[FM15] Double the RAM, double the fun?

Having bought some extra RAM for my aging PC (I now have 4GB), I noticed that I also had access to the FM15 Beta as of today.

With the extra memory I am able to load the following leagues without trouble:

As you can I've chosen to start Unemployed and I intend to play a Journeyman game. Not trying for any real goals, but I am hoping to emulate the success of others like tomtuck01 and SRL88.

Manager Profile

Career Progress

YEAR    |CLUB      |NATION| DIVISION   | PLACE  | NOTES 
2014-15  Colomiers   FRA     National      16th    Sacked 21st December
2014-15  Chelmsford  ENG     Conf. South   4th    Joined 18th January
2015-16  Chelmsford  ENG    Conf. South    4th   Promoted via playoffs
2016-17 Chelmsford   ENG    Conference    19th   Avoided relegation - resigned at end of season
2017-18 Oxford         ENG    League Two    2nd    Promoted
2018-19 Reading       ENG    Championship 2nd    Joined 6th January - promoted
2019-20 Reading      ENG    Premier League 17th 4 points clear of relegation
2020-21 Reading      ENG    Premier League  4th  Qualified for Champions League
2021-22 Reading       ENG   Premier League  4th Left 22th December
2021-22 Q.P.R.         ENG   Premier League  4th Joined 23rd December - Champions League Qualification
2022-23 Q.P.R.        ENG    Premier League  1st FA Cup & Europa League winners
2023-24 Q.P.R.        ENG    Premier League 1st FA Cup & Champions League winners
2024-25 Q.P.R.        ENG    Premier League 1st Champions League winners

Honours Won

Premier League (3) - Q.P.R. 2023, 2024 & 2025
FA Cup (2) - Q.P.R. 2023 & 2024
FA Community Shield (1) - Q.P.R. 2024
UEFA Champions League (2) - Q.P.R. 2024 & 2025
UEFA Europa League (1) - Q.P.R. 2023
UEFA Super Cup (2) - Q.P.R. 2023 & 2024
FIFA Club World Cup (1) - Q.P.R. 2024

Club #1 - US Colomiers (Championnat de France National)

After loading the French league for the first time, I get my first job in its third tier.

Squad Overview

Yes, those are grey players. The squad is seriously lacking in real players. I have no fullbacks, and lack cover in most positions.

OOF! That's a squad that needs work

August 2014

Considering the tiny number of players available, to come out with a 50% win record is pleasing. Desenclos, despite his hat-trick, is actually a defender.

September 2014

Utterly terrible. The majority of the squad is barely good enough for the level below, especially the defence who regularly get beaten by routine long balls.

October 2014

As the shocking league form continues, I'm beginning to wonder how long the board will tolerate this. I agreed that I would 'fight bravely' against relegation, but I don't really think getting regularly tonked by 2 or more goals is going to be acceptable. As for the cup, I'm thinking that our wins there are more due to sheer difference in club stature - my opposition have all been from a much lower tier.

November 2014

No surprises in the cup, but I was delighted to walk away with 3 points against Istres, who were top of the table. Still, poor defensive performances continue to cost us points.

Most porous defence in the league? That's almost something to be proud of

Keep going!

After expressing interest in another job, I was called into an emergency meeting. Clearly my explanation wasn't good enough as I ended up sacked.

Bummer. Oh well, there's no point loading all those extra leagues and then not using them.

Club #2 - Chelmsford City (English Conference South)

Applying for several roles, I was turned down by clubs such as Havant & Waterlooville, who appointed the Chelmsford manager. That opening, however, was offered to me.

Accepting this opening resulted in my Suffolk-born wife threatening to turn me out onto the street. Can't really blame her as our only trip to Chelmsford resulted in us getting totally lost.

A fairly decent squad, but I'm quite worried about the standard of the goalkeepers.

With the board expecting a playoff place, I simply need to keep up the form that my predecessor managed.

Blimey! Quite a position you find yourself in already!

Woah. That escalated quickly

January & February 2015

Generally a good start, though the result against Hemel Hempstead was bitterly disappointing as they're 19th. The game against St. Albans was utterly mad - every time the ball went into the box a goal soon followed.

March 2015

The good form continues, but I've discovered that my defence is incredibly weak if playing against a one man attack - their striker will run (often from what looks offside) between my two centre backs and obtain many 1-on-1s with my keeper, scoring a couple on sheer averages alone.

With four games to until the end of the season, I remain hopeful that we can cling on for the playoffs, but pessimistic that we'll be good enough to go up. It doesn't help that we have a match on a Saturday followed by one two days later. Who allows such scheduling?

That SRL88 character is a someone worth emulating .

Could use a few more wins.

