dafuge's FM09 challenge

[peter-evo]

cool, in that case I have become the new and proud manager of Guiseley in the Blue Square North.

Media Prediction: 18th
Finances: £47k
Transfer Budget: £0
Wage Budget: £1.94k

Manager Profile

Best of luck mate, keep us up-to-date

[skullage]

Cheers, going to be a tough first season though I reckon.

[peter-evo]

Cheers, going to be a tough first season though I reckon.

Be sure to check the free players and untick 'ask assistant to rule out unrealistic targets'

[pnefc22]

Skullage, nice to have you here. I am also Guiseley, and I completed my first season a few days ago. I won the league quite easily.

It is not that hard of a first season.

Players to try and get:

Tom Elliott on loan from leeds
Lee Ellington (Nathan Ellington's brother - free)
Lewis Edge - Got 11 assists for me as keeper
Jon Docker - 15 assists from centre mid
Paul Jones - Solid captain, slow but commanding.

[skullage]

cheers pnefc22, i'm going to have a look at those players now

Lee Ellington was a great buy, he scored 2 goals for me on his debut

[pnefc22]

He got 25 or something for me in my first season which coupled with Tom Elliott's 35 won me the league

[YNWALFC]

For anyone who is in League 2 possibly even BSP look for Ewan Clarke. I bought him on a free from Watford in my first season in League 2. Now he has scored over 100 goals and is rated to be able to play in the Premiership

[michaeltmurrayuk]

Well this is a new one, one of my players isn't motivated playing for me due to my low reputation - which is a little weird considering my reputation (national) is better than the clubs (regional) and has been for years, I'm one of eight National rep Championship managers (Spurs manager who got them relagated has a Continental rep) and get linked with several championship/premiership jobs a season, and my high reputation is about the only thing that attracts players to the club.

[skullage]

That is weird, what reputation does the player have? If it's higher than National then that might be why.

[TheUsualSuspect9]

I'm in. Just about to get going in my first attempt at dafuge's challenge after seeing a few people on it in the 'All-Nighter' thread encouraged me to give it a go.

Looking foward to updating everyone on how i get on and reading through some of the interesting looking posts in this thread.

I used to enjoy using apps like Genie and FMRTE but am so bored of them and really want a challenge now and no bigger one than thin. I've deleted all trace of any third party apps and plan to stick to the rules 100%.

[Bhoy]

Forgot to post my manager profile at the start of the season but I have started the challenge as Farnborough The first time I have tried this challenge and I have made a good start to the BSN.

P 9
W 5
D 2
L 2

[TaylorB]

Great start Bhoy

Given up on your Celtic game with the free scoring Artur Boruc?

Just signed some Portuguese under 21 international after getting him on trial, only to find out he can't come for a year and a half because they're not allowed to move abroad until their 18, ffs

[Bhoy]

Not given up mate, just taking a break. He had 3 more goals third season to take him to around 14 overall

Currently 2nd with Farnborough, 4 points behind Lewes.

P 17
W 11
D 2
L 4

[Surferosa]

Unlucky on the season peter-evo- I reckon you'll make it next season though In terms of the money- do you stack up on friendlies at the start of the season? I play 5 games for the money (as much as I can get per game), then 3 games for confidence against lesser teams (though if you have a non-league rival.. like Witton v Northwich.. you get nearly as much for that). This year they brought in around 100k at the start of the season (and I've only got a 2500 seater as well).

Also welcome to skullage, theusualsuspect9 and bhoy

[MikaelS]

well the start in the 2nd season in PL isn't exactly going according to plans. 7 games in I'm 15th with 1 win, 3 draws and 3 losses.

I think I should have spent some money on defense instead of strengthening the offense.

That said, I thought I'd flash some of my findings

Rochemback
Juan José
Kretschmer
Laudrup

[Almondo]

Okay so after an indifferent preseason with only two wins out of eight games the season has now started with a draw against Kings Lynn. ah well ext up FC United

[oldhammad]

Right; Say hello to the new manager of Guiseley! I get £230 a week, and apparently we don't have enough strength in depth, so I'll be using my transfer budget to sign a few players. Well, actually, I have no transfer budget, but quite a lot of room to fill in my wage budget, so a lot of free's could be coming in. Thank God I have Leeds as a feeder club, which will hopefully give me a few good loans which I can use to keep me up. My media predicition is 19th, which shows I have a good chance of beating the drop. One thing I do need to do is give Farsley a good beating.

The reason I chose Guiseley is because I live near there, so it's nice to have a local team. Obviously, I would have preferred Ashton, as it's near Oldham, but I don't live near Oldham, so...

[Surferosa]

Good luck oldhammad & welcome

[oldhammad]

Cheers Surferosa

[pnefc22]

Oldhammad, it is nice to have you here and I am also Guiseley.

I am liking everyone else being Guiseley

Have a look at my post a few up and look at some of the recommended signings.

Here is my reccomendations:

Players to try and get:

Tom Elliott on loan from leeds
Lee Ellington (Nathan Ellington's brother - free)
Lewis Edge - Got 11 assists for me as keeper
Jon Docker - 15 assists from centre mid
Paul Jones - Solid captain, slow but commanding.

