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Career The $1 BILLION Chairman’s Challenge - My 1st Attempt


DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg

INTRO:   
My 1st Attempt

Following the continued success of @Titjes Draft League, I bought the FMM21 editor + started playing a fun single player version of his creation.

<Link to the Challenge>

So this is my 1st attempt / career at this new Chairman’s challenge, where you take over West Brom in England, remove all players, then have $1 billion US dollars to build a 22 man squad. You then holiday through the months, letting your new manager lead you to (hopeful) glory.

The aim? How quickly can you win 5 European Champions League! There are simple rules & rewards that I’ll add into the challenge post.

69E177E6-446A-42F1-912E-BCBE48DF0701.jpeg.d9fbbcf6a3b75cdcd37c3b36f6f1ec01.jpeg
 

Before, I “thought“ this would be easy. Actually it is more challenging than I expected. But is a lot of fun. And quick.

Upcoming Contents:

  • The Draft    
  • Season 01   
  • Season 02  
  • Season 03  
  • Season 04  
  • Season 05 
  • Season 06 
  • Season 07 - abandoned at the end

On with the show!

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


THE SETUP:   

After loading a new save, I took over West Brom in England, then (a) released all the 1st team players + reserve players, (b) changed the clubs name + general details + (c) improved the club’s facilities.

I also switched the in-game currency to USD (US dollars) as that makes it easier!

A5080DED-57D4-4D15-AAA6-2DEBC745635D.thumb.png.78c2e59bc32bb83fe26e56f6b316e329.png

F4D6C746-A1E2-4F46-91FD-36AA5FF27D7D.thumb.png.8a930bfe903a0c812229c5cb0a9a22fb.png

4BE63DF1-DBFD-4ACC-B078-0F346B02B90F.thumb.png.8b835408c8a83109440397f1ba4b4956.png

434A4A31-87C7-4521-A8B8-045C80203DF5.thumb.png.5bc2dbb3e5d9c191454dd30445e988ad.png
 

THE DRAFT:   

You have $1 billion to spend - which isn’t enough for 22 world class players. So you have to prioritise...

My Approach:

  • Star - Strikers to win games.
  • Good - Central Players (GK, DCs + MCs) for solidity.
  • Cheap - Wide Players (WBs).
  • Wide Range of Ages (from 20-35) as only wonderkids may not develop well under AI mgmt. but only +30’s won’t last to the 5th ECL win.

My Squad:

Here’s who I picked:

462788EC-15F1-461C-AB52-0C7B6A94FF31.thumb.png.0a2b25c1a5f570e7f0d2e49d00544da1.png

This is how much it cost me (in USD):

89A80EF4-78C0-4B6B-9E60-C7E50C02901F.jpeg.f8e7a3533e9d7238c91aa6ee5cc390ef.jpeg


Star Players:

  • Ronaldo - one season wonder - to guarantee me ECL football next year + hopefully win me a free player.
  • Lukaku + Haaland - star strikers.
  • Tadic - high expectations of the 31 year old midfield creator due to his success in the draft league.
  • Onama - rightly called the best value for money GK in FMM21.

C3367A4B-1ADB-45A1-AC36-8ECF05701BA5.thumb.png.09d23349bef9cda0c50594aeb8941f6f.png

3CB4157B-ACEE-4005-82AE-9D5C7E4B1700.thumb.png.3f95892bad47349468b837f3136c1b31.png

plus the last 2 players on this 3rd screenshot are my cheap left-backs.

FBFDD98A-2A51-4E66-BE19-8A9E470F2368.thumb.png.6062d81724d61741e119cf77bb8040fd.png

After boosting my players (heal injuries, boost morale) plus editing contracts (salaries & end-dates / longer contracts) and picked my captains (Ronaldo, with Henderson as his deputy - it was time for the final selection...

The Manager:

F0EC13CB-AE0A-4FE6-BFFE-7D8FA56ED55D.jpeg.feff6cc47a9b6b3593a120150bca0c5d.jpeg

Conte. The best manager to play a 532 - which is the system I drafted these players for. World class. Right?!

Next Step:

Now we start simulating (holidaying) through to mid-season (Jan 1st) + will post those results soon.

We should win the league easily ... er ... right?

 

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 01 PREVIEW:    

Leadership:

We should have good team leadership

  • We deliberately have a few experienced pros (30+ years old)
  • So Ronaldo is Captain Marvel + Henderson is Vice-Captain.

C018DB26-F11B-4BF9-9BB9-9CCF18429CFB.thumb.png.86fe0e5c3e07d5fa784073ec03b78618.png

 

Team:

The squad has a lot of strengths. Unsurprisingly, we’re old and lack depth at full back. Surprisingly, we lack incisive passes. So Tadic, that’s your job mate.

15B318FB-F6D3-46A0-8811-45563C913707.thumb.png.d5cf251e11c06328cf756bfc6e4b3a38.png
 

Hmmm... the squad dynamics doesn’t look great. Dour + Ambitious. Good thing we don’t have 20 wonderkids. Urgh.

F7E7B683-9042-4B65-B8CF-D81B6EA0384F.thumb.png.7286007b13d60b4bac172ca2b811e510.png

But I fixed the coaching + physio setup before hiring Conte as manager. Gold.

