[FM10] The Long, Winding Road...

Hello.

I normally partake in Dafuge's challenge and have my save ready to rumble for that. However, with Super Bladesman making his extended version I thought I'd kick off my career even further down than usual. I've had a few saves in the week the game has been out and not had a lot of success so be prepared for a lot of failure in this thread.

Version: FM10

Database: 10.1.0 - England Only - Large

Edits: Super Bladesman edit down to Level 10.

So where to start? Like many I have gone for a 'Sunday League' reputation and will start unemployed and go on holiday to see who offers me a position. I shall holiday until 1st November as this will allow most teams to employ managers so I will feel like the position will be 'deserved' rather than walking straight into a job.

My aims for the career are basically to give me a better feel of FM10 and see where it can lead me. Due to my poor start on the game so far I'll be realistic and say I hope to be managing in the 'original' leagues within 10 years. Hopefully the Football League within 15 years and go from there. In order to do this I have decided I am able to change clubs as and when my reputation is deemed high enough for the position. I'm guessing this could take some time!

I've got a couple of teams that I'll be aiming to reach and with any luck will have the most success with that have places in my heart already. So if/when I should reach these clubs then I'll consider it a box checked that and a personal achievement. So keep an eye out for when I come across them or do manage to take the reins of:

Ashford Town - Isthmian Division One South - Place of birth

Tranmere Rovers - League One - Club I support

As soon as I found out who I'm managing I shall update below and continue my journey up the footballing pyramid updating this thread on a seasonal basis to keep myself, and hopefully some you entertained.

And we're off!

I've been employed by local amateur side Leeds Carnegie who as I take over at sitting 12th in the league table.

As you can see on my profile, I've been given an amateur contract so will be working on a voluntary basis to build my reputation.

Season  | Club           | Division                            | Position | Achievements | Other Notes
2009/10 | Leeds Carnegie | Northern Counties East Division One | N/A      | N/A          | Employed 8th November

Leeds Carnegie is a perfect place for me to start given that I currently reside in Leeds so fairly realistic. We're expected to come 6th in the league according to the media on the information page.

For those interested the wikipedia page for the 'club' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_Carnegie_F.C.

Good to see another new thread here in the career forum I'll be following this closely as I haven't bought FM10 yet as i'm waiting for patch 2/3 before playing. I want to play it knowing there will be no 'problems' with it when I start my game.

What especially interests me is the fact that you're playing using Super Bladesman's extended version. I've always wanted to play down in the lower depths of the football pyramid, namely with my local side, Long Eaton United so it'll be interesting to see how your game plays out with this extended version.

Good luck with this and hopefully you can reach the football league!

Thanks fella. Hopefully I'll be able to make it interesting for you to follow!

Like you I've always wanted to manage that low as I've always loved attending non-league at that level. The idea for me is that this save takes me upto the last patch in February so should be a very long term game.

I have to say it's looking very good is the file, some kits aren't done yet but that's fair enough given the amount of teams on the file. The whole crew who have worked on it have done a top job and continue to edit it even now!

Good luck with this.

Just wanted to comment on the wonderful colour scheme your new team have.

You'll be pleased to know that the away kit is the same colours inverted. Funnily enough I don't think I've needed to use it yet.

I'm just ticking over into January on this at the moment so should have the season finished by the end of the week.

2009/10 Season Review

Well I've managed to get to the end of my first season in management. It's been an interesting one certainly as you're about to find out!

Leeds Carnegie

Northern Counties East Division One

As I posted earlier in the thread when I took over the club were underachieving down in 12th place. First game in charge saw us jump up straight into 7th which set us in good stead for the rest of the season. As you can tell from the league fixtures from when I took over on the 8th November we had a strong start under my management and a decent season. By decent read: Very Good. We were continually flirting with the idea of the play-off spot of second taking the position a few times in the final weeks.

In the penultimate game we faced then League leaders Grimsby Borough in a crunch game. We went into the match 2 points behind them know that a defeat would see a title dream over and put our play-off hopes in tatters. A victory would put us top of the pile and in pole position for the final game of the year. Added to all this drama was the fact that back in January we played out of our skins to avoid defeat at their place, despite having a man sent off in the first minute! A tense affair was edged by ourselves and we snuck a vital 1-0 win to send us top of the table for the first time all season.

Subsequently, this sent us into the last day knowing a victory away at Pontefract Collieries would send us up as Champions. A draw might be enough but almost certainly wouldn't be with a defeat resulting almost certainly another year in this league without a play-off berth either. Unfortunately a 0-0 draw left us in a precarious position. Three teams could all very easily have wrapped up the title on the day, and eventually it proved to be Grimsby Borough who got the result they needed to win the league and secure promotion. However, 3rd placed Hemsworth could also only secure a draw and the play-off spot was ours. The final league table looked like this and our progress chart, which shows our rise since my appointment on game 12.

