The challenge
Glory Hunter is a Football Manager challenge that was created by Youtuber Doctor Benjy back on FM20. You have 20 seasons to win the following:
- Premier League and FA Cup
- La Liga and Copa Del Rey
- Serie A and Coppa Italia
- Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal
- Ligue Un and Coupe De France
- The Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League
To round off the FM24 cycle, I will be taking this on with the aim of completing it before FM25 comes out. Currently my trophy cabinet is empty, but what will it look like in 20 years time?
The starting club
With this challenge its up to you how easy or hard you want to make it. Starting with PSG for example would give you a great opportunity at ticking France off in just one season which is something I really don’t want to do! Toppling PSG is probably the hardest part of Glory Hunter, should you not become manager of the Parisian giants yourself. I decided that I wanted to head straight into that challenge, it was just a question of determining which side in Ligue 1 I was going to start with. When I tell you I opted for the side predicted to finish in 9th place you’ll probably raise an eyebrow but that’s exactly what I did. Olympique Lyonnais are the first club that I will be managing during this attempt at completing Glory Hunter.
Back in the 01/02 season Lyon won their first French title, they went on an incredible run winning 7 titles in a row but they haven’t won one since and last season finished 7th. In real life they were in disarray earlier on this season and are definitely underachieving as a club. I believe that due to their reputation, if I can get them back on the right track, we can potentially look to close on PSG quicker than managing some of the teams who have been out performing Lyon of late.
The club want me to get Lyon back into Europe next season by qualifying for the Europa League, currently they aren’t in any European competition. Following that its all about becoming the ‘best of the rest’ behind PSG. Ultimately I’m going to have to do better than that at some point, in order to complete this challenge.
The club have got some good experienced players like Nemanja Matić and Alexandre Lacazette but they are past their best and players like that will need to be replaced within a year or so with younger talent coming through.
The Brain Trust
Upon taking charge at a new club, you want to have people by your side who you know that you can trust. When managing in a foreign country this is even more paramount as you’re adapting to a new way of life and climate. You want someone who understands the environment you’re in, a good linguist who understands you and how to help bring the best out in you. But seeing as though I couldn’t find any of them Lee Cattermole was appointed as my new first team coach…
Like Lee, I was born in Stockton-On-Tees so we are pretty much brothers, I can’t see how this will not end well. Now as a player Lee was known for his tenacity so I needed to bring in a calm, cool head to work alongside him. I definitely didn’t want someone outspoken who plays mind games. But again this didn’t go to plan, welcome to Lyon Jens Lehmann.
The most bizarre part about Jens Lehmann is that despite being a top goalkeeper during his career, he’s absolutely horrific at coaching goalkeepers so no I haven’t appointed him to train my number 1, he will be training the outfield players.
Now I was starting to panic, there was only 1 thing for it. Bring in one of the clubs old favourites to make the fans pipe down. Grégory Coupet played 370 times for Lyon and was their goalkeeper during the spell where they won 7 consecutives titles. An easy move to get the crowd on side.
With my band of merry men along side me I now had what I like to call the ‘Brain Trust’ in place. We’ll talk things through, make decisions collectively and then I’ll take the credit for it when things go well and blame them when it doesn’t.
Tactics
The brain trust sat down together to discuss how we wanted to play. Knowing that a major overhaul of playing staff was going to take place over the coming seasons it felt right to decide a system and sign players to fit it rather than basing the system off the current crop of players as most wouldn’t be here for much longer. Catters (we’re pretty tight now so that’s what I call him) started telling us about a new role he’d discovered during the final year of his playing career when he’d gone all cultured and signed for VVV-Venlo on the continent. ‘Ere lads, at Venlo they had this defender and he didn’t just defend, he went and joined the midfield. It blew my bloody mind, they called it a Libero, we should use it’. Being a vanilla tactician I was about to brush this suggestion off and talk about how we would be playing a traditional 433 when Jens nodded in agreement before Grégory exclaimed ‘Oui Oui!’ Clearly out voted and not wanting to be two footed during training the Libero was in. Concerned about being to exposed at the back I opted for a back 5 and the below was formed.
There were a few tweaks to instructions throughout the season but this was the system I (we) opted to go with. The idea is that the libero steps into midfield but the central defender in the middle of the 3 covers to ensure that the space left behind isn’t exposed. Both wide attacking players cut inside with the wingbacks overlapping outside. The wide attacking players play as Inside Forwards to try and create an attacking front 3, they regularly swap sides to keep the opposition full backs on their toes.