7D537A27-66AC-4E12-A9ED-272E1CA6C63C.thumb.png.9d071694975ec9dac1f8180ca931c545.png


Formation:

I’d prefer a 5221, but with Conte we’ll get a 532 - exactly what I have in the multiplayer “Draft League” (different thread).

9F2068CB-0E64-49C7-9D9C-EDC2DA809F65.thumb.png.05e9ec1361812b763f3457002a52c0be.png

Basically the idea for this one is (a) stars up front, (b) solid center, (c) weak flanks.   
 

Predictions (for Season 1):

The priority is to get into Europe / ECL for next season, and really to top the league to get that free player. So predictions...

  • GOALS - Ronaldo ‘should’ be a beast + top scorer.
  • ASSISTS - creative midfielder Tadic should top our assists
  • LEAGUE - surely anything less than 1st is a failure - right?
  • CUPS - don’t know, don’t care 

Edit - how naive I was...    
 

Question:

Where do YOU think we should finish on the league? How would you have done better?
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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13 hours ago, Graim said:

i did not undestand the conte part very well can you explain please as i am new to this game?

 

Good question.

If you have the Editor then - (1) go to the manager ‘hall of fame’, (2) select your preferred manager, (3) click ‘edit’ and then (4) you can change that manager’s club. In this save, I edited Conte to manage my team, which meant I became ‘unemployed‘ in the game.

PS. Conte is the Italian manager Antonio Conte - who used to manage Inter Milan, Chelsea, Juventus and (I think) the Italian National side.

Does that make sense?

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 01:
MID-YEAR UPDATE:    

The League:

We should be dominant. Ronaldo, Lukaku AND Haaland up-front. Surely we have a healthy lead at the top by Jan 1st - right? 

B2D80DA4-F087-4840-B66B-A5A791F37088.thumb.jpeg.89df19f9ef42bce59798759f6c7a20a8.jpeg

2nd? To Liverpool?!

Ok. The bad news. Liverpool are killing us. They’re 8 points ahead by New Year. They’re scoring almost 3 goals a game, and their defence is as good as ours.

The good news? 2nd isn’t bad. Well it’s not that bad. Captain Ronaldo won’t be happy. And ... oh no ... 2nd means ‘no free player’. And Man City are hot on our heels in 3rd. Could this get worse?!

Fixtures:

77025971-6738-455C-A6F2-02BB5D1EE052.thumb.jpeg.bc30a0a73c3cd80c8e57e128f69b24d2.jpeg

Ok. We only lost 2 games. Both in the city of Liverpool. But we’re not blowing away teams (except Southampton, but everyone does that). A 1-0 win vs Burnley at home? Urgh.  

Top Players:

Ronaldo + Lukaku are scoring goals for fun. But so are Salah + Mane.

9B891B36-1602-428B-A4A9-24D0F1159344.thumb.jpeg.5c86e30fb3349832c11cc60de57931ca.jpeg

Deli Alli? Where is assist king Tadic on this list?!

56485FA7-0F65-42E5-9D0A-B834B33D2082.thumb.jpeg.ac6313e23f707c5b0a6520fcb56b9c9d.jpeg

Wing back Ismally + defender Zouma are top of my list? And Liverpool’s Mane is rocking it. What is happening ... 

20BE57B8-5ACD-4508-8452-8EF6C533DA1F.thumb.jpeg.158a95d99470d6d728156b904a5619d3.jpeg

 

Our Squad:

Ok let’s have a look at what’s happening.

0A467440-FB72-41AD-BD5E-6F8B12D48932.thumb.jpeg.eb1cea2b212a8aa7f9fe43ba64268195.jpeg

Ah. Both Ronaldo + Lukaku are injured. Thankfully not for long, but maybe that explains that 1-0 Burnley win.

What are our wing backs Hatebaer,  Marusic and midfielder Barella doing? FIVE red cards between them. Ouch.

CB1C9005-6378-4638-BA1E-B2E5199C53D3.thumb.jpeg.afc799342839a725f880307be0c7a29a.jpeg

Good to see that (backup!) strikers Haaland + Martial have decent goal-per-game contributions.

But Tadic? Tadic what are you doing? I’d expect double digit assists from you by now. And Luke Shaw? *sigh*

Thankfully I can heal injuries + boost morale now, though will it be enough?
 

The League Leaders

Out of interest, why are Liverpool so good?

0332CDCF-EC87-49A4-A916-5AA530153AE1.thumb.jpeg.1f41da24b0d30514fe18696817f702f6.jpeg

Ah. That would help. 
 

Next:

So we are in 2nd. Just. Can we catch up with Liverpool + get our free player?

Or will we slide down the table with Man City and all overtaking us? Urgh.

 

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 01:
END-YEAR REVIEW:    

The League:

I’m nervous. What is failure for this season? Can we catch Liverpool, or do we skip even further down the table.

1st June:

4AB1099C-BB14-4756-8D3F-BAEDDE6CE5A6.thumb.jpeg.adcff0c0b5d7e741f55235a619ee6280.jpeg

2nd. Is this good? Or bad?

Liverpool’s 8 point lead at New Year becomes a massive 18 point domination over us. Their goals scored + conceded are superior in every way.

Thankfully we kept 2nd by ... er ... oh wow ... by goal difference. Man City almost stole 2nd from us. Tight.
 

The Cups:

Perhaps we won a cup ... ?!

