dafuge's FM10 challenge

[Cerneo]

Phew just beat championship side Southend in the carling cup first round, was very lucky to get a penalty in the 110th min after they had a man sent off...

[Kazpeer]

Dartford - Blue Square South - 2010/11

We were predicted to finish 18th.

League
League Graph

A terrible start, then some good results, but then sometimes they played as they were the worlds greatest, but the game after they played as they were the worst players in the world!

Transfer

Finances – I keep losing money every month and was crap in the FA cup, so no good cup-run for me.

Key Player Profiles:

Kyle Wilson – The best player this season with 25 goals.

Mark Preece – A decent season from Mark Preece.

Career Overview

Season      League                   Position    Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
2010/11    Blue Square South          13th         -

Next season:
Strengthen Defence og Midfield.
Try to make the playoffs
Try to make some money!

[DanGLiverpool]

Gave my 17 year old Welsh U19 international his full debut, got a 7.2, staying on for the 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw, impressive start, and he is officially my youngest player to play for me aged 17 years 158 days. Has 3 U19 caps.

[hrbfcrule]

Pre-Season Report

Sutton 2-0 Lewes (BSS)
Sutton 2-1 Burton (L2)
Great Wakering Rovers 0-0 Sutton
Horsham 1-1 Sutton

We dominated all 4 matches but our away form looks slightly dodgy already as we failed to win in both away friendlies against lower league opposition. Altho things look good for the season and i am happy with my squad but i can see our weakness being central defence.

Promotion odds

[JonnyCurrie]

Boston Utd - Blue Square Premiership - 2010/11

Predicted: 14th

Felt pretty good about this season after signing a lot of youngsters and seemingly having a good tactic in place.

The first result, did nothing to dispel this and proved we had goals in us at very least..

Good first match

He got injured in the next match by the way

Unfortunatley our form was the absolute definition of inconsistancy and not until over half the season was through could I find a suitable tactic to gain a run.

No cup runs whatsoever due to the crap form early on.

The we began to recover and my boys up front decided were going to put the ball in the back of the net for me..alot. Which in truth, whilst nice, really now ****es me off knowing I probably could have won the league if these guys had of got this partnership down quicker.

But we gained pace and were clinging on to the play off places come the final match but in the end it was comfortable.

I now (for the first time) know the weird feeling of losing the semi-final play off match..always lost the final in previous games.

Anyway, we didn't turn up in the first match and in the second their pitch was so **** it could have been used for dirt racing.

First Leg
Second Leg

The cold hard, feeling of losing..

The only thing I'm worried about is the clubs finances which I kinda stretched a tad trying to get a few decent players in their wages. Hopefully they give until next season at least

Anyway here is the rest..

Ins/Outs
Squad
Table
Finances
James Keating - My Player of the Year
Top Scorers BSN

[michaeltmurrayuk]

Well the chairman has decided to keep me on for the moment and they have finally lifted the transfer embargo, so I have three weeks before the transfer deadline to shore up my team.

[-aao-]

Pre-Season Report

Sutton 2-0 Lewes (BSS)
Sutton 2-1 Burton (L2)
Great Wakering Rovers 0-0 Sutton
Horsham 1-1 Sutton

We dominated all 4 matches but our away form looks slightly dodgy already as we failed to win in both away friendlies against lower league opposition. Altho things look good for the season and i am happy with my squad but i can see our weakness being central defence.

Promotion odds

Great work.

I lost all my pre-season friendlies (although I saw it as a money making opportunity and managed to book friendlies with Man City, Chalton and Sheffield United). Lost them all but managed to make quite a bit of money from them

Im interested in hearing about what signings you made though.

[Scab]

Season 2013/14 Review - Kingstonian in the Blue Square Premier

League Table
Past Positions

I guess third time really is a charm—our third playoff in four seasons, and this time we duly delivered. The team looked solid and we were up there fighting for the top spots all season, but newly relegated Mansfield were just too good to get past. I still take some pride in scoring more than any other team in the league by some margin.

FA Cup | FA Trophy

Not a cup season to remember, but the Sheff Wed tie got us a nice ~£150K cash boost.