[hamilton162]

Well, i'm out of the JPT but still holding onto 1st in League 1 from Southampton by 6 points after 9 games. We are keeping up our good scoring record as well, which is at an average of 2.8 goals per game Good luck to all of those who have recently started the challenge

[TaylorB]

19 games through the season and Bradford PA are sitting 13th in League 2; 10 points off relegation and 7 points off the play-offs.

As much as I'd love to go up to continue my progress through the leagues, I think if I do I'll go straight back down.

[pnefc22]

I am flirting with relegation in the BSP in my second season(first in the BSP) after 11 games. I am 20th and it is looking precarious but I am predicting that one of my relegation rivals, Frays, will have points deducted for the state of their finances

[hamilton162]

Taylor, in my current experience, Leagues 1 and 2 are not that far apart in terms of standard. I am ripping up L1 after a few summer signings and look on course for 2 successive promotions

Rob, don't count on that. You have to survive on merit mate otherwise you are at real risk of getting sacked or going down next season.

[pnefc22]

Yes, I know not to rely on it but it would help.

My points target for which would make me safe would be 56.

I am slowly trying to improve my squad but my first promotion may have been too fast

Although, it is helping with increased gate receipts.

I am concentrating on the cups this year as my main priority, as long as I stay up. And, I feel that I can win the FA Trophy.

My first cup match(fa cup qualifying) is against the tycoon's that is BSN Redditch, who I battled with for promotion last year. Should be a good game

[TaylorB]

hamilton, the may not be far apart in terms of standard but my players are only decent BSP players the majority of them..

[hamilton162]

Ah, that might be a problem then Taylor Mine are at least Good L1 Standard (Apart from the youth and old players )

[pnefc22]

How many coaches and scouts have you guys got?

I have 3 coaches and 2 scouts in the BSP.

[YNWALFC]

I have 7 Scouts and 9 Coaches and I am in League 1

[hamilton162]

9 scouts and 9 coaches You?

EDIT: All coaches have at least 19 in at least one training attribute And i have 2 scouts with 20 for JPA and JPP

[TaylorB]

9 coaches and 3 scouts in League 2.

[TaylorB]

Just noticed that I've won 10 and lost 12 without any draws and I'm the only team approaching January that hasn't drawn a game

[Bhoy]

So close yet so far from the play-offs in my first season with Farnborough. My last two games were 2-0 and 3-0 losses to Worcester and Bath.

League table: http://i42.tinypic.com/20b0k7d.png
League player stats: http://i44.tinypic.com/2qkur7r.png

[Surferosa]

Really unlucky that Bhoy.. should leave you in good shape for next year though

[Bhoy]

Yeah, hoping to make some big signings. Any recommendations?

[YNWALFC]

Igor Paldan. he is a CB from Man City. He will probably get released on the 1st of July. I still have him and I am in the Championship (you will find out more about how I got into the Championship later).

Also Peggy Lokando he is a CM from Southend. Look through all the premiership, championship, league 1 and 2 for players that they released. It will take ages but it is well worth it

[Funbags]

Igor Paldan. he is a CB from Man City. He will probably get released on the 1st of July. I still have him and I am in the Championship (you will find out more about how I got into the Championship later).

Also Peggy Lokando he is a CM from Southend. Look through all the premiership, championship, league 1 and 2 for players that they released. It will take ages but it is well worth it

paldan is a beast was my top scorer one season

[YNWALFC]

I had to sell him just now. He wanted to move to a bigger club. So off he went to bradford who are in League 1 for £550k. Strange how I am in the Championship and he feels he is taking a step up

[Funbags]

i sold him for 1 mil on my old save

[michaeltmurrayuk]

How many coaches and scouts have you guys got?

I have 3 coaches and 2 scouts in the BSP.

10 coaches, 10 scouts and finally 2 physios, though I only have one 7 star coach with the rest 5 stars and it was hard enough finding the 5 star coaches.

[michaeltmurrayuk]

I am not having much luck with injuries this season, and things are just getting worse as the season reaches the end - picked up 5 injuries (2 red, 2 green, and 1 knock which sent the players condition down to ~50%) in a 1-0 defeat to top of the table Blackburn and in my next game picked up two more red injuries drawing 0-0 to 10 man Palace (the inability to beat teams reduced to 10men not helping matters either) Luckily they are only week long injuries and not long term ones.

Whilst we have been distinctly average this season after 39 games we have won 12, lost 12, drawn 15, scored 51, conceeded 51 and have 51pts on the plus side we cannot get relagated but are 14pts from the playoffs with 21pts left to play for, meaning again the playoffs are out of my reach.

[TaylorB]

Lethal
11 shots
9 on target
7 goals
Sorry Accrington

[TaylorB]

Somehow, I'm dominating everyone in my league, haven't lost in twelve and am now in the play-offs.

Just beat the league leaders 3-0 away from home for their first defeat in 18 games.

Could it be three succesive promotions!? And if League One is about the same standard then it could be four

[TaylorB]

Table one game left..

Look slike all the hours spent on transfers was worthwile..

We have Morcambe away
Yeovil have bury away

EDIT: Both of us drew 1-1 so we're in the play-offs

EDIT: Won the first leg at home 1-0..

EDIT: Got a draw in the second leg to get to the final after a magical 13 match unbeaten run

[TaylorB]

Cannot believe this. We're promoted

The magical unbeaten run to squeese us into the play-offs and then to progress up & through. Outstanding, truly outstanding

PlayOff Final

Three succesive promotions & if there isn't that big a jump in terms of standard hopefully four in a row

[TaylorB]

My first game in League One ends in a 0-0 draw at home to Scunthorpe..

