libbyshuss

I hope @Braumiller doesn't mind too much but I've shamelessly stolen their idea! I loved that infographic idea! Season Summary So off to Austria! Not an easy challenge with only two divisions as the teams that get promoted have to move from an amatuer/semi-pro league into a professional league, which is alwasy a huge leap. And so it proved, we were out of our depth for much of the season. A terrible run of 11 games without a win left us second from bottom in December and, with one game to play before the winter break, the board called me in to tell me that if I messed that game up then I was toast. the way we'd been playing I was certain the sack was coming. But we got lucky - they got a man sent off after 19 minutes and we won 3-0. After the winter break for some reason our morale was a lot easier to manage and we were able to start putting some results together. We still went into the last game of the season, away to the team bottom of the table, needing at least a draw for safety though. We won 3-1 and managed to stay up for a second season! Youth It's always a bonus getting a good youth intake in the first season. I was hopeful, what with my legacy squad being on the weak side. Preview was ok, but I wasn't too excited by the A grades for wide midfielders and defensive midfiedlers as I don't use them! It's the price you pay for prioritising personality over all else. the intake was pleasing with 6 elite talents The pick of the bunch was Dorde Grbovic 24A, a Serbian right back. He looks really promising with a Driven personality and 18 determination. Lovely stuff! Finances and Upgrades Not brilliant. Unsurprisingly we lost money throughout the season, but not as much as I'd feared. Still, not enough to grant me any upgrades other than my first coaching badge. Career

Ok, I'm back again. This time the random factor like a tractor threw up... There were three options and one really stood out against the others. They're a 100% fan owned club nestled in the Alps: FC Pinzgau Saalfelden Check out their ground! Lovely stuff! But I may not be there for long. Austria only has 2 playable divisions and the second division has a huge range of team abilities. And we are right at the bottom of that range. i apologise in advance if this ends in the sack after 1 season!

Spain Tier 4 Season 2 Season Summary Well........ It started quite well. 2 wins in the first 3! we were scoring for fun, but also leaking goals for fun. But then...... well, we went on a poor run and morale was an absolute disaster. No matter what I did I could not improve it at all. The 4 best players all wanted to leave and announced they would be 'exploring their options' and that had an impact on everyone else, being team leaders. And once morale is down you're pretty doomed..... Final game before the winter break I got this message They gave me a month to sort it out and 'improve confidence'. Well, we only had 2 games due to the winter break! We lost the first, and drew the second 1-1, with the other team getting a 90+2 equaliser as well. And.... These are the results that did for us in the end:- But really? It was the morale in the end So..... two tries and sacked twice so far, and the game proper isn't even out yet? I'll be back with the random factor!

Spain Fourth Tier 2023/24 Season Summary Back in Spain! I'd forgotten how difficult Marbella actually was and all the same problems are still there this time around 1. The squad is too small and too old! 2. The wages are ridiculous. 40k a week for a tier 4 side is obscene! 5 players are earning over 4k a week!!! 3. Finances are a binfire. Losing around £1.4m a season, which is almost Belgium level craziness. Boulogne had something similar and it definitely makes the challenge a little more difficult. Luckily the level of Spanish football down in tier 4 is pretty poor. we were consistently inconsistent and, despite a little wobble around February time, we were never in any danger of either promotion or relegation. So a nice mid-table finish it was. Players Not sure how next season will go. This is our best XI from this season:- Four over 30, five who are leaving at the end of the season and a ridiculous amount of money spent on wages. So next seasons best XI will be very different as I'm planning to have an all youth team within a couple of seasons, just to save on wages more than anything. Youth Which means I really really need decent intakes! I found a decent HoYD with professional personality so was hopeful of a good intake. The preview was ok... But didn't really prepare me for how good the intake was. It was a huge releife seeing this many elite talent, particularly as half of them will be first team players next season! The obvious picks of the bunch is these two:- Not sure what to do with this fella. I don't use DM so do I retrain him or change my tactic to get him in? Either way, he's definitely gonna be a first team player next season! And next season centre back! Nice determination and bravery, little slight on the physicals. but looks a huge talent. Finances and Upgrades No upgrades with the finances the way they are. Even if I get the wage bill right down there's still no way we can return even the slightest smidgen of a profit. It may be I just get fed up with the finances after a while, we'll see how it goes. Career