Squad

Yeah, I know, I have way too many strikers. Bauzá was in ridiculous form this season, scoring 37 goals and setting up an additional 18! He actually held an average of 1 goal scored per game for the first half of the season before injuries and other fitness problems came into the picture. 42 assists just from the wingers will also tell you a thing or two about how most of my attacks are set up.

Transfers

Got a mediocre striker on loan from new parent club Arsenal for reasons I've long since forgotten; it's the last thing I need. The others all played key roles; Stewart, Spring and Sinclair quickly formed a new midfield partnership and Szamotulski did fine to replace Moyes. Oh, right, I sold Moyes for some decent transfer money for a change; I couldn't resist the offer as we were leaking a worrying £25K a month. Hopefully the "50% of next transfer profit" clause will prove fruitful down the line.

Aim for next season: Stay up, obviously. Mainly hoping to attract some better defenders as we're letting in a few too many goals even here on BSP level.

Season     Team           League               Finished  Achievements
2010/11    Kingstonian    Blue Square South    4th       -
2011/12    Kingstonian    Blue Square South    1st       Champions, Promotion
2012/13    Kingstonian    Blue Square Premier  3rd       FA Trophy winners
2013/14    Kingstonian    Blue Square Premier  3rd       Promotion through playoffs

[hrbfcrule]

Not a great start

[Annihilator666]

I just noticed Super Kyle was available for free in my game, so I signed him up and he's scored 3 goals in his first two matches...

[hrbfcrule]

Great work.

I lost all my pre-season friendlies (although I saw it as a money making opportunity and managed to book friendlies with Man City, Chalton and Sheffield United). Lost them all but managed to make quite a bit of money from them

Im interested in hearing about what signings you made though.

I couldn't get any good friendlies this year everyone kept rejecting me

here are my transfers, im guessing people will recognise a few of them

[hasdgfas]

And off we go.

After absolutely failing at this challenge last year, I believe I have gotten more patient in the lower leagues, and the new tactic creator will help a lot too.

[michaeltmurrayuk]

Anyone else in the BSP noticing some wierd players count as homegrown? - The two Bulgarians I signed and all the Scottish players bar Millar count as Nation Grown for some weird reason.

[Annihilator666]

I just noticed Super Kyle was available for free in my game, so I signed him up and he's scored 3 goals in his first two matches...

Bah, I knew I shouldn't have invited the curse. He got injured in the third match, out for 3 to 4 weeks...

[Cerneo]

Anyone else in the BSP noticing some wierd players count as homegrown? - The two Bulgarians I signed and all the Scottish players bar Millar count as Nation Grown for some weird reason.

Yeah it seems to be buggy, unless I am just not understanding what its trying to tell me.


I have 7 players out right now, 5 from injury, great way to start the season....

[DanGLiverpool]

Just had a good close look at some of the fans, hilarious really, makes it that much better, especially the bald guy in the white t-shirt with his fist pumped in the air.

[hrbfcrule]

Tweaked the tactics a bit and managed to get a 1-1 all draw away to weymouth. We were actually the better team so i am still disappointed we only got a draw

[Cerneo]

Just had a good close look at some of the fans, hilarious really, makes it that much better, especially the bald guy in the white t-shirt with his fist pumped in the air.

Any idea if these can be edited in anyway like 3d kits?

[DanGLiverpool]

Doubt it, but I have little to no knowledge when it comes to skinning, so maybe ask in the skinning forum.

In good news, my 17 year old Welsh U19 right back, who is a product of my youth system, scored the winner in a 1-0 win vs Chelmsford, after coming off the bench, with a penalty. With a penalty stat of 12, it is little surprise really. See big things for this guy in my side, despite my coaches giving him 2 star potential.

[Scab]

Hm? How does this thing work? Free money?

[Gypsum]

My current league table;



A nice run has made us pretty comfortable playoff contenders, but it'll take something special for automatic promotion. I hate playoffs, but hopefully my star striker Craig Rodger can add to his 29 goals this season and pull us through.

[sheeshy]

Holidaying now!

