Career Taff Attempts the "You Can't Win Anything" Challenge

[Taff]

So here we are again my friends with me trying yet another of the truly fantastic challenges that have appeared in Vibe this year (seriously everyone here has done amazing work this years game, and I personally thank everyone for their efforts and ideas that have been shared here)

This time I'm going with one from @Mr.Manager who has two very intriguing challenges out at the moment, both in a similar vein 

"You Can't Win Anything Challenge" 

Now as I said there are two of these challenges one for youngsters aged 19 or under or the one I will attempt first 

So without further discussion here we go

Season 1

The Oldies

So the sole aim here is to take a team and win the Champions league in 1 season, but no one in my squad can be below the age of 34, so with a bunch of old fogies (or people my age and older) I though about the best thing to do with my manager and the only real option was

To make myself a Fitness coach, and as you can see I chose to use the Mighty Real Madrid 

So the first port of call was to sell or demote anyone under the age of 34, which it turns out was the ENTIRE squad, 

Spoiler

 So with all but 2 players (both GK's) sold we end up with a staggering budget of £742M from player sales, which means I can go Nuts bringing in as many 34+ year old players as need be

Spoiler

OK so £344M is a STUPID amount to spend on 34 year old players, but I overpaid for the ones I really wanted Ibrahimovic being the top choice (his starting stats for a 35 year old are insane), I ended up bringing in so many players I ended up demoting about 8 to free up squad space

I've taken a screen shot of the squad, admittedly it's in December, note this is because I forgot, not because I wanted to sneak in a few 33 year olds (anyone who's unsure feel free to check, the leagues loaded are in my Manager shot)

Spoiler

So with a squad of over the hill players we set off in hopes of conquering the Champions League (The League and Cup info I'll show later)

We began the season awaiting word of our Group opponents and we didn't have to wait long

So not a bad group at all Leverkusen, Club Brugge and Dinamo, but any group is going to be tricky with most of the team ready for the scrap heap

So here's how the boys got on through all 6 group games 

Spoiler

We start off with a very good 3-0 win over our German opponents

A double from my front 2 clinches a win in Belgium

We conceded our first goal against Dinamo but still walk away now with a perfect 3-0-0 record

Ibrahimovic Strikes early but then misses the second half and the next game after a red card, but we still walk away  2-0 winners

A much tighter game this time around but Villa steps up and secures our 5th win and guarantees us a place in the next round

We end the group stages with a perfect record of 6-0-0 and Real are through to the Knockout stages 

So a great group round with us winning all 6 games and only conceding 1 goal (surprised by Leverkusen finishing last with 1 draw and 5 losses but never mind)

So we progress and move on to the knockout stages, but this is where it gets tough, now we face the cream of European football, our first opponents Arsenal 

Here's the two legs against the gunners 

Even though we had more chances, the Gunners take a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg

Ibrahimovic nets the equaliser and takes us through to ET, but neither team can break the deadlock and we go to penalties where we somehow win and progress to the Quater Finals 

Where we face the German Giants Bayern

We have a cracking first game at home and walk away with a 3-1 score to take to Germany

The Germans show us their true strength, but thanks to 2 crucial away goals from my AM Kaka we are into the Semi Finals 

So a penalty shootout and away goal victory and Real Madrid have snuck into the Champions League Semi Finals by the skin of their teeth, but now we face our Arch Rivals FC Barcelona for a chance to play in the Champions League Final

We just can't contain their pace and Messi punishes my back line with two clinical finishes and we are up against a wall going into the second leg

OH NO THE JOURNEY IS OVER CHALLENGE FAILED

We put up a very good fight but it's not enough and this is where our Champions League journey ends, what a shame, but Barcelona were the thorn in my side all year long

So sadly the Challenge has been failed, the old boys put up a hell of a fight, but the tactics and players just weren't working come the last third of the season 

Here's how we did elsewhere

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Euro Supercup

The boys first game of the year was the Euro Supercup against fellow Spaniards Seville 

Villa and Ibrahimovic showing what they could still do at 35 and Real Madrid win the Euro Supercup

CWC

We also took part in the Club World Championship this season

And walked away with the cup thanks to a brace from both Ibrahimovic and Kaka 

Spanish Cup

As previously stated Barcelona were the bane of my life this season and the Spanish Cup was no exception

Knocking us out of the cup in the semi finals and that man Messi once again proving why he's the best player in the world (or what a very old defence is incapable of stopping)  

League

The league was a decent one this year, the boys proving they still have something to offer

We end the season in 2nd place 9 points of those Catalan (insert chosen curse word here), but 8 points clear of A. Madrid in 3rd and only three losses for the season (the draws are what did us in, to many last minute goals from counter attacking teams with too much pace for my old ass defence to stop)

