pretty boring, aside from a Roma goal in the 7th minute, ruled offside by the referee, with no real chances for either side. In extra time, Roma had the best chances to take the lead; however, our keeper showed a lot of class, stopping a total of 6 shots in the game to take the match to penalties, where Nikos Tsokaktsidis 32a shined once again, stopping the last two shots by Roma players, and we scored four of our penalties to take home our first-ever European title! Roma vs Kavala match stats

 

Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c was one of the most influential players this year. The center-back was elected the 2nd most promising player in the world in the NXGN list. He also won the Talent of the Year award in the league for the best young player, with Christos Vertopoulos 40b in 2nd and Stefanos Torosidis 40a in 3rd place. Nikos Siaperas 36d was the best Greek player in the league, followed by Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c and Dimitris Chatzigiannis 36e. Part of the Super League best XI were Dimitris Tsoktouridis 42c, Dimitris Chatzigiannis 36e, Nikos Siaperas 36d, Apostolos Karounis 34a, and Tryfonas Synodinos 37d. Inspired by this thread, I made our GKs sometimes take our penalties, and Nikos Tsokaktsidis 32a was able to put 3 in the back of the net this season. I was elected Manager of the Year for the 5th time.

 Nikos Siaperas 36d was also the 3rd best player in the Europa League, where three of our players made it to the best XI of the competition.

Our assistant manager, Pau Martí, retired from football. Sammy Braybrooke, former Leicester player, is now my second man.
The Greek national team qualified for the World Cup, and eight of our players were in the pool to represent Greece in the tournament; however, only Tryfonas Synodinos 37d made the final squad. Still, five former Kavala players will be in the tournament.
 

Youth intake: A few interesting players as Giorgos Lyberakis 46a and Savvas Zirnas 46b, but not our best intake in recent years... Our U19 team, however, continues to show great form, winning their 13th consecutive league title and their 3rd consecutive Youth League. They also won the Euro/South American Super Cup again. Back-to-back European titles for the young Kavala boys... can we repeat their history and lift the Champions League title next season...?

 

Team history:

 

Manager history:

Congrats on the Europa League trophy!

[glennuk]

Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 23 - Japan J1 League - Mid Season Review & Youth Intake Preview

League - 18th

Disaster so far, we had the high of last year (4th) and haven't changed much, so I have no idea what has gone wrong here. I am literally baffled.

Amazing NEWS - The Holy Grail!!!

After not having the option for literally decades, I can now finally improve my Youth Facilities!!!!

Player Sales

Yoo Sung-Hee (YP19D) & Seiya Wada (YP18B)

We sold both as neither were lighting it up in the league with their performances and the fees involved turned their heads. Both heading off to Korea also means they can't hurt us in the short term!!

Youth Intake Preview

We have what looks like our worst preview in many a year. Frustrating after the high of last years intake. Hopefully it will be better than it looks.

Edited March 31 by glennuk

[leicester33]

FC Kufstein - Introduction

 

I'm beginning another save after getting bored with my Macclesfield save. Have a feeling this save will be good.

 

Beginning Squad:

[glennuk]

Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 23 - Japan J1 League - End of Season Review & Youth Intake

League

We just had a bad season. Nothing much to say except our end of season form was our best form with 10 points in the last 5 games. Unsure what exactly went wrong, but going from 4th to 16th is just not good enough. On the last game of the season we just had to match Oitas result (as we had the far superior Goal Difference), which fortunately we did with a pretty comfortable 2-0 win away at Shonan.

Squad

We have been starting to blood in some new youngsters and Tetsushi Yamauchi (YP20E) has become our new star CB in the last few games of the season (after being out on loan). Yoshihiko Ichimura (YP19B) has also recently taken the starting RB role and has potential to keep growing. I truly believe these two changes are what contributed to our improved end of season form. Hiroshi Yamada (YP21A) our youngest regular starter in the first team has been a great replacement for the outgoing Seiya Wada (YP18B) and also has star potential. So although this season has been a failure, it has been exciting to see some of these youngsters get into the first team and show some real quality.

Finances and Training Facilities Upgrade

Luckily with our two big sales our finances were in great order. This allowed us to get another Training Facility upgrade. Even after the 5 million upgrade we still made a profit of 5 million over the course of the season.

 

Youth Intake

The preview was not promising at all and after our great intake last year, this one is not too impressive. Not many of the players here look like future starters, apart from the 3 listed below.