Completely rebuilt my squad too

EDIT: And then a 1-0 loss at carlisle

[TaylorB]

TaylorB - League Two - 2011/12 End of Season Update

A season vast exceeding expectations of the board and myself!
Struggled early on and couldn'y buy a point but from then on we were picking up the odd win and draw here and there. With 13 games left I was happy at being mid-table and finishing around there but for the last 13 games I was unbeaten and sneaked into the last playoff place. I was suprisingly confident though, as we were in the form of our lives and the others were dipping, we faced 30 game table tobbers Barnet who hadn't won in 5 games first and a 1-0 home victory and a 1-1 draw away from home booked our place in the final against Morecambe. Jake Howells scored the one and only goal with a towering header after a fine flowing move that summed up our season.
FT 1-0



Table
Graph
Star

Aims for the new season:
Stay in the division
Find some good cheap players
Get some improvements in facilities.

Season             League                            League Position          Achievements
2009/10          Blue Square North                    1st                      Promoted as Champions.
2010/11           Blue Square Premier                  1st                      Promoted as Champions.
2011/12            League Two                             6th                     Promoted through play-offs.

[/FONT]

[hamilton162]

Well Done Taylor A great season and hopefully you can get a mid-table finish this year, if not push for promotion Good Luck

[TaylorB]

Well Done Taylor A great season and hopefully you can get a mid-table finish this year, if not push for promotion Good Luck

Cheers 6 games in and no points and only one scored though
you said the jump wasn't that big

[hamilton162]

Well it wasn't for my squad as they were all L1 standard in L2

[TaylorB]

Well it wasn't for my squad as they were all L1 standard in L2

It's fine now my first win is a 5 -0 demolition of Carlisle with Steve Kabba scoring a hat-trick and Leon Clarke with the other two. Anthony Mcnamee with all 5 assists

[hamilton162]

I bet you will never match my record of 27 goals in 9 league games

[JackR24]

Profile

Taken over at FC United. Should be fun.

[hamilton162]

It is great fun Jack, but also a real task to complete it. Good Luck

[Almondo]

we all need luck on this just started with boston utd and it's gonna be hard work keeping them up

[hamilton162]

Just smashed Oldham 5-1 away from home to take our unbeaten record in the league to 50 games 40 last year and 10 this year I'm aiming for at least another 10/15, if not more

[peter-evo]

TaylorB - League Two - 2011/12 End of Season Update

A season vast exceeding expectations of the board and myself!
Struggled early on and couldn'y buy a point but from then on we were picking up the odd win and draw here and there. With 13 games left I was happy at being mid-table and finishing around there but for the last 13 games I was unbeaten and sneaked into the last playoff place. I was suprisingly confident though, as we were in the form of our lives and the others were dipping, we faced 30 game table tobbers Barnet who hadn't won in 5 games first and a 1-0 home victory and a 1-1 draw away from home booked our place in the final against Morecambe. Jake Howells scored the one and only goal with a towering header after a fine flowing move that summed up our season.
FT 1-0



Table
Graph
Star

Aims for the new season:
Stay in the division
Find some good cheap players
Get some improvements in facilities.

Season             League                            League Position          Achievements
2009/10          Blue Square North                    1st                      Promoted as Champions.
2010/11           Blue Square Premier                  1st                      Promoted as Champions.
2011/12            League Two                             6th                     Promoted through play-offs.

[/FONT]

That's fantastic mate and the last games must have been incredible! Well done and I hope you can stay up at least.

[TaylorB]

I now sit 8th after an impressive 8 game winning streak 27 games gone. Could it be?

[Ethan13]

Going to give this challenge a go.

Team: Boston Utd
Media Prediction: 11th

Profile

Will update at the end of each season.

[Surferosa]

Good luck JackR24 & Ethan13

And gratz to TaylorB- a very nice (unexpected) promotion. Although I have to be honest- I am less impressed with your success than I am at the speed at which you can get through a season

[SnakeXe]

Season 2 Summary

Competitions:
Blue Square Premier - 12th
FA Cup - 1st Round (lost v Wrexham 2-3 (A))
FA Trophy - 2nd Round (lost v Kettering 0-3 (A))
Conference League Cup - Runners Up (lost v Cambridge 0-2 (H))

Squad and Transfers:
Squad
Transfers

New Records:
Highest League Position - 12th in Blue Square Premier
Highest Attendance - 10999 v Cambridge Conference League Cup Final
Highest Gate Receipts - £95,000 v Cambridge Conference League Cup Final
Average Attendance - 3002
Highest Scoring League Game - 5-2 v Southport

Youngest Player - Richard Todd 16 years 238 days

Landmarks:
Affiliated with Blackburn Rovers as feeder club.

Key Players:
Vincent van den Berg - Originally signed as a right winger, I moved him up front when it became clear that the front two I had in mind were both awful. He performed much the same role as MacDonald did for us last year, offering pace and incisive play, making room for his partner to get goals.

Abu Ogogo - Signed from Tranmere who were in financial problems after being relegated from League One, the former Arsenal trainee really showed his quality. Playing on both the right wing and as a right back, his pace and experience really helped us. Will definitely be a key man again next year.