Summer Transfer Business
With a small budget of just £3m to spend, some players had to leave in order to bring new faces in. The biggest amount of money I actually made was by terminating the loan of Orel Mangala, we were paying an astronomical loan fee of £2m per month, this added £20m into the bank meaning that I could get to work putting my own stamp on the team.
I had to be prudent in the market, bringing in players for cheap with the hope not only would they improve but their values would increase allowing us to make a healthy profit if they excelled. I was never going to be able to sign players who would be as good as those at PSG so I had to make sure they fit the system I was looking to implement. My idea was to do the majority of my business from European Leagues outside of the big 5 (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). In total 5 new faces joined in the summer window.
Ladislav Krejčí – Sparta Prague – £6m rising to £7.5m
A Czech defensive midfielder who can also play at centre back. I saw him as someone who could fulfil multiple roles in our back 3 and that was where I intended on starting him but he also had the potential to be retrained in central midfield.
Martin Baturina – Dinamo Zagreb – £8.5m
His media comparison says ‘Could be the next Zvonimir Boban’. Need I say anymore?
Nehuén Pérez – Udinese – £12m
My most expensive signing, he’s a fast aggressive defender and in my eyes perfect for the cover role in the middle of my back 3.
Marcel Hoffmeier – Paderborn – £1.5m
I needed a back up Libero and Catters told me this lad could do it. Hopefully he won’t play much.
Diogo Gonçalves – FC København – £7m
Bit of a panic buy having missed out on other targets, primarily Facundo Torres who would then join Fiorentina in January, I signed Diogo on deadline day to give me another option out wide. A positive about him is his versatility meaning that I can use him centrally as well if needed.
Ligue 1. August – December
The board wanted Europa League qualification which meant finishing in 5th or 6th which was quite ambitious considering the media had us finishing in 9th. From my perspective I just wanted to finish as high up as possible. If I made the top 4 and qualified for the Champions League that would be fantastic but finishing 5th or 6th would still be good knowing that I’d have a much more realistic chance of winning the Europa League than I would the Champions League. On average I have 4 seasons to finish each country, if I’m going to take longer than that, France feels like a place that could happen and then I’d have to make back time elsewhere.
The reason for France being such a challenge, is as previously mentioned, having to topple PSG. Our first test against them was very early as we faced them at home in game week 4. They were the better team but we did better than expected and fortunately caught Mbappé on an off day and came away with a nil nil draw, maybe catching them wouldn’t be as hard as I’d thought it would be?
Despite that off day against us Mbappé was soon back to his usual self, picking up the player of the month award in September but what was so pleasing for me and the reason that I’m sharing this is the player who came in 3rd.
Sinaly Diomandé is the player I’ve been using as a libero, he’s started the season really well. So far so good for Operation Libero, fair play Catters. There is something extremely satisfying about your centre back popping up on the edge of the box and whipping one into the top corner.
After just 6 games PSG had already built a 5 point gap, we were in 2nd but it was incredibly tight between the rest of us.
Marseille weren’t in the top 6 but they were by late October, we travelled to the Stade Vélodrome to face our fierce rivals but stood up to everything they threw at us and came away with a 2-0 win. Things were looking really good and that result felt like we’d put down bit of a marker.
Following this result the league was starting to take a bit more shape, Monaco and ourselves were pulling away from the pack and starting to create a battle for 2nd place.
It wasn’t until the penultimate game before the winter break that we faced Monaco and we did so on their patch. They were the better team and went 2 goals ahead early in the second half, we got a late goal back through Lacazette but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
This saw Monaco leapfrog us into 2nd but I was still really pleased as I hadn’t expected to make this much progress so soon. Lorient were the surprise package, they were gaining on us in 4th but surely wouldn’t be able to keep that up? PSG were miles ahead and already had one hand on the title, any thoughts of catching them being easier than I’d anticipated were already completely gone.
January Transfer Window
At the start of the window I decided to map the squad out in order to identify any gaps as well as areas that I thought needed to be strengthened. I like to have a squad of 25 which means 2 for every position, plus an extra goalkeeper, central midfielder and a forward player who can also cover outwide.