Top 3 - Youth Intake 23

Naoto Sakai (YP23A)

A great looking keeper and still my favorite player of the intake. The only pity is that we just got a strong keeper in last years intake. However I love the Resolute personality and having two strong keepers is better than none, which is what has been our reality for a number of years. Could be a great backup (currently 3rd choice already) and hopefully with a couple of years of improvement will be pushing to be 1st or 2nd choice at the club.

Shin'ya Hara (YP23B)

A player who doesn't immediately show a lot of promise, but I am struggling to have depth in the midfield, so maybe my B rating is more out of hope than expectation. A decent personality with some okay all around attributes. Lots of areas to improve and he may never make the first team, but let's hope he does.

Katsunori Watanabe (YP23C)

Our CB factory just keeps spitting them out. We always seem to have good CBs in our intakes and this one looks like he has a lot of promise The physicals immediately stand out as needing improvement, but I love the composure, work rate and especially his tackling. Is probably about 6th choice already at the CB position, but has potential. Will be in the youth team for a while and then loaned out when 18, will he ever make the first team....who knows, but again here is to hoping!

Edited March 31 by glennuk

[leicester33]

2024-25 Youth Candidates:

 

Matej Andric:

 

Christian Rossmann:

[leicester33]

This stinks 

Edited March 31 by leicester33

[Ron_Swanson]

[FM23] Reymersholms IK - season 30 - 2052

A fine intake with Karl-Johan Hallberg standing out - promoted to first team, rest will develope in youth team. Too bad we lack a decent center backs as I desperately need them.

Fantastic season for us. Grabbing a 5th place is way above expectations, we have a chance for Conference League - depending of results of Swedish cup. This will be hard to repeat though because we lost Olof Rosen (second best DC) before season start, he wanted to leave to better team, Kalmar made a decent offer and he's gone. Same thing will probably happen at this season change with Alfred Jandel-Holst and Rudolf Kjernholm - last year of contracts and no way to convince them to stay. As for offensive side I'm not that worried, there are some youngsters ready waiting for a spot in rotation, but we'll be left with only one good DC.

Next thing that bothers me more and more are our facilities. The youth facilities are being downgraded and I don't even have a chance to talk about upgrading for years. Our stadium with a capacity of 7200 is over 95% full on average but every time I ask for expansion or even building a new one I get the same response from the board - we don't have enough fanbase. We have almost 50m balance so we could easily afford it but they don't want to.

"Are you winning, son?" David is retiring now at the age of 36 with 437 league apps so it's a solid number, he never made it above 3rd division so not very succesfull career.

[SkiIIs]

On 30/03/2024 at 01:28, glennuk said:

That 3 for Working with Youngsters would scare me off although he literally has the 'perfect personality'. Anyone better interested?

was reluctant to change as he was producing the goods...  one poor intake and this is our new man

[XaW]

1 hour ago, leicester33 said:

This stinks 

Tough one, but all part and parcel of this challenge. Expect many more of those if you keep playing here!  

[SkiIIs]

Season 4 2027/28 - Macclesfield - VNL

Season continued on from the poor finish from last season with more downs than ups. Apart from the first few games, we were never more than a couple spots above the relegation zone but only ever spent 3 weeks in those spots throughout the whole season until there was only 2 games to go. Last year we may have rode our luck in those last two games to stay up, it was the complete opposite this year. We were at home to Torquay and were up 2 - 0 and ended up drawing that game 2 - 2 whilst Northampton scored a 95th minute equaliser to ensure we were in 21st spot going into the last week. We needed a draw and Northampton to lose which they did 2 - 0.  We were down 2 - 1 and had a chance to equalise from the spot but missed and copped another at the death when we pushed hard to find that goal that would keep us up. 

To be fair, it was coming and i think its a bit of a lesson for transitioning to youth way too quickly.  But thats fine, Im willing to play the long game.  The only issue is my 5 best youth prospects that are my 5 best players all approached me telling me they want to leave cos we got relegated so we may need to digress a bit before we progress. 

Couple of improvements this year, one to youth recruitment which has made that to Good.  Our youth rating improved to 3 from our request from last season. The other improvement was a little weird, I approached the board after the season to improve the youth rating and after rejecting it initially, they approved after i convinced them.  However they improved my youth facilities and spent every penny we had in the bank to do so. 