Hamza Bencherif - As much as I didn't expect to break up the Riley/McGivern axis that had served us so well last year, I'm glad I did - Bencherif added a touch of class to the back line and chipped in with the goals from set pieces too.

Comments:
This was definitely a season of missed opportunities. We hovered just below the playoff zone for the entire season before tailing off towards the end. In fact our finishing position of 12th was our lowest since the first few weeks of the season.

Almost none of my signings came off, as shown in the fact that we only have 3 key men this season as opposed to 5 the previous. In particular Antoine Sibierski really irritated me - in the first few games he was terrible, so I gave him a couple in the reserves to see if it would refocus him. I then put him back in the team and he was awful again, so I dropped him completely and he then had the cheek to complain he wasn't in the first team! So he got thrown out on his behind, £18k compensation was hard to stomach but it was worth it to be rid of the workshy old crock.

The most disappointing part of the season, however, was outplaying Cambridge in the Conference League Cup Final, and coming away with a 2-0 defeat. We were so close to claiming the first cup win of my reign, and having beaten them 6-0 just three weeks previously it was hard to take.

Hopefully next season I can do what I wanted to do this season. One thing's for sure, there's a lot of dead wood to get shot of.

Aims From Last Season:

• Improve the starting lineup across the board Partial Success
• Achieve a playoff place Failed
• Win a trophy Failed
• Keep the unbeaten home run going Failed

Aims For Next Season:

• Improve our home record
• Win a trophy
• Achieve a playoff place

Who Won What?:
Europe:
Champions League - Real Madrid
UEFA Cup - Dortmund
European Super Cup - Sporting CP

Domestic Cups:
FA Cup - Arsenal
League Cup - Man Utd
Community Shield - Arsenal
Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Wycombe
Conference League Cup - Cambridge
FA Trophy - Oxford

Premiership:
Champions - Arsenal
Relegated - Ipswich, Portsmouth, Bolton

Championship:
Champions - Southampton
Promoted - Swansea, Preston (playoffs)
Relegated - Doncaster, Colchester, Coventry

League 1:
Champions - Oldham
Promoted - Millwall, Leyton Orient (playoffs)
Relegated - Northampton, Bristol Rovers, Barnet, Darlington

League 2:
Champions - Blackpool
Promoted - Gillingham, Cheltenham, Rochdale (playoffs)
Relegated - Dagenham & Redbridge, Morecambe

Blue Square Premier:
Champions - Rotherham
Promoted - Bournemouth (playoffs)
Relegated - Ebbsfleet, Burton, Guiseley, Macclesfield

Blue Square North:
Champions - Rushden
Promoted - Droylesden (playoffs)
Relegated - Hinckley, Marine, Tamworth

Blue Square South:
Champions - Team Bath
Promoted - Chelmsford (playoffs)
Relegated - Basingstoke, Maidstone, Bishop's Stortford

History:

Season         League                League Finish     Other Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10    Blue Square North           1st             BSN Champions
2010/11    Blue Square Premier         12th            None

Honours:
Blue Square North Champions 2009/10

[Greasy Chip Butty]

I am halfway through my first season in the Blue Square South with Heybridge Swifts.

I've made lots of signings that my scout/assistant manager seem to really rate (most being described as 'good' for BSS, many with potential for BSP and one rated as good enough for L2) but am really struggling for consistency. We're currently sat in 19th place with three games in hand on everyone else and could end up one point off the play offs with three wins in the games in hand.

I made about 20 free transfers though: could that explain the inconsistency?

Are we likely to come good in season two?

And how do I get the 4* players with 7* potential to realise that potential? Is it simply playing games? Or will the training facilities hold them back whatever they get appearance wise?

[SnakeXe]

You'll hopefully start to come good during the second half of the season. If this doesn't happen I'd recommend rethinking your tactics.

Yeah just play them, keep training them, it'll happen eventually, but it will be slower at this level than higher up the leagues due to the poor quality of the matches and training facilities.

[Greasy Chip Butty]

You'll hopefully start to come good during the second half of the season. If this doesn't happen I'd recommend rethinking your tactics.

The tactics have worked (to an extent) on other games and we've had some cracking results - mauled Maidenhead 6-2 at home on first day of season and smashed someone 5-1 in second home game. It's just a little hit and miss - like when Kendal knock you out of FA Cup in 4th Qualifying Round for example! Away from home, we're not great - maybe that's where I need to think about my tactics?

Yeah just play them, keep training them, it'll happen eventually, but it will be slower at this level than higher up the leagues due to the poor quality of the matches and training facilities.

Never had much success with turning youngsters into stars at top end TBH! Mind you, I've only played as SUFC at top end and we never produce youngsters (except for Super Kyle) so the game is realistic if nothing else!

Cheers for the advice!

[Surferosa]

Abu Ogogo - Signed from Tranmere who were in financial problems after being relegated from League One, the former Arsenal trainee really showed his quality. Playing on both the right wing and as a right back, his pace and experience really helped us. Will definitely be a key man again next year.

Really good player- he's doing a good job as a squad player for me now in CCL2: probably not first choice as either DR or MR- but still getting a load of games becuase he can do both pretty well.

Your record is panning out like mine at the moment- my hunch is your going up next year And nice update by the way

[TaylorB]

And gratz to TaylorB- a very nice (unexpected) promotion. Although I have to be honest- I am less impressed with your success than I am at the speed at which you can get through a season

School holidays, enough said

[Surferosa]

I am halfway through my first season in the Blue Square South with Heybridge Swifts.

