FM13: The Hamilton Academical Thread

Welcome to the Hamilton Academical Football Club guide for Football Manager 2013

Club Background:

Hamilton Academical F.C. were formed in late 1874 by the Rector and pupils of the local school, thus the unusual name, but they are known universally as The Accies. The club became members of the SFA soon after and began competing in the Scottish Cup and Qualifying Cup and in the early years most games were friendlies or localised cup ties. Membership of the Scottish Football League came in November 1897 when Renton, one of the major clubs in the early days, were forced to resign and Accies were invited to take over their fixtures.

Although Accies went on to win the Second Division championship in 1904 they were not promoted to the First Division automatically as promotion was still by invitation at that time. However, they did make the step up shortly afterwards. The Scottish Cup Final was reached in 1911 but the club lost to Celtic in a replay. Again in 1935 Accies made the final, losing 2–1 to Rangers this time. In the early days of the century the club played in cerise and French grey, the colours of the then Duke of Hamilton. The 1930s saw Accies at their best. The club were amongst the top sides in the country and were regularly in the top six in the First Division. Two players were to be capped by Scotland while at Douglas Park and others were sold to top English sides. The club's best ever player, Englishman David Wilson, scored 246 league goals in eleven seasons leading up to the war. Like so many other great players of that era his career was halted by the hostilities. During the war another great came to play for Accies – England 'keeper Frank Swift, who would later tragically die in the Munich disaster.

Hamilton Academical: 1911 Scottish Cup Finalists

When organised football resumed after the war Accies were relegated to the Second Division. They would be promoted back to the top flight in 1953 and 1965 but were relegated after just one season each time. From the late 1960s through to the early 1970s the club were at a low point and were frequently at the bottom of the old Second Division. In 1971 Accies became the first British club to recruit players from behind the Iron Curtain when three Polish internationals signed for the club amid great publicity.

Success came in the late 1980s when promotion to the Premier League was achieved in 1986 and 1988, going up as First Division champions on each occasion, but like the previous promotions the spell in the top division was for one season only. In 1991 and 1992 the club won the B&Q Cup, the competition for all non-Premier teams, firstly defeating Ayr 1–0 at Fir Park and then Morton 3–2 at Love Street. Promotion back to the Premier was also missed on goal difference that season.

New ground regulations imposed by the safety authorities saw the club vacate Douglas Park, home to the Accies since 1888, in 1994 but the hoped for move to a new stadium did not materialise as planned and the club ground shared with Albion Rovers and Partick Thistle (two spells) for seven years. That period was generally a low one for the club, even though they have topped the First Division twice in the last few seasons. Two relegations befell the club. However the club were promoted straight back as Champions of the Third Division in 2001, winning the title on the final day of the season amidst great scenes at Montrose. Then July 2001 brought the long awaited return to Hamilton after seven years on the road. The new stadium currently seats 6,078 fans and is yards from the old site at Douglas Park. The stadium was opened v Sunderland on 28 July 2001.

After a change in ownership in 2003 promotion back to the First Division came in May 2004 following a 4–0 away win at Forfar. The club then installed an artificial fieldturf surface at the ground amidst great publicity and this has proved most beneficial for the stadium and the club’s youth and community plans. 2005–06 saw a concerted challenge at the top end of the First Division, the club were also in the final again of the Bell’s Cup (the B&Q when first won by Accies) and reached the quarter final replay stage of the Scottish Cup, the club’s best run in 39 years.

Season 2007–08 went very well for the club as Accies led the First Division all season and eventually won the league by seven points from Dundee. Manager Billy Reid was voted as the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year.

Hamilton Academical Kits for 2012-13

The following season brought Accies' first venture into the top division for 20 years and they performed well, finishing in 9th position in the league. In addition, Accies reached the quarter final stage of both national cup competitions, although they were defeated at Ibrox both times. In May, James McCarthy won the SPFA Young Player of the Year, ahead of James McArthur, while Billy Reid narrowly missed out on the manager's prize.

The club's transfer records were smashed in July 2009. Goalkeeper Tomas Cerny made his move from SK Sigma Olomouc permanent at £180k (triple the previous record), while James McCarthy moved to Wigan Athletic for almost £1.2m (again, triple the previous best sale).

In the 2009–10 season, a 3–0 victory against Kilmarnock on 17 April 2010 secured their top flight status for 2010–11, with 4 games remaining, ensuring a third straight season in Scotland's top flight.