Spoiler

Youth Intake

Had hoped for a similar intake as last year however this one isnt to that level and hence I made a move to my HOYD per my previous post. Whats most disappointing are the personalities and I dont have the senior players to be able to mentor it out of them yet. 

Pics were taking at the end of the season. 

Christian Rush 28A might soon be my starting winger especially if I cant hold on to Tim Abele 26B. Has good pace and good with the ball and despite being unambitious, has good determination. 

Malcolm Cooke 28B has some deceptively decent attributes and once those 9's turn into double figures, he will look the sorts. Is slack officially the worse personality?  Ive had 2 highly rated prospects at left back that havent quite made it and is a problem position for me. 

Craig Faherty 28C has some decent stats for a striker. Oliver Harvey 26A hasnt been notching enough and wants to move on so he might get a chance sooner rather than later. 

 

 

[glennuk]

Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 24 - Japan J1 league - Mid Season Review & Youth Intake Preview

League

So far it seems back to normal. After last seasons horrendous performance we are back battling for the top 6. I think we are now at the stage where battling for those Champions League Places should be the norm. Still one of the best attacking teams in the league and slowly working on improving that defensive record.

Too much money

So I was losing multiple millions a year in Tax, so I thought why not ask to buy our stadium. maybe we will finally have the option to expand it if we buy it. So let's see how that goes. We currently have over 30 million in the bank so it shouldn't be a problem (hopefully).

Youth Intake Preview

After a relatively poor intake last season I was desperately hoping for a good one. Hirotada Asato, our HOYD, looks like he is back on form. A couple of new midfielders would be IDEAL!

[glennuk]

Sorry to see that @SkiIIs - hopefully you will jump right back up next year.

May be worth keeping those players (unless they get sold from underneath you) at least to get back up quick enough. May also help with the finances, as all of those upgrades add up to extra monthly expenses too.

Also in my book, yes Slack is the worst personality  

[leicester33]

58 minutes ago, XaW said:

Tough one, but all part and parcel of this challenge. Expect many more of those if you keep playing here!  

That's exactly what im expecting and also why im not stopping! At some point I'll not get relegated... hopefully

[XaW]

1 minute ago, leicester33 said:

That's exactly what im expecting and also why im not stopping! At some point I'll not get relegated... hopefully

Keep at it! And remember to enjoy the journey itself too!  

[leicester33]

1 minute ago, XaW said:

Keep at it! And remember to enjoy the journey itself too!  

This is unrelated, but should I do Germany next? I remember seeing that you couldn't promote youth players in the first season there. Is this still the case?

[glennuk]

1 minute ago, leicester33 said:

This is unrelated, but should I do Germany next? I remember seeing that you couldn't promote youth players in the first season there. Is this still the case?

I think someone completed Germany this year, so I assume all is good with it.

Edit: Just checked @komein svedu did the challenge with Carl Zeiss Jena and @thomas_e with Energie Cottbus on FM24 so should be ready to go.

[XaW]

1 minute ago, leicester33 said:

This is unrelated, but should I do Germany next? I remember seeing that you couldn't promote youth players in the first season there. Is this still the case?

Yes, but no, sort of. Players can't play until they are registered (and it's locked when the intake comes along), and they can only be registered after they are 16. So players not 16 when the summer window closes (~Sept 1st) will have to wait until the winter break. But they can be registered then, so it's not really bad. I think the old rule was 17, and that was a pain, but it's better now. I don't really have an issue with it.

[leicester33]

3 minutes ago, XaW said:

Yes, but no, sort of. Players can't play until they are registered (and it's locked when the intake comes along), and they can only be registered after they are 16. So players not 16 when the summer window closes (~Sept 1st) will have to wait until the winter break. But they can be registered then, so it's not really bad. I think the old rule was 17, and that was a pain, but it's better now. I don't really have an issue with it.

Ok that's fine enough

[Neo_Geo]

Hi everyone, hope you are all well.

After taking an extended break from playing the game (and being on here) this challenge has pulled me back and to see Northern Ireland still hasn't been completed I have to give it a go once again.

It was basically a choice between Crewe United and Belfast Celtic and well you can tell from my avatar I wasn't going to do the challenge as the latter.

I did some reading on Crewe United and they are a real community based club trying to bring people together through football so whilst I have nothing that connects me with the club I can perhaps grow into it.

