XaW

My first match in the Premier League was a good result too! But I think we will struggle this season... the Premier League is really hard!

Loved that player update @skills, so you inspired me to do the same for my best players! He is our first choice goalkeeper and has been really good for us. His issue has been his handling, which I've worked on for years and it has slowly improved, but other than that, I can't complain much. His understudy is Peter Bedia 31c who looks very promising. No surprise who our right back is. He is just becoming a beast, even if his speed is lower than I would ideally want. Left back is probably the weakest position for us, but his high mentals means he can usually do well enough. Our best defender, and have you ever seen a more stereotypical lower Premier League defender? Just the type we need in order to battle for survival. The other central defender and they've ben a great duo for a few years now. We also have Jackson Caldwell 30b being an option for both the right back and central defender. The DM in my 4-3-3 DM Wide, and the link between defenders and midfielders. He is a work horse and does his job well. I'd like him to be a better passer, but it is what it is. The other work horse, ball winning midfielder, in my tactic he is one of those who just do a job and let the others be flashy. The more attacking alibi of the midfielders. I'd like him to be better going forward, but as a two-way player he does well. Probably our best player. A physical monster out on the wing who bullies full backs both on ground and in the air. The wide player on the left who are really good, but haven't really done as well as I would like to see. I have John Hurst 33a and Friday Shehu 31d waiting in the wings ready to replace him if he doesn't deliver. Up top we have our main striker for many years. His only drawback is that he is not a natural finisher, so working on first time shots can possible help that... He is an excellent player, and the other options for a striker is a bit lacking, so I can see him being the main scorer for many years still. I think those are the main 11 and some subs, so sorry for stealing your shine @SkiIIs, but remember imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!

Experience, a bit of luck with the intakes, and a tactic I've played with for 7 versions of the game and that I know how I want to work. But this is probably the quickest ride I've ever had to the Premier League in this challenge. The only time I've completed it in England, I think I had 6 or 7 seasons in the Vanarama National... But the major change this time is that I feel like I've always made money somehow, so I've been able to always improve the youth setup and gotten in better talents. That's not to say I have a perfect squad, I mean my best current left back is rated as "decent" for League Two. Granted, I have a talent that might reach Premiership quality, but he is currently rated for the Vanarama Regionals, so he needs more time.

XaW - Marine FC - Season 2032/33 (Season 9) - Sky Bet Championship Squad | Transfers | Finances Wow, I did not expect this, but I'll sure take it! The season was a bit strange overall, as we started with two bad losses to Middlesbrough and Leeds, but from then on just started to win a lot. By the half way point we were firmly in the playoffs, but quite a distance behind Leeds who at that point seemed to run away with the league title. From there on it looked like we would be battling Southampton for the 2nd promotion spot, but towards the end Leeds had a massive stinker. Here is their final two months: Quite shocking how they fell off, and both us and Southampton overtook them to actually have a battle for the top spot. It actually went down to the final day where we had a two point lead on Southampton, but they had a better goal difference. So essentially we needed to equal whatever result Southampton got. We faced Bristol City at home while Southampton faced Sheffield United at home. Bot us and Southampton got an early lead, and nether really looked to do anything other than winning. We won 4-1 to clinch the title, and Southampton won 5-1. So we were crowned champions! So now, we just have to survive in the Premier League. Much easier said than done, but wish me luck! FA Cup: We beat Blackburn before we lost to Chelsea in the 4th round. Carabao Cup: We beat Bolton, Carlisle, and West Brom before we lost to Arsenal in the 4th round. Best players from the academy: Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d - Had an amazing season with loads of goal contributions for us. James Nash 31a - A great season from our superb right back. Kevin Elliott 27f - The main defender for us this season, and also scores a fair bit. New club records: Most clean sheets in a season - Jason Fitzgerald 27g - 15 clean sheets Most league apps - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 268 apps Most league goals - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 147 goals Fastest goal - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 12 seconds Got a few more improvements accepted this season. And we also are installing undersoil heating due to league requirements. U21s They finished last in the English U21 Division 3 again this season. U18s They finished 2nd in the U18 Professional Development League North this season and then lost to Swansea in the semi final playoff. FA Youth Cup: They lost to Bournemouth in the 3rd round. Around the world Youth intake: Trophy cabinet Sky Bet Championship - 2032/33 Sky Bet League One - 2029/30 Sky Bet League Two - 2028/29 Vanarama National League - 2026/27 Vanarama National League North - 2024/25 EFL Trophy - 2029/30 FA Trophy - 2025/26 (U18s) U18 Professional Development League - 2031/32 (U18s) U18 Youth Alliance League North-West - 2029/30 (U18s) U18 National League North West - 2026/27 Player statistics: Most apps for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Apps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 310 Charlie Rowlands 26c England Wales 2026-Present 309 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 269 Lewis Pritchard 26m England Ireland 2026-Present 257 Jason Fitzgerald 27g England Ireland 2027-Present 250 Most goals for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Goals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 169 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 84 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 81 Jake Conlon 27i England <N/A> 2027-Present 33 Kevin Elliott 27f Northern Ireland <N/A> 2027-Present 30 Most assists for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 56 Kyle McLean 28b Scotland England 2028-Present 55 Ben Jordan 26g England <N/A> 2026-Present 44 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 40 Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 30 Supporters: Bingo: Summary:

I've used NewGan and then manually edited a few myself if I didn't like the image.

Nice one! Looks fine now. Thought I'd let you know before you spent a season on it!

If this is you writing English, then it's more than understandable! My first language isn't English either, for what it's worth! I hope you enjoy the challenge. Just a question, in your screenshot you have the National C license already, you are required to start without any license (as well as the lowest reputation, but that seems right I think), so unless you have gained it rather fast, you probably need to restart, sorry.

