Hey guys and welcome back to another Ultimate European Challenge update. During my last post I shared a rather expensive pre-season at Stamford Bridge. While I am not a fan of spending the big bucks, the spree was necessary to challenge for the Premier League title. One defender and three midfielders amassed a total of £82 million. Crazy money, but my hands were tied by the quality on offer. My goal is to stop both sides of Manchester from dominating English football. Man City and Man Utd both have incredible players, but I believe Chelsea are finally ready to challenge again.
Just after my first league game, Juventus tabled an offer for one of my best CM’s. Mikel has been unhappy and demanding a move away for months now. I had no choice but to transfer list the Nigerian. With the Italian giants offer of £4.5 million been accepted I started my search for a replacement. Jon Obi Mikel is now 31 years old and starting to decline, so I saw this as a huge chunk off my wage bill and the chance to find young talent. The search ended in Brazil, surprise, surprise. I found a 20 year old called Paulo Roberto. He plays in central midfield and has the ability to handle both defensive and supporting roles. I had to part with a further £21.5 million, but this regen seems well worth it. Paulo will be used in my rotation system alongside three other national compatriots.
Before we dive straight in to the new season, I have some news to share. After winning the Copa America, Confederations Cup and World Cup I have resigned as manager of Argentina. They are an incredible nation with amazing regens, but I have won all there is to win. Plus, I wanted to leave before Messi and Aguero retire from International duty. :) A sad announcement, but one that will help me focus on Chelsea.
Premier League results: August-September
I was eager to start the new season well, but my opening fixtures were far from easy. My squad struggled to blend during the first game, misplaced passes and a slow tempo almost lead to a draw. Then my favourite centre back, Phil Jones, popped up from the corner to score a late winner. Following this 1-0 victory over Fulham, was an away day against Manchester City. A team that have spent no less than £100 million every single year for the past eight years. Now, prepare yourself, because I almost fainted during this game. My boys played City off their own park. Marcelo showed some signings of his inflated price tage, while Godwin and Petrovic stole the show. The game finished 3-0 to Chelsea and was followed by two more victories. The first at home to Middlesbrough in a comfortable 2-0 scoreline. The second not so easy, but just as valuable with a 1-0 win at Upton Park.
September finished with a disappointing performance to Birmingham at Saint Andrews. The Midlands club had the better of us in every area. In fact, I was relieved to walk home with a 1-1 draw. The opening two months went very well and much better than anticipated. Godwin (click name to see profile) seems to have settled after signing last January and Petrovic has continued his goal scoring form of last season. My favourite result was a scorcher against Man City, so before we look at October, lets see those highlights.
Simply stunning football and my counter strategy paid off again. Marcelo opened the scoring with a calm finish, then Godwin unleashed a deadly free kick for 2-0. However, my favourite was watching Petrovic wonder into the perfect position for a through ball, then avoid City’s offside trap. A beautiful move and one that fills me with confidence for the season ahead. Talking of the season ahead lets move onto October.
Premier League results: October
Due to my Champions League group games, October saw just three Premiership fixtures. I also had to rest the odd player to keep everyone fit and happy. Tottenham were the first to visit Stamford Bridge and it wasn’t a happy ride home for our rivals. Chelsea dominated the match and walked away 4-1 victors. Cairney scored his first of the season, while Petrovic and Jones continued there great form. The ageing McGeady also chipped in from the bench. My players seemed to carry their confidence over to Saint James Park. We beat my beloved Newcastle 1-0 thanks to a late goal from third choice forward Tafer. Then the final game of October saw us back at Stamford Bridge to face Wolves. Petrovic (click players name to see profile) found his shooting boots yet again as we won 3-0. The season had started very well, 7 wins and a draw from 8 games. Lets see if the form continues through November. Before that, its worth mentioning my League Cup, third round elimination. A weakened side lost at home to Man City 2-1. Very disappointing, but that trophy isn’t top priority so I can get over it.
