The Cheapskate Challenge
Most clubs on Football Manager don't have as much money to spend as you would like. That's fair enough - budget constraints, poor attendances and a lack of big-money sponsorship deals mean that most of the clubs in the game make do with a few thousand here, a few thousand there and hope (really, really hope) one of those teenagers from this year's youth intake might just make them a couple of hundred thousand so that they can afford some flood lights.
With that in mind, what if you decided, for your own personal masochism, that you would help out your chosen club by spending nothing on player transfers? Every player that came into your club came on a free. Sure, agents may need paying with signing on fees, wages and win bonuses, but what if you chose to help your own treasury by not giving a penny to another football club? That would help your side, right?
Of course, in football money talks so while you might not be spending anything, chances are your league rivals will be able to outbid you for any contracted player you look at. That means you'll not only have to have a good eye for talent, you'll need to get in there before anyone else does.
You are to take over a club in the bottom division in any league which has at least three tiers. You then have three seasons to take the club as far as you can, spending no money on transfer fees. Bonus points will be awarded for successes both in the transfer market and on the pitch.
Bonuses
On top of your FMB:CL points for your league record (remember to keep a note of your media predictions each season!), you will receive the following bonus points for success in the board room and out on the field:
* Winning a national FA cup or League Cup - 200 points (this does not include "minor" competitions such as the JPT, FA Trophy, Federation Cup etc.)
* Promotion - 100 points per promotion
* Relegation - -50 per relegation
* Re-selling a player you have signed for over £250k* - 25 points
* Re-selling a player you have signed for over £500k* - 50 points
* Re-selling a player you have signed for over £1m* - 150 points plus 10 points for every 100k thereafter
* - points are not cumulative - so, for selling a player for £1.5m you don't get 200 points plus the 50 and 25 for the other amounts. However, you do get the points for every player you sell over £250k - so if you sell two players, one for £525k and one for £300k you would get 75 bonus points.
Requirements
* You must not spend any money on player transfer fees - however staff transfer fees are acceptable.
* You must select a team in the bottom playable division of a country which has at least three playable tiers
* You must restart the challenge if you get sacked and must not take a job with any other team
* You must use an official SI database
* The challenge ends on the day before your third anniversary in charge of your club. Any transfers or achievements after that date will not count, nor will any transfers due to be fully completed after that date. (This, of course, gives you chance to wrap up any big money deals at the end of year three which might tip the balance)
The Winner
The winner is the manager who, after three seasons has racked up the most points. A pretty simple one this time round!
As with all challenges, active leagues, manager experience, and database size are up to the individual. Clearly, some teams will make this challenge easier than others - but that's part of the game! Remember the FMB:CL computer takes media prediction into account, so it isn't necessarily better to go for a bigger team.
Good luck!
Overview
Eligible leagues to play in: The lowest tier of any of the following leagues is acceptable: Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, N. Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey
Game length: 3 seasons
Proof required: Players In and Players Out screens for each season; media predictions for each season; league records for each season; proof of FA or League cup win (if applicable)
