I’m back with a Season 3 round-up of my CM01/02 challenge to win the Champions League with Nottingham Forest in 5 seasons. Here are the general rules again:
- Only one nation’s league(s) will be run per save.
- One goal per save – any deviation from that goal or additional achievements will not count.
- The goal must be achieved in five seasons or less otherwise it will be classed as a failure.
- The 3.9.68 and Tapani patches will be used alongside the original database
- “Cheat” players can be signed except for Maxim Tsigalko
In the previous season, I finished 3rd in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League at the first time of asking. Let’s see how the team looks after Season 3
*****************************************************************************************************
Nottingham Forest - Sunday 23rd May 2004
*****************************************************************************************************
=====================================================================================================
Squad
=====================================================================================================
No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Álex D/M R ESP 25.1.75 29 - - £9K 28.6.08 £2.5M
14 Andrade, Luis DM RC POR 30.9.73 30 - - £2.4K 5.6.06 £2.2M
27 Aslan, Haci AM RC SWE 1.9.84 19 - - £350 28.6.05 £1.3M
40 Beale, Matthew M RC ENG 13.9.82 21 - - £130 25.6.04 £9K
12 Bopp, Eugen M RC GER 5.9.83 20 - - £5.75K 7.8.06 £1.4M
36 Boucaud, André M C ENG 21.11.84 19 - - £600 27.6.07 £1.3M
10 Burton, Deon S C JAM 25.10.76 27 12 4 £12.25K 27.6.08 £5M
21 Byrne, James D C ENG 3.10.84 19 - - £275 25.6.05 £525K
37 Congo, Edwin S C COL 7.10.76 27 22 4 £14.5K 1.6.08 £4.6M
17 Dawson, Michael D RLC ENG 18.11.83 20 - - £350 30.6.07 £1.2M
25 Devaney, Martin F RLC ENG 1.6.80 23 - - £625 12.6.08 £2.1M
9 Dunwell, Michael S C ENG 6.1.80 24 - - £3.8K 17.6.07 £9.25M
33 Edwards, Christian D C WAL 23.11.75 28 3 - £3.3K 30.6.04 £65K
6 Edwards, Paul AM L ENG 1.1.80 24 - - £2.6K 13.6.08 £3M
13 Formann, Pascal GK GER 16.11.82 21 - - £180 7.8.05 £120K
50 Fox, Mark S C ENG 8.11.85 18 - - £550 6.6.07 £1M
22 Gould, Ian DM C ENG 25.11.85 18 - - £700 14.6.05 £675K
28 Green, Danny S C ENG 1.3.86 18 - - £650 25.6.05 £375K
- Griffiths, Neil D/DM RC ENG 18.2.80 24 - - £170 28.6.05 £75K
24 Groves, Tom M C ENG 23.2.86 18 - - £350 14.6.06 £550K
16 Güiza S C ESP 17.8.80 23 - - £16.5K 2.6.05 £6M
32 Hakala, Jukka D C FIN 7.11.77 26 1 - £7.5K 20.6.08 £1.8M
35 Harewood, Marlon F RLC ENG 25.8.79 24 - - £9K 28.6.09 £4.3M
- Hedley, Adam GK ENG 4.6.83 20 - - £130 4.6.04 £2K
34 Heikkinen, Markus D/DM C FIN 13.10.78 25 6 - £2.7K 22.6.07 £4.7M
7 Hugo M R CMR 22.2.80 24 7 1 £675 25.6.06 £4.4M
4 Larsson, Stefan D LC SWE 12.1.83 21 - - £2.4K 5.6.05 £700K
26 Liddle, Gareth D/DM C ENG 10.8.82 21 - - £550 28.6.07 £1.3M
38 Lovell, Gary D C ENG 7.11.85 18 - - £525 14.6.05 £180K
23 Nash, Carlo GK ENG 13.9.73 30 - - £3.6K 22.6.08 £2.3M
31 Nuno Mata D/DM RC POR 25.2.83 21 - - £4.1K 8.6.08 £3.8M
30 O'Sullivan, Chris D/AM R WAL 16.2.83 21 - - £600 27.6.08 £700K
1 Pagliuca, Gianluca GK ITA 18.12.66 37 39 - £8K 27.6.05 £1.6M
20 Reid, Andy F LC IRL 29.7.82 21 1 - £9.75K 14.6.06 £3.3M
18 Semple, Ryan AM R ENG 6.1.84 20 - - £675 28.6.06 £1.2M
5 Tavlaridis, Stathis SW/D C GRE 25.1.80 24 3 - £3.4K 9.6.07 £2.9M
15 Thompson, John D/DM RC IRL 12.10.81 22 1 - £12.5K 19.5.07 £2.7M
11 Toone, Leigh S C ENG 26.1.82 22 - - £130 25.6.05 £450K
29 Ward, Darren GK WAL 11.5.74 30 1 - £10.75K 21.6.06 £1.5M
19 Westcarr, Craig AM/F R ENG 29.1.85 19 - - £3.6K 30.6.04 £160K
39 Whiting, Louie GK ENG 18.8.82 21 - - £140 4.6.04 £2K
8 Williams, Gareth M C SCO 16.12.81 22 6 - £6.75K 21.6.08 £4.4M ==================================================================================================
2003/4 Senior Club Stats
==================================================================================================
No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Álex 34 (5) 12 0 0 4 2 0 3 7.33
14 Andrade, Luis 25 (2) 3 0 0 3 4 0 1 7.04
27 Aslan, Haci 37 (3) 7 0 3 (2) 11 1 0 2 7.13
40 Beale, Matthew 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00
12 Bopp, Eugen 43 2 0 0 4 3 0 0 6.40
36 Boucaud, André 36 (5) 6 0 0 3 13 0 2 7.44
10 Burton, Deon 45 22 0 0 10 1 0 3 7.60
21 Byrne, James - - - - - - - - ----
37 Congo, Edwin 27 (1) 18 0 0 5 1 0 1 7.61
17 Dawson, Michael 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00
25 Devaney, Martin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
9 Dunwell, Michael 46 (5) 25 0 2 (2) 10 0 0 7 7.78
33 Edwards, Christian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----
6 Edwards, Paul 47 (1) 4 0 0 9 2 0 2 7.33
13 Formann, Pascal 4 (1) 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
50 Fox, Mark 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
22 Gould, Ian 8 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.00
28 Green, Danny 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 9.00
- Griffiths, Neil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----
24 Groves, Tom 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
16 Güiza 48 (4) 14 0 0 8 1 0 4 7.35
32 Hakala, Jukka 8 (4) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.33
35 Harewood, Marlon 15 (11) 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.77
- Hedley, Adam - - - - - - - - ----
34 Heikkinen, Markus 38 0 0 0 5 8 2 2 7.61
7 Hugo 18 (4) 6 0 3 (2) 3 5 1 3 7.36
