Career 'GOAT' Manager Challenge - The 1st Attempt

[DanEnglish]

How could you become the 'GOAT' of FMM?

Welcome to possibly the hardest challenge available.

What would you need to achieve to be crowned as the GOAT of FMM? Discussed on the FMM Discord server, @eternalaurora created this horrific beast available <here>.

Here is the challenge setup I'm aiming for - with my additional restrictions in red:

• Start with a newly promoted English North / South club - Taunton are probably the worst / hardest.
• Kaiserslautern all the way up - i.e. win the league every season all the way up.
• Win the treble (x3 trophies) in your 1st Premier League (PL) season.
• Win the quintuple (x5) in your 2nd PL season.
• Win the septuple (x7) in your 3rd PL season.
• Plus - use all 4 narratives non-stop - asset stripper, austerity measures, injury crisis, unrest at home.
• Plus - no loans in + no exceeding wages - i.e. never play a competitive game over wage budgets.
• Plus - no unlockables nor cheating - inc. no rich benefactor, no editor, etc, plus no reloading, etc.
• *Added* - for extra difficulty - play with a manager profile of no badges + no reputation.

Is this even possible?
In this career, you will see me test this challenge (and likely fail miserably).

I have no expectation of succeeding - BUT this gives an insight for anyone attempting this in the future. It also gives you an idea of strategies, approaches and what cheats to watch out for.  

Welcome to Taunton. Wish us luck!

Edited August 18, 2023 by DanEnglish

[Scratch]

You are already the COAT for me (Craziest Of All Time)!!  

But then they do say the margins between madness and greatness are very fine. so I guess it's a case of the COAT or the GOAT! 😀 

I actually think it will be impossible for anyone to do all of that. Maybe get promotion all the way up (rather than winning it every season), maybe all 4 narratives, but that would be super super hard already. Adding the Treble in the first season etc - I just think that takes it from very very very close to impossible to ... not a chance in the world. It might be different if your board weren't still selling your best players out from under you at that point, but there's just too much against you.

Having said all that, I should admit I've been proven wrong before and of course wish you the best of luck! Go for it Dan!

[eternalaurora]

Hey it's me, the maniac who proposed this challenge! I started this idea because some people were talking about what makes a player the FMM GOAT, and I just started putting everything I can think of that will make life harder together. Didn't expect someone to actually attempt it (at least I won't, I'm not a tactics + transfer master), so I'm happy to see one of the best tacticians (and a maniac like me! I didn't add the last 2!) here attempting it!

Now with Dan attempting it, I am going to seriously think about how to make it actually doable. It will likely be a 100-point system with extra credits, like when we were still at school. What Dan is doing right here will probably be the ultimate form of this challenge. 

Let's go Dan! I have faith in you!

Corrections and clarifications:

What is Kaiserslautern?

Kaiserslautern is a club currently at 2.Bundesliga in Germany. Some of you might not have heard of it, but it's also a club that has rich history and some top flight successes, with probably the most well-known one in recent years being orchestrated by "King Otto" Otto Rehhagel, where he led the club to the Bundesliga title in 1997-98 season as the 2.Bundesliga winner in the previous season.

What clubs are available for selection?

Since we are trying to replicate Kaiserslautern's miracle starting season one, we gotta start with one of the winners in the 7th division in the previous season. In FMM23, they are Banbury and Buxton from VNN and Taunton and Worthing from VNS. Taunton is probably the worst and Worthing the best.

What are the treble, quintuple, and septuple trophies you have to win?

Treble: league title, FA Cup, Carabao Cup.

Quintuple: the treble, plus Champions League and Community Shield.

Septuple (it's actually 7!): the quintuple, plus UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.

[DanEnglish]

@eternalaurora - nice! I’ve corrected the original post to match your post 👍 

@Scratch - I agree this is probably impossible, with the step up to winning the treble in your 1st premier league season is likely the hardest / ‘most impossible’ step.

I also worry that my <£4k / week wage budget (for the entire squad!) will not get increased as we go up the leagues. It’s hard enough trying to win the VNS on that budget, but trying to win leagues 1 and 2 on it? Surely impossible … right?!

[DanEnglish]

Pre-season 1

 
i) MORE Difficult
Let’s make this challenge harder, I’m starting with a manager profile with NO badges + NO reputation 🔻

Plus if any of you want to copy this - here is my game / league setup.

 
ii) Even MORE Difficult
Here is where we add the 4 narratives. Ouch.

