FM14 - Susie On Tour #5: Feyenoord Rotterdam

Feyenoord hail as one of the most famous and most successful sides reigning from the Netherlands and that is exactly where the fifth stage of the tour lands us. In a position of somewhat tough finances, your challenge will be to keep an eye on the books whilst maintaining the expected challenges for Domestic and European glory. To do this, you are provided with a small, youthful but strong squad of players, of which the majority are home grown, the problem will be the ongoing dilemma of whether to cash in on this talent or hold it together to grow. The Feyenoord Academy is very strong and has been relied upon heavily in building this current squad; will you continue this tradition or buck the trend in order to chase glory?



Feyenoord Rotterdam

Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, Feyenoord most successful and best supported football teams in Holland, having never been relegated to lower divisions and currently compete in Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and UEFA Europa League. In this time the club have amassed 14 Eredivisie titles, 11 KNVB Cups and 2 Johan Cruijff Schaal’s domestically, as well as 1 UEFA Champions League (then European Cup), 1 Club World Cup (then the Intercontinental Cup) and 2 Europa League (then the UEFA Cup) titles, most recently winning it in the 2001-2 season.



Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the top division in the Netherlands and is ranked as one of the top ten leagues in the UEFA Confederation, with the winner of the competition automatically qualifying for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage. Eighteen clubs complete annually where a Champion is decided and 3 teams are relegated to the Eerste Divisie, depending on play-offs. The last 3 Championships have been won by arch-rival Ajax, the most successful club in the competition, followed by PSV and then Feyenoord.



CHALLENGE DYNAMICS
This challenge will last for three years, upon completing your third season in Holland (1st July 2016), you can no longer collect points for this destination.
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You must start set your manager experience as "Automatic" and play in a new save from July 2013.

You have until 6pm BST on the 29th June 2014 to submit your screenshots in this thread, and accumulate as many points as you can within the confines of a maximum of 3 seasons in the game.

You may not manage any other teams, or use other programs to aid you in this challenge

You may not use any editor or scouting software.

You must use the Official 14.3.0 database.

HOW TO SCORE POINTS
Submit screenshots via reply within this thread of your progress.
Unclear or doctored screenshots will not be rewarded with points.

Eredivisie
Relegated: -10 points
15th-8th: 0 points
7th: 2 points
6th: 3 points
5th: 4points
4th: 5 points
3rd: 8 points
2nd: 15 points
1st: 25 points

KNVB Cup
Losing Semi Finalists: 10 points
Losing Finalist: 20 points
Winner: 30 points

Champions League
Fail to Qualify for group stages: 0 points
Group Stage Exit: 2 points
Knockout Round Exit: 5 points
Losing Quarter Finalists: 10 points
Losing Semi Finalists: 15 points
Losing Finalist: 20 points
Winner: 30 points

Europa League
Group Stage Exit: 0 points
First Round Exit: 2 points
Second Round Exit: 3 points
Losing Quarter Finalists: 8 points
Losing Semi Finalists: 10 points
Losing Finalist: 15 points
Winner: 25 points
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RIVALRIES
(Competitive Fixtures Only)
Beat Ajax: 10 points
Beat PSV: 5 points
Beat Sparta Rotterdam: 1 points
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POINT DEDUCTIONS
Sacked: -25 points (and the challenge is over)

Cant wait to start this challenge, only just managed to complete 1 season on the turkey challenge but didnt manage to make the deadline for posting screenshots, gutted as won the league at a canter beating galatasary, besiktas home and away, trabzonspor at home, beating galatasaray at home in the cup and losing in the final, will definitely complete this challange and hope to make a move on the leaderboard!

Have fun all managers and good luck!

I'm in.

Couldn't be bothered with the last challenge (was too engrossed with my own career) but I haven't had a proper career in Holland for a few years now.

Should be good!

May jump back on this one!

Start with £219 wage budget available. Should be fun

Started the league season with a 2-0 home win over ADO Den Haag.

Had to offer Stefan de Vrij a new contract as it expires at the end of the season, he wanted £13,250 p/w but I managed to get him to sign for £8,500 and that put me over the wage budget so I released reserve team player Wesley Verhoek and now I'm £5k UNDER my wage budget. Excellent.

I'm finding it tough, small squad, too many players on loan, wages are quite prohibitive...

