Best FM 2013 Stories: Royman’s Unemployment Challenge Story

Hey guys and welcome to another FMS Story award. This time we’ll look at Royman’s Unemployment Challenge Story, a thread in the forum that has attracted more than 11,500 views.

We all love a good challenge, but the Unemployment Challenge has very slack rules and just entitles the gamer to roam from land to land picking up silverware as they go, it can really immerse the participant in different Footballing cultures. I haven’t read too many stories that have a) gone on for so long and b) seen so much success spread across so many countries. Lets see exactly what Royman has been upto shall we.

The career so far

Delta Raya Sidoarjo FC (Indonesia 2012-2019)

Indonesian Premier Divison: 2013

Indonesian Super League: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018

Indonesian Cup: 2016 & 2018

Asian Champions League: 2019

Maroka Swallows (South Africa 2019-2023)

South African Premiership: 2020, 2022 & 2023

South African Cup: 2019

South African Knockout Cup: 2019, 2020 & 2023

South African Super 8’s Cup: 2023

African Champions League: 2021 & 2022

New York Red Bulls (USA 2023-2026)

MLS Cup: 2023, 2024 & 2025

North American Champions League: 2025

West Ham (England 2026-2027)

FA Cup Cup: 2027

Manchester United (England 2027…)

As you can see, Royman has had one hell of a career. Most managers would start with United or a good English side like West Ham and start winning high reputation competitions from day one…but Royman has endured a long 15 years winning the top competitions in Africa, Asia and America to build his reputation and only now has he landed the illustrious job of managing Manchester United. This story is all about the ride, so lets hear about that from the man himself.

Darren: You have enjoyed a long career spanning four different continents, which club did you most enjoy managing?

Royman: This one’s quite a tough one, it has to be between Moroka Swallows and West Ham. The Swallows mainly because of how exciting the African game is and how it seems that up to 8 teams has a shot of the league as well as the other cups and to leave South Africa with almost a clean sweep of trophies was brilliant. I also admired how attacking that team was, in my final season, we just blew everyone away and retained the African Champions League with ease showing how great that side was. Also West Ham because despite being a small side, I managed to find a few gems, particularly that Iranian midfielder Hosain Mohamadpour and promote some starlets from the academy which enabled us to trouble the elite and secure a place in the Champions League. Something which was beyond my wildest dreams at one point and to win the FA Cup as well. Boy was it good. On a side note, I’ve finished my first season with Manchester United and it’s been crazy, goals galore. The update on Wednesday is gonna be an interesting one.

Darren: How much did you have to tweak your tactics in each continent, did the style of each country change your approach?

Royman: This is quite an interesting one, I started off with just an idea for a tactic in Indonesia based on tips on the FM site namely fast wingers in the «lesser» leagues are worth their weight in gold but as time went on I had to adapt, particularly because of my assistant  who kept going on » we don’t have control of the midfield». After a bad run of form, I thought he may be on to something here so I decided to change.. Where I once played 4-4-1-1/4-4-2, I ended my time in Indonesia with my team playing a variation of 3-5-2, 5-3-2. 3-5-2 was one we mainly used in the league due to us being favourites in most games and it enabled us to gain a better advantage in matches by having more of a control in midfield  whereas 5-3-2 was mainly in the Asian Champions league where we the underdog but managed to battle our way through to the final where we won it. Then in South Africa, I didn’t have to do much changing to my tactics, I went with the idea of playing 4-4-2 again and rarely varied from it apart from my final season there where I switched to a 4-5-1 as it gave our midfield more symmetry so to speak-2 wingers, 3 central midfielders with 2 advanced playmakers in front of an anchorman. New York was a tough one, I stumbled across a good tactic thanks to my assistant again I guess. Due to being tired (it was around half 2 in the morning) I opted to let my assistant take over a match. We beat Toronto 2-0 I think playing 4-3-1-2 which was a lot different to my usual 4-4-2. When I played it again the next day I decided to play this 4-3-1-2 system my way with 2 limited central defenders, 2 full backs on automatic, one deep lying playmaker on defenders, two advanced playmakers either side of him, one advanced playmaker in the hole and an advanced forward and a poacher up front. It worked brilliantly, we went from an inconsistent team to MLS Cup winners and Champions League winners within 2 seasons.

Finally it is West Ham I had to change things once again, we went from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 which seemed to be going well before an inconsistent start to my first full season in charge there. The new tactic all came about in a game at home versus Chelsea, going back to my tactic for Deltras, I remembered what a 5-3-2 formation could do. It led an underdog to become Champions League winners, I was hoping the same could happen once more but I tinkered with this one a bit more, I made it a 5-3-2 fluid/contain system as our defence struggled quite a bit, but this tactic made us more secure at the back without hindering our attacking threat.

Darren: What else have you got in store? A long trophy hunt with United or could we see you move again soon?

Royman: Well regarding the United situation, I think I would like to stay there for around 5 seasons, get them back on top domestically, we haven’t won the league since 2021. The year on my game is 2028 which shows how hard they have found it to challenge. In fact since United last won, City have managed to win it 3 times and that’s a pattern I would like to change. So essentially my aim with United is to become top dog in Manchester again and to win the Champions League of course. You will see how I got on in my first season on Wednesday.

Thanks to Royman for the interview and one hell of a story, I think its safe to say his Unemployed Challenge can inspire any of us short save wonders to pull our finger out :)

If you’d like to be featured in the FMS Story Awards, just go to the FMS Forum and start a new thread with your FM13 story. Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment or ask any questions below.