Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge

[FM_TNSSO]

After the corruption of my Norway save, I’ve decided to give the Sir Alex Ferguson challenge another go. So what is the challenge…


The idea is to try to emulate the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson, love him or hate him, nobody can deny that he is up there as one of or maybe even the greatest manager of all time.


These are the rules I will be following for the purpose of this save/story;​

• Sim the game until November 6th and take over the team that is 2nd from bottom in the Premier League. Sir Alex took over Manchester United when they were in this position on November 6th 1986. Now I have slightly deviated away from this on the date for the simple reason that because of COVID this year, the season is running late and on November 6th, the Premier League had only played 6/7 games……I have therefore simmed my season to 11 games in (which is usually where it is around November 6th) which means we start in December. In terms of where we are at in the season though, it’s in line with the rules of the challenge.​
• Stay at this one club for the entire save. Getting sacked means game over.​
• Aim to bring youth players through the club (Sir Alex brought through numerous prospects including the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nicky **** to name a few).​
• Persuade long term players to become part of the coaching staff at the club when they retire from playing. The likes of Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Paul Ince, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes all worked under Sir Alex at the club.​

I am not putting any restrictions on signings or the money I spend as I think it is unrealistic to compare today’s transfer market and inflated prices with back when Sir Alex was in charge. Also, there’s BREXIT to contend with….something Sir Alex never had to deal with.


After going on holiday until 11 games into the Premier League season, the club currently sitting 19th in the Premier League that I will be taking over is……

The below table will be updated as I go through my save, but it details what Sir Alex achieved in what timescales. I will of course be looking to match or better his achievements, but it isn’t game over if I don’t as long as I’m still in the job.
​

GOAL​

Achieved?​

Sir Alex​

Chris Ball​

​

Win a domestic cup with 4 seasons​	N/A​	1990, FA Cup vs Crystal palace​	N/A​
Win Premier League within 7 seasons​	N/A​	1992/93​	N/A​
Win a domestic double within 8 seasons​	N/A​	1993/94 - Premier League & FA Cup​	N/A​
Win treble within 13 seasons (must include Champs League)​	N/A​	1998/99 - Premier League, FA Cup & Champions League​	N/A​
English Premier League Titles​	N/A​	Total 13; 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13​	0​
FA Cup​	N/A​	Total 5; 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004​	0​
League Cup​	N/A​	Total 4; 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010​	0​
Community Shield​	N/A​	Total 10; 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011​	0​
UEFA Champions League​	N/A​	Total 2; 1999, 2008​	0​
UEFA Europa League​	N/A​	Total 1; 1991​	0​
UEFA Super Cup​	N/A​	Total 1; 1991​	0​
FIFA Club World Cup​	N/A​	Total 2; 1999, 2008​	0​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

£43,500 per week ain’t a bad starting salary for any manager. Now I’ve just got to prove I’m worth it!

A major plus point about getting Brighton for this save is that they do already have superb training and youth facilities which will be imperative in bringing through young talent at the club! The youth recruitment could use a little work though.

And the AMEX Stadium is a nice ground down on the South Coast, with a capacity of just over 30,000.

The club are still relatively new to Premier League football and have never won a division above League One. The FA Cup and League Cup are also trophies they’ve never had the pleasure of lifting either. I could really build a dynasty for myself here if I’m successful.

The current predicament we find ourselves in….single figure points, 3rd worst attack, 2nd worst defence….plenty of work to be done! However, only 1 point from safety which is a plus I guess.

We go away to Bournemouth in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, but are already out of the Carabao Cup although there is no shame in losing to City.

£5 million in the bank and £15 million available to spend in the January window. Could be worse!

Plenty of business was done last Summer.

So this is the squad I’m currently working with. My Assistant clearly doesn’t rate a number of these players.

Lewis Dunk is without a doubt one of the best players at the club and it’s important to keep him at the club and at the heart of my defence!

Adam Lallana is a fantastic acquisition for Brighton as well and we can build our attack around his creativity going forward. Unfortunately we might only have the rest of this season and next season to get out of him, with him now being 32 years old.

So naturally the two best players get the captain’s duties.

There’s 4 youngsters in the U23s that are currently out on loan trying to prove their worth and they do have significant potential.

17 year old Antef Tsoungui is definitely worth keeping an eye on as well!

The vision is to become an established Premier League club over the next few years. Realistic, but to match Sir Alex, I need to be winning the Premier League within 7 seasons!

​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

HAHA well that was the shortest attempt at the SAF challenge you've ever seen! After just 3 months in charge I was sacked....although after these results I can't really blame the board! I do have to question if my game is broke though after we had 3 games in 4, where we conceded 7 goals!!! I mean I did have a defensive crisis with 3 of my back 4 out, but come on!!

Fair to say I'm pretty p1ssed off for one day....I'll go away and have a think about what save to try next.....anything has got to be better than this, but honestly I feel like I need at least 24 hours away from FM or the laptop is getting launched across the room!

 

[Sam91]

That was a shock when i got to that end post i was really looking forward to this!! Horrible fixtures at the end. Two 3-7 results too which seems to be a common theme with this FM, i lost to Juve on my San Marino save the other day by that scoreline

 

[FM_TNSSO]

That was a shock when i got to that end post i was really looking forward to this!! Horrible fixtures at the end. Two 3-7 results too which seems to be a common theme with this FM, i lost to Juve on my San Marino save the other day by that scoreline

Maybe my game isn't broken then.....maybe it's just the whole of FM21

You've gotta love it....even when you hate it!

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Was enjoying your journeyman story mate, you should get back on that if you're still invested in it. Was something different and made me want to start one myself (which I'd never be able to do because of my laptop!)