[FM10] Roar like a lion and soar like an eagle

[Pangaea]

Hahaha! Probably worth it then

[Nobby_McDonald]

One of them expires in two days time.

[Pangaea]

Time to go on the rampage again then

I got a yellow card on the old board for something (have forgotten what), but don't think it followed over to the new one.

[Pangaea]

2013/14

Blue Square North

After the promotion the relatively new board wanted a safe mid-table position. It was clear from the go that the team could compete at this level. We quickly found our place just behind the playoff spots. At the half-way point we were in great form, and we started gaining ground on the leaders. With 10 matches left we briefly occupied 1st place. But then the injuries came. And how they came! Just about every match a player went out injured. I soon had lost all 3 DCs and a host of MCs. Thankfully the backup DL could play centrally too, and as usual I had a pack of midfielders to fill in for the crippled ones.

It was bound to affect results though, especially when our brilliant young Ian Wright was injured in late March and missed the tight-packed schedule in April. We played many teams on the bottom of the table and were no longer capable of breaking down their bus, neatly parked in front of goal. Several draws and losses followed, though we won a few too. It was tight in the top though, and everybody lost points. Bradford PA should have had it wrapped up with a 3-point gap with a game in hand, but then they dropped points left, right and centre too. But they secured promotion before the last day. We were lying 3rd and facing 2nd Southport at home. We smashed them 3-0 and grabbed 2nd.

Redditch, who we humiliated 4-0 at their place, was up in the semi final of the playoff. We got a bit lucky and drew them 1-1 away, before only winning 2-1 at home.

In the final Southport awaited again. It looked like a one-lane road at first, as we took the lead in the 2nd minute. We pinned them back the first 25 minutes, but when they got a lucky equaliser all hell broke loose. They took a 2-1 lead before halftime. We started to gain control again after some tea, and drew level on the hour mark. It looked to be settled when their mental player Ager got sent in the shower in the 74th minute. We controlled play, but it was hard to make it count. The same happened in extra time. They had a few shots, but we controlled the play. I ended up putting everything forward as penalty shootouts have never been friendly to me. But it was just one of those days.

So down to pens it was. And what a shootout!! The first 8 shooters all did their job. Our goalie didn't stand a chance on any, though theirs was close a few times. Then heartache when our DC missed his I was shouting abuse at the screen, barely daring to watch their last penalty. The player must have been dead nervous, cause he put it straight at the goalie! We were still alive. The next three kicks went flying in too. We had 3 shots post-in by now. Too close for comfort I thought. But it was down to the carp shooters now, so anything could happen. And it did. With 7-6 on the board in the 9th pair, Southport had to make it count. I was sitting in my chair begging for a "Baggio". And there it was!!! The poor lad whacked it well over the bar, and sent us to heaven! Wooooh!

So there you have it. We got promoted on goal difference from the Northern Premier First Division North, and now we got promoted after a penalty shootout from the Blue Square North. Lady Luck must like me.

The Cups were crap, so I won't even mention them.

League

League Progress

Finances

Squad

Transfers

Players worth mentioning. Sturdy left-back Steve Maguire, was voted player of the season again by the fans. They must really love him. Cause Danny Egan has really matured now and netted regularly again. Stephen Greenwood was brought in on loan again, and did well on DR. Ian Wright and Daniel Swallow (poor lad, eh? ) did well in the middle of the pitch. Dean Lyness kept it clean at the back, despite his poor average rating. I'm quite excited about Tommy Fraser. Got him just before the playoff final. He hadn't played football for a year, after being kicked out of Port Vale, and had a horrible final where he was subbed at halftime, but he looks like a star.

