[FM11] Fleckers Managment Mastermind

So then, this is my first ever Football Manager career update thread. I've always been on and off with FM, however I've really started enjoying moulding teams to the way I play (or the way I want to!) so I thought I should start a career thread.

I've never been a prolific manager, and have been few good and bad spells with various clubs, however with this game save I've started to feel like I can really help this club progress, and maybe move on to bigger and better things after. Anyway, What club have I chosen to start this long, and hopefully great career with, you ask? Well, it is.... Dunfermline!

P.S Before I start I will just say, these updates will be yearly, with perhaps the odd match update here and there for particular big wins or losses... and job offers.

Dunfermline start the season with a relatively good squad, however they have no finances for transfers or much of a wage budget. The infrastructure of the staff is decent, not good nor bad. They have a few good players in Goalkeeper Chris Smith, Willie Gibson and a versatile wing back Callum Woods who can play on either side. However, they lack an outstanding center half and throughout the oncoming season it really showed...

As I mentioned earlier, the club don't have a lot of money spare to improve the squad and I found it hard to work with the wage budget when it came to looking for scouts, so I didn't change to much of the infrastructure.

As we moved into pre season I employed various different tactics, some worked well, some not so much. In the end I decided on an attacking 4-4-2 formation, with two wingers to help support the attackers, it showed much inconsistency but I stuck with my guns and in the second half of the season it really started to pay off....

At this point of the season we really picked up form, and were playing with confidence. We only lost once in a long spell and this put us within a few points of leaders Dundee. It was a shame that out poor defending against them at there place cost us a point, or maybe 3 but it was still a great spell of form. At the end of december I really started to believe we could really challenge for promotion...

When I look back at the last point of the season, I underestimated how important that draw against Queen Of The South was. We were very poor that game and I think I was looking towards to the big match against Hearts a bit too much and I shouldn't have rested a few of our better players. However, there was still a long time to go in the season and I was confident we could still put in a strong challenge for promotion. The trouble with the end of the season here was we were playing with a lot of pressure on our backs even though we weren't top of the table, and it was the draws which really cost us.

The final nail in the coffin though was the two games in March against Dundee and Partick Thistle, we were very poor in both and after that we didn't deserve to go up. By April Dundee had already gained a a big lead at the top of the table, and we were just dropping off, and it was the draw against Queen of the South which confirmed we were out of the running, and Dundee had won the title.

Overall, It was a good season and we finished just below were the media predicted us (3rd) but above where the board and fans wanted us. I couldn't help but feel dissapointed though as we were so close to clinching top spot in December but let it slip with some very poor performances.

I was delighted to get this. Considering how well Dundee and Falkirk have performed this year aswell, but it was nice to see we got some of the limelight.

Again, I was very please that some of our players got recognition for a decent year of football, although I was surprised to see Chris Smith in there as he didn't stand out for me, and infact it was Andy Kirk who really stood out in our squad.

There was absoloutely no money to work with at the start of the season so I only took on one player in June, Benedict Akwuegbu. He was somewhat a disspointment through the season and only got a few goals. The start signing was definetly Corry Evans in January a versatile defender from Man Utd and he impressed me a lot, and was very happy when they agreed to let him out on loan again at the end of the season for a year. At the end of the season I had to let go of a few players go as we really needed the money, hopefully it won't affect the team to much.

It seems the board are happy with my managment and they have offered me a two year extension on my new deal. I still have a lot of work to do with this club and I can see a long term future so I'm very please the club have shown trust in me.

I feel we can really push on next year and try and get into the SPL. It will be hard, but after last year we showed a great deal of promise. Next season update coming soon...

Any and all feedback welcome. Just played a BIG match for Dunfermline, and will be making an update soon about it...

Looks very promising do far. I shall keep an eye on it

Firstly I'd like to say I've decided against updating this yearly and infact every half season (August - Jan, Jan - July) as I'm quite slow at getting through games normally and I feel it will give people a better look at how I'm progressing. So here the update of the 2011/2012 season to January 1st.

