The FM Elimination Challenge (June 2026)

[blake]

June, 2020​

And then there were three​

The elimination this year was only contested by two people - Mattfb and Hedger. Mattfb has had some history with eliminations - in fact, twice in a row he has been in last place with the next elimination drawing near, and he has managed to escape them both - with Giggity Giggity and Nakul being the unfortunate victims of his success. However, this time, Matt wasn't quite so lucky. Despite a lucrative move to Barcelona, he wasn't up to the massive task of catching Hedger. He managed to gain a few more points on him but didn't get anywhere near Hedger, who now is in huge danger himself. Matt, in the end, had a fantastic campaign as the longest-lasting goalkeeper and despite playing at big clubs such as Arsenal, Everton and Barcelona he in the end will be heading home after a good career. He finishes in 4th place with 2332.45 points. An exceptional achievement, with 12 competitors starting, but now we must turn our focus onwards.

The elimination of Mattfb leaves Hedger in a diabolical position. For many years now he has contently sat in third position, happy to let the top two battle it out and happy to let those below him get eliminated year after year, but now it is finally his turn. He played just 25 league games this year, and despite having an excellent run in the Champions League which saw him win the Golden Boot, he simply isn't earning enough points to survive any longer in this competition. He trails Ollie by almost 800 points now - and while he does indeed have three years to catch him, it certainly won't be an easy feat. He will need nothing less than a miracle, and even then it will still be tough. The next elimination will be in 2023, but even so for Hedger it appears his campaign is drawing to a close.

Meanwhile, Hedger did have an excellent season this year, scoring his highest number of goals in any league season in his career to date after finishing with 26 from 37 matches. This was largely thanks to his superb Champions League efforts, as he bagged 12 goals in 8 matches in Europe as Juventus went all the way to the semi-final before bowing out to Shantanu Rooney's Real Madrid. Hedger will be likely spending the next three years at Juventus - his contract doesn't expire for another five years and it seems unlikely that Juventus would wish to dispose of him, considering he has developed into their key frontman.

And, now that we have dealt with the elimination and third-placed Hedger, it is time to look at the battle at the top that we have been eagerly watching. Ollie and Shantanu continue to fight it out at the top level, although after a brilliant Champions League run Shantanu Rooney has pulled slightly further ahead, after his team Real Madrid defeated Inter on penalties in the final. The winning penalty was slotted by none other than Shantanu himself, who hit a beautiful strike into the left-corner before running off to celebrate with his teammates. After a few fairly sluggish seasons in front of goal - by his standards anyway, Shantanu was back to his best with a return of 37 goals in 48 matches. This was his second best season tally in his entire career; short of 2014/15 where he smashed a staggering 42 goals in 53 games. Shantanu continued to impress for England as well, although he scored just 3 times in the 5 matches he played - something probably below his normal standards, now. He is an absolute machine and looks certain to break Sir Bobby Charlton's international record if he continues this form. He is now the fourth most expensive player in the world behind Sandro Villani, Gabriel Sandoval and Joe Carter. Although he is 27 years old now, he surely has a lot left to play - and to score for Real Madrid. He managed once more to increase his lead over Ollie - but the challenge might come down to who declines first, and who stops starting for their club first. The challenge will end in 2027 - and both players will be 34 years of age at that time. Will they be still up to starting regularly at both City and Real Madrid?

The other competitor, Ollie is also in brilliant form. He had his best ever season in the Premier League this year at the age of 27 and it seems that he might just be peaking now. He played 32 Premier League matches at an average rating of 7.72 - a fantastic feat. However, despite adding a few more caps for England with some excellent performances, he is slowly falling behind Shantanu who is proving impossible to beat after some freakish performances. His Manchester City team pulled off a fantastic season with Ollie in charge in midfield after they dominated the league, beating second placed Tottenham by 12 points and winning the Carling Cup. Unfortunately, after pulling through a tough Group G with Inter, Anderlecht and FC Groningen, City were unable to further themselves in the Champions League, bowing out 6-2 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid who were excellent, led by lethal French striker Yannis Tafer. Ollie also placed third in the English PFA Player of the Year - but the winner may surprise you. It was none other than Covvy himself, who after being eliminated in just the second season has made an excellent comeback with City and had a brilliant league year, scoring 21 times in 26 matches.

