The Cooper
Challenge.
You are Steve Cooper. Draft your Forest XI.
Get promoted. Or get sacked.
Choose a shape. Tap a shirt, draw a season and choose from up to 4 eligible players. Fill the XI and the three bench places below it. Every other version of a picked player is locked.
Watch 46 results roll in, the Derby games and the promotion chase. Top two go up; 3rd–6th face the playoffs.
Your team, your derby scores, your verdict. Give your mates a season to beat.
Ratings & chemistry explained
Player rating. Source ability plus a Forest-season adjustment. Detailed traits add small attacking and defensive effects. Six missing profiles use reviewed estimates. Fan adjustments are held for review. Ratings stay hidden until all fourteen picks are locked.
How the XI works. Creators need midfield cover; finishers need service. Pressing suits a hard-working XI with recovery pace; quick forwards help counter-attacks. Opponent strengths come from league results, while playing styles are generated for this simulation. These are game mechanics, not claims about historical partnerships.
Chemistry. Natural positional fits and a balanced XI help; using someone as cover or leaving a part of the team weak hurts. It does not mean those players actually played together.
Team rating. This brings the XI's strengths and balance together, with chemistry already included. The number at the end describes your finishing XI, so a January replacement can change it.
On the pitch. Higher numbers improve your chances, but opponents, home and away games, the season twist, manager calls and match-to-match swings still matter. No XI is guaranteed promotion.
How the game works
Choose a player pool and Normal or Hard draft, then a formation. For each position, you draw a season and choose from up to 4 eligible players. A scarce season may offer only one, or cover players only. Each player can appear only once in your XI. Picks cannot be undone or rerolled. Ratings are revealed after the draft. Your captain adds no rating bonus.
Your XI starts every match. Set bench use, manager involvement and four specialist jobs before kick-off. At matches 8, 18, 28 and 38, read the player clue and choose one of three responses. A successful call rolls for 1–3 bonuses. Spend them on form, development or a blind Squad Gamble. A separate January event forces a replacement in your XI, with a fictional Forest twist. The captain stays. Match-plan and play-off calls shift football chances without guaranteeing a result.
Wilderness Years uses the clubs and table results from one real 2008/09–2014/15 Championship season per run. Forest's fixtures and results are fictional. Game version: Version 2.Modern Run and Wilderness Years have separate leaderboards. Hard drafts have their own leaderboard.