So a Euro Supercup, CWC and a 2nd place League finish not bad, but the whole point of the challenge was to win the Champions League, we came close but that wasn't enough

Here's the Team Stats to show you how the team did

Spoiler

Ibrahimovic and Villa were lethal upfront for most of the season

Kaka playing in the AM role providing the assists, with Zlat the Man also chipping in with 12 assists of his own

These are a bit squiffy with the top three playing in a limited amount of games, Zlat the man and Kaka having the best rating of those who played most games for me

 Here's the full season fixture list

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And Finally the main man Ibrahimovic showing the world he's still got the good

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Winning both the World Player and Spanish Player of the year

So a quick one from me, but I'll be back soon with my attempt with the youngsters 

Thanks again to @Mr.Manager for the great challenge and sorry we couldn't make it a successful one

Cheers guys

[Harish]

Bummer mate but a really great effort...Hats off to you...I hope you retry this challenge as you might have learned what hazards you can face with an old team....And adapt accordingly..I hope you do another attempt.But some great signings except Joe Cole.....Quite confused why you signed him unless you asked Stevie G for transfer advice.

[Taff]

Yeah I'll give it another bash, just struggling with tactics, wanted to try my blitz option, but there are no decent 34+ year old IF's and having only Mexes and Terry at the back is asking for trouble from pacey teams

as for Cole I needed another AM but he played maybe 3 games, he did grab a  goal or two as well

added 0 minutes later

Scratch that I just looked and he only nabbed 1 so he was useless

Gonna have one more season with the Canis Lupus boys then have a go with the youngsters

[Harish]

10 minutes ago, Taff said:

Yeah I'll give it another bash, just struggling with tactics, wanted to try my blitz option, but there are no decent 34+ year old IF's and having only Mexes and Terry at the back is asking for trouble from pacey teams

as for Cole I needed another AM but he played maybe 3 games, he did grab a  goal or two as well

added 0 minutes later

Scratch that I just looked and he only nabbed 1 so he was useless

Gonna have one more season with the Canis Lupus boys then have a go with the youngsters

Cheers mate,looking forward to you doing the kids part.

[BatiGoal]

Tough one mate. Really like the looks of this but it's quite a toughie indeed. And there's a limited time as they "age" - deteriorate rather fast at this point.

Another lesson learnt I suppose

[Taff]

1 minute ago, BatiGoal said:

Tough one mate. Really like the looks of this but it's quite a toughie indeed. And there's a limited time as they "age" - deteriorate rather fast at this point.

Another lesson learnt I suppose

Lesson is once they hit 30 all but the select few are useless 

[Harish]

3 minutes ago, Taff said:

Lesson is once they hit 30 all but the select few are useless 

So much for "Age is just a number"

[Mr.Manager]

Unlucky mate! You weren't far off beating Barca and you dominated that second leg. I know you technically failed the challenge but you managed a hell of a lot better than me!

So many legends in that squad by the way, how good would that have been in 2008??

[Taff]

40 minutes ago, Mr.Manager said:

Unlucky mate! You weren't far off beating Barca and you dominated that second leg. I know you technically failed the challenge but you managed a hell of a lot better than me!

So many legends in that squad by the way, how good would that have been in 2008??

Cheers dude, we came so close, but this team back in 2008 would have destroyed the competition no doubt

[Real_Random]

Unlucky mate, Very close to finishing. Good luck with your next challenge. KIU

 

[Taff]

9 minutes ago, Real_Random said:

Unlucky mate, Very close to finishing. Good luck with your next challenge. KIU

 

Cheers dude, I've gone back to Real and began the Kids portion of the challenge and its going well but fair play to @Harish for doing this with less than £50M spent, I've spent a little bit more

Spoiler

like almost £800M more 

but have a world class squad of youngsters, but will it be enough to win the CL

[Scratch]

Nice stuff! Major props for making it so far, even if you didn't make it all the way. To be honest, I haven't had much luck with oldies, so found it interesting how well you can actually do.

[Taff]

2 minutes ago, scratch99 said:

Nice stuff! Major props for making it so far, even if you didn't make it all the way. To be honest, I haven't had much luck with oldies, so found it interesting how well you can actually do.

It's amazing what £350M will buy you (although £100M of that was Zlat, so not all bad)

 

[Scratch]

Just now, Taff said:

It's amazing what £350M will buy you (although £100M of that was Zlat, so not all bad)

 

Nah, even when I get the marquee signings like Zlat, they just seem to crumble with me. I guess I just don't know how to manage them!

[Taff]

Just now, scratch99 said:

Nah, even when I get the marquee signings like Zlat, they just seem to crumble with me. I guess I just don't know how to manage them!

To be fair his stats at the end made him look better than he was, plenty of games getting 5/6 rating and then Villa came in to save the day

[Ashez]

So unlucky mate! You're not having much luck of late  

[veerus]

Oof, Barca really had your number here.  Maybe next time you could try a narrow mid formation (something like the 41212 which is the in-game preset) and flood the midfield and built up play thru the mid with your old slowpoke grandpas.