4 Larsson, Stefan 20 (2) 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 7.86
26 Liddle, Gareth 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.50
38 Lovell, Gary 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8.00
23 Nash, Carlo 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 7.25
31 Nuno Mata 53 2 0 0 9 11 1 6 8.08
30 O'Sullivan, Chris 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
1 Pagliuca, Gianluca 50 (1) 0 51 0 0 0 1 1 7.41
20 Reid, Andy 12 (2) 2 0 1 (1) 1 0 0 0 6.79
18 Semple, Ryan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00
5 Tavlaridis, Stathis 32 (4) 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 7.19
15 Thompson, John 9 (2) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.00
11 Toone, Leigh 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8.33
29 Ward, Darren 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.50
19 Westcarr, Craig 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8.00
39 Whiting, Louie - - - - - - - - ----
8 Williams, Gareth 26 (8) 6 0 1 (0) 8 2 0 0 7.26 The League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 38 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 22 | 78 |
| 2nd | Sunderland | 38 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 18 | 72 |
| 3rd | Manchester United | 38 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 16 | 71 |
| 4th | Chelsea | 38 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 24 | 71 |
We reached the top after just 3 games and didn’t leave the top 4 for the rest of the season so Champions League football was practically assured from the get-go. We even went unbeaten until February, via an annoying run of 6 draws. It’s a shame this doesn’t help towards the challenge but winning the title means we don’t have to go through Champions League qualifiers and we get more money for transfers.
The Cups
The League Cup campaign stopped at the Semi-Final after an unfortunate 4-2 aggregate defeat to Arsenal. I played my youth players until the Quarters and was surprised I got so far.
As for the FA Cup, we lost 3-2 in the 5th Round to Luton Town. Poor result, nothing more to add.
The Champions League
Our first Champions League campaign got as far as the second group stage (remember, this was before the 1 group stage and QFs).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 15 |
| 2nd | Barcelona | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 15 |
| 3rd | Olympiakos | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| 4th | Lokomotiv Moscow | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 1 |
My one defeat was to Barcelona but we reversed the result back at the City Ground (1-0). That got us into a more difficult group
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roma | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 15 |
| 2nd | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 13 |
| 3rd | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 5 |
| 4th | Galatasary | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 1 |
We didn’t do so well. It made me realise the team was good enough domestically but not for Europe so I’ll be making some major changes with 2 more seasons to go.
The Transfers
=======================================================================
2003/4 Transfers
=======================================================================
Date Player In From Fee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7.03 Martin Devaney Cheltenham £24K
1.7.03 André Boucaud Reading £55K
1.7.03 Chris O'Sullivan Aberystwyth Town £6K
2.7.03 Ryan Semple Peterborough £55K
2.7.03 Gareth Liddle Crewe £60K
3.7.03 Álex Xerez £200K
8.7.03 Nuno Mata Dundee Utd £450K
22.7.03 Des Walker Free Transfer Free
1.1.04 Jukka Hakala Start Bos
1.1.04 Edwin Congo Real Madrid £825K
Date Player Out To Fee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7.03 David Johnson Rangers £2.4M
1.7.03 Brian Cash Sunderland £1.1M
18.7.03 Ian McParland Released Free
15.8.03 Christopher Doig Released Free
18.8.03 Eugen Bopp Wrexham Loan In terms of outlay, I did really well. I brought in some youngsters for longevity (I plan to keep playing this after the challenge is over) and some first-team backups. André Boucaud was an absolute bargain at £55k as was Álex who I often sign on 01/02 as a quality right-winger. But the best signing was Nuno Mata (who Mike Paul also signed for Los Coladeros), who I’ll discuss more in the next section. Des Walker left on a free but came back as a coach for ceremonial and sentimental reasons.
Edwin Congo was signed to get us more goals as my strikeforce was drying up. As you might have seen above, it worked, as he scored 18 in 28. I also managed to get £3.5m for David Johnson and Brian Cash who were surplus to requirements.
The Players
- Highest average rating: Nuno Mata – 8.08
- Top goalscorer: Michael Dunwell – 25
- Most appearances: Nuno Mata – 53
- Most assists: Haci Aslan – 11
- Most MoM awards: Michael Dunwell – 7
So, Nuno Mata. What can £450,000 get you? A Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year award winner. He also won 4 Young Player of the Month awards and 1Player of the Month award. Needless to say, he had the best season of his career. Michael Dunwell (54) is inching ever closer to Nigel Clough’s league goalscoring record (102). 49 league goals in 2 seasons? Let’s go!
Catch me in Season 4 to see how I did in my third Premier League season with Forest and how I fared in my second Champions League campaign.