However, Accies' stay in the SPL ended in the 2010–11 season, as they were relegated after a 1–0 defeat away to St Johnstone.

Accies finished 4th in their first season back in the Scottish First Division.

Hamilton's New Douglas Park

Squad Analysis:

Goalkeepers

Your first choice here is going to be the experienced Kevin Cuthbert, with Scott Christie providing adequate back up. Cuthbert should be solid enough to continue as your goalkeeper even if you get into the Premiership, but you probably want to think about upgrading from Christie when his contract expires at the end of the year.

Hamilton goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert in action

Full Backs

This Hamilton team is built from their successful youth academy. This is especially true of the back line.Stephen Hendrie is your star 17 year old left back, and should grow into a top premier league player if you give him regular game time. However there is no adequate back up for this position, so its somewhere that you should think about strengthening. The team are also a little light at right back. Ryan Finnie is an able back up and a decent prospect, but you probably want to be bringing in a first choice right back to solidify the back line. You may feel that Ziggy Gordon is good enough to have some involvement in your squad; either as full back or centre back. But in my opinion he's a little short of the standard required.

Centre Backs

Star centreback, and pretty much the only experienced defender in the squad is Martin Canning; He's a strong centre back who isn't particularly fast, but is excellent in a stopper role. Certainly good enough to stay in the squad if you get promoted. Michael Devlin and Lee Kilday provide you with a choice of defensive partner for Canning. I went for Devlin purely because Kilday was injured in pre-season, and Devlin did well. They're similar quality players and are both young with good potential. No strengthening is really needed in this position.

Rock at the back: Martin Canning

Central Midfielders

Too many to mention; the squad has numerous young central midfielders who are all similar in standard; you probably want to think about loaning out or selling a couple of the youngsters. There are 3 players that stand out above all the others: Gary Fisher is on loan from Kilmarnock and has stats head and shoulders above most midfielders at this level. He's best used as a DMC, but sadly will return to Kilmarnock in January and they won't extend his loan. Alex Neil is the experience in the centre of the park, and is a pretty all round player- useful as a defensive player, or as a more creative part of the team. I found he was best used from the bench because of his versatility. Finally, Grant Gillespie is a very promising young DMC that is perfect for taking Fisher's position in the team when he returns to his parent club. The only thing the team could do with here is a creative midfielder to give the side a bit of spark going forwards.

AMC's, Wingers & Strikers

In the hole you can play the prefectly adequate Ali Crawford, but he could do with some competition for the starting berth. Jordan Kirkpatrick is pretty much the only natural winger besides a couple of half decent youngsters, so this is the most important area to address when it comes to squad strengthening. Up front Jon McShane is the star man as either a targetman or an advanced forward; he hit over 20 goals for me in the first season. He's backed up by the impressive looking Stevie May, on loan from St Johnstone until Christmas. I rarely used him, preferring to develop my own youngsters instead. Andy Ryan is your most talented striking prospect to develop here.

Star Striker: Jon McShane

Tactics & Budgets

There is no transfer budget, but there is a little bit of room for manuvre wage-wise, with over a £1000 available for squad strengthening. With a bit of wheeling and dealing you can definately put a decent (but youthful) side together for this level.

Tactically, I chose to use a 4-2-3-1, but the players in the squad would be equally competent playing with a 4-4-2 or even a 4-3-3.

Potential Sales & Signings

The best way to manage Hamilton is to really focus on whats already come through your youth system. If you gamble on some of the youngsters then you can bring in one or two really high quality players to strengthen the team. I would suggest that you need at least a couple of wingers like Claude Gnapka; a french wide man available on a free for a few hundred pounds a week. Definately consider adding an AMC or some spark to the midfield as well. My choice here would be Joe McKee on loan from Bolton for the season. A playmaker high on creativity, he can be signed for nothing at the end of the year as well. Finally, for a first choice right back look no further then Darnell Fisher- an excellent young right back available for next to nothing from Celtic's reserves. Besides those two players, I made do with a series of back up loan signings in case of injuries, and then began to sign young African's with French passports once I had won promotion up to the top flight.

Possible signing: Former Inverness winger Claude Gnapka

Why Hamilton?

