fries

Premier League 2038/39 (season 16) Season Summary A very great season. I manage to win the 7th position again on the last day of the season. We improved by 5 points from last season. But more important we won the Europa League and thus qualified for the Champions League! In the league phase of the Europe League, we won 7 games and draw one against OM. I mostly played my rotational players, reserves, and top youth prospects. In the knockouts, I played more starters. I think that cost us a few points in the league. We played 65 games throughout the season. We thus had to use plenty of players. This season I had 3 players who scored around 20 goals, Owen, T. Walters, and Jensen. Another forward, P. Walters, disappointed me and scored only 8 goals. I think his time as a regular starter is soon to be over. This makes me sad because he has been with me and scored since the first season in Vanarama North. So far he has played 609 first-team games and scored 240 goals. 609 appearances are the club record, and he is only 30 goals away from the goal-scoring club record. I hope that Jensen will develop into a top player. I only think that Smith is a top player right now and I think a few more will be necessary to complete the challenge. An honorable mention is Howourth. In the winter break, he came back from a year's loan in China, where he developed from 2 stars into a regular starter and 3 stars. I have another player in Hoskins out on loan, who will come back after two years in La Liga this summer. I think he will be an important starter next season. I actually planned for him to be a starter this season too as I was not aware that he was on a two-year loan deal that couldn't be canceled. I only had 1 player, Jensen, on the NXGN list, but he also won the award. But both Jensen and other players won other awards. Jensen also won the European Golden Boy award. Owen won the Players' Young Player of the Year award. I had four players on the Europe League team of the season. Including Jensen, Howourth, and my two reserve D(C)s, Grimes and N'Guessan. And lastly, Jensen won the Young player of the season in the Europe League. The youth intake preview looked very promising. 5 stars. And great ratings in a lot of positions. But I was a bit disappointed with the intake. It looks like the worst intake in a couple of years. Only 1 elite talent, but 7 top talents. Hopefully, a few will make it to the first team. No transfers of significance this season. Finances and Upgrades I finally had the option to ask the board for an upgrade of the youth facilities this season. They fortunately agreed. I now have superb youth facilities. Next season Next season, will be tough. I don't think we can rotate as much in the Champions League as I could in the Europe League. But hopefully, the Champions League will help develop some of my most promising younger players.

Not at all. The journey is enjoyable.

Premier League 2037/38 (season 15) Season Summary A very great season. I manage to win the 7th position on the last day of the season. A 7th position is the second best result from my team and we qualified for a European tournament for the second time ever. Without any continental midweek games this season, I loaned out a handful of young first-team players from last season. When necessary I filled the team with younger players. The top performers this season was Smith and T. Walters. Another surprising top performer was Jensen. He scored 10 goals, including 8 goals in the Premier League. He shouldn't be good enough for this level but he played well and developed well too. Smith is still, by far, my best player. I need a couple like him to push further up in the league. I only had 1 player on the NXGN list. Wilde was number 2 on the list. I don't understand why a player like Owen was not on the list. He was number 2 last season and won the Golden Boy this season. Golden Boy The youth intake preview looked promising. 5 stars. But only attacking players. The intake was great with 4 elite talents. But mostly mediocre but not bad personalities. The non-elite talents had quite bad personalities. Hall was the most promising player of the intake. A great technical player, but he lack physical skills. No transfers of significance this season. Finances and Upgrades No upgrades this season. Hopefully, I can soon ask for upgrades to the youth facilities. Will it ever be possible? Next season Next season, I just hope to keep developing my players. I hope I can give important game time to some of my young talents in the Europe League. Last season we lost the Europe League final. Hopefully, we can compete again. If I am lucky we can qualify for a European spot in the league again.

Congrats @thomas_e! You have now completed the challenge 7 times in 5 different versions of the game. Very impressive!

Congrats @Neo_Geo! I would love to see a few of your most important players.

