Hamilton academical- lanarkshires finest

So after a short break away from FM15 on this i will be back doing updates with this save if anyone wishes to follow my progress.

i have just started a new save with them=)

How are you getting on with your Hamilton save gotlandskommun?

Whilst there are no clauses, you should still be getting about 5%of every transfer due to solidarity. Also the lb at West Ham falls into it too I believe

Whilst there are no clauses, you should still be getting about 5%of every transfer due to solidarity. Also the lb at West Ham falls into it too I believe

Cheers for the reminder of that Seanydude,yeh stephen hendrie was the left back who went to west ham i'll need to check that out actually..

Moved to the career update forum as requested good luck!

Moved to the career update forum as requested good luck!

Thanks Ty,Just about finished pre-season,and theres a very nasty result in here,go easy on me lads :o

PRE-SEASON

So here it is the end of pre-season,bit of a mixed bag in all honesty...Started off taking the team to the first of two pre season tours,first of all going to Ireland to play against Newtown Rangers and Drogheda Town 2-0 and 4-0 respectively,then a sprited showing against Shamrock Rovers albeit resulting in a 2-0 defeat.

A week later it was off to more warmer climates in Portugal where we played four amateur teams 3 wins out of 4,dont quite know what happened in the match against Sporting Covilha although we had two trialsits playing those being Paul Robinson formerly of Blackburn,and a young Norwegian lad Jorgen Johan Kasin,both done ok but didnty warrant deals at the club.

Then we were back home for games against Bournemouth and Liverpool to see how we fared against Barclays Premiership sides,the game against Bournemouth resulted in a 9-2 hammering,again some trialists were on show so i was able to see what they had on offer not a lot Kenan Hasigic was in goal for the whole 90 and shipped 9 goals to my sheer amazement,Kenny Mcevoy on loan from Spurs on the left side of midfield seemed ok,Robert Kurez on trial done nothing,so it was goodbye to Hasagic and Kurez.

The final match against Liverpool to wrap up the pre season was a diffrent story,tweaked the formation a little and i found myself 2-0 up in the first twenty minutes against the mighty Liverpool,who strangely enough were playing a full strength team,but then turned on the style with goals from Benteke,Henderson and Borini...overall thought i was onto a right spanking but a good performance i guess compared to the riot of the match against Bournemouth.

Overall pre season hasnt went too bad i think,some strange results along with some decent performances,but the lack of finance is limiting me to loanees and bosmans and trialists.

TRANSFERS/LOANS

As you can see not a lot going on here in all honesty,Stephen Crainey in at left back on a free transfer,and young midfielder Kenneth Mcevoy on loan from Spurs are the only two players in at present,Canning left on a free as he was player-manager when i came,Andy Ryan,and Eamonn Brophy are out on short term loan deals for a month to showcase there talents.This is something i need to press on with is transfers and trying to find loanees without the wage cost,as the squad needs major reconstruction.

SQUAD SO FAR

Pretty sure Celtic are Lanarkshire's finest.

Though it does depend on what you define as being Lanarkshire.

Good luck with this! Always enjoy following a Scottish save.

Pretty sure Celtic are Lanarkshire's finest.

Though it does depend on what you define as being Lanarkshire.

Good luck with this! Always enjoy following a Scottish save.

Cheers Lenzar,Celtic are from Glasgow though,not Lanarkshire teams in Lanarkshire are Hamilton,motherwell,Albion Rovers,Airdrie.

Thanks for following,hope you enjoy the save,will be doing regular updates.

As you can see Celtic are the overwhelming favorites to win the league at 3/1on with Aberdeen and Dundee United at 33/1,Hamilton on the other hand are 100/1.Not as bad as our fierce rivals Motherwell who are at 150/1 alongside Ross County,think i'll do well to avoid a relegation fight here.

Good luck

Thanks john1

Chairman has announced a link with Stirling Albion who are in League2,this will be a good opportunity for some of the younger players to showcase there skills and hopefully challenge for a first team place soon.I already have Andy Ryan,and Eamonn Brophy away on loan to Falkirk for a months loan which ends soon.I'll pay Stirling 13k per annum for this.