[Steviedaniels]

Bedford Town F.C (Opening report)

Transfers: My opening transfers were average at best, I wasnt able to compete with other clubs for the good young players coming out of Scotland in particular, they chose other clubs on every occasion

Key Player: Neil Ashton My new captain and has started of solidly, my second best signing at left back had a terrific debut getting an assist with a 7.2 rating and then got injured for 3 weeks, he has now followed that up with another for 2 months .... happy days

Results: My 2 friendlies seemed to go well, I held Cambridge to a 3-3 draw in a thrilling game where it could have gone either way, as they are a BSP team I was impressed. I then beat Gainsborough 2-1 so all was on track.

I then lost my opening 3 games of the season and the first two were tight leaving me feeling like I deserved alot better, a bore draw at Gainsborough has resulted in a little spurt of form, winning my last two games and climbing too 12th

[chris_bemand]

Tonbridge Angles 2010-2011 BSS

Well we started the season conceding to many but score quite a few, we sat in 8th place for a while, the things started going down hill. A middle of the season slump saw us fall to near the bottom of the table, and we never really re-gained the form we saw earlier on in the season. Towards the end of the season we managed to stop leaking goals but then couldn't score in a brothel and we had many 0-0 or 1-1 draws.

Final Position: 18th

Cup runs: Never really got going, so nothing really to comment on here, knocked out in the 2nd qualifying round of the fa cup, dissapointing.

Finances: Again struggled, 120,000 in the red, never good.

Tranfers

Key players: None. Really we we're pretty poor all over, need a big overhaul next year, get rid of the dead wood.

Summary: Not a great first season but atleast we managed to avoid the drop. Need to strengthen all over next year, but being optimistic, promotion push.

[Steviedaniels]

Sounds like the sort of season im heading for as well there Chris, good luck finding some gems before your new season

[Super_Gord]

Hm? How does this thing work? Free money?

I seem to believe that when Premier Leage clubs are relegated they receive what is known as 'parachute payments' from the Premier League, these payments are to try and help ease the financial burden on clubs who are relegated and thus no longer receiving Premiership money, they last for upto three seasons, if the clubs gains promotion before the end of these three seasons the parachute payments are divided out across the football league.

At least I think I'm right with that, someone else ITK feel free to correct me on that.

[chris_bemand]

Cheers matey. It really was depressing, my striker at the start of the season couldnt stop scoring, banging in 15 in 21, he finished the season with 17, dont know what happened to him haha Kyle wilson really did not live up to my expectations, only scoring 6 all season, couldnt believe it. Good luck to you fella.

[DanGLiverpool]

Hm? How does this thing work? Free money?

Must be how it works IRL. Teams get parachute payments for a certain amount of years after relegation from the Premierleague, so presumably, after getting repromoted, the spare money is spread around the other clubs. Free 90k

[Gypsum]

Now on 43 games, got a couple of wins to put us just 3 points behind league leaders York and Cambridge. Unfortunately a 2-1 win over Woking was a battle (quite expected as i'm an Aldershot fan!) which, in addition to a couple of short term injuries, has ruled one half of my awesome strike partnership, James Keatings, out for 3-4 weeks. I've got a decent striker on loan from Peterborough, but he blows hot and cold. Hopefully he'll step up for our title push...

[michaeltmurrayuk]

So we've had a mixed start to our debut season in the BSP - we are 9th after six games, having won 3, drawn 1 and lost 2 - we beat the favourites Wrexham 2-0 at home, but then followed it with a 4-2 away defeat to Ebbsfleet - the fitness of my team is a real problem we just cannot play two matches in a week.

Things weren't helped by the takeover taking all summer, leaving me with just three weeks to find some new right wingers and some cover upfront - I wasn't helped by the fact that no decent players seem interested in playing for me at all, luckily I managed to bring in several players at the end of last season before the embargo took place to shore up the defensive positions, I haven't managed to find any strikers though so if Keatings or Fitzharris get injured I'll be in trouble

[ssestig]

I seem to believe that when Premier Leage clubs are relegated they receive what is known as 'parachute payments' from the Premier League, these payments are to try and help ease the financial burden on clubs who are relegated and thus no longer receiving Premiership money, they last for upto three seasons, if the clubs gains promotion before the end of these three seasons the parachute payments are divided out across the football league.

