AI Experiment: The Gregos United Story

Hey everyone.

This is my first FM Experiment, so please bear with me, it's as much for my own interest as everyone elses, so any response is a positive response.

Basically, having read a certain challenge concerning The Bandits team, going from Conference North/South to Championship (and beyond, I presume, I only got that far), I decided to try out my own little experiment.

So, I created a brand new team, replaced Solihull Moors in the Conference North with this new side, Gregos United, and then watched from a distance as the side progressed.

So what's so special about the side?

Well, with the highest possible reputation and a sugar daddy backing the side to eternity, and a fully developed youth system, it seemed like the challenge would be one of the easiest ever faced.

The snag? Gregos United are an amateur football club, with no manager, few staff, no scouts...and so how can they live up to the expectations of the board and the fans? With no money to spend on transfers, yet the board wanting Premiership Football attained within 5 seasons, how will managers fare? How often will they get sacked? What sort of quality of players will they be able to attract?

All will be revealed in the Gregos United Story.

Initial Squad Analysis

At the outset of the game, Gregos United had a side of pure youths - all 16-year-olds, all raring to go. Here is the analysis of the squad

Goalkeepers

Martin Jones

16

GK

CA: 52 PA: 97

Not the most hopeful of the youngsters, but better than the other goalkeeper and so must be considered as first-choice for now.

Luke Wright

16

GK

CA: 55 PA: 76

With a slightly better CA than Jones at the current time, could be considered first choice for a while, but PA looks as if it could let down.

Defenders

Paul Rice

16

DR

CA: 50 PA: 95

Another one to shove out of the door as soon as. Looks weak and has a long way to go before realising his full potential. The only right-back in the squad at the current time.

Danny Wilson

16

DL

CA: 53 PA: 152

Potential star for the club, if they can hold on to him. Only left-back, but experience could be crucial in the forthcoming seasons, and could establish himself as the club's long-term left-back.

Jamie Baker

16

DC

CA: 62 PA: 141

Rhys Cleverley

16

DC

CA: 59 PA: 159

Terry Grandison

16

DC

CA: 55 PA: 140

Matthew Johnson

16

GK

CA: 66 PA: 139

Four potentially decent centre-backs, so the competition for places could be strong. All of them have a long way to go yet,

and it will be interesting to see who emerges as the favoured pairing at the back.

Midfielders

Liam Cotton

16

MC

CA: 64 PA: 97

Looks to be the weakest of the four midfielders. Perhaps the most developed already, but has the least potential and that could be vital to his future at the club.

Bobby Harwood

16

MC

CA: 65 PA: 132

Alex Morton

16

MC

CA: 56 PA: 156

Gary O'Brien

16

MC

CA: 60 PA: 145

The three better centre-mids, again it could be interesting to see who grabs which place, or whether newer players are bought in for short-term measures while the younger lads progress. Interestingly, Alex Morton has the furthest to go in the whole side to reach his full potential, a whole 100 points.

Alan Delaney

16

AMR

CA: 64 PA: 140

James Fisher

16

AMR

CA: 62 PA: 141

Two uncannily similar players in the same position, both with good potential for the future.

Simon Farrington

16

AML

CA: 58 PA: 132

The only left-mid at the moment so the only choice. Again fairly good potential.

Strikers

Brett Burrows

16

ST

CA: 69 PA: 132

Tom Johnson

16

ST

CA: 55 PA: 117

Ally Vaughan

16

ST

CA: 52 PA: 146

Make of them what you will...another bunch of three that could fight it out for places in the early stages.

Apologies to kipfizh for using his format here, but I like it.

Top 20 Squad Members

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA, (Change)

Burrows, ST, 16, 69-132

M Johnson, DC, 16, 66-139

Harwood, MC, 16, 65-132

Delaney, AMR, 16, 64-140

Cotton, MC, 16, 64-97

Baker, DC, 16, 62-141

Fisher, AMR, 16, 62-141

O'Brien, MC, 16, 60-145

Cleverley, MC, 16, 59-158

Farrington, AML, 16, 58-135

Morton, MC, 16, 56-156

Grandison, DC, 16, 55-140

T Johnson, ST, 16, 55-117

Wright, GK, 16, 55-76

Wilson, DL, 16, 53-152

Vaughan, ST, 16, 52-146

Jones, GK, 16, 52-97

Rice, DR, 16, 50-95

As we can see, no-one is above 70 CA at the moment, which is undoubtedly not good enough for the expectations of the board. The hope is that the side will bring in some new talent to bolster the squad.

I will update at the 1st of every month in the game with various reports, ending the season with a more detailed analysis of the situation.

In the meantime...let the game begin!

UPDATE: 1st August 2007

Summary:

With the prospect of managering such a highly regarded club hanging over the heads of many managers, perhaps it was fear of the sack which turned many managers against the job. United remain managerless, with AssMan Alan Cohen deputising for the moment. With a CA of 135 and a PA of 136, however he is more than qualified for the job.