Spoiler

Injury Crisis - 8 of our 18 players are out injured 🏥 

Unrest at Home - the ones who are fit? They now hate me.

Austerity Measures - there’s no money for anything, somehow we need to win the league with a <£4k / week total budget.

Asset Stripper - the Chairperson soon starts to transfer list my players, causing morale to plummet.

Ouch. 

 
iii) Could it be MORE Difficult ?!
I decided NOT to turn on ‘attribute masking’ - mainly because the Board wouldn’t let me hire a Scout!

Spoiler

My Staff

My Request

 
 

 … however if you try this challenge, you COULD turn on ‘attribute masking’ to make it even harder - as the Board allows you to offer the position to your older players! ✅ 

Spoiler

 
 

 
Next
How do you build a title winning squad on <£4k / week? And how do you manage around your Board continuously selling your players? Let’s explore! 

Thoughts? 🙂 

Edited August 16, 2023 by DanEnglish

[Migraz]

Aaarrrssshhh... 🥶🥶🥶 

I wish you all the best, but I can imagine nothing less than a miracle to complete this. 

[leedsunited87]

Go on Dan, literally is impossible! Very likely to be sacked the odd fair times, I will be following you on how you get on. Think you can still get free transfers, but watch it, dont sign players and put them in your reserves, your chairman will eventually release them. GL buddy 

[DanEnglish]

Thanks @Migraz + @leedsunited87 - you both are right that this would require a miracle and I’ll likely get sacked first 💯

13 hours ago, leedsunited87 said:

Think you can still get free transfers, but watch it, dont sign players and put them in your reserves, your chairman will eventually release them. GL buddy 

I’ve got a trick up my sleeve for that. See the next big post (edit - the post below!) for details! 🔥

Edited August 17, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Preseason 1

Original Squad
Taunton’s 18 man squad is quite … weak … which is even worse with this ‘injury crisis’ narrative.

Spoiler

Thankfully we can save £800 / week instantly by cancelling GK Bycroft’s loan.

Urgh. Our player dynamics are quite poor. 
 

 
New Squad
With just <£4k / week wages for an entire squad - we explored the free transfer market …

Spoiler

Shortlist
Identifying a shortlist of target players …

1st Team
Built a first team squad averaging ~£300k / week each.

Two extra players arrived later - as we were waiting for Work Permit decisions.

2nd Team
Plus extra players averaging ~£100 / week - to make a 22 man squad.

 

Reserves
Plus 25 backup players who were immediately loaned out on 100% wages! 

 

Also as our training facilities are so poor …

… I hope these younger players (out on loan) get game time to develop, so I can use them later.  
 

  
The Plan (for season 1)
To win the VNS league - I’m hoping my 1st team is good enough ⚠️ risky.

To survive ‘injury crisis’ - I think this 22 player squad (1st + 2nd team) is insufficient if we get 5-10 injuries, but I can’t afford more players ⛔️ big problem.

To survive ‘asset stripping’ - my 25 player ‘loan army’ (out on loan at 100% wages) means I can recall a replacement every time a player is sold ✅ confident.

To survive ‘unrest at home’ - my manager ‘motivational’ speciality + generally winning games should help ⚠️ risky.

 

Next
We start the 1st season - with both good news, and terrible terrible news.

Is this enough? 😬

Edited August 18, 2023 by DanEnglish

[Scratch]

Nice approach!! Very clever with the loans. Though I still think you are up against it to win the league this season, best of luck!

[Resurgam]

Not for the challenge obviously but I started a Taunton save back in May, currently in my 16th season. Managed to win every league in the way up but didn’t manage trebles etc until a few seasons in.

[Migraz]

5 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻   Masterclass 

[DanEnglish]

@Scratch + @Migraz - thanks 😂
 

2 hours ago, Resurgam said:

Not for the challenge obviously but I started a Taunton save back in May, currently in my 16th season. Managed to win every league in the way up but didn’t manage trebles etc until a few seasons in.

Oh great job! Considering I’m playing with no loans + no exceeding wages … do you have any suggestions or tips based on your experiences?! 🙂 

[leedsunited87]

Plus - use all 4 narratives non-stop

 

Maybe I'm tired, but wouldn't that mean your players are constantly injured? 

