Career The Bermuda Triangle - Triple Threat Attempt COMPLETE

[smoggy90]

Hi all, after playing a few seasons with various clubs and enjoying the game i feel ready to jump into a long term challenge which is one i noted down for last year but ran out of time.

I noticed last year when playing the MLS there were a number of young Bermudan strikers available and i thought they would be great to attempt a TT with.  Checking again this year and they were still there and there tend to be 5 or 6 around the 17/18 year old mark.  They look really poor and there isn't much quality to choose from but then that's the challenge part of it i guess! 

First off let me explain my choice of club to attempt this with.  It had to be in a country that didn't require a work permit so the options i seriously considered were MLS, Portugal and Belgium.  I also wanted to start lower down the league pyramid, due to the quality of my players i thought going up against defenders of similar quality may get them off to a good start rather than going to a big club and surrounding them with great players but putting them up against great players as well. Does that make sense?! 

So my choice ended up being a club in bottom league in Portugal going by the name of Uniao Desportiva de Leiria.  They have had some fall from grace since the early 2000's where they regularly competed in the top flight and in Europe, this is due to various financial problems which have seen them sink to rock bottom and even struggle to field teams in seasons past. My reasons for choosing Leiria was their stadium and facilities for a team in the bottom league of Portuguese football are very good and alongside my Bermudan strikers it would be a great challenge to try and get them back to the top flight and maybe even challenge in Europe again.  I'm hoping that due to the quality of my players they will be happy to stick around for the journey and not push for a move too soon.  I have a 3-striker tactic i am really happy with so this just seemed a natural place to start my FMM20 journey.

Here is a brief summary of Leiria when i took over, as i say pretty impressive for a team in the bottom league.

  

Now let me introduce you to the three parts of my Bermuda triangle, each player costing the princely sum of £500; there are some great named teams in the domestic Bermudan league, if you load up MLS they are well worth a look.

First up this guy who was signed from a team called X Roads.

 

Next up this guy from Boulevard Blazers.

Finally this guy from St. David's Warriors.

Yes they all look terrible but this is something i really want to have a crack at, it may end in miserable failure but hopefully we'll have some fun along the way.

The target for anyone new to the triple threat challenge is 1500 goals combined from my three strikers, as below.

I am always in my saves for the long haul and this will definitely need to be the case for this one! 

First season is nearly done and will be posted in the next few days.

Thanks for reading.

Edited March 5, 2020 by smoggy90

[BatiGoal]

Loving this already! 👏 

[FuddledFox]

Interesting choice of players and it looks like some new hero’s could be made in this save.

Good luck.

[Kun Aguero]

You must have been out of your mind 😂, goodluck anyway

Edited November 26, 2019 by Kun Aguero

[Ian]

Great idea to start low down in the leagues and will certainly make it interesting. They do look a bit revolting though but hopefully they’ll turn into decent players and do you proud!

Good luck!

[Kanegan]

Now thats a great save idea and kudos to you for this. I am having an itch of starting my own TT attempt but I will wait for a while. Good Luck

[broodje kip]

Pretty decent players there quite an unusual choice of both players and the club😀 the type of career I like

[smoggy90]

Thanks all, i had tested my tactic to make sure it worked on the new version and also tested with poor players/leagues and after getting towards the end of the first season i thought it's definitely worth posting as a career. It's going to be a long slog but fingers crossed!

[smoggy90]

Season 1

So we started this career in Group C of the Portugal Championship.  There are 4 groups at this level (A, B, C and D) and the top two teams from each group qualify for a quarter final stage and whoever wins the final secures promotion to the Second League.

On the transfer front we had very little to play around with so our Bermudan strikers were the only players we spent hard cash on, the rest were loans and frees.

I did manage to move a few players on for money but ploughed that into my wage budget. Kucherenko didn't actually leave the club so bit of a bug there.

 

With our squad settled and a tactic decided on we got straight into the action and had a very good league season finishing top comfortably.

We therefore qualified for the quarter finals and then the semi's and after a 1-1 draw in the away leg were well set. However even after going down to ten men early on we couldn't get a winner and crashed out on away goals.  I wasn't too disappointed as another season at this level will do for the quality of player we have.

On the cup front we drew the might Porto in the 3rd round and actually took a 2-0 lead before their quality came through and we were soundly beaten. It was nice to see one of our Bermudans netting twice against a big side though, bodes well for the future.

Other notable fixtures for goals from our guys as follows;

Season summary;

Spoiler

On the training front i managed to bring in Dennis Bergkamp as a coach and our facilities were decent for a side at this level so we had some decent attribute increases but still a lot to work on if we are to get anywhere near our goal target.