Premier League 2036/37 (season 14) Season Summary Both a great and a bit frustrating season. We did okay in the league but ended up in the 9th position with 15 fewer points than last season. This means that we unfortunately will not play any European games next season. This season, however, we had a very great run in Europe League. Undefeated in the group stage with just one draw against AC Ajaccio. We rotated the 10 outfield players in the European games. Thus the 7 wins were with my reserves and upcoming youths. In the knockout games, we continued to rotate and win. The first semi-final leg and the final were the only games I started with my strongest XI. However in the final, we lost in extra time. I focused maybe too much on destroying the play of Newcastle. In the end, we committed a penalty in extra time and lost after 120 minutes. The rotation in the European games developed a handful of my youngest players very well. I now have 22 players plus 2 out on loans with at least 2.5 CA. Owen, Wilde, Shaw, and Maddison had their breakthrough this season. My strikers did very well. Walters and Walters scored 23 and 21 goals. Owen scored 15 with 10 in 12 Europe League games. Smith, Zerrouki, and Schubert among others did also perform well. I had 2 players on the NXGN list. Owen was number 2 on the list, and Wilde was number 29. I don't understand why players like Maddison (who was on the list last season), Irvine (out on loan in the Championship), and Shaw were not on the list. The youth intake preview looked promising. 5 stars and 5 A's. The intake was great with 5 elite talents. But mostly mediocre but not bad personalities. No transfers of significance this season. An honorable mention to a former important player that will leave the club after this season. Byran was very important for my rise up in the leagues. He holds the club record for the most League goals with 255 goals. He was formerly my captain. But he is unfortunately not good enough for the Premier League. And a few years ago he declared that he did not want to renew his contract. Unfortunately, I have not had the option to play his testimonial. Farewell to a true club legend! (However ingame he is only considered a club icon) Finances and Upgrades No upgrades this season. Hopefully, I can soon ask for upgrades to the youth facilities. Next season Next season, I just hope to keep developing my players. If I am lucky we can qualify for a European spot again.

Premier League 2035/36 (season 13) Season Summary Great season. From the middle of December until the end of the season we were in great form and only lost 4 games. We had great wins against teams like Man Utd, Liverpool, and in the last game of the season Man City. The last win secured the 6th position and thus a continental tournament for the first time in history. I am looking forward to try out the Europe League next season. Toby Walters was crazy good with 31 goals and 11 assists. Smith also performed very well with 11 goals and 15 assists from the midfield. He played the three most offensive positions in my narrow diamond on the midfield. Patrick Walters also did well with 19 goals. I had a few players that had their breakthroughs on the first team Jackson, Schubert, and Saarinen. A few players a developing well and are close to a breakthrough: Owen, Wilde, and maybe Irvine. One or two players may also come home from a loan and get game time next season. I need more depth due to playing in Europe League. Jack Smith is without a doubt my best player. He has a long contract but a Champions League release clause of £86 mill. Toby Walters was my top scorer and won a lot of awards this season, including Footballer of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, Players' Young Player, and Players' Team of the Year. He is not very technically gifted. But he is hard-working and relatively fast. I had 2 players on the NXGN-list. Jackson was number 2 on the list, and Maddison who is out on loan was number 31. The youth intake preview looked promising. Not very happy with the intake. No 5 star PA players. And two of the elite talents are wingers, which I don't use. The U21 team won a promotion to U21 Premier Division 1. I reinforced the U21 team with the best young players from my 1st team in the playoff games. No transfers of significance this season. But I will lose a few players after this season that who were important to my rise in the league a few years ago, but that are not good enough anymore. Finances and Upgrades No upgrades this season. Hopefully, I can soon ask for upgrades to the youth facilities. Next season Next season, I just hope to keep developing my players. If I am lucky we can qualify for a European spot again.

The starting squad in South Shields is quite good. It is not unrealistic that you will receive a playoff spot. I think you can manage it! Good luck with South Shields.