B3380614-1E91-462B-805F-B926E28C7377.thumb.jpeg.62c06981d9a3e67f3aeca38b2e8aeb71.jpeg

Ah. Lost the Carabao Cup final (to 3rd place Man City) + lost the FA Cup semi-final to 4th places Spurs. Ouch.

Also - look at that poor end to the league season. So many reds + yellows. Burnley? We lose 3-1 to BURNLEY?! 😭  
 

Top Players:

While there’s no Haaland in the top scorers charts, the good news is that Ronaldo + Lukaku continued to score.

But Liverpool score even MORE with Salah, Mane + new signing Martinez. Plus Kane leads the charts with 26, four more than anyone else.

EB98846A-A291-4BFF-88EC-C032F7BA7521.thumb.jpeg.46bb1b5e43a7ffb360e8d48429a22871.jpeg

Surprisingly, Deli Alli continues to be my main creator with 11 league assists. Where is Tadic?!

Liverpool have two players in the league’s top 10 assistors. Am surprised to see Man United’s Van De Deek top the charts.

7AD80B6A-9DA3-4E9C-9E22-20D28D94A16F.thumb.jpeg.32d65801a3d51e08a8fb4ce25403195a.jpeg

Under-rated Vice-Captain Henderson joins the more obvious Ronaldo + Lukaku strike partnership in terms of the league’s top average ratings.

Elsewhere, Kane leads the charts + Liverpool have FIVE players in the top 10. Urgh.

F291BA88-B071-4AFB-8BD8-08ABED88D49E.thumb.jpeg.932826f74c8f0a7565fd83028b310227.jpeg

 

Our Squad:

Ronaldo truly is a wonder - even if he’s on his way down from now on. Lukaku also did great.

Interestingly the assists were spread across the midfield three - Henderson, Alli + Barella.

In central defence, while three CBs did well (Zouma, Varane, Gabriel all averaging 7.2-7.3), the other two CBs were poor (Soyuncu + surprisingly Pau Torres both getting <6.9 averages). 

B2F1EFD5-2809-4338-B2EF-241DA39724C2.thumb.jpeg.74612b2261e6917c5eea032a43657473.jpeg

Haaland did decently well (16 goals in 25 games) though Martial had a shocker - no (zero!) goals in 11 games since Jan 1st. Terrible!

Also - Tadic - what happened?! The (apparently) attacking midfield creator had no (zero!) assists in 17 games since Jan 1st. Ouch.

Even worse is our problem on the right flank. SIX red cards across both right wing backs. I know they’re (a) cheap and (b) exposed in a 532, but the left wing backs didn’t have this problem. Interestingly Kyle Walker also got a lot of reds in @Titjes Draft League in this system. Maybe it’s the system, not the players ... ?

5C7CB43F-210B-4DEB-87CD-5AD14AA56BB3.thumb.jpeg.b2f48e1d94dd6eec38927d0a2ca6ee17.jpeg 
 

Next:

So we finished 2nd. We get $40m + one transfer opportunity this summer... 

... but we need to catch up with Liverpool who were 18 points ahead. $40m in one player is not enough - especially as we’ll be playing European Champions League football next season as well.

Oh dear. This could get a lot worse.

Edited by DanEnglish
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37 minutes ago, DanEnglish said:

Apparently so. It’s painful to see him so poor, when he’s SO GOOD for you.

If I'm not mistaken then:

  • In the Ultimate Team he was mostly played as an ST (maybe some AM) by the AI (and was teamed up with created version of Raúl González Blanco who could/would also play AM/ST
  • In the Draft League now, the manager uses him as an ML mostly
Edited by Titjes
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1 hour ago, broodje kip said:

How is Martial scoring only 4 goals a shocker? That’s literally what he is in real life 😂

The last thing I remember about Martial is his + Rashford’s +30 goal (each) seasons in my last Man Utd offline save.

What is this ‘thing’ called Martial in ‘real life’. Surely he is just a (very fast) dot.

Note - don’t watch much real football anymore.

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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 02 PREVIEW    
(+ TRANSFERS!)

Team:

Let’s talk about Ronaldo. He’s had a great 1st season - BUT now he’ll start to really decline.

So strikers - surely it’s now time for the Haaland + Lukaku strike partnership, with Ronaldo and ‘the turd’ Martial as backup.

In midfield + defence - more depth would be good, but we are solid. No complaints there - oh except for the theoretically creative Tadic. Maybe he’s a good artist or musician, because he certainly isn’t creating much on the pitch.

The wingbacks - oh no, do we have to talk about them? Ismally was a $6m bargain on the left side, but Shaw’s been rubbish (6.50 average rating) and our two right hand WBs have seen more red cards than referee Mike Dean.

Lets finish with in goal. Thank you Onana for being a cheap + wonderfully solid GK. With his trusty backup Sta... Stu... Stru ... our Czech keeper ... for being exactly what we need. Solid.

The other great news for everyone is that every Aug 1st (and Jan 1st) we can heal injuries + boost morale. Free ice cream for everyone!
 

Transfers:

Question: What does finishing 2nd in the league give us? Answer: $40m + the option to buy 1 player.

Hmmm... it’s pretty bad that we need to improve this squad after spending $1 billion already. And $40m isn’t very much. Actually $40.5m as we have 0.5 left over from the draft.

Hmmm ... Liverpool scored more + conceded less last season. I can’t buy a striker AND a defender. so let’s settle for neither: a midfielder who can both defend + attack.

