bestbrother

10th then 6th, hoping to nick a trophy this year.

Following this, where did you get all the South American leagues as a mod?

Great read, is there any reason behind the rise of Mainz? Love seeing the AI put together a team thats unfancied.

2024/25 : Season 2 ----- Back in the Championship and a mini rebuild was in order to make us competitive. A mixture of signings saw us snag various foreign imports on a free transfer, whilst we also broke the £500,000 mark in fees twice, with Ukranian Smoliakov signing for a club record £650,000. Excitingly our star signing would be former Fluminense forward 'Lele' as the Brazilian to a gamble to try ignite his career in Europe with the club. He would be later joined by another in Luiz Henrique, as our only January addition added yet more colour to the clubs squad. Our eventual annual £2,200,000 salary spend would actually make us a competitive team in the SPL, so although expectation of promotion wasnt high, the reality of the financial side of things would need the club to at least be in and around the playoff mix come the end of the season. ----- As expected our start proved to be challenging, losing 2 of our opening 4 fixtures and only having a 5-2 win at home to eventual bottom dwellars Inverness to write home about. We didnt fare much better in September, St. Mirren hit us for 6 and Airdrie also clocked us as we firmly planted ourselves in the middle of the table. Fortunately we would rally come the winter months. A derby day win over Dunfermline sparked a rally, that saw us win 5 of 6, including another 5 goal haul over the highland side Inverness. Christmas would become a season of good tidings as December saw us end unbeaten, with key wins over Arbroath and Airdrie to keep us well in the Top 4 places. Unfortunately the new year would begin with a 2-5 loss at Queens Park, but we were now becoming a competent team in the division. 4 draws would slow us down in the midst of February and March, looking back if we had managed to collect wins there, the automatic promotion place may have been on the cards. However we did enough to secure our playoff place with a draw at home to St. Mirren, before winning our final 3 league games as a confidence boost. ----- Into the playoffs as our 3rd place finish ensured we would need to do things the long way round. First up would be Arbroath and a 2-1 win at Gayfield, set us up to whack them 6-1 back in Falkirk as we had leaped the first hurdle. St. Mirren next and the reality was that the ex-SPL side had our number, beating us twice and holding us to a draw in the other 2 league fixtures. We would overcome them in a gritty 1-0 home win to give us some hope heading to Love Street. A couple of days later in the return, the travelling fans could barely believe their eyes when Agyeman put us a goal up. The Paisley outfit would equalise but it proved futile and it would see us advance to face the SPL side St. Johnstone. Again home for the 1st leg and another 1 goal win was all we took into the return, better than nothing, but the Johnnies would feel happy knowing we had to go there to defend the lead. Defending was the last thing on our mind though as Smoliakov notched within 2 minutes to give us a cushion. Alas by the half hour, it was wiped out and the tie would be all square thanks to a quickfire Saints double. Then the unthinkable, Lele, our Brazilian superstar would score again in injury time... it proved to be the final goal scored in our season and enough to earn a 3-2 aggregate win and promotion to the SPL. ----- ----- Last year we had a mazy run to the Semi Finals, this year our Cup hopes faded early as although we beat Highland side Forres Mechanics, the SPL heavyweights of Hibernian had too much for us, beating us by the odd goal in 5. ----- ----- 3 penalty shootout wins this year in our Group but not enough to see us make the next round. ----- ----- An enjoyable run to the Final of the SPFL Trust Trophy as we beat 2nd sides from Rangers and Dundee Utd, toppled Northern Irish outfit Cliftonville, before falling short against our season nemesis St. Mirren in a one-sided Final. ----- ----- -----