At least I think I'm right with that, someone else ITK feel free to correct me on that.

£20m over 3 years iirc.

[Gypsum]

Barring a miracle I have lost out on the BSP title. Our epic final run sees us 2nd, just 3 points behind Cambridge with one game remaining. Our goal difference is superior, but we need to beat 8th placed Wrexham while Cambridge have to lose to bottom of the league and already relegated Welling. I'm tempted to rest my players for the playoffs, but you never know what could happen!

...well I won, but so did Cambridge. So i'll be facing the playoffs.

[stinger061]

I've started over again. This time opting for Billericay Town and so far have found myself performing much better in the transfer market and building what should be a far better squad than the one I had at Tonbridge. I will include my initial profile screenshot with my end of season report.

[-aao-]

Potentially brilliant goalkeeper - Luke Bennett. Unfortunately he's 17 and requires compensation if I snap him up Going to keep tabs on him for the future.

Really beginning to enjoy FM now - learning so many new details of the game i never knew about before.

[Spurs1979]

Congrats Scab on promotion, I had the same thing, 3 payments of £30k when we got promoted as 3 teams had regained EPL status that season who went down recently

[kaNovi]

After our devastating season debut with a loss 5-0 we have picked our self up after applying to different tactics; one home, one away.
things are looking bright but im not fooling my self, anything can happen really only through 1/3 of the season

[Spurs1979]

26 games through the season we sit in 19th place, still not that worried about relegation as we are playing pretty well but not getting results go our way, only worry really is the amount of goals we are conceeding so will try to fix that throughout the season ready for next years attempt at trying to get promotion from league 2.

[hamilton162]

Playoff Final

How about that?

That's one hell of a rout there How are you already into your 5th season?

[Spurs1979]

Just managed to sign a GK from Bohemians in Ireland that has Championship potential ability, not bad for a 17 year old

[hursty2]

Can't wait to get stuck into this after my exams finish on the 24th. (Resisting getting the game because I'm a good boy)

[Scab]

I have no luck with these

That's one hell of a rout there How are you already into your 5th season?

By playing all days long?

[jcalton]

I never quite got round to doing this challenge last year, so decided to start on it straight away this time!

Began as manager of Carshalton last night, here's my manager page.

Early season form has been a bit up and down, not helped by results like this!!

Is it a bug, or just and unlucky match?

[Spurs1979]

Just unlucky, I've had games like that but mainly in cup games against higher league opposition, quite frustrating really

[crouchaldinho]

King Solomon

Love these goals. Just a shame he wasn't scoring them for St. Albans City though.

[Spurs1979]

Well we're safe with 3 games left of the season, have mixed opinions because we really haven't had much luck with injuries that have ripped the squad apart for nearly the entire campaign, infact I think we have only been able to play our best XI for around 10 games of this season which is really bad considering how my backup players aren't really that good for league 2. Therefore the struggle we found ourselves in hasn't surprised me a big deal, the bonus points are we are no longer in debt, although we only have £32k in the bank it is a positive side that the cup game against Sunderland helped us a fair bit in finances.

Will post some screenshots when the season ends, have a big job this summer and hopefully my wage budget will increase so I can upgrade my squad enough to push up the table next season, the bonus of course is that my squad is very young so will improve every week so come the start of next season we will definately be stronger then we were at the start of this season.

[Annihilator666]

Annihilator666 - Hednesford Town - Season 10/11 - Blue Square North

Table - League Table | Position Graph
Squad - Hednesdford Squad
Transfers - Transfers Summary
Finances - Finance Summary
Other Info - Club Information | Manager Information
Top Scorer - Nathan Edwards
Records - Overall Records | Season Records
Best Eleven - Overall | Season
Competition History - Past League Positions | Full Competitions History

Survival was the goal at the start of the season, so I should be happy with a 16th place finish. But things could have been a lot better, with the team sitting mid-table with 11 leagues games left in the season. A run of 1 win, 3 draws and 7 losses in those last 11 matches put a dent in any hopes of pushing for a playoff spot or finishing in the top-half of the table.

In the end 16th place probably didn't do the team justice, but overall the players did well and I'll be looking to push on in the new season.

