SRL88's FM12 Journeyman Career

[SRL88]

So close to Plymouth.

In the terms of the league of course, in Geography terms you're no where near. 375odd miles anyway.

375.6 according to the AA Route Planner ha.

A good month there, should never be disappointed with just the 1 loss! 1 point of automatic promotion must be a good feeling that late into the season.

Its going to be close all the way to the end of the season. There will be a few squeeky bum moments ha.

[SnakeXe]

Some crazy fluctuations in form this year! Looks to be just about evening out into a promotion challenge, keep it up

[SRL88]

Some crazy fluctuations in form this year! Looks to be just about evening out into a promotion challenge, keep it up

Haha. Cheers mate .

[SRL88]

The best crop of youngsters who have just come through:

Especially pleased with the look of Steven Wills.

[SRL88]

This made me chuckle . Man City, 2nd in the Premiership....Barnsley, 17th in the Championship .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - March 2016 - Darlington FC

League Two

What a frustrating bloody month!!!! Really, really annoying defeats against Aldershot and Dagenham who sit so close to the relegation zone, but annoyed me most were the back-to-back draws. We conceded a late goal against Wycombe and very, very late goals against MK Dons and Mansfield to leave me thinking where the heck is our next win going to come from!!! Luckily enough, and I mean luckily...we got our just rewards from previous games by scoring a pretty late, and probably undeserved winner of our own against high flying Burton which installed some much needed confidence in the side to leave us with every chance of automatic promotion.

Also, poor Pompey .

[City2000]

Just catching up here so i'm a bit late but congrats on getting into the football league!

Good luck in getting back to back promotions, looks like a nervy end to the season coming up.

[SRL88]

Just catching up here so i'm a bit late but congrats on getting into the football league!

Good luck in getting back to back promotions, looks like a nervy end to the season coming up.

Cheers mate .

Things would be much brighter if it wasnt for the string of draws thanks to late goals conceded, but Its going to be tense, especially with Burton-Northampton seperated by just 6pts.

[B.W.G]

Wow,that's going to be a close finish,best of luck in the end of season run

As for the City result,that's what I would define as a typical City moment

[SRL88]

Wow,that's going to be a close finish,best of luck in the end of season run

As for the City result,that's what I would define as a typical City moment

Cheers . Ive got that arse clenching feeling going on during games now. I am getting back into the stage where Im actually jumping up celebrating a goal when we score now. Havent felt that for some time.

Loved seeing the City score come through .

[HotChocolate]

Hard month but at least you have the playoffs to fall back on if you don't make top 3!

[SRL88]

They are my remaining league fixtures. Ive just beat Pompey 2-1 to leave me 1pt off the automatic promotion spots, 6pts ahead of any team outside the play-offs. You can use the league table from my last update to get a slight judgement as to where clubs are in the league.....and its going to be verrrrrrrry tense!!!

[iHeadHunta x]

You can do it

[SRL88]

Hard month but at least you have the playoffs to fall back on if you don't make top 3!

Just posted my remaining fixtures.

[SRL88]

You can do it

Cheers mate. Good results away from home and a win over Plymouth & I might do it.

[SRL88]

Thank you Mr Chairman.
Such a shame he has been unable to control the debts in real life .

[tomtuck01]

Love the update SRL88.

As I said in the GPTG OTF thread, you've really inspired me to start a similar save once my Chelsea save runs out of steam.

God luck with your promotion chase in the last five games.

[SRL88]

Love the update SRL88.

As I said in the GPTG OTF thread, you've really inspired me to start a similar save once my Chelsea save runs out of steam.

God luck with your promotion chase in the last five games.

Cheers Tom. Much appreciated .

I am about to give the update for the final games of the season!!!!!

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - April/May 2016 - Darlington FC

League Two

WOW, just WOW!!!!! . I cant actually believe it. Back-to-back promotions has me beaming. We entered the final stretch of games with every chance of promotion and got off to the best possible start with a hard fought victory away to already relegated Portsmouth. We followed this up with a tough draw away to Yeovil. What followed was magic. Our next game against promotion chasing Plymoth showed that we were more than up for the test as we absolutely destroyed them with Filipe Carvalhinho scoring four. A trip to Merseyside followed with us sitting one point behind Cheltenham with 3 games to go. We battered Accrington in the first half but went in at the break at 1-1. In the second half though, we got the decsive goal to grab a 2-1 win and effectively seal our play-off spot and Carvalhinho once again breaking more records.