Our form's been very hit and miss - beat Swansea away 4-0 and currently 3/3 in the Europa league (Lyon 2-0 and Genk 3-1 A) but lost at home to NEC and Groningen.

Smashed by PSV, and managed a draw against Ajax.

Approaching Xmas so will be trying some serious wheeling and dealing...

I miss Istanbul

Why didn't you just trigger the contract extension clause

What? I didn't realise one was available, Should've checked.

Ouch schoolboy error

Can I enter this challenge, or is it required to have participated before?

Anyone can enter at any time.

At the start of the winter break...

We missed a huge chance to move within 4 of Vitesse (having been 10 behind, but beat them 5-1) and move up to 2nd but blew a home game vs Hercules. On the up side we were 2-0 down to their 3 shots in total and managed to bombard them to equalise in the last minutes.

We're still in the cup, after beating some non-leaguers that knocked out Vitesse.

Qualified top of Europa league and face Braga.

Pleasing start, January ins and outs will be key to push on.

Being fucked over with injuries. Must be getting at least 1 a game and always for 2-3 weeks

End of my first season in charge in Holland and it started out really well going undefeated all the way through friendlies, and the first few months of the season, until we were battered 6-1 against Ajax. I have to say the most pleasing result was the easy of our 12-4 agg victory against Nice to reach the Group Stages of the Europa League.


We were able to pick ourselves for a few more games before a poor December and a disastrous February, which ultimately made the title a little bit out of reach but we were still in contention for the 2nd Champions League spot, but some frustrating results in the last few weeks meant we had to settle for a disappointing 5th.




I was very happy with our time in Europe, the Huge play-off win against Nice and then brilliantly topping our group, having only been the 3rd seeds. I was a little disappointed that we got knocked out the Sociedad as i felt if we hadn't of played them in Feb we could have beaten them.



We had a fairly easy run in the Dutch cup, with the only real competition we faced was the holders and future league champions, AZ, in the Quarters, where we had built up a 4-0 lead after 30 mins and maintained that until 20 mins to go when they bit back and it ended 4-4 and us winning on penalties 8-7. That experience of shoot-outs probably helped us to win the cup, when we were able to come out on top of the marathon shoot-out that happened in the Final, with us picking up the Trophy as a result of the 27-26 shoot out win.



Rivals wise we only played 4 matches and so only amast 10 points for our win against Ajax.

Giving a first leg total of 46 points.

Not played a match yet but managed just the two signings. Didn't realise Feyenoord were this shit ffs.

Wow, incredible!

I agree... I've had masses of injuries...

Had Scheiber on loan, cancelled loan after a 4 month injury.
Pelle's missed 6 weeks though two different injuries
TTdV 2 x 2 weeks
Clasie: 4 weeks, 2 weeks, 2 weeks
Janmaat: 3 weeks, 3 weeks...
Loaned Shawn Parker, came off after 5 mins of his first start for 4 weeks.

Its a constant battle. Sacked 4 of my physios, and trying to bring in new and better fitness coaches, but already have 14 out of 9 staff allowed.

The Winter window was largely a blow out, despite the board allowing more money (didn't ask) it still wasnt enough to get any decent loans.

I felt Fenerbahce was a little easy due to Galatasary and perhaps Besiktas not turning up, this is certainly a harder change of pace!

Mental penalty shootout.

I accidentally saved over the game so I've decided to start this again and the first thing I've done is trigger Stefan de Vrij's contract clause, he's here until 2016 now and I've also decided to sell Wesley Verhoek for £875,000 and now I'm hoping to bring in a couple of new signings, especially at least a central midfielder or two.

Currently atop the table as of October 10th. AZ Alkmaar are currently bottom of the league without a point.

I also signed Fernando Gaibor for £500k after selling one or two fringe players. He has been my best player so far this season.

After a fairly inconsistent start to life at Feyenoord, it began to feel like a race to the Winter break hoping nothing fell apart.



Two home defeats to teams respectfully well beneath us were very disappointing, a drubbing by PSV and out gunned by Utrecht showed a distinct difference in class. Dropping as low as 7th, and peaking to third and just slipped to 4th at the start of the break gave us hope, as well as a very pleasing Europa league group victory,



We ended December with a feeling we just needed maybe two or three quality players to keep pace.

January brought no such luck.



