[FM11] The Berwick Beauties

Background

Loaded up 11.2.1

All Scottish leagues with a Large Database (9000 Players)

Normally, I play Journeyman careers, but thought I'd like to do a different challenge until all the creases have been ironed out with the job reputation problems etc.

Aim

Within 10 seasons, take a Scottish Division 3 team and get them into Europe.

Season 2010/11

I decided to start at

I signed a two-year

In summary, I inherited a decent squad and I thought with a few new faces we would be competitive. I brought in 1 defender, 3 midfielders and 2 strikers to try and baulk up the squad. I released all the deadwood and completely re-organised the backroom

As I thought, we were competitive. Montrose aside, I thought any of the other 9 teams in the league could get promoted. We were up near the top all season, but like the other teams, we were consistently inconsistent. With 8 games to go we were

We then went on to bottle it with only 1 win in the next 5 games. When ended up finishing

We won 2-1 at their ground and survived a nervous

The

I was

Season Summary

3rd Division 2nd P 36 W 21 D 6 L 9 GD +27 PTS 69

Challenge Cup 2nd Round (v Morton)

Co-op Cup 1st Round (v Ross County)

Scottish Cup 4th Round (v Ross County)

Biggest win

Finances are good and I sign a new contract on £575 p/w.

NB. Please note I am halfway through my second season when writing this up, so apologies if a bit sketchy. Wanted to make sure I could commit to the save before writing anything up!

2011/12- Season 2 Berwick Rangers

The media predicted us to finish 8th in the 2nd Division. I thought this was more than possible and would be aiming top 5. Made a few

After some encouraging pre-season friendlies, we started well in the

November 13th 2011 was a

At the half way point of the season, we are still sitting top of the

Season 2011/12 cont...

Unfortunately, the much anticipated Cup match vs Partick didn't get the attendance I hoped for, but it was still a decent performance against a bigger full-time team.

Now we were out of all the cups, I was happy to focus on the league. I was confident of getting a Top 4 finish and getting into the play-offs again. I also sign a nice shiny new contract. I also got approached by Peterhead after they sacked their manager after a takeover. I'm staying put tho...

With 5 games to go we had secured our playoff place, but our form was all over the place so I wasn't too sure where we would finish. We had a tricky run-in, having to go away to Peterhead, Ayr and Alloa as well as playing our main promotion rivals, Dumbarton, at home.

We played really well to win 2-0 away at Peterhead, but bottled-it in a feisty encounter with Dumbarton losing 2-1. This result levelled us and Dumbarton at the top of the table. Our goal difference was significantly better so we just had to match their results in the last 2 games to go up automatically as champions.

We lost 1-0 to Ayr and then scrapped a lucky 0-0 with Alloa. Dumbarton lost both of their games, so we were promoted by 1 point! It hard to believe that a team that only won 5 out of their last 14 games were good enough to win the league. The standard is pretty poor and inconsistent to say the least!!!

It will be Berwick first season in Div 1 since the 1980/81 season.

I was really pleased with my defence this season, having conceded the least amount of goals in the division. Hopefully this will continue next season. I will also need to add a consistent goalscorer as my top goalscorer only scored 11 goals this season.

Fans Player of the Year was Matty Hughes who was the rock in my defence. I get Manager of the Year again.

Season Summary

Division 2 1st (P 36 W 16 D 15 L 5 GD +23 PTS 63)

Co-op Cup 1st Round (vs Dumbarton)

Challenge Cup Runners Up (vs Dunfermline)

Scottish Cup 4th Round (vs Partick Thistle)

It will be a lot tougher next season in the First Division playing against big full-time team such as Dundee and Dunfermline, so I hope with a few decent signings, we won't be the whipping boys of the league.

Season 3- 2012/13 Berwick Rangers

Euro 2012- Winners Italy against England after extra time.

I am not overly confident going into the season. We are predicted to finish bottom by the media, and we are big outsiders for promotion. The board agree and ask to battle against relegation, which seems fair enough to me.

Transfers wise, I bring in 3 decent-ish players but nothing outstanding for this level. My scouts are not unturning the gems they were in previous seasons, so unfortunately I am going to have to battle with the small young squad I've got. As in previous seasons, I let a lot of useless players go on frees and also get in some new staff, including a new Assistant who will hopefully help develop my young squad. Finances are still good and I'm way under the wage budget, I just wish I could find some players to bring in!

We start the season well with 2 cup wins and a 3-2 win in the league away to Greenock Morton where we were 3-0 up! After 2 defeats in the league, we then go and win 2-0 in the cup away to Queen of the South who were a SPL side last season. They were all over us but I'm pleased with the snatch 'n' grab style victory. Next up in the cup are Celtic. Ironically, we outplay Celtic but still lose 2-0. What goes around comes around springs to mind. The gate receipts are a handy sweetner though!