We followed this up with a drab draw against Oxford. We went into the final game of the season sitting in the final promotion spot, but level on points with Cheltenham and one point ahead of Plymouth......who coincidentley were playing eachother on the final day of the season at Home Park. We went to Newport with me banking on them drawing as I wasnt the most confident going into the game, but we done our job. We went there and took control for most of the game and walked away with that vital win which sealed our promotion, much to the delight of our fans and board.

[tomtuck01]

Absolutely brilliant first season for you in the Football League.

Good luck when you get the League 1 season underway, (if indeed you are still in charge of Darlo by then), because I think you may need it.

[B.W.G]

Nice to see you were one of the teams who came out on top in the end of the season run,congrats on promotion

[SRL88]

So I have been offered to take up the post at St.James Park. Its on higher wages with a lot higher wage budget. They have just finished 19th in League 1 to. I have delayed an extension to my Darlington contract which is on the same wages (£900 p/w) but dont quite know the wage/transfer budget as of yet.

Do you guys think I should take the post at Exeter, or give Darlington one more year?

[SRL88]

Absolutely brilliant first season for you in the Football League.

Good luck when you get the League 1 season underway, (if indeed you are still in charge of Darlo by then), because I think you may need it.

Cheers Tom .

Just been offered the Exeter job (post #322) so Im not sure what to do....but if I stay I will definitely need a lot of good luck gestures ha.

Nice to see you were one of the teams who came out on top in the end of the season run,congrats on promotion

Cheers dude .

[Dejay]

I'd go for Exeter personally, then again they have grown on me recently. Do they still have their decent key players?

[deltablue]

I'd probably go.

[psychonaut]

I'm surprised your side hasn't gone into administration yet Sterling work though, and good luck for the conclusion to the season.

[SRL88]

I'd go for Exeter personally, then again they have grown on me recently. Do they still have their decent key players?

This is the current squad. Im not exactly up to date with their players .

I'd probably go.

I have delayed the decision for a week and will make the decision between both jobs then.

I'm surprised your side hasn't gone into administration yet Sterling work though, and good luck for the conclusion to the season.

Haha. The finances have improved vastly over the last two seasons. They were helped loads with two trips to Wembley in two seasons.

[HotChocolate]

I'd probably stay, Exeter isn't really a big club and you should be able to get bigger.

[iHeadHunta x]

I would stay at Darlo for the time being to be honest But what ever you feel would be a better career move.

[SRL88]

So I have opted to stay and sign a new 1 year deal with the club. I will give my reasoning in an end the season review!!!

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Season Review - 2015/16 - Darlington FC

League Two - Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 (3rd - Promoted)

An excellent season for us. We have achieved back-to-back promotions which is an unbelievable achievement for the club and we will now be plying our trade in League 1. We carried our form and confidence from last season and although our positions were up and down, in the New Year we were in good form. We lost just 4 times since the turn of the year and ended up finishing on a 10 match unbeaten run to finish 2pts ahead of Cheltenham and gain automatic promotion.

FA Cup (Lost in 3rd Round)

We reached the 3rd Round for the first time under my management which made me happy. I hoped for a more glamourous tie against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool etc but we enjoyed our second day out in Nottingham in the FA Cup and put in a pasionate performance. It helped our finances a little by bringing in £70k.

League Cup (Lost in 1st Round)

An early exit against higher level opposition. It didnt bother me to much, but we played well against Rochdale.

Johnstones Paint Trophy (Lost in 2nd Round)

Just like the League Cup, we exited the competition to League 1 opposition. The game was not a 3-0 defeat really. It was an even game, but their finishing was more clinical than ours.

Transfers - Finances

Just as with the season before, a lot of ins and outs but they were needed. I think next season I will try to look at getting rid of players for money to help the finances out.
Finances are getting there......................I think!!!

Squad

I have been pretty pleased with my squad for the season. We have some very good players. Our top scorer was another loanee in Filipe Carvalhinho and what a player he was. At the start of the season I mentioned that I was a little worried that he was 17yo and I wasnt sure if he would handle the pressure, but he had a fantastic season which included scoring 4 goals against Plymouth. We need to strengthen our squad vastly if we are to compete against better opposition.

