Taking Over The World - The Hexagon Challenge

[wr1097]

An Introduction

*I had 2 stories on here for FM14 - unfortunately the saves kept crashing, so I gave up and began playing a friend's copy....it's been going well so far, which is why I've decided to start this challenge.


The Hexagon Challenge

The aim of this save is simple - to win the six continental championships starting as a Sunday League manager. For this challenge, I've decided to start as manager with dual nationality (England/New Zealand)

I'll only be doing seasonal updates because I'll be using Instant result to get through most games.

Where do I start?

Oceania, of course - having loaded American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tahiti (If I remember correctly, the megapack can be found in the custom leagues thread/downloads section).

I might take a little time to complete Oceania because
a. Most teams do not have the ability to compete with the New Zealand clubs.
b. The top-flight managers in New Zealand rarely get sacked (this could be a bug)
c. There is no promotion to the top flight in New Zealand.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading!

​

 

[wr1097]

Season 1 - 2013/14

I was already 90% done when I started the thread, so here's the first update.

I applied for a number of jobs and the first team to respond was Central United - in the New Zealand 2nd division.

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I didn't take a picture of my initial profile, so here's one after I took on the job.

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I see this job as a stepping stone - to increase my reputation and win a few trophies along the way.

Transfers

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Just a couple of reinforcements to maintain fitness - most games are spaced 10 days apart though.

Squad

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Nothing special here.....

We're predicted 3rd in the league but I believe we can challenge for the title.

Pre-Season

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Very poor preseason - I was only trying out tactics, so it's understandable.

Chatham Cup

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Amazing cup run. It was 4-4 at half-time in the final and I didn't think they'd allow us to score again but that's football.

NRFL Premier

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Balls.
Easiest start to a save I've ever had, and I've played as Man United god knows how many times....
Hopefully, this does wonders for my rep because this is a deadbeat job.

Unfortunately, it was not to be an unbeaten season as we conceded a 92nd minute winner in out last league game (Aguero moment.....)

Best Player

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Clearly the best by a mile - however my strikeforce was amazing sharing 62 goals between them.

Where do I go from here?

I'm ready to resign at any moment, should a job come up in Fiji or Tahiti. Possibly take on an team in the Olympic qualifiers as well.

​

 

[AndySams10]

Will be following. Good luck.

 

[wr1097]

Season 2 - 2015

Why only 2015, you might ask? Because I resigned from Central Utd and spent 3 months searching for a suitable job - and this one in Fiji popped up....

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They sacked the previous manager for finishing 7th in the League. I took over with 2 games to go in a Cup competition - one of three in Fiji - and the team were already out, so there is no point in posting those results.

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They're amateurs, just like every other club in Fiji - but that means I don't have to care about finances!
On top of that, the league champions get a spot in the O-League group stage!

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I was also appointed as manager of the Fiji U23s, only to be embarrassed in the Olympic Qualifiers. No point in posting those results here....

The only problem I have with Fiji is that the league requires a 25-man squad, which could hurt us given the amount and duration of injuries that have been pulling us down.

Transfers

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I released more players than I brought in, but there is some real quality in the squad, atleast by Fijian standards....

Squad (End of Season)

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Very small squad, although I have a couple more players in the U20s.


Sun/Weet-Bix National League

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We won!! More importantly, we qualified for the O-League! I don't think this was ever in doubt, although we did push our luck in a few games....


Fijian Interdistrict Championship

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A league and cup double...if only I could follow it up with the O-League next season!

Fijian FA Cup

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We didn't turn up until the last game and by then, it was too late....

Fijian Battle of Nations

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This country has more competitions than England....unlucky not to make it to the final, though....


Key Player

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9 goals and 22 assists, this guy has been the vital cog in midfield....too bad he announced his retirement when I took over. Might find it hard to replace him.

O-League group

I did apply for a couple of top-flight jobs in New Zealand. Looking at the group stage, I'm thankful that I wasn't selected.

