You cant make it 3 months from now, you have to set a limit in the game, say by 2020 or something. Also, I prefer the target idea rather than time limit ie guide Union Berlin to the World Club Championship then take the German team top the World Cup or something rather than a time limit then adding up what...manager points?
Also, I think that challenges which are not time restricted should be able to run simultaneously with the next - ie if I haven't finished the requirements yet I could still go on with that one whilst other do the new one.
The challenge should be won when someone completes the targets (another reason why timelimits aren't as good) and also I'd really love it if people wrote stories to go with their challenge...it makes the game so much more fun.
Here's a small sample of my favourite CM writer, Donners from his odyssey with Rushden:
September, season 2000/2001
September looked like being a wonderful month for the club. No injuries, plenty of home games, and the side in good form. By the 13th, we had already gone through to the second round of the League Cup, after a 5-2 aggregate win over S****horpe, and we had not lost a game since the opening match of the season. 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, with the club sitting pretty in second place. Scott Partridge had hit another two goals, and we had conceded just one goal in five games. How quickly things change.
It’s hard to pick a specific incident that caused our sudden collapse. More likely, it was the culmination of a number of incidents. Each one could be coped with individually, but confronted with a series of unfortunate incidents, we simply could not cope.
It began with a disappointing draw away to Halifax, putting an end to a four game winning streak. The next game, at home to Oxford, resulted in a 1-2 loss – only our second loss for the season, and the first since the opening game of the year. It was here that the problems began.
September 18 was a bad day for Rushden and Diamonds. Firstly, Wimbledon made a £600K offer for our star defensive midfielder, Stuart Wardley, which was accepted by his club (Q.P.R.). This was quickly followed by the news that Simon Colosimo had suffered a groin strain during training, and would be out for the next four weeks. In just one day, we had lost our two top defensive midfielders, and the crucial second round of the League Cup was looming. Young Irish DM Shaun Carey was quickly called up to the squad, despite mediocre performances in the reserves. I had no choice – if Wardley decided to leave, he’d be the only fit defensive midfielder in my squad.
Unfortunately, Wardley agreed to the transfer, which occurred (with no small sense of irony from the computer) on the day of our League Cup game. Sure enough, we went down 0-2 to Gillingham. This was followed by a disgraceful 1-4 loss to Hartlepool – capped off by keeper Kristian Rogers being sent off in the final minute, and a 1-2 defeat against Gillingham in the return leg, wiping us out of the League Cup. I had decided early on in the season that good performance in the cups would be essential – both to bring in some much-needed funds and gain the club some respect. With this early and embarrassing exit, my plans were left in disarray. Worse yet, we had lost four games on the trot. Disturbingly, star midfielder Andy Burgess had gone from an early average rating of 7.90 down to 7.13 - an indicator of our problems or a crucial factor in them? The month was rounded out by a 0-0 home draw against Rochdale – ending our losing streak at last. It wasn’t pretty, but at least it showed that we still have some fight left.
During this unfortunate period, however, I had the chance to bring in a second player on loan, as a direct replacement for Wardley. While I was tempted by the availability of young striker Rory Fallon, I had a defensive dilemma. While I had previously had the luxury of putting Colosimo at right back (with Wardley at DM), freeing Noudjeu to play on the left, I now planned to put Colosimo in defensive midfield post when he recovered. Thus, I would need to put Noudjeu at right back, and somebody to cover the left back position (or vice versa, since Noudjeu could play on each side). While Ian Lynch could cover there for a while, I needed somebody to hold down the position for a long period. I eventually brought over Chris Morgan for Barnsley, until the end of the season.
A brief profile follows:
Chris Morgan [22, D LC, ENG – on loan from Barnsley]
A huge prospect for Barnsley’s future, Morgan is a big, tough defender – an excellent tackler and impressively brave. His marking abilities are particularly notable, and he may well get a marking assignment if we come across a particularly dangerous striker.