Next Season

Strangely enough the media has us at 16-1 odds for promotion from the Blue Square Premier, but I feel the team needs a lot of work to be competitive. We got smacked around in the Cup by BSP side Cheltenham and lost 3-0. We need a proper striker up front next to Egan. I'm also hoping Greenwood will join on loan again for a third season. I don't think we should get relegated, but I picked to fight bravely against relegation just in case. Much depends on what we can sign during the summer. The finances are in shambles, so

Career Summary

[b]Season[/b]   [b]Division[/b]            [b]Pos[/b]   [b]Movement[/b]     [b]FA Cup[/b]       [b]Other[/b]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Northern 1 North    9th      -           -          Out of all cups early
2010/11  Northern 1 North    1st  Promotion       -          Out of all cups early
2011/12  Northern Premier   11th      -       4th Qual Rnd   QF of Northern League Cup, Consortium take-over
2012/13  Northern Premier    1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       Out of the cups early
2013/14  Blue Square North   2nd  Promotion   4th Qual Rnd   FA Trophy 3rd Round. Promotion through Play-Off

[Pangaea]

2013/14 Records

[b][size="4"]Attendance[/size][/b]
  o High: [b]1,513[/b]
  o Low:    [b]245[/b]
  o Avg:    [b]422[/b]
[b][size="4"]Results[/size][/b]
  o Win:  [b]5-0[/b]
  o Loss: [b]0-3[/b]
[b][size="4"]Sequences[/size][/b]
  o Won in row:  [b]5[/b]
  o Lost in row: [b]2[/b]
  o Without losing:  [b]7[/b]
  o Without winning: [b]3[/b]
[b][size="4"]Players[/size][/b]
  o Top goalscorer: [b]21 [/b](Danny Egan)
  o Most assists:   [b]11 [/b](Daniel Swallow)
  o Avg rating:   [b]7.31[/b] (Ian Wright)
  o Player of the year: [b]Steve Maguire[/b]

Club Records

[b][size="4"]Attendance[/size][/b]
  o High: [b]1,513[/b] (13.05.2014, vs Redditch)
  o Low:    [b]105[/b] (13.10.2009, vs Chorley)
  o Avg:    [b]422[/b] (2013/14)
  o Highest Gate Receipt: [b]£16,000[/b] (13.05.2014, vs Redditch)

[b][size="4"]Results[/size][/b]
  o Win:  [b]5-0[/b] (05.02.2013, vs North Ferriby (H))
  o Loss: [b]0-3[/b] (15.02.2012, vs Sheffield (H))
  o Highest Scoring Game: [b]4-4[/b] (16.01.2010, vs Radcliffe Boro (H))

[b][size="4"]Sequences[/size][/b]
  o Games Won in Row:  [b]7[/b] (26.02.2013 - 16.04.2013)
  o Games Lost in Row: [b]5[/b] (13.10.2009 - 27.10.2009)
  o Without Losing:   [b]14[/b] (28.12.2010 - 26.03.2011)
  o Without Winning:   [b]8[/b] (21.01.2012 - 21.02.2012)
  o Without Conceding: [b]5[/b] (28.01.2014 - 25.02.2014)
  o Without Scoring:   [b]4[/b] (25.08.2009 - 08.09.2009)

[b][size="4"]Players[/size][/b]
  o Top Goalscorer:           [b]24[/b] (Danny Egan) (2012/13)
  o Top League Goalscorer:    [b]21[/b] (Danny Egan) (2012/13)
  o Most Goals in a Match:     [b]3[/b] (Mark Pocock) (06.02.2010, vs Ossett Albion)
  o Most Assists:             [b]15[/b] (Mark Pocock) (2009/10)
  o Highest Average Rating: [b]7.31[/b] (Ian Wright) (2013/14)
  o Most Man-of-the-Match:     [b]7[/b] (Danny Egan) (2012/13)
  o Most League Apps:        [b]121[/b] (Danny Egan) (2013/14)
  o Most League Goals:        [b]66[/b] (Danny Egan) (2013/14)
  o Youngest Player:          [b]16 years, 47 days[/b] (Dan Baxter) (22.08.2009)
  o Oldest Player:            [b]42 years, 271 days[/b] (Paul McGee (12.02.2011)
  o Youngest Goalscorer:      [b]18 years, 251 days[/b] (Ian Wright) (05.02.2013)
  o Oldest Goalscorer:        [b]33 years, 187 days[/b] (Billy McCartney) (20.10.2009)
  o Fastest Goal:             [b]37 seconds[/b] (Terry Masson) (17.12.2011)

[b][size="4"]Transfers[/size][/b]
  o Highest Transfer Fee Paid:     [b]-[/b]
  o Highest Transfer Fee Received: [b]£4,000[/b] (Mark Clarke to Morton) (20.06.2013)
  o Total Transfer Spending:       [b]-[/b] 
  o Total Transfer Income:         [b]£7,000[/b] (2012/13)

[Pangaea]

Oooooh. The board offered me a new 3-year contract. Almost doubled the wage, from 300 to 500.