On August 1st, searching for the attacking + defensive attributes I want in a central midfielder gives me this list:

5289CC11-075C-4F8E-B935-45FE931A3792.thumb.png.fe8c699afc6e0b9e90881c92616a1e59.png

(Maybe I also had a +$30m filter on?)

Liverpool’s TAA would be great! As would Brozovic! ... ah ... we only have $40m. So it’s a choice between the bottom two guys on the list - and one of them already plays for us.

552C36BE-17CD-47C7-ADB4-B19455D79447.thumb.png.5e91e7baa41ae46b3fcc12e101c0491a.png

So let’s welcome Spanish midfielder Merino - for exactly $40m. Haven’t managed him before - question - is he any good? Let’s see!

... but hang on ... who are these extra players? I didn’t draft them...

310B822C-F6FF-4418-BB5C-82CE610439E5.thumb.png.afd0e3aa54bb02c2284222a48272c1e0.png

Huh.

Manager Conte has bought winger Lookman - we play a 532, without wingers, so I guess he’ll be a useless backup Striker (“Martial! We got you a friend!“)

Plus central midfielder Goncalves for +$70m. Oops. Wish I’d have checked that BEFORE buying that $40m extra midfielder Merino.
 

Predictions (for Season 2):

Well with 2 new CMs, I have no more concerns about our midfield’s squad depths. What about elsewhere?

  • Goals - bye bye Ronaldo. Hello top scorer Lukaku?
  • Assists - I keep thinking we have WB Trippier, but we don’t. In his place, could be any of the CMs.
  • Red Cards - please can no-one hit double digits this year, please.

And the team’s results:

  • The League - we can’t catch Liverpool. Can we? CAN WE?!?!
  • The Cups - probably will fail in the latter stages, giving me hope then cruelly taking it away.
  • Europe - our 1st season in Europe. Getting out of the group stages is a minimum. Can we do more though? I have hope. 
     

Questions:

The challenge’s objective is to win 5 European Champions Leagues. This is our 1st season in the competition...

... can we win it?!   
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 02
MID-YEAR UPDATE:    

For those who have lived abroad, the ‘culture shock curve’ also applies to this Chairman save.

9BD25607-8231-4ECB-B778-CBBBA60ED092.thumb.jpeg.ccf61fa7bedc9f2d748d942d96972ae4.jpeg

It started with excitement during the draft, then increasing horror + misery at the eventual 18 point gap between us + 1st place Liverpool.

Now things will get better - as we have better squad depth + we start to play European football for the first time. Right?! 
 

The League:

Hope. Surely Liverpool can’t be as ruthless as last season. Surely our team can only get better (except for ‘zimmerframe Ronaldo’). 

It’s turned January. A 1st or 2nd position is good. Big breath ...

65E77F6C-458D-41DD-B04B-1DE608077E89.thumb.jpeg.b44efeaf7109ff0d45bc2cfbd7c9fc03.jpeg

4th?!

Oh no. This is going horribly wrong. 

The league leaders are 8 points above me (same as last year). I have 36 points (same as last year). I’m just as close to 8th as I am close to 3rd (much worse than last year).

AEC479DC-D236-4117-ABDD-BF9557233FE6.thumb.jpeg.a64b143b1523287e0a50051d95555500.jpeg

The only good news is we won the Community Shield, that’s an extra $10m for the end of the season.

But look at our away form. Lost to Man City. Lost to Norwich. Lost to ‘Zebre’. Beat Birmingham only 1-0.

Plus we lost our 1st ever game in Europe. For a challenge about winning 5 ECLs, that’s not good.  
 

Our Squad:

What is this ... ?!

4D3C991A-A020-4D6E-8FA6-29A0A294EEC8.thumb.jpeg.e614a49bc82d441a07d9e9dbfd2c4357.jpeg

A 41221 formation? What are your doing Conte - 532 is your baby.

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BBA8CC85-9414-424E-B51B-A95F97FFBB32.thumb.jpeg.b1c36b29fe12eb50e2869baa87527cf7.jpeg

   
Oh Conte. Sacked. What have you done?

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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 02
MID-YEAR UPDATE (part II)

“It’s not the rejection that kills you. It’s the hope.“

New Year. 4th in the league. That’s terrible ...

... and Conte is sacked. Now we have an Italian shaped hole in the dressing room.

So who replaced him? And what happened?!
 

New Manager:

F3AA12CE-6981-40D4-813F-43212AEDB0AB.thumb.jpeg.13c03c84b2b50b500e0628fae2b75398.jpeg

Looks like that Italian shaped hole ... got filled by another Italian!

F1A9ACE6-2019-4014-A51E-8EE825C4545E.thumb.png.d32414f653f97b9f0d2593068d6809ff.png

Mancini. Not bad. Could be worse. Will be strange for the squad - moving from a 532 defensive manager to a 41221 attacking one. 

56F81828-E03F-4ABD-8CD7-BE3B2B6D12F2.thumb.jpeg.a3d97d8b788c63a5f6805d320e121d4f.jpeg

Thankfully our recent results have got better. Though all 4 recent wins were at home, and it’s our away form that’s the problem.

But Conte was a better manager. Plus the squad was drafted specifically for a 532 formation.

So will this get even worse?!
 

Europe:

Our 1st season in Europe, how have we got on ... ?