AUGUST 2014

So the season started off with an away trip to Tannadice for the match against Dundee United,largely expecting to get beat we cam away with a 3-1 thanks to 2 great goals from Salva Chamorro,go gave the United defence no time at all,a very pleasing win there indeed. (W-3-1)

It was then the turn of Inverness,who came to New Douglas park,in what turned out to be a closely fought affair indeed,Mikey Devlin opened the soring in the 3rd minute only for Inverness to equalise not long afterwards,Danny Redmond the english midfielder got the winner. (W-2-1)

The televised game on BT sport was the match against Aberdeen,the team who are fancied to give Celtic a run for there money this season,We raced into a 2 goal lead within 30mins,The dons pulled back level shortly after the break,but Redmond who has been in fine form got the winner in the 57th minute. (W-3-2)

This was a blistering start to the season and then it was a match against Ross County which proved to be a no contest,we dominated possesion,Longridge and the on form spanish striker Chamorro grabbing the goals.In turn this put us top of the table,quite unbelievable!!! (W 2-0)

The league cup 2nd round match against league 1 side Stenhousemuir turned into a 0-0 stalemate although 6 changes were made to the side that had won the last 4 games in the SPFL,it took a 7-6 victory in the penalty shootout to decide the contest. (W 7-6 on pens.)(0-0 90mins)

Back to league business then at New douglas park,the changes were made again from the stalemate against Stenny and Killie took an early lead through Lee Miller,Jason Scotland got the leveller later on. (D 1-1)

Also news had came through that Celtic had lost 1-0 to Hearts so we remained top this month can we consolidate top spot? who knows.

Grabbed the manager of the month award too so all in all a very pleasing start to the season overall.

The transfer window also has now closed,not that there was any money for players anyway,only players coming in since the start of the season were Brian Murphy the ex QPR keeper on a free,and Sam Busby a youth keeper from the english non league.

SEPTEMBER 2014

So into September now and the accies were hoping to keep up the good form,although there was a small break due to the international fixtures,first up was Partick Thistle at New Douglas Park and that resulted in a 3-1 victory,goals coming from the in form Chamorro,Scotland and tottenham loanee Mcevoy. (W 3-1)

Then it was time for the lanarkshire derby against fierce rivals Motherwell,where the well' upped there game and we were lucky to escape with a point Chamorro scoring right at the death with a 94th minute goal. (D 1-1)

League Cup 3rd Round saw Ross County come calling and it was a comprehensive 4-0 victory here to see us into the Quarter Finals and a tie against Dundee United,the in-form Chamorro geeting a brace,young winger Longridge and Scotland gettin a goal also. (W 4-0)

Next up was a visit to the home of the champions Celtic in a fiercely contested match which saw Stefan Johansen and Stephen Crainey both sent off for there respective sides,Jason Scotland grabbing the two goals to get a well deserved point against Celtic a match which was always going to be tough.Scott Allan and Gary Mckay Steven gettin the two goals for the champions. (D 2-2)

So the good league form continues and we are still undefeated in the league so far,how long can the Accies bandwagon roll on?

TRANSFER UPDATE

Ibrahima Sonko in on a free Contract,the former Akhisar Bid,Ipswich and Portsmouth defender will give Devlin and Garcia Tena stiff contest for a slot in defence,signed on a two year deal.

OCTOBER 2014

0-1 V ST JOHNSTONE SPFL (H)

A early John Sutton goal in the 2nd minute does the damage in this match never really got a foothold into the game to be fair.

0-0 V HEARTS SPFL (H)

A stalemate of a match not really much happened here except each other taking pot shots at goal all night.

3-2 v DUNDEE SPFL (H)

Great match which saw us pick up a win for the first time in 2 matches,2 dubious penalties from Jason Scotland who has just signed a 1 year deal,and Ali Crawford grabbing the winner 2mins from time,Dundee rallied towards the end but we managed to hang on for the 3points.

2-3 v DUNDEE UNITED LGE CUP 1/4 FINAL (A)

A match in which we would not give up,United raced into a 2 goal lead in 25mins but Jason Scotland and a belter of a 35yard sttrike from Crawford made it 2-2 before new signing Sonko made a horrendous mistake to let the united player in to score the winner in the 92nd minute which cost us the match.Gutted to have went out but glad to have reached the 1/4 finals though.

Overall this month the form seems to have dipped a little,but we are still in the mix just one point behind leaders Aberdeen and keeping up the pressure on both them and Celtic,also this month Christian Nade gets a move to Nancy for 10k so i will be hoping to try get a forward and a full back in from somewhere or another.

Also quite a few injuries coming along too,Longridge,Gordon two players who have been doing great are both out for a few weeks so may have to tinker the tactics a little to juggle things around.Hope we can pick up form again soon!!!