So, with just three players remaining, we now have to wait three years for our next elimination. Obviously Hedger is the dead favourite to head home now... but is there an inkling of a chance that he can manage to create a comeback? He's going to need something ridiculous to happen, and it seems very unlikely.. but who knows?

Blue: Back to back wins

Roll of Honour:
Barclays Premier League: Manchester City
Serie A TIM: Juventus
Liga BBVA: Atletico Madrid
1. Bundesliga: Werder Bremen
Ligue 1 Orange: Olympique Lyonnais
Eredivisie: PSV
Liga Sagres: Sporting CP
Turkcell Sper Lig: Galatasaray
Jupiler Pro League: Club Brugge
Russian Federation Premier Liga: CSKA Moscow
Bank of Scotland Premier League: Aberdeen

FIFA Confederations Cup: Atletico Madrid 5-0 Chivas
UEFA Champions League: Inter 1-1p Real Madrid
Europa League: Sporting CP 2-3e Barcelona
UEFA Super Cup: Atalanta 1-3 Atletico Madrid

Hedger (ST, Sweden)
Club: Juventus
League: Serie A
Player Profile

Points: 2465.74

Ollie H (MC, England)
Club: Manchester City
League: English Premier League
Player Profile

Points: 3242.54

Shantanu Rooney (ST, England)
Club: Real Madrid
League: Liga BBVA
Player Profile

Points: 3386.37

Leaderboard:

  Player            Team            Value (AUD)    Points

[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   Real Madrid     $67M           3386.37
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Ollie H           Man City        $45M           3242.54
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Hedger            Juventus        $51M           2465.74
-------------------------------------------------------
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Mattfb            Eliminated 2019/20
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Nakul             Eliminated 2017/18
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Maney2k9          Eliminated 2015/16
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] MaD               Eliminated 2014/15
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Giggity Giggity   Eliminated 2013/14
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] User2010          Eliminated 2012/13
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] The Spin          Eliminated 2011/12
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Covvy             Eliminated 2010/11
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Treva             Eliminated 2009/10

Value Changes:

  Player            Change  

[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Hedger            $8.5M
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   $3M
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__down_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Ollie H           $2M

Wages:

  Player            Team          Wage (per year)

[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   Real Madrid   $19,250,000
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Hedger            Juventus      $17,500,000
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Ollie H           Man City      $17,250,000

International Caps:

  Player            Caps  Goals     Country

[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Hedger              51     38     Sweden
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Ollie H             45      9     England
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney     38     33     England

 

[ARay]

SR o.O
is absolutely scarily good.
Ollie should be hoping that SR breaks his leg and is injured

Another solid update mate
Do you write a lot creative stuff in home as well?

 

[BKB1991]

Great Update Blake, fantastic writing.
Hedger in some serious trouble, needs a miracle of a season to survive. If Injuries are possible then he can do it.

 

[mattfb]

Surely Hedger is gone. But with the next update not until ages who knows. Disappointed to be out but I went a long way for a goalkeeper

 

[blake]

Another solid update mate
Do you write a lot creative stuff in home as well?

Not really, actually. I've always enjoyed writing game stories, but I never really do any proper writing.

 

[Covvy]

Bah, should still be in it. Killing it at the moment.

 

[treva]

Any chance of another glimpse into how my career at Chelski is going. Must be notching up those Russian caps as well.

Great work Blake, very much looking forward to the next competition.

 

[Imager36]

I'll definitely join in for the next one as well. Just read the whole thing from start to finish and it's great, with competitive and story-ish elements to keep everything entertaining.