3DA26DE1-005E-4AF4-B989-56D86361D4F1.thumb.jpeg.c8f9d3fc115632ff5a3c2c2a7389e0d0.jpeg

2nd.

Not bad. At least we are through to the knockouts. But for a challenge where we need to win 5 ECLs, finishing 2nd isn’t a good sign *sigh*.
 

Our Squad:

So Lukaku is doing “ok” with 13 goals in 20 games. Ronaldo has really dropped though - only 5 goals in 18 games *sigh*.

Look at how many players have <7.00 average ratings though. Painful.

11E3DE53-A0A2-414B-A4E9-C9A0E54F91AA.thumb.jpeg.a6c720d6e146b20414fa39df326c1908.jpeg

Haaland is doing well - a goal or assist per game. New $40m signing Merino is our #1 assistor with 8 so far - nice. Plus backup goalie ... Str ... Sta ... er... the Czech keeper - is doing better than #1 GK Onana!

Again - creator Tadic is useless, right WB Marusic has another TWO reds, and center-back Pau Torres continues to play surprisingly badly.

Maybe new signing Lookman wasn’t such a bad idea. Now we’re playing a 41221 with 2 wide attackers, he may actually play some games. Don’t expect him to score more than that one goal though.

350779E0-6DC8-4273-A1E6-3EF33CEF7B0B.thumb.jpeg.c0768118f93a7254284390d242aaa2b3.jpeg

However the wooden spoon award surely goes to Luke Shaw with a new personal best. Last season he averaged 6.50. Now? 5.50 average rating. Ouch.

E27DF60F-5105-4C18-BD5D-9F38E23C4306.thumb.jpeg.559fb5220f91845a7d899773311e46e7.jpeg

The only good news is that I can heal injuries + boost morale. They need it.  
 

Next:

There’s not much more I can do until the end of the season. We’re in 4th + only 3 points away from 8th.

How much worse can it get?  
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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10 minutes ago, broodje kip said:

2nd half will be very challenging.

Agreed. It’s not looking good.

11 minutes ago, broodje kip said:

Oh, and Strakosha is Albanian, not Czech

Oops. Thanks for letting me know. Apologies to any Albanian or Czech readers. I’ll have to start calling him ‘my Albanian keeper‘ then.

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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


BONUS SCENE: 

The Future:

Here’s an idea about “how” it can get even worse.

93F35644-8ACE-4C30-8E91-2269E680A980.jpeg.483be8c48921c5044121b662e299ec53.jpeg

Typically a 37 year old Ronaldo retires at the end of season 2. So I probably get to buy a replacement in +6 months time. Here’s the problem.

Now I have 0.5m in my ‘budget’ / balance. I’ve won $10m from the community shield, but lose all of that to bring in the new manager Mancini. So my entire budget to replace Ronaldo is dependant on this year’s league position.

You can see the problem - right?

  • Finish 4th? replace Ronaldo with (edit) $20.5m. Hard.
  • Finish 5th? replace Ronaldo with $10.5m. Impossible.
  • Finish 6-8th ? ONLY 0.5m to replace Ronaldo 😭 

As we can only buy / sign players in August 1st, we can’t sign stars in advance on expiring contracts. Plus the best free signings will have been taken by Aug 1st. Urgh.

Who can we buy for $0.5m? Even Mikey Johnston costs more than that. 

That’s how bad this could get. 
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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5 goals and 5 assists isn’t hard to replace. Ronaldo couldn’t even lace Johnston boots :@

Jk, Maybe you can try Jonathan Bamba if you get that $30.5m. Or Dusan Vlahovic maybe?

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14 minutes ago, broodje kip said:

5 goals and 5 assists isn’t hard to replace. Ronaldo couldn’t even lace Johnston boots :@

Jk, Maybe you can try Jonathan Bamba if you get that $30.5m. Or Dusan Vlahovic maybe?

That is very true. This season he has been poor. Though this season we’re in 4th (and sliding down?). Instead we really need to be replacing the ‘1st season Ronaldo’ to have a chance of challenging for the title.

In a 532 I would normally say that’s what Haaland is for - but in a 41221 Mancini isn’t likely to play Lukaku & Haaland together often as both are essentially STs only. Whose going to provide +20 goals as an IF from out wide? Lookman? Martial?! 🤣 

Dusan Vlahovic especially is a good shout. I’ll have a look to see how much him + Bamba are on Aug 1st.

Thanks for the suggestions 👍 

PS. 4th would give $20m only (not 30m), I’ve edited the post above to correct that.

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 02
END-YEAR REVIEW:    

   
How bad was it? Did we at least keep 4th + Champions League qualification? How did the team respond to a (sorry Mancini) slightly worse Manager?
 

Europe:

First let’s look at our 1st season in Europe. Avoiding the domestic league table for as long as possible,  I have a look at our fixtures.

8677757D-6A76-4F63-8E87-61DCE3F5D88E.thumb.jpeg.dc9518631bb4a11195f970f56311ae1a.jpeg

Knocked out of the semi finals. Atletico Madrid beat us on away goals. Cruel.

Compared to the 1st half of this season, I’m impressed. BUT for a challenge that requires 5 ECL wins, we’ve already lost one opportunity. 
 