Yeah, he just got his first cap this summer!

Premier League 2034/35 (season 12) Season Summary Another season in the Premier League. The same number of points as last season. But we gained one position in the league We were never in danger of relegation, but also miles from any continental games. My striker duo Walters and Walters did okay with 16 and 15 goals each. But my best player Smith was great. He scored 16 from the midfield and assisted 10 goals. Unfortunately, I had no players on the NXGN list. I had hoped Cox was on the list. Or maybe Saarinen or Jackson that are close to a breakthrough. Jack Smith is without a doubt my best player. Giroud is the second ever player on my team that got the wonderkid description. Toby Walters won the Players' Young Player for the second time. The youth intake preview looked promising. Not very happy with the intake. Only turned out as 3 stars. And no 5 star PA players. No transfers of significance this season. Finances and Upgrades We expanded our stadium once again. It now contains 30,069 seats. I also upgraded the training facilities. They are now maxed. Next season Next season, I just hope to keep developing my players. I think I am a hand full of good players from breaking into top 7.

So have I. I'm looking forward to his retirement.

A question to you guys that play or have played in England. Is it best for my best youth players to play in the u18 team in the English u18 Division 1 or in the u21 team in the English u21 Premier Division 2? This is the first season where my u21 team is in the Premier Division 2. Before I had my best talents in the u18 team because they played in the best league. But I am not sure what to do now.

Premier League 2033/34 (season 11) Season Summary Second season in the Premier League. We survived again with less trouble. We gained 10 more points than last season. My striker duo Walters and Walters did okay with 15 and 11 goals each. I am happy with the quality in most positions, except the fullbacks. I hope some of my young players will step up in those positions. Jack Smith is without a doubt my best player. Happily I managed to renew his contract this season. Otherwise it would run out after this season. I am very happy to keep him! I had 2 players on the NXGN list. Smith won the award. While Toby Walters was my other player on the list. A surprising award was that Toby Walters won the Players' Young Player. The youth intake preview looked promising. I am also very happy with the intake of 5 elite talents. I hope to see them in the first teams in a few years. No transfers of significance this season. Finances and Upgrades We played most of the season in Newcastle because we were expanding our stadium. It can now contain 22,452 fans. The board has also agreed to upgrade the training facilities. However, I can unfortunately not ask for upgrades to the youth facilities. We will also upgrade our youth category to level one afters this season. Next season Next season, I just hope to keep developing my players.

After about two years of trying every week, I finally managed to renew the contract of my by far best player. He only had 7 months left and I had actually given up on him. I had to promise him a few different things, but I hope it is worth it and that I can keep my promises.

Just promoted to League One, I think.

Premier League 2032/33 (season 10) Season Summary The first season in the Premier League. The season flies by when you only play 38 league games and a few cup games. We managed to secure another season! With 6 games to go my assistant manager suggested holding a team meeting to tell the players how important the next game would be to avoid relegation. I followed his advice and we managed to beat the later champions Liverpool 3-0 home in South Shields! The only win against a top 10 team this season. After the surprising win we won the next two games too. And relegation was officially avoided. Patrick Walters is still my most important player. He scored well with 14 goals. The other two strikers Toby Walters and Byran also contributed with some good numbers. Zerrouki did well in the goal and N'Guessan did well in the defense. My midfielders also played very well, with Smith as my best player. Douglas, Glover, McCarthy, and Malley were also performing well. Jack Smith is without a doubt my best player. He is my first player that has the wonderkid description. Unfortunately, his contract is expiring in just a year. I have tried every week for the last 1.5 years to renew it. But he doesn't think the team is strong enough to fulfill his ambitions. I think I will keep him for the last year. Unless some team comes with an astronomous bid. But we don't lack money in the Premier League. I had 2 players on the NXGN list. Smith was number two on the list. And yes he is "the next Paul Gascoigne". While Toby Walters was my other player on the list. A surprising award was that Toby Walters won the European Golden Boy. Most of his goals listed here was unfortunately from last season. The youth intake preview looked very promising after a few years of disappointing previews. Unfortunately, there was only one elite talent in the intake, and he plays a wide position that I don't use. But with 9 top talents, I think a few players will get to the first team in a few years. Maddison is the only elite talent from this intake. I don't really know what to do with him. No transfers of significance this season. Finances and Upgrades With Premier League status the money started to flow in. We managed to upgrade both the training and youth facilities once, and we are currently working on the second upgrade of both. Before the season we increased the youth level to level 2. We also moved into our new almost 15,000 seater stadium. We already sold out all the season tickets in the first season. The board agreed to expand the stadium to around 19,300 seats. I am afraid we are constrained by a too-small stadium for the next 24 years. Next season Next season, I just hope I eventually get to renew Smith's contract. And of course that we avoid relegation again. EDIT: We expand the stadium a bit more than first planned. Meanwhile, we will play our games at St. James' Park in Newcastle, half an hour from South Shields.