Premier League results: November
November featured a relatively easy fixture list, apart from Man Utd away. We started well, beating Coventry 3-0. My combination of Petrovic, Godwin and Marcelo struck again. Then a sticky tie at Old Trafford ended in joy. United were probably the better team, but couldn’t budge my back four. A great performance and fine goal from Tom Cairney helped us win 1-0 and gain the title initiative. The lads were in fine form leading up to our game against Ipswich. Stamford Bridge was treated to a fine attacking display as a very weak starting XI took the three points in a 3-1 victory. Bolton put up more of a fight at the Reebok, but still went down 1-0. Then Petrovic capped off some fine form with a hat trick against Reading. The last three months have seen me unbeaten just losing one game. But how did this effect the table?
Eight points clear at the top and victories away from home to Man Utd and Man City. What a great run of form. I still have loads of tough matches to play, but this is the best start possible. With the league going so well, maybe Europe had taken a back seat. Its now time to see if Chelsea could challenge for the Champions League too.
Champions League group stages
The opening match was a real shocker on so many levels. Firstly, I got the tactics all wrong playing a 4-5-1 out of habit as opposed to a 4-4-2. Secondly, I decided to rest a few key defenders (what was I thinking.) And thirdly, I didn’t see Chelsea strike one shot or deadly pass. An all round nightmare against Barcelona finished 3-0. Thankfully, I learned how to manage again after this and we won the remaining four games. Dortmund of Germany have a good team, but were embarrassed at home 2-0 and then travelled to Stamford Bridge for a 3-0 mauling. PAOK got a taste of what awaits in the last tie after losing 4-0, but my return match against Barcelona was the best. Stamford Bridge was packed out despite our previous thrashing and the players responded with a 4-0 scoreline. The highlights are below.
The real beauty of this game is I learned from my previous mistakes. I dropped the 4-5-1 for the first time this season and used a 4-4-2. I included a few key players but also offered opportunities to the usual substitutes like Tafer, Ludwig and Weiss. If you thought Barcelona could play, just watch the video above. My boys play them off the park. :) This match made a big difference to the group too. I am now on top and need just three points from my last match against PAOK.
After enjoying the perfect start to 2018/19, I was left to question where it all went right. I can confirm that while my defence are the most consistent, my more attacking players can be prolific. Especially Petrovic who has scored 13 goals from 14 starts. I was also impressed with Marcelo, a lot of you were concerned by his transfer fee (including myself) but the Brazilian has done well with 3 goals and 9 assists. Daniel Groves was brought up from my reserves. He plays right back and enjoyed a great start at the age of 19, I was delighted by his 7.52 rating. Marcos has been the biggest disappointment so far. After paying Juventus almost £20 million I thought I’d found one of the best CM’s in the world. But Marcos is either struggling to adjust or been used in the wrong position.
My next post will cover December-February. However, if this takes too long I may do a two part post instead. Either way, the next three months will decided my season and what we’re fighting for. Losing my first two games away to Everton and Arsenal isn’t an option. They’ll be tough but losing would ruin morale and offer United, City and Liverpool a way back in. Some tough fixtures, but you have to play em’ all at some point I guess. :)
Well that is all for today guys. I hope you enjoyed the post and please feel free to comment. For anyone who is inspired to start the European Challenge please read the UEC rules to learn more. Until next time, thanks for reading guys! ;)
Sears
3 апреля, 2011 at 20:16
Hey Darren,
that was an incredible beginning to the season. The league will be wrapped up early this year considering your early form and your doing superbly in the Champions League too. That new regen looks amazingly good too!
Darren Smith
3 апреля, 2011 at 20:32
Thanks Sears, we enjoyed a great start but there’s still a lot of work to do. I talked a lot about the Manchester clubs, Liverpool have a lot of games in hand and a deadly strike force to dream for. I think they’ll challenge me and I still have to play them twice!! Hopefully your prediction will come true, but I’m staying on the cautious side as always. :)
Laxeyman
3 апреля, 2011 at 21:09
Great start Darren, you’ve completely turned Chelsea around, I agree with Sears that you’ll easily win the league this year. Aside from the Barca game, your Champions League form has been excellent too, and I reckon you could go along way in the competition this year, particularly as you have Petrovic, who seems like an incredible player. Good luck!