The Cups:

Can we not talk about this? At least I season 1 we got to a final. *Sigh* 

Really? You want to know? *sigh* ok. Fine. Spurs beat us in the Carabao Cup 4th Round, and Man City knocked us out of the FA Cup 3rd round. Are you happy? You can stop laughing now. Urgh.  

At least we won the one-game Community Shield at the start of the season. We needed that $10m to pay for bringing in new manager Mancini.
 

The League

Earlier on Jan 1st, we had the same amount of points as in Jan 1st the season before, sliding down in 4th with the same 8 point gap behind the leaders. We sneaked into 2nd back last season. This season I’d be relieved to be in the top 4.

At this point - I genuinely haven’t seen the league table yet. I’m surprisingly nervous. However I have now seen the final fixtures ...

CAB9303E-8212-4A84-A89A-1238919899DE.thumb.jpeg.5b259ad6f494216c18d31d61f6479f54.jpeg

Huh. That’s better than expected. We finished the league season well with 6 wins from our final 7 games. Surely we sneaked top 4 - right?!

My wife reads out the league table stats to me just for our team. “Are you sure you don’t want to know the number in the 1st column - you know, the one saying your position?” “NO!” 

DE4A7EFE-AC18-4D85-8309-DD169C340365.thumb.jpeg.d3f54cadc428f4ac8602b3eb7b239043.jpeg

Ok. Surely we reached top 4 right?! A few more goals scored + conceded, picking up an EXTRA ONE POINT vs the previous season. I accept that. Surely we’re top 4. Maybe even 3rd or (whisper it quietly) sneaking 2nd again. Right! ... er ... right?

So now the key question - how did our main competitors perform? Chelsea + Liverpool were dominating us, with Man City continuing to inch above us. Did those trends continue? Or did one drop away ...

... how many of them bottled it?

I’ll look at the league table - “after the break” ...
 

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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 02
END-YEAR REVIEW (Part II):    

   
Did Chelsea, Liverpool or Man City bottle it? Did we get top 4?

No laughing please ...

The League:

June 1st.

7EA9286E-1818-412F-89DE-1E18C932B4CF.thumb.jpeg.55dfa8378c2d812caf05c9a6ac86a3f3.jpeg

Mwhahaha!

What? 1st! How?!

Wow. We won 14 of our 18 league games from Jan 1st on. Even more surprisingly, we had the league’s best goals scored + goals conceded!

But let’s be honest here. We did well, but we didn’t win the title. 3 other teams lost it - especially Chelsea + Liverpool. 

It seem Chelsea + Man City dropped points gradually, finishing just one point behind us. Turning any one draw into a win would have given them the title.

Instead it’s reigning champions Liverpool who truly bottled it. In season 1 Liverpool got 96 points. In season 2 they got 72 points + 4th place. That’s awful!

75253281-9664-4400-8665-90030D6A4E5B.thumb.jpeg.7822401269e01d95361a08a3951175d1.jpeg

Liverpool had terrible form in January, and never really recovered.

A crazy season.   
 

Top Players:

6th placed Spurs yet again have the league’s top scorer - though this time it’s Son, with Kane only in 5th position.

Lukaku is 2nd, but Liverpool have THREE players in the top 8 scorers. Greedy.

B200B12B-E1DF-40CB-9397-586D5C32C1A8.thumb.jpeg.692380771a326c753d76d9662f675e48.jpeg

Hey Tadic? You turned up! Seems the formation change to a 41221 helps you ... er ... release your creativity? Something like that. 

E957FAFD-A147-46E8-9DE0-6C1D90B97F5E.thumb.jpeg.00d7ba037a722626baa23ac7d5aa24d8.jpeg

Hojbjerg? Wow - number 5 in the average ratings table with a 7.50. That’s a pleasant surprise. Lukaku making the top 10 is no surprise, he’s just great.

B360F51F-CBE5-4E62-B6F6-F7AD74038333.thumb.jpeg.5ce7b43f9bf0b30b742dc90c0c128dd7.jpeg

As a result, both Hojbjerg + Lukaku make the EPL team of the year. That was an amazing (lucky) 2nd half of the season.

8CB649EE-C99D-4A38-9A07-EFEFD9E20C41.thumb.jpeg.9be1490f36776a412350245891bba760.jpeg 
 

Awards:

Our strikers got the two Player of the Year awards! Nice job 👍 

28C085A6-9514-4BAF-89BC-D402BB719B71.thumb.jpeg.bf4fc5e1c16f6891b6b7a16aa5142c25.jpeg

8A68E044-F32F-488A-B420-3AD6622F6AA8.thumb.jpeg.0f1b2ce54be13a2807612aa6631c4442.jpeg


Remenber that Italian shaped hole from when Conte left? Mancini has truly filled it + more.

2nd best manager in the league? Well done Mancini, but no, you’re not getting a pay rise.

D42EC385-8F4A-4F9A-84E7-3523D2DEF16A.thumb.jpeg.0cee5a4cea90e6cd804f71fed3183566.jpeg

Plus a few team records this season.

Am delighted no-one has (yet) beaten wing-back Hayeboer’s THREE red cards from last season.

9778E060-43F0-4E61-B67D-DDAF69DB091E.thumb.jpeg.f0d4cbc8e649bb42c1bfc0bf5c52315a.jpeg

 

Our Team:

So who was hot + who was not?

Upfront - Lukaku’s 34 goals in 42 games made a big difference, but it’s obvious Ronaldo is approaching retirement with only 5 goals.