LEAGUE TABLE

So we got a kind draw in the Scottish Cup 4th Round,a home tie against Ayr United who are top of the Scottish League 1 at the moment,will be a tricky test but one i feel we should be winning.

NOVEMBER 2014

November hasnt been the best of months for the Accies,who have seen the early form dip that has led to the great start to the season,few dissapointing performances and injuries have been holding us back,Ziggy Gordon probably my best player at Right Back has been injured the last 6weeks so Gillespie who has slotted in,in place of him has looked shaky at best.

0-2 V DUNDEE UNITED SPFL (H)

Goals from Darko Bodul and a Charlie Telfer strike gives United the points in a match we just never showed up at all to be honest-Very Dissapointing.

0-2 v INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE SPFL (A)

Another inept performance sees caley get the goals here,morale is starting to go down as we seem to be struggling a bit here.

2-3 V ABERDEEN SPFL (H)

Bit more of a spirited performance after going an early goal down after Fitz Hall making his debut here gives away a penalty,Chamorro ends his 4 game run without a goal getting a equaliser before half time.Jonny Hayes then scores 2 more,and Kenny Mcevoy on loan from Spurs scores a good goal to get us back in it in the 88th minute.Wasnt enough and the Dons get the 3points.Bit of a better performance though from what i seen here.

4-1 v AYR UNITED SCOTTISH CUP 4TH ROUND (H)

Went down to an early goal in the 9th minute though the guys rolled there socks up and Jason Scotland got us back in it before half time.Read the riot act during the interval and the players responded great goals from Routledge,Mackinnon and Chamorro getting us into the 5th round draw.Rang the changes too in this match making 4 changes from the team who lost to Aberdeen,Also sees Ziggy Gordon make his comeback from injury in the 85th minute.A good solid win.

TRANSFER UPDATES

Fitz Hall joins the Accies on a 2year deal after agreeing on a Bosman deal,the former Watford,QPR and Newcastle centre half will give Devlin and Garcia Tena and Sonko good competition for a place in defence.

LEAGUE TABLE

Slipped off the pace a bit and Aberdeen and Celtic after a slow start seem to be kicking on.Hopefully we can gether some points and reignite our good start we had to the season.A busy month sees us play(in order) Kilmarnock,Ross County,Partick Thistle,the derby against Motherwell,St Johnstone and Hearts.think we can get at least 3 wins here at least.

SCOTTISH CUP

Drew Inverness in the 5th Round of the cup,should be a interesting match,played them twice so far this season winning 2-1 and losing 2-0 respectively.

DECEMBER 2014

A half decent December for the Accies achieving the 3 wins that i least expected,doing even better and getting 4.Some good performances and some stutters so lets have a recap of how December went for the Lanarkshire side..

2-0 V KILMARNOCK (A) SPFL

A good win overall,bit sluggish in the first half but Jason Scotland and Louis Longridge grabbing the goals to maintain the pressure on Aberdeen for 2nd place,also Longridge is a target for St Johnstone,hes going nowhere.

1-2 V ROSS COUNTY (H) SPFL

Poor performance against Ross County who were sitting down in 9th place,team looked rather tired and probably should have rotated the squad for this one,Lucas Taglialatela grabbing the second half goal (what a name btw)

2-1 V PARTICK THISTLE (A) SPFL

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright was in the stands for this one as transfer target Longridge got accies off to a flyer,Salva Chamorro finding his touch again with a last minute sucker punch to give hamilton the 3pts at a wet firhill.

3-2 V MOTHERWELL (H) SPFL

It was time for the big one,the one all accies fans love,the Lanarkshire derby,we found oursselves 3-0 at half time and it could have been 6 or 7 i think,changed the tactics a bit,asked the team to be a bit more direct and it worked a treat,with some harsh word thrown in,Chamorro who has came alive again scoring two goals in 90seconds,and a wonder free kick from young talent Gillespie getting the points,crowd trouble marred this game with 16 arrests outside New Douglas Park for fighting amonst rival fans.

4-0 V ST JOHNSTONE (A) SPFL

What a match this turned out to be,morale was sky high after the Motherwell match,and boy did it show,Longridge,2 for Mecevoy and Scotland putting us 4 goals to the good up in 34mins,side seemed to ease off a little after the break though,great game.Again Longridge scoring a belter,will St Johnstone make a bid for his services i wonder.

0-1 V HEARTS (A) SPFL

A fiercely contested match saw accies go down to a very harsh penalty from Igor Rossi in the 89th minute,awarded by Wille Collum,had to hold my tongue in the post match conference,was never a penalty,Captain Stephen Crainey sent off for the 3rd time this season again.

