[FM09] My career - From the Algarve to... Derbyshire? Wait, is that right?...

Just a quick introduction to this thread to detail my career in FM 09. Now I started this game a few months ago, and I am currently in the 2012/2013 season, and I'm in my second season with my third club so far.

I'm not great at this game, so one of the things I'd like to do is to request help and advice with certain aspects of lower league football and to tell me where you think I'm going wrong. There are a lot of people's opinions here that I respect so I hope you like the story of my career

I am using FM 2009, version 9.30, and I haven't made any edits whatsoever. Thanks to purefun below for pointing out the omissions from the first post.

3. Your initial post must state:-

a. Version of FM used

b. The DB version used

c. Any edits you have made

Its stated in here mate.

The 2008/09 season:

For the first time since probably 2001, I decided to have a real go at Football Manager. And I elected to start somewhere that I was not especially familiar with. After much soul searching, I decided to take up the horrible challenge of having to manage in the beautiful Algarve region of Portugal .

The club in question was Portimonense SC of the Liga Vitalis, the second tier of Portuguese football. They had a decent but decidedly underwhelming squad, and were predicted to finish mid-to-low table in the 2008/09 season.

Club finances weren't great, and as a result, I decided to largely keep faith with the current squad, and I only signed one player in the opening transfer window, and that was on a free. 5 more frees followed in the January window, including, amazingly, 45 year-old Jean-Pierre Papin, the former French international striker, who intended to both play, and serve as my assistant manager. I also brought in a left back, Emidio Rafael for £16,000.

Well, I had one of my best seasons ever in FM, and I know this doesn't sound impressive to most people reading this, but 6th place in the league counted as a massive success for me.

Stats for the 2008/2009 season: Portimonense SC

Liga Vitalis: Finished: 6th - Pld 30, Won 11, Drawn 10, Lost 9. Goals For 42, Goals Against 44, -2, Points 43

Portuguese Cup: Third Round

League Cup: Second Round

Top League Goalscorer: Henrique, 14 (18 all comps)

Most Assists: Hugo Santos, 9

Highest Average Rating: Hugo Santos, 7.09 (23 games)

Oldest Player: Jean-Pierre Papin, 45 yrs, 151 days

Youngest Player: Pedro Assis, 16 yrs, 154 days

Biggest Win: 3-0 vs Olhanense (H)

Biggest Defeat: 1-5 vs Vizela (H)

Recap of the 2008/09 season:

I had expected much less than what I actually got from the team in my first season in charge. I played a regular 4-4-2 formation nearly all the time. As a result, my two wingers, Vasco Matos and Hugo Santos, really came into their own, and caused the league's defenses a lot of problems. Striker Henrique was a constant help offensively, contirbuting 18 goals in all competitions.

Injuries and a severe lack of money meant that a few youngsters contributed regularly, such as 16 year old wingers Pedro Assis and Joao Alves who played in 9 and 12 league games respectively.

I was surprised to finish 6th in a very competitive league, so I entered the following season feeling very optimistic

Oh, and the ups and downs:

Promoted to Liga Sagres:

Gil Vicente (Champions)

Leiria

Relegated from Liga Sagres to Liga Vitalis:

Leixoes

Naval

Promoted to Liga Vitalis from the Second Division:

Freamunde

Fatima

Relegated to the Second Division:

Santa Clara

Feirense