No notable cup runs to speak of. Knocked out in the 3rd qual. round of the FA cup, and out at the first attempt in the FA trophy.

[Spurs1979]

Hendon 2012/2013 League 2 Season Review

Well as I previously mentioned we have avoided relegation, quite comfortably in the end as we were 11 points clear which is what I thought roughly we'd be as the season went on. The squad was too thin, whilst I was reasonly happy my first XI was good enough to be mid table and even fight for the play offs if things went our way my backup players really are pretty poor for this league so we suffered badly from injuries throughout the season.

There were a few positives in my new partnership upfront scored 37 competetive goals between them which gives me hope they are both good enough for me next season, the downside is we simply conceeded so many goals this year and nothing I did altered the fact my defenders simply let themselves down badly time & time again. I will look to improve on my defenders this summer as they simply haven't improved as the season went on, I can only assume due to my training facilities not allowing this to happen.

League Table

Player Stats For Season

[Gypsum]

I'm through to the playoff final after beating Aldershot 2-1 on aggregate in two very tight encounters. It's also nice to be playing in front of 5000+ people rather than the average of 1500. Now we face Mansfield in the final. They were top of the league for most of the season, but when we beat them 2-1 at their ground they hit a bit of a slump. Hopefully we can add to their misery!

[jcalton]

Good work in the semi final Gypsum, must have been tough as an Aldershot fan though!!

[Gypsum]

Good work in the semi final Gypsum, must have been tough as an Aldershot fan though!!

Very tough! When i'm in the Premiership i'll make sure to loan them a few players to make up for it!


I'm 1-0 up at half time in the Playoff final. A solid performance so far and a nice goal by my main man Craig Rodger...

...despite some late pressure, including Mansfield hitting the post on 86 minutes, we held out to win 1-0 in front of 38,000 fans at Wembley. So King's Lynn are in League 2!

[hamilton162]

Congratulations on promotion into the Football League with King's Lynn Gypsum

[Rattlesnake_85]

just been linked to millwall job, but Paul Merson is favourite lol

[PVentress]

Ok, Going to give this a go, never got time to start this in 09 so this will be my very 1st attempt

The Lucky Team is Kings Lynn, would have liked Durham but after losing count of reloads i gave up,

Manager Profile

Team Info

Predicted 16th so could have been worse, £0 Transfer Budget as expected and a Wage Budget of £4.3k

Time to Wheel and Deal,

BSN Watch out, The Linnets are Coming

[DanGLiverpool]

Really building up a fixture backlog.

Had a FA Trophy match drawn, pushed a match back. The replay was postponed, pushed another game back. Lost that game 4-1. One of my catchup games, been postponed (although another game of the 4 being played was postponed, at Barrow)

[Spurs1979]

Well going into the 4th season my board still don't want a parent club, shame as it is holding us back greatly, financially it's getting very very hard to find players when you are given a wage budget £10k a week and already spend £11.3k on a tiny squad with few players good enough to push for promotion from League 2. Doesn't help with poor training facilities the youngsters I buy with potential stop progressing pretty early it seems.

[Kazpeer]

My defence is really crap!
i have played 5 games in the league, scored 12 but i have let 11 goals in.

[jcalton]

Really building up a fixture backlog.

Had a FA Trophy match drawn, pushed a match back. The replay was postponed, pushed another game back. Lost that game 4-1. One of my catchup games, been postponed (although another game of the 4 being played was postponed, at Barrow)

Exactly the same here, after christmas I played on 1,3,5 & 8 January! 4 games in a week with an already small squad isn't good for results. I haven't had any cup matches replayed or postponed though, I think it must just be bad scheduling by the league.

[DanGLiverpool]

Exactly the same here, after christmas I played on 1,3,5 & 8 January! 4 games in a week with an already small squad isn't good for results. I haven't had any cup matches replayed or postponed though, I think it must just be bad scheduling by the league.

Luckily I am in February. Am just above the drop zone, but have games in hand, either 1 or 2 games in hand, on teams around me. Also helps that two teams have gone into administration this season (Darlington and Fleetwood). Funny if Darlington got relegated to the BSN with a 25k all seater stadium

[FDmatty]

Hi, is there any chance at all for getting Aveley (Rep. 750)?