I've made lots of signings that my scout/assistant manager seem to really rate (most being described as 'good' for BSS, many with potential for BSP and one rated as good enough for L2) but am really struggling for consistency. We're currently sat in 19th place with three games in hand on everyone else and could end up one point off the play offs with three wins in the games in hand.

I made about 20 free transfers though: could that explain the inconsistency?

Are we likely to come good in season two?

And how do I get the 4* players with 7* potential to realise that potential? Is it simply playing games? Or will the training facilities hold them back whatever they get appearance wise?

Yep- it does take half a season or so for new players to sometimes settle in. In my first season I was marooned in mind-table at the half-way stage and put in a massive run to end up 1st on the last day of the season- so keep the faith My advice on tactics is be defensive away- unless your much stronger than the other team, you'll get a pasting if you go in too attacking.

As for training- until you get professional status your players hardly develop whatsoever (imo)- and even then they only do it slowly until your training facilities get upgraded. So its best to stick to journeymen to get you there- unless you uncover a diamond or two obviously..

[hamilton162]

I would have completed another season or two if i didn't have coursework to finish and squash matches to play as well Back to school on Monday though

[Surferosa]

I would have completed another season or two if i didn't have coursework to finish and squash matches to play as well Back to school on Monday though

School holidays, enough said

Bah. I look back fondly on the days at uni I used to waste either drinking or playing CM97/98.. or drinking and playing CM come to that. Those were the days....

Still, "working from home" has its upside...

[Bhoy]

My second season in charge of Farnborough is a disaster. I finish 15th but I keep my job.. I think. I really need to get promoted next season. I'm finding it really tough as it's the first time I have done LLM.

[hamilton162]

Well, after 12 games and 1/4 of the season gone, FCUM are tearing League 1 to shreds with their amazing strikeforce. We haven't got a striker who constantly scores, but Potts, Barisic, Marrow and Thompson all chip in when needed. 9 points clear of Chester and we look well set for back to back promotions UP THE REDS

[jack.browne]

I know im being lazy, but if anybody can provide a link to a FC United saved game where I can start, then it would be greatly appreciated!

[minisav]

Here you go Lewis

There Jack. I did it for somebody else

[jack.browne]

There Jack. I did it for somebody else

Cheers mate

[jack.browne]

Right, here we go again. (I lost interest in my Mangotsfield Game!)

New manager of FC United.

Jack Browne

[hamilton162]

Just had an attendance of 11799 against Huddersfield I hope i have more matches like that to help my finances as i am losing money every month Hopefully a good run again in the FA Cup will follow. Draw for the 1st Round to be made tomorrow

EDIT: Good Luck Jack

[YNWALFC]

Just had an attendance of 11799 against Huddersfield I hope i have more matches like that to help my finances as i am losing money every month Hopefully a good run again in the FA Cup will follow. Draw for the 1st Round to be made tomorrow

EDIT: Good Luck Jack

How much are you spending on wages. I want to compare it with how much I was spending when I was in League 1

[hamilton162]

You will be freaked out by this, guaranteed, but my total spent per week is £112,764 Talent costs a hell of a lot My finances are approx £5m in the black thanks to the FA Cup runs though

EDIT: That is my budget, wages are at 102,641 per week

[YNWALFC]

How the hell are you spending that much. Last year I was spending £30k per week. That was in League 1. I had more than enough talent. I have a balance of £3.3 million mainly down to only spending £1.8 million on wages last year and getting £3.8 million in gate receipts.

My season review is coming up shortly and you will see how successful it was

[YNWALFC]

YNWALFC - FC United End of Season Update
League 1 2015/16

Well my first season in League 1. I was expecting to have a tough season and trying to fight for survival and after a defeat at home to Bradford on the first day of the season it lookind like my predictions would come true (even if it was only the first game). It turned out that the first game was not a sign of things to come but the second game was. I was away to recently relegated Sheffield United and I successfully came from 2 down to grab a well deserved point which could easliy of been all 3. I ploughed on from there and comfortably finished in 2nd place despite a few last minute nerves from my players. It was one hell of a season and I noticed that the gap between League 1 and 2 was very small.

League Table
Graph

In the cups it was a very successful year. In the League Cup I was knocked out on penalties by Hartlepool in the First Round. I know that was not successful but the rest was. I managed to get to the 3rd Round of the FA Cup for the second time in a row after beating Lincoln and Rotherham. I was rewarded with a tie against Arsenal. Unfortunatly I had to play at home so I was praying for a youth team to be played for a chance of a replay. This however did not happen and I was thrashed 3-0 and it should have been so much more.

The real story however was in the Johnstons Paint Trophy were I went all the way to Wembely and defeat Milwall 2-1. Yay. It was an extremly tough run with only 1 home game and that was because of the 2 legged Northern Semi-Final. I played Huddersfield, Bradford and Blackpool away from home and they were beaten 2-1, 1-0 and 1-0 respectivley. In the Northern Final I was up against Derby who also had just been relegated. The game was over after the first leg a 3-0 win at Pride Park was a shock but only for the people who were not at the game. Derby were torn apart and the 2nd leg was more or less meaningless. Just as well. If it was any other game I would have been furious at conceding 4 goals. I did score 3 as well so that made it 6-4 on aggregate

Final

Squad

Since it was my first season in League 1 I felt I needed to get a few better players into the squad. I was extremly impressed with my transfer nouse and I managed to pick up 9 players with a further 2 on loan because of a striker crisis.

