[FM10] From the bottom of England to the top with Bengal Tigers - 24 Divisions!

[Sun]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forums and it's already with a challenge, thanks to FCUtdWill for giving me his England LEVEL 24 league!

This in a way is the ultimate small club to big club challenge, it will take 13 years of consecutive promotions before we even get entered into the FA Cup, 23 years of consecutive promotions before I get into the Premiership, IT'S MENTAL!







The bulk of this will be screenshot based as I'm not a big fan of typing and anyway, a pictures tells 1000 words!

[Sun]

History





Team Report:





Key Player:

The first thing I'll obviously be looking to do is get in some higher quality players on frees.

[deltablue]

Wow! Best of luck.

[Sun]

Pre-Season Update:

Friendlies:



A very poor pre-season with the only victory being against our reserves, and even that game we almost lost, I brought in a decent goalkeeper and that got us a couple of draws, I just can't seem to find that goal-scorer yet.

Transfers:

Craig Humphries (GK) - Starting Goalkeeper, although he conceded 3 in a 3-2 loss to Retainers (A) in the first league game, decent attributes, will see how he gets on.

Stuart Young (DL) - Starting DL, scored both goals in the 3-2 defeat, has decent finishing and composure so might give him a game or 2 as a Striker.

Gary McPhee (ST) - Starting Striker, managed to get an assist in his first game pretty average though.

David Hogan (GK) - Backup / Rotation Goalkeeper, most experience of the higher leagues at age 20 being from Dagenham & Redbridge Reserves.

Simon Fitter (DR) - Starting DR, average stats and average performance so far.

Dean Stamp (ST) - Starting Striker, the only player to cost me any money and put in a bad performance in his first game getting a 5.6, hopefully that will only be a blip.

Michael Noakes (D/WB/AML) - Good Physicals and can play almost anywhere up the left side of the pitch.

David Colvin (AML) - Again, good physicals and great speed, got an assist in the first game and a rating of 7.9.

Sam Doswell (ML/R) - Decent physicals but didn't play in the first game.


League expectation
-------------------------

Bristol Downs League Division 4 : Board expectation - Achieve a respectable league position : Media expectation - 1st out of 14


Cup expectations
---------------------

English Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup : Semi-Final

Transfer budget : £0
Wage budget : £0
Current wage bill : £0

Season tickets sold : 4

[Sun]

Wow! Best of luck.

Thanks Deltablue!

Just to show how tight this is, here is the league table after 4 games:



In joint 8th just 1 point behind leaders!

[YOUNGSTEVE]

Sounds utterly amazing, and the lowest possible level I believe. A couple of things that I have noticed, which are no reflection on you, but seem strange. Firstly, this is an amateur side yet you are paying a fee for a player, & secondly as a park side do you think it strange that players from miles away such as Dagenham, Cinderford, & Truro etc would leave their clubs to play somewhere for signifcant cost. I expect though this is problem with the game not taking into account distances & statue of club. In fairness it never took into account going so low.

I will watch this just for the sheer scale of taking a club so low upwards. Well it certainly can't go down. Do they have all the cups in it, even if it is only the national ones, or is that asking too much.

[Sun]

Sounds utterly amazing, and the lowest possible level I believe. A couple of things that I have noticed, which are no reflection on you, but seem strange. Firstly, this is an amateur side yet you are paying a fee for a player, & secondly as a park side do you think it strange that players from miles away such as Dagenham, Cinderford, & Truro etc would leave their clubs to play somewhere for signifcant cost. I expect though this is problem with the game not taking into account distances & statue of club. In fairness it never took into account going so low.

I will watch this just for the sheer scale of taking a club so low upwards. Well it certainly can't go down. Do they have all the cups in it, even if it is only the national ones, or is that asking too much.

It has The FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, Johnstones Paint Trophy & FA Trophy along with lower down the leagues the Les Phillips Cup, Les James League Cup, Bristol Premier Combination League Cup, Bristol Downs League Norman Hardy Cup & Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup.

It doesn't have every league in it but it has the path to get from the bottom league to the top so there isn't all the local cups in it either.

[Pangaea]

As attributes in FM only go 1-20 I would imagine once you get a half-decent team together you'll fly up the leagues with few problems, seeing that people can get back-to-back promotions from level 8. Obviously you'd be in for a rather long ride if you plan to take this club all the way though

[FCUtdWill]

In joint 8th just 1 point behind leaders!

