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Career The Winding Road To 1k


samhardy
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The Winding Road to 1K

After finishing my H2H with Ash and realising that I enjoyed it, there wasn't much doubt in my mind to take advantage of this purple patch of FMM and jump into another save. There were several ideas in mind but the one outstanding was the legendary 1K challenge that my relationship with in the past has been fairly strained to say the least, I've never completed it and only attempted it twice, the first of which ended in me not touching the game again for about 12 months. This year I'm determined to break the duck and get it completed, but instead of one of the more popular 1K countries of choice I decided to choose arguably the toughest country to complete the challenge in, England.

Since there have been hundreds of these about in the past and with one of the reasons for my negative relationship with this challenge being losing interest, I came up with an idea which will make this one of the more unique and interesting versions of this challenge to play. It's easy to get your chosen striker settled in an environment with the right players supporting him constantly throughout. Adding to the squad you have each year to make it almost unbeatable and having those players you know for a fact will assist your chosen striker all day long. This will not be the case in this save!

  • For the first season a particular theme will be set for the squad to be built around the chosen striker (e.g English only players)
  • Once the season is up, all the players except the striker (obviously :P ) will be sold and the squad will be completely rebuilt with players matching a different theme.
  • Example: For the first season English only players, second season only players 23 or younger allowed.
  • The chosen striker will need to reach 1000 goals with his teammates changing every season.

Evidently this challenge will require a massive transfer budget, and that combined with European football in the first season meant there was only really one club to choose for this challenge.

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(Yes, I'm using their old badge, the new one looks terrible :P )

This challenge will get tougher as it goes along so I felt it was crucial to use a trusted striker who is certain to get goals. It's also important to get off to a good start so the chosen striker needs to be in the goals straight away. When searching the site I was surprised to see nobody had used him this year especially considering his recent rise to stardom, and yes, I'm fully aware he's switching sides of Manchester.

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Marcus Rashford is the man for the job!

This is not all as when coming up with this challenge I was reminded of another idea I once had (Which I'm sure @Ashez will tell you about :P ) which was to break a certain amount of long-standing records that stand in the Premier League. By the end of this save Manchester City will hold all of the below records: (In game of course, who is Pep Guardiola anyway?)

  • Most consecutive title wins - Manchester United (3)
  • Biggest title winning margin - Manchester United 99/00 (18 points)
  • Most wins in a season - Chelsea 04/05 (29)
  • Most consecutive wins - Arsenal 2002 (14)
  • Longest unbeaten run - Arsenal 03/04 (49)
  • Most goals in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (103)
  • Fewest goals conceded in a season - Chelsea 03/04 (15)
  • Best goal difference in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (+71)
  • Most points in a season - Chelsea 04/05 (95)
  • Biggest Win - Manchester United v Ipswich 1995 (9-0)

And that kind of wraps things up. In short this save will hopefully entail Rashford breaking 1000 goals with the squad around him being completely reshaped every season, whilst also trying to break all the records with Manchester City. It'll be difficult to come up with what could be 15ish themes so I'll be looking for suggestions in the comments! Obviously Brexit and work permits will be an issue and since you need to actually gain the no work permits unlockable in the save to be allowed to use it, the theme for the first season will be only players 30 years and over. This way I will be able to bring in players who need work permits and get the unlockable nailed down early.

I think that covers everything so thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoy the ride :)

Sam

Completed Seasons

Season 1 - Players Over 30

Season 2 - No players from Europe

Season 3 - British players only

Season 4 - Transfer listed players

Season 5 - Aged 23 or under

Season 6 - African players only

Edited by samhardy
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This looks interesting, using players 30+ may be tough so you may struggle in the first season. Im going to predict that Rashford will score about 45 goals in the first season. Best of luck to you Sam :) 

Im new to vibe by the way :)  

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This is going to be interesting! It think it will make it tough to change the whole team each year, but that will just make it all the more glorious when you achieve it! :)

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Looking forward to following this with great interest (I was thinking of Doing a 1K with Rashford at Dortmund) but I'll put that idea on the back burner 

good luck dude

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I've been on this site along time, I've seen ambitious careers before but this is just something else! It's a monstrous challenge! 

The second you told me about it I got excited to see it unfold, this career has everything I love! It's so simple yet unique! I'm just ashamed I never came up with it :P 

Best of luck Sam, I can't wait to see how this goes :D 

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Gee whizz, a big challenge. Pele scored over 1,200 in his career but most people say that he even counted the goals he scored with a orange when he was a boy playing in the streets. Let us have updates.