Transfers
Squad

Star Man

Ewan Clarke is a hero. Picked up from Watford in my first season in League 2 and he has scored over 100 goals for the club. The most ever goals by a player in a FC United shirt. He was the top scorer in League 1 has seen his value now shoot up to £800k. He is rated as a good Championship player so he could be handy next season as well.

Finances

Going up a division meant rising wage costs but thankfully also rising attendances. The amount of money spent per week rose from £17k in League 2 to £30k in League 1. My attendances rose as well and I ended up having an avergae attendance of 9450 which is tremendous. With ticket prices at £19 it meant a big profit based on my expenditure and my balance is extremly healthy.

Finances
Overview

Targets

Only 1 target and that is to stay in the Championship by any means possible.

I do have some worries about next season. Firstly the wages of players. I have been very careful not to pay over £2,500 per week on players before no matter how good they are as I felt I could always find somebody just as good for less. Up untill now that has been true with only my best players who have been proven at my Club breaking that £2,500 wage cap. This has been so I can try and make a profit and it has worked but in the Championship I will have to raise this figure but not to far maybe to £4,000 and tell anybody who wants more to get real. This may be achieved as I know can scout the whole continent and I will be scouring Europe for its talent. Next seasons tranfer budget is a massive £2.6 million with a wage budget of £60k per week. So if there is any hot prospect in Europe should be within my reach (only the ones that want to join)

Season         League                League Finish     Other Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10    Blue Square North           1st             BSN Champions
2010/11    Blue Square Premier         3rd             Playoff Winners, FA Cup 3rd Round, FA Trophy Winners
2011/12    League 2                    17th                      None 
2012/13    League 2                    19th                      None
2013/14    League 2                    7th             Playoff Semi Finals
2014/15    League 2                    1st             League 2 Champions, FA Cup 3rd Round
2015/16    League 1                    2nd             Promoted, JPT Winners

[TaylorB]

Congratulations YNWALFC Ewan Clarke's always a shrewd bit of busines..


Need some advice from anyone:

This guy is rated as a good championship striker, yet he can't score. What intrusctions would you give him?

Thanks

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Cambridge City

Media Prediction: 20th
Wage Budget - £2,600
My Expectations: Safe mid table finish
My Wage: £325
Contract Expires: 30th June 2012

Joe Lolley

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Congratulations YNWALFC Ewan Clarke's always a shrewd bit of busines..


Need some advice from anyone:

This guy is rated as a good championship striker, yet he can't score. What intrusctions would you give him?

Thanks

Get new scouts, this guy is League two standard, also you haven't given him hardly any starts to impress, perhaps he's better starting a game than coming off the bench.

[YNWALFC]

Congratulations YNWALFC Ewan Clarke's always a shrewd bit of busines..


Need some advice from anyone:

This guy is rated as a good championship striker, yet he can't score. What intrusctions would you give him?

Thanks

I would start him rather than taking him off the bench all the time. That will have an affect on why he does not score. He is great at finishing and has good compsure so you should make him a poacher. I dont know what instructions to use for that but he would be brilliant there

[TaylorB]

I would start him rather than taking him off the bench all the time. That will have an affect on why he does not score. He is great at finishing and has good compsure so you should make him a poacher. I dont know what instructions to use for that but he would be brilliant there

Problem with starting him, is that I have a lethal strikeforce and I don't want to split that up..

[YNWALFC]

Get new scouts, this guy is League two standard, also you haven't given him hardly any starts to impress, perhaps he's better starting a game than coming off the bench.

I would not have said League 2 standard. He would do a job in League 1 but not the championship. He is good at finishing at as decent composure, strength, pace and driblling.

[YNWALFC]

Problem with starting him, is that I have a lethal strikeforce and I don't want to split that up..

Then it does not really matter about getting the best of him as he is not getting the opportunities. Im sure he would do a job if he was needed he just needs to get a chance in the starting 11

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

I would not have said League 2 standard. He would do a job in League 1 but not the championship. He is good at finishing at as decent composure, strength, pace and driblling.

perhaps I was a little harsh, to much time lately been spent managing in the Premiership has made me forget how good a lower league player is, but yes I agree with YNWA that unless he's a regular, it's not really a problem.

[pnefc22]

If his morale gets high, then he will start banging in the goals

[kopitelewis]

Ah I need help. Gone 400 quid over the wage budget at FC United and I need a CB and a CM. Any recomendations?

[TheUsualSuspect9]

FC United

Media Prediction: 17th
Wage Budget - £4,202
My Expectations: Safe mid table finish
My Wage: £350
Contract Expires: 30th June 2012

Tom Nicholson: My Profile

[ssestig]

Ah I need help. Gone 400 quid over the wage budget at FC United and I need a CB and a CM. Any recomendations?

Loanee maybe.