[Taff]

9 hours ago, Ashez said:

So unlucky mate! You're not having much luck of late  

No but you can't win everything, the journey is more interesting than the destination but the old buggers just couldn't match the pace of Messi and Co, but they did well

2 hours ago, veerus said:

Oof, Barca really had your number here.  Maybe next time you could try a narrow mid formation (something like the 41212 which is the in-game preset) and flood the midfield and built up play thru the mid with your old slowpoke grandpas.

Good shout dude, my WM were a bit hit and miss maybe a more narrow tactic could work better

[Ashez]

Too right, the failures make you appreciate the success. The bigger and more challenging the idea the bigger the risk of failure and the reward for victory!! 

[Taff]

1 hour ago, Ashez said:

Too right, the failures make you appreciate the success. The bigger and more challenging the idea the bigger the risk of failure and the reward for victory!! 

[Ashez]

Keep pushing the game and yourself mate! I freaking love your passion, drive and desire, this is what the careers community is all about! By the end of the year new members will think your name is Leaderboard Taff as your name follows leaderboard in every thread! 

[Taff]

3 minutes ago, Ashez said:

Keep pushing the game and yourself mate! I freaking love your passion, drive and desire, this is what the careers community is all about! By the end of the year new members will think your name is Leaderboard Taff as your name follows leaderboard in every thread! 

Leaderboard Taff has a nice ring to it

[Taff]

Taff Attempts the "You Can't Win Anything" Challenge

Season 2

Hi guys and I'm back this time having attempted @Mr.Managers second YCWA Challenge this time with the kids at the helm

After reaching the Champions League Semi Finals with the Grandads, it was time for the kids to have a crack to see if they could do better, and so  with fairness in mind I chose to use the same club as before

Welcome back to

                                                                    

 

So Real Madrid have appointed new manager Joy O'Youth to take the reigns at Real and bring the glory of youth with him

So I know that @Harish completed this version of the challenge and my hats off to him for completing it with less than £50M spent, as some of you may have seen I went a little over his total

Now looking at the squad there were exactly 2 players I could keep, Matrin Odegaard and Borja Mayoral, both being under the age restriction of 19  

So I then had to sell the rest of the team

Spoiler

So £775M in profit and all I can say is thank god for Bayern

They bought 6 of my players for a combined total of £424M which would give me more than half the budget made from sales

So with the sale of the players plus the generous transfer budget from the Real board, I had £1B to play with, but I wasn't planning on going that nuts

Spoiler

But the best laid plans of mice and men

Now I know I ended up paying way more than most of these guys are worth, but being Real Madrid I think the clubs ended up putting one hell of a mark up on most of these players

 

£848M spent on a team of youngsters and when I say I just spent a bit more than Harish, £800M more but thats not too bad, but now the pressure was really on, I couldn't fail with a team worth almost £900M but the inexperience of youth may still play a factor 

Here's proof to show all my players are 19 or under

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So the new squad was in place, now it was time to get going, I'll put the main updates up about the UCL, then the rest of the season after 

So our objective was clear, win the Champions League, show no mercy 

So we waited and then the news finally came, who were we to face in the group stages

Not a bad group at all, Dortmund could give us some trouble but the others should be OK

So here is how our 6 group games went

Spoiler

We begin with a good 3-0 win over Sparta Prague in our opening group game

An early red card puts Dortmund on the back foot and we stroll to another 3-0 win

And for the third game we walk out 3-0 winners, putting us at the top of the table with 9 points and 9 GF and 0 GA

We then take the Belgian team back to Spain where they hold us to a 1-1 draw

But Barbosa gets us back on track against Sparta Prague with a double from the man

And we end the group stage with our 5th win thanks to a 2-0 win over Dortmund in Germany

So a great run of games, here is how the group table looked after all 6 games

A very good record, shame about the 1-1 draw with Brugge, but a 13GD and 6 points clear of Dortmund in 2nd

So onto the Knockout stages and our first opponents were from neighboring Portugal, step forward FCP

The away leg just goes our way thanks to a late disallowed goal, and we take a 1 goal lead into the home leg

This time we make sure of things walking away 3-1 winners (5-2 on agg) and the youngsters are off to the UCL Quarter Finals, where we face last seasons Euro Cup winners and fellow Spanish Club Sevilla 

 

We pick them apart at home, but those two away goals could come back to haunt us

The second leg is a real (no pun intended) slobber knocker with both teams throwing everything they have at the opposition, but that man Barbosa once again saves our skin with a hat trick of goals, seeing Real into the Semi Finals thanks to a 7-5 agg score.  Now this is where the old boys came apart, could the youngsters hold it together to get past Arsenal 