Transfer Activity:

The side made no less than 14 transfers into the club, and none out, thus far. Several of the younger players have been demoted to the youth side as the team begins to take shape under Cohen's guise.

The main two signings look to be New-Zealander Chirs James, an all-round midfielder with a PA o 160, and a either-sided defender Jordan Parkes, whose CA exceeds 100.

Results Round-Up:

A pre-season tour of the German lower-leagues saw two defeats and two draws. The draws came against Freiburg and Pirmasens, and they are set to play Seina at the beginning of August. All in all, not a bad start from a side in development.

Top 20 Squad Members:

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA, (Change)

James, M RLC, 20, 102-160 - new signing (free)

Parkes, D RL, 18, 101-133 - new signing (free)

Mills, D C, 19, 90-157 - new signing (loan)

Gate, D R, 22, 87-112 - new signing (free)

Price, AM R/ST, 20, 85-120 - new signing (free)

Stopforth, M C, 20, 82-132 - new signing (free)

Ehui, ST, 20, 81-130 - new signing (loan)

Burrows, ST, 16, 69-132 (0)

M Johnson, D C, 16, 66-139 (0)

Harwood, M C, 16, 65-132 (0)

Jordan, ST, 18, 65-104 - new signing (free)Cotton, M C, 16, 65-97 (+1)

Baker, D C, 16, 63-141 (+1)

Delaney, AM R, 16, 63-140 (-1)

Fisher, AM R, 16, 62-141 (0)

Cleverley, M C, 16, 61-158 (+2)

O'Brien, MC, 16, 60-145 (0)

Farrington, AML, 16, 57-135 (-1)

Hastings, ST, 23, 57-100 - new signing (loan)

Lewis, M C, 21, 57-90 - new signing (free)

CA of X or above:

150: 0

140: 0

130: 0

120: 0

110: 0

100: 2

90: 3

80: 7

70: 7

60: 17

50: 29

40: 32

Already we can see radical changes in the strength of the squad, as well as improvements in the CA of some of the youths after just a month.

Let's see how the month of August unfolds, with the start of the Conference North campaign beginning in earnest.

An amateur club you say.... will be interesting to see how long it is before they turn semipro / pro.

Will be following with interest, KUTGW

Originally posted by Walcott's Wonderkids:

Will be following with interest, KUTGW

WHS

UPDATE: 1st September 2007

Summary:

Gregos United remained managerless until the 13th of August, where an extremely high profile appointment was made - Italian maestro Marcelo Lippi took over the club, and with a CA and PA of 190, granted, he can't get any better, but he's already as good as pretty much anyone, and so his skills should enable to side to perform well in the league.

Transfer Activity:

The side recruited a further 5 players to the squad in the month of August. The most notable signing was Zdravko Zdravkov on a free transfer, an aging goalkeeper with a CA of 115, the highest in the squad thus far. This was probably due to the lack of talent provided by the other two younger 'keepers.

Dutch centre back Ties Heldens, Belgian sweeper Pascal Jost and Swiss-Brazilian defendsive midfielder Da Mota also look to have good CAs compared to the rest of the squad.

Results Round-Up:

The final friendly game of the season ended up being Gregos' first win in their history, a 1-0 triumph over Seina. Still managerless, however, they lost their first game of the Conference North season 2-1 at Harrogate Town, before drawing one and winning three of their last four.

The currently reside in 4th place after 5 games, three points off leaders Alfreton.

[/b]Top 20 Squad Members:

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA, (Change)

Zdravkov, GK, 36, 115-140 - new signing (free)

James, M RLC, 20, 105-160 (+3)

Parkes, D RL, 18, 103-133 (+2)

Heldens, D C, 28, 103-122 - new signing (free)

Jost, SW/D C/DM, 25, 96-109 - new signing (free)

Da Mota, DM, 19, 92-147 - new signing (free)

Mills, D C, 19, 91-157 (+1)

Gate, D R, 22, 88-112 (+1)

Price, AM R/ST, 20, 86-120 (1)

Dickson, D/WB/M L, 20, 84-126 - new signing (loan)

Ehui, ST, 20, 82-130 (+1)

Stopforth, M C, 20, 81-132 (-1)

Burrows, ST, 16, 68-132 (-1)

M Johnson, D C, 16, 67-139 (+1)

Jordan, ST, 18, 65-104 (0)

Harwood, M C, 16, 65-132 (0)

Cotton, M C, 16, 65-97 (0)

Delaney, AM R, 16, 64-140 (+1)

Fisher, AM R, 16, 63-141 (+1)

Players previously in the Top 20:

Baker, D C, 16, 63-141 (0)

Cleverley, M C, 16, 61-158 (0)

O'Brien, MC, 16, 60-145 (0)

Farrington, AML, 16, 57-135 (0)

Hastings, ST, 23, 57-100 (+1)

Lewis, M C, 21, 57-90 (-1)

CA of X or above:

150: 0,0

140: 0,0

130: 0,0

120: 0,0

110: 0,1

100: 2,4

90: 3,7

80: 7,12

70: 7,12

60: 17,22

50: 29,34

40: 32,37

As we can see the squad is much bigger now. We have our first 110+ CA player in the new 'keeper, who should help keep the shop shut and create a decent defensive record for the club.