Alas! A signing where actuall money was exchanged! Unfortunatly It wasn't me spending the money, infact it was Motherwell paying out wide midfielder David Graham. He didn't really impress me through the season, despite him being one of the clubs more valuable assets. I could have kept hold of him, but I decided it would help the clubs finances slightly.

The other departure was, Team Of The Year Goalkeeper, Chris Smith. I was pretty desperate to keep hold of him but his contract was due to be renewed and he wanted £1,200 I just couldn't bring myself to offer that much to him to let him go.

Lastly I bought in 3 new players in Bob Malcolm, Scott Ross and Balde Boubacar. All free's however Boubacar has been a great signing for me and Ross and Malcolm have put in a few good shifts, sadly Bob Malcolm was injured fairly soon after his arrival, fortunatly I signed him more as a back up for Corry Evans in the Holding Midfielder role.

As you can I see, I decided to really try and cash in with Pre-Season by arranging us to play some big sides like Man City, and Spurs. Another money maker was the pre-season tournament which was televised.

As for results they were pretty poor in pre season, not recording one win. I think it was fair to say after a long Pre-season We couldn't wait to get underway and thankfully we started the campaign with a good win against Morton and by this point we had already got through to the second round of the Challenge Cup. After a blip against Hamilton we started to hit form and looked into September with confidence...

After a good start to the season we started to push on in the league and got some good wins under our belt, and we were going well in both the League and Challange Cup, unfortunatly we were draw against Celtic and they gave us a Footballing Lesson but it gave us a chance to focus on the league and seemingly pointless Challenge Cup but, pointless or not, we had progressed well and had made to the Final in which we would have to play a dogged Stirling Side...

So then my first trophy as Dunfermline Manager, and in obvious fashion, it was an incredebly dull game with few chances but a win is a win and a Trophy is a Trophy. Hopefully there will be more to come!

Thankfully the cup win didn't cause our league cammpaign too much harm and after a few good and bad reults in November we got straight back on a winning run scoring 7 and conceding 0!

So there we are, the 1st on January, and 1st in the League. It's been a very good start to the season, with some faults but overall brilliant performances left and right. I'd like us to have a bit more of a gap at this point but Queen of the Sth have been very good aswell and I just hope we don't let out good form drop. Also Just take a look at Brechin... 5 points from 22 games is the worst record I've ever seen I think!

So then there we are. I won't be updating for a few days but I will try and get a few more games under my belt and maybe... just maybe seal promotion...

Going very well there Saint.

Solid first season and destined for promotion in the second. Keep up the good work.

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What a season! We absoloutely ran away with the title, and actually won it on the 4th April with a great win away from home against a good Ross County side. As you can see we completely took our foot of the pedal for the last few weeks and lost against Falkirk and Queen of Sth, but to be honest I couldn't care less! We won the league and a cup and I was delighted. I was hopefully we will survive up in the SPL and stay up then move on fowards.

There we are, run away winners 11 points infront of our nearest challengers. I think the biggest surprise of the season was Partick Thistle being 8th as they actually impressed me very much when we come up against them, I guess that's football though. Time to look onto next season and Scottish Premier League football at Dunfermline...

Pretty chuffed about that! Second year in the row I have won manager of the year. I also got a few manager of the months which is always great.

Not really surprised McDougall got in team of the year. He was sensational year round and quite rightly got a new contract.

Well to say this was a surprise would be an understatment! This was just a few weeks after the season ended and was very much looking to bring in some players for Dunfermline, albeit with little funds. Yet Inverness parted company with there manager and offered me a very tempting Wage and the fact that it would be a step up. Although I was tempted I didn't want to leave Dunfermline just yet as we were newly promoted and I wanted to try and pit my wits up against the likes of Celtic and Rangers. So I declined. Would I regret this in 4 months time in a relegation dogfight? I didn't know...

A strange one this was, I'm surprised that the ... Elche board (whoever they are...) would look into signing a foreign manager. I did look into the club and players and felt I would be in a worse position than at Dunfermline, so I graciosily declined and waited patiently for the new season. However something was happening in America...