My Top 3 Players

Jordan Mustoe - Another excellent season from the winger. Like last season, he supplied a huge number of assists and contributed with goals as well. His season was capped off nicely wiht the Player of the Year Award.
Jeff Henderson - Ive said it in 3 season reviews now. Without this lad at the heart of our defence we arent the same team. He has such an influence on the back 4 that he is vital to our success.
Filipe Carvalhinho - A brilliant season from the youngster. I think I will definitely be looking to bring him back next season.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  Team            | League                  |  Country | League Position |  Notes                                            |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011/12 |  Kirklareli Spor | Second Division Group A |  Turkey  | 5th             |  Play-Off Quater Finalists                        |
| 2012/13 |  Kirklareli Spor | Second Division Group A |  Turkey  | 3rd             |  Play-Off Semi Finalists                          |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 |  Darlington      | Blue Square Premier     |  England | 4th             |  Play-Off Semi Finalists, FA Trophy Runners-Up,   |
                                                                                       Appointed in October                             |
| 2014/15 |  Darlington      | Blue Square Premier     |  England | 2nd             |  Promoted via Play-Offs, FA Trophy Runners-Up     |
| 2015/16 |  Darlington      | League Two              |  England | 3rd             |  Promoted                                         |

Next Season?

As you have seen in above posts, Ive signed a new 1 year contract with the club. I rejected an offer from Exeter who were prepared to offer me £1,300 p/w compared to my new contract at Darlington which is £1,000 p/w. They were going to give me £42k p/w for wages alone, which is a lot more than what I have availabe at present. So why? Well I am enjoying my time at Darlington and dont really fancy the change at present.

If I want to take FM a bit to seriously I will say this...County Durham is my home, its where Im from and where I grew up. I am enjoying being able to spend time with my family when I get the chance, so moving away would disrupt all that. I never realised how much I missed then until I moved back home from Turkey. My family was a little unsettled in Turkey and when I left we moved back home. The opportunity to manage Darlington came up and it was perfect for me at the present time.

A bit to serious??? Maybe so .

[SRL88]

How are my Former Clubs Doing?

Kirklareli Spor

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  League                  |  League Position |  Notes                         |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 |  Second Division Group A |  11th            |  -                             |
| 2014/15 |  Second Division Group A |  9th             |  -                             |
| 2015/16 |  Second Division Group A |  5th             |  Lost in Play-Off Semi Final   |

The club seemed to go a bit backwards after my exit, but they were back in the play-offs this season before losing in the Semi-Final.

[SRL88]

A Look Around The World

Here I will post the winners of the major competitions in and around the World. Any others, just ask and I can update for you!!!

Club - Domestic

English Premier League

2011/12 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City
2012/13 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Arsenal 3rd Liverpool
2013/14 - 1st Liverpool 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man Utd
2014/15 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Liverpool 3rd Arsenal
2015/16 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City

FA Cup

2011/12 - Winners Tottenham Runners-Up Everton
2012/13 - Winners West Ham Runners-Up Liverpool
2013/14 - Winners Man Utd Runners-Up Norwich
2014/15 - Winners Wolves Runners-Up Birmingham
2015/16 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Barnsley

League Cup

2011/12 - Winners Fulham Runners-Up Reading
2012/13 - Winners Tottenham Runners-Up West Brom
2013/14 - Winners Wolves Runners-Up Chelsea
2014/15 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Aston Villa
2015/16 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Liverpool

La Liga

2011/12 - 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd Athletic Club
2012/13 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Villarreal
2013/14 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Athletic Club 3rd Barcelona
2014/15 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia
2015/16 - 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd At. Madrid

Bundesliga

2011/12 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Werder Bremen 3rd Schalke
2012/13 - 1st Dortmund 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd Schalke
2013/14 - 1st Leverkusen 2nd Dortmund 3rd Bayern Munich
2014/15 - 1st Leverkusen 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd Schalke
2015/16 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Schalke 3rd Leverkusen

Serie A

2011/12 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Napoli 3rd Lazio
2012/13 - 1st Inter 2nd Juventus 3rd Napoli
2013/14 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Inter 3rd Juventus
2014/15 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Inter 3rd Sampdoria
2015/16 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Parma 3rd Palermo

French Ligue 1

2011/12 - 1st Valenciennes 2nd Bordeaux 3rd Marseille
2012/13 - 1st Lyon 2nd Marseille 3rd Sochaux
2013/14 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd RC Lens
2014/15 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd Marseille
2015/16 - 1st PSG 2nd Lyon 3rd Marseille