The players previously in the top 20 will next be updated in July of the year 2008, where we will see what kind of progress the players have made. As we can see already, however, a lot hav already made progress into increasing their CA and striving to become as good as they can be.

September next - always an important month...can United continue their good start to the season?

So, now's the time to ask for your predictions. What will happen to the club? How far will they go? How long before Lippi is sacked? Here's a few pointers to get you started...

The Club

Will they win the Conference North in their first season?

Will their amateur status hampen their efforts at a stab at league football?

How long will it be before they turn Semi-Pro/Pro?

Will the high reputation but the lowly league status cause a total collapse in affairs at the club?

The Coach

Will Lippi be sacked before he can achieve anything?

If so, how long wil it be until he is?

Will Lippi resign due to too much pressure?

Cups

With the side expected to reach the Final of the FA Cup, how far will they actually go?

What about the FA Trophy?

Would a poor performance in a cup make Lippi's job under threat?

The Players

Will the youngsters stay at the club until their potential is reached?

How long before the players wish to leave because they aren't geting payed?

Will the side be able to sign the quality of player needed on free transfer, due to no transfer funds?

Any more predictions you might have, let me know.

UPDATE: 1st October 2007

Summary:

Lippi won manager of the month for four wins in six games in September.

Zdravkov was appointed captain of the side, with Gary Stopforth as Vice.

Several of the orignal United players have been demoted to the youth side - Wright, Rice, Wilson, Baker, Butcher, Cleary, Grandison, Cotton, Harwood, Morton, Farrington, T Johnson and Vaughan.

There are also three reserve players - Bowler, Lewis and N Fisher.

Da Mota, Stopforth and James Fisher are all unhappy bunnies. Da Mota and Stopforth are considering their options, while Fisher appears to be unsettled.

Transfer Activity:

Another 5 players were bought in to the squad - Dutch Attacking midfielder Reginald Faria has the best CA of the five, but only 5th in the whole squad. 19-year-old D R/ST James Sinclair has been signed on loan, and looks to have a promising PA of 133. The other three signings, Lewwis Spence, Davide Fais and Aiden Palmer are all consolidating a squad.

Results Round-Up:

United won four games on the trot in mid-September, flamked by a draw at the beginning and a poor loss to Workington at the end. The successful month, however, means they top the league by 3 points.

So things are looking up, but with players already becoming unhappy at the club, how long will it be before things turn more sour?

The Club

Will they win the Conference North in their first season? yes

Will their amateur status hampen their efforts at a stab at league football? yes but they wont remain amateur for long

How long will it be before they turn Semi-Pro/Pro? semi pro end of this season, pro when they go up to league 2

Will the high reputation but the lowly league status cause a total collapse in affairs at the club? they will go through 2 or 3 managers a year

The Coach

Will Lippi be sacked before he can achieve anything? yes

If so, how long wil it be until he is? before christmas

Will Lippi resign due to too much pressure?

no

Cups

With the side expected to reach the Final of the FA Cup, how far will they actually go? 1st round

What about the FA Trophy? quarter finals

Would a poor performance in a cup make Lippi's job under threat? yes

The Players

Will the youngsters stay at the club until their potential is reached? no

How long before the players wish to leave because they aren't geting payed? end of season

Will the side be able to sign the quality of player needed on free transfer, due to no transfer funds? at first yes but will struggle as they progress up the leagues

UPDATE: 1st November 2007

Summary:

Lippi managed manager of the month for the second successive month after three victories and a draw in their four league games this month.

Thus far he has been enjoying a good start with the side, leading them to 11 victories in 15 games.

His job security is currently listed as stable.

Chris James is the current top scorer for the side with 5. He also has the best average rating for everyone with 5 games or more, with an average of 6.76 in 17 appearances for the club.

The side are currently utilising a 4-2-3-1 formation with three central attacking midfielders, making no use of any wide men whatsoever.

Transfer Activity:

A solitary one player brought into the side this month - Frenchman Jean-Jose Cuenca (87-115) has made a promising start with an average rating of 7.00 in his three apps.

Results Round-Up:

League: United won 3 of 4 games this month, drawing with Worcester. They lead the league by 6 points.

FA Cup: United progressed through the qualifying stages with relative ease, beating Burscough, Goole and Harrogate Town in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 respectively. They now face a tough home game against Walsall in the first round proper, a game which takes place on November 10th.

UPDATE: 1st December 2007

Summary:

Lippi continues his reign as the best manager by far in the Conference North by claiming his third manager of the month award after a full month of victories, 4 in total. His job security remains Stable.

Pascal Jost (94-109) and Jean-Jose Cuenca (88-115) gained 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Player of the Month award after good performances throughout.