[cplpeters1900]

Hey, I'm gonna start my first LLM challenge ever this time... hopiong for Truro City as there my local club, but looking unlikely .
Will post manager profile as soon as i get that far.

[DanGLiverpool]

Got 8 matches in 28 days this month, seeing the advantages of giving one of my two coach slots to a fitness coach, or else my players would have been shattered.

[Gypsum]

Gypsum's King's Lynn - End of season update - 2011/12


Blue square premier - 2nd place - Playoff winners

League graph


Squad info;

General squad info

Transfers


Key players;

Craig Rodger - ST - Our star man yet again. A real force up front, Rodger was the BSP top scorer and a contender for player of the year. His winning goal in the playoff final capped an excellent season where he scored 33 goals, created 18 with 10 MoM awards and a 7.33 rating. Already a favourite at King's Lynn, Rodger now has 60 goals in his two seasons at the club and amazingly has never suffered an injury, allowing him to make 94 appearances so far.

Matt Taylor - DC - A rock at the back, Taylor was a key signing this season. Signed on a free after leaving Exeter, Taylor made 44 appearances for us this term with a 7.24 rating.

Danny Butterfield - DR - An excellent addition for us at right-back. His experience and well-roundedness helped shore up a young, inexperienced side.

Dominic Green -AMRL - A loan signing from our Premiership parent club Peterborough, Green to a while to get started but became an invaluable part of our promotion campaign. His speed and skill down the wing was exceptional at this level as he racked up 22 assists this season.

Season        Division            Position                 Achievements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11       BSN                 2nd                      Playoff winners
2011/12       BSP                 2nd                      Playoff winners

[Scab]

I love this cup <3

Big money awaiting if I can just get past Kidderminster... and man do we need it; leaking £55K/month right now.

[foost]

Anyone has his club changed to professional already?

And another guestion, what kind of training do you guys atm have? Just one general or all kind of different part time ones...

[Scab]

Yeah, Kingstonian turned professional at the start of this first League 2 season.

I've left the training as-is on the defaults. I don't bother with it as long as the players are only part-time and instead focus on minimizing injuries by keeping the training load low. Once I get everyone over on full-time contracts I'll start tinkering with it.

[looking busy]

Just want to check a few things, as i'm new to these forums and as a result the challenge. When you put your manager on holiday until 25 June, does that take out the 2009/2010 season so bascially you start in the 2010/2011 season (at work so can't remember the dates you normally start)

[Spurs1979]

Yeah Hendon turned pro at the start of League 2 also

[BingBang]

First attempt at this challenge, going to play as Tooting & Mitcham!

The transfers screen where you can see players that have been released on frees is awsome, either i didnt find that on FM08 or it wasnt there

I do find it is pretty slow tho, once clicking on a player and then clicking back to the list and a shame their doesnt seem to be any kind of filtering system to to it.

Also where is this transfer screen of released players? I can't find it?

[jcalton]

Just want to check a few things, as i'm new to these forums and as a result the challenge. When you put your manager on holiday until 25 June, does that take out the 2009/2010 season so bascially you start in the 2010/2011 season (at work so can't remember the dates you normally start)

Yes, thats right. You skip the 09/10 season so that the promotions and relegations can take place, and then you can take control of a previously unplayable team.

[Scab]

We just couldn't do it the easy way, could we?

[looking busy]

Yes, thats right. You skip the 09/10 season so that the promotions and relegations can take place, and then you can take control of a previously unplayable team.

Which are the ones in the list on the first page, yes? Sorry if i'm asking the bleeding obvious but just want to make sure i'm right.

[jcalton]

Which are the ones in the list on the first page, yes? Sorry if i'm asking the bleeding obvious but just want to make sure i'm right.

That's right, yes. It will normally be the teams with the highest reputation, so have a look at the league table for the BSS or BSN, and you should be able to pick out which teams have been promoted!