Club - Europe

Champions League

2011/12 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Man Utd
2012/13 - Winners AC Milan Runners-Up Barcelona
2013/14 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Liverpool
2014/15 - Winners PSG Runners-Up Barcelona
2015/16 - Winners AC Milan Runners-Up At. Madrid

Europa League

2011/12 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Rubin Kazan
2012/13 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Porto
2013/14 - Winners Chelsea Runners-Up Napoli
2014/15 - Winners Benfica Runners-Up Bayern Munich
2015/16 - Winners Man City Runners-Up Aston Villa

International

World Cup

2014 - Winners France Runners-Up Ghana 3rd Place England Hosts Brazil

European Championships

2012 - Winners Germany Runners-Up France Hosts Ukraine/Poland
2016 - Winners Spain Runners-Up Belgium Hosts France

[SnakeXe]

Excellent job on successive promotions! I think you made the right decision in staying as well.

[SRL88]

Excellent job on successive promotions! I think you made the right decision in staying as well.

Cheers Snake .

Think I will give it this season and it may be my last at Darlo.

[SRL88]

Added a couple of other bits in which I shall continue after each season.

[malikoi]

Well done on the promotion mate, glad to see you sticking with Darlington. Good luck with the coming season.

[SRL88]

Well done on the promotion mate, glad to see you sticking with Darlington. Good luck with the coming season.

Cheers Mali .

[SRL88]

Typical takeover in which you get no money .

[SRL88]

At least someone has hope .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Season Preview - 2016/17 - Darlington FC

Board Expectations:
League One:- Attempt to Avoid Relegation
FA Cup:- Reach the 3rd Round
Johnstones Paint Trophy:- Reach the 2nd Round
League Cup:- Enjoy the Experience

My Expectations:
League One:- Avoid Relegation. If I can do this then I will feel like we have won the league.
FA Cup:- I want a trip to Old Trafford, The Emirates, Anfield etc. Can I pleasssssssssssssssse have one of them!!!
Johnstones Paint Trophy:- If we get lucky I would love another trip to Wembley.
League Cup:- Meh. Not bothered really.

Budgets:
Transfer:- £0 (Im used to this by now)
Wage:- £29,756 (Currently spending £24,509)
Balance:- -£604,151 (-£298,101 since last season)

Squad:

We have a very small squad at present and I have a lot of work to do to make this squad competitive in this league. A few new signings have arrived in the shape of Elliot Benyon, Bjorn Recktenwald & Bobby Reid to strengthen. I need to add players in at right back, central midfield, upfront and a back-up left winger.

Key Player(s):
Elliot Benyon - A new arrival on a free transfer from Plymouth.
Jordan Mustoe - Has been key to my success in the last 2 seasons. More of the same please.
Bjorn Recktenwald - Another new signing. Joins from Hoffenheim and if he settles quick could be a huge hit.

[City2000]

Great job getting another promotion, I think you made the right decision to stay for at least another year aswell. I don't think Exeter was appealing enough to leave.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Glad you stayed another year, Exeter would have been a step sideways. I'm sure a better offer is around the corner

[SRL88]

Great job getting another promotion, I think you made the right decision to stay for at least another year aswell. I don't think Exeter was appealing enough to leave.

Glad you stayed another year, Exeter would have been a step sideways. I'm sure a better offer is around the corner

Cheers lads .

Ive got a tough year ahead though. My budget is spent and I need to bring in at least another 4 players.

[AK22]

Well done on another promotion. Probably best to stay with Darlo as Exeter wouldn't be that much of a step up the ladder.

Could do with some money though

[deltablue]

Lets see if it pays off in League 1.

[HotChocolate]

Great promotion SRL88, I will direct any Darlington fans to this thread.

[tomtuck01]

SRL88

Sorry if I have missed this somewhere in the thread, but what did you set your experience to when you started your save?

[SRL88]

Well done on another promotion. Probably best to stay with Darlo as Exeter wouldn't be that much of a step up the ladder.

Could do with some money though

Im a little on the desperate side for money now. Trying to offload my reserves to free up some wages so I can bring in a couple of players.

Lets see if it pays off in League 1.

Cheers!!!

Great promotion SRL88, I will direct any Darlington fans to this thread.

Direct away . I think they could do with some pleasentness from their club ha.