Another strange surprise. Real Salt Lake had just sacked there manager and offered me a tempting position in the, ever-growing, MLS. This was probably the most tempting offer I'd been offered as I didn't want to manage in the same league as Dunfermline if I was to leave. However, I felt like loyalty was key to succes and declined yet another job offer.

Thankfully, this was the last of the job offers and I think I showed the Dunfermline board that I really want the club to grow, no matter how little they invest! I hope the team repay my loyalty with a good performance this season. Also, all these job offers were within a few weeks of eachother and the last one was within a few weeks of the season but I'm not going to do a league update until I get the SPL season out the way, but let me just say the pre-season and first few games have been uhm.... interesting...

Well done Saint and admirable loyalty.

I will be doing an update of the 2012/2013 season soon. I'll give you a hint to how it went... Does anyone remember Derby in the Premier League a few years ago?...

just saw your thread in the LLM forum (though it should of gone in the General discussion). Oh dear......

I will be doing an update of the 2012/2013 season soon. I'll give you a hint to how it went... Does anyone remember Derby in the Premier League a few years ago?...

Yes. They were ****.

A new season. A new update style...

Final League Table 2012/2013

1-Rangers-80

2-Hearts-70

3-Dundee Utd-69

4-Celtic-67

5-Dundee-64

6-Motherwell-61

------------------------------

7-Hibernian-52

8-Inverness-42

9-Aberdeen-42

10-St Mirren-42

11-St Johnstone-27

12-Dunfermline-12

To put it blunt, we were rubbish. Two wins in all competitions, one in the league, one in the cup. I completely underestimated how much the step up from First Division to the SPL was and I payed for it. However, I won't take all the blame, the board gave me less than 100k to improve the squad, and that was with the wage budget being at a minimum.

I think the less said about this season the better. I can't really think of many positives from this season. I guess it was always going to be hard to compete but I didn't think that hard.

When the season finished I'm afraid to say I actually resigned as manager. I had become very angry at the players, staff and boardroom throughout the season. From the lack of commitment from the players, and lack of funds and really lack of help from boardroom and staff. So right now I'm in search of a club. I'm siaapointed to have left Dunfermline on a bad note as I really hoped to bring succes to the club but that's how it goes. I always seem to have trouble with promoted clubs so I guess I should have expected such a bad season!

And there we are, season 2012/2013 come's to an end. I'm going to have a little break from this save maybe, however I'd like to see who's intrested in taking me on. Hopefully by the next update I will have had more luck.

P.S. I hope people like the new more simplistic type of update. In future I will make it more detailed with the odd pre-match interview or comments on new signings, and a few screenies here and there. Just in case you haven't realised; Red means relegated and Lime means in a european competition.

I leave you with another glance back at the table... Celtic... at 4th?!

Unlucky, stay determined and persistent and eventually you will reach your goal.

I'm sure any Rangers fans would love you putting them in green writing.

Bad luck with the promotion...12 points is pretty abysmal

Hope you can bounce back up

After resigning from Dunfermline in mid-July, I went about looking for a club willing to take me on. I had an offer from a few foreign clubs however the most standout offer was definetly Watford. However, don't get too excited. By the time they had a managerial role on offer it was already October and were deep in the mire of a relegation battle, not in the Championship but infact League 1. There are some big teams in League 1 so I had a look into the finances and squad and it was clear they were underperforming very badly, and with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton, Millwall and MK Dons down there it would be a tricky league to challenge in. In any case I decided that it would be a wise move to manage in England and decided to accept. So here we go...

From Wikipedia

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets (or, more colloquially, The 'Orns). Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the team entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade later. After finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The club played at several grounds in its early history, before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922, where it remains to this day

I started managing in Mid-October with the club in 21st Position and seemingly in for a long, hard season. However, the fans needn't have worried, after a few games and a few great result, it was clear that we had a truly great set of players and staff and with a boardroom which were willing to part with a bit of money the club show great potential. The matter at hand though was to push up the league and finish with a respectable position, after a bad start.