The draw was kind and we had received a home tie against Holker OB. 366 fans turned up for the match and saw our Leeds Carnegie side triumph with a 2-0 win sending us up into Level 9! In all honesty we bossed the game with 62% possession and only allowing them one shot on target.

Northern Counties East Wilkinson Sword Shield

We had already been knocked out of this competition by the time I arrived, losing 2-0 at Grimsby Borough.

FA Vase

Again I didn't partake in this competition as we'd already been knocked out this time by Marlborough Town 3-0.

Northern Counties East League Cup

Finally a cup I managed in. We'd already beaten AFC Emley in the 2nd Round before I arrived so only took charge of our 3rd tie at Liversedge in the league above. A spirited 2-0 defeat saw us out of another cup but to two cruel late goals.

West Riding Senior Cup

Having won in the 1st Round of this competition the day before I took over my first game was an easy 2-0 win over Barnoldswick, setting up a home Quarter Final tie at home to Ossett Albion of Level 8. We played out a dramatic game, going a goal down before levelling and taking the game to extra time. Then we proceeded to get not one, but two players sent off but still held out to take the game to penalties. Unfortunately it was here the dream would end missing our first two penalties and eventually losing 4-2. What made this worse was it took place in the midweek before our 0-0 away at Grimsby Borough.

Signings

My first act once I'd taken over was to sort out my staff appointments. The back room staff we had were frankly awful so I got shot of them (free of charge thanks to amateur contracts) and brought my own men into the club. I didn't go mad with the players I had available to me so only really set about trying to tweak the team to suit the kind of tactics I wanted to play. As a result my transfer history isn't as dramatic as it might have been. The two permanent players I signed having either scouted or trialled them first. The three loan players from Harrogate I managed to sign by a different method. I did want any decent non-league manager would do, I went to the nearest higher league clubs and begged them for spare players. Leeds United, Bradford City, Huddersfield Town and even our landlords Farsley Celtic all said no but mighty Harrogate Town heard our cry! I scouted them before signing them up for the rest of the season.

Leeds Carnegie Information

Additional information you might be interested in:

Squad

Information

Facts

Stats

Confidence

Finances

My Information

Profile - Personal

Manager Info

History

Summary and Aims

Very happy with my first 6 months in management! Got the best out of the players with some higher league loan players adding quality to a few positions where needed. I do worry about how we'll cope with a higher league next season and the financial difficulties that'll come with probably turning semi-pro. However, I will be hoping to keep the side in the league above and add some key players to replace the loans. Most urgently needed is a striker, not one player scored double figures this season. If we can do that I fancy our chances of beating the drop next time out.

Elsewhere

Manchester United won the Premier League, with Stoke City, Wolves and Bolton going down.

Manchester United completed the double by also claiming the FA Cup beating surprise finalists Leeds United.

Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-0 in the League Cup Final.

The Champions League was won by Liverpool who beat Barcelona 1-0. The Europa League was between Marseille and Aston Villa, with Marseille coming away as winners, 0-0 after extra time and winning 6-5 on penalties.

My Other Clubs

As I mentioned earlier one the other clubs I'll be keeping an eye on were Ashford Town and Tranmere Rovers. Both clubs had vacancies over the season and both struggled. Ashford Town were relegated whilst Tranmere were merely disappointing but did manage to safely avoid the drop. Could probably push my luck and apply for the Ashford job but don't really want to walk away from Leeds Carnegie so soon.

Career so far

Season  | Club           | Division                            | Position | Achievements           | Other Notes
2009/10 | Leeds Carnegie | Northern Counties East Division One | 2nd      | Promoted via Play-Offs | Employed 8th November

Sorry it's so long. If you want any other infomation/screenshots let me know!

A great first season! Despite losing the title on the last day, you've still got to be delighted with your performance's over the season haven't you? How did you find Level 10? How about finding suitable targets to sign, was it very difficult?

Once again, a great season

I was very pleased with how it went. Gutted to lose it on the last day but equally delighted that I'd managed to reach the play-offs especially given how tight it was on the last day.

Level 10 was good fun, you seem to be playing constantly with all the cups but once February comes around you can really knuckle down and concentrate on the league. Finances are spot on too, I think I was -£2000 before I got paid my League money which saw us break even.

I used my scout to find my players which he found plenty of, quite a few of 4/5 star quality compared to my team. Unfortunately they were in positions I didn't need but certainly would have been easy go after them. I took the players I did sign on trial from other clubs too which makes things easier to assess them.

Cheers fella.