[Funbags]

You will be freaked out by this, guaranteed, but my total spent per week is £112,764 Talent costs a hell of a lot My finances are approx £5m in the black thanks to the FA Cup runs though

EDIT: That is my budget, wages are at 102,641 per week

i had a wage budget of 200k in league 1 yet i only spent 30k and won it comfortably

[Greasy Chip Butty]

Season 1 - Heybridge Swifts - March Update

Posted earlier about inconsistency with my BSS team. Well, we sorted it all out and went on a real super run. If the season had started in December, I'd be winning the title with plenty to spare. However, the poor start means that I am on the fringes of the play offs. And I have been for a month now (got within a point of 5th at one stage) as we seem to have cracked under the pressure when we got there after a super chase! My strikers - Leon Knight and Calum Willock - have dried up completely. And the inconsistency that had disappeared has come back with a vengeance! Mucho annoying!

Anyway heres the table and heres my progress.

Massive week to come with 3 games against my main rivals for the play offs. Can I find the consistency I need?

[BWZ_Tomek]

Guys, am currently 10 games into my BSS season and about to post an update on my progress. Because it's mammoth in length, I've decided to post part one now - it covers the first 5 matches in the league - and the rest later.

Hope someone actually takes the time to read at least a bit of it, as I spent a lot of time typing it all out. Cheers

[BWZ_Tomek]

As promised, here's an update on my progress with Billericay Town...

BWZ_Tomek - Billericay Town - Early Days Of Season One

I was predicted by the media to finish 20th in the BSS, thus I was expected to be ultimately relegated by the end of the season. Looking at my squad when I first took over the reins, I could see justification for their pessimism. I had one player in my first team squad, the rest were useless players that were dumped in the club's reserves. When the dust settled, I ended up keeping just two one these players (back-up left mid David Wareham and back-up striker Billy Bricknell). So, with essentially a clean slate and a fresh platform to build on, I embarked on my first season on the lowest rung of the English football ladder. (in FM, anyway)

In the highlight of our preseason preparations, we capitalised on our one scoring chance and defeated Northern Irish side Glentoran in Belfast despite facing 15-1 odds. Man City youth product David Ball coolly slotted home in the 67th minute to give us an unexpected 0-1 win - would it be a sign of things to come from the young striker?

In my first competitive match as Ricay manager, we lost a hard-fought 1-0 match to Salisbury City. My team, through no one’s fault but my own, was very unprepared conditioning wise (having to sign a whole new squad took longer than I expected) and, being forced to play mostly second-choice players, we were made to pay. We were dominated throughout, and though we managed to create a couple of clear cut opportunities, City always had an element of control. Still, we would have liked to not have conceded the only goal of the match from a corner.

BSS Game #1: Salisbury City 1 (Davies 43) - 0 Billericay Town
Attendance: 656, The Raymond McEnhill Stadium, Salisbury
MoM: Jonathan Davies

Our next league match saw us having to travel again, this time to Woodside Park for an encounter with Bishop's Stortford. As I was able to play my first-choice 11, our play was drastically improved. Though we didn't generate a boatload of chances, with only 3 shots on target, we had a remarkable 64% of possession. With pass completion 46%-69% in our favour, it was clear that BBC Blogger Gavin Strachan and Steven Hogg helped us make our opponents chase shadows from the centre of the park. Our watertight defence allowed for only one shot on target against.

BSS Game #2: Bishop's Stortford 0 - 1 Billericay Town (Ball 56)
Attendance: 456, Woodside Park, Bishop's Stortford
MoM: David Ball

I was delighted with the result in picking up our first 3 points of the league campaign, but in English football especially, there is no time to rest on your laurels. I had to prepare the team because just 3 days later, we faced a difficult game against promotion contenders Lewes. On the plus side, hopefully the fact that this would be our first opportunity to impress the Ricay faithful would inspire the side to victory.

That it seemingly did. We laid siege to the Lewes goal from the off, but we were not rewarded for our efforts. Conversely, we suffered a real hammer blow when we conceded from a corner. I implored the side not to drop their heads and we continued to take the game to Lewes. In the 77th minute, we made our long-awaited breakthrough. Winger Wareham latched on to a long ball, dribbled to the byline, and delivered a pinpoint cross to Jordan Wilson. The 19 year old winger showed excellent skill to control the ball and lash one into the roof of the net.

Just when it looked like we were going to get some sort of result, we stupidly conceded from another Lewes corner, this time Strachan guilty of slack marking. The home support was understandably deflated. I was proud of the fight my side displayed - because when even I had given up hope of coming away with anything from the match - they strung together a fine passing move in the dying seconds. Center-half Ainge found Gbermie on the right side, near the subs bench. He in turn found Sandwith, who was in a more central position, still quite a way from the opposition area. Our captain took one touch and pinged an incisive ball to substitute Goward, who had just come on in the 87th. Goward took advantage of the Lewes defender playing foolishly deep and passed deliciously for Ball to send the home fans into delirium.

BSS Game #3: Billericay 2 (Wilson 77, Ball 90+4) - Lewes 2 (Burgin 59, Dawson 89)
Attendance: 1064, New Lodge, Billericay
MoM: Jordan Wilson

Our next match was at home again - we know we are going to have to turn New Lodge into a fortress if we expect to stay in the division, nevermind challenge for any honours. And I have to say, it looked like we were a side capable of doing just that on the evidence of the match against Thurrock, a side riding high on an 9 match unbeaten run dating back to last season and that hadn't conceded in the league up to that point.