[Pangaea]

Oh crap. Please give me a break. The season hasn't even started yet, and half my defence is on the physio bench. The board turned down the accepted loan for DR Greenwood cause he's injured for two months (somehow got himself injured just before going on holiday), DC/DM is out for most of the season with damaged cruciate ligaments, DL and PotY Maguire is out for 3 more months with a torn calf muscle. And now I get the news our DC and captain Nnamani is out for 3 months with a dislocated shoulder. I wonder what happened to it. 3 months for that is mighty long! Did it fall off his body?

[Nobby_McDonald]

Blimey, Trafford in the Conference. Well done.

And Billericay in Conference North? What teams are in Conference South?

[Pangaea]

Thanks. It was unreal with back-to-back promotions. Pretty close call () but a lot of fun. Heart was racing during the shootout...

Aye. Billericay in North is pretty messed up. Not sure if there are others put wrong as I'm not familiar with the geography of all these teams. At least Billericay is back to the South this season. Blue Square North and Blue Square South this coming season.

As an early version of Ron's file was used I know many teams in the bottom 2 tiers are placed in the wrong division. But I'm too deep into this game to abandon it. It doesn't have any practical meaning any more anyway. But it is annoying to see teams wind up in the very wrong division. I did some maps when testing this, and some teams and regions were just FUBARed.

The most recent file was almost spotless though, so it's a great base for others wanting to have a go at this level

[Pangaea]

I really wonder what Chris Scully has been up to during the summer. He's rated as my best striker by the staff, but the last two season he only scored 6 goals in 37 matches. In pre-season he has been on fire, banging in 9 goals and 4 assists in 5+2 matches. I had thought about getting rid of him as he was a one-trick pony who had forgotten his trick. But if this keeps up I can stop searching for a partner up front next to Egan.

[Pangaea]

Oh yes, there was this small summer tournament too....

World Cup 2014

Groups A to D

Groups E to H

Finals

Out in Groups

Nigeria, Chile, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, USA, Peru, Tunisia, France(!), Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Senegal, Holland(!), Iran, Serbia, Morocco.

Second Round

Turkey - Switzerland 1-0

Germany - Spain 4-3 (dang!)

Sweden - Italy 1-2

Japan - Romania 0-1

Argentina - Honduras 3-2

Brazil - Israel 2-0

Uruguay - Colombia 1-1p

Mali - Portugal 1-1p

Quarter Final

Turkey - Germany 1-0

Italy - Romania 2-0

Argentina - Brazil 1-3

Colombia - Portugal 0-0p

Semi Final

Turkey - Italy 0-3

Brazil - Portugal 0-1

Third Place

Turkey - Brazil 1-1p

Final

Italy - Portugal 1-0

Italy wins World Cup 2014

The observant reader will have noticed that England didn't even participate. They were knocked out in the Playoff by Turkey, who ended up in the semi final. Lots of unusual action in this World Cup. Some big teams were knocked out in the group stage. And small football nations like Honduras, Israel and Mali were in the last 16. Very nice to see the usual pattern broken

[Nobby_McDonald]

Look at Conference North/South for the new season, Billericay in the North last season doesn't seem so far fetched.

[Pangaea]

Blue Square North 2013-14

Blue Square South 2013-14

Since this is hardcoded it can't be far off. But wasn't there some cases where teams in the Conf N/S were put in the wrong division too?

Is there a way to get the pictures shown in their correct size btw, without having to pay for it?

