Rising Through The Leagues

Firstly apologies for the delay in getting this up. This is using 12.2 with just my new custom Scottish league system loaded.

How Do I Win At This Sign-Up?

The short answer is by doing better than the other new clubs over the next 20 seasons.

Every year clubs will be awarded points dependent on where they finish in the league. If you were to win the SPL you would receive 1 point (for being the top ranked club in Scotland), SPL runners-up get 2 points. This continues down the league structure so by winning the Second Division you would get 25 points whereas finishing in last place you would receive 36 points. The side with the lowest points total at the end of the 2031-32 season is the winner.

In addition you can receive bonus point deductions for a variety of achievements. Winning a domestic cup competition is worth a reduction of 3 points whereas reaching the semi-finals or finals is worth a deduction of 2 points. Any giant-killing (knocking any side from any higher league out of any cup competition) earns you a 1 point deduction. Your club's first appearance in the SPL is also worth a 3 point deduction.

The Leaderboard June 2015

Deveronvale (Preben Elkjaer) 108

Pollok (Zinedine Zidane) 114

Buckie Thistle (Omar Brown) 115

Linlithgow Rose (Stefano Salvatori) 120

Spartans (Mohammad Zaki) 121

Clydebank (Mike Nevo) 125

Whitehill Welfare (Matt Stoff) 128

Edinburgh City (Alex Seddon) 129

Cove Rangers (David Ginsberg) 130

Keith (Jake Stothard) 133

Preston Athletic (Kris Scott) 134

Threave Rovers 139

Gala Fairydean (Reverend Laws) 141

Inverurie Loco Works (Arron Balmer) 142

Gretna 2008 (Richard Ineson) 143

Dalbeattie Star 143

Trophy Cabinet:

Cove Rangers - Challenge Cup 2013

As it is impossible for me to go into enough detail to satisfy everyone with the time I have available I have decided to keep my recaps brief with pictures of the league tables and a quick season recap. What I will also do is post the save game file so that anyone can download it and check how their team's U-19 side did or which player got the best rating in cup games or whatever details they would like to know. That way people can contribute to the discussion a lot more if they can investigate the game inside out. I did make a mistake in forgetting to set the detail level high enough so apologies that I can't be more specific in my first season.

Anyway here is the save game file for Summer 2012

http://www.mediafire.com/?q1i06i12c9g1uzk

League:

Generally speaking the second half of the season was a disaster zone for several clubs with Edinburgh City failing to win thirteen in row before an end of season win over Whitehill. Cove topped that with a fourteen game winless streak before recording a victory against Arbroath at the season end. The worst form was shown by Gala whose winless stands at sixteen and counting. Ariel Ortega will surely be hoping for a positive start to next season.

In 2SE Linlithgow showed real promise by finishing 5th with real pretensions to make a push for promotion next term. Edinburgh City's shocking form on the road stopped them from making any kind of success of the season and Gala need to do better than one point every three games to be competitive.

2SW was a source of near joy for our sides. Though Rangers B ran away with the title their inability to earn promotion meant that the sides chasing second place had a shot at going up. Pollok missed out to Queens Park by just two points and Clydebank by only three points. For the latter a home defeat to Albion Rovers on the penultimate weekend of the season effectively cost them promotion. Gretna will be glad just to be back in the league after propping up the table.

The Northern division also proved interesting. Deveronvale finished just two points behind East Fife, having managed just four points from their final four games.Buckie and Keith gained mid-table respectability and will look to push on next season. Inverurie and Cove need to pick up more than just the single home win they both recorded if they are to improve.

Some interesting managerial news was the appointment of legendary Scotland defender Colin Hendry by Whitehill Welfare. Hopefully he will be able to lift his side away from the lower reaches of the third tier.

Cup:

Cove Rangers very nearly pulled off a huge upset in the first round losing 3-2 in extra time to Premier League Motherwell. Keith, Pollok, Clydebank, Whitehill, Inverurie, Buckie and Linlithgow all progressed to the second round. The big tie for us was Keith beating Linlithgow on penalties to make them the only one of our sides to reach round 3. Sadly Keith eventually went out to second tier Ayr in round 4.

League Cup:

Our sides had little joy in the League Cup. Linlithgow beat Preston and Deveronvale beat Gretna in a couple of interesting first round ties. Linlithgow went out to St Johnstone in round 2 but Deveronvale made it as far as round 3 before losing to Ayr, who are fast becoming a bogey side for the new clubs.

Challenge Cup:

The Challenge Cup started poorly as two of our sides crashed out in the two first round ties that were played. Inverurie and Spartans both fell at the first hurdle. However there was some joy for Keith, Whitehill, Deveronvale and Buckie who all progressed to round 3. THis was to be the end of our cup runs as all 4 lost to established league sides in round 4.

Joint 5th place - happy with that as a start.

Come on the Spartans !!!!!!

bahhhhhhh bottom

same . Theres always next season!