TRANSFER UPDATES

No such activity this month,but Christian Nade and Darian Mckinnon will be moving on to Nancy and Partick Thistle respectively.Contracts will need to be renewed and players released to gather some much needed income,Also the manager has signed a new 3 year deal as it only had 12months to run.

LEAGUE TABLE

Still cant quite believe how good my wee Hamilton side is doing in all honesty,for a media prediction of 8th we are flying,currently sitting in 3rd place with a potential Europa League place up for grabs,can we catch Aberdeen and Champs Celtic who are starting to pull away? We shall see!!!!

Going well.

Quite a fair size of an update to come shortly in the next day or two guys,not had much playtime lately due to the international games and work commitments,stay tuned.If you havent had a read from the start of my journey so far please feel free to do so.

Going well.

It is indeed Nobby,One or two few blips here and there unfortunately,but if i can hold onto the Europa League place i'll be well impressed.Cant see me catching Aberdeen now.

JANUARY&HALF OF FEBRUARY

Some decent performances here especially against Dundee,Dundee United,and so nearly coming close to beating champions Celtic only for them to score a 93rd minute equaliser.Also sees us progress to the 1/4 finals of the Scottish Cup which gives us a home tie against Celtic,hopefully put in a good performance.

Also,Salva Chamorro is in superb form scoring for fun lately,seems to love the lone striker role.

Not much change in the league table as i said before,Aberdeen are starting to pull away but if we can maintain good space ahead of Dundee United it will be great for European football at Douglas Park for the very first time in there history,long way to go for that though.

Great work so far. Is there any room to develop the stadium any more? Can't help but think a 6,000 capacity is going to hold the club back in future.

Great work so far. Is there any room to develop the stadium any more? Can't help but think a 6,000 capacity is going to hold the club back in future.

So far no,is the answer to that i think finances arent too clever although i do agree with you totally.For a stadium of 6,000 i think is a pittance personally for a top flight team.Will post a pic up of my finances.

As it stands,Not looking good at all.how could i improve this anyone any suggestions? Financial stuff isnt my strong point im afraid.

I think your best bet is some (relative) European success to fill up the coffers. A Europa League group stage could do wonders for you...

I think your best bet is some (relative) European success to fill up the coffers. A Europa League group stage could do wonders for you...

Yeah dllu,was actually thinking that would be about the only real way,as the finances are pretty dire as you can see,so hoping this could get some much needed cash in the door,saying that,sold Grant Gillespie for 1m but i only got 45% of the revenue for that so if a big offer came in again for any of my other top players i'd seriously have to consider it,although that would see the end of my euro push probably.

My advice would be to adopt a PSV model. Sign young players for peanuts, then sell them for huge fees and add-ons, but never to clubs in Scotland, as that only strengthens your rivals. Then use small amounts to reinvest in the squad, and pump the rest into your facilities.

I did something similar in my Norwegian save. Getting the best scouts you possibly can will make all the difference. You need to accept that every player has his price, but if your scouts are up to it, you can get an upgraded player AND some money in the bank.

Win, win. I'd advise you not to sell players on a whim, though. Decide which player you want to sell the next summer in September or October, and that then gives you time to replace them. You may even be able to find a Bosman deal.

My advice would be to adopt a PSV model. Sign young players for peanuts, then sell them for huge fees and add-ons, but never to clubs in Scotland, as that only strengthens your rivals. Then use small amounts to reinvest in the squad, and pump the rest into your facilities.

I did something similar in my Norwegian save. Getting the best scouts you possibly can will make all the difference. You need to accept that every player has his price, but if your scouts are up to it, you can get an upgraded player AND some money in the bank.

Win, win. I'd advise you not to sell players on a whim, though. Decide which player you want to sell the next summer in September or October, and that then gives you time to replace them. You may even be able to find a Bosman deal.

Yip very ggod advice there buddy-Thank you

UPDATE SO FAR

Some great results in here especially the away win at Parkhead against Celtic which has saw us through to the semi finals of the scottish cup,could we actually go all the way and win it?

So close to achieving what has been nothing short of a miracle in reaching European football for the first time in Hamilton's history.Maintained 3rd place,but teams are hot on our tail,dropped some silly points in the last few games.Looking forward to the run-in.

So we have done it,a dramatic penalty shoot-out with a 4-2 victory!!! We get our big day out at Hampden!!!