A squad of 16 to start the challenge with

Only one relegation spot from 14 so I am fairly confident I can keep the club up.

Unlike my last game with Hapoel Ra'anana where I decided to stick with an incredibly attacking formation I'll be taking the traditional route here and pick a formation that best fits the players at the club just now.

Edited March 31 by Neo_Geo

[glennuk]

Rein Meer AKA Reinberg - Season 24 - Japan J1 League - End of Season Review & Youth Intake

League - 8th

We continued to battle in and around the playoff places, but ultimately it was a disappointing 8th place finish. I went straight onto the next season and forgot the end of Season Screenshot so this is 5 months later (just in case it looks weird/you see the date)

The Squad

We are constantly trying to bring in those with 5* potential, or who we can see are going through a lot of improvements/progress in the training screen (green arrows and graphs). Both our CMs are new to the starting 11 and playing very well with 5* potential. Yosuke Tanaka (YP22B) is a great Goalie who has become number 1 at 18. He is my first player to be wanted by big European club though, so who knows how long he will stay.

One of our new starting CMs Kentaro Ishikura (YP21D) even got the Best Rookie award!

 

Poached Player

Talking about big European Clubs. We had a poached player who is being linked with top Premier League clubs. Oh how we could have used him, he ended up at Arsenal!

Goodbye to a Legend

Toshimitsu Kaji (YP06D) has been one of my favorite players.  My top appearances in terms of youth players and although he recently lost his place, he has been a great sub option and a mentor.

Youth Intake

We were hoping for CMs and CMs we got. This intake looks less stacked with talent and more focused on having a few VERY good looking players.

Top 3 - Youth Intake 24

Taku Hoshi (YP24A)

I am VERY excited about his potential. We have got two very good CMs that are young and just got in the first team, but I think Taku is bound to be in and around the first team while he is still a teen. Great stats all around with the exception of his physicals which need some work.

Kohei Fokumoto (YP24B)

Our CB factory strikes again (we actually got 2 good CBs in this intake out of 4 elite talents). Great personality, pretty good starting attributes with no key attribute under an 8. Will start working on the mental side of things with defensive positioning which should help with some of the flaws.

Takashi Kawashima (YP24C)

Another good looking CM, I don't play with a DM so will be retraining him. Another good personality too. Really excited by his potential but he is longer to go than the above 2 youngsters before he gets in the first team.

 

Edited March 31 by glennuk

[glennuk]

Is this the worst Own Goal, with a combination of being FM'd ever?!?!?!

First look at the amount of shots Shimzu had, then look at the minutes of their goals, then watch the goal (open in full screen for best effect!!)!

Streamable Link to HD Version here - much better quality.

Yes they only had 4 shots on target and scored 5 goals, yes I dominated them, yes this has become a bit typical.

Edited March 31 by glennuk

[glennuk]

@darren1983 - Sorry to tag you, but do we have a list of available nations to try the challenge in? At least two leagues with relegation in the bottom league is the criteria right?

Just wondering if we had a list anywhere that I may be missing. I thought it may have been the hidden table in the first post with the completed countries etc, but realized some of them aren't available for the challenge. Then thought it may be the countries listed.

If not maybe we can crowd source one

Mostly as I am thinking about my next save in Africa, North or South America and would like to try a league that hasn't been done, if any are left....

Edited April 1 by glennuk

[Padders]

11 hours ago, glennuk said:

Is this the worst Own Goal, with a combination of being FM'd ever?!?!?!

First look at the amount of shots Shimzu had, then look at the minutes of their goals, then watch the goal (open in full screen for best effect!!)!

Streamable Link to HD Version here - much better quality.

Yes they only had 4 shots on target and scored 5 goals, yes I dominated them, yes this has become a bit typical.

 

Oh thats a shocker!

[SkiIIs]

11 hours ago, glennuk said:

Is this the worst Own Goal, with a combination of being FM'd ever?!?!?!

First look at the amount of shots Shimzu had, then look at the minutes of their goals, then watch the goal (open in full screen for best effect!!)!

Streamable Link to HD Version here - much better quality.

Yes they only had 4 shots on target and scored 5 goals, yes I dominated them, yes this has become a bit typical.

 

Classic!!!

[SkiIIs]

might be late to the party here but this is either a bug or a April fools day prank

My best player broke his leg falling over a sign on April 1 (in the game) and in real life too (Australian timezone).

but he's not showing up as injured...