 

As i said in my OP i wanted to start lower down the league pyramid as these players would then be up against players of similar quality, and so it paid off as we managed a total of 73 goals in our first season, with Pearman seeming to be the star man.

So a very good start but with other other TT's I am usually very confident goal returns will dramatically increase as you move through the seasons. I don't have that confidence with this career due to their quality so another season at this level will help and see if we can improve performances and goal output.

Thanks for reading season 1 of my Bermuda Triangle TT attempt.

[Kanegan]

Thats a solid start mate. Looking forward to your journey. 

[Ian]

Nice start I’d say and the boys look like they might turn out at least decent. 

[Mr Tree]

just seen this smoggy - you crazy! but entertaining so good luck!

[BatiGoal]

Good start and agree promotion is irrelevant at this point. For goal scoring challenges it's always better being top half lower division than bottom half of a higher division. 

[smoggy90]

On 28/11/2019 at 09:07, Kanegan said:

Thats a solid start mate. Looking forward to your journey. 

 

On 28/11/2019 at 10:09, Ian said:

Nice start I’d say and the boys look like they might turn out at least decent. 

 

On 28/11/2019 at 10:41, Mr Tree said:

just seen this smoggy - you crazy! but entertaining so good luck!

 

On 28/11/2019 at 12:44, BatiGoal said:

Good start and agree promotion is irrelevant at this point. For goal scoring challenges it's always better being top half lower division than bottom half of a higher division. 

Thanks all. I have finished seasons 2 and 3 this weekend so will update when back at work this week. 

[smoggy90]

Season 2

The international job could be crucial in completing this challenge and my players have started to get some international recognition. However despite the current Bermuda manager's job being unstable for seemingly ages there is still no vacancy. One to keep an eye on.

On the transfer front there was little to shout about as funds are still very limited, the four players i brought in on a free certainly helped our side, particularly Kikuchi who is a cracking player for a free.

We again finished top of our league so it was then a case of trying to win the knock out for promotion.

We managed to win it this time to secure promotion to the Second Division!

Other notable games, including another 3rd round KO in the PT Cup.

Manager stats and season history hidden below;

Spoiler

Looking at our Bermudan trio their stats are still steadily increasing but i don't think we're going to see much more so this is pretty much what I've got to work with for the duration of this career.

On the goals front we had a nice increase of 15 so we notched 88 for the season with Pearman again the star of the show.

This puts us on 161 in the first two seasons which is ok but at some point i really want to try and get into the 100's, it might be a big ask for these guys though.

The season ended with a job offer from one of the big boys which was nice, rejected obviously.

Season 3 is also ready to write up so i will try and get that done today or tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

[Kanegan]

Another solid season, considering who you are playing with. KIU

[broodje kip]

Great season and FCP could be interesting one though

[BatiGoal]

You'll hit a combined 100 soon enough. KIU! 

[El Sheim]

Any chance we can see the tactic? I'm very curious about 3 striker tactics. 

[smoggy90]

22 hours ago, Kanegan said:

Another solid season, considering who you are playing with. KIU

 

22 hours ago, Lord Danish said:

Great season and FCP could be interesting one though

 

9 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

You'll hit a combined 100 soon enough. KIU! 

Thanks guys, fingers crossed for 100, i'm really going to need them to give me a chance.

8 hours ago, El Sheim said:

Any chance we can see the tactic? I'm very curious about 3 striker tactics. 

I have two tactic layouts i have used in this career, both very attacking.

This is my first one which is a touch more conservative.

This is my second setup which is the crazy one.

I will talk more about these when i write my season updates as i have seasons 3 and 4 to write up and will go into a bit more detail then.

 

[Titjes]

doing a great job mate, KIU  

[smoggy90]

Double update here.

Season 3

The 3rd season started with us in the Second League and a few concerns over our star man Pearman.  Thankfully a new contract seemed to do the trick and improve his morale.

Transfer-wise i was starting to get more of a budget together and took advantage of not requiring a work permit in Portugal to sign some decent looking youngsters from South America, Africa and Eastern Europe for peanuts.

On the pitch we started quite well but then had a wretched run over Christmas including a 7-1 hammering by Sporting.

However we turned it round and on the last day of the season sneaked 4th place. Our goal difference was worse but it goes on head to head which saw us through and got us promoted at the first attempt! I must admit i was quite happy to have another season at a lower level but we've got to mix it with the big boys sooner or later and even the top division isn't too strong.