April 2015

After a poor April, we entered the playoffs against my old FM13 team Havant & Waterlooville feeling a little nervous. In the end two goals from my strikers at home proved enough after the Hampshire side failed to make up the deficit. We go into the playoff final against Whitehawk knowing that we're one decent game away from promotion.

Playoff Final

So we headed off to Brighton, sure we were the weaker team, but hopeful that we could find a way past a defence that had considered a little over a goal a game. When I saw their tactic was 5-4-1, which appears to be overpowered in this year's ME, I knew we were in trouble.

And I was not wrong as my defence totally capitulated to long balls aimed at their lone striker (who easily slipped past my centre halves), and crosses.

Another year in the Conference South beckons. Can I find a way to stop those pesky long balls?

Pity to be defeated so crushingly in the final like that.

2014-15 Season Review

League- I took over a side in the playoffs, and that is where we stayed, failing badly in the final.

Chelmsford were already out of both cups by the time I took over.

Squad Stats

Transfers

Season Best XI

Unlucky in the Play Off's, i share your pain. With a full summer in front of you maybe next season you can go one step further.

2014-15 Winners and Losers

Premier League Winners: Manchester City (2nd in a row, 5th title)

Relegated: Stoke, Sunderland, Crystal Palace

FA Cup Winners: Southampton (2nd win) v Arsenal

League Cup Winners: Man City (2nd in a row, 4th win) v Everton

Scottish Premiership Winners: Celtic (4th in a row, 46th title)

Relegated: Kilmarnock

Scottish Cup Winners: Aberdeen (6th win) v Inverness CT

Scottish League Cup Winners: St. Johnston (1st win) v Celtic

Serie A Winners: Juventus (4th in a row, 31st title)

Relegated: Cagliari, Empoli, Palermo

TIM Cup Winners: Fiorentina (7th win) v Inter

Bundesliga Winners: Bayern Munich (3rd in a row, 25th title)

Relegated: Werder Bremen, Hannover, Paderborn

DFB Pokal Winners: Schalke (6th win) v HSV

Ligue 1 Winners: Paris St Germain (3rd in a row, 5th title)

Relegated: Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes

Coupe de France Winners: Montpellier (3rd win) v Lyon

Coupe de la League Winners: Paris St Germain (2nd in a row, 5th title)

Liga BBVA Winners: Barcelona (23rd title)

Relegated: Levante, Elche, Eibar

Copa del Rey Winners: Real Madrid (2nd in a row, 20th win)

Champions League Winner: Paris St Germain (1st win) v Man City

Europa League Winner: Arsenal (2nd win) v Roma

Former Clubs

Colomiers

YEAR    | DIVISION | POSITION | NOTES
2014-15  National      18th     Relegated

Lost all but two of their remaining league games after sacking me, Colomiers were over 20 points from safety by the end of the season, finishing rock bottom.

That's tough luck in the playoffs. A very frustrating end to the season.

August 2015

With the board expectation that I achieve a 'respectable' league position and the media saying we'd finish as low as 16th, I started the season with relatively low expectations. That changed a little after the first match, but I was brought back down to Earth at the end of the month by our terrible performance at St. Albans.

September 2015

After a good start, 3 poor performances in a row caused us to start to drop down the table. The win against Welling proved that we had the ability if we turned up, whilst the cup game was a fairly simple task against Ryman League opposition.

October 2015

As my new Director of Football has now settled in, he's begun finding several gems for this level - Payne and Akinola were both findings of his. A much better October saw us get into the 1st Round of the FA Cup, as well as back into the playoff places. If we can keep this sort of form up, then promotion is once again a possibility.

Form has picked up nicely

November & December 2015

November saw us continue our fine form from October, including overcoming yet more lower league opposition in the FA Cup and FA Trophy. December was also looking good until we lost 2 on the bounce, disappointing especially after beating Conference National side Cheltenham in the FA Trophy. Matlock, our FA Cup opponents, were the only side ranked below us in the 2nd round draw.

For the 3rd round, we are playing English champions, Manchester City. We'll get utterly caned, but the match is at theirs..so I'm hoping for a big payday.

Good to see you're still in the mix in the top half of the table.

Oooh no doubt you will get big money from Man City

You've won the lottery!

January & February 2016

After starting the new year with the predicted hammering by City, we took a good win in the league before ending our run in the FA Trophy, too. Up and down results followed until mid February, allowing us to take 3 wins on the trot - the Hemel Hempstead win was easily the most nervy match I've played this season. Our league position looks good, but things are tight so I'm remaining slightly pessimistic that we can stay in the playoffs.

Youth Intake

No world beaters, but a couple of useful players just to help with squad depth.