[hamilton162]

Correct looking busy

[looking busy]

Cheers folks, will start this tonight. Another thing for Mrs Busy to get anoyed about, she already loathes FM.
Think i'll go for Hemel Hempstead as they are the nearest to where i live

[hamilton162]

You may have to spend quite a while reloading to get Hemel Hempstead as they have a very low rep of 750 unfortunately

[looking busy]

You may have to spend quite a while reloading to get Hemel Hempstead as they have a very low rep of 750 unfortunately

I'll see how it goes. I've printed the list out so if they aren't there the first or second time, i'll choose a different one

[Spurs1979]

Hendon are going all French this season, oooo la la!

[unitedmadandy]

decided to play the challenge again this year.

you are now looking at the new manager of Dartford

[Hexhamlad]

Promoted first season with Truro City, currently won the first 5 in the BSP. I will post a big update after a few more seasons.

[Jazzfusion]

Hendon are going all French this season, oooo la la!

One of my backroom staff recommended Vincent Fernandez, he's been brilliant since he singed

[DC321]

I'll see how it goes. I've printed the list out so if they aren't there the first or second time, i'll choose a different one

You'd be looking at one or two hundred times to get Hemel I'm afraid

[Spurs1979]

Hendon 2013/2014 League 2 Pre-Season Review

Well after being right down in the bottom 5 for all of last season I really went into this summer's transfer window determined to be ruthless and remove those in my squad who simply were not good enough & replace them with some real quality players who can help the club push up the table. The biggest change I have made is switching from the 4132 that got me promoted from BSN & BSP in 2 seasons and going with a 41221 formation with AMR & AML to provide the ammunition for a loan striker.

The key to this decision was that I feel my central midfielders to be better then last year and I don't feel the need to swamp the central area in hope of breaking teams down so decided we can afford to be slightly more aggressive and play wider across the pitch in a bid to stretch teams better and contain possession better in order to avoid us being under so much preassure as we were last season.

Coming into the club were 14 players of which 3 were loan signings to give me some more backup to my first team squad, again we had no money to spend so every transfer was for nothing (although the screenshot shows a player signing for £1k the deal was £0k & 50% sell on fee). The best signing I feel is a young French regen called Jean-Pierre Lenormand who signed on a bosman after being released by AS Saint-Etienne in the summer. He will be partnered in central midfield by fellow new signings Ross Rioch (released by Hearts) and fellow Frenchman Florian Moulet (Released by Marseille).

We also signed a 3rd Frenchman in centre back Mathieu Galvan who was also released by Marseille in the summer. We kept up our raid on the foreign leagues by trialling various players and opting to sign four more Danish youngsters to give the squad some width as we had a very narrow minded squad due to the previous tactic we used.

My hopes are to finish mid table this season, I certainly feel more confident at this stage then I did last year as we have concluded our transfers before the first game and I feel the squad has far more talent in it and depth.

Transfers

Trials

[Spurs1979]

One of my backroom staff recommended Vincent Fernandez, he's been brilliant since he singed

Have just sold him, did well for me in the BSP but struggled in League 2 I found, good player though for a free signing

[DanGLiverpool]

Ok, so those 8 games in 28 days wasn't too bad as it turned out

5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the 8 games, and I am now 14 points away from relegation, with 6 games to go, so almost made safety. Also 14 points off the playoffs.

[JonnyCurrie]

Why o why? What on earth have I done as yet?

[craigjuk]

Bedford Town Pre Season

A busy 6 weeks or so for new manager Craig Jones both on and off the pitch. Off the pitch Jones quickly brought in his new backroom team to support him in the season to come, the main aquisition being ex player Adrian Littlejohn, who became assistant manager. Although he has no experience in management, Jones has put his faith in him, only time will tell if this gamble pays off.

New signings came flying in as Jones strengthened his squad with no less than 10 players, giving the side plenty of depth aswell as hopefully a couple of key players to give the side some much needed firepower. Upfront was the main area of concern, Jones only had 2 strikers, neither were good enough. 4 new strikers arrived at the club, and the signings of Andy Atkin and Christiano Kisuka really excited the fans when they were unveiled in a joint press conference. Hopefully these two can form a formidable strike partnership for the club.

