Choose the Challenge

[JohnPlays]

Choose the Challenge

This is a long term FM19 save I want to do till the FM20 comes out. I would like to create a story based on a specific challenge as voted by you on a poll. I want to complete the challenge as quick as possible and if enough time is left to do another I can continue with the next, and the next and the last challenge.

The 4 challenges currently appealing to me are:
-City Football Group Challenge
-Arsenal Academy Challenge
-Emulating [a manager]
-Hexagon Challenge

City Football Group Challenge:

The City Football Group Challenge is a challenge based on the clubs that are owned by, you guessed it, City Football Group.

The Clubs (w/ nation and division [level]) are:

• Manchester City [England] – Premier League [1]
• Girona [Spain] – La Liga 123 [2]
• Club Atletico Torque [Uruguay] – Premira Division [1]
• Melbourne City [Australia] – A-League [1]
• Yokohama F. Marinos [Japan] – J-League [1]
• Sichuan Jiuniu [China PR] – League Two [3]

Objectives:
The objective is to win the top domestic league with each of these teams, as well as winning the UEFA Champions League (w/ Man City or Girona), the Copa America (w/ CA Torque) and the AFC Champions League (w/ Melbourne City, Yokohama FM or Sichuan Jiuniu).

Approximate Duration of save:
2018 – 2040 [22 years]

Inspiration:
https://community.sigames.com/topic/486298-the-cfg-challenge/

Arsenal Academy Challenge:

This is a challenge based on players who have come through the Arsenal FC Academy, whether previous years or Regens.
Any player who has been in it or graduated from it will be eligible to sign for the club.
All non-Academy players will be released prior to the save.
Some players eligible to sign are: Szczesny, Gnabry, Fabregas, etc. (I will compile a shortlist and screenshot it for you).
This is personally my favourite.

Objectives:
The objective is to win the Premier League, and the UEFA Champions League.

Approximate Duration of save:
2018-2030 [12 years]

Inspiration:
https://community.sigames.com/topic/413717-fm18-youth-academy-challenge/

Emulating [a manager]:

This challenge you need to follow the path of a certain manager’s career and manage ONLY the clubs he has managed and win the trophies he has won at that specific club. If no trophies won at a club you only have to manage the club for a year (it adds more time to gain more difficult trophies).
You start at the age he started at his first club and the goal is to win all the trophies he has won quicker than he did.
Extra credit would be given if you emulate his types of formations and style of play. (I will try do this in this challenge, like the WM formation; terrible in modern football but interesting in this save.

Managers to emulate (notable teams & career duration):
Herbert Chapman – Arsenal, Huddersfield Town [27 years]
Arsene Wenger – Arsenal, AS Monaco [34 years*]
Sir Alex Ferguson – Aberdeen, Manchester United [39 years]
Brian Clough – Derby County, Nottingham Forest [28 years]
Johan Cruyff – Ajax, Barcelona [11 years]
Jose Mourinho – Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid [18 years*]
Pep Guardiola – Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona [12 years*]
Franz Beckenbauer – German National Team, Marsielle, Bayern Munich [12 years]
Marcello Lippi – Juventus, Guangzhou Evergrande, Italian National Team [37 years*]
Giovanni Trapattoni – Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich [41 years]
*implies still manager
You can also vote here for the manager if this is chosen:
https://www.strawpoll.me/18379081

Objectives:
Emulate the managers career in record time.

Approximate Duration of save:
2018-2059 [41 years]

Inspiration:
https://community.sigames.com/topic...son-reviving-the-sir-alex-ferguson-challenge/

Hexagon Challenge:

We all know this challenge, if you don’t it is basically the Pentagon Challenge with the OFC Champions League added. I might want to add the Ultimate Hexagon Challenge by winning all the continental trophies since I am going to be this challenge with all my coaching badges done so it will be easier to get bigger jobs.

Objectives:

Africa:
Win CAF Champions League
Win African Cup of Nations (not CHAN)
Asia:
Win AFC Champions League
Win AFC Cup
North America:
Win CONCACAF Champions League
Win Gold Cup
South America: Win Copa Libertadores
Win Copa America
Oceania:
Win OFC Champions League
Win OFC Nations Cup
Europe:
Win UEFA Champions League
Win UEFA Euros
World:
Win FIFA Club World Cup
Win FIFA World Cup

Approximate Duration of save:
2018-2048 [30 years]

 

[Muttley84]

You should check your math for the duration of the first 2 challenges

 

[JohnPlays]

Arsenal Academy Challenge - Introduction

Arsenal Academy Challenge
Introduction

Game Setup:

Editor Files:

Pr0’s Database Update: https://www.fmscout.com/a-fm19-transfer-data-update-by-pr0-fmtu.html
FMTU Transfer Update 29 July 2019: https://fmtransferupdate.com/

I created a single database by merging all of the above into a single Arsenal Academy Database in which I removed all non-eligible players from the squad, in total 22 players were removed.
I also added wage budget and transfer budget based on the original contracts and in-game transfer values of the players; 2.07M in wages and 500M in budget (which I reduced to 260M).