Marcus Moss

March & April 2016

Whilst March was a good month, results such as the poor draw against a Gosport who were in the relegation zone at the time ensured that we once again came 4th. Martins hadn't scored once before getting injured early on in the season - since returning he & Akinola have been among the league's best strike pairings! We go to Westleigh Park, home of my FM13 team Havant & Waterlooville, hoping that we can emulate our previous performance against the Hawks.

Playoff Final

We went to Havant knowing we had already beaten our hosts twice in the league, but that were still a very strong having finished a close 2nd. Was their desire for revenge going to prove too strong for the boys from Essex?

In the end the two first half goals from defender Simpemba and league top scorer Akinola were enough, with Martins settling our nerves towards the end of the match.

Great season. Money from the cup and promotion, i am not jealous in the slightest.

2015-16 Season Review

League - Things never looked like being easy, and poor defence throughout the year made things harder than they perhaps could have been.

FA Cup - After drawing teams in leagues below for all but the final qualifying round, we sailed easily into the 3rd round, making nearly a million when we played City. A proud day despite the result.

FA Trophy - Didn't expect much here, but a nice win over Conference National side Cheltenham gave us a little hope.

Season Stats

Transfers

Season Best XI

Overall Best XI

Definitely well deserved.

2015-16 Winners & Losers

Premier League Winners: Man City (3rd in a row, 6th title)

Relegated: West Ham, Blackburn, West Brom

FA Cup Winners: Chelsea (8th win) v Tottenham

Scottish Premiership Winners: Aberdeen! (5th title)

Relegated: Ross County

Scottish Cup Winners: Inverness CT (1st win) v Falkirk

Scottish League Cup Winners: Celtic (15th win) v Cowdenbeath

Serie A Winners: Juventus (5th in a row, 32nd title)

Relegated: Avellino, Pescara, Cesena

TIM Cup Winners: Genoa (2nd win) v Torino

Bundesliga Winners: Gladbach (6th title)

Relegated: HSV, Augsburg, Dusseldorf

DFB-Pokal Winners: FC Bayern (18th win) v Gladbach

Ligue 1 Winners: Monaco (8th title)

Relegated: Guingamp, Tours, Angers

Coupe de France Winners: Monaco (6th win) v Lyon

Liga BBVA Winners: Real Madrid (33rd title)

Relegated: Levante, Elche, Eibar

Copa del Rey Winners: Atletico Madrid (11th win) v Real Sociedad

Champions League Winner: FC Bayern (6th win) v Chelsea

Europa League Winner: Sampdoria (1st win) v CSKA Moscow

France '16 - European Championship

It is the Three Lions who end fifty years of hurt after two penalty shootout wins! Roy Hodgson responds by immediately retiring.

August & September 2016

A mixed start, but a lot better than I had hoped. The match against Braintree was insane - our Essex rivals just failed to defend properly. The win against Eastleigh was child's play - they've been in administration since last season and haven't even bothered with a new manager - they've lost every match so far! The performance against Chester was probably the biggest surprise as the entire team played brilliantly for a change - in most losses I get let down by one or more terrible defenders.

Job Offers

Went to both interviews, but I don't think the jobs are right for me. Kidderminster have already appointed someone else (as I wanted more wage budget), and I've delayed Chester's offer, but I suspect I'll be rejecting it as the Cheshire club lack the resources I need for me to consider them an upward step.

Excellent job in the playoffs. Definitely worth staying put

October & November 2016

Oh dear. Our defence is awful every match no matter what I try - I've tried rotating players. Even in the cups against lower league opposition have we struggled. If I could get some defenders that were half as good as my attackers, I'd be in a much better position, but my scouts come back with players who 'have the potential' to be Conference level at best.

December 2016

Somehow we managed to see off League One Brighton in the cup (despite them having 45 shots!), and then crushed their A27 neighbours Lewes in the FA Trophy. Conceding 2 goals a game then became commonplace, even against Eastleigh who have been terrible all year.

My reward for beating Brighton was not another glamour tie, but a disappointing trip to Gillingham.

I've had job interviews with Stirling Albion, who rejected me, and East Fife, who've not yet come back with a response. With things as they are at Chelmsford, I would have to seriously consider any offers.

Good luck in in FA cup and keeping them above

International Management

After 2 games, Ghana are 3rd in their World Cup group, with Senegal, Uganda and Central African Republic.

Hopefully some good performances with Ghana will give your reputation a boost if you were looking to progress from Chelmsford.

Hopefully some good performances with Ghana will give your reputation a boost if you were looking to progress from Chelmsford.

I've already decided I'm leaving Chelmsford at the end of the season. I just can't attract the players needed to progress.

January & February 2017

A mixed bag, depending entirely on how well the defence played. Clearly against Accrington Stanley they forgot to drink their milk at the start. The performance against Altrincham was terrible, nearly throwing away a 4-0 lead proved just how terrible my back line are.