SRL88

Sorry if I have missed this somewhere in the thread, but what did you set your experience to when you started your save?

Sunday League Footballer .

[Dejay]

Congrats on the promotion again

[SRL88]

Congrats on the promotion again

Cheers Dejay .

Currently working my way through pre-season so an update should be up soon.

[SRL88]

None of this suprised me, but when I checked my finances I saw this which led me to have a little smile .

First time in god knows how many years that this club has been in the black.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Pre-Season - 2016/17 - Darlington FC

Friendlies

A good pre-season is now under our belts with just the one blip against Southport. We had some very good confidence building results and head ino the season opener with every faith that we might just survive this season.

Transfers

Another season with a lot of transfer activity. U feel much better now with our squad. Following the players who arrived on pre-contracts, we strengthed further by adding the experience of 33yo Neil Mellor who will prove to be a very good player at this level.

Ive called up a few youngsters from the reserves, and although I would prefer to sign a few players, our budget is tight I will be given opportunities to the kids.

[malikoi]

A nice pre-season there, ashame the loss came in the final game as it puts confidence down a little.

[SRL88]

A nice pre-season there, ashame the loss came in the final game as it puts confidence down a little.

Yeah. I would have like to have won just because I hate losing . Im at work now and I think Im going to load my save up for a bit .

[SRL88]

Struggling so far to get the best out of Elliot Benyon and Bjorn Recktenwald. Any ideas as to what roles I could use them as? Screenshots in post #341 if you need them .

[malikoi]

I'd go TM(to feet) for Recktenwald, and poacher alongside him for Benyon. What do you have them set to at the moment? & Maybe they need a bti of time to settle in?

[SRL88]

Benyon has been playing as a poacher and has 2 goals in 4 games (all competitions) but I have been switching Recktenwald a bit because I have Mellor as well who is a TM Support w/ supply to head. So it all depends on who I play .

Suppose it doesnt matter for 4 weeks because Recktenwald has just been injured.

Cheers for the suggestion.

[malikoi]

You're complaining about 2 goals in 4 games? My strikers had like 20 goals between them in a season, that's 4 strikers!(First season)

[SRL88]

Welllllll......when they put in a 5.3 performance I get a little angry ha.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - August 2016 - Darlington FC

League One

Another season underway and I really couldnt have asked for a better start to life in League 1. I was anticipating a tough start with our first 3 fixures which probably would have affected our confidence badly but that wasnt the case. We battled for a hard earned draw on the opening day and things have gone from there. We put in an excellent performance at home to Hull to battle our way to a 1-0 win before travelling to The Valley and coming away with an astonishing victory against Charlton. We took the long coach journey back up north with smiles all over our faces and an extra sweet touch was added by Charlton Manager Les Parry.

Our next two games were at home and I was very confident going into them following our impressive start. Although we were all over Orient, we had to wait for a late winner from Jeff Henderson. Against Brentford it was a tale of two halves. We were all over them during the first period. I warned the lads about complacency in the second but they didnt listen. We sat deep and let Brentford come onto us, and to be fair, they probably deserved to leave with a draw, but we dug deep and clung on to make it four wins from five in August.

I wont be getting over excited about this as its still early days. I still also need to take into consideration the fact that we were in a similar position last season but had a shocking September. Our next game, Southampton away!!!

League Cup/Johnstones Paint Trophy

Had to do a review like this because these fantastic forums allowing us to only upload 4 pictures.

League Cup

A couragous effort against Hull, just days before we got revenge in the league fixture. We battled hard at the KC Stadium and were in it until the end when a late 3rd goal killed us off.

Johnstones Paint Trophy

A pretty poor performance led us to leave the Johnstones Paint Trophy in the First Round. We were shocking, absolutely shocking in the first half so I let rip (not by farting) at the interval and let the lads know exactly what I thought. We put in a better second half performance, but our hopes died because after we made our three substitutions, they decided it was a good idea to injure 2 of our players, and then out of frustration we got a man sent off to end the game with 8 men.

[malikoi]

A nice month there, other than the cup games. Atleast you can concentrate on the league now.

Have Elliot Benyon and Bjorn Recktenwald started playing any better yet?

[SRL88]

A nice month there, other than the cup games. Atleast you can concentrate on the league now.

Have Elliot Benyon and Bjorn Recktenwald started playing any better yet?

Cheers .