Have highlighted our two first XI wing-backs (now full-backs) in purple, as they’ve finally started to get some assists. Thanks for helping, better late than never.

8D647082-38B0-4C00-B5B9-999E8466E4E1.thumb.jpeg.a29458a7d53b4fa08b18d5a4b3d52ab2.jpeg

Our midfielders spread the assists between them - Tadic, Henderson, Hojbjerg + our $40m signing Merino averaged 10 each.

3041F57C-E5B2-499D-9E1E-E81A0A772E3E.thumb.jpeg.fd655d42356e0931c8a42a6d2f9ad329.jpeg

We’ve had a number of players with <7.00 average ratings, even after the improved 2nd half of the season.

But Luke Shaw has yet to make another appearance at left-back after his 4/10 horror show in Europe earlier this season. Perhaps that’s why first XI left back Ismaily has the most appearances this season with 53?!

64C70A21-6A9F-486D-B2EC-9E1905634A93.thumb.jpeg.4882ff4865b9c7859a95d50a686e6574.jpeg

 

Next:

The other clubs bottled it. We luckily finished 1st in the league + reached the semi-finals in Europe...

That league finish gives us ... one free player!!! And coming 1st gives us $50m to replace the retiring Ronaldo. That will do. 

Things are (finally) looking up.  
 

 

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 03 PREVIEW    
(+ TRANSFERS!)

Team:

As always, let’s first talk about Ronaldo. Aged 37, he always retires at this point. So guess how shocked I was when I saw this ...

C1EE056E-3F9A-4B43-991D-978F562F3E73.thumb.jpeg.e8e4955067e23139df74ba9c2ac78d72.jpeg 

101D1CD6-A0B1-4EE0-A97A-58E776406B99.thumb.jpeg.2f6ba3396e41691f7edac4c3a7f10d8e.jpeg

Ronaldo’s going to retire in ANOTHER TWO YEARS?! He’ll be 39. He won’t be able to run. We’ll have to buy him an old man’s zimmerframe and park it on the penalty spot for him.

Well ... no need to buy a replacement for him right now. Urgh.

So what about everyone else?

D70BFF51-E76E-4293-AEAE-3FC6444F265A.thumb.jpeg.72cf5cf9a0bf3ddfb333c22a65bca100.jpeg

This is our squad - in Mancini’s 41221 formation. It looks pretty cool. Plus you know that you do something similar. 

Green boxes = good, where we have solid players + good depth. So all the central areas are solid, especially with Lukaku + sidekick (!) Haaland upfront.

Orange boxes = problems. We knew our wing-backs / full-backs would be a weak area. BUT with Ronaldo + Tadic both ageing, in this new 41221 our wide IF roles are our biggest problem. We have depth, but lack quality.
 

Transfers:

Some AI manager signings...

0F38E9CD-CB4F-4680-94BE-5116B586A95F.thumb.jpeg.dcaa4daf911fa7641b0762d5be595890.jpeg

Neither wide attacker Soteldo nor central midfielder Shaparenko are that good. Squad players at best.

Selling Luke Shaw is unforgivable though. Mainly because Ismaily can’t play EVERY game EVERY season, so I (reluctantly) edit Shaw back to the club. 


“But what about your FREE PLAYER ?” you ask...

3538043E-35ED-4328-8B9D-C859DE9CBFF4.thumb.png.357a9d70badfc7cedadec26835ec18b4.png

These are the highest valued wide attackers in the game. Who is a world class IF right now AND for the next 5-10 years?

4361D38D-30A3-4DCB-BBC2-13E57E4A4726.thumb.png.167fe635b08957465b22a700de25dd6c.png

Welcome Mbappe!

Oh this should be fun. Plus, after finishing 1st, we now have that $50m saved up for a future purchase, as we don’t have any ‘slots’ / rewards / opportunities to buy anyone else. Mbappe will have to be enough for now 🤣 
 

Predictions (for Season 3):

6EA6C9AF-7BDB-4862-B1B5-4715D62AB52A.thumb.jpeg.534cc1de594b3164e95e609fb84f65d8.jpeg

As the third season starts early (2022 World Cup) - we won the Community Shield ($10m woohoo!) + our 1st league game. 

Then we’re guessing:

  • The League - with Mbappe? Min. 80 points, hopefully 85-90 to retain the league.
  • The Cups - optional. 
  • Europe - this challenge is about winning the ECL. Season 3 would be a nice time to start. Is it doable? Finally I can say “yes, yes it is very doable
     

Next:

Lukaku, sidekick Haaland, new boy Mbappe, old man Ronaldo, reinvented artist Tadic, and laughing stock Luke Shaw.

Am not sure what will happen next season...

... But it should be fun 😄  
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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33 minutes ago, broodje kip said:

I think Barella has higher CA and PA compared to Alli. Surely he has to be your starter? :) 

Oh really? Is it ok to say - I’ve never managed Barella before? 😮 

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36 minutes ago, DanEnglish said:

Oh really? Is it ok to say - I’ve never managed Barella before? 😮 

Spoiler

Yeah, not exactly a real impressive PA but he does start with over 155 CA and I think around 170-180 PA. I can’t remember exactly but it’s around these numbers.

I put it in the spoiler because I put some CA/PA numbers which some people wouldn’t want to see it.