Ok, so here I go again! I decided to let the random factor decide like a tractor for me so set up a few possibilities (I'm only going to do countries I haven't completed it yet!) so who wins????? I was going to do the same with the choices for maximum random lols but one name stood right out. I have unfinished business with Marbella. I got them all the way to La Liga when with them before only for the board to sack me after one little 10 match winless run. So here we go again! They have amazing starting facilities for a save like this but the financial projection does worry me just a little bit.....

@darren1983 Not sure if Holland is available this year. I simmed up to 2026 with no promotions to that second tier. Unless i've done something wrong....

nah, i've been sacked loads of times! My favourite was in England with Enfield Town. Sacked after 29 games, 28 of which I lost! It's also why i like this challenge so much, cos there's actual jeopardy involved. you're way more likely to get sacked than complete it

Championnat National 2026/27 (season 4) Season Summary Well...... It was all going pretty well! I'd sold my best two youth prospects for the possible riches down the line so was expecting us to not quite be as competitive as we were last season and so it proved. By the start of February we were safely mid-table in 9th. And then this was our run in to the end of the season.... So, yeah, it wasn't a total surprise when we dropped into the relegation spots and not a huge surprise we couldn't get out of it. We were already relegated by the time of the final game, so that win just seemed sarcastic! It was one of those runs we just couldn't get out of, no matter what we did. I'd have been more than happy to go down and try to get back up, as the fourthstage is playable for relegated sides I think. But I never got that chance. SACKED! CHALLENGE OVER!!!! well, that was short and sweet! But I guess that's also why we keep coming back to this challenge; it's genuinely a difficult challenge! I was undone by finances in the end. Losing between 800k-1m a season is never going to help with limited ways of making any money other than selling your best prospects. I shall be back!

2025/26 (Season 3) Championnat national Season Summary Really bizarre season! we started brilliantly, with one defeat in the first 10 to go 3 3rd, one point of top spot. A promotion challenge looked on the cards! only we then went on an 11 game winless run to send us further and further down towards the relegation spots. But then we won. And won again. And again and again and again! In those last 13 games of the season we won 11, drew 1 and lost 1! It was a little too late though and we just missed out on the third place play-off spot but it does show this team is good enough to get promoted. Cup - finally! a cup run! all the way to the tenth round, but sadly no money-spinning ties. Players Stephane Sorin 24B - still the star of the show. 7 goals and 11 assists from 28 starts at AMC this season. He signed a new contract but insisted we improve the training facilities, which i'd love too. only the board won't let me so we'll see what happens there..... Alexandre Labousse 24A - another great season on the right wing. 11 goals, 12 assists, 27 starts, not bad. These two are key for a promotion push, but also key for financial stability ./ Youth So after that brilliant first season intake, and disappointing second season intake, surely I should be in for a great intake this season? Well, the preview was encouraging... 3 grade As and a 5 star intake promised looked good! But the actual intake wasn't quite so exciting.... The only plus point was Diop having a fairly professional personality. They're worth their weight in gold at this level and as good a sign as any that he'll make it as at least a good squad player. Finances and Upgrades Still a total disaster. We just lose soooo much money there's no hope in hell the board will give us any upgrades. I sold one of our best youth prospects for 120k plus 50% to Auxerre in the hope it will pay off relatively soon. Realistically I need to be doing that once a season if I want to get the money I need to spend on improvements. At the end of the season the board announced this:- So now I have to pay off a £3m loan as well! I know it will pay off in the long run but I'm still a bit annoyed the game wouldn't let me play at Boulogne's perfectly fine stadium they already have in Boulogne in real life! It holds 10k, it's fine! But no, they start without a stadium for some reason. It's gonna be a long long slog I think here but that just makes the pay off all the sweeter! if it comes, that is..... Career