Leagues added for realism of Champions League:

Start Date: 25 June 2018

Manager Profile:

Arsenal

Squads:

The squads are very weak and lacks depth. Signings must be made in order to fulfil those positions. There are many young players in the squad who are not cut out for first team football. We need a left-back and centre-back for sure. The squad is currently predicted to finish 15th​ but I want to try get Top Half and potentially into the Europa League.

The following 80 players are eligible to sign due to them having attended the Arsenal Academy:

Next Update will be around 31 December 2018 in which Summer Signings will be shown and the first half of the season. Let’s hope it all goes well!

 

[JohnPlays]

You should check your math for the duration of the first 2 challenges

Most definitely. This Arsenal Challenge seems more difficult than I expected. Signings are tough. Let's hope it goes quicker than expected.

 

[Muttley84]

Most definitely. This Arsenal Challenge seems more difficult than I expected. Signings are tough. Let's hope it goes quicker than expected.

I was meaning it literally dude, 2018 to 2030 is 12 years and not 22

 

[rryanwilliams]

Appreciate the inspiration, good luck with the save

 

[JohnPlays]

Thanks. I will give an update by the end of today. The game save has taken longer than anticipated, for the following season (2019/20 onwards) I have removed the Spanish, German and Italian Leagues just to streamline the save.

Here's a little teaser:

Just a question. If I do get sacked should I entirely restart the save, or should I just Add New Manager and take up the vacant Arsenal job each time?

 

[JohnPlays]

Humble Beginnings

Arsenal Academy Challenge
Humble Beginnings
July 2018 - December 2018

Insight:
This challenge is a lot harder than I thought. It wouldn’t be a challenge if that wasn’t the case. I had to find the correct balance between defence and attack after making my signings. It was a pain because the defence was quite weak and the attack was mediocre. Eventually I managed to get a balance and then it started kicking off. From relegation zone to mid-table. Here is a look at the stats, tables, fixtures and analysis of the save up until December 2018 after 20 games into the Premier League.

Signings:
Having started with quite a large budget I never worried about the signings on the financial side. However due to lack of Champions League football, players moving to their new clubs recently and ex-Arsenal players not having Arsenal in their plans (i.e. Vela and Cashley Cole) I struggled to sign major names. Luckily, the banter man himself, Wojciech Szczesny, joined the club for 45 million pounds which isn’t too bad but I had to promise him the captaincy. That was fine because the squad lacked leaders. Knowing the defence needed major sorting out I signed; Kieran Gibbs (9.75 M), Havard Nordtveit (6.25M), Johan Djourou (Free) and Isaac Hayden (25M). Some of those signing can cover in midfield which additionally Ismael Bennacer joined (9.75M). The attack got some young reinforcements Donyell Malen (9.25M) and the brother of one of the players, Chris Willock (10.25M). Additionally some players were sent out on loan due further their development.

Tactics:
At first there was a real struggle to find the correct balance in tactics. I spent quite a while working out the tactics against the big teams and small teams because the same philosophy couldn’t be used. I jumped between having an attacking 4231, a defensive 4231, and then even playing a strikerless formation. Ultimately I managed to create a decent tactic which can counter against the big teams. In our game against Liverpool we totally FM’ed them 57 shots vs 11 shots with final score being 2-1 to us.

Competitions:
The competitions haven't gone as well as expected. After starting really slow in the Premier League ,where we were fighting for a relegation spot, we finally managed to get out of it. We slowly started winning games and we are currently on an 8 game unbeaten run going into the new year, lets hope that lasts. We are 11th in the Premier League which is just shy of our expectations and we got knocked out by Manchester City on penalties in the EFL Cup. The one positive to take out of this is the fact that we easily progressed through our easy Europa League group with playing a rotated team for most of the games.
Premier League:

Europa League:

EFL Cup:

Player Overview:

Great stats so far for all the youngsters. Some of them are really taking this first team seriously which is a nice thing to have. Eddie Nketiah with 15 goals in 23 appearances is very good. All players with a decent average rating which shows promising signs.

Total Overview:

The first half of the season has been give or take at the same pace as the expectations. I am happy with the youngsters progress; I will however send a few more out on loan, especially the ones knocking on the window for the first team. Our lacklustre defence is going to keep causing us problems. Hopefully I can find a formation that can compete with the big teams. Overall I am happy and I still stick to my expectations of getting back into Europe next season.