I think it works with Imageshack still, but that site has gotten so slow lately. That's why I went over to Photobucket. But the darn thing keeps shrinking the pics They are supposed to be 1280 x something, but are turning out as 1024.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Apart from Forest Green should really have swapped with Billericay, there's not really much wrong there.

[Pangaea]

Good to hear. If SI can't get it right, there isn't much hope for the rest of us

Almost done with the next season now

[Mike7077]

Just been having a read through this on my lunch break. Very enjoyable. Quick progress definitely being made!

[Nobby_McDonald]

There could be an argument for Merthyr going North too, to fit with East/West geography better, but in North/South terms (without the figures at hand), they're about the same as Billericay.

[Pangaea]

I read the FA may re-do the border rules next season, to make it easier. So there basically is just a North/South and East/West thing going. Have you got any info on that? Do you think something will be done?

[uncle ron]

I read the FA may re-do the border rules next season, to make it easier. So there basically is just a North/South and East/West thing going. Have you got any info on that? Do you think something will be done?

That's interesting, although I've not heard of that... where did you read?

[Nobby_McDonald]

It's a loose North/South fixed line, occasionally teams to get moved into the other league than their geographical coordinates dictate, simply due to travel costs and logistics to the other teams in the leagues.

[Pangaea]

That's interesting, although I've not heard of that... where did you read?

IIRC it was on one of the sites with maps and whatnot for the leagues far down the pyramid. It was mentioned the FA were going to make a decision sometime in 2010. He then speculated about a possible outcome, with maps, which was divided by North/South and East/West.

The borders I set when testing the borders were pretty much the same tbh, with an exception for the south-east. I figured it would be easier for the game to figure out who went where if there wasn't such a massive overlap between Isthmian and Southern as was in the original file.

I really hope there is some progress with this for FM2011. The game should be more intelligent in deciding who goes where, without us having to draw regions with huge overlaps just in case the bulk of teams change 'footprint' geographically in the FM-future.

[Pangaea]

Found it.

What will happen, if anything, is of course hard to tell.

[Pangaea]

2014/15

Blue Square Premier

Board expectation: Battle bravely

Media expectation: 22nd

Odds: 16-1

Season tickets: 182 (up 109)

Our biggest weakness was our fullbacks, so two loanees found their way to Shawe View. An MC and striker was also brought in. Fraser, signed just in time for the playoff final last season, was the big news though. He looks very good.

I fully expected a tough fight to survive, and that's how the season started. After 10 matches we were hovering just above the drop zone. Then Barnet was sent packing with 7 goals in the bag. Form was picking up as the team gelled, and we started to climb the table. In December the playoff spots were just ahead of us, and by New Years we were sitting 2nd. At this point we were dominating games, and looked dangerous to anybody we played.

I started to believe. But it wouldn't be easy. Wrexham, Ebbsfleet and Cheltenham kept winning games, as did we. We slowly but gradually gained ground, and overtook them sometime in January. Ebbsfleet was a point behind with a game in hand though. We both beat off everything that came our way for the next few months, give or take. Then Ebbsfleet suddenly lost 4 on the trot, including one against us. A small gap had opened, but Wrexham were now in our heels.

We both got a near-perfect record in February and March, with us a horse's nose ahead of them in the table. We had a slightly thicker squad though, so I was able to rotate players more in the heavy winter schedule. Maybe that was the difference. Wrexham lost one match in April, but it was enough. We were crowned Champions with two matches to go.

As we were in good form and had a decently thick team - no backup in defence, but 4 good strikers and a load of midfielders - I wanted to try to secure some silverware. The FA Trophy was our only option. We battled ourselves to the final, where Histon faced us. We had beaten them twice, but was very lucky at their place. Injuries were piling up though. In the season run-in our captain and midfield general Fraser got injured for two months, as did our vice captain DC McCormack. Our other DC also got injured, plus some backups, and DMC Grant had to sit out the final due to a red card in the league. Thus, I had to field lots of backups in defence, including a DRC with only 1 sub appearance the whole season. But off we went.