Simon Farrington (58-135) is the only original United player to have started a game for the first team. He has thus far played three games, but has performed poorly, with an average rating of 5.33.

Reginald Faria (98-112) is the top scorer on 7, and Cuenca remains the best player so far, his average rating increasing to 7.11.

Transfer Activity:

None

Results Round-Up:

League: United won all 4 of their league games this month, scoring 8 and conceding none. They are way out ahead of all the other teams by 11 points and look a sure fire bet for promotion so far.

FA Cup: United managed to beat Walsall by 3 goals to 2 in a classic FA Cup shock. This set up a second round berth away at Hartlepool, which they proceeded to take to a replay after drawing 0-0.

FA Trophy: United sailed through the final qualifying round, beating Sutton Utd 3-1. In the first round they face non-league opposition in Stocksbridge, whom I have never heard of in my life. Hopefully it should be a winnable game and the side can progress well in this trophy.

Player Updates:

Time for a new section. This will detail the general happiness of the players, plus any other issues that may arise over the month.

Da Mota (93-147) is still unhappy. He is still conidering his options and could be leaving at the end of the season if the club do not turn Semi-Pro and become eligible to pay him.

Rhys Cleverley (62-158) and Ally Vaughan (56-146) are both unsettled. They are both currently in the U18 squad and have no league to play in. With both of them having very good potentials, I fear the club may have to start playing them to avoid losing two of their brightest prospects.

***

So, it's looking good so far, although a few players seem to be becoming disillusioned at the club. Will they manage to hang on to their starlets? Will they progress further in the FA Cup and Trophy? Will Lippi's job come under threat if they get knocked out?

Only time will tell.

UPDATE: 1st January 2007

Summary:

Lippi won maager of the month yet again, for the fourth month in a row, clearly emphasising the considerable gap in quality betwen him and the rest of the divisional managers.

Elsewhere, no other monthly accolades were won by any of the players.

Reginald Faria (98-112) remains top scorer, adding one to his tally this month, increasing it to 8, and Jean-Jose Cuenca (89-115) despite a month, remains the best player of the season so far, despite his average dropping to below 7.

Transfer Activity:

John Hastings, Ismael Ehui, Lee Mills and Ryan Dickson all left the club after their loan contracts expired.

Two players were bought into the side. French-Ivorian striker Wilfried Domoraud (75-97) was bought on a free, and English attacking midfielder Graeme Owens (83-132) was brought in on loan.

Results Round-Up:

League: United retain their amazing streak of victories, winning all four of their games yet again this month, scoring 9 in the process and conceding just one. They now lead the league table by a whopping 17 points, and it looks like the title is pretty much sealed already.

FA Cup: United triumphed in the return fixture of their 2nd round tie against Hartlepool, winning 2-0 in the home replay, setting up a potential clash against Premier League opposition. Unfortunately, they were drawn against Sheffield Wednesday, away, which should be a test of their mettle.

FA Trophy: United thrashed Stocksbridge 3-0 in the first round proper and now face Oxford United in round 2.

Player Updates:

Da Mota (93-147) remains unhappy. He wants to stay at the club, but something is defintely amiss which is affecting his happiness at the club.

Rhys Cleverley (62-158) and Ally Vaughan (56-146) appear to have sorted their differences and now appear happier at the club. How long this will last remains to be seen.

Chris James (110-160), the hottest prospect at the club, is now the best player too, with a CA of 110. Zdravko Zdravkov (104-133) appears to be losing CA rapidly and his career could soon be over.

UPDATE: 1st February 2007

Summary:

In a huge shock for the club, Marcello Lippi was sacked on the 5th of January, shortly after their FA Cup 3rd round defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday. High profile managers such as Jose Mourinho, Ruud Gullit and Fabio Capello were all linked to the job, but on the 16th of January, Alan Cohen (136-136) was promoted from Assistant Manager.

Because of the change in staff at the club, no monthly accolades were won for either manager or players.

Reginald Faria (98-112) remains top scorer on 8, while preferred right-back Jordan Parkes (104-133) and attacking midfielder Lewwis Specne (93-115) both have 7. Interestingly, the striker with the most goals is Wilfried Domoraud (74-97), despite having only started 7 games.

Jordan Parkes is the new top performer after a strong month, his average rating is 6.94.

Transfer Activity:

James Sinclair left the club after his loan contract expired.

Results Round-Up:

League: Despite the managerial changes, the club were not disrupted in the league and are currently enjoying a 13-match winning streak, placing them top of the table by a huge 20 points with 12 games to go. Promotion looks a certainty, and the title looks all but secured.

FA Cup: As mentioned before, United crashed out of the thrid round of the FA Cup after a 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Lippi was promptly sacked.

FA Trophy: United beat Oxford 2-0 and remain in their last cup, with an away game at Cambridge facing them in round 3.

Player Updates:

Da Mota (93-147) still hasn't sorted his problem and could be leaving.

