fries

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.

Championship 2030/31 (season 8) Season Summary Before the season I hoped we could get a playoff spot. But in end, we were just one point short. A bit devastating with just one point in the last two games. Most of the team developed very well and also performed good. My best players: Walters is my best players and performed well with 22 goals. Byran is my captain and my top scorer and the top scorer of the league with 29 goals. Glover is another important player: Zerrouki had his first season as my first-choice keeper. He developed very well from 2.5 to 3.5 stars. I had 3 players on the NXGN list. Smith is my star player from the intake of last season. Unfortunately, he broke his leg in the spring. But that is maybe my chance to hold off bigger clubs for one more season. Toby Walters (not related to Patrick Walters), is a young winger. I don't use wingers so I play him as a backup striker. However, he has not had his breakthrough yet. The third player on the NXGN list is N'Guessan. He is my best defender. The youth intake preview looked great. But only two A's and not 5 stars. However, the intake was really bad. Only 2.5 stars. I only think that Schubert has a chance to go into the first team. However, top talents can always surprise. Unfortunately, we sold Mäkinen in January. He was an important player in the defense. He actually agreed on a new contract but did not sign it before Sheffield United offered his release clause. I think that we would have a larger chance of promotion if had stayed. Finances and Upgrades The board agreed to improve the youth facilities. They also announced that we will build a new stadium that is ready after next season. Next season Next season, I hope to keep my best players, Walters, Smith, Glover, and N'Guassan. If I can keep also my players and a few others will continue to develop I hope we can get a playoff spot and thus maybe get a chance to promote.

I always push for upgrades. I think it is only the last upgrades that are really expensive. The benefits are too large not to push for upgrades in this challenge.

I think you just have to wait. I have never experienced being restricted by my youth level.

Championship 2029/30 (season 7) Season Summary After 3 promotions in row I thought we should fight to avoid relegation. But we started out very well. We competed for a playoff spot, but bad form in December meant that we did not achieve it. However, it was close in the end. Byran was the topscorer of the league again for the fourth season and league in row. But his partner in front, Walters, was my greatest player once again. The rest of the team developed very well and also performed good. My best players: N'Guessan was again on the NXGN list. Douglas: Mäkinen: The youth intake preview looked great. Lots of A's and but for the first time not 5 stars. The intake was really great with Smith as the best player I have ever gotten from a youth intake Championship quality from the beginning. No significant transfers this season. Finances and Upgrades No upgrades this season. And we are started to have financial problems. There are rumors about a new takeover and I hope that will clear the dept. Or that we can promote before I have to sell a star player. Next season Next season, I hope to keep developing my players. I hope to keep my best players, Walters, Smith, and N'Guassan. If the players can continue to develop I hope we can get a playoff spot and thus maybe get a chance to promote.

Well, same for me. I only have one player that is better.

WTF, a great player for my Championship side.

Thanks for the comments everybody! The funny thing is that I have used several formations in this save. I started with a 4-3-3/4-5-1. Then I got 4 promosing offensive talents (including Walters, Byran, Egan and Oliver) and changed to a 4-2-4 formation with two strikers and two offensive wingers. I had to sell Oliver and therefore changed my formation to a 4-3-3 narrow formation with three strikers. I played this formation in the promotion seasons from the National League and League Two. I sold Egan in the winter of my League Two season. Early in my League One season I therefore changed the formation to a 4-4-2/4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond formation. I always try to use a formation that fits my players