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Apparently, I was wrong about the qualification - Fiji have 2 places in the O-League and this is how you qualify for the semis - the top team + the best from the rest....should be easy enough! I feared that I would have to spend 6-7 seasons in Oceania, that might not be the case, though.

Thanks for reading!

​

 

[wr1097]

Season 3 - 2016

I'll be splitting this review into 2 parts to accommodate the O-League.

Transfers

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Same as the last transfer window - cleared out some of the underperformers and brought in some quality players (by Fijian standards) to help in the O-League

Squad (End of Season)

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Sun/Weet-Bix National League

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Embarrassing....we took the p*ss in the second half of the season. I knew that Ba would put up a fight but I didn't expect us to collapse this badly.

Fijian CVC

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This is like the Community Shield...so I wasn't too worried when we lost.

Fijian FA Cup

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Again...just p*ssed off. Not because we lost, but because we were forced to play 4 games in 6 days during this period. And then we were given a month's break....

Fijian Battle of Giants

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Great for the lads to win another cup.

Fijian Interdistrict Championship

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This was around the time when we started taking the p*ss....

O-League Review coming in the next update.
​

 

[wr1097]

Season 3 - 2016

2015/16 O-League

We had a relatively easy group. I expected to qualify, even if it was as 2nd placed.

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Not really very convincing, but it was enough to put us through.

Thankfully, Auckland City didn't qualify, they were easily the strongest team in the competition.

Semi-Final (vs Amicale - VAN)

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Very convincing win and gives me great hope going into the final.

Final (vs Canterbury United - NZL)

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Honestly, it was one of the worst games of football I've seen in my life....but who cares? We won!!!

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That's the O-League done and dusted, and I'll be moving on to Asia next.


Key Player

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Popped up at some crucial times for the team, only problem is he was injury prone.


​

 

[wr1097]

Quick Update

Loaded upto 21 countries in Asia, and I've been moving around, applying for a couple of jobs. The good news is that my rep's high enough to be considered by Chinese clubs, although no one has approached me yet.

Here's my managerial record so far : -

View attachment 393722

Hopefully, I can build up a better defensive record and complete the Hexagon within a 1000 games....
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[wr1097]

Season 4 - 2017

I spent 5/6 months applying for jobs as the Asian leagues loaded one by one. I was invited for interviews in Uzbekistan and China, but was overlooked for both jobs. So, I had to settle for a Chinese 2nd division side who had sacked their manager in the middle of the season.

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They were struggling in 8th place when I took over, having been tipped for promotion.

Transfers & Squad (End of Season)

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It's a fairly okay squad at this level, but my hopes were on Ma Ao, a 17-year old striker.....

Jia League

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That was unexpected....I was hoping we could get to fourth/fifth and make a push for promotion next season, but this team came together and pulled off some great results in the last 5 games.

Toshiba FA Cup

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Wasn't expecting any miracles, but I'm glad we pushed Shenxin to penalties.

Key Players

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This guy has been a rock in an otherwise ordinary defence....the strange thing he's played over 200 league games in Europe (Groningen and Augsburg) and yet only 8 caps for Sierra Leone.

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I bought this kid in for ?120K and he didn't disappoint....his 4-goals against Senke have been the highlight of my time here.


Where to Next?

I will most certainly not be staying with Henan past the end of the season for two reasons :
The club is ?700K in the red because the previous manager set aside ?1.1M for winning the title - so I would have almost nothing to work with in the winter....

and what kind of ungodly nickname is "RED MANHOLE"!!!!
(seriously, the club are nicknamed red manhole)

​

 

[wr1097]

Is there any interest in this? I want to continue the story only if there's some interest, otherwise I'll just keep going on with the challenge.

 

[benthos]

Hey man.

I know this is around 2 years old now but I just stumbled upon it and would have loved to hear what ended up happening. I might be trying to put together a challenge similar to this in FM16 for myself. How did you go through seasons quickly? Did you simulate the games, I'm trying to understand how to not take forever on a single season (I am relatively new).