[DanEnglish]

Early Season 1

 

The Good …
After a good pre-season, we start the season well - with a comfortable 3-1 home win 🔥 five clear-cut-chances shows our domination 👍 

 
… The Bad …
Then disaster hits. I realize 3 narratives are now ‘off’. So I switch these narratives back ‘on’. Disaster.

Spoiler

Unrest at home - my new signings despise me 🔻

Austerity Measures - thankfully doesn’t change our budgets, but does hit player morale again 🔻

⛔️ Injury Crisis ⛔️ this one hurts …

… most of our squad is now injured - including both GKs + both STs injured 😱 …

This could be … er … tough.  
 

… And The Ugly
With all these injuries, this is our (demoralized) first team …

• 🔻 3 greyed-out players
• 🔻 1 out-of-position FB
• 🔻 all attackers have <10 finishing

 
So how did we get on … ? 😬 

4 consecutive games where it was extremely tight …

• Started each game with an attacking 4231 (actually a 4213) …
• … then if we score, then shut the game down with a defensive / park bus / sterile possession 41410
   

Spoiler

 
So What?
Right now we are in 4th place. Fantastic.

Even the press are positive, though depressingly they said we had ‘an easy start’ 😞 so let’s NOT be optimistic

 

Next
Now we start to play a hectic 2 games / week - which my low-stamina 8 available players are unable to handle.

Thankfully all the players are united + working together in … huh … what? … 

Spoiler

AAAARRRGGH !!! 😡 

Edited August 17, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

23 minutes ago, leedsunited87 said:

Maybe I'm tired, but wouldn't that mean your players are constantly injured? 

Oh yes - you are 100% right.

Not all the players are injured. But certainly enough to be considered a ⛔️ ‘crisis’ ⛔️ 

[DanEnglish]

Here are some of the longer term injuries (another 3-6 months) …

Question - am wondering whether to RELEASE them (terminate their contracts) + then RECALL their replacement (from out on loan) ? 😲

Spoiler

But the Board won’t let me terminate our best ST’s contract … even though he’s not back until Feb / March.

Thoughts?

Edited August 17, 2023 by DanEnglish

[leedsunited87]

2 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

Oh yes - you are 100% right.

Not all the players are injured. But certainly enough to be considered a ⛔️ ‘crisis’ ⛔️ 

Ah sorry to ruin the party, that's what I thought. Would be literally impossible task 😆 but stick with it buddy 

[Resurgam]

4 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

@Scratch + @Migraz - thanks 😂
 

Oh great job! Considering I’m playing with no loans + no exceeding wages … do you have any suggestions or tips based on your experiences?! 🙂 

no loans and no exceeding wages? sorry but i have no tips for you whatsoever 😆

unless you can sign Kyle Hudlin on a free. cheat code as a TF 👍

[DanEnglish]

Early Season 1

 

 

Releasing Players
So we have a problem. We are struggling with only have 8-9 players fit. So I decided to release a few players.

Spoiler

Do you consider this CHEATING?

• As we have to pay a release fee (e.g. half their wages) …
• … but there is no negative consequence if you have a zero transfer budget …
• … so those payments don’t hit my budgets in any way.

I think it’s fine, but you may disagree. So I did it 🙂   
 

… then we recalled their replacements from their loans. “Welcome back!”

 
League Performance
Unsurprisingly - with 3 replacement players, our performances improved.

Spoiler

That first game (3-3) was against the league leaders …

… so 3 wins + 3 draws results in this …

3rd place so far? Not bad!  
 

  
Disaster Strikes
But then I notice something - the ‘injury crisis’ + ‘austerity measures’ narratives have ended in the same week.

So we switch them ‘ON’ again 🔻 Disaster

Spoiler

Austerity Measures - really it’s the morale hit that hurts here …

⛔️ Injury Crisis ⛔️ ouch.

Half the team are out injured again - including these two longer term injuries.

Plus the ‘unrest at home’ narrative is still on - so the players hate me.  
 

 
Next
These non-stop narratives are really hurting us - especially the injury crisis one.

How can we cope?!

Edited August 18, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

FA Cup
This is what happens when you play greyed out players vs a club in the Division above … to rest the only fit 12ish players you have …

Ouch 😣 

[leedsunited87]

Actually doing Really well with all that, especially the injuries bit, amazing tbf buddy. Enjoying this, nice to see somebody do a hard challenge like this instead of the boring Scottish league. Shows how much of a great player you are! Keep up the good work 

[DanEnglish]

Early Season 1.  