Although, any fears of relegation was almost completely dimiished by late december as we had cemented a place in the top half and knocking on the door of the play-off places. With Sheffield Wednesday just 2 points ahead of us, going into the Christmas period. Although, a bad draw at home to Doncaster cost us a bit of ground on Wednesday and, frustratingly dropped us down to 8th for the next month.

I didn't make any signings in the January window as the squad as a whole were performing well week in week out and I didn't want to change the squad harmony. We moved through the Winter period slowly moving up the table and by late Febuary we were up to second, by this point I felt that Promotion was there for the taking. So predictably we completely took our foot of the pedal. By the last two weeks of the season we had dropped all the way down to 7th position with Leyton Orient just above us.

We went into the last two weeks of the season needing a massive turnaround with Orient needing to lose atleast one and draw one. Fortunatly they had too play two very tough games against Swindon and MK Dons, who were fighting for there lives. On the penultimate game of the season we played Barnsley away from home and won 3-1 with a great performance from Striker Troy Deeney scoring two. It came into the the last game of the Season with us having to play Wallsall at home, A point would be enough aslong as MK Dons beat Orient. This was by far the most edgy 0-0 draw I have ever come across, with all the tension coming from the other game wear MK Dons saved our's and there own season winning 4-3.

So we had made it to 6th place, well above what was expected of us, yet I was dissapointed that we had made it so hard for ourselves when we could easily have got automatic promotion. Anyway, we moved into the Play-Off semi's against Sheffield Wednesday. We had the first leg at home, and even though we had home advantage Wednesday were clear faviourites, it took the pressure off us and I think really helped us just get down to performing well and getting a great 3-1 win, putting us in a great position for the second leg.

In the second leg, I wasn't expecting a win, if anything I was praying for a draw, yet the team completely controlled the game and a brilliant performance from Will Buckley saw us through to win 5-1!

We were to be playing Brighton in the Final. Brighton finished just 3 points above us, and the bookies made them slight faviorites however, I always felt it was ours to lose after the brilliant performances against Sheffield Wednesday. It was a very tight and edgy game with most of the action in the second half. We took a one goal lead in the first half, but in the second, Brighton pegged us back to lead 2-1 heading into the last 20 minutes. On the 75 minute mark we suddenly put ourselves back into the driving seat with Danny Graham scoring a penalty and we really pushed on after that. The 'Keeper really kept them in the match then, until the 88th minute when Will Buckley scored a truly wonderous goal to seal promotion. We won the game 3-2 in the end and very much deserved the victory.

Overall it was a good season, although it could have been so much better. You have to look at where we started the season, down in 21st to then gain Promotion via the play-offs it was quite and acheivment. Hopefully I will have more luck in the Championship than I did with Dunfermline in the SPL.

Dunfermline - They finished the season in second place in the SPL. Four points behind winners Morton.

Final League Table

1.Charlton-88

2.Swindon-80

-----------------------------------------

3.Sheff Wed-78

4.Brighton-76

5.Southend-73

6.Watford-73

-----------------------------------------

7.Leyton Orient-72

8.Tranmere-69

9.Preston-67

10.Bury-66

11.Notts County-65

12.Barnsley-62

13.Bournemouth-62

14.Rotherham-61

15.Millwall-60

16.Gillingham-59

17.Exeter-54

18.Doncaster-53

19.Accrington-52

20.MK Dons-50

---------------------------------------

21.Wallsall-48

22.Chesterfield-47

23.Brentford-41

24.Rochdale-40

New update will be coming in the next few days... along with a new title hopefully

I just skimmed through this thread a bit rapidly, but been quite entertaining so far. Scotland and its appalling, rubbish football ( ) interests me and I'd like to have a go at it one day. Too bad things didn't go well for your Dunfermline side in the top division, but good luck with Watford, I'm confident you won't repeat the Dunfermline stunt and will make them stay up.

Jheeze, just read this and was gonna comment congratulating you on the cup win and promotion, then saw you were extremely loyal, then read the relegation story and then I certainly didn't expect promotion when you joined Watford! Great rollercoaster career, hope you stay up

Think you shoulda stayed in Scottish football

How much wage budget did you get? Think alot of free transfers from Lower-championship/L1 clubs might have saved you