On the field Bedford played 3 friendlies to prerpare for the season, the first a 1-0 defeat at home to cambridge which was played by a side mainly made up of trialists. With a few more signings at the club when Bedford played Barrow in their 2nd game Jones was expecting a better performance from his side, which they delivered even though again they lost 1-0. Bedford dominated the 2nd half but were just unable to break down the premier divisions defence. The final friendly saw a near full house down at the New Eyrie to see premier league Birmingham send their reserve side. The side was a mixture of first team squad players and youth players. After a scoreless first half Birmingham opened the scoring shortly after the break. Jones made a couple of substitutions and sent on another striker much to the delight of the home fans. In the 92nd minute Bedford equalised, and sent the bumper crowd wild. A fantastic team peformance infront of nearly 3000 people a week before the season starts, a great way to get prepared for the season ahead.

With the local media predicting a 21st placed finish for Bedford the aim is purely to avoid relegation, but with a few shrewd moves in the summer by Jones, and promise in pre-season a higher placed finish wouldn't come as a surprise to those within the club.

[Steviedaniels]

Good work Dan

[DanGLiverpool]

Safety is secured with 4 games to spare. Lets get some positive results out of them, and I might try out a few different players on the last game, but not before as my next 3 games are against 2nd, 3rd and 1st. Still can have an influence in who goes up automatically after all as 2 points seperate those three teams. Thank god I am not in a position where I would have needed results.

[Steviedaniels]

Best of luck for the season Craig, I think we are the only two posting who are managing Bedford so interested too see how you get on, Im 8 games into the season so far

[Kazpeer]

I draw Crawley in the 4th qual round in the FA-cup. Crawley is in the BSP and i am in the BSS. Will post a screenshot of the game in 2 min.

[Punchdrunk]

Quick update on my first season with Ashton.

4 games left of the season to go. I'm lying outside the play-offs in 6th but only 4 points behind first.
8 points separate the top 9 so this is going to be tight to say the least!

[Kazpeer]

I draw Crawley in the 4th qual round in the FA-cup. Crawley is in the BSP and i am in the BSS. Will post a screenshot of the game in 2 min.

Nice game!

Drew Lincoln in the first round. They are in league 2 but are placed as 23th.

[Steviedaniels]

Nice work mate good luck against Lincoln

[Thebaker]

I'll see how it goes. I've printed the list out so if they aren't there the first or second time, i'll choose a different one

don't forget to save on the 24th so you can reload, i reloaded 30 times, only 3 teams were less than 1200 and none under 1050. to get hemel you have to either be very patient or lucky. Alternatively you could holiday several seasons in as some lower rep teams do then appear.

[craigjuk]

Best of luck for the season Craig, I think we are the only two posting who are managing Bedford so interested too see how you get on, Im 8 games into the season so far

Cheers mate, just won my first league game 3-0 should've been more so a good start, but off out now so cant keep up my momentum! Good luck.

[looking busy]

don't forget to save on the 24th so you can reload, i reloaded 30 times, only 3 teams were less than 1200 and none under 1050. to get hemel you have to either be very patient or lucky. Alternatively you could holiday several seasons in as some lower rep teams do then appear.

Will do. If they don't then my back up is Bedford as they are the next closest.

If we were starting in the 2009/2010 season then would have chosen AFC Fylde, as that's where i grew up and used to play for the Junior team many moons ago

[looking busy]

Best of luck for the season Craig, I think we are the only two posting who are managing Bedford so interested too see how you get on, Im 8 games into the season so far

If i can't get Hemel after a couple of tries i'll be going for Bedford

[DanGLiverpool]

Put out a second string 11, and drew 1-1. Ended up 20th with 54 points, and a GD of -2. Least goals conceded outside of the top 4 as well, which is a good sign.

[cplpeters1900]

Will i start unemployed.. or choice one of the clubs? I'm confused :S

[looking busy]

Will i start unemployed.. or choice one of the clubs? I'm confused :S

I had to question this. Register a random name, start unemployed, go on holiday and wiz through the first season, unemployed and on holiday. Then on the 25 June 2010 retire that one, and add the manager you will then use from now on. Choose one of the teams from the list on page 1 of this thread. And away you go. Posting regular updates etc in here.

You start in the 2010/2011 season as the manager of one of the newly promoted club, one division below the blue sq. premier