Season 2 - 2024/25 Championnat National Season Summary A really good season on the pitch, in the league at least. We started really well with only one defeat in the first 8. We drew 4 though so we were never top, but still. A run of 5 wins in 6 just after christmas put us 3rd and within touching distance of a promotion place but we then went on a 6 game winless run and our form totally fell apart. We limped to a seventh placed finish which, to be fair, is still over-achieving for us a first round cup exit again. I could do with a cup run really. Players The biggest success of the season was in the first XI. I promoted a couple of youth players already, such was my desperation. I don't normally like promoting players until they're 19/20 but I had nothing better. Most of the youth players performed really well and made some really positive improvements too. Stephane Sorin 24B was the pick of the bunch. Played AMC and was consistently one of the best performers. He's still only 16 but already one of our most important players. 8 goals and 4 assists from 21 games is a cracking start from the lad. 7.37 average rating makes him our second best performer as well! Lots of arrows in the right direction as well! AND a great personality. i love you Stephane! Alexandre Labousse 24A - He's earmarked as a future striker for us but filled in at right wing for the season. He was so good whenever I played him he became first choice for the second half of the season. and he was also great, 8 goals and 4 assists from 19 starts. Another one that will be first choice next season. Both jumped form 2* CA to 3.5* during the season as well, which is always lovely to see! Youth So after such a good intake last season I was really looking forward to this one. Would it be as good? Well, no..... not bad! not quite as many A grades as last year, but 3 is still pretty good. intake was ok but only two elite talents a little disappointing. Their personalities were only just ok as well (light-hearted and temperamental, which i hate the most!). I only signed about 4 in the end. Finances and Upgrades So this is the most worrying. I was well under the wage budget at only 13k a week but we still managed to lose around 800k over the season, which is totally unsustainable. And worryingly we seem to have lost any competition prize money, whereas we got loads last season And it also meant that having no money the board would not sanction any improvements at all. Which is really upsetting when.... this happens! So it's going to be a difficult challenge and realistically I'm going to have to cash in on a couple of those really good looking youngsters already. or pray for a takeover... Career

As far as I could tell they're still not playable. I'd have been more than happy to start down there but what can you do? actually, i can go check again! edit: yeah, fourth tier unplayable. Boulogne were promoted from fourth tier after 1 season, they're currently playing down there in real life. It's all above board i promise!

Season 1 - 2023/24 Championnat National Season Summary Boulogne are an interesting challenge. They were in the top French league as recently as 2009/10 but have freefallen since then and are now semi-pro, albeit back in the third tier. You'd hope their starting facilities would befit that of a team so recently in the top league but they're really not. Even weirder, and possibly a bug, rather than playing in their own stadium in Boulogne, that holds 10k, they are homeless in the game and playing at a stupid little stadium in a tiny little village miles away called Cormontreuil. It's very odd but what can you do? i've started with worse! The starting squad were ok but on the old side. The bonus was the four 4 star potentials in the youth squad. But the worry was that the Championnat National is being reduced from 18 sides to 16, and with 4 feeder leagues it meant there were 6 relegation spots in a league of 18! That worried me a little bit, particualrly as we were predicted to finish 17th. It was a really close league, with often only 3 or 4 points between 5th and a relegation spot. A good run after christmas of 5 wins out of 6 pulled us out of trouble and we managed to stay there. But I have no idea where this team sits in terms of promotion/relegation for next season, particularly as more of those youth players are going to have to be promoted to the first team Youth A really nice preview and intake! Are my starting squad that bad? Probably! The intake could have been better in terms of determination but I really can't complain at this stage. I really like the range of nationalities though, I do like a cosmopolitan squad Finances and Upgrades We're losing money hand over fist, which is upsetting cos ideally I'd go professional soon as I can. It emant no matter how good a run we were on the board would not budge on any improvements off the field. The only thing they'd do is support my first two coaching badges. It's a start! I quite like this new supporter thingummy. Gonna keep an eye on that, particularly as they seem quite influential at Boulogne! Career

that's really interesting, shame we can't even try in half those nations. Did we find out if South Korea is available for the challenge this season or not?