Bjorn is injured at the moment & is out for a few more weeks so at the moment its Benyon (Poacher) and Mellor (TM Support) which seems to be working.

[SRL88]

Ahhhhhh. Affiliated with my favourite club .

Sadly no players sent on loan as of yet.

[malikoi]

Cheers .

Bjorn is injured at the moment & is out for a few more weeks so at the moment its Benyon (Poacher) and Mellor (TM Support) which seems to be working.

Ah yea, ofcourse, you did say. Sorry! Well if Mellor and Benyon is working, stick with it.

Nice affiliation there, they have some class players! Have a look in thier reserves and make a loan offer for a couple of the goods ones. When I do that it normally gets accepted.

[iHeadHunta x]

A quite sensational start to the campaign seeing as you have recently been promoted. Keep up the great work buddy!

[B.W.G]

Take out the cup games and it's a very impressive start

[SRL88]

A quite sensational start to the campaign seeing as you have recently been promoted. Keep up the great work buddy!

Take out the cup games and it's a very impressive start

Cheers lads .

Loaded up my save now and working my way through September. Update soon!!!

[SRL88]

Decided to try and bring some players in on loan from my Parent Club Liverpool and got these three on 3 month loan deals:

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - September 2016 - Darlington FC

League One

Looking at it, you would say pretty **** really wouldnt you!!! Part of me is annoyed whilst part of me expected it. We done similar last season by having a shocking September. I never expected anything from the Southampton game and to be fair, they battered us. I said after the game, and I stand by it now...but if we got into half time still 1-0 up it would have been a different game. When they got their first I was a little annoyed because it was a shot which was deflected in so it couldnt really be helped, but as soon as that second went in I knew what was coming. I wasnt to hard on the lads because Southampton are way to good for this league. Just look at their start!!!!

The next games were frustrating in different ways. We bossed Hereford and really should have won and if it wasnt for their goalkeeper we would have. Away to Bristol Rovers and at home to Palace we were bossed. We began to show signs of a couple of things. One was a drop in confidence and two that maybe we were promoted a bit to early and the difference in class was showing. We clung on to draw with Rovers and were 2-0 down against Palace until the last 10mins. I changed my tactics a little, went attacking and we got two goals. Lucky really. Id rather not talk about the Swindon game .

To be fair to us, if you said to me that after 10 games, following back-to-back promotions and probably to soon as well that we would be sitting where we are in the league with just 2 defeats I would have snapped your hand off. It only looks so bad because we made an excellent start so Im not worried. We're well outside the drop zone and although there is plenty of time left Im confident. All we need is a couple of good results and we're off again.

[AcidBurn]

Only ten games in but that is quite a tight league so far. Play-off's more than possible though. Good luck dude.

[Dejay]

I think you are going well, it has been a big step up in a short period of time for you.

[SRL88]

Only ten games in but that is quite a tight league so far. Play-off's more than possible though. Good luck dude.

If we get ourselves to the New Year within touching distance I believe we can make the Play-Off's.

I think you are going well, it has been a big step up in a short period of time for you.

Cheers Dejay .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - October 2016 - Darlington FC

League One

We put in an excellent month during October to keep ourselves in the Play-Off spots. After a poor September we got off to a good start against Preston with a fully deserved 3-1 win at The Darlington Arena. We continued the month ubeaten which could have been better (late goal conceded against Walsall), and rounded off the month with fantastic results at home to Burton and away to Rochdale left us lying in 4th place.

[SnakeXe]

Lancaster looks ridiculously good for that level! I'm surprised I haven't seen his name pop up on the scorers more often, which position and role are you using him in?

[SRL88]

Lancaster looks ridiculously good for that level! I'm surprised I haven't seen his name pop up on the scorers more often, which position and role are you using him in?

He was injured for the Burton & Rochdale games, but in the others he could have bagged a couple in each.

Im using him upfront as a poacher. The way he moves on the pitch kind of reminds me of Luis Suarez to be honest. His turning is exactly the same and he is often quite frustrating infront of goal.

[malikoi]

Looks like Bjorn hit some form coming back from injury, thats good! And a very nice month of results, well done!

[SRL88]

Looks like Bjorn hit some form coming back from injury, thats good! And a very nice month of results, well done!

Yeah he had a nice end to October. I think TM (support) with supply to feet done the trick .

[malikoi]

Well, lets hope he can strike up a partnership with benyon or Lancaster, not sure who your playing with him, if anyone!