 

Adjusting …
After the Board selling a few players🔻 …

… and our (3rd?) ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ we released a few more injured players + brought in their replacements …

Spoiler

This greyed-out GK gets a contract to become our temporary #1:

Plus we raid the new academy prospects to gain a pacy sub. attacker:

Plus a couple of cheap backup players recalled from loan - as we had no-one on the subs bench!

… the problem is that NONE of them are good at football 😡
 

It was tight - but we stayed within our wage budget ✅ (that meagre <£4k / week) - through the Board aren’t happy!

Spoiler

Only a ‘D’ rating - when we are exactly spending our budget … ?!

… thankfully the other areas are positive …

… though squad harmony is a problem - yes of course - with the ‘unrest at home’ narrative. 

 
 

 
… Then Thriving …
With a decent first XI + some budget subs, we put together a good run of form.

🎉 Top of the table by mid-November! 🎉 

 
 

… To Surviving …
However then the ‘unrest at home’ narrative had to be switched back on

Spoiler

A morale hit - from austerity measures again.

Then a 2nd morale hit from ‘unrest at home’ …

… with some really interesting reactions from some players … 

“Lucky to have a player of your quality” … 😡
 

… To NOT Surviving …

A few weeks later - as our French star striker Gomis returned back to light training …

… the ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ narrative ended temporarily.

Spoiler

Light training - but still 3 months away (!)

So the ‘injury crisis’ narrative ends …

 
 

Which means we need to switch the narrative back ‘on’ for our (4th?) ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ 

Spoiler

The squad is hit with 8 players out🔻

Our top scorer (left IF - 8 goals in 15 games) is now out injured.

… and my backup defensive midfielder is out for the rest of this season. Urgh.

 
 

Current Status
We are still 1st after that good run of form …

… but now we are back to only 13 fit players (who are very demotivated again) - with 8 and a 1/2 players out injured.

I think we are going to slip down the table. Playing twice a week will be a struggle. Painful.

Thoughts?

Edited August 18, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Mid-Season 1

‘The Calm Before the Storm’
 

The Past
Got some recognition for November 👍 

But in mid-December, we have (#5?) ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ 

Spoiler

The narrative ends - so we switch it back on …

How bad do you think it’ll be this time?

 
 

We lose our GK, most of our defense, and our best two remaining attackers 🔻

Painful.

The Present
Year end … 31st Dec … Let’s review …

We are still 1st - which feels like a miracle - but have started to lose games convincingly.

 
Squad Review
Our first team is weak - we have only 9 fit players 🔻 of which 4 are good (green), the rest are … er … not good.

Spoiler

You’ll notice our attackers have <10 goals scored between them + only 10 assists.

It’s a really poor squad available, and we’re relying on greyed-out players. Urgh.  
 

 
Then we have a few players coming back from injury - available in between 1 to 4 weeks time!

Spoiler

We desperately need a DL - so Debayo will go straight into the team upon his return.

Star striker Gomis only has 1 appearance for us - before he ‘broke his leg’ after an early injury crisis narrative.  
 

 
Then we have the longer term injuries.

These ‘walking wounded’ are our best players:

• ST - our main front three - with +30 goals combined.
• DF - 3 of our first team defenders.
• GK - plus our best keeper.

Thankfully they are all back in 1-2 months time … but … what? … oh no … 

 
Next
… but when they recover - does that mean the next major ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ is just around the corner?! 😕 

Edited August 19, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Mid-Season 1

The Storm
 

Asset Stripper
From the new year on - we had THREE rounds of transfer listing players - really decreasing morale.

Spoiler

Early Jan

Mid-Jan

Early Feb

Twice we ‘publicly protested’ - which the players / fans liked …

… but the Board really hated …

The 3rd time - I quietly accepted it. Don’t want to get fired yet!  
 

This narrative has been relatively quiet - probably because the transfer listed players become injured so quickly / before the can be sold.
 

(#6?) ⛔️ Injury Crisis ⛔️
It’s only the 9th Jan - but another one hits.

Spoiler

The previous narrative ended …

… so we switch it back ‘on’ …

… which decimates the squad - with 11 players injured, for between 1 to 7 months each.