I've never tried France. Bring it on!!!!

@darren1983 I'm back again! heading to France - reset date is June 20th!

2030/31 and England So i took the England job after the world cup. They got a good squad but a worrying lack of stars under the age of 25. First game? Away to Belgium, who won 2-0! Other than that though it was a good season with my new striker I promoted scoring 12 in a run of 4 games. We'll see how the Euros go next season Borrusia Dortmund I applied for a few jobs (Arsenal, PSG, Flamenco) and got interviews but not one offer. And then, in March, along came Dortmund. They'd sacked their manager while they were 3rd in the league, in the Quarters of the Champions League and Semi finals of the domestic cup. They had an amazing squad, still had Bellingham and Moukoko at 27 and 26, and three wonderkids to boot. Seemed too good to be true! And it was, as I manged to balls it right up. 6 league games, all I needed to do was finish 4th to guarantee Champions League foortball next season. So I managed to lose 3, draw against the team bottom of the league and finish 6th. Beyond awful. Champions League? Beat Lyon 7-3 in the quarters, draw 3-3 at Old Trafford in the semi first leg only to lose the second leg 3-1. gah. And then Bayern beat us 1-0 aet in the pokal Honestly, it was a shambles. I'd sack myself but for some reason the board are giving me a chance. I need to start the next season strongly or I'm for it.

I'm still plugging away but not much to report on in the last 4 seasons! 2027/28 After leaving CT All Stars in South Africa in July I applied for loads of jobs, including Mamelodi Sundowns, who would have been a real upgrade, but got no offers. So I kept going and it wasn't until November i got two offers. The team 5th in South Korea's top division, or Brest, who were bottom of Ligue 1 in France. I went for Brest, figuring Brest is best. I also applied for, and got, the Ivory Coast job afte the ACoN in January. and Brest were bottom but had a decent squad. The only issue it was an old squad so it would need major surgery in the next couple of seasons. I managed to steady the ship and we put on a nice run in the new year to finish mid-table. Ivory Coast had a good squad but it was mainly friendlies and a couple of World Cup qualifiers (for 2030) 2028/29 and After euro 28 I got 4 offers from European teams, Belgium being by far the best. I couldn't resist it! A great season for Brest! I brought a couple of younger players in who performed really well but we were up against it in terms of transfer funds and wage budget. Still, we managed a 6th place finish and European qualfication! But i'd need to do something drastic to improve more 2029/30 and After our 6th place finish I decided to gamble. Sold our best two players for combined £60m and went on a spending spree. It paid off and we went unbeaten from January to finish second behind PSG. Two of my signings turned out to be wonderkids, which is always nice. Belgium qualified for the world cup easily! 2030/31 and World Cup! we lost to France in the semi-final, then after i got offered the England job? did I take it or stick with Belgium? Brest were annoying. really inconsistent in the first half, better in the second and only managed third after winning the last two games. Frustrating as PSG had their worst season in years. They still won the title, obviously, but lost 7 times on the way. Anyway, Brest were annoying me so I quit at the end of the season. I had 4 star reputation, just been to a World cup Semi-final, should be no problem getting a top job right? right? anyway, four seasons and no progress in the challenge! its looking unlikely i'll do it before FM23 to be honest.... Career

Season 2025/26 South Africa Premier League Season Summary So, I signed a new contract for another season! And we we were great, finishing third. I got offered a job at Mamelodi Sundowns - they had 10x the wage and transfer budget! But I did manage to get another coaching badge, which is nice, and a reputation of 50%. Whoop! So, that's it. I'm leaving the All Stars and seeing what happens next. I can't see me catching the top teams here any time soon. Career Summary Manager record What's next? Resigning and seeing what happens! I loaded up all the top leagues in Europe as well as Brazil, Argentina and so on so plenty of chances