I think Shantanu's early move to Real is the thing that will (most likely) turn him into the champion, with the great training there and Ollie especially being around about 3 months behind SR from then on in. Still hoping for an Ollie H win, personally, and he might end up getting more games with Man City than Real towards the end, making it a close run thing.

Maybe I'll just wait and see!

 

[hedger_14]

I'll be participating in your next idea. You should use your database and we try and work our way up to the top division.

 

[blake]

Not a bad idea, actually Hedger... I like

Meanwhile, a quick recap of everybody else's clubs:

Mattfb: Barcelona
User2010: Palermo
Nakul: Valladolid
MaD: Arsenal
Covvy: Manchester City
Giggity Giggity: Huddersfield
Treva: Chelsea
The Spin: Manchester City
Maney2k9: Dortmund

 

[Ollie_H]

Looks like I have some catching up to do, but I reckon his best years are past him and I am just hitting my peak!

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow!!! I am leading in the final 3. And my stats are incredible. My move to Real Madrid and changing nationality has been the key for me.

 

[blake]

June, 2021​

Game Time: 4344 days​

We return to the Elimination Challenge in June, 2021. Let's have a look at the year. Currently, Ollie and Shantanu are battling it out for the top two positions while Hedger is trailing a long way behind in third. First of all though we will have a look at the EURO 2020s, which ended with the final in July of 2020.

The group stages produced a few shocks - the Netherlands finished last in their group of Germany, Denmark and Poland while Portugal also were bundled out in a last place finish in a tough group containing heavyweights England and Italy, as well as Wales. The quarter finals saw world number ones Germany go down to Croatia on penalties, and France also recorded a 5-0 drubbing over England in a disastrous match for the Poms which saw them score two own goals, have two players sent off, concede a penalty and also have a player injured. Italy and Spain won their semis with relative ease which set up a big final which was eventually won by Spain 3-1, with Mattfb in goals for Italy. That was a year ago, and the current world rankings have changed quite a bit. Spain are now ranked the best nation in the world after their EUROs win, with Germany in second. Italy are third, Brazil fourth, France fifth and England sixth in a fairly predictable top 6. From there, however, there are quite a few surprising placings - Croatia are 8th in the world, led by star full-back Ivo Steko while Chile are 9th, Romania 10th, Czech Republic 11th and even Sweden 13th - a place that must have been slightly influenced by Hedger. The biggest fallers have been Holland, who are in 14th, and Portugal who are in 15th. Still however, the international rankings have remained fairly similar.

Back to the challenge, and Hedger needs a lot of points to make a comeback and avoid elimination in 2023, but he proved that he won't be an easy pushover after easily recording his best ever year of football since starting the challenge. Hedger played 46 games throughout the year - a big improvement on seasons passed. Even better than that, however, was his phenomenal goal scoring record. He rivalled the likes of Shantanu Rooney's efforts as he found the net 35 times in 46 matches - a superb haul. He also continues to find the net for Sweden, and now has 43 international goals in 58 caps. His contract will last until June 2025, so unless Juventus decide to sell their star player he almost certainly will not be moving. It really was an excellent season for him, but his main problem lies in the fact that he is so far behind Ollie and Shantanu that he needs an absolute miracle to go on in the competition, and this season wasn't quite up to the miracle standards that he needed. That said, it was easily his best as Juventus went on to record their third consecutive league victory. Surprisingly enough, news has come in recently that Hedger is unhappy at Juventus - allegedly he wants a new challenge. It seems unlikely that his request for a transfer will be granted.

Back up the top and it was a fantastic season from Shantanu Rooney which has seen him extend his lead to something that may be very tough for Ollie to break down now. It was an amazingly good season for Shantanu, who recorded his best ever goal tally, after finding the net a staggering 43 times in competitive matches throughout the season with Real Madrid. He played 54 matches, earning a massive 10 Man of the Match awards which sees him extend his lead to over 300 points from Ollie. He continues to rack up the goals for England, and he now has 45 caps and 40 international goals, which sees him well on target to break Sir Bobby Charlton's record - and perhaps in a year or two. Taking a look at Shantanu Rooney's career - he has made a total of 524 competitive appearances for any club, and he has scored an amazing 385 goals. He should be looking to score at least 500 before his career is finished, and at the age of 28 he surely has quite a while left in him.

