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. Every other version of him is then 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. Each card is based on that player's actual Forest season, not their career reputation or the goals they score in your simulated season. For modern seasons, we start with the recorded match rating where available, then consider playing time and position-specific contributions: goals and assists for attackers, chance creation and ball-winning for midfielders, defensive work for defenders, and saves and goals conceded for keepers. Short spells are treated cautiously. Older seasons have less detailed data, so their ratings are rougher estimates based mainly on minutes, starts, appearances and goals. A small number of cards have reviewed manual corrections.
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.
Watch 46 league matches unfold. Handle a first-half dilemma, choose a January replacement, then make another call in the second half. Manager calls affect the next three matches; your replacement stays in the XI for the run-in. Playoff teams face extra decisions. The top two go up; third to sixth enter the playoffs.
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 1.14. Version 1 updates share a leaderboard; Modern Run and Wilderness Years have separate tables. Hard drafts have their own leaderboard.