OH our first defeat of the competition and it comes at the worst time, but a very late goal from Roberts gives us a sliver of hope going into the return leg, could the young guns shake off the defeat and come out fighting 

OH YES thanks to the late goal from Roberts in the first game we were going through on away goals, but then my young IF Mbappe nets a 97th minute winner to see us through to the UCL final thanks to a 5-4 win over two games

And so here we are, 1 game away from being crowned UCL Champions, just 1 game to see if the youth have what it takes, 

Our opponents are fellow Group B team Dortmund, and the boys are feeling good, having already recorded 2 wins against the German team this year, we need only hold our heads up and go out and fight for our lives

But the boys go out and win the CUP and in some style thanks to another Brace from Barbosa and goals from Embolo and Isak we walk away 4-1 winners and lift the UCL Cup high into the Cardiff Night as Real Madrid's team of youngsters are crowned champions of Europe

So there it is, but it's a somewhat hollow victory, considering I had to spend £800M more than Harish to get this done, I feel like a cheated without cheating.

But the challenge is complete and as my friend @BatiGoal will tell you, having the most expensive players doesn't guarantee victory, so there is some small mercy in that

But the boys did have one hell of a season

Spoiler

We began as we meant to go on with a Barbosa brace winning us the Euro Supercup against Seville

They clinched the Club World Championship with an emphatic win over America (MEX) thanks this time to a hat trick from the young Swede Isak

We won the league on the second to last day of the season, way too many draws early on, but only two losses all season in the league 

A single early goal from Guedes is enough to clinch the Spanish Cup over Villarreal 

  So a League win and 4 cups to cap off a fantastic season for the young guns of Real Madrid 

Here's the tactics I used for the season incase anyone was wondering 

Spoiler

This was my main tactic of the season using a variation of my Tafftastic tactic from way back in FMM 15

I switched between these sets of instructions (as odd as it sounds I'd use the attacking one against the bigger clubs and the more balanced with smaller clubs and switch in game if things weren't going our way

Then if things really weren't going our way I'd switch to a variation of my Blitz tactic from the "European Club Challenge"

Then every now and again I'd switch to this just to throw the teams off a little (this got me a 5-1 win over A. Madrid after I had just faced them in the Cup

Came in handy for when we played the same club in close games i.e. the UCL

Here's the team stats for the boys (Goals, Assists and Avg Rating)

Spoiler

Barbosa was the man as always, but everyone got in on the act from an attacking stand point

My AM Dias, IF Dembele and ADF Jesus sharing the bulk of the assists

Now here is the AVG Rating, but this is obviously a bit squiff due to some players not playing the same amount of games etc 

Players such as Odegaard, Dragowski and Reine-Adelaide all have decent ratings but played a limited number of times, but Barbosa, Roberts and Dias all had multiple games and there rating is a fair reflection I think

Here's the season fixtures

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And finally some end of season awards

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Barbosa clinches the Spain POTY award after a steller year leading the team

Dembele and Embolo share the spoils in the YPOTY

And after leading the team to a quadruple winning season I clinch the MOTY award

And thats it, I might come back at some point to give the Grandads another run at the cup, but for now I'm starting a 1K attempt while I await my turn in the Community Challenge Cup

So from all of us here in Madrid Adios 

[BatiGoal]

Another one off the list. Congrats mate, definitely no easy feat. Clearly, the challenges can't keep up with your careers atm

[Taff]

8 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Another one off the list. Congrats mate, definitely no easy feat. Clearly, the challenges can't keep up with your careers atm

Cheers BG, just trying to get through as many as I can

[veerus]

You're making things look easy, as usual.  Curious to see how you do in the 1K as you have to switch gears from having 2-3 forwards to having 1.....

I always worry about frequent fouls and increased penalties with committed tackling which seems to be your default setting.  Have you tried normal tackling or does committed tackling work fine when you're using world class defenders?

[Taff]

I do switch to normal tackling if playing in the lower leagues with less talented players but anyone who has tackling above 13 I use committed, and yes you'r going to accumulate a few red/yellow cards but that's part of the game

[mcandrew003]

Massive well done Taff, you smash yet another challenge! Some of your tactics look awfully exotic 

Unlucky on not completing the first part of the challenge, but you smashed the second part so congrats!

[Taff]

42 minutes ago, mcandrew003 said:

Massive well done Taff, you smash yet another challenge! Some of your tactics look awfully exotic 

Unlucky on not completing the first part of the challenge, but you smashed the second part so congrats!

Cheers dude and the main tactic is one i created 2 years ago and it was always solid, but hasn't had much love this year so thought I'd give it a go, it's based on the one I gave to @Asgaroth for his plug-n-play challenge

[Brenty92]

Another leaderboard down, gunning for the 1kc one next!

keep it up mate