Bobby Harwood (72-132) and Ally Vaughan (59-146) in the U18s both have slight injuries at the moment, and top scorer Reginald Faria (98-112) has a long term injury and could be out for a while.

We'e about6 months into my experiment now, and so it's time to check back on some of the questions that were asked at the start of the experiment.

The Club

Will they win the Conference North in their first season? It looks likely, and only a very poor team could throw away such a commanding lead at the top of the league.

Will their amateur status hampen their efforts at a stab at league football? We aren' sure yet. So far they seem to be coping well enough, but we haven't seen them compete with the big boys yet.

How long will it be before they turn Semi-Pro/Pro? Again currently unsure.

Will the high reputation but the lowly league status cause a total collapse in affairs at the club? Aside from Lippi's departure, nothing seems to be going too badly wrong yet, although Lippi's replacement isn't as good as he was and we could see the effect of this appointment. Everything seems ok at the moment.

The Coach

Will Lippi be sacked before he can achieve anything? Yes, he was, much to my surprise.

If so, how long wil it be until he is? It only took 5 months for the board to decide they'd had enough of him.

Will Lippi resign due to too much pressure? No. He was sacked.

Cups

With the side expected to reach the Final of the FA Cup, how far will they actually go?They made it to the third round, which foran amateur club is really quite good. However, their inflated reputation meant the board felt this was nt good enough.

What about the FA Trophy? They're still in it and look good for their money. Possibly could win it.

Would a poor performance in a cup make Lippi's job under threat? Indeed it did. Only reaching the third round led to Lippi's departure.

The Players

Will the youngsters stay at the club until their potential is reached? They appear willing to stay for now, but it's very early days.

How long before the players wish to leave because they aren't geting payed? Da Mota appears to be slightly restless, but aside from him everything seems to be running smoothly in this department.

Will the side be able to sign the quality of player needed on free transfer, due to no transfer funds? So far, yes. They're romping the league with such quality players compared to the other sides, but in the near future, unless they turn Semi-Pro sometime soon, it could spell disaster.

Please keep going this is superb. I did something similar to this so I know what normally happens. KUTGW

UPDATE: 1st March 2007

Summary:

Cohen only manages second in manager of the month, despite a rather impressive month of league results, and as a result his job comes under fire.

He is currently on the list of under pressure managers and his job status is currently set to Insecure. How long will it be before he is shepherded out of the club?

No monthly accolades were won by any of the players.

Wilfried Domoraud (74-97) is now the side's top scorer with 9 goals in 13 appearances, a very good return and he looks to be a decent signing. He also has the best average rating, just undr 7.

Transfer Activity:

4 new players joined the club, all on frees, but none look to be particularly impressive purchases, perhaps suggesting manager Cohen is not up for the job.

The best of the new signings is Guillaume Zimmer (88-112), a French attacking-midfielder with fair potential. Young Italian right-sided player Christian Giaconmimi (78-131) looks to have good potential at 19 years of age. Young strikers David Brwn (78-110) and Fraser Mclaren (73-120) have also been brought in.

Michael Bowler (54-55) has been loaned out to Farsley Celtic.

Results Round-Up:

League: Yet another 4 wins from 4 were achieved, meaning the sdie still enjoy a winning streak, now of 17 games. They are now guaranteed a play-off place, and it can't be long before their promotion is also sealed.

FA Cup: Eliminated in Round 3.

FA Trophy: United managed to hold Cambridge United to a 1-1 draw at their place, but completely fell to pieces at the Gregos United Arena, losing by 3 goals to nil. They have been defeated in the third round of both cup competitions this season.

Player Updates:

Da Mota (93-147) still hasn't sorted his problem and could be leaving.

Gary Stopforth (77-132) the vice captain of the side, is also considering his options.

Pascal Jost (95-109), Stopforth and Da Mota have all been criticised this month for their recent performances.

Morale is low at the club, bizarrely, with only one player in the first team with a better-than-OK morale.

brilliant updates mate. i was pretty close with my prediction when i said he would be sacked at christmas

Yes, you were.

I was quite surprised actually, as I thought he'd last at least aseason before saying goodbye.

Although it looks like there has been at least 2 more sackings in the month of March...the players may be becoming slightly unsettled at the rapid change in personnel at the moment.

We'll see what happens.

Mr. Cohen will be sacked at the end of the season! Have you won all your games or are you just unbeaten in the league

2 sackings in March...who? Only Lippi has been sacked innit?

The next update deals with the events leading up to April 1st...so the details of March are yet to be revealed. They follow soon.

And no, the side are not unbeaten in the league, they lost 2 games relatively early on in the season.

Update on the way.

UPDATE: 1st April 2007

Summary:

In an extremely bizarre month for the club, they were managed by three different managers in the space of one month.

Chairman Geoff Rodgers (79-157) sacked Alan Cohen after just two games on the 8th of March. He had lasted barely 2 months in the job.

It took him 5 days to find a replacement, former Leeds and England manager Terry Venables stepping up to the helm after being promoted from Youth Coach. However, bizarrely, his reign lasted a mere two days after another "poor" result, and he was sacked on the 15th of May.

