2015 The Unemployed Challenge!

[BillyTheKid]

After a few years of not really engaging in the FMH titles I have finally found a love back for the game in 2015! However, I have decided after a couple of moderately successful careers that it is time I attempted a challenge. 

I have decided that it is time I attempted the infamous unemployed challenge. This is a challenge which I have attempted before on previous FMH titles on the PSP but have always given in when realising that I was not going to achieve the required objectives. 

Ok so here goes.....

I have naturally selected England as my main country and chosen; Spain (obligatory), Germany and France as my other loaded leagues. Therefore, the teams which I will have to manage (in addition to the four nations) and win a minimum of two trophies with are:

• Chelsea
• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Arsenal
• Real Madrid
• Barcelona
• Athletico Madrid
• Athletic Bilbao
• Bayern Munich
• Borussia Dortmund
• Schalke 04
• Bayer Leverkusen
• Paris Saint-Germain
• Monaco
• Lille OSC

For the first time on FMH15 I shall be playing using the original engine in order to speed up game time. My plan will be to update at the end of each season or if I am offered a job at a different club throughout the season, wish me luck! 

Update to follow.......

[BillyTheKid]

On 25th July 2014, Barnsley have appointed ex-pro Billy Plummer as their new manager.....

 

Edited July 15, 2015 by BillyTheKid

[HashtagTatica]

So we are both doing the unemployed challenge? Nice!

[BillyTheKid]

Yeah man, although I have a couple of seasons to catch up with you! 

[HashtagTatica]

Lol billy u can catch up now im going to macau for a few days 

[liam1872]

I'm doing this challenge too and it's tough, good luck!!

[tomppasson]

Good luck with this challenge

[MerlionMaple96]

An awful lot of attempts at this challenge recently

Good luck mate

[BillyTheKid]

Season 1 - 2014/2015 Review

So after being appointed manager of Barnsley, I was set the target of automatic promotion by my board. I started with a fairly decent squad including ex-Bayern player Dale Jennings and Slovakian international Milan Lalkovic and therefore felt optimistic for the season ahead.

Transfers

In terms of strengthening the squad, I made the following transfers, relying heavily on short term loans (Usually 3 month deals) throughout the season:

Zat Knight (Free), Luke Young (Free), Ruben Caetano (Free).

Raheem Hanley (Loan from Swansea), Liam Shephard (Loan from Swansea), Alex Henshall (Loan from Ipswich), Sheyi Ojo (Loan from Liverpool), Dylan Connolly (Loan from Ipswich), Jack Barmby (Loan from Leicester), Kenji Gorre (Loan from Swansea), Stephen Kingsley (Loan from Swansea), Jadan Hall (Loan from Burnley) and Dan Crowley (Loan from Arsenal)

I also sold a few players in order to balance the wage budget so that I wasn't in the red, hopefully this will have a positive impact on next season's transfer budget!

Competitions

League 1: 3rd Place (Won Playoff Final 2-1 versus Leyton Orient)

FA Cup: 3rd Round (Lost 2-0 to Leyton Orient)

League Cup: 4th Round (Lost 2-1 AET to Ipswich Town)

JPT: Area Semi-Final (Lost 1-0 to Preston North End)

 

Screenshots

League Table:

Play Off Final: 

 

 Team:

 

Summary

Overall, I am delighted that I have been able to guide Barnsley to the Championship in my first season and winning the playoff final in the 90th minute made it all the sweeter! Hopefully next season I will be given a competitive transfer budget in order to strengthen my squad further and have a shot at making successive promotions. I have decided to give a few awards to my players in order to show recognition of their performances this season.

Star Player:

Sam Winnall, signed for £200k before I arrived, managed to score 33 league goals and 42 in all competitions! Also finished League 1 player of the year with an average rating of 7.66! Scored a brace to win the playoff final as well!

Best Young Player: 

Dale Jennings, at just 21, proved why Bayern signed him in 2011, finishing with an average rating of 7.63 and scoring 15 league goals in 37 appearences. 

Clubman of the Year: 

Zat Knight, despite being 34 years of age, managed to play 52 games in all competitions, consistently performing at an excellent level and finishing with an average of 7.25. 

 

Edited July 23, 2015 by BillyTheKid

[S4NCH0]

Why does everyone seem to get great jobs at the beggining- I mean League 1 or League 2 jobs- when I start unemployed I usually apply for all the jobs and get Vanrama South Conference jobs. Who do you do it?

Regarding the career: Great going Billy! One season away from the top tier!

[MerlionMaple96]

Nice season mate KIU!

[samhardy]

Good luck, Winnall and Hemmings were key when I attempted it!

[BillyTheKid]

Season 2 - 2015/2016 Review

So after a great first season, we went into 15/16 campaign in a much tougher division and as a result several transfers were made in order to prepare the squad for the new season. The board offered a good increase in the wage budget and a transfer budget of £1.5m with the expectation of a respectable league position, this allowed us to attract players of a higher calibre than the previous season. Despite agreeing with the board to achieve a respectable league position, my personal 'realistic' aim was to achieve a play-off place. 

Transfers

In regard to signings, the increase in wage budget enabled me to pick up a few free transfers as well as higher calibre loan signings. I also used a small amount of transfer fees to buy players suited to The Championship. Below I have listed the players that were brought in and also the players that exited the club.

In: 

Fernando Cavenaghi (£375K, River Plate), Joaozinho (£275K, Braga), Simone Pepe (Free), Micheal Essien (Free), Jinty Caenepeel (Free, AA Gent), Chris Herd (Free, Aston Villa), Eliseu (Free), Tom Thorpe (Free, Man United), Brendan Galloway (Loan, Everton), Carlos Luque (Loan, Internacional), Mitchell Weiser (Loan, Bayern Munich) and Andreas Pereira (Loan, Man United).

Out:

Joe Bunney (£150K, Hartlepool), Ollie Clarke (£50K, MK Dons), Dominic McHale (Free), Rhys Oates (Free), Ruben Caetano (Free).

 

Competitions

Championship: 7th Place 

FA Cup: 5th Round Replay (Lost 1-0 to Birmingham City)

League Cup: 2nd Round (Lost 2-0 to Stoke City)

 

Screenshots

League Table:

Team:

Winnall's stats:

Summary

Overall, I am gutted to have missed out on a play-off place by 2 points, especially because we were in 4th place with 10 games to go, a poor run of 8 games without a win during March and April being the reason for this. The loss of Dale Jennings for 8 months due to a slipped disc also cost us dearly with emergency loan signings Carlos Luque and Mitchell Weiser doing a decent job on the wing but not to the standard I would expect from Dale. Nevertheless, a first year back in the Championship for Barnsley and a 7th place finish is nothing to be ashamed of and hopefully will be able to build on this and push for promotion next year

Star Man: 

Sam Winnall - Another outstanding season for the English striker, scoring 36 in the league (top scorer in The Championship). Kept ex-Argentine International Fernando Cavenaghi out of the team.

Best Young Player: 

Mason Holgate - At just 19 years old, developed as a first-team regular partnering new signing Tom Thorpe at centre back. Has huge potential and has attracted attention from several Premier League clubs.

Clubman of the Year: 

Connor Hourihane -  Club captain and performed consistently throughout the season with an average rating of 7.24 missing just 4 league games.

 

 

 

[BillyTheKid]

Season 3 - 2016/2017 Review

Due to the fact I recently got a new job in real life, I haven't had much time to focus on this career and thus has been the reason in which I haven't done an update in a couple of weeks. However, now I have settled in I have had time to complete another season for Barnsley.

After a disappointing end to the 15/16 campaign in which we finished just outside a playoff place, I went into this season with more optimism and told the board that I believed we could achieve automatic promotion. On assessing last season's statistics it was obvious we were conceding too many goals and as a result we strengthened the defense in the summer, despite losing young player of the year Mason Holgate to Everton. Nevertheless, the money from the Holgate deal allowed us to spend money on younger, better players.

Transfers

In: 

Ryo Miyaichi (£1.9M, Arsenal), Sam Johnstone (£950K, Man United), Daniel Ayala (£500K, Boro), Joe Mattock (£425K), Dedryck Boyata (Free), Nathan Baker (Free), Ryan Tunnicliffe (Free), Dele Alli (Loan, Spurs), Omar Rowe (Loan, Southampton).

Out:

Mason Holgate (£4.9M, Everton), Joaozinho (£325K, Hartlepool), Adam Davies (£200K, Luton), Luke Young (Free), Jack Cowgill (Free), Christian Dibble (Free), Mike Phenix (Free), George Smith (Free), Zat Knight (Free), Brad Abbott (Free, Bristol Rovers), James Bailey (Free Brentford).

 

Competitions

Championship: 2nd Place (Promoted to the Premier League) 

FA Cup: 3rd Round (Lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur)

League Cup: 2nd Round (Lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace)

 

Screenshots

League Table:

Team:

Summary

Overall, I am delighted that in just three seasons I have managed to gain promotion to the Premier League! Hopefully next season I will be given a good transfer budget and will be able to begin to build a squad that will stay in the league and gain a respectable position, with the long term aim of building a squad that can challenge the best.

Star Man: 

Sam Winnall (Again!) - Another outstanding season for the English striker, scoring 32 in the league, will he be able to do this in the greatest league in the world though?

Best Young Player

Dele Alli - Signed on loan from Spurs in January and made a real impact producing many assists to help the club rise up to the automatic promotion places.

Clubman of the Year: 

Sam Johnstone -  Signed as a replacement for the unreliable Ross Turnbull, produced consistent performances between the sticks all season with an average rating of 7.17.

Edited August 16, 2015 by BillyTheKid

[HashtagTatica]

Nice! Did you sell Holgate cuz of real life? xD

[BillyTheKid]

Nice! Did you sell Holgate cuz of real life? xD

I didn't actually, this happened in my game before real life! Had a big club release clause so had to go....

[BillyTheKid]

Season 4 - 2017/2018 Review

After automatic promotion from the Championship last season, we went into our first season in the Barclays Premier League with the objective of staying in the division and building a squad to become a force in the upcoming years. An increased transfer and wage budget by the board allowed the club to attract players of a higher calibre and subsequently be competitive in a very strong league. 

Transfers

In: 

Ezequiel Munoz (£4.8M, Palermo), Ruben Pardo (£950K, Real Sociedad), Fredrik Gustavsson (£45K, IFK Goteborg), Christian Ferrara (Free, AC Milan), Daniel Ward (Free), Connor Ripley (Free), Santi Cazorla (Free), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Free), Patrick Bamford (Loan, Chelsea).

Out:

Luke Berry (£1.4M, Bolton), Nathan Baker (£500K, Leyton Orient), Josh Scowen (Free, MK Dons), Martyn Reed (Free), Carl Bailey (Free), Martin Cranie (Free), Michael Essien (Free), Ross Turnbull (Free), Jamie Richards (Free), Barry Kane (Free), Paul Digby (Free, St, Mirren)

 

Competitions

Barclays Premier League: 9th

FA Cup: 3rd Round (Lost 4-1 to Everton)

League Cup: 2nd Round (Lost 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday)

 

Screenshots

League Table:

Comps:

Team: 

 

Summary

Overall, a fantastic first season in the Premier League after a start which saw us lose our first 4 league matches! A particular highlight, defeating Chelsea 2-0 who have now won the league 4 years on the trot and also winning 3-1 at Old Trafford! Hopefully this season will be the foundations for an assault on the top 4 next season where new players will need to be signed in order to pose any real hope of silverware. 

Star Man: 

Sam Winnall (Again!) - Incredibly for the fourth consecutive season I have to give it to Sam Winnall who proved he could do it in the Premier League, banging in 20 league goals in 34 appearances!

Best Young Player:

Fredrik Gustavsson - A Swedish regen whom at the age of 22 made the most appearances of any outfield player in my team, scoring 5 goals and getting 6 assists.

Clubman of the Year: 

Ezequiel Munoz - A fantastic signing and worth the money paid for him, was consistently solid in defence and took the captaincy from Conor Hourihane.

 

In other news, Brendan Rogers' job is very insecure at Liverpool.....