2 good cup runs! Totti's Keith move onwards and upwards!

Thirteen in a row!

Thirteen in a roooow!

We went and bottled it!

Thirteen in a row!

Seven points???!!! I'd have thought Ortega could have seven points on his own at this level. At least tell me we broke the 100 yellow cards mark.

A pretty decent first season, lets hope the rose can kick on next season. Looked in the save and my youth intake looks to have been rubbish despite my top rating for youth recruitmen :/

Ah well, we picked up some good signings with our increased rep, so hopefully that bodes well!

8th place not bad

A pretty decent first season, lets hope the rose can kick on next season. Looked in the save and my youth intake looks to have been rubbish despite my top rating for youth recruitment

I wonder if the effects take time to kick in. I just looked at the u-18 league at Christmas 2012 and you are 6th so maybe your lads might be late developers.

2012-13 Season

http://www.mediafire.com/?ec8a9de014q8z1v

League:

Gala Fairydean began the season where they finished the last, by losing with alarming regularity. It took five games to register a win, the victims being the frankly hopeless Gretna. The rest of our teams made uninspiring starts to the 2SE season. Pollok remained a couple of points off a promotion place after a handful of games but the loss of Ryan Giggs for two months with a double hernia was a huge blow. It was a strong start for both Deveronvale and Keith in 2N as both sides began what looked like a private battle for the title, with Keith's Francesco Totti scoring goals at a terrifying rate. However they were unable to maintain this great start and slipped back in to a wide open title race. For Inverurie, Cove and Buckie the battle not to finish bottom looked to be the order of the day.

In 2SE there was good news for Spartans who managed a top half finish, whereas Ariel Ortega had decided o call time on his playing career after notching just one goal this season.However come the end of the season fans of Gretna must have been suicidal. Not only did they fail to win a single league game all season but their winless run at he end of the previous campaign means it is now 26 matches since the Border side tasted victory in the league.

In 2SW there was similar disappointing news for Pollok fans as former Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs finally hung up his boots. Hopefully Pollok will not slip from their safe mid-table position without the Welshman in the midfield. Clydebank fans also had reason to be disappointed as they slipped to 10th place from last year's position of 5th.

In 2N there some notable matches included Buckie destroying Elgin 6-0 and Deveronvale and Keith playing out a 4-4 draw. It is worth noting that Francesco Totti scored 18 goals in 20 games even if his Keith side, like all of our teams, were limited to mid-table finishes.

Cup:

Spare a thought for first round victims Gretna and Cove. The border team scored inside three minutes at home to Rangers before falling 2-1 to a very late winner whereas the Northern side lost to SPL team St. Johnstone on penalties.

Deveronvale were the only side to make it past round three by beating Division One side Queen's Park at Hampden. However they were to crash out in extra time to Partick in Round 4.

League Cup:

Only Inverurie, Keith, Pollok and Deveronvale successfully negotiated the first round. Inverurie beat Dundee in the first leg of the next round only to be humped 7-1 in the return. Pollok made it to the third round before falling to higher opposition in Morton.

Challenge Cup:

Buckie and Cove both made it it to the bonus point earning stage with their cup runs. Buckie surrendered a first leg lead to lose in the Semi-finals to Stirling. There was, however, cup joy at Hampden for Cove Rangers who won a narrow Challenge Cup final to lift their first silverware as a league side. Congratulations to Cove and their chairman David Ginsberg.

Great job my the boys to pick up a huge trophy, hopefully this will lead them to promotion next season.

Oh dear :/ Totti was certainly a great Idea, but Keith can only make mid table!

wehey not bottom hmm hopefully start getting some better youth in

6th place not bad good youth will bring us forward

terrible. again.

Still too many losses, but it's an improvement...

Apologies for the lack of updates, work got in the way. I will post a double update this weekend to make up for it.

sure no problem

2013-14 Season

http://www.mediafire.com/?3bq8v0rt18be2c6

League:

The season began disappointingly for many of out teams with the likes of Gala Fairydean and Gretna gain failing to win matches and looking a little out of their depth. Spartans showed many of our teams how to defend going six games in all competitions without conceding a single goal, a run broken by Linlithgow. Keith and Deveronvale look the most likely sides to celebrate a promotion based on early season form, with Totti's men grabbing the bragging rights and the three points when they met early in the season.

In2SE Gretna were able to set a new record in not winning league games, again going a whole season without tasting victory. The good news is they were only 42 points off the title. Spartans were the best of our sides here, finishing just 4 points away from promotion; a winless March scuppered any hopes for the title. Whitehill Welfare managed to avoid defeat for the last ten games of the season, so despite their modest finishing position they are beginning to look like a side on the up with high hopes for future success.

In 2SW Pollok were yet again the highest finishing side, though they will be disappointed to be 16 points behind promotion winning Dumbarton.