A longer time was spent debating the possible candidates for the job, with Mourinho, Gullit and Capello all once again in the frame. Mourinho got the job in the end, however, being hired at the of the month, on the 30th of March.

No monthly accolades were won by any of the players.

Wilfried Domoraud (74-97) has been relegated to the reserves, meaning Jordan Parkes (104-133), Lewwis Spence (95-115) and Reginald Faria (96-112) are now joint top scorers on 8 each. Parkes is the top performer on 6.91, an has played in an amazing 45 games - despite still being 18 years of age.

Transfer Activity:

One new player joined the club - Matt Jackson (92-130) has joined from Watford, and made a promising start in his first game, with a rating of 8.

Results Round-Up:

League: The month was very much split into three eras:

The Cohen Era

Cohen led the side to a 2-0 victory over Worcester before only managing a 1-1 draw with Nuneaton. He was promptly sacked.

The Venables Era

A very short era. Venables was also sacked after only managing a draw, 1-1 at Vauxhall.

The Interregnum

Managerless Gregos United managed to win 2 and draw 1 of their final 3 games before Mourinho joined the club.

Despite the juggling of staff, the side has clinched automatic promotion, are still 20 points clear with 4 games remaining, and have 96 points.

Bizarre.

FA Cup: Eliminated in Round 3.

FA Trophy: Eliminated in Round 3.

Player Updates:

Despite the extreme circumstances that the club is going through, none of the players appear to be affected and none are currently unhappy. Morale has also been improved, with most plyers Ok to Good at the moment.

Gary Stopforth (77-132) the vice captain of the side, is wanted by Gillingham.

KUTGW!!

Fantastica. WE WANT MORE!

3 Managers in one month!!?? Have you hired the Leicester chairman

Crazy huh?

I'm not sure where the chairman came from, sorry.

May Update should be on its way shortly, it's finished playing.

YAY! This is fantastic! I reckon Jose will be sakced early next year!

UPDATE: 1st May 2007

Summary:

In a month of relative stability, Mourinho has managed to stay as manager for longer than a month and appears to have the side playing their best again.

After a season of relative obscurity, Brett Burrows (74-132) claimed player of the month after scoring twice in three appearances.

Wilfried Domoraud (74-97) has been re-promoted to the first team and managed to score another goal, bringing his total to 10 for the season.

Jordan Parkes (105-133) is currently the best performer on 6.90

Transfer Activity:

A back-up goalkeeper and potential replacement for Zdravkov Padcal Clame (93-120) was bought in in a shrewd move by Mourinho. If things keep up this way, we could be looking at a promising future in the Conference for the club.

Results Round-Up:

League: Only three league games this month, and the side won them all, not conceding and scoring 6 in the process. Mourinho looks to have a settled side now.

FA Cup: Eliminated in Round 3.

FA Trophy: Eliminated in Round 3.

Player Updates:

Morale continues to improve

Gary Stopforth (77-132) is still wanted by Gillingham, and Kris Gate (100-112) is wanted by Carlisle and Doncaster.

New Season??? Rock and Roll.

Boring month no-one sacked

UPDATE: 1st June 2007

Summary:

After so many managerial positional changes at the club this season, it's no wonder there were no awards, 1st, 2nd or 3rd given to United for Manager of the Year and Player of the Year.

Mourinho remains at the club and has only 3 months to go before he is crowned the longest serving manager of the club. Will he last that long?

Wilfried Domoraud (74-97) finished top scorer for the side, while Jordan Parkes finished as best performer with an average rating of 6.88.

Transfer Activity:

Luke Potter (84-129), an English right back, was singed on a free from Barnsely, and with Zdravko Zdravkov's CA waning (it has dropped 15 points over the year, the most famous name to have graced the United first team was signed to the club on a free transfer - Maik Taylor (113-145).

The three remaining loanees that were at the club have now left.

Results Round-Up:

League: The final league game was won against Brrow 3-1. The side secured 108 points, scored 82 goals and conceded a mere 17. They won the league by a massive 22 points.

FA Cup: Eliminated in Round 3.

FA Trophy: Eliminated in Round 3.

Player Updates:

Matt Jackson (85-130) has been transfer listed. Kris Gate and Gary Stopforth are both still wanted, and the aging Zdravkov (95-140) looks to be on his way out, with Swindon interested.

End-of-Season Report

This was the regular first team squad of the season. The four different managers meant that there was a lot of inconsistency, but there does appear to have been some sort of shape to the side.