Go ahead and join, we are a welcome bunch, just don't expect to finish any time soon! I'd say finishing is quite rare still. Also, beware that playing like this will make normal saves feel....wrong, somehow! As for the naming conventions of players, everyone does their own thing. I personally add the year they come through and then a,b,c, etc based on how highly rated my staff think they are, so just a sorting, really. I do this to remind myself that staff can and will be wrong about potential, as evident of me still using a lot of players who were worse rated than players I've let go. Now you got me going, so let's do a small dive into it. In my 2027 intake this was the top ones: Everyone had high potential, but varying degree of ability. Let's recap where they are now and how they did for me (because of course I keep a spreadsheet of it...) Gallagher 27a - Is an excellent player for us and deserves his superb rating from the coaches. Now has 4 star potential. Capasso 27b - Was a rotational player for us for a few years, but never really developed. Now he is rated as a two star potential. Wadunah 27c - Got a few matches for us, but just dropped off and after I released him he joined a Papaun side, so clearly not as talented as we expected. He is outside the scouting range I have, so no clue what potential he would have, but I'd wager it's low. McWilliams 27d - Was a rotational option for many years, but now has two and a half star potential, and I would like to get him off the books. Prince-Jordan 27e - Got some cameos, but never did much. Two star potential and is on an expiring contract. Elliott 27f - One of the best players at the club! Also 12 caps for Northern Ireland so far. Five star potential still, even as the coaches rate him as good for the Championship and think he can "improve significantly". Fitzgerald 27g - Our first choice goalkeeper and has been capped for England u20s. Five star potential. Evans 27h - 2nd best defender at the club, capped may times for Wales u21s ans has four and a half star potential still. My point is that the potential the staff rate players as can be misleading, and if you use that as gospel, you could release world beaters. So that's my reason for doing it this way. /ramble

XaW - Marine FC - Season 2031/32 (Season 8) - Sky Bet Championship Squad | Transfers | Finances Another very strong season from the young squad here, and we were very close to the playoffs this season. Most of that comes from the fact that we really scored a lot this season, almost 30 goals more than last while conceding slightly less. So we clearly belong at this level, but I do think the Premier League would be a step to much for us still. Not that I wouldn't take a promotion and the crazy money from it before going down, but still, we struggle quite a bit against Premier League teams when we face them in the cups. Before the season we sold one of our best midfielders to Leeds for £12M which allowed us to really improve the facilities this season with loads of accepted improvements, but the fact that they then loaned him out to a top League One side shows that we still have a way to go, I think. And with a slightly disappointing youth intake this season, I hope the improvements we did this season will give long term benefits for us, as I can see us staying here for quite some years still. And we are also expanding our stadium, finally, and are renting Prenton Park (Tranmere) next season while the work is being done. FA Cup: We beat Plymouth before we lost to Newcastle in the 4th round. Carabao Cup: We beat Sunderland and Burton Albion before we lost to Everton in the 3rd round. Best players from the academy: Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d - Developing into a really good player for us who both scores and assists a lot. James Nash 31a - Burst into the club and are the first choice right back. Solid in defence and also can provide some assists. Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - Improved from a slightly off last season and provides a lot of goals for us. New club records: Most goals in a match - Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d - 4 goals Most goals in a league match - Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d - 4 goals Most league goals - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 132 goals Highest transfer fee received - Isaac Dean 28a - £12M to Leeds Utd Lots of improvements due to the money the club got from the sale. U21s They finished last in the English U21 Division 3 again this season. U18s They won the U18 Professional Development League North this season and then beat Brentford in the semi final before they were crowned champions after beating Cardiff in the final. FA Youth Cup: They beat Coventry before they lost to Crystal Palace in the 4th round. Around the world Youth intake: Trophy cabinet Sky Bet League One - 2029/30 Sky Bet League Two - 2028/29 Vanarama National League - 2026/27 Vanarama National League North - 2024/25 EFL Trophy - 2029/30 FA Trophy - 2025/26 (U18s) U18 Professional Development League - 2031/32 (U18s) U18 Youth Alliance League North-West - 2029/30 (U18s) U18 National League North West - 2026/27 Player statistics: Most apps for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Apps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 266 Charlie Rowlands 26c England Wales 2026-Present 263 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 227 Lewis Pritchard 26m England Ireland 2026-Present 223 Kevin Elliott 27f Northern Ireland <N/A> 2027-Present 201 Most goals for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Goals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 152 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 68 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 62 Isaac Dean 28a England <N/A> 2028-2031 26 Jake Conlon 27i England <N/A> 2027-Present 25 Most assists for the club Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 50 Kyle McLean 28b Scotland England 2028-Present 45 Ben Jordan 26g England <N/A> 2026-Present 40 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 25 Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 24 Supporters: Bingo: Summary:

He looks like an amazing talent. Would like his speed to be improved though, so that's probably what he will be working on for the next few years!

Yes, but you might get conflicts that you must resolve, like IDs or duplicates of teams, etc. So prepare to rework it a bit, but it should be possible to import it into newer versions.

Crossed fingers, I guess. England is a nice place to get the various ones, so that helps though. Also, I try to hire foreign staff if they are about equal to the British ones (or British ones with foreign scouting knowledge), just in case it helps!

Well, there it is. I kinda had to sell for that money...

Head into Staff-> Responsibilities-> Staff and make sure you are NOT set as Handle team selection for your youth team. If you delegate it, you don't have to see it anymore.

Indeed he is! He got released for being crap, but is a decent scout, thought I think I could have gotten better if I wanted. But I want to keep the youngsters who don't retire altogether if I can!