[Neo_Geo]

4 minutes ago, SkiIIs said:

might be late to the party here but this is either a bug or a April fools day prank

My best player broke his leg falling over a sign on April 1 (in the game) and in real life too (Australian timezone).

but he's not showing up as injured...

Maybe the game removed the injury because even it thought it was the most ridiculous way to get injured and to actually break (not just fracture) your leg falling over a street sign.

Definitely has an April fools feel to it but I see the news story was on the 2nd so perhaps not

[XaW]

8 minutes ago, SkiIIs said:

might be late to the party here but this is either a bug or a April fools day prank

My best player broke his leg falling over a sign on April 1 (in the game) and in real life too (Australian timezone).

Aprils fool that!

Falling over a street sign! 

I had this one.

[leicester33]

26 minutes ago, XaW said:

Aprils fool that!

Falling over a street sign! 

I had this one.

I’m gonna try getting that.

[Padders]

[glennuk]

Oh there's a few going around Social media. One was you have been kicked out of the champions league for fielding an illegible player  

[Padders]

Just seen this on Twitter 

Edited April 1 by Padders

[leicester33]

Do these actually affect your team or are they just to be funny?

[XaW]

 

XaW - Energie Cottbus - Season 2027/28 (Season 4) - 2. Bundesliga

Squad | Transfers | Finances

Wow, quite the season! I did not expect us to gain promotion to the Bundesliga just yet, but here we are! From early on Paderborn ran away with things, so it was essentially down to everyone else to compete for the 2nd promotion spot as well as the playoff spot. Going into the winter break we were 4th, and mostly in a battle for the playoff spot as St Pauli had a grip on the 2nd promotion spot. In the new year though, they struggled a bit and allowed Union Berlin and us to catch up to make it a 3 horse race for the spots. Going into the final match were in a good position to get the 2nd place as we had a point lead on Union Berlin, who had a Berlin derby against Hertha as their final match, and also a point lead on St Pauli who were up against a dominant Paderborn. St Pauli lost, and Union Berlin drew, but they could have won as we clinched it with a nervy 1-0 away win over Darmstadt. A superb season, and I'm very happy with how the players coped. Still think we will crash back down next season, but I'll always be happy for a promotion!

DFB-Pokal: We beat Rheine before we lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2nd round.

Best players from the academy:

Patrick Rühlemann 25f - Mostly a sub for us, but contributed a lot whenever he played.
Giannis Michailidis 25c - Playing the work horse role and does well.
Tom Trierweiler 25d - Capped 5 times for Luxembourg, but seems to have changed countries to Germany now. Not too many goals or assists, but very often part of the attack for us.

New club records:

Most league apps - Jonas Hildebrandt - 237 apps
Most league goals - Tim Heike - 68 goals
Youngest player - Kaan Akgün 27e - 16 years, 1 day
Highest transfer fee received - Dominik Pelivan - £25.05k to Jahn Regensburg

We also got some more improvements accepted this season.

U19s

They finished 7th in the U19 Division 1 North/Northeast this season.

Youth Cup: They beat Bayer 04 and Köln before they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter final.

Around the world

Youth intake:

Trophy cabinet

3. Liga - (2024/25)

U9s - U19 Div. 2 Northeast (2025/26)

Player statistics:

Most apps for the club

Name				Nation		2nd Nation	Time at club	Apps
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giannis Michailidis 25c		Greece		Germany		2025-Present	67
Tom Trierweiler 25d		Luxembourg	Germany		2025-Present	42
Ertuğrul Köksal 25g		Turkey		Germany		2025-Present	40
Patrick Rühlemann 25f		Germany		<N/A>		2025-Present	38
Jannis Brand 26a		Germany		<N/A>		2026-Present	19

Most goals for the club

Name				Nation		2nd Nation	Time at club	Goals
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Rühlemann 25f		Germany		<N/A>		2025-Present	7
Tom Trierweiler 25d		Luxembourg	Germany		2025-Present	4
Ertuğrul Köksal 25g		Turkey		Germany		2025-Present	3
Giannis Michailidis 25c		Greece		Germany		2025-Present	1
Jannis Brand 26a		Germany		<N/A>		2026-Present	1

Most assists for the club

Name				Nation		2nd Nation	Time at club	Assists
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giannis Michailidis 25c		Greece		Germany		2025-Present	9
Patrick Rühlemann 25f		Germany		<N/A>		2025-Present	7
Ertuğrul Köksal 25g		Turkey		Germany		2025-Present	6
Tom Trierweiler 25d		Luxembourg	Germany		2025-Present	5
Friedrich Mboyo 25e		Germany		DR Congo	2025-Present	1

Supporters:

Summary:

[Toxic04]

AFC Telford United - Season 1

Squad | Staff | Transfers

Kinda just forgot about this save for a little bit, but I came back to finish season 1 today and here's how it went!