Pos, Name, Age, CA-PA, Apps, Rating

GK: Zdravkov, 37, 95-140, 48, 6.67

DR: Fais, 21, 82-115, 18, 6.23

DC: Cleverley, 17, 73-158, 24, 6.04

DC: Heldens, 29, 96-122, 46, 6.26

DL: Parkes, 18, 106-133, 36, 6.88

MC: Da Mota, 20, 90-147, 38, 6.21

MC: James, 20, 110-160, 21, 6.51

MC: Jost, 26, 95-109, 20, 6.14

AMC: Faria, 26, 93-112, 21, 6.46

ST: Domoraud, 19, 76-97, 16, 6.86

ST: Burows, 16, 77-132, 24, 6.82

We can clearly see that very few players played in all the games. The most used formation of 4-3-1-2 seemed to work in this division, but according to the Genie Scout, a 4-4-2 Diamond would be better employed in this side.

Top 20 Squad Members:

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA, (Change)

Taylor, GK, 36, 113-145 - new signing

James, M RLC, 20, 110-160 (+5)

Parkes, D RL, 18, 106-133 (+3)

Gate, D R, 23, 101-112 (+11)

Heldens, D C, 29, 96-122 (-7)

Jost, SW/D C/DM, 26, 95-109 (-1)

Zdravkov, GK, 37, 95-140 (-20)

Faria, AM C, 26, 93-112 - new signing

Clame, GK, 21, 92-120 - new signing

Cuenca, AM RC, 22, 92-115 - new signing

Zimmer, AM L, 21, 91-112 - new signing

Price, AM R/ST, 21, 90-120 (+4)

Da Mota, DM, 20, 90-147 (-2)

Jackson, D RC, 36, 85-130 - new signing

Potter, D LC, 18, 84-129 - new signing

Brown, ST, 19, 83-110 - new signing

Fais, D/WB R, 21, 82-115 - new signing

Giacomini, D/WB/AM R, 19, 81-131 - new signing

M Johnson, D C, 17, 77-139 (+10)

Burrows, ST, 16, 77-132 (+9)

Players previously in the Top 20:

Stopforth, M C, 21, 76-132 (-5)

Jordan, ST, 19, 69-104 (+4)

Harwood, M C, 17, 77-132 (+12)

Cotton, M C, 17, 76-97 (+11)

Delaney, AM R, 17, 74-140 (+10)

Fisher, AM R, 17, 73-141 (+10)

As we can see, the only reason players have dropped out of the top 20 is because they have been replaced by better players. The younger stars look to be developing very promisingly.

CA of X or above:

150: 0,0,0

140: 0,0,0

130: 0,0,0

120: 0,0,0

110: 0,1,2

100: 2,4,4

90: 3,7,13

80: 7,12,18

70: 7,12,29

60: 17,22,40

50: 29,34,43

40: 32,37,45

As we can see the squad has drastically improved since the beginning of the season, and hopefully a decent transfer window will see them buy in plenty more players.

And will they turn semi-pro?

Great experiment, I'll be keeping up with it Just an idea, could you do a few screen shots each month? For example the table?

I don't have a photobucket account as yet, but I'll look into it.

Also not sure how to go about doing the links but we'll see.

I'm signing off for tonight so the next update will be tomorrow...and it appears now that the players' contracts have expired they no longer want to stay at the club...

Look in most of the opening posts in the challenge threads, it normally says how to do screen shots there

Entertaining stuff.

Next update coming shortly, just gotta get some Russian work finished.

This is the Final Table for the 0708 season of the Blue Square North. I hope the link works, I'm kinda new to it.

Final League Table

UPDATE: 1st July 2007

Summary:

After his contract expired, Jose Mourinho left the club on the 23rd of June. Again the usual suspects, Capello, Gullit and this time Paul Jewell were in the running.

Before the new manager was appointed, however, United turned straight into a professional club, and they are now paying their new manager, Fabio Capello, who joined at the end of the month.

United are now a parent club to Motherwell, which could be a useful affiliation, seeing as though at the current time, Motherwell have better players than United, and United have frst option on all the Motherwell players, and can loan out any unwanted youngsters at any time.

Transfer Activity:

A host of players left the club after their contracts expired. These included regular first-teamers from last season Zdravkov, Parkes, Faria, Heldens and Jost, amongst others. Here is the full list of departures

The side, having turned professional, now can no longer buy players outside of the transfer window, so thus far no players have arrived at the club. And with only 5 youths promoted, the first team squad is currently only 15 players, so this needs to be rectified before the new season.

The five youths do look good though. Gary Kirk (56-134) has the most potential, while Gareth Powell (73-124) is already very well developed. The other three are Liam Evans (41-92), Mitch Robinson (60-122) and Paul Ahmed (51-116).

Results Round-Up:

There were no games played this month

Player Updates:

Several players are still out of contract - namely all those who were bought in last season on amateur contracts. They still have the option to leave unless their contracts are renewed, although Capello may decide to build a new squad from pretty much scratch. They have £101 Million to spend...why not?

There is currently no first-team goalkeeper, bu hopefully things should be resolved within the next month.

Hmm...KUTGW

It'd be interesting to see the stats for your chairman

Even considering how distorted the parameters are (ie you have team whose reputation massively exceeds the actual talent of its playing squad) it still appears that the AI is very poor here

How many managers ever got sacked for a solitary cup game when winning the league by a massive margin?