2023/24 : Season 1 ----- Our first year at Falkirk and the pressure was immediately there for all to see, the club have wasted 4 years at this level, twice coming 2nd and 3 times missing out in the playoffs. Its a record that had to end as the club harbour ambitions of returning the the SPL, a position not held for well over a decade. To achieve this, the club had to invest and although the numbers are not massive, a gamble of £350,000 on the signing of 11 new players had given the club a squad capable of dealing with the rigours of a 36 game league campaign alongside the 3 cup competitions on offer. Notable signings would include the free transfer deal to bring in ex-Scottish International Robert Snodgrass, whilst the club would shell out £90,000 on Lewis McGratten from Morton as the single biggest piece of business. ----- On the pitch things had to start quickly and fortunately we did just that, 3 straight wins helped us head the early standings, before a stumble vs Alloa bought back a dose of reality (Alloa would prove to be our biggest challengers). Another mini unbeaten run culminated in us thumping Hamilton 7-0, before abruptly slipping to a 3-5 loss at Stirling, the last time we would taste defeat for 15 games. That 15 game run would see us drop points in just 2 games, draws at home to Cove then in Edinburgh, but it was our defensive stoicism that saw 7 clean sheets be the backbone of our form into 2024. A loss at Cove would prove to be our last before we clinched promotion and the title, as big results saw us stuff Stirling 6-1, Edinburgh 5-2 and then clinch the title with a 5-2 dipping of Cove infront of a full house. Alas our hopes of an unbeaten home season came to an end in our season finale, with Alloa spoiling the title party with a 1-2 win. ----- ----- Well its a competition that the club have won and alongside that have reached 3 Finals in recent history. So when we began our run by thumping a pair of Championship sides 4-0 on their own patch (Dundee Utd & Morton respectively), there was hope of a miracle repeat. We then bested local rivals Dunfermline 2-0 as a sell-out crowd could finally gloat, before our Quarter Final matchup went all the way to penalties, this time we beat SPL side St. Johnstone to setup a trip to Hampden Park. With a Final against Celtic the reward, we would start hard and fast to lead St. Mirren after a minute and again after 32. Alas our SPL rivals had too much for us and would force ET before scoring 2 more to finish us off in a thriller. A proud and memorable run to accompany a dream league campaign. ----- ----- The League Cup under one of its many naming iterations. Mainly seen as a way to get the team ready for the league campaign with 4 group games to navigate. These games couldnt have gone much better for us. We wrapped division rivals Hamilton 5-3, then beat SPL Kilmarnock on penalties to give us the edge in the table. Stranraer and Airdrieonians proved to be easy enough to beat, leaving us as group winners and a spot in the last 16. Arbroath proved to be tricky but beatable on their own patch, as our early season Cup form would setup a dream home tie with Celtic in the Q/F. An early season sell-out saw us put up a fight but invariably come up a little shy, losing 1-3 to the Champions-elect. ----- ----- Our final Cup effort proved to be the briefest of them all, we drew Welsh side TNS and they arrived in Scotland to thump us 0-3 and leave us with little excuses. ----- ----- ----- -----

Haaland ran riot in the 5th year and we clinched a French domestic treble. Still fell short in Europe and a C/L Last 16 exit left us a little disappointed.

PSG are mental and honestly i dont think ill be able to fully usurp them until Mbappe either signs for me or retires 4 years at Lyon have yielded: 23/24 - 8th and Cup S/F 24/25 - Champions 25/26 - Runners Up and C/L Last 16 26/27 - Runners Up / Cup Runners up and C/L Last 16 So we have won it once, but honestly you almost need to be perfect as PSG are just a machine that keeps churning.

Much money knocking around in Scandinavia?

I was going to say, 8 hours on pre-season Thats a full season for me tops. I think some people over play the game (and each to their own of course) but you dont have to be a full on micro manager to get success in FM. I play it as close to as i would CM01/02 and its just as fun. Alot of the game is garnish, some people love that with their meal... others will just eat the Chips and Pie.

Decline every offer of a chat, never prompt any myself either. Press conference is issued to AssMan. Any meetings i skip, or just click ive got nothing to say if i have to load that screen. Dosent seem to do any harm to my team.

Had it every time in my saves

Any French teams with a few quid lying around? Maybe lesser teams as such?

Got a 100m deal for Varane on mine, but no other players would go out there.

Any of the lower league sides have much money knocking around?

