[shannon2007]

Ok its been an utterly long time since we last had a fresh official challenge. I'm not sure what sort of response we will get, but this is the thread to cast your ideas in and get some feedback and once you are happy with the challenge submit it to the usual address which can be found in my profile.

I am thinking for this round we will elect just the one challenge and see if having just one can make it more popular again.

[retired_acivin]

Managing some obscure lower ranked country (example India. San Marino (comes up often), etc) could be interesting. Unfortunately, this is just a basic premise, and someone will have to spice it up in order to make it more interesting.

This is ofc, just an idea!

[retired_amyslack]

OK - I'm going to kick this one off with an idea that I have been toying with for some time.

The Bobby Robson Challenge

My earlier Brian Clough challenge proved to be quite popular initially but many people lost interest because of its inherently linear nature. In constructing this challenge I have tried to keep the elements that worked well in the original but also introduce a lot more flexibility.

Your basic objective is to try to emulate the achievements of the great Sir Bobby Robson, perhaps the most successful manager of his generation. He started his coaching career in Canada with the Vancouver Whitecaps before returning to England to manage Fulham. After being sacked by the London club he took over at Ipswich, making them one of the most successful clubs in the country. In 1982 he took over as England manager and after two successful World Cup campaigns he went back into club management in Europe. He found great success in Holland, Portugal and Spain before returning to take charge at Newcastle, the club of his dreams.

In summary, Sir Bobby achieved the following.

Ipswich Town
FA Cup winners
UEFA Cup winners
Twice runners-up in Division One (now the Premiership)

England
World Cup Semi Finals

PSV Eindhoven
Twice Dutch champions

FC Porto
Twice Portuguese champions
Portuguese Cup winners

Barcelona
Spanish Cup winners
European Cup Winners Cup winners
Primera Liga runners-up

Newcastle
UEFA Cup Semi Finals
Three top-5 Premiership finishes

In order to eclipse the man himself your challenge is to achieve the following.

Stage 1 – Domestic Success
Win the Premiership, a domestic cup and a European trophy with any club from the Championship.

Stage 2 – Travelling The World
Win two Dutch league titles with any club from Holland.
Win two Portuguese titles and the domestic Cup with any team from Portugal.
Win the Spanish League and Cup and a European trophy with any Spanish team.
Take England to the Final of a major international tournament.

The elements of Stage 2 may be completed in any order that you wish.

Stage 3 – Coming Home
Win the Premiership with Newcastle (or optionally any club from the North East – Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Darlington etc.)

[retired_bbcarr]

Now that I like, Bob. It'd be a long challenge, but I like the fact that you'd have to take in a number of different leagues. I've wasted a lot of time playing challenges you've come up with and I could well see myself getting lost in that one as well.

[shannon2007]

Originally posted by prince_capri:
Managing some obscure lower ranked country (example India. San Marino (comes up often), etc) could be interesting. Unfortunately, this is just a basic premise, and someone will have to spice it up in order to make it more interesting.

This is ofc, just an idea!

Yup you really need more of a structure to make it meaningful. Should be interesting, easy enough to play and challenging at the same time.

[retired_acivin]

My imagination and creativity seem to be restricted! So am afraid I can't come up with a half-decent idea.

I do think though, BobBev's idea is pretty good, albeit slightly long-ish. Something that could be quite interesting to do! But I guess we need more opinions.

[retired_slk55]

I posted that bobby robson challenge 3 or 4 years ago. bobbev has stolen it

[retired_manragh]

The Bobby Robson Challenge might see me do my first one, looks good

[shannon2007]

Originally posted by Cottager:
I posted that bobby robson challenge 3 or 4 years ago. bobbev has stolen it

Yeah but bob's a legend, he's allowed. And I'm sure his is much better.

We can have more challenges submitted guys, its not the first person to post one wins

[retired_amyslack]

I didn't steal nuffink guv'nor, it was my idea I tell ya, my idea!

Cottager - honestly can't remember seeing this suggested before. Maybe it was before I joined the forums. Anyway, if it is adopted then you can always claim a partial credit!