Well deserved! I hope you are on a roll now. That striker and his numbers are like a dream for a lower league team.

I think my U21 team joined a league in the 2028/29 season.

Championship 2031/32 (season 9) Season Summary We did it! We are in the Premier League! We played okay in the first half of the season. But after New Year we only lost two games, the 1st of January and a stupid 5-0 defeat against West Brom. A young striker stepped up and scored 19 goals in 13 games in January, February, and Marts. We also had two good Cup runs. In the Carabao Cup we lost to Stoke in the Quarter Final. In the FA Cup we won against Spurs, but lost to Chelsea in the next match. My players have continued to develop very well and we have never had so much depth as now. We have good players in most positions except at the fullbacks. My best players: Patrick Walters (the two Walters players are unfortunately not related) is my best player and performed well with 16 goals and 14 assists. He has been with me since Vanarama North Glover is another important player on the DM position: Zerrouki has developed into a very great goalkeeper. I think he is ready for the Premier League! N'Guessan is my best defender. I play him as a DC. I had 2 players on the NXGN list. Smith is a star player and number 6 on the NXGN list. He is currently wanted by 17 (!) Premier League Clubs and he currently have a release clause for higher divisions. I really hope I can keep him untill we officially are regarded a Premier League club. Toby Walters stepped up as a striker in 2032. He scored 19 goals in the 13 matches in the first 3 months of the year. Well done for a striker with relatively low finishing and composure. Before the season Toby Walters was number 2 in the Golden Boot award at the Euro U21. The youth intake preview looked very disappointing. Only 3 stars. But a top prospect in the CM. The intake was as expected. A great player for the CM. But I really hope mu top talents will step up this year. The transfer of significance this season was the sale of McDermott. McDermott was my young backup keeper. I did not think he was talented enough to break into the first team so I accepted a bid for him. Finances and Upgrades Before the season the board announced that they will increase the youth level. I hope it will be done after this season. We will also soon move into our new almost 15.000 seater stadium. Just in time for Premier League football! Next season Next season, I hope to keep my best players. And hopefully, it will be enough to avoid relegation.

What a way to end a run of 13 games unbeaten.

Thanks for the answer! Do you know how the preseason affects the fatigue later in the season? Can you minimize fatigue midseason by seting up the preseason? If yes, how have you considered this in your planning?

Interesting approach. I think I will try it out. But I have a few questions. How do you evaluate the success of your preseason? Why is the rest day preferred to a recovery and match review day?

Yes I agree. It was just to tell @Deicide and others that they could risk to wait many years before joining a league. I expect it to be easier in FM23 too.

In FM22 I played on with my United FC team after I completed the challenge. I did never get an invitation for my U23 team to join a league despite having youth level 1 in approx. 15 years.

I just use the Windows snipping tool.