Season 03/04 Scottish First Division Pre-Season The challenge this year was to try and put together a tighter more experienced unit, given the relative ease of climbing out of the 'semi professional' divisions, this year we will face a tougher opponent. Money was again spent but not as freely, though significant wages were handed out as the vastly experienced Martin Keown came in to become a part of the club on and off the field. Other moves saw experienced defenders Ritchie and Pressley sign as the spending mirrored what was coming in. A raft of outgoings was headlined by Stephen Pearson joining Millwall for just shy of £2,000,000 as he alongside other young Scot' Stephen Simmons left the club following a lack of game time. Other notable earners left on a free transfer with McSwegan ending a 1 year spell at the club to go to Holland, whilst Montrose saw their chance to snag Lovering and Mooney on contract only deals as they bolstered their ranks. League Campaign Well if the previous 2 seasons were anything to go by, expectations were that the club would breeze into the SPL and achieve their goal outset when Mileson took over. Yet those soon dissipated as the defeats came in waves and a lack of goals saw the club scrambling for answers. A 4-0 win over Inverness would settle the early season nerves, after back to back defeats. However it took nearly a month for another win to come along as the team failed to find any rhythm. A solitary win over Clyde was the highlight of October, whilst a 2-1 win at Arbroath in the middle of November would the our last win until January as the rot set in. A club record £4,1000,000 was spent on McDonald in order to try and bolster the clubs attacking options, but the club would only score in 5 of their next 15 games, as a run of 4 0-0 draws would keep us just above the drop zone heading into the new year. Wins over Montrose and Raith (relegation rivals) helped our chances of survival, before a horrendous 5 game losing skid sunk us into the bottom 2, needing a miracle in the remaining 5 games of the season. Arbroath were beaten, before a loss at home to Clyde saw us slip 5pts adrift of safety with 3 to play. Somehow we scrapped a win over Partick to keep the season alive, before a crucial 2-0 win at Raith sent us into the final day knowing a win would keep us up. St. Johnstone were already on holiday as we scored early to earn a 3-1 win and maintain our place in the 1st division. The romantics out there will be happy to note Montrose found safety on the final day as well! ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Fixtures ================================================================================================ Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.8.03 Dunfermline H First Division 0:1 2200 16.8.03 Montrose A First Division 0:2 3196 23.8.03 Inverness C. Thistle H First Division 4:0 2160 Hartley, Lasley, Tokely, Robson 6.9.03 Partick Thistle A First Division 0:1 5061 13.9.03 Falkirk A First Division 1:1 7332 Roberts 20.9.03 Arbroath H First Division 0:1 2193 27.9.03 Raith Rovers H First Division 2:0 2175 S.Nicol 2 18.10.03 Inverness C. Thistle A First Division 3:3 5030 Tokely 2, McDonald 22.10.03 Clyde A First Division 1:0 4867 Robson 25.10.03 St. Johnstone A First Division 1:3 6961 McDonald 29.10.03 Montrose H First Division 0:0 2163 1.11.03 Dunfermline A First Division 0:1 7035 8.11.03 Falkirk H First Division 1:2 2195 MacDonald 15.11.03 Arbroath A First Division 2:1 4476 Lasley, MacDonald pen 22.11.03 Clyde H First Division 1:0 2189 McDonald 29.11.03 Partick Thistle H First Division 0:1 2199 6.12.03 Raith Rovers A First Division 1:2 6068 McDonald 13.12.03 St. Johnstone H First Division 0:0 2168 20.12.03 Inverness C. Thistle H First Division 0:0 2163 27.12.03 Clyde A First Division 0:0 4891 5.1.04 Dunfermline H First Division 0:0 2165 10.1.04 Montrose A First Division 2:1 3174 R.McDonald, Roberts 17.1.04 Arbroath H First Division 0:1 2167 24.1.04 Falkirk A First Division 0:2 7334 7.2.04 Partick Thistle A First Division 0:3 4787 14.2.04 Raith Rovers H First Division 1:0 2185 S.Nicol 28.2.04 Montrose H First Division 0:2 2187 6.3.04 Inverness C. Thistle A First Division 0:2 4335 20.3.04 St. Johnstone A First Division 0:1 7419 31.3.04 Dunfermline A First Division 0:2 5339 3.4.04 Falkirk H First Division 1:2 2184 MacDonald 10.4.04 Arbroath A First Division 