Career Pedro attempts...the “Parking the Bus” challenge

[omen_peter]

So here it is. My very first FMM vibe challenge! Created by @Foxy it is the “Parking the Bus” challenge.

So why pick this challenge as my first? Well it’s a single season so should be easier to complete, and with a ban on signing players I don’t even have to worry about what players to sign. The squad is the squad.

So what club have I decided to pick? See below (along with evidence of it being my first season):

 

[broodje kip]

FC Porto had a transfer ban? I don’t think so

[FuddledFox]

Good luck.

[Ian]

This is an enjoyable challenge this. I wish you good luck. 

[omen_peter]

20 minutes ago, Lord Danish said:

FC Porto had a transfer ban? I don’t think so

It's one of the rules of the challenge. No signing any players.

 

17 minutes ago, Foxy said:

Good luck.

 

11 minutes ago, Ian said:

This is an enjoyable challenge this. I wish you good luck. 

Thank you!

[BatiGoal]

Good first challenge. I see the build up for what's to come 👍 

[SophiaFM]

Good luck, it’s not the most enjoyable of challenges though haha, you can’t play attacking football as much as you’d like and every game is a slog, but getting 40 clean sheets I think whenever I did it was good fun

[Mindoh]

Good luck mate.Sounds like an interesting challenge. Maybe I'll try it too later. 😁

[samhardy]

Good one to start with, hope you don't get too many of the "classic FMM" 4-4 draws or a late spectacular AI comeback from out of nowhere. Will be following.

[omen_peter]

Thanks everyone for the comments so far!

I’ve now reviewed the team, including making sure everyone is training in the position they will play in. With the aim of the task being clean sheets I wanted to go for a defensive setup, but not too much as I need to score goals too else I’ll probably get fired!
 

See below for my initial tactical setup. Will see how this goes in the 3 pre-season friendlies (which don’t count) before making any changes/tweaks:

 

[omen_peter]

Well pre-season couldn’t have gone much better! Let the competitive games commence...

 

[omen_peter]

Here I am with the August update!
 

A busy month to start off the challenge, with 7 games, including Champions League qualifiers (spoiler: I qualified!)

 

 

Not a bad run of games here! 5 clean sheets and only 2 goals conceded.

August points:

Clean sheets (3 points) = 5 x 3 = 15.

Goals conceded (-1 point) = -2

Total points for August = 13

[omen_peter]

Ok, firstly let me apologise for the slow updates here...I do a bit of DJ’ing in my spare time for a bit of extra cash, and the run up to Christmas has seen quite a few bookings come my way. Of course this means fewer evenings for FMM!
 

Anyway, September has now been completed!
 

We suffer our first defeat, against Napoli in the Champions League, and concede a frustrating consolation goal against Desportivo.

However, 4 clean sheets and just 2 goals conceded. Therefore

September points:

Clean sheets (3 points) = 4 x 3 = 12

Goals conceded (-1 points) = -2

September points = 10

Total points so far = 13 + 10 = 23.

[omen_peter]

Well it was only a matter of time I suppose. The good times could only last so long. October for Porto and me has, let’s say, been a disaster...

Don’t get me wrong, it started off ok, with a couple of 2-0 victories and 2 further clean sheets in the bag. All good so far! Then it happened. A Taca de Portugal Placard cup match against lower league opposition. A game I dominated. A game that went to extra time with the score at 0-0. Then SC Farense score. A defeat. Out of the cup and no clean sheet...

The fixture list for the rest of the month was just cruel. Barcelona in the Champions League (2 goals conceded), then 2 of our title rivals away from home. A 1-1 draw against Sporting wasn’t too bad (although no clean sheet) but then we fell apart against Benfica, losing 3-1...

So where does that leave us? A negative score for October is where that leaves us!
 

October points:

Clean sheets (+3) = 2.

Goals conceded (-1) = 7.

October total = -1.

Total points = 13+10-1 = 22

Let’s hope November is a tad better although I’ve now had the ‘recent run of results is a cause for concern’ board confidence update. Considering tactical changes but I don’t want to go even more defensive than I already am else I could struggle to score.

It will be fine. I’m sure of it. I think.

 

[BatiGoal]

Good start but that October month is terrible. Let's hope it was a one off. Goodluck in November! 

[omen_peter]

On 28/12/2019 at 15:20, BatiGoal said:

Good start but that October month is terrible. Let's hope it was a one off. Goodluck in November! 

Thanks @BatiGoal!

[omen_peter]

Ah November. Better than October. Just about. 2 clean sheets out of 4! But I also faced Barcelona away...

Changed tactics slightly after the Barca game so hoping next month will bring a few more clean sheets. 

November points = 1 (3-4+3-1).

Total points = 13+10-1+1 = 23.

[Titjes]

A dip in form for October & November, but I'm sure you will bounce back, good luck 😉

[omen_peter]

1 hour ago, Titjes said:

A dip in form for October & November, but I'm sure you will bounce back, good luck 😉

Thanks @Titjes!

[omen_peter]

Keep it tight lads, keep it tight! And they did you know! Just 1 goal conceded in December (and it was in the 91st minute...) as we reach the end of 2019 in this challenge. We are also in the league cup semi finals but drop down to the Europa League.

As we enter 2020 thought it would be a good time to show the league table:

Best defence in the league but Benfica ahead by 7 points.

December points = 3-1+3+3+3 = 11

Total points = 13+10-1+1+11 = 34.

[omen_peter]

January was a funny old month really. Conceded goals again, but also this:

We won the league cup! 5 bonus points (just to make up for the lack of clean sheets really - ha!)

So 9 points for January (pleased with the 2-0 win over Benfica to finish the month) means:

Total points = 13+10-1+1+11 +9= 43.

[omen_peter]

February update at last! I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m really not that great at defending, especially in Europe it seems. 2 defeats by Chelsea at least means I just have league games left now - ha!

Despite 4 clean sheets this month I end Feb with just 6 points.

Total points = 13+10-1+1+11 +9+6 = 49.

[omen_peter]

Hello everyone! A bumper 3 month (and thus final) update of this challenge, as it was only league games remaining, and not many either. But firstly I’ve completed my very first FMM Vibe challenge! Yay! Although that’s probably all we can celebrate here...

March, April, and May didn’t bring my hoped for large points haul. I pretty much dominated games and yet the opposition seemed to find a way through somehow. Think my inability to work out where the fault lies was my eventual downfall here. Below are the results:

 

Total points = 13+10-1+1+11+9+6+3+0+6 = 58.

A final total of 58. I’m sure that is very easily beatable but hey ho!

Finished 2nd in the league, but did win a cup along the way. Some further screenshots for you:

I’m actually going to re-start as Porto now and try for a long-term ‘proper’ career. Feel I owe them that much!

Thanks all. Over and out.

[BatiGoal]

1 hour ago, omen_peter said:

But firstly I’ve completed my very first FMM Vibe challenge! Yay!

👏 Congrats. Hopefully seeing your name on a leaderboard increases your appetite for more.