League One 2028/29 (season 6) Season Summary My young players keep developing and performing. And as a team, we kept winning. Not the title this time, but another promotion. 3 promotions in a row. I have never experienced this kind of success before! We started by losing the first game of the season. Then we lost again to a League Two team in the Carabao Cup. In the next game, we won a narrow but undeserved victory. I though that this was our level and that we would fight to win games this season. However, after that, I changed the tactics to a 4-4-2 narrow diamond formation. And then we started winning. We also won the Papa Johns Throphy. My two strikers did very well. Byran scored 36 goals and Walters scored 25 while he assisted 19 goals too. The rest of the team developed very well and also performed good. The primary reason for my success in the last few seasons is my strikers. The first one, Walters, is regarded as the best player in the league. I just renewed his contract, but he has a rather low release clause. Another reason for my success over the past few years is Byran. So far he has scored 161 league goals in 190 league games and was my top scorer for the forth season in a row. A rising star and a good performer in the defense is N'Guessan. He has developed very well this season. Another promising and well performing player is Douglas. N'Guessan was my first player of this save to be on the NXGN list. I think this is the earliest I have had a player on that list. The youth intake preview looked great. Lots of A's and 5 stars. The intake was okay with some okay personalities. The five most promising players got a little game time in the end of the season was promotion almost was home. No significant transfers this season. However, Egan, whom I sold last season was sold to another club from Brazil. Furthermore, I sold the 50 pct. sell-on-clause we had on Mutombo. Finances and Upgrades I used the money from the Mutombo clause to upgrade the facilities. But the Mutombo money is also financing the youth set up which is quite expensive every month. Next season Next season, I hope to keep developing my players. I really hope to keep Walters. The promotions must stop now. The team is no near the Premier League level. I think we will fight to avoid relegation and maybe get a mid-table position.

The journey is the goal! I think most saves presented in here do not complete the challenge. I watch every game with the middle setting (can't remember the correct name as I don't have the game open), but with the fastest speed. However, I go much faster through a season than normal when playing this challenge. Primarly because you don't spend time on scouting and transfers. So the time between matches is limited.

Great advices from @thomas_e. I would like to add a few points. - First, renew contracts. When you take over your club, you typically have a few days to renew expiring contracts. That is the number 1 priority when you start a new save. This is the only grown players you have until the youth intake players grow older, so you have to keep and work with them a few years. - Develop your staff. The Youth Academy Challenge is not only about developing players. You also have to develop your staff. Focus on hiring staff that are young, have a good personality and who have low level training license. Sending your staff on trainer courses will significantly increase their skills. In a few seasons, you will have more talented staff compared to jobless staff that are willing to sign with you. - Fit your tactic to your star players. You only have a limited pool of players, why you have to play to their strengths. If you have a great attacking left wing back and a great defensive right full back, you have to utilize that and play with some asymmetry. If you have 3 very talented strikers, you have to play with 3 at the front. You cannot adapt your squad to your tactic, so you must adapt your tactic to your squad. - Believe in the youth. If you have two equally good players on one position, play the younger. He will develop to a better player. It will maybe cost you something in the short run, but in the long run it will pay off. - Retrain positions. When you are established as a club you have to plan a few years ahead. If you don’t have e.g. a great right full back coming through and you know you will need that in the future, you have to be proactive. Maybe a young central defender, winger, or central midfielder can fill that position. Then retrain their position. A great tip is that you can change the youth or reserve teams starting 11 on the last day before each game. In that way you can make sure that the player gets game time in the new position. - Let your star player be angry. If a player is locked down on a long contract you don’t have to sell him even if he gets angry. If he is important for the team and you don’t have a replacement just decline too low bids and keep playing him. Eventually he will maybe forget about it. Just don’t promise to sell unless you actually are planning to do that. - Sell with clauses. Early on, it is a great idea to include sell-on-clauses and maybe try to delay the transfer date to after the season, if you have to sell an important young player. The sell-on-clause can gain you lot of money later on if he gets another transfer, or maybe you get the opportunity to sell the clause early for a great amount. - Rest players in times of congested program. If your team depth is very narrow, you can probably secure that the players are fit in times of a congested match program by resting the most important players for a half or a whole day between matches.

Thanks! I think one of the primary reasons for the success of the tactic is the fact that my strikers have been at a high level compared to the league.