| Pos | Role | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Surplus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | SK-D | Perri | Lopes | Joao | |
| RCB | BPD-D | Ćaleta-Car | |||
| CB | CD-C | Pérez | Adryelson | ||
| LCB | LIB-S | Diomandé | Hoffmeier | ||
| RWB | WB-A | Kumbedi | Maitland-Niles | ||
| LWB | WB-S | Tagliafico | Henrique | ||
| CM | CM-D | Krejčí | Matić | Lepenant | |
| CM | AP-S | Baturina | Caqueret | Tolisso | |
| RW | IF-S | Nuamah | Benrahma | ||
| LW | IF-A | Gonçalves | Cherki | ||
| ST | AF-A | Orban | Lacazette | Baldé |
Ladislav Krejčí hadn’t been great in defence however I’d retrained him to play centre mid where he had been excellent. This left a gap in defence that needed filling. Other than that I felt I needed an upgrade at left wing back, Tagliafico is a solid full back but it felt like I was asking to much of him in an attacking sense. I was also worried about my attacking options, Nuamah was doing quite well but other than I wasn’t particularly impressed by any of my options through the middle or out wide.
As you can see, I was looking to change a lot but what was I actually able to do? To start with players had to leave. The main exits were Tagliafico to Lazio, Caqueret to Fulham (he’d moaned about not getting enough football) and Matić to Lens. Getting rid of the latter saved a serious amount on wages, it looks like he’s trying to get through every French side before retirement having been at Rennes last season.
Who did I manage to bring in then?
Daichi Kamada – Lazio – £3.3m
With Caqueret moving to Fulham I needed some competition for Martin Baturina. Kamada is a serious upgrade and we made £4.2m in the process, a great bit of a business.
Antonino Gallo – Lecce – £7m
I actually agreed a deal to sign Gallo on the last day of the summer transfer window but it fell through as I ran out of money. I kept an eye on him and got the deal done once Tagliafico had moved on. He is a better attacking option and should provide a good outlet down that left hand side.
Ibrahima Sissoko – Strasbourg – £1.8m rising to £2.2m
The replacement for Matić. I was conscious the board wanted me to sign players based in France which I’d so far neglected. He is a solid backup option should Krejčí pick up a knock or hit bad form. At 6’4″ he also offers a serious threat from set pieces.
Oumar Solet – Red Bull Salzburg – £8m
The gap at the back needed filling, I had identified other targets but Solet ended up being the chosen one mainly due to the fact he classes as a home grown by nation player which I needed more of. He is a former Lyon player which came in handy as we got part of the transfer fee back due to a sell on clause.
Unfortunately I was unable to improve our attacking options, something that I’ll have to revisit in the summer. Back up left back Henrique picked up an injury meaning that he would miss the remainder of the season which was when his contract was due to expire. Young Yacine Chaib was promoted to the first team in case of an emergency. Despite this, overall I felt it was a good window and on paper we certainly come out of it looking stronger.
Ligue 1 Jan – May
Back to the league and after leapfrogging Monaco back into second we then went through an awful spell in February where we lost 3 consecutive games which saw Monaco move back past us and then out of nowhere Nice were suddenly just a point behind. Fortunately we rediscovered our form whilst Nice fell away slightly and with 5 games to go we had a 5 point cushion over Monaco in the race for 2nd with Nice even further behind.
The good news continued as Catters completed his intensive language course meaning that he could now speak good French. It came as a shock to me considering he can’t even speak good English but his blossoming relationship with local legend Grégory Coupet was clearly keeping him on the straight and narrow.
Back up covering centre back Adryelson had barely kicked a ball due to the form of Pérez so when Flamengo came in for him I didn’t stand in his way even though I wouldn’t be able to find a replacement until the summer.
Up next was the away trip to PSG. They absolutely battered us and were much more clinical, this time Mbappé absolutely did turn up and went away with the match ball. Fingers crossed Madrid will sign him in the summer!
Straight after PSG it was Monaco at home and after taking an early lead via a screamer from our Libero, we then threw it away in the second half losing 2-1. Monaco now went above us by a point with just 3 games to go.
Unfortunately it looked like the wheels had well and truly come off. We were battered 3-0 away at a resurgent Lille who after being in the relegation zone had sacked Paulo Fonseca and replaced him with Vladimir Petkovic who had them firing on all cylinders. An easier away trip followed but even Clermont Foot were too much for us and we lost 2-1. With a game to go we were down to 4th and Nice had moved past us. Fortunately Nice had to play Lille on the last day, they only managed a draw. This gave us the opportunity to move ahead of them once more and we finally played how I know we can, putting 3 past Strasbourg. This saw us finish in 3rd place, 7 points behind Monaco. Next season the aim will be to make 2nd ours and close the gap on the formidable PSG.
Coupe de France
The aim had to be to win this but to do that we would either have to beat PSG or hope someone else did it for us!