Wow, I've never seen it that close before! Nice to see my team struggling though Keep hold of Dean Stamp, he's a good player and he should get you some goals. Ignore your media prediction of 1st, it's done alphabetically as all clubs in Downs 4 have the same starting reps.

[deltablue]

Ignore your media prediction of 1st, it's done alphabetically as all clubs in Downs 4 have the same starting reps.

Would that be in single figures?

[FCUtdWill]

Would that be in single figures?

Either that or 10, I can't remember what I put for them. Was my first go making competitions so is completely different to what I'd do now.

[Sun]

2009/10 Mid-Season Update:

This isn't as bad as I thought, a team has now been assembled but as we're amateur and everything is free I'm still trying to get the highest quality players I can, I've signed some new half decent staff members as well, I'd be disappointed if we didn't get promoted at the very least.

In the Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup we have nearly made our expectations, we're currently in the Quarter Finals against Sneyd Park (A) which will be played on the 27th February, they're the league above us but I think we have enough to beat them.

[Sun]

Where are these "thousands" of fans I've been told about?

[deltablue]

What's the value of the club, if there is one?

[Sun]

What's the value of the club, if there is one?

£150 with a £475 loan debt.

[Sun]

I knew we were cheap....but £8 per month?!?

[FCUtdWill]

Where are these "thousands" of fans I've been told about?

Good question, but you've got higher attendances than you do in real life you'd be lucky to see an attendance of 20 in Div 4 of the Downs League.

I knew we were cheap....but £8 per month?!?

Only thing is that you'll be paying that loan off for a few months. Are all your players on £0 a week apart from Dean Stamp?

[Sun]

Dean Stamp is on an Amateur contract, we're not paying anything, he's not even playing anymore games, he's the worst of the 5 strikers in the team

[Johnny Drama]

nice start, good luck with this. I remember taking a teamfrom Eastern Counties Div 1 tothe Prem but this is somthing different!

[FCUtdWill]

Dean Stamp is on an Amateur contract, we're not paying anything, he's not even playing anymore games, he's the worst of the 5 strikers in the team

Ah right that's okay then. I'm surprised you managed to sign him, even for £150. He's actually meant to be a good player because Truro had him a couple of seasons ago (when fm10 was out) and scored a few goals for them.

[Sun]

Just had a first ever player offered to us! :





Pretty good too, he might challenge our 35 year old starting GK Charlie Mitten

[Sun]

Well we didn't get him, he went to some other club....but there's always an upside!

[DazRTaylor]

How did they choose the fans' spokesman? Rock/Paper/Scissors between the two of them?

[Sun]

I think it was our only fan speaking..

[Johnny Drama]

Nice work on the first promotion when I had a game henit was all amateur contracts had a trouble holding onto anyone half decent and a lot of penalties, 1-1's. I think i went up in the third season thanks to one goal scoring centre half

[FCUtdWill]

Well done on your first promotion, only 23 leagues to go

[Sun]

Well done on your first promotion, only 23 leagues to go

Thanks, I've just signed a major coup for the club in this guy:



Also trying to get these 2 on a Player/ Ass Man & Player/Coach:

[deltablue]

Utter quality, even as pensioners.

[Azeryk`]

Good luck, this should take you a while. Are you not worried about the game speed of running so many leagues at once?

[Johnny Drama]

Lucketti will boss it at that level

[DazRTaylor]

Utter quality, even as pensioners.

For that level, yes. IRL, I can confirm, as a Yeovil Town season ticket holder for years, Nathan Jones is utter *****.

[FCUtdWill]

Thanks, I've just signed a major coup for the club in this guy:

Wow, great signings for you Two Huddersfield Town legends, especially Marcus Stewart, should get you the goals to the Prem

[Sun]

Bengal Tigers - 2009/10 Review

League Table - League Position Graph - League Fixtures


We managed to be Champions, most of our results were grinded out wins and draws mainly either winning or losing by one goal, it took us a while to hit the top but once we got there we managed to stay a couple of points ahead of the pack.


Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup

Didn't meet up to the expectations of the Semi-Finals because we lost out to Sneyd Park (A) in the Quarter Finals.


Transfers

Loads and loads of names the quality of signings got better and better as the year went on so hopefully I can manage back to back promotions.


Squad

All of these were 5* players until I got the experience in and they wallow in comparison.