We scored early through striker, Zeyn S-Latef, who picked up Wilson's wonderful low cross to beat a horribly positioned Craig Holloway at his near post and never looked back. We utterly dominated proceedings, enjoying 58% possession, our crisp, incisive passing directly contributing to our 11 corners. And in the 80th minute, Ball scored a goal that he had no business scoring. In latching on to a ball Ainge had hoofed long up the pitch, he split the sleeping center-halves and condemned rivals Thurrock to a 2-0 defeat. The news for us wasn't all rosy, though, because after the match we found out that we had lost substitute striker Matt Taylor to a torn calf muscle.

BSS Game #4: 2 Billericay (S-Latef 8, Ball 80) - 0 Thurrock
Attendance: 1124, New Lodge, Billericay
MoM: Ainge

With the early-season fixture list firing challenges at us unforgivingly, I was delighted with the week-long interval between the victory against Thurrock and our next match away to Hayes & Yeading. With their side predicted to finish 13th having a bit of an injury crisis at the moment, I knew that we had a real opportunity to take at least one point from the match.

The pre-match team talk seemed to work a treat, as we played an almost perfect road game in holdingHayes & Yeading at arm's length until the very end. Our ability to keep the ball was again the foundation upon which we built our success. We managed to keep an impressive 62% possession, with our passes being completed at an efficient 72% rate. We had 3 clear cut chances and scored on 2 of them, which pleased me. Wilson laid on another assist with a cross that found Ball, who did well off the ball to lose his marker. On the hour mark, we scored an insurance goal for 0-2. A long ball from out of defence found S-Latef, who outpaced the Hayes & Yeading back line, opting to dribble in on goal. His initial effort was saved well, but the rebound was picked up by Ball, who turned provider. He played in S-Latef who had taken up a more threatening position and the young Polish-Iraqi striker made no mistake with his second bite at the cherry, slotting home into the far right corner of the net. We were unable to maintain a clean sheet, despite our dominance. Dominic Merella took advantage of some confusion in the box to find the loose ball and blast into the top corner.

We got some news after the match that dampened our spirits considerably. Key marksman David Ball, who had been in scintillating form, was going to be sidelined for at least 3 weeks following a nasty groin strain.


BSS Game #5: Hayes & Yeading 1 (Merella 85) - Billericay 2 (Ball 40, S-Latef 60)
Attendance: 405, Church Road, Hayes (Middlesex)
MoM: Ball

Despite the shortage of fit strikers in the back of everyone's mind, the club nevertheless went into the international break on a high. Morale in the dressing room was fantastic, as we were unbeaten in 4, since the opening day of the season. I was getting the feeling that, aside from corners, we'd never conceed again! So we were anxious to get back to business - and the next appointment was at home with league strugglers Havant & Waterlooville in the first round of the Setanta Shield.

I wondered how the new 4-1-2-2-1 formation injuries and S-Latef’s call-up to the Polish U19s had forced me to implement would fare. I got the answer almost immediately, with lone striker Tulloch rising majestically to power home a Sandwith cross, left embarassingly unmarked by the H&W defenders.

3 minutes later, though, the match was level again. Right-back Kieran Davis committed a foul in the perfect spot for Brett Poate to deliver a free kick with deadly effect. On 19 minutes, we would see our third goal of the match. Vice-captain Strachan delivered a telling cross from a wide left position from a free kick that found Jordan Wilson. He proceeded to take a touch with his right before brilliantly firing in, leaving the keeper with no chance. A quarter hour later, Wilson was responsible in large part for stretching our lead to a more comfortable 3-1. He did well to keep in before delivering a last ditch cross which rebounded off the defender and found Goward perfectly positioned to tap in at the left post.

For the first time since the opening day loss to Salisbury, we had failed to win the possession battle. But it was no matter, as we held on for a 3-1 win to knock out a H&W side that looked toothless in attack.

SSS 1st Round: 3 Billericay (Tulloch 8, Wilson 19, Goward 34) - 1 H&W (Poate 11)
Attendance: 219, New Lodge, Billericay
MoM: Goward

I couldn't have been more pleased with our start - it was still early days, no doubt - but if we could keep up that form, then we looked as strong a side as any in the division.

Next Up: BSS Game #6 against St. Albans (H)

[Greasy Chip Butty]

Billericay - boo hiss. Up the Swifts!

See you've got S-Latif from Sheff United. I tried but he wouldn't come.

Tulloch will infuriate you. One minute he is a world beater, then he has five games where he shows his BSS class. Gave up on him a long while back when I signed Leon Knight.

Who else you picked up free? Bet you've a couple more that are in my Heybridge team there.

[BWZ_Tomek]

I think me having Polish nationality might have had something to do with S-Latef being more agreeable, mate. He looks to be a very good striker for this level and likely BSP as well, hopefully you'll read on when I post the next part because he really starts to do the business

Agreed on Tulloch, too. I've found him to be incosistent and frankly...shocking, even at this level. He recorded a goal and assist in that Setanta Shield match...and that's all he's done all year. He just couldn't take advantage of my injury crisis at striker and now with the others returning to fitness, I'm afraid he won't really get a look in, tbh. Shame about his 1 bravery, eh?

Here is a screenshot of my transfers:

[BWZ_Tomek]

Also, good luck in your chase for promotion, Greasy!

[TaylorB]

If his morale gets high, then he will start banging in the goals

His morale is now superb and he scores 3 minutes into his first start