After 9 games we are doing much better than expected but it is close. A couple of bad results will see us slip down the table quickly. Dunfermline, who are bottom, were the media favourites to win the league, so this proves how unpredictable Scottish football is (or how bad the media are)!

I'm also really pleased to see a big increase in attendances. We're now averaging 1500 compared to the 400/500 who were coming in to see us in Div 2 and Div 3. Only downside is that stadium is starting to fall-down...

It seems that my team has a taste for cup football. After a

Berwick Rangers win the ALBA Challenge Cup. The board are very non-plussed about it but I'm happy with the silverware in the trophy cabinet.

In other cup news, we reached the Quarters of the Scottish Cup but lose on a replay to Motherwell. The highlight was a 2-1 win over SPL side St. Johnstone in the 5th round. We were all over them!

I'm concerned that the stadium is still falling down... We only rent the stadium and the board are reluctant to buy the stadium. However, they have agreed to improve the training facilities, which is better than nothing.

In the league we finish 6th. I'm happy with this but it could have been higher. We were in the top 3 for 2/3 of the season, went off the boil towards the end. It's going to be difficult to get promotion from Div 1 as only 1 team gets promoted to the SPL and we are slightly out of our depth at the moment. With an average age of 22 I will be looking for some experienced players in the off-season.

I get Manager of the Year which I think is quite harsh on the Dundee manager. My goalkeeper gets in the Div 1 Team of the Year and my temperental Argie striker is voted Player of the Year by the fans. It has taken him 3 seasons to find his scoring boots!

Everyone is happy so I sign a new 2 year contract extension which I hope will give me job security to build for the SPL.

2012/13 Season Summary

1st Div -6th (P36 W16 D7 L13 GD-4 PTS 55)

ALBA Challenge Cup- Winners

Co-op Cup- 3rd Round (vs Celtic)

Scottish Cup- Quarter Final Replay (vs Motherwell)

Bring on next season, hoping for another year of consolidation.

2013/14 Berwick Rangers- Season 4

So after a solid mid-table finish last season, I was hoping to build on this and aim for the top 3. The media consider us long-shots and the board only wanted me to avoid relegation which I thought was definately achievable with the squad I've assembled. Finances were looking good overall and I still had a fair chunk of my wage budget to play with. For once, I decided against whole-sale changes in my backroom staff and kept things as they were. The reason being I don't think I could get anyone better in for the level we are at the moment. My training facilities have been upgraded to 'adequate' and the board have agreed to improve the youth facilities, after I had to convince them 'basic' was not good enough!

We had an amazing start with the pre-season friendlies, including a 3-0 win over Rangers. I couldn't believe this! We started well in the league and after 9 games we were 2 points clear at the top of the table. Teams are finding it difficult to score against us, and now with 4 decent strikers, the team look more potent in front of goal compared to last season.

For the third season in the row, we reach the ALBA Challenge Cup final. Now I'm not sure if this cup really means anything to the participating teams in real life, but I'm really proud of this achievement. For some reason, this season's final is played at the Stadion der Stadt St.Polten which is in Austria?!

Anyway, in a close game against Ayr, we win 1-0 to defend the trophy. The fans are really pleased but the board aren't too bothered again. Do they even care at all? I would have thought I would have made it on to favoured personnel by now. On a negative note, my promising winger gets injured in the final and is now out for 4 months. Rubbish!

At the half point, here's a summary of my transfers so far, and in the league, we are still top with a four point lead and having only conceded 8 goals. I'm waiting for the wheels to fall off....

2013/14 cont...

Well what a season this turned out to be! After our success in the ALBA Challenge Cup, we draw Hearts in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final. In a very competitive match, we beat them 3-2 but only just hang on for the last couple of minutes. In the Semi-Final we draw Dumbarton, who are in Div 2. We are favourites, which I think is a bad omen. I think we're better suited as underdogs and I am nearly proven right as we scrape a 1-1 but go on to win on penalties after missing our first two spotkicks. We are through to the Scottish Cup final!

Meanwhile, in Division 1, we continue our good start and remain top of the table all season. However, after a couple of poor results, we didn't clinch our promotion and the Division 1 Championship until Matchday 35 where we beat second-place Ross County 3-0. SPL here we come! We set a record for the most amount of points in a Division 1 season. The board, fans and players are delighted and I'm finally on the favoured personnel list! In the end, we end up winning by 11 points. A great result with the best defence in the league! This is a record high for Berwick too.

Cheekily, Inverness CT make an approach for me. Even with huge budgets and a big wage increase, I tell them where to go!