So who is left? We have only 2 defenders, 2 midfielders, + 2 attackers …

… with another 4 players back later this month …

With no fit GK (!) - after we bring in this freebie keeper (image below) + recall a midfielder, after releasing our injured Captain to free up wages.

So now we have this. Missing both FBs + an IF, we are now relying on greyed-out players again.

This remains all within wage budgets (just).

⚠️ TWO Narrative Hits ⚠️ 
Yes. You read that right. The pain continues. 

In mid-Feb, after enough players return to light training, both ‘unrest at home’ + (#7?) ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ hits again. It is non-stop.

This one is BRUTAL - only TWO first team players survive it - everyone else is now injured …

Spoiler

This means we need to switch it back on …

Though ‘unrest at home’ also deactivated since the last league game, so that has a HUGE morale impact …

… then the injury crisis hits …

Most of the squad is out. It’s BRUTAL.

 
 

 
Next
So this is what I’m left with. Only one of these players is any good!

• ❌ no GK
• ❌ no FBs
• ❌ no MCs
• ❌ no subs

How can you continue a title challenge like this? The pain is non-stop.

Tomorrow I’ll decide how to keep our title challenge alive. 

Suggestions welcome!

Edited August 19, 2023 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Sneak Preview
It is all going horribly wrong …

[DanEnglish]

On 17/08/2023 at 22:00, Resurgam said:

unless you can sign Kyle Hudlin on a free. cheat code as a TF 👍

Great suggestion! Unfortunately he’s at another club (I have no transfer funds with ‘asset stripper’ on) AND he’s on +£1k / week (my max wage was only 550 / week) 😞 

On 18/08/2023 at 19:49, leedsunited87 said:

Actually doing Really well with all that, especially the injuries bit, amazing tbf buddy. Enjoying this, nice to see somebody do a hard challenge like this instead of the boring Scottish league. Shows how much of a great player you are! Keep up the good work 

Thanks @leedsunited87 👍 

[DanEnglish]

WaEnd Season 1
 

The Storm Continues 

The Pain
Throughout Feb + March, the club was in chaos. 

Firstly, we had only 6 players fit - with another 15 with long term injuries 🔻 mostly for around 2-3 months …

Secondly, morale was hit by repeated reports that the club “will not survive” 🔻

Thirdly, the media + fans start questioning my competence 🔻

Then fourthly, we had another FOUR rounds of transfer listing our players! 🔻

Spoiler

Mid-Feb

Early March

Early March (again!)

Mid March

… and after ‘publicly protesting’ one time, it threatened my job security with the Board 😬 

 
 

Overall - this was maybe the hardest two months of any FM / FMM career I’ve ever had. 

The Plan
So what’s the plan - how could we possible still compete for the league title?!

Step 1 - keep these five players with long term injuries (3+ months). This might be enough to prevent another ⛔️ injury crisis ⛔️ ?!

Step 2 - release other players with shorter term injuries. This should fund recalling players back into our 1st team.

Spoiler

Bye bye loyal servants

 
 

Step 3 - with the available wage budget, recall players back from loan.

Spoiler

Here’s our GK (whose 17 aerial really rose out on loan)

Here’s our rubbish / cheap DR …

A rubbish / cheap backup DLC …

… and a decent DM/MC

All go straight into the first team!  
 

The Progress!
That first team is NOT strong - so our form deteriorated- with 5 losses in 8 games …

… however we are still 1st (just) - as the other top teams also struggled …

… and our next game is against 2nd place Ebbsfleet - a huge six-pointer!

 
The great news - we now have a FULL first team + subs bench …

  

… with 3 more star players back in the next few weeks (light green injuries) …

 
Next
Against all the odds - with no money - with all these injuries - can we win the title?!

Or will we bottle it?!

Edited August 20, 2023 by DanEnglish

[leedsunited87]

Cor it's getting down to the nitty gritty now! Other teams catching up! You will have a tough time in the league above. How often do you repeat the process of the injuries etc? Done amazing so far buddy 👍 👌 👏 🙌 

[DanEnglish]

2 minutes ago, leedsunited87 said:

How often do you repeat the process of the injuries etc?

It’s literally non-stop. Once the ‘injury crisis’ narrative ends* then I switch it back on and half the squad (or more!) are injured again. I think we have had 6 rounds of it so far, with the last in mid-Feb.

*I think it ends when there’s only 3-5 players with ‘red injuries’ - not sure on the exact number yet.