Finances

The board put £26,000 into the bank to help running costs and we're now worth £10,000

Season             League                         Position       Average Attendance      Season Ticket Holders      Estimated Value          Added Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Bristol Downs League Division Four          1st                  26                       4                     £10,000       Promoted as Champions

[FCUtdWill]

Nice to see Clifton St Vincents B denied promotion (their 3rd team is in Div 3). Sadly the problem of Retainers Reserves getting relegated from Div 3 and Retainers A having a R next to their name is what you might see a few times as you go up the leagues.

Are you now a semi-professional club rather than amateur now?

[Sun]

Nice to see Clifton St Vincents B denied promotion (their 3rd team is in Div 3). Sadly the problem of Retainers Reserves getting relegated from Div 3 and Retainers A having a R next to their name is what you might see a few times as you go up the leagues.

Are you now a semi-professional club rather than amateur now?

Don't know yet, my computer went blue screen and crashed when I was on June 13th, luckily I'm only back to June 6th now, in a way I want to stay Amateur so I can get players for free and I know that if I turn Semi-Pro then the players I currently have will want ridiculously high wages.

[Sun]

Good luck, this should take you a while. Are you not worried about the game speed of running so many leagues at once?

No, it's running surprisingly fast on my slow computer, I've managed to get through a season in just under a day.

[FCUtdWill]

Don't know yet, my computer went blue screen and crashed when I was on June 13th, luckily I'm only back to June 6th now, in a way I want to stay Amateur so I can get players for free and I know that if I turn Semi-Pro then the players I currently have will want ridiculously high wages.

Ooh okay, I didn't get any crashes when I did my one season test on the game. Let me know if the game carries on after the 13th June or crashes please.

Yeah, that's the only downside to it, I've noticed that when clubs win promotion, they automatically turn semi-pro, in an ideal scenario, I'd like them to gain semi-pro at L11 rather than after just one promotion. I don't think there's anything that can be done about it either

[Sun]

Yea, we went Semi-Pro, also got new Youth and only 1 standout player who was 2* CA and 3 1/2* PA

[FCUtdWill]

Yea, we went Semi-Pro, also got new Youth and only 1 standout player who was 2* CA and 3 1/2* PA

In some respects, it's good turning semi-pro straight away so you don't have to wait a while until you turn semi-pro. But, you may win promotion easier than you did when on amateur so you might be able to win promotion easier than before. We'll see though with this season

[Sun]

An amazing wage, also all of my first team players are now on part-time contracts until June 2015!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I can see this being very easy to start with, especially if you can sign players who would never even contemplate signing for a team at that level.

[deltablue]

Good first step, 22 to go.

[Sun]

Pre-Season Update:



Friendlies:

Transfers:

Again, it started well and then went badly, luckily now we're semi-pro we lost a lot less players, but I've also only managed to find one who could help the team which is Rob Gier a Philippine international.

League expectation
-------------------------

Bristol Downs League Division 3 : Board expectation - Win the league : Media expectation - 1st out of 14


Cup expectations
---------------------

English Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup : Win

Transfer budget : £0
Wage budget : £51
Current wage bill : £871

Season tickets sold : 22 (Up 18)

[deltablue]

Wow, that's a 450% increase.

[CityAndColour]

Will certainly follow this with interest. Makes me feel like I'm starting in the top flight with Hall Road Rangers.

[Sun]

The 3* CA 4* PA player from our woeful Youth setup, he's been sort after by Blyth who are currently 5th in BSN!

[Sun]

2010/11 Mid-Season Review

An easier season so far, we're still slipping up though, which brings a little bit of challenge in instead of it being an easy walkover, we hold a nice 7 point cushion over Severnside and Beachcroft LLP.

In the Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup we're in the Quarter Finals again against bottom of the league Jersey Rangers.

[deltablue]

Nice going again.

[Sun]

2 in 2 years, and there's still 4 games left!

[Sun]

Bengal Tigers - 2010/11 Review

League Table - League Positions Graph - League Fixtures

And we have back-to-back promotions, we won easily being in 1st position from day 1 and from what I saw of last years Champions I predict another promotion next season too.


Bristol Downs League All Saints Cup

We met expectations and won it well, defeating Stoke Bishop Football Club 3-0 in the Final.


Transfers

Brought in a lot less players this year with only 3 being permanent members, also got rid of a lot of deadwood.