South Africa 2023/24 and 2024/25 2023/24 I joined with 10 games to go and the All Stars top of the Championship. It was gonna take something special for me to screw that up. and I didn't, guiding us to a comfortable title win. Woohoo! and another trophy for the cabinet, albeit one that doesn't count for the challenge 2024/25 So up to the premier league, where we were favourites to go down. Trouble is, we have a ridiculously low wage budget, by far the lowest in the league. So the squad had to be trimmed and we went in with around 16 first team players. Some decent free signings made it a balanced team though, and our striker was easily good enough for a higher team. We started ok, hovering around 11th or 12th for the first few months and then hit a nice bit of form at the end of the season to finish 6th. which was better than I expected! trouble is, with that small wage budget, I have a feeling I've already taken this team as far as I can. My contract is up.... do I quit or sign a new one? Career

Turns out Malaysia isn't quite as impressive as I thought it was! I have around 10 leagues in Asia, South America and Africa loaded and South Africa was the only one where I was even given a second glance. To be fair, I only waited a month or so, but it was still around 15 applications ignored! so when South Africa came knocking I couldn't ignore it. And even then it was in the Second tier!!! Cape Town All Stars! Who, in real life, will not exist from next season as they move to Johannesburg and rename themselves All Stars! But, for now, they sit top of the Second Division so I have an excellent chance of picking up another title. Here's the league when I took over:-

Kedah FA Malaysia 2023 Season Summary Almost a perfect season! My tactics of stealing as many of last years best players as I could paid dividends! To be fair the quality of Malaysian top flight football is very low so with three good foreign players you're kinda set really. The ace in the pack was their striker who scored 21 in 25 for them last season. I nabbed him and he got 35 in 31. Even so, I wasn't quite prepared for an almost unbeaten season! We won the league at a canter, both domestic cups and made it to the Asian Conference League final as well, where we lost to a Kuwaiti side Still, can't complain. My reputation is up to two stars (35%) and I've got my first three coaching badges too. Future Plans So I think that's as far as I can go in Malaysia. They're too weak domestically to challenge for a champions league against Korean, Japanese, Chinese sides. So I'm gonna leave when my contract runs out and see where 2 star reputation takes me! Career challenge progress!

Kedah FA Malaysia 2022 a successful first full season. first two coaching badges, improved reputation an the first cup under my belt! we finished second in the league but were never really in the race - Selangor FA led from the start after winning their first 9 games. Malaysia is a little like China though - only 4 foreign players allowed and they are always far stronger than the homebased players. So it was nice to do this against them in the Cup Final The plan is to hang around, nick as many players off Selangor as I can and win the league. Then see what's around - I don't think Malaysia is strong enough to win the Asian Champions League tbh Career Challenge Progress

yeah, i remember. My training got downgraded and it was easy to request. Youth downgraded twice and no option to improve it popped up. I even waited a few months as well. It's really annoying bug/feature for this type of save, particularly in places like Croatia. I guess it might pop up again sometime but could be years!

Hit a brick wall with Belisce - same problem a lot of people have had this year with the youth facility 'feature'. Without improving it I can't see how I'm gonna improve. So I'm gonna go try Ultimate challenge for a bit until FM23 comes around. I may come back to Belisce but probably not, it's starting to annoy me!

Season 1 - Malaysia Pretty much the dream starting job for me came available in May - Kedah FA in Malaysia were 1 place and 1 point above relegation and are, on paper, one of the best Malaysian clubs out there. I couldn't fail, surely? As a bonus, they have a great badge too! In the end it was quite easy. A win and 2 defeats were followed by 5 wins on the bounce and safety. We got to the semi final of the second cup as well, setting us up nicely for a push for both next season. A nice short review for a nice short season for me! Foundations have been laid!