Darren Smith
3 апреля, 2011 at 21:24
Thanks Laxeyman. Petrovic is probably the best striker I’ve managed on FM and that’s saying something! Hopefully the league will be won and we’ll see how the draw looks in the Champions League.
Lye
4 апреля, 2011 at 02:00
Hi Darren,
By beating your closest challengers, your side will definitely have a confidence boost and show your title winning credentials. There are still lots of games but i foresee you will have another successful season. Good luck.
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:45
Cheers Lye, those rival victories will help no end and seem to have damaged their form too. ;) With a long way to go I’m not getting carried away but quietly confident.
CsAtlantis
4 апреля, 2011 at 02:33
So Darren, i suppose this is what they mean by if you can’t beat them, join them :P
Phil Jones, Weiss, Petrovic and Marcelo are playing well for you, 12 wins and 1 draw against the mighty Birm :D is wonderful league form, it’ll be hard to maintain that standard over the season
Marcos is a bit odd in that his heading is 20 but his jumping is 8 and his tackling and marking are good but he has low aggression, and also he has low flair for a Brazilian, what role are you playing him in? Might want to give him a go as box to box
Hope you can wrap up the EPL and Champions League soon, France beckons! :P
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:48
:) Cheers CsAtlantis
Jones and Petrovic are my rocks and Weiss may have some deceiving stats as he only plays against easier opposition in the cups and Europe. My game is full of weird regens…I have noticed not one single regen with more than 12 for flair. How weird is that! Marcos is been used as my supporting central midfielder. I like the fact that he holds his position and does a job. However in terms of personal performance, you’re right, he should be a box to box midfielder.
Vaibhav C.
4 апреля, 2011 at 04:35
Hey Darren
Great unbeaten run over those months, maybe and hopefully you can continue it. I think Marcelo is a fantastic signing, as well as Jones. Amazing in the champions league as well, first place currently.
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:49
Thanks Vaibhav, I am delighted with the new squad and our start. Hopefully some silverware will be waiting for us.
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2011 at 07:42
Nothing short of brilliant, great job again Darren! I was expecting a good start to be honest but not that good! :) The title is yours to lose and I’m sure you won’t ;)
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:50
Cheers Johnny. Like I mentioned, the season couldn’t have started any better. :) Lets hope it continues and we wrap up the title.
Liam101
4 апреля, 2011 at 09:11
YAY. Come on Darren. That is amazing about man city spending so much every season. You have had a great start and I hope you can continue your run of form.
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:51
Guess its nice to see Chelsea fight for a title then Liam. :) Thats what I’m hoping for anyway, we’re playing well but just need to avoid a bad run and drop in morale.
Excessive
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:21
Darren you Chelsea team oozes class after the players you have brought in and that has been shown by the results produced over the Autumn period.
Good to see Phil Jones as one of your better players, very consistent performer and I hope he continues to develop under your management.
Don’t be too worried about that loss at barca, management was a little lazy but youll learn from your mistakes and coming back to beat them 4-0 at home only shows that you have what it takes if you can put your mind too it.
Hopefully you can wrap this part of the challenge up in one or two seasons and get that French side done! Good luck :)
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 11:54
Thanks Jake, I love my technical players and thats certainly what we’ve got. I also managed to add some great pace. This was vital as the assistant said we had one of the slowest sides in the Premier League…now we have one of the fastest.
As for the Barca match I kicked myself…lazy is certainly the word, I usually research and proper look into my opponent before matches, but couldn’t be bothered that night. We paid for it but I was doubly determined to beat them at home. ;)
kevin
4 апреля, 2011 at 13:15
Hi Darren
What an incredible beginning to your tenure with Chelsea. You haven’t lost a game in the EPL and bounced back admirably after that stunning loss to Barcelona. There are still loys of games to play but quite frankly I don’t see anyone taking the title from you at this point. Wel done mate!!
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 18:27
Thanks Kevin, the season has gone far better than expected. Thankfully my northern rivals have made some early mistakes which could help come the seasons end. Hopefully your prediction will prove correct. :)
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:05
Everywhere you go, you create a brilliant winning team and you have done so again for Chelsea! Petrovic is one of the best regens I have seen in FM11. Great response to the barca defeat!