It would prove to be one heck of a final. We didn't look strong, but managed to take the lead in the 4th minute. Histon fought right back though, and fired a freekick into the net past a non-existent wall in the 8th minute. Start of the 2nd half and they score from a cracking long-ranger. We struggle to hit back. Towards the end I throw all the toys out of the pram and put what we can muster up front. We are crap at the back anyway I figured. We hit the bar in the 86th minute. "Crap," I thought, "that was our chance." 2 minutes later Scully finds the net for the 2nd time. 2-2 and extra-time.

Heart-ache right form the go. Another freekick flies in, this time from their other striker. But we hit back right away. It's 3-3 after 94 minutes of play. Scully with his hattrick. They kept scoring when I drew the men back, so this time I figured we may as well try and pin them back. In Norway we call what followed "Hawaii football." I have no idea why, but it means two teams flying forward, not caring much for defence. Many chances followed, but no goals. 8 minutes left to the spot kicks. "Okay lads, put everything we got forward!" I shout from the sidelines. They almost score on the counter right away. Time is running out and I'm starting to worry about the penalties. New break chance, this time for us. Hill gets the ball on the right side and whips it in. Scully is there again, and he bloody well scores! 4-3!! The time says 118:13.

Hero of the day is Scully, who scores four in the final. Must have been a decent watch for the neutrals too!

This was one heck of a long update, and for that I am sorry. Despite the success, the season left me disappointed. This isn't supposed to happen. We were lucky to get promoted last season, and then we get another one? Come on! I have hopes for next season though. With interested players filtered out I still can't see anything that will improve our team for next season, and the teams in League Two are looking mighty strong. If we're not in the bottom half next season I'll be both surprised and disappointed. A relegation would actually be welcome at this stage. I much prefer to struggle for success. The last loss we suffered this season was on 22 November. 36 games unbeaten. That's not fun

League

League Progress

Squad

Transfers

Finances

Key players

Tommy Fraser - Captain and midfield general

Niall McCormack - Vice-captain and rock in defence

Dean Lyness - Sturdy goalie, made BSP team of the year

Daniel Swallow - Playmaker who had a really good season

Chris Scully - FA Trophy final hero, and top goalscorer with 35 hits. Finally good after 6 goals in the two previous seasons.

Scott Robinson - Very good first season

Johnny Breen - Staff have raved for seasons about him. He is finally maturing now

Steven Grant - Anchorman in midfield

Career Summary

[b]Season[/b]   [b]Division[/b]             [b]Pos[/b]  [b]Movement[/b]     [b]FA Cup[/b]        [b]Other[/b]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Northern 1 North     9th      -           -          Out of all cups early
2010/11  Northern 1 North     1st  Promotion       -          Out of all cups early
2011/12  Northern Premier    11th      -       4th Qual Rnd   QF of Northern League Cup, Consortium take-over
2012/13  Northern Premier     1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       Out of the cups early
2013/14  Blue Square North    2nd  Promotion   4th Qual Rnd   FA Trophy 3rd Round. Promotion through Play-Off
2014/15  Blue Square Premier  1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       FA Trophy winners

[Pangaea]

2014/15 Records

[b][size="4"]Attendance[/size][/b]
  o High: [b]2,372[/b]
  o Low:    [b]519[/b]
  o Avg:    [b]831[/b]
[b][size="4"]Results[/size][/b]
  o Win:  [b]7-0[/b]
  o Loss: [b]2-4[/b]
[b][size="4"]Sequences[/size][/b]
  o Won in row: [b]12[/b]
  o Lost in row: [b]2[/b]
  o Without losing: [b]36[/b]
  o Without winning: [b]4[/b]
[b][size="4"]Players[/size][/b]
  o Top goalscorer: [b]35 [/b](Chris Scully)
  o Most assists:   [b]20 [/b](Daniel Swallow)
  o Avg rating:   [b]7.79[/b] (Daniel Swallow)
  o Player of the year: [b]???[/b]

Club Records

[b][size="4"]Attendance[/size][/b]
  o High: [b]2,372[/b] (25.04.2015, vs King's Lynn)
  o Low:    [b]105[/b] (13.10.2009, vs Chorley)
  o Avg:    [b]831[/b] (2014/15)
  o Highest Gate Receipt: [b]£26,000[/b] (25.04.2015, vs King's Lynn)