As you can see by my goals for and against and the fixtures posted we went for a very attacking line up. On occasion we took a beating like this game where we got KO'd out of the cup, but i needed to go attacking to get as many goal opportunities for my Bermudan strike force as possible.

I also went out of the League Cup at the group stage.

Little change on our attributes.

On the goal front we scored 79 in the season which was disappointing and at the rate we're going i will need about 20 seasons for this career. Still hopeful of pulling off some 100+ seasons and keeping an eye on international job.

 Season summary and manager profile below;

Spoiler

 

 

Season 4

Back in the big league for Leiria, first time in a while.  Seeing as though the board only expected me top survive relegation i decided to go for it and i adopted the tactic a few posts up 2-4-1-3.

It meant we conceded a ridiculous amount of goals but also scored plenty which was the main aim and finished a very respectable 7th.

We also got to two cup finals, getting soundly beaten in the League Cup but actually winning the PT Cup in extra time! This also meant European football next season which is crucial for more goal scoring opportunities and to attract some better players.

On the transfer front again the purse strings were loosening and i took advantage of the South American market.

We're pretty much maxed out i think attribute-wise now and they have turned into fairly decent players considering what they looked like at the start!

On the goals front we managed 83 which is ok for our first season in the top division. I am hoping with more games due to European football and some better players we can get to within that 100 goal target.

Season summary and manager profile below;

Spoiler

So after 4 seasons we are a touch over 20% to our target. I am hoping now with regular European football and the chance to sign some better players we can get these numbers higher and also hope to nab the Bermuda national job. 

Thanks for reading.

[broodje kip]

Great seasons Smoggy and well done for your first season at Liga NOS

[Ian]

They have shown that they can produce in the top division which must be a relief. Keep it up!

[Kanegan]

Great 1st season in the top division. Hopefully next goes even better. 

[bayern munich Ar]

what are your tactics? like shape, defence, attack?

 

[smoggy90]

On 04/12/2019 at 12:24, Lord Danish said:

Great seasons Smoggy and well done for your first season at Liga NOS

 

On 04/12/2019 at 17:40, Ian said:

They have shown that they can produce in the top division which must be a relief. Keep it up!

 

On 05/12/2019 at 01:45, Kanegan said:

Great 1st season in the top division. Hopefully next goes even better. 

Thanks guys, next season is done just need to find time to post.

12 hours ago, bayern munich Ar said:

what are your tactics? like shape, defence, attack?

 

Both setups i use are posted above. I generally use the first one unless i go a few games without a goal or i feel the need to change in-game.

If you want some fun (and frustration) try the second tactic, settings i use for this are below.

Overload, narrow, normal, balanced.

Balanced, all over, normal, no, no.

Work into box, through balls, mixed, mixed, long.

 

[BatiGoal]

Very nice progress, mate. With European football next campaign you should be hitting very close to 100 gls. 

[smoggy90]

Season 5

Our first season combining domestic and European football, but crucially some additional games to try and ramp up our goal returns.

Finally now getting to spend some decent money due to a better starting budget and some good player sales. A new record sale of £17m for Arreaga who i had bought for just £450k two seasons previous.

Rob Holding on a free looks to be good business.

The season started with the Super Cup which we were in due to the cup win in season 4. Not a bad performance against a good team but we lost out in the end.

We got through the group stage of the Europa League and to the second KO round where we came up against Arsenal. A 2-2 draw at home left us facing an uphill task in the second leg, however we took the lead 3 times before eventually being overpowered. A creditable first season in Europe.

Another PT Cup win with a great result over Porto despite a missed pen from Pearman.

We lost out in the League Cup semi final. They did well to sign Pogba, he is ripping it up in this league.

One league match to stand out was this one, using my 2-4-1-3 formation. Fun and frustrating both at the same time.

We did manage to concede less goals overall this season and this helped us to a 4th place finish, a good improvement on last season and CL football has to be the next target.

Pearman won the golden boot and all of our guys featured in the top 6.

Manager profile and season summary below;

Spoiler

Very little change in attributes now they are approaching their mid 20's. Strangely no international recognition for our main man Pearman, but for U21's.

On the goal front we managed 92 for the season, our best season yet thanks to some extra games but still leaves us needing some big seasons to wrap this up.

This puts us on 415 goals now after 5 seasons. Again i hope to get over that 100 mark very soon and desperately hoping for the Bermuda national team job becomes available.

Thanks for reading. 

[Kun Aguero]

Already hitting in a lot of goals, and sure will get more once you got that Bermuda job, great job so far!