IN 2N Deveronvale missed promotion by just one point; the key result being a defeat fourth placed Brechin on the penultimate weekend of the season. Francesco totti's goals dried up as the season went on costing Keith heavily. For Cove and Inverurie it was more disappointment, especially as both sides show glimpses of genuine promise from time to time.

Cup:

Although the majority of our sides fell in round 1 there was some exciting cup news to report. Keith's second round defeat of RBS Premier side Motherwell was a source of real joy in the Highlands. They did crash out in Round 3 to Queen of the South but that was not enough to take the shine off their cup run. The stand-out performance was Pollok who did well to beat Premier League side Raith in the Quarter-Finals before suffering a 6-0 crunching in a Hampden Semi-final against Celtic.

League Cup:

Buckie's defeat of Division 1 side Alloa and Gala Fairydean making round 2 at the expense of Inverurie were notable early results in the League Cup. The former's failure to repeat the giant-killing act against Celtic combined with the crashing out of Gala against non-league Rob Roy meant that none of our sides made it as far as round 3.

Challenge Cup:

Cove's hopes of a repeat of last season were dashed by Clydebank in round 2. Clydebank themselves went on to met Whitehill Welfare in the Quarter Finals after Whitehill were able to knock out Ayr and Keith. It was the men from Whitehill who won the tie, though they were then defeated in the Semi by Montrose. It was still enough to earn Whitehill a 2 point bonus deduction.

2014-15 Season

http://www.mediafire.com/?xe7bzr9n6jt1z8j

League:

Aside from results and finishing positions there were a few notable moments during the 2nd Division season. Firstly Whitehill Welfare set a new Scottish League record for attendance with just 23 people turning out to watch their team draw 1-1 against Spartans. Secondly was the run of league games without winning suffered by Keith. The highland side beat Forfar on the opening day of the season, a win which proved to be their only league success.

In 2SE their were signs of improvement for Edinburg City and third placed Linlithgow Rose.The same could be said for Gretna, who won a game this season to escape from the bottom. NB I forgot to add sorting criteria for league positions so Gretna appear to be bottom. This is my mistake, they should be 11th on goal difference. For the purpose of point scoring I will award both teams 11th place.

In 2SW Pollok slid back from last season towards the bottom half of the table, though it was a more positive story for Clydebank who managed a top half finish despite a less than impressive record over the whole season.

In 2N there was heartbreak for Buckie Thistle as a final day draw away at Brechin ended their hopes of a first promotion. Keith fans also felt depressed as their side tumbled to the foot of the division. However the positive news was for Cove Rangers, who are starting to turn their cup form in to league points with a decent mid-table finish.

Cup:

A massive upset was narrowly avoided in round 1 as SPL side Dundee United managed to scrape past Buckie Thistle on penalties. It was a similar story at Spartans when Celtic needed extra time to see off the home side. The Glaswegians didn't make any errors in round 2 seeing off Gala Fairydean 5-0. There was better news in that round for Edinburgh City, who beat Division 1 side Dumbarton. Pollok exited on penalties in round 3 against SPL giants Hibs. The only side to make it to round 4 was Deveronvale, who predictably lost on penalties.

League Cup:

Stars of round 1 were Whitehill Welfare who dumped out SPL Ross County 2-1 on aggregate. Sadly they could not repeat the feat and went out to Aberdeen in round 2, along with Spartans who were dismissed by Rangers 5-0 on aggregate. Buckie Thistle were the longest surviving club, going down in the Quarter-finals to St. Mirren.

Challenge Cup:

There were some decent cup runs in the Challenge Cup this year with Buckie, Deveronvale and Linlithgow Rose all making the Quarter-finals. This performance was topped by Pollok who beat Stenhousemuir on penalise in the Semi-finals to reach Hampden, where Ryan Giggs's men lost to Cowdenbeath on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Well its looking like its going to be a long hard game for my team to get out of that Division

So close...

gretna are **** again

Leaderboard shows scores on the doors up to June 2013, is this correct or does it include the 14-15 season?

Enjoying this one, and can't wait until I get home and download the stats packs so I can have a right good nosey at what is going on.

Think this works really well and enjoying it.

Damn, bad couple seasons for Keith! Is Totti still about then?

Edinburgh are starting to turn it around, hooray!

Leaderboard shows scores on the doors up to June 2013, is this correct or does it include the 14-15 season?

Enjoying this one, and can't wait until I get home and download the stats packs so I can have a right good nosey at what is going on.

Think this works really well and enjoying it.

Thanks for the kind words. I forgot to change the leaderboard date but it is fixed now.

Hi.

Firstly apologies for the lack of updates. Due to work and family commitments my FM time has been 0 recently. I have not actually played the game since my last post. I just thought it was polite to let you all know that I have not abandoned this idea and disappeared.

I am hoping to do 2 updates per week starting from next weekend but I can't promise this. If you are prepared to be patient I can continue running this challenge. However if anybody else is happy to I would be willing to hand over the running to somebody else who has more time to do this sign-up justice.