[b][size="4"]Results[/size][/b]
  o Win:  [b]7-0[/b] (13.09.2014, vs Barnet (H))
  o Loss: [b]0-3[/b] (15.02.2012, vs Sheffield (H))
  o Highest Scoring Game: [b]4-4[/b] (16.01.2010, vs Radcliffe Boro (H))

[b][size="4"]Sequences[/size][/b]
  o Games Won in Row: [b]12[/b] (22.11.2014 - 07.01.2015)
  o Games Lost in Row: [b]5[/b] (13.10.2009 - 27.10.2009)
  o Without Losing:   [b]36[/b] (22.11.2014 - 09.05.2015)
  o Without Winning:   [b]8[/b] (21.01.2012 - 21.02.2012)
  o Without Conceding: [b]7[/b] (28.02.2015 - 31.03.2015)
  o Without Scoring:   [b]4[/b] (25.08.2009 - 08.09.2009)

[b][size="4"]Players[/size][/b]
  o Top Goalscorer:           [b]36[/b] (Chris Scully) (2014/15)
  o Top League Goalscorer:    [b]26[/b] (Chris Scully) (2014/15)
  o Most Goals in a Match:     [b]4[/b] (Chris Scully) (13.09.2014, vs Barnet)
  o Most Assists:             [b]20[/b] (Daniel Swallow) (2014/15)
  o Highest Average Rating: [b]7.79[/b] (Daniel Swallow) (2014/15)
  o Most Man-of-the-Match:    [b]10[/b] (Chris Scully) (2014/15)
  o Most League Apps:        [b]145[/b] (Danny Egan) (2014/15)
  o Most League Goals:        [b]77[/b] (Danny Egan) (2014/15)
  o Youngest Player:          [b]16 years, 47 days[/b] (Dan Baxter) (22.08.2009)
  o Oldest Player:            [b]42 years, 271 days[/b] (Paul McGee (12.02.2011)
  o Youngest Goalscorer:      [b]18 years, 251 days[/b] (Ian Wright) (05.02.2013)
  o Oldest Goalscorer:        [b]33 years, 187 days[/b] (Billy McCartney) (20.10.2009)
  o Fastest Goal:             [b]37 seconds[/b] (Terry Masson) (17.12.2011)

[b][size="4"]Transfers[/size][/b]
  o Highest Transfer Fee Paid:     [b]-[/b]
  o Highest Transfer Fee Received: [b]£4,000[/b] (Mark Clarke to Morton) (20.06.2013)
  o Total Transfer Spending:       [b]-[/b] 
  o Total Transfer Income:         [b]£7,000[/b] (2012/13)

[Pangaea]

Roll of Honour

Argentina - River

Brazil - Santos

England - Man City

France - Lyon

Germany - Bayern Munich

Ireland - St. Pat's Athletic

Italy - AC Milan

N. Ireland - Linfield

Norway - Brann

Scotland - Celtic

Spain - R. Madrid

Wales - Carmarthen

Champions Cup

Man City - AC Milan 0-3

EURO Cup

Chelsea - HSV 4-1

European Super Cup

Genoa - Barcelona 2-0

FA Cup

Arsenal - Man City 2-3e (Tevez 120+1 winner)

League Cup

Man City - Liverpool 1-0

So sadly it looks like the bottomless moneybag in the blue part of Manchester is taking its toll on the game. Loss in the CL final, but won everything else - Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Three league teams relegated from the Conference.

And well done taking Trafford to the Football League.

[uncle ron]

Found it.

What will happen, if anything, is of course hard to tell.

Brilliant, good find and a very interesting read Pangaea

[Pangaea]

Halfway through the 2015/16 season both Barnet and Darlington are in real danger of getting relegated yet again. Barnet is in 20th in Blue Square South, 3 point adrift safety. Darlington is placed 19th in Blue Square North, 1 point ahead of AFC Telford who has a game in hand. Tranmere, however, is whipping the daylights out of BSN, with a 7-point cushion at the top.