I personally was unable to bring in any of the players I wanted, a maximum of 10k was allowed for wages, and with most clubs demanding 50% this was a real limitation to our approaches. Layvin Kurzawa has been a large help to support Nelom, and has overtaken him with his performances. My Head of youth brought in Virgil Misidjan has been a surprising starter with 6(2) 3 goals and 2 assists. Director of football brought in Shawn Parker as a badly needed option up front, but an injury 5 mins in to his debut kept him out for 4 weeks and I think I made a school boy error by going on Holiday and missing the Europa League registration so he can’t play!

After the winter break, a new formation in place and almost a new desire to kick was quickly blunted as a plethora of injuries to key personnel threatened to derail the season. Defeat in our opening two games of 2014 was a blow to morale, and having to battle from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Heerenveen at home capped a winless spell of four league games spanning a month and a half. A favourable Dutch Cup run has helped to get some rest into our tired players, but the Leagues collaboration with the Europa League has dropped us in some tight spots:



From beating Braga away having been 1-0 down, and battling to a 1-0 win over PSV with injuries boosted moral back to a pre Christmas level, however, a crushing away defeat to Ajax serves as a reminder that sometimes you can’t fight fate, a TTdV goal disallowed in the 43rd, quickly followed a goal from a corner for Ajax in the 45th, and they doubled their lead in the 90th. Classic FM. Having already played Swansea in the groups producing a 3-2 and 4-0 over the Welsh team, our fatigued squad fought bravely to not concede and another disallowed effort meant the score stayed 0-0. The business end is not shaping kindly so far. The 2nd league was a tight and nervy affair, injury to Janmaat forced an early change, 0-0 at half time and Feye looking slightly on top. The breakthrough came in the 67th minute with TTdV scoring a big goal. Sadly, and not for the first time, Joris Mathijson and Stefan De Vrij show that are incapable of working together and manager Schteevs McClarens announced after the game that JM would not be playing for the club again this season, if ever. SDV would be stood down until he can prove in the reserves that he can handle first team football.



Pelle finally scored his 3rd goal in 2014 his first since Jan 22nd, but another capitulation from 2-0 to 2-2 and four players leaving the park through injury adds to a horrific March with no wins in 4. We go into our Dutch Cup Semi with 5 first XI players injured. Made it past Dordrecht into the final to play PSV.



Another game where we couldn’t hold on, and a week before were 5-1 up at Vitesse, and conceded 3, but managed to hold on 5-4. Our defence is terrible. Anther rival defeat too.

I think Feyenoord are quite a brittle team, team morale is vital, and I learned the hard way that being too harsh just doesn’t work, and will bring the team down for a while… I think the team lacks true leadership, work rate and determination especially in the ‘senior’ players. Hopefully this is something I can change in the summer.



Very pleased with the season all in all.

League; 2nd = 15 points
Dutch Cup Finalists = 20 points.
Europa league 2nd round = 3 points.
PSV LWD = 5
Ajax LD = 0
Sparta Rott = 0

Season 1 total: 43

This.
Had to start the match away to PSV with 4:th choice keeper, 17-year old Miazek in goal as Mulder, Lamprou and Graafland are all injured. He didn't get much help from the defense as de Vrij, Mathijsen, Kongolo, Nelom and Janmaat are also out injured... Lost 4-0.

As with everyone else, I seemed to get a lot of injuries too. I will get my first season summary up shortly.

You heard it here first!

To be fair, look at who I had to play on the way to the final. I think I was favourite to win every game apart from the Semi-Final & Final.

Second season's betting for the league



This is possibly the most bizarre book I've ever seen. As co-second favourites of four, in the eyes of the bookies finishing 5th is a fair result, and I wouldn't necessarily rule it out at the moment!

I would have taken 5th first season, haha.

I have just started 2nd season and signed a few loan players which I don't normally do. Got quite a good team this time around, although could have been strengthened more as Valencia offered £22m for Martins Indi which I accepted and planned to sign some new talent, but they called off the transfer as they couldn't free up the funds. I also will probably offload Gaibor as he is the whiniest player ever, I think he has asked for a transfer approximately once every 4 days.

I'm writing my season as I go, with an early update coming soon... I've had an offer of £20m for Clasie from PSG, but classically, he's picked up a minor injury that has put Monaco off, and I fear the deal is in jeopardy!

*** It was Monaco that bid PSG lost interest, and the deal's gone through, I now have a changeable budget of £400k p/w and £15m. Dutch fantasy football!