League Two 2027/28 (season 5) Season Summary I have never before in this challenge achieved back-to-back promotions. But this season it happened. South Shields are back-to-back champions. Another dream season. I continued using my 4-3-3 with three strikers. And the team continued to play as last season. The three strikers scored lots of goals and together win only 3 draws, it was enough to win the title. My 3 young offensive stars Egan, Byran, and Walters, played very well. Unfortunately, the board accepted a bid on Egan in the winter. But before he was sold, he did well with 8 goals and 4 assists in 21 games as my false 9. Byran scored massively 52 goals in 48 games. While Walters had the highest average rating with 7.55. He scored 27 and assisted 16 times. The rest of the team have developed very well this season and raised the level. N'Guessan and Douglas from the intake of last season will soon develop into new stars of the team. He is the bid on Egan that the board accepted. He was sold to Brazil in January. But to my suprise, he was on the NXGN-list when it was later announced. The youth intake preview looked great. Lots of A's and 5 stars. I was disappointed with the intake. No 5 stars players. However, Mäkinen can maybe develop into a rotational player in my defense next season. As earlier mentioned, I sold Egan. The only significant transfer this season. Finances and Upgrades I had no upgrades this season. But I think my youth recruitment and academy coaching are maxed. However, it has caused me some financial problems, as the expenditures for my youth set up have been above 2 mill. pounds this season. Next season Next season, I hope to keep developing my players. I am actually not afraid of relegation, as I think that both Walters and Byran have the quality to become top scorers also in League One. But we will see. I don't expect another promotion though.

You can just change the language every time you take a screenshot. It works well for me.

Well done. But I think you have to "document" your achievements with season updates in the thread. Mostly, because we like to follow each other's adventures. EDIT: I can see you posted this in the 22 thread. I don't know if that counts.

Vanarama National League 2026/27 (season 4) Season Summary My expectations this season were to fight for promotion and keep developing my players. Before the season I sold one of my four young offensive star players. I wondered how I could get the most out of the remaining three and therefore changed my tactic to a 4-3-3 with three strikers. The three strikers scored lots of goals, but we were also open in the defense. In the end, we scored massively 113 goals which were enough to win the title and promotion. The defense got better in the second part of the season as my defenders got better. My 3 young offensive stars Ergan, Byran, and Walters, played very well. Byran scored massively 48 league goals in 45 league games. While the two other strikers Egan and Walters had the highest average rating with 7.51. They scored and assisted a combined 30 and 29 respectively. Marcinkowski and Jordao developed very well this season. After this magnificent season, I thought it was a good idea to display my three strikers. First Byran. He played as an advanced forward in the center of the three strikers. He can finish, dribble, and run and his mentals are crazy. Fortunately, I have had no problems with him being unhappy. I think he will be appointed as my captain for the next season. Egan plays as a false 9 on the left. According to the season preview tab, in the end of the season, he was regarded as the best player in the league. However, he wants to move to a bigger club. With two years back on his contract, I can hopefully keep him for another year. Walters plays as a target man on the right. He also wants to move to a bigger club. With two years back on his contract, I can hopefully also keep him for another year. Not only my first team had success with my new tactic. My youth team also won their league and scored most goals. The youth intake preview looked great. Lots of A's and 5 stars. I was very happy with the intake. The personalities are okay. Both N'Guessan and Douglas will be rotational players next season. Douglas was the best player in my intake. He got a few games at the end of the season and played well. Oliver was as earlier mentioned sold for around £500K and a 50 pct. sell-on-clause before the season. I later sold the sell-on-clause for around £1.5M. However, no important players left the club this season. Unfortunately, my talented reserve keeper is leaving the club for free after this season. I tried to loan him out, but the only club that answered wanted him as a backup. I declined the offer and he was unhappy for the rest of the season, why it was impossible to renew his contract. Finances and Upgrades I managed to upgrade the facilities. I upgraded my training facilities once and youth recruitment twice. Personally, I managed to get the Continental Pro Licence Next season Next season I hope to keep my young players through the summer. The strikers should be good enough to play at the top of the league again. I have my doubts about the rest of the team. But in the end, it would be great if we can fight for the play offs.

Upgrades to training facilities and youth facilities will definitely impact your finances. I will check the other two when I get home today.

A better and allowed solution is to postpone the transfer date to after the season instead of a loan back.