So last game of the season is the Scottish Cup final against Rangers. I don't think we have a chance so decide to try and play attacking football to try and catch them out. In our historic final, we lose a close game 1-0 but I am pleased with the effort the players have put in to make a competitive match. However, it seems that we might have become slightly too agressive in our plight!

To my surprise, we have qualified for the Europa League. As Rangers had qualified for the Champions League, we get their Cup Winners place. I thought it would have gone to an SPL team? We are going to have a lot to balance next season, and Europe may be too much of a distraction as I will want to just concentrate on staying up!

I'm named Manager of the Season again. Two of my players make Team of the Year. The fans decide our solid centre-back should be Player of the Year but I'm convinced it should be our creative young winger, even though he missed 4 months with an injury. He is definitely one to watch!

Completely out of the blue, we are hit with a £7m bill to install undersoil heating to our stadium to comply with SPL regulations. This hits our finances hard and sends us seriously into the red. We also have to ground-share with non-league side Tranent at Foresters Park while this work is completed. They only have a capacity of 2300 so our gate receipts are going to be horrendous next year too. Oh, and the board decide to pull the plug on my youth facilities expansion too. I can't wait to get back to Shielfield Park (in 10 months time!)

Luckily, the board restructure the debt (Chairman Loan £5m) and re-negotiate some sponsorship deals, so are just back into the black in time for the new season but I'm not convinced its enough money to make us competitive.

Season Summary

Scottish Division 1: Winners (P36 W23 D7 L6 GD +35 PTS 76)

ALBA Challenge Cup: Winners

Coop Cup: 2nd Round (vs Queen Of The South)

Scottish Cup: Runners Up (vs Rangers)

Next season really is going to be groundbreaking for the club. First ever season in SPL and Europe, as well as the renovations to Shielfield Park and financial constraints, I really do not know what to expect! But I'm looking forward to it!

2014/15 Season 5- Berwick Rangers

After our promotion last year, my main aim for this season was just to maintain our SPL league status. Thankfully the board decided to turn the club

Season

Wages

2014 World Cup News- England win 3-2 against Brazil in the

Back to Berwick now. After being Runners-Up in the Scottish Cup, we find ourselves in the Europa League Qualifying Rounds and another historic moment for the club.

We dispatch FC Baku of Azerbaijan

In the league, the fixture list computer was quite kind to us giving us 7 home matches in our first 11. This meant there was some games I was hopeful we could win...and we did!

The highlights were a

2014/15 cont...

Our good form in the league continued into the New Year. My mentality of trying to have a go at the opposition was paying off in the most, especially in a

Come the end of March, the

When the league split at the

Cups were a bit disappointing this year. We couldn't reproduce our normal cup performance and went out in to

The fans decided our

After our Europa League endeavour, we have moved up to

Just as I started to prepare for next season, this

I also won another

Season Summary

SPL: 6th (P38 W16 D8 L14 GD-4 PTS56)

Co-op Cup: 3rd Round (vs Hibernian)

Scottish Cup: Quarter Finals Replay (vs Dundee)

Europa League: 4th Qualifying Round (vs Racing)

Next season my main aim is to get my hands on a striker thats going to score 20 goals a season. Hopefully we will retain SPL status and I would be really pleased to reach the group stages of the Europa League. Hopefully we should increase our average attendance from the 3785 we got for this season as we'll get a full season with the bigger capacity at Shielfield Park. This should help increase the bank balance to a position where I can continue to improve the squad and the facilities.

2015/16 Season 6 - Berwick Rangers

After our top half finish last season, I was hopeful of more of the same. I wanted to get in a few new faces to freshen the team up but not too many to unsettle the balance. The

Unfortunately, we didn't make to the groups stages of the Europa League as I had hoped. We got

We were competitive again in the league. We would go on a nice run of 5/6 games unbeaten and then get too cocky and then lose 2 on the bounce. Highlights included beating Hibs

Season Summary

SPL: 4th (P38 W18 D10 L10 GD+17 PTS64)

Europa League: 4th Qualifying Round (vs Stuttgart 1-6 on agg)

Co-op Cup: 3rd Round (vs Inverness 0-1)

Scottish Cup: 5th Round (vs Rangers 0-1)

Improvements to training and youth facilities were completed and (at last) a

I'm disappointed that 2 of my most experience first team players did not want to renew their contracts and will leave on frees in the summer. How dare they!

Next season I will need to invest heavily in the squad. Potentially, it could be weaker due to the departures of two key players, and it is apparent we are not going to get anywhere in Europe with the players we've got and certainly won't be challenging Rangers and Celtic for the league anytime soon. As the average attendance was up to 5025, I'm hoping that the stadium might get expanded too if I'm lucky!