[Dejay]

A nice October, well done

Those loan players look class too.

[SRL88]

A nice October, well done

Those loan players look class too.

Cheers .

Got another lad on loan from Liverpool. I will post a ss of him when I get home .

[HotChocolate]

Great start, looking good yet again.

[deltablue]

Looking promising.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - November 2016 - Darlington FC

League One

Just two games in November due to FA Cup commitments. Im not suprised by the defeat to Peterborough because they are a much bigger club and have a lot of good players. We played alright but a 2-0 defeat was about right. Games against the likes of Bury are the ones which we need to win in this league. They are the games which will dictate whether we are good enough to compete in this league. I know we're 18 games in, but these are the games which give us confidence going forward and the games which have got us to where we are in the league. We fell a goal down to them, but didnt let it affect us and quickly equilised to go in at half time level. The second half was all us and goals from captain Matthew Saunders and loanee Andy Lancaster gave us all 3 points.

FA Cup

Two good wins in the FA Cup to help us march into Third Round to face Championship side Crawley. I expected us to beat Blue Square Premier side Chester, but the game against Swindon was especially pleasing. It shows how quick things change as we were comprehensively beaten by Swindon earlier in the season.

[SRL88]

My other loanee from Liverpool who I mentioned previously.

Just thought this was worth posting. League Two side Bradford thumping League One side Crystal Palace.

[SRL88]

Great start, looking good yet again.

Looking promising.

Cheers lads .

[malikoi]

Doing well in the league mate, but if im honest, I don't like the idea of you going up again so soon, might be to soon! But nonetheless it would be a rgeat achievement.

That regen looks like a monster for league 1!

[SRL88]

Doing well in the league mate, but if im honest, I don't like the idea of you going up again so soon, might be to soon! But nonetheless it would be a rgeat achievement.

That regen looks like a monster for league 1!

To be honest, I dont want the club to go up ha. I always feel on FM that the gap from League Two to the BSP isnt that much, League One is a little tougher but the jump to the Championship is huuuuuge. We wouldnt be able to hack it at that level and we would end up embarressed on a regular occassion.

I dont know if I will be with Darlington after this season, but I think the club needs to be in this league for another 2-3 year before it could handle the Championship.

[SRL88]

I have decided to change my season expectations to mid-table finish and that has given me an extra £6k in wages so I can bring a few more players in .

[deltablue]

Not splashing out though.

[HotChocolate]

Still double of what I had with Preston in the Championship!!

[malikoi]

Awesome! Don't go and break the bank now you've been given it SRL!

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - December 2016 - Darlington FC

League One

A pretty average month really. It all started off with a frustrating defeat against Doncaster which annoyed me a little more when I checked my inbox to see that they were awarded two controversial penalties. My frustration went up a notch against Tranmere when we conceded late to only come away with a draw. They also inflicted my biggest pet hate on FM by setting out to kick lumps out of my players with 3 of them injured so we finished the game with 9 men and thats when they scored.

Two pretty poor performances and results followed before a much needed victory over Exeter to get our confidence back and also to leave us sat just inside the Play-Off spots.

[SRL88]

Not splashing out though.

I wouldnt expect anything less from my new Chairman.

Still double of what I had with Preston in the Championship!!

haha.

Awesome! Don't go and break the bank now you've been given it SRL!

I feel rich all of a sudden .

[malikoi]

A so-so month there mate, atleast you got a few points out of it! I would go as far as saying you're already safe from relegation, which is a plus.

[SRL88]

A so-so month there mate, atleast you got a few points out of it! I would go as far as saying you're already safe from relegation, which is a plus.

I wouldnt like to say we are until we reach the 50 point mark to avoid complacency.

[malikoi]

What points were the previous teams that got relegated on? I only say as Tranmere have got 19 from 23 games, if they carry that form on they would be on around around 40 points? Give or take a couple ofcourse.

[SRL88]

What points were the previous teams that got relegated on? I only say as Tranmere have got 19 from 23 games, if they carry that form on they would be on around around 40 points? Give or take a couple ofcourse.

2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16

50pts has roughly been the safety mark.

[malikoi]

2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16

50pts has roughly been the safety mark.

Ah fair enough then! I would of thought it would of been a bit lower than that, what a tough league!

[iHeadHunta x]

A brilliant start to the league i think! I would also leave next year if I was you mate!