There hasn't been a thread on a Scottish First Division team yet, and I think it's a great league to play in. With Hamiton you have a chance of instant success, and you can be challenging for Europe in just a couple of years. With loads of good youth prospects, and an exceptionally young team, this is a great choice of side if you want to develop youngsters rather than signing quick fixes. The clubs academy is growing stronger by the year - they produced James McArthur and James McCarthy, now at Wigan. In my opinion this has to be one of the best challenges in Scotland.

Two of Hamilton's favourite sons; McArthur and McCarthy. Both players can bring a fair bit of money into your club in-game through transfer add ons / clauses

For more details of the Hamilton academy, read this recent "In Bed With Maradona" article: http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2012/11/12/hamilton-academical-the-future-of-scottish-football-is-here.html

Reserved for future updates

Season 1

League: Division 1 - Champions.

This wasn't an easy campaign, as we were pushed all the way by Partick Thistle. However in the end we won the title with the games to spare.

Hamilton's previous promotion to the top flight.

Scottish Cup: Semi-Finals.

Despite a fantastic run there was a cruel ending to our Scottish Cup campaign. Leading St Johnstone 2-1 with 2mins left on the clock I was sure that we would make the final. Alas it wasn't to be. They equalised, and then scord a winner in the last minute of extra time! I probably would have lost the final to Celtic, but would still have qualified for Europe.

League Cup: Winners.

The highlight of the season, beating Dundee United in the semis and then Hearts in the final. I was delighted to win a major trophy while still in Division 1.

The League Cup.

Star Players: The entire defence was excellent, barely conceeding throughout the season. Canning and Devlin were rocks at the back, and Hendrie also looked particularly impressive. Up front, Jon McShane's form was quite patchy, but he still managed to score over 20 goals for the year.

Hot Prospect: Stephen Hendrie in action.

Best Signings: Not too many players were signed this year, but the best one was most definately Darnell Fisher. The Celtic right-back was a consistent preformer in Hamilton's misery defence, and is still young enough to improve into a top player.

Darnell Fisher: a £12,000 signing from Celtic.

Overall: Despite the annoying Scottish Cup exit, I couldn't be more pleased with how the season went. I'll be hoping to push for a Europa League place next season.

Just signed Stephen Hendrie on my Rangers save, cracking young player!

Season 2

League: SPL - 5th Place.

Not a bad finish for the first season in the SPL. We were quite competitive in the first half of the campaign, but tailed off as the season drew to a close; finishing a fair few points behind the top 4.

Scottish Cup: Final.

Another impressive cup run, but we went into the final off-form, facing a strong Rangers side, and were comprehensively beaten. On the plus side though, Rangers ban from Europe means that Hamilton got their Europa League spot despite losing the final.

League Cup: 3rd Round

A terrible (and suprising) early exit to lowly Kilmarnock meant that Hamilton wouldn't be retaining the trophy this season.

Star Players: In terms of players already at the club Jon McShane and Martin Canning made the step up to SPL football exceptionally well; Canning came close to winning the SPL player of the year for his solid performances at the back.

Best Signings: Because of Hamilton's ridiculously limited budget I mostly signed young African players who were released by clubs in France. This gave the squad a somewhat international feel with players from as differing nations as Niger and Madagascar. I then added a couple of more established players with a small windfall from the McCarthy/McArthur transfers to Wigan. The most significant were former Hamilton, St Mirren and St Johnstone striker Nigel Hasslebaink, and Livingston winger Kyle Jacobs. In terms of the African influx, by far the most successful were attacking midfielder Njaka Rafilibera from Madagascar, and starting centre-back Kevin Boli from the Ivory Coast.

Nigel Hasslebaink in action for St Mirren

Overall: In general, a pleasing (if inconsistent) season, and qualifying to Europe meant that I achieved my aims for the year. Another final was also a big bonus, and hopefully we can win the Scottish Cup in the next season or two.

Good thread mate.

Might have a go of a Hamilton save, I have always liked them, Sam Stanton and Danny Handling on loan will be my prime targets.

How are you getting on this season IRL a possible SPL return? Always loved going to NDP.

What are their youth facilities like?

I recently signed 'the next Ally McCoist' who came from Hamilton's youth system, for my Forest Green side in League One. I'll post a screenshot when I am next home but he looks an absolute beast.

Jim MacFarlane, straight out of Hamilton's youth set-up and two days after his 17th birthday...

please keep this up, had a soft spot for Accies since they were first club i completed in Panani sticker Album.