Squad

A much smaller squad with some talents and some really weak players still, I can't find anyone better than them just yet though, also at the end of next season Marcus Stewart, Chris Perry, Chris Hargreaves, Chris Lucketti, Paul Furlong and Ashley Bayes are retiring from playing which could make us suffer.


Finances

Now we're Semi-Pro wages seem to be taking it's toll on us..

Season             League                         Position       Average Attendance      Season Ticket Holders      Estimated Value          Added Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Bristol Downs League Division Four          1st                  26                       4                     £10,000       Promoted as Champions
2010/11  Bristol Downs League Division Three         1st                  86                       22                    £9,000        Promoted as Champions

[Paolo Willenté]

Have only just come across this thread and decided to do a search on your club just to see what I could find.

Found this quite funny (taken from their website)...

Turn Up If You Say That You Are Going To: Last night was particularly annoying as it meant that we had to play with four men for ten minutes but it wasn’t the first time that people have said that they will play and haven’t turned up. Poor form frankly and not fair on the people who do turn up – it’s not like I don’t send enough emails asking people to confirm that they can play. If your plans do change at the last minute for any reason then please at least send an email/text message as soon as you can.

Congrats on the successive promotions too

[City2000]

I love the thought of all these old pros turning up on the downs

Certainly seems like a long challenge, good luck!

[Sun]

Pre-Season Update:



Friendlies:

Friendlies went better than in the last 2 years, no transfers in or out as my scouts can't find anyone better than my players...

League expectation
-------------------------

Bristol Downs League Division 2 : Board expectation - Promotion : Media expectation - 2nd out of 14


Cup expectations
---------------------

English Bristol Downs League Norman Hardy Cup : Final

Transfer budget : £1,500
Wage budget : £1,400
Current wage bill : £939

Season tickets sold : 22

[FCUtdWill]

Have only just come across this thread and decided to do a search on your club just to see what I could find.

Found this quite funny (taken from their website)...

Hate to be pedantic, but that's not them, the team you've mentioned are from London. The team in Bristol have a facebook page if you're interested.

[Paolo Willenté]

Hate to be pedantic, but that's not them, the team you've mentioned are from London. The team in Bristol have a facebook page if you're interested.

...ignore me

[noikeee]

I can picture loads of unrealistic problems coming up with this because the game isn't made to simulate levels this low. Good luck though, and I wish you plenty of patience because it's going to take ages until reaching a bearable level!

It's started well, keep going.

[FCUtdWill]

I can picture loads of unrealistic problems coming up with this because the game isn't made to simulate levels this low. Good luck though, and I wish you plenty of patience because it's going to take ages until reaching a bearable level!

It's started well, keep going.

As the creator of the file, there's only 15 leagues from Level 10 downwards and no other leagues. So it shouldn't be a major problem in simulating the levels.

[noikeee]

I don't mean in terms of game crashing or anything like that, but more things like: by level 8 or 9 reputation of clubs and CA of players are already approaching the minimum the game allows. Hence there's going to be very very little difference between levels 9 and 24, when that's not quite the truth. We're already seeing him hire players that could be playing 10 leagues above.

I'm not criticizing your work, I think it's great people try different things like this and make it available for the community, I'm just a bit dubious on FM's limitations.

[FCUtdWill]

I don't mean in terms of game crashing or anything like that, but more things like: by level 8 or 9 reputation of clubs and CA of players are already approaching the minimum the game allows. Hence there's going to be very very little difference between levels 9 and 24, when that's not quite the truth. We're already seeing him hire players that could be playing 10 leagues above.

I'm not criticizing your work, I think it's great people try different things like this and make it available for the community, I'm just a bit dubious on FM's limitations.

Yeah, that's true. This was my first go at making something using the competition editor so I didn't know much about it at the time. But I've learnt a lot since then, and there will be improvements if I do this sort of thing again. If I was to do this again, I'd try and make sure things like this that don't happen again, and have players moving from the Downs 2 to the Downs 3 clubs for example by having better league reputations. But whether I'd see players playing for football league teams at the start move to clubs down to the lower leagues is another matter.

[CityAndColour]

Hate to be pedantic, but that's not them, the team you've mentioned are from London. The team in Bristol have a facebook page if you're interested.

That bloke who has written that sounds like an absolute joy to play under.

[ArsenalMetro]

What a fantastic challenge. I'll be following!