Euro 2016 (Hosts: France)

Surprising to see Bosnia & Herzegovina in the knockout stages. Spain demolished the Italians

2016/17 Season 7 - Berwick Rangers

After finishing 4th last term, I was hopeful that we could consolidate our position in the top 4. The

With a lot of players wanting out, I had to get a lot of new faces in. I knew this would be risky as I didn't wanted to unsettle the team too much, but I still had to make sure we would have a squad that could compete at the top of the league.

12 new players joined the club for a total of £1.2m (the most money I've spent- got a bit sweaty over this!) The stand out player was:

The new players took a while to settle in and gel with their teammates (as expected) but as my tactics remained un-changed from last season, we managed to scrape together enough results to hover between

Unfortunately, the 'European Dream' didn't materialise this season either. We got knocked out by Spurs in the 4th Qualifying Round (again!), talk about being drawn against one of the best teams in the competition (they reached the Semis!). Completely outplayed 5-2 in the first leg, we at least managed an morale boosting 2-1 win at home for the second leg.

In the New Year we really pushed-on and performance improved big time, we won 11 out of 14 between February and April. The highlights included a

At the

Our last league game was at home to Rangers. They were 1 point ahead of us but we knew if we beat them we would leap-frog them into 2nd and grab the Champions League spot.

In the Scottish Cup, we made the final where we faced Celtic. However, there was no silverware on the horizon once we went down to 10 men and faced an up-hill battle. The

Season Summary

SPL: 3rd (P:38 19-10-9 GD: +16 PTS:67)

Co-op Cup: Quarter-Finals ( 1-3 vs Celtic )

Europa League: 4th Qualifying Round ( 4-6 vs Tottenham Hotspur)

Scottish Cup: Runner's Up ( 0-2 vs Celtic)

Outstanding Players

I also signed a 2 year

Board also agree to

I think next season we might struggle to keep hold of some my star players, especially Domingo and Manual Gill who I reckon could play for top European teams. I also need a new keeper, and possibly, a centre-back as the defence wasn't as strong this season as I would have liked. I also hope that the Europa League draw is slightly more favourable to us so that we can make to the group stages... please... PLEASE!!

2017/18- Season 8 Berwick Rangers

With the increased expectations, the pressure was on to get the results this season. Unfortuately, my star midfielder Manuel Gil, decided he wanted to become 'big time' so I offloaded him to Steaua for £3m with 20% of next sales too. Not bad for someone that cost me £525k the previous season.

Key players to arrive were:

After an amazing

We had a couple of wallopings away to Olympiacos and Nancy but, in contrast, the highlight was our magnificent

Another solid season from

Scottish Cup

We sailed through the opening rounds without any trouble. Having drawn Celtic in the Semi-Finals, I was sure that our cup run would come to an end here. We gave as good as we got and lucked a

Key Players

I get awarded

Season Summary

SPL: 3rd (P38 20-11-7 GD +20 PTS 71)

Europe League: Group Stages (3rd in Group L)

Co-op Cup: Qtr Finals (1-2 vs Rangers)

Scottish Cup: Runner Up (1-2 vs Hearts)

Next season, my main concern is the defence. Having conceded 46 goals in the league, it is certainly not strong enough to be contending for top honours yet, even in Scotland! However, unless everyone decides to decides to leave, I will be making minimal signings in the summer so that the squad harmony remains good.

I've also convinced the board to buy the stadium (I say convinced, I told them I would leave if they didn't!). Even though we are still not selling out Shielfield Park (Average Attendance up to 5343), a capacity of 8500 (6000 seats) will not be enough if we are to consistently challenge the Old Firm.

World Cup 2018 (Hosts: Russia Holders: England (!))

Unfortunately, England did not prevail in the defence of their trophy after a meek performance against hosts Russia in the 2nd Round.

Unbelievably, Mexico steam-rolled to success, knocking out Brazil, Italy and Germany on their way. A 30 year old

Brief 2018/19 midseason update

Full details will come later in season summary, but its going well so far!

After beating Spartak Moscow in the qualifying round, we received a reasonable group in the

We put in some decent performances against teams with higher reputations than ours. We needed a bit of help from Parma on Matchday 6, but as they beat Stuttgart, we went through the knockout stages in 2nd place where we will face PSV. (

In the league, things are looking good too. Celtic and Rangers have made a shaky start to the campaign and we (and Hearts) are taking full advantage by leading the pack.

We have been very impressive at times. Goals have been flying in and the defence is looking pretty sturdy too.

We've had a few long term injuries which is testing the squad depth, so I will be looking to strengthen, if possible, in the January window.

Up next, we've got a HUGE six-pointer against Hearts in the league and a Co-op Cup Semi Final against Aberdeen. I will also be hoping that the 'Old Firm' don't make too much of resurgence in the run in to ruin the dreams of Champions League football. Hopefully my young team will show a bit of bottle and character and a shiny trophy will be waiting for us in May!