In League Two we are finally filling our meagre 2,500 stadium. Our finances have improved, and for a laugh I asked the board for an expansion. They actually said it couldn't be done. No space or some such thing. Does that mean I'll have to wait for finances to improve enough that we can afford a new stadium, or is the board lying through their teeth to get me off their back? Now there's a "Pangaea Not Wanted" sign on their door

[Pangaea]

Once again a big tournament won't have to worry about English hooligans. Since getting hired in 2012, after England went out in the Euro semi final, Stuart Pearce has failed to take them both to the World Cup and Euro Champs. But somehow he still has a job. The English press must have mellowed. A lot.

[The Hoop]

Feel a bit sorry for Wrexham - 100 points not enough to win the title and then they fail in the play offs?!

[Pangaea]

They were luckier this time around. Got 89 points and second place again, but now they won the playoff final.

[Pangaea]

2015/16

League Two

Board expectation: Battle bravely

Media expectation: 24th (last)

Odds: 25-1

Season tickets: 689 (up 507)

Dennison, one of the loanies from last season, signed a contract with us over the summer. Some other players came on free too, including a fine-looking DR and DL, and a sturdy DC. In the last hours of the January window a DC was brought in on loan to cover for all the defenders in the physio room. Just a shame he had already played for two clubs that season, and could not play for the first team. D'oh!

Once again I expected a tight battle in the lower half of the table. And once again I was disappointed. The first month saw patchy results, but after that it was a one-ride ticket to League One. I can honestly not understand it, but once again the team brushed all opposition aside. Rushden gave us a very good run for our money, finishing with 101 points. But we were too stable to slip up in the end, even with all the injuries. Promotion was secured with 6 matches to go, and the championship with 2 matches left. Some League Two records were broken as well.

We went flying out of the JPT and League Cup at the first opportunity, but did quite well in the FA Cup. We faced Championship side Brighton in the 3rd round. I set up shop away, and got away with a 0-0 draw. The same was accomplished in the re-match at home. They heavily outshot us, and got their reward in penalties. My usually sturdy DMC missed the first, and everything after that went to plan. Which was a crying shame as we would have faced Man Utd away in the 4th round. It would have nicely taken care of our financial woes.

League

League Progress

Squad - Egan is no longer a starter, but it's been lovely to watch Breen develop. He really set Shawe View alight this year. Particulary before Xmas when he scored practically a goal a game.

Transfers - Former captain Nnamani was sold for a club record of 16K

Finances - We started to fill up the 2,500 capacity stadium, and that did wonders for our finances. The cup run didn't hurt either. Probably made 100K from the meet with Brighton.

Key Players

Dean Lyness (GK) - Good shotstopper, but this was his last season. Off to Coventry now

Craigh Taylor (GK) - Fine young keeper to take up Lyness' reins

Gavin Dennison (D RL) - Solid season and a great signing

Tom Wright (D R) - Played a fair bit, and looks like a very nice prospect

Barry Finn (D L) - Made the left fullback position his own. Solid signing

Steven Grant (DMC) - Is now part of the core of the team. Solid season

Tony Woolley (DMC) - Very fine youngster I hope can turn into a class player

Tommy Fraser (MC) - Another good season from our captain. Nice amount of assists, though fewer goals

Shaun Hill (MC) - Very good season from the lad. He has grown and is a starter now

Daniel Swallow (AMC) - Another good season, though not as fantastic as last season

Ian Wright (AMC) - Took back the AMC position from Swallow and did very well - finally

Chris Scully (ST) - A good season, though he scored a lot less than last year's 35

Johnny Breen (ST) - Has grown tremendously the 6 seasons here, and is now a key player

Danny Egan (ST) - Still good, but simply can't compete with the others any more

Scott Robinson (ST) - Top scorer with 23, and a good assist-man too.

Big news!!

The promotion to League One was a big surprise, although a disappointing one. I hoped for more of a struggle. But the big news for the club came after the season. We are moving into a new stadium :) It's called "Trafford Stadium" and will pack 9,186 people when completed in two years. It won't be easy financially the next two years, as we now have a massive 5 million loan to pay off, but 32K a month will hopefully be manageable.