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Ah. I’m simulating season 3, and Barella is barely getting a game / month.

It seems manager Mancini prefers a midfield two of Henderson (both excellent + underrated) plus Hojbjerg (I’ll let the mid-season update show how well/badly he’s done) - with a few different players rotated in the DMC role behind them. Huh.

Edited by DanEnglish
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The $1 BILLION    
Chairman’s Challenge 

54DE2260-F8CA-4FC2-92FF-3780CED7BA76.jpeg.cd30547b158c78039fe59ea5d5f967cf.jpeg


SEASON 03
MID-YEAR UPDATE:    

 
I’m furious.

It may not matter how much manager Mancini wins this year, I may still sack him.

Mancini wants to play a 41221? Ok sure. I accept that we can’t play Lukaku AND Haaland together as both are pure STs. So we bought (stole) Mbappe - who can play on either flank as an IF.

Question: what does Mancini do?

697C1286-7DEF-4EE9-A238-531379B181B0.thumb.jpeg.6c79e747afd8b499f0e5ff53a8aa30a2.jpeg

The Answer: Mancini plays Mbappe as a TM upfront, rotates him with Lukaku, and mostly ignores Haaland. What?!

So now we are also mostly playing Lookman + Deli Alli as IFs. Not ideal.

Should we fire Mancini if he continues this?  
 

The League

I got excited after a ‘sneak peak’ at the August results ... 

B6981786-7897-44A6-A31B-4C2D0A8F9D7D.thumb.png.c88342485ae9c13d7b3acd6468b5b004.png

... which then turned into surprise at the Jan 1st league table.

60DBCABF-3C28-4DBD-8439-0F85D5D80B7A.thumb.jpeg.bdd670f034a36e34c21832350bf66d95.jpeg

Southampton in 1st?!

That's a shock. But I doubt they’ll keep it up as their squad is weak + overachieving ... I hope.

We’re 2nd + a few points ahead of the pack behind us. I’m happy with that.

Liverpool in 10th (!!!) are really struggling after bottling it last season - surely they must improve?

But ... look at that ‘4th‘ icon (circled in white) - looks like England only has THREE European Champions League places now. Ouch! 
 

Europe + The Cups

Europe is going well. 5 wins + 1 loss mean we get 2nd + progress to the harder knockout stage.

D61C2558-0427-4FF5-95BB-E677CE954A83.thumb.png.e7f9a07930a6c8e5b5064439ac4e2858.png

On Jan 1st we are still in both domestic cups. After winning the Community Shield earlier this season, that means theoretically we could win them every competition! Haha - maybe in season 10.

FC106905-37E0-4D5F-A981-B65ACC279032.thumb.jpeg.a0029b6567f5db478ab3e4b56516ede9.jpeg

You’ll also notice in that screenshot that we got hammered 4-0 away at league leaders Southampton. Ouch. 
 

Transfers

Huh. Some outgoings. 

F398CAC8-F8BE-47D8-A810-88ED9600D8F2.thumb.jpeg.1e27b0a342e090087c7b7bf65a1bb7b9.jpeg

Central defender Pau Torres and Scottish DM/MC McTominay both joined 4th placed Spurs a few months ago. Torres has been surprisingly awful so far.

A combined $50.5m? Ok. I’ll take that + add it to my budget / balance. Bye bye guys. 
 

Our Squad

Top scorer Deli Alli (?!?) is doing great as a left sided IF. Midfielders Henderson + Goretzka share the assisting burden.

So what’s happening upfront ... ?

6BCE7D56-0677-42F2-B3A9-50363488BEA6.thumb.jpeg.b29afff81f3688aee7669c9594aba3d0.jpeg

Lukaku has 8 goals on 14 games. Mbappe 5 in 10. Haaland 3 in 7. It seems Mancini is rotating the three of them upfront. Crazy!

1D72BBBC-A1F8-44F2-8B4C-688D4FE18072.thumb.jpeg.ba585286f4e576014e52f399224ced23.jpeg

Finally some poor performers as well. Ageing Ronaldo shows his decline with a 6.61 average rating.

91ACD0B2-97D5-4049-8CAB-F5C482BD5CF5.thumb.jpeg.a9642afb06d1173bd78c61754abd5b9a.jpeg

Tadic? Sigh. Luke Shaw? Still rubbish. 
 

Next

In terms of performance, we’re doing fine. 2nd in the league. Still in Europe + the Cups.

But I’m still furious. Lukaku / Haaland PLUS Mbappe was the plan. Not this.

What should we do? 
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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1st Feb:
Bonus Update

 
A sneak peek of our January results ...

EA33B78D-C949-41C1-899F-C51B8F89C0DD.thumb.png.3d52a4c81e830d73fd7236c48384f5e1.png

... three losses + a draw in the league puts us in 7th

C8435B40-DF69-4A0D-8DDD-76313F451B42.thumb.png.ee6bfd57a03272956aeb557b5f590f2d.png

It seems the AI also thinks Mancini’s job is insecure ...

AB5092EA-B19E-46BD-AA76-94FDB62573C0.thumb.jpeg.96d180104c47dbe997bcd5389c428b2d.jpeg

... plus he’s not the only manager who has struggled

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If 4th place isn’t good enough for Guardiola to keep his Man City job, then I hope Mancini improves on our 7th VERY quickly. 
 

Edited by DanEnglish
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