It wasn't quite such a good season for Ollie, although he fought bravely. He made 49 appearances over the season in another standout effort for City, as they destroyed the league finishing with 91 points. He averaged 7.5 per match and played almost every single league game throughout the year, but unfortunately Shantanu Rooney is simply far too good and keeps gaining on him. Ollie will now be hoping for a long-term injury or something else to keep Shantanu out of the competition for a while because at the rate this is going, Shantanu may just be the runaway winner. Ollie also played well for England in the EURO 2020s, and made his 50th international appearance for England. Statistically speaking, it was his worst Premier League season in 8 years - however, he still contributed well and that sheer stat shows how brilliant he has been for Manchester City over the years. At 28, he still has a lot left in him - but how much longer will it be before players start to decline?

Two more years remain until the next elimination. Hedger looks a certainty and now that Shantanu is pulling away it looks like we may be looking at a future champion... what will happen in the remaining six years of this challenge?

Blue: Back to back wins

Roll of Honour:
Barclays Premier League: Manchester City
Serie A TIM: Juventus
Liga BBVA: Atletico Madrid
1. Bundesliga: Stuttgart
Ligue 1 Orange: Paris Saint-Germain
Eredivisie: PSV
Liga Sagres: Sporting CP
Turkcell Sper Lig: Galatasaray
Jupiler Pro League: Club Brugge
Russian Federation Premier Liga: Krylja Sovetov
Bank of Scotland Premier League: Celtic

FIFA Confederations Cup: Boca 1-3 Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League: Werder Bremen 1-0 Real Madrid
Europa League: Inter 0-3 Aston Villa
UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid e1-0 Barcelona

Hedger (ST, Sweden)
Club: Juventus
League: Serie A
Player Profile (from 2020, couldn't upload)

Points: 2802.77

Ollie H (MC, England)
Club: Manchester City
League: English Premier League
Player Profile (from 2020, couldn't upload)

Points: 3589.92

Shantanu Rooney (ST, England)
Club: Real Madrid
League: Liga BBVA
Player Profile (from 2020, couldn't upload)

Points: 3904.08

Leaderboard:

  Player            Team            Value (AUD)    Points

[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   Real Madrid     $67M           3904.08
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Ollie H           Man City        $41M           3589.92
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Hedger            Juventus        $48.5M         2802.77
-------------------------------------------------------
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Mattfb            Eliminated 2019/20
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Nakul             Eliminated 2017/18
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Maney2k9          Eliminated 2015/16
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] MaD               Eliminated 2014/15
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Giggity Giggity   Eliminated 2013/14
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] User2010          Eliminated 2012/13
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] The Spin          Eliminated 2011/12
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Covvy             Eliminated 2010/11
[IMG]http://www.careercalculus.com/images/cross_button.gif[/IMG] Treva             Eliminated 2009/10

Value Changes:

  Player            Change  
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   $0
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__down_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Hedger            $2.5M
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__down_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Ollie H           $4M

Wages:

  Player            Team          Wage (per year)

[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney   Real Madrid   $20,500,000
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Ollie H           Man City      $19,250,000
[IMG]http://leadpaging.com/ars/equal.gif[/IMG] Hedger            Juventus      $17,500,000

International Caps:

  Player            Caps  Goals     Country

[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Hedger              58     43     Sweden
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Ollie H             50      9     England
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/__up_arrow.jpg[/IMG] Shantanu Rooney     45     40     England

[/QUOTE]

 

[ARay]

Looking at the way things are heading. Looks like its a SR win!
His stats look brilliant btw. What a fearsome striker!
Ollie needs to start scoring more goals that SR to beat him now

 

[hedger_14]

I've only reduced the gap by about 80. I need Ollie to get injured really.