I've never gotten a new stadium before, in any version of CM/FM. This certainly was cause for celebration

Next Season

Once again the goal will be to survive. I just hope it will be more of a fight this time. Most of our good players now demand new contracts - which are way out of reach financially. Thankfully I have two years left to think about what to do, but unless we get a lot more money, which is rather unlikely, many will leave next summer. I could maybe afford £500 a week for these stars, but £1000+ is simply not tenable.

Career Summary

[b]Season[/b]   [b]Division[/b]             [b]Pos[/b]  [b]Movement[/b]     [b]FA Cup[/b]        [b]Other[/b]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Northern 1 North     9th      -           -          Out of all cups early
2010/11  Northern 1 North     1st  Promotion       -          Out of all cups early
2011/12  Northern Premier    11th      -       4th Qual Rnd   QF of Northern League Cup, Consortium take-over
2012/13  Northern Premier     1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       Out of the cups early
2013/14  Blue Square North    2nd  Promotion   4th Qual Rnd   FA Trophy 3rd Round. Promotion through Play-Off
2014/15  Blue Square Premier  1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       FA Trophy winners
2015/16  League Two           1st  Promotion    3rd Rnd       [u]New stadium[/u] planned for June 2018.

[Pangaea]

Roll of Honour 2015/16

Argentina - San Lorenzo

Brazil - Sao Paulo

England - Liverpool

France - Marseilles

Germany - Bayern Munich

Ireland - Bohemians

Italy - Roma

N. Ireland - Linfield

Norway - Rosenborg

Scotland - Celtic

Spain - R. Madrid

Wales - Carmarthen

Champions Cup

Arsenal - At. Madrid 0-2

EURO Cup

Aston Villa- Udinese 0-2

European Super Cup

Chelsea - AC Milan 0-2

FA Cup

Bristol City - Chelsea 0-3

League Cup

Derby - Arsenal 1-0

[uncle ron]

How long now until a league game at Old Trafford!

Great news about the new stadium, although the promotion came way too soon as you really need that extra capacity as soon as possible. Shame you couldn't get Shawe View upgraded and play at Old Trafford for 2 seasons while the work is being carried out!

[Pangaea]

Haha! That would been nice. A shame about all the promotions really. I didn't think it was possible to fly up the leagues like this without cheating. So I'm a little disappointed by the whole thing. Thankfully we're struggling much more this season, so it looks like the auto-pilot has finally ended.

I think the problem is that the AI isn't aggressive enough when it comes to transfers, so I've been able to sign pretty solid players with little competition. Although several teams have been interested they have in most cases not put in bids. I'm hoping this will be amended a bit for 10.3, and heavily worked on for FM2011.

Really looking forward to the new stadium. It's tough economically now, and we are filling out the stadium every league match. And I mean fill with a big F. Average so far is 2,500. Not a man short

[Pangaea]

Swindon Town just got a consortium take-over btw.

[uncle ron]

Swindon Town just got a consortium take-over btw.

Are Town still in league One?

Did my finances / debts added send them into receivership?

[Pangaea]

Swindon had a short stop in League Two in 2012/13, but got back up again through playoff after finishing 6th.

They've been in the lower half of the table every year, except last year, in 2015/16. They finished 6th and lost the playoff final to Charlton. Very close to Championship football there

Don't know if they've been in receivership. Their finances are listed as "Okay" now. They're worth 1.7M with a loan of 3.7M. I just added a manager to their team to check the finances. It doesn't look too bad, but I can only see back to Oct 2011.

In Oct 2011 the balance was about 2.5M, going downwards. Summer 2014 it almost hit 0. Summer 2014 they were slightly in the red, 300K or so. Summer 2016 about twice that in the red - a good half million. Currently they have 800K in the bank. There's a downward spiral though, going by summers, so perhaps they'll hit 1 million in the red next summer.

It can't be due to the loans though. They have two chairman loans of 2M and 3.5M, both ending in 2028 (yours?), and are paying