How many managers ever got sacked for a draw against a poor side which in the grander scheme of league position, was utterly irrelevant?

great work so far mate, i'm liking this alot. cant believe how many managers the club has got through so far though

I'm going to follow this

Update??

Sorry guys.

I've had exams.

Update on the way.

UPDATE: 1st August 2007

Summary:

Aside from transfer activity, July was a very quiet month at the club. There were no significant changes in staff this month.

Capello remains manager, and his job security is currently listed as stable after a good pre-season.

The club is expected to come first in the Blue Square Premier this season.

Transfer Activity:

Two players left the club, Zimmer and Stopforth, who idn't really have bright futures ahead of them.

No fewer than 17 players joined the club, costing them a grand total of £26M. Here is the transfer history for June and July.

The most notable arrivals are James Morisson (134-158) from West Brom for £4.5M and ex-Chelsea defender Paolo Ferreira (141-165) , who arried on a free transfer.

Results Round-Up:

The side won 4 of their 5 friendly games played in the pre-season. Despite losing their first 1-0 to Watford, they went on to beat both Nottingham Forest and Athletico Madrid, really proving their credentials as a club.

The Blue Square Premier campaign begins on August the 9th.

Player Updates:

A few players are still wanted by clubs - new arrivals Sebastian Leto (146-163) and Billy Adams (82-135), as well as old hands Kris Gate (102-112) and Davide Fais (82-115) who is now playing for the reserves.

Top 20 Squad Members:

Name, Pos, Age, CA-PA, (Change)

Leto, AM L, 21, 146-163 - new signing

Ferreira, D R, 29, 141-165 - new signing

Adam, AM LC, 22, 139-150 - new signing

Goncalves, D LC, 22, 138-160 - new signing

Morrison, AM RC, 22, 134-158 - new signing

Bardsley, D RC, 23, 132-143 - new signing

Berra, D C, 23, 132-155 - new signing

Fletcher, ST, 21, 132-145 - new signing

Elliot, ST, 24, 127-143 - new signing

Reynolds, D LC, 21, 125-137 - new signing

Larsson, F C, 21, 113-135 - new signing

James, M RLC, 21, 112-160 (+2)

Gate, D R, 23, 102-112 (+1)

Weirauch, AM R, 20, 97-142 - new signing

Cuenca, AM RC, 22, 93-115 (+1)

Pezzoni, D C/DM, 19, 88-140 - new signing

Price, AM R/ST, 21, 88-120 (-2)

Da Mota, DM, 20, 86-147 (-4)

Button, GK, 19, 84-140 - new signing

Adams, ST, 19, 82-135 - new signing

Players previously in the Top 20 who did not leave the club:

M Johnson, D C, 17, 79-139 (+2)

Burrows, ST, 16, 78-132 (+1)

A host of new signings have joined the club, whilst other higher profile players have left due to the end of their amateur contracts. The general quality of the side looks to be better:

A of X or above:

150: 0,0,0,0

140: 0,0,0,2

130: 0,0,0,8

120: 0,0,0,10

110: 0,1,2,12

100: 2,4,4,13

90: 3,7,13,15

80: 7,12,18,22

70: 7,12,29,35

60: 17,22,40,44

50: 29,34,43,48

40: 32,37,45,51

The squad is now slightly bigger, but the new found quality at the top of the scale is easyto see, and there has been some clearing out of a lot of dead wood towards the bottom end.

All in all, Capello has set the side up for what should be a very successful BSP campaign.

You wanted the Chairman's details...

Geoff Rodgers has a CA of 79, but his PA is 157 so looks to have a successful future. |Perhaps his naivety at the moment however has led him to sacking the previous managers in a rather willy-nilly sort of way.

There were also a lot of staff arrivals in July, the side now has 1 AssMan, 14 Coaches (consisting of 4 coaches, 1 first-team coach, 2 fitness coaches, 2 gk coaches and 5 youth coaches), 3 physios and 9 scouts.

Not to mention the Supporter Spokesperson Joe Shepherd, whose PA is a huge 1.

Just realised all the previous dates are wrong - we are in 2008 right now.

I'll make sure it is fixed for the next update - coming soon!

Nice to see an update, good work

Interesting concept, KUTGW

Even though you did replace Solihull Moors , but we would only have been relegated anyway

How do you think the club will fare a division higher?

Most interesting new experiment for a while.

I'll definately be following this

Keep up the good work.

They signed Per Weihrauch

KUTGW

Sorry Guys.

This can't be continued, my computer broke and all my data was lost.

Including this game, all my school work, my novel, pictures, everything.

And I don't back my FM games up.

Sorry Guys.

This can't be continued, my computer broke and all my data was lost.

Including this game, all my school work, my novel, pictures, everything.

And I don't back my FM games up.

That's a shame, I know the feeling too, my computer's on the skids with that blasted Driver IRQL Error More or Less Equal mularky. Then again, my comp is 4 years old!