1:0 3681 MacDonald 17.4.04 Clyde H First Division 0:1 2197 24.4.04 Partick Thistle H First Division 2:1 2193 Ritchie, Tokely 1.5.04 Raith Rovers A First Division 2:0 4892 Lauchlan, MacDonald 8.5.04 St. Johnstone H First Division 3:1 2190 McDonald, Lasley, MacDonald ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Dunfermline 36 14 3 1 30 11 6 7 5 18 17 70 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Falkirk 36 7 8 3 24 15 8 5 5 30 25 58 3rd Arbroath 36 8 2 8 22 20 9 3 6 22 19 56 4th Partick Thistle 36 11 5 2 28 10 3 6 9 19 26 53 5th St. Johnstone 36 9 5 4 33 26 5 5 8 29 31 52 6th Inverness C. Thistle 36 8 8 2 30 20 4 5 9 19 32 49 7th Gretna 36 6 4 8 15 13 5 3 10 14 25 40 8th Montrose 36 5 7 6 30 29 4 4 10 19 27 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th R Clyde 36 5 7 6 19 24 4 4 10 16 25 38 10th R Raith Rovers 36 8 0 10 28 37 2 7 9 19 32 37 Tenants Scottish F.A. Cup The league to precedence for us here as our Cup exit came as no surprise given the poor form we were suffering. 31.1.04 St. Johnstone A Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 0:2 4341 SKOL Cup Forget East Fife, we finally got to pit our wits against the best, as Celtic are dominating Scottish football. Sadly we couldnt score and a weakened (but decent) Celtic side did enough en route to another Final for the Hoops. 19.8.03 East Fife H League Cup 2nd Rnd 3:0 2050 Robson, Lasley, Tokely 1.10.03 Celtic H League Cup 3rd Rnd 0:2 2162 Bells Challenge Cup Qos, thanks for being our rivals but thats easy enough. Stirling, another Cup tie, another thumping. Arbroath, a decent win in the circumstances. Stranraer, annoying and a waste of an opportunity to make our 2nd Challenge Cup Final in 3 years. 12.8.03 Queen of Sth. H Challenge Cup 1st Rnd 4:1 1846 Tokely 2, McDonald, Lasley 27.8.03 Stirling H Challenge Cup 2nd Rnd 6:1 1831 Nicol 2, Lasley 2, Roberts 2 10.9.03 Arbroath A Challenge Cup Qtr Final 1:0 3814 Robson 17.9.03 Stranraer A Challenge Cup Semi Final 0:1 3067 The Boys ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Boyce, Scott 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.80 - Douglas, Robert 43 0 44 0 0 0 0 0 6.98 - Finlayson, Kevin 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Fotheringham, Kevin 0 (3) 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 6.00 - Grady, James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Hartley, Paul 38 1 0 0 5 7 0 0 6.84 - Keown, Martin 42 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 7.05 - Lasley, Keith 39 7 0 0 3 3 0 2 6.79 - Lauchlan, Martin 7 (1) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.38 - MacDonald, Peter 17 6 0 1 (1) 3 1 0 3 7.35 - McAllister, Jamie 14 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.79 - McDonald, Raymond 27 7 0 0 1 0 0 2 7.00 - McEwan, Craig 40 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 6.70 - McGovern, Jon Paul 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.50 - Meji 29 0 0 0 1 3 0 3 6.93 - Nicol, Scott 18 5 0 0 3 3 0 3 7.22 - Pressley, Steven 25 (1) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.85 - Ritchie, Paul 10 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.20 - Roberts, Christian 23 4 0 0 4 1 0 0 7.22 - Robson, Barry 38 4 0 0 4 1 0 2 6.95 - Tokely, Ross 38 7 0 0 5 5 0 0 6.76 - Webster, Andy 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 Transfers ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Transfers ================================================================================================ Date Player In From Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.6.03 Christian Roberts Bristol C £250K 12.7.03 Craig McEwan Ayr £500K 26.7.03 Martin Keown Free Transfer Free 26.7.03 Steven Sidwell Free Transfer Free 20.8.03 Scott Nicol Morton £16K 22.8.03 Paul Ritchie Man City £825K 22.8.03 Steven Pressley Hearts £650K 28.8.03 Meji Dundee £775K 8.11.03 Peter MacDonald St. Johnstone £4.1M Date Player Out To Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.6.03 Paul Lovering Montrose Free 22.6.03 Ian McCaldon Livingston £180K 9.7.03 Gerard Mooney Montrose Free 29.7.03 Stephen Simmons Hearts £525K 12.8.03 Matthew Naylor Released Free 19.8.03 Andy Harris Released Free 20.8.03 Stephen Pearson Millwall £1.9M 22.8.03 Kevin Mackay Released Free 26.8.03 Scott Young Southampton £50K 6.9.03 Gary McSwegan Go Ahead Free 10.3.04 Steven Sidwell Peterborough £45K