Good Luck.
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 18:31
Thanks Sayam, I have been lucky with the clubs I’ve managed so far. All have had great owners bar HSV. Petrovic is a real beauty and my favourite regen alongside Vella of Argentina.
hils
4 апреля, 2011 at 18:36
Hi Darren,good installment there!!!!!!!!! Paulo Roberto looks a good replacement for Mikel!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!
Darren Smith
4 апреля, 2011 at 20:34
Thanks Hils, I was very impressed with Roberto’s attributes and almost glad to see Mikel go so I could bring the Brazilian in. :)
Ross Gilchrist
4 апреля, 2011 at 23:36
Hi Darren,
Great season start, just wondering when would be a good time to buy Petrovic, i’ve searched for him before with no luck. In season 2013/14 now. Still with Newcastle, turned down a job offer from Arsenal, had to stay loyal.
Ross :)
Sears
5 апреля, 2011 at 00:35
Petrovic is a regen generated player, he won’t show up in your game.
Darren Smith
5 апреля, 2011 at 11:50
Thanks Ross, glad to hear you stayed loyal to our mighty club lol ;)
As for Petrovic, Sears is correct. Because he’s made up by the game you’ll never see him. These players are unique to each save.
Ross Gilchrist
5 апреля, 2011 at 16:53
Ah I understand :) Have you ever found a great regen from just scouting?
Darren Smith
5 апреля, 2011 at 19:33
Hey Ross, glad that makes more sense now. I have found the odd great regen through scouts alone. But the best thing to do is try filtered searches for players under the age of 19 and check the ones that stand out. I also hand check Argentina and Brazil clubs too.
Ana Garcia
5 апреля, 2011 at 12:23
Fantastic again!
I think you were right to leave Argentina and it seems that focusing 100% on Chelsea has payed off with an unbeaten start.
Another world class South American joins you! Am sure that you can win the title and the champions league and I will also forgive you for beating Barca 4-0!! :)
Good luck!
Sibo
6 апреля, 2011 at 10:02
Hey Darren, very well done once again, I am looking forward to you winning the league! It is a shame you left Argentina after all the success but it seems to be paying off!
Could I request a pic of Fraser Fyvie’s stats in your game, he is tipped to be good but I want to see how good!
Thanks and Well done!
Sibo.
Darren Smith
6 апреля, 2011 at 12:19
Thanks Sibo. I just checked for Fraser Fyvie but he’s not on my game. Tried different spelling variations too. Sorry mate
Sibo
6 апреля, 2011 at 13:30
That’s fine, thanks anyway! And good luck for the rest of the season!
Aidan
6 апреля, 2011 at 17:48
Hi Darren,
I just started reading your full blog toda! (fantastic achievments by the way!)
I was wonderig what leagues did you upload?
P.S Are Hamburg (yeah remember them :P ) crumbling without you?
Darren Smith
6 апреля, 2011 at 18:26
Thanks Aidan, glad your catching up on my blog. I loaded the default divisions in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Just the required amount for this challenge.
I almost forgot about Hamburg, was so long ago since managing them. :) Well they are doing miserably. Only gained the Champions League spot once since I left. They even flirted with relegation for two seasons. ;) Thanks for the comment mate.
Alex
7 апреля, 2011 at 10:13
Hey Darren, just got back from Vietnam.
You are too good! Very well done for starting so well and for beating the amazing Barca 4-0! A good lead at the top that can only increase with such a good team. The league is in the bag and all you need to do it focus on Europe: this is the only thing that might be difficult, especially against Atletico Madrid ;).
Petrovic is a great player and I can imagine him in his prime in about 4-5 years time, he will become unstoppable! Good luck and a treble should be the minimum target.
Darren Smith
7 апреля, 2011 at 18:43
Hey Alex, hope you enjoyed the trip.
I agree with you on the league, that should almost be wrapped up. But the Champions League will take a lot of luck as always. I’m hoping to avoid Man Utd and At. Madrid. Petrovic is amazing, he’ll be the best forward in the world come 2-3 years time.