League:

Didn't see this coming, we were expected to finish 23rd and I was ready to be fighting relegation, but we kinda just ended up starting and staying in first place all season, Scunthorpe were in striking distance for a while, but we held out to avoid the playoffs, which Chester ended up winning over Scunthorpe in extra time. Also broke the points record for the Vanarama National North by 1 point which was set by Chester funnily enough. Was already looking onto next season by about game 35 or so, and to be honest, our chances of staying up in the Vanarama National League are looking very slim, and back to back promotion is nigh impossible, but I guess we'll have to see next season.

 

FA Cup:

Board just wanted us to be competetive so I didn't really care all that much when we lost to Kidderminster, but the fans were not all that pleased, since they are our rival, at least one of them anyways. (Here's how the games went if you're interested.)

 

FA Trophy:

 

Now this was so frustrating. This run started after the FA Cup elimination against Kidderminster, and the fans seriously wanted to beat Tamworth, especially since they are also one of our rivals, so we had a nailbiting win over them on penalties, then almost choked away the win against 8th division side Radcliffe, before dismantling Boston United 5-2 and then thumping Oxford City 4-0, both of whom are in the Vanarama National League, which bodes somewhat well for next season, before beating Alfreton Town 3-1 to set up the Semi Finals match against Truro City, who were midtable in the Vanarama National South at the time and finished 17th by the end of the season. They destroyed us 3-0, we didn't even have a chance, they completely outplayed us, and it didn't help that my centre back scored an own goal too. I heavily doubt we get back to back promotions without our youth players all taking serious jumps so we have more chances to win the FA Trophy before we go up to League Two, I really want to win this, because doing the Non-League double would've been so huge financially, but I doubt we would've beat York, the eventual champions.

 

Youth Intake:

The first intake wasn't anything too amazing, they mostly only saw playing time because I just didn't have enough players and didn't want to rely on greyed out ones, even though I still ended up having to do just that. Only real bright spot was Martin Greatorex, solid midfielder with great potential who played pretty average. Callum Cherrett saw a lot of play too, since we were and somewhat kinda still are, in desperate need of midfielders. He really is not that good, and he'll definetely be replaced by one of our new intake players in the near future, speaking of which...

 

This intake blew away all my expectations, especially when I thought it would be a really mid one, at least looking at the intake preview, with the worst player coming in (Pejman Alikhani, whose barely on screen there) still being a top talent. Some of these players are starting to show their true colours though, like Rhys Johnson, but with players like Thanasis Anthanasiadis, who was first team ready straight out of this intake, can fill the hole of back up DM or can be trained into a midfielder to let Cherrett develop in the U18s or play at right back to again be the back up. Carl Emil Bolkan Nordli as well as Oliver Clarke, Andy Logue and Joe Widdowson join Thanasis in the first team, these five could all be a major part of my team, with Clarke training to become a CAM, Nordli and Logue on the wings, Widdowson training to be a CM and play alongside Greatorex, with Thanasis slotting into his prefered RB role. They are the main five I'm focused on now, though I may bring up Danny Holland sometime soon because my current back up striker is looking to leave at the end of this season.

 

Player Stats:

Edited Tuesday at 18:46 by Toxic04

[Stekalo]

Can anyone explain this to me?
The previous season I played the entire championship with 14 players in the team.

The team reached the playoffs and lost in the semifinals.
At the start of the new season with the same players as the year before plus all the young players who arrived in April, hence someone very good, my team's prediction is this.

[XaW]

13 minutes ago, Stekalo said:

Can anyone explain this to me?
The previous season I played the entire championship with 14 players in the team.

The team reached the playoffs and lost in the semifinals.
At the start of the new season with the same players as the year before plus all the young players who arrived in April, hence someone very good, my team's prediction is this.

Depends a lot on team reputation, and it's slow to catch up.

[The7Striker]

I'm very tempted to return to this challenge 

 

 

[XaW]

3 minutes ago, The7Striker said:

I'm very tempted to return to this challenge 

 

 

[Neo_Geo]

1 hour ago, The7Striker said:

I'm very tempted to return to this challenge 

 

 

Speaking as someone who came back to the challenge yesterday…..

[The7Striker]

 

The Manager:

Spoiler

Welcome to Wales, after a little adventure on FM22, I decided to return to this country, more precisely to the C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879.
They are the phoenix club, established following Rhyl FC's formal dissolution in order to continue their history born in 1878 (according to some websites).Rhyl FC's history was grand with the following national trophies:

Welsh Premier League: 2003-04, 2008-09;
Welsh Cup: 1951-52, 1952-53, 2003-04, 2005-06;
Welsh League Cup: 2002-03, 2003-04;

The challenge is to at least equal this record...using the Youth 

 

 

Edited April 1 by The7Striker

[leicester33]

3 minutes ago, The7Striker said:

 

The Manager:

  Reveal hidden contents

Welcome to Wales, after a little adventure on FM22, I decided to return to this country, more precisely to the C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879.
They are the phoenix club, established following Rhyl FC's formal dissolution in order to continue their history born in 1878 (according to some websites).Rhyl FC's history was grand with the following national trophies:

Welsh Premier League: 2003-04, 2008-09;
Welsh Cup: 1951-52, 1952-53, 2003-04, 2005-06;
Welsh League Cup: 2002-03, 2003-04;

The challenge is to at least equal this record...using the Youth 

 

 

Welcome back! Wales seems pretty difficult, good luck.

[The7Striker]

7 minutos atrás, leicester33 disse:

Welcome back! Wales seems pretty difficult, good luck.

Thanks. 

I think someone did it with Mumbles a few FM's back. Lets see.

[SkiIIs]

Season 5 2028/29 - Macclesfield Town - VNLN

Just before the season started, I decided to sell my best CB and my RB, both were 4.5 star (current ability) players as they were refusing to sign new contracts after being relegated.  They would have to be replaced by 1.5 star (current) players as we just dont have any decent defenders.

Spoiler

So the expectation of the Board to finish mid table I thought was just about right, whilst we reset and build up again. However, after winning 7 out of the first 10 games and sitting second, promotion wasnt a far fetched dream.  We then went through a bit of a baron period around the heavy schedule of December and January where we lost 4 out of 6 games and another poor period in Feb/March where we lost 4 out of 7 games saw us slide down the table and making the play off spots become the challenge. As soon as we got our new youth intake, there was belief again (ill touch on why later) as we then won the next 3 games and a draw again Halifax meant we finished 6th and would play Scarborough in the play offs away. Our form was good and we hit the lead thanks to our new gun striker in the 4th minute. We then had a goal disallowed in the 61st minute before Scarborough equalised in the 77th minute then scored the winner in the 91st minute. 

Im not overly disappointed as I expect us to lose another contingent of players next season as they are refusing to sign so best we sit here and transition into new prospects to take us forward. 

Our improvements are drying up as we start to hit the maximum levels, both Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment are at Exceptional (from memory thats the max). Both Training and Youth Facilities are at Average but need significant cash (for this level) to improve and Youth Level is 3.  Im also at Continental C licence now too.  Bit of novelty news as well is the Huddersfield has now twice approached me to take them over, not sure what their obsession is but its flattering. 

Spoiler

Youth Preview

The preview wasnt the best given we're now down in the VNLN but maybes its cos a couple of our players are rated as VNL standard.

Youth Intake

Really excited by a couple of these players and I suspect these are still my previous HOYD recruits but he certainly did leave me with a couple of gems!

Jake Jones 29A is exactly what we were after up front and will certainly straighten us up a lot. Managed 6 goals in 7 starts at the end of the season 

Kyle Hughes 29B is the defender we need to replace Morgan 26E at the start of the season. Managed a couple of appearances and held his own. Still quite green in a couple areas and strength could be a worry, but 16 tackling and 15 determination of a Resolute CB is impressive. Might be able to chip in with a few goals on free kicks as well. 

Haydn Hibbs 29C is the A rated keeper that was promised. My GK O'Keefe is 33 and starting to decline a bit so will need replacing soon. Unsure whether its Hibbs that will make the spot his own.

Edited April 3 by SkiIIs