We joined the competition in Round 9 and the draw was kind to us, pitting us against 4th tier UF Mâcon who we breezed past. In round 10 we were drawn away at Strasbourg who we beat 2-0, before we almost blew it in Round 11 where we needed a 94th minute winner to see off 3rd tier side Nîmes.
Other than that it had been a fairly smooth run to the quarter final. Auxerre from the league below were our opposition and again we were away from home but 2 early goals put us in control and we breezed through to the semis.
Our good fortune in terms of decent cup draws was over, unfortunately no one else had beaten PSG so it would be up to us to do so. If we won this we would be favourites for the final where Ligue 2 side Bordeaux would await the winner.
We were without right wing back Kumbedi who had been a really bright star throughout the season, this gave a chance to Maitland-Niles. Other than that we were at full strength, I’d opted for Sissoko over Krejčí based on form whilst Cherki and Lacazette had moved ahead of other attacking options in the pecking order.
Amazingly we went in 1-0 up at the break and were the better team. Maitland-Niles had cut in onto his left and his effort was deflected into the path of Lacazette who fired home. Into the second half and PSG stepped it up a gear and pulled one back quickly through you’ve guessed it…that man Mbappé. We then fought back well and almost went ahead, Lacazette heading onto the cross bar. It looked to be heading towards extra time before PSG turned it on in the last 10 minutes and got 2 quick fire goals to see them into the final.
They’d go on to win the final and complete the double. I have to keep going for it in the French Cup, if PSG have an off day we can definitely beat them, the issue is those off days are few and far between.
Season Summary
Overall it was a good first season in charge despite the disappointing tail off at the end. I think a key issue we have is that when a first choice player falls out of form, the replacements just aren’t good enough so I will have to continue improving the strength in depth over the summer.
Our defence was really good but our goalkeeper being our player of the season tells you everything you need to know! We didn’t score anywhere near enough goals. Lacazette was the only player to hit double figures, 10 league goals in total and 2 of them came on the last day. Young Gift Orban started well before seriously tailing off so I definitely need a new number 9 next season. My best inside forward was Ernest Nuamah but he’s only on loan with no option to buy. He’s worth around 20m but having only been given £10m to spend its going to be an interesting summer!
I wouldn’t normally talk about youth intakes during a Glory Hunter save but I may be around at Lyon for a while and having received a ‘Golden Generation’ it would be rude not to take a look at it.
Kenny Moutachy was deemed an elite talent but I’ll be honest, he looks nothing special to me but hopefully I’m wrong.
Alvin Tiniau is the same, his physicals are way off it and unfortunately I can’t see either of them being good enough even if I stay here for longer than I’d like.
Next season gives me the first opportunity to tick off a European trophy but I don’t think we’ll be taking that some how!
An update from around Europe
Each season I’ll give a quick update on how things are going on around the rest of Europe.
In England there were some managerial causalities worth mentioning. Ange didn’t even last 6 months at Spurs before being replaced by Hansi Flick, Eddie Howe has lost his job at Newcastle with a replacement yet to be appointed, maybe I should apply there? David Moyes was sacked at West Ham and Julen Lopetegui took over, how does FM do this? In his final year at Anfield Jurgen Klopp won his second league title and made it a double by beating Man City in the FA Cup Final.
Over in Germany, Bayern went unbeaten and won yet another title but it was Stuttgart who won the DFB-Pokal, beating Union Berlin on pens.
Inter won another Scudetto but lost in extra time to city rivals AC in the Coppa Italia final who signed Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for a whopping £62m in January. Antonio Conte is back in football, taking over mid season at Lazio.
There was a classic title race in Spain where Real and Barca both finished on 85 points but Real had a better head to head record. They smashed local rivals Atlético 4-0 in the Copa Del Rey final sealing a memorable double. It was a season to forget in Seville with Sevilla and Betis both finishing in the bottom half. Patrick Vieira is hoping to oversee a revival in the red and white half of the city whilst the Green and White half await a new appointment.
Despite not coming out on top domestically, Man City went on to win back to back Champions League titles, defeating Atlético 2-0. It wasn’t just a double for Jurgen Klopp as he bowed out with a treble, it was another European final between Liverpool and AC Milan with the reds winning 4-2. Aston Villa made it a trio of English victories sealing the Europa Conference League title thanks to a Douglas Luiz goal against Beşiktaş.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post, I’ll be doing an update each season as to how I get on. Unfortunately after Season One my trophy cabinet sits empty, will I open my account during Season Two and will I still be at Lyon next season or will I move onto pastures new?
Cheers for reading,
The Last Throw.
The FM Boot Room 
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