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Season One

So with the theme set, transfer targets lined up and Rashford being brought into the club, it was time to get started on season one: maybe not straightaway though. Before the challenge even properly started there was one thing I needed to get tied down and that was the no work permits unlockable otherwise this career would go absolutely nowhere. So after bringing my chosen striker into the club, the procedure of bringing various 30+ year olds requiring work permits in also started. About 20 signings later, the beautiful message below came through meaning the challenge could officially get underway.

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The Squad of Veterans

Instead of listing transfers below considering there was so many the amount of screenshots would likely crash your devices, it's a lot easier to just show you the squad that was used for the first season.

Spoiler

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Luckily City already had a lot of quality players in the squad who were 30+ and ready to go straight away, the likes of David Silva and surprisingly Jesus Navas made this a fairly kind theme for the first season. Once the unlockable was out the way and some world class players were off the wage bull, it was time to bring in some marquee signings such as Akinfeev, Chiellini and Ribery to help along the way. Ashley Young also proved an inspired signing from rivals United.

The season

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Not great I know but it took me quite a while to adjust to the amount of injuries this squad received and the stamina issues at hand. We were never really threatened in the league though and for a squad of veterans a run to the CL semi final isn't all bad!

Spoiler

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The Main Event - Marcus Rashford

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These attributes are brilliant considering season one has just finished, especially the physicals! The specialist training regime really paying off and not far away from being the complete striker. 

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These awards can only be a good thing ;)

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Before starting the season I knew it was crucial to get off to a good start and my aim was between 60-70 goals. Thankfully with the exception of a few knocks he stayed relatively injury free meaning he could appear in all but one of the league matches. This represents a solid start in my opinion as he can still improve as a striker and he should be hitting 70+ in no time.. As long as the themes aren't too nasty!

The Supporting Cast

Spoiler

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My choice of goalkeeper before the save even started and a legend of FMH, sadly he couldn't reach the heights he reached back in around 2011 but still a solid pair of hands between the sticks.

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My tactical system relies on the fullbacks not committing themselves too far forward and focus on their defensive duties to give more freedom to the wingers. With that in mind I was happy with the performances from Clichy and Zabaleta.

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Not much to say about these two, both quality players who put in solid performances consistently throughout the season.

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Guarin and Hernanes were meant to play behind the excellent David Silva in the centre, they both did their jobs well and chipped in with a few assists. Undoubtedly though Silva was the star man of the midfield.

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Very surprising results from both of these especially Navas, 26 assists is an excellent amount and the consistency of Young kept Ribery out of the team!

The Records

Spoiler
  • Most consecutive title wins - Manchester United (3)
  • Biggest title winning margin - Manchester United 99/00 (18 points)
  • Most wins in a season - Chelsea 04/05 (29)
  • Most consecutive wins - Arsenal 2002 (14)
  • Longest unbeaten run - Arsenal 03/04 (49)
  • Most goals in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (103)
  • Fewest goals conceded in a season - Chelsea 03/04 (15)
  • Best goal difference in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (+71)
  • Most points in a season - Chelsea 04/05 (95)
  • Biggest Win - Manchester United v Ipswich 1995 (9-0)

No records were hit this season as to be honest I wasn't really aiming for them, there's a few I expect to hit soon though however some will come with time.

Additional Screenshots

Spoiler

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Two ex-United players doing the damage :P

My intention is to start the next season tomorrow so if you want to suggest any potential themes before then I will definitely take them into account.

Otherwise thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the first update :)

Edited by samhardy
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Good start mate. Tried this 1k challenge but was never successful, always quit after 1-2 seasons.  

WPOTY  & 66 goals in 58 is excellent considering his age.Navas really amazed with 26 assists . I'm quite confident that you'll break 1 or 2  records by end of next season.

Sad to see early exit from UCL and EFL cup

13 on target from 22 shots , you must be using attacking tact.

Never really achieved work permit ??any suggestions how to get it . 

Looking forward to read next update. ?

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You murdered it Sam. Couldn't have been a better first season. It's a long long road this 1K but off to a good start. Looking forward to your next theme.

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Yeah I was pleased with the start, hopefully it continues!

@veerus The training regime was one that mainly focused on fitness and attacking, no defensive work gets a look in :P 

@Nick11 I just signed between 20-30 players from Brazil, Russia, Ukraine etc with 60+ caps so they would get work permits :)

3 hours ago, Taff said:

Idea for a theme - No players form Europe 

I know it's not a huge ask as there are immense south american players but a full squad full?????????

No players from Europe could be interesting considering I'd have to get rid of pretty much all of my current squad!

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Fantastic start that, especially in the Prem! Start getting to finals for the extra games and as he improves the 80+'s should follow! 

Theme suggestion - Can only use players from second division or lower at time of start of S2. 

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19 hours ago, Ashez said:

Fantastic start that, especially in the Prem! Start getting to finals for the extra games and as he improves the 80+'s should follow! 

Theme suggestion - Can only use players from second division or lower at time of start of S2. 

Another good option. Haven't started the season yet but have a few possible themes lined up :D

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Great season. 66 goals is an amazing start, for season 1. As for themes, I'll suggest 2 that I've considered myself:

  • Home nation players only, ie only English players in this case (will be tough to maintain quality). 
  • Only players that have been at the club and left, obviously for much later in the career (I keep finding my ex youth players who have turned out well, although half of them hate me!).

Anyway, can't wait to see what you come up with...

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Another idea for a theme. Sign only players that have played fewer than 50 games in their careers. Youngster, injury plagued players, mature players who never really got a chance at their clubs, subs that never got enough playing time. 

:)

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Season Two

After the first season which went fairly solidly the time came to make the decision on what the next theme would be. There was a few options I had in my mind and one of them was the same as what @Taff suggested which was to have a squad with no European players in it. A challenging theme no doubt considering I'd have to get rid of the majority of the City squad but when I built it I soon realised that it looked extremely promising.

The Squad - No European players allowed

Spoiler

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A few players that were permitted to stay at the club but otherwise a complete rehaul. All areas look strong however the main concern was the lack of depth, a small squad considering the intentions we held of mounting a challenge in all four competitions. I managed to get my first choice DC partnership of Marquinhos and Kouliabaly whereas Oscar and Brahimi were the best signings of the season this time around.

The season

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Once again not very good, the league was easy but the Champions League in particular was a huge disappointment even though we were unlucky with the last 16 draw after topping our group. Finally we won our first domestic trophy bar the league with the FA Cup triumph. Technically we won the final twice as I forgot to save after the first one, also losing a Rashford goal in the process :@

Spoiler

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The Main Event - Marcus Rashford

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A couple of knocks during the season but generally staying injury free have meant his attributes increase slightly on the mystical special training regime, and overall the stats are fantastic and the physicals especially are crucial in this challenge. He was runner up in WPOTY to Robert Lewandowski whereas he was named the best player in the Premier League.

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Not a great season as he fell about 10 short of my expectations. He got off to a poor start because of the reshaped squad and the early exit from the Champions League didn't help. He received a couple of short injuries which disrupted his consistency but he still showed glimpses and I still have faith he'll hit the 70 mark soon.

The Supporting Cast

Spoiler

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Any manager worth his salt knows that this guy is one of the best keepers in the game and he certainly didn't disappoint, one of the main reasons behind us conceding considerably less goals than last season.

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Another improvement on last season - they put in the type of performances my tactical system requires and were first choice all the way through the season.

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What a partnership this was, they were my first choice so I was delighted to get the deals over the line and they didn't disappoint. Marquinhos is my favourite defender in the game as he's always solid and sometimes available at a knockdown price a couple of years in, but even he was outshone by Koulibaly who had a massive season!

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Wanyama's poor average rating is my fault as I couldn't decide his best role throughout the season and was constantly experimenting. He was outshone by Vecino who I'd never heard of but his stats showed that he was my type of midfielder, whereas Oscar was the best signing we made without a doubt. 30 assists and chipping in with a few goals made him vital to the team.

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Jesus was the better of the two in my opinion as he created many more chances for Rashford, Brahimi on the other hand was way too greedy and won't be missed.

The Records

Spoiler
  • Most consecutive title wins - Manchester United (3)
  • Biggest title winning margin - Manchester United 99/00 (18 points)
  • Most wins in a season - Manchester City 17/18 (30)
  • Most consecutive wins - Arsenal 2002 (14)
  • Longest unbeaten run - Arsenal 03/04 (49)
  • Most goals in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (103)
  • Fewest goals conceded in a season - Chelsea 03/04 (15)
  • Best goal difference in a season - Chelsea 09/10 (+71)
  • Most points in a season - Chelsea 04/05 + Manchester City 17/18 (95)
  • Biggest Win - Manchester United v Ipswich 1995 (9-0)

We hit the first record and draw level with Chelsea regarding points, I'm not counting fully yet that though as I want to be alone in holding the record! I must admit some of these will be hard to beat :P

Additional Screenshots

Spoiler

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What a comeback!

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An eventful first half for the main man...

Total goals - 125

Once again I will take any ideas regarding themes you guys have into account, thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoyed the update :)

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34 minutes ago, Taff said:

Another fantastic season dude, well done

Next up a youth team I think no one over 23

We seem to have the exact same thought process! Another one I had at the top of my list :P

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Al things considered I think that's a fantastic total! Obvious upping it would be better and I'm sure better CL runs would help with that but you're well on track. 

1000-125=875/60=14.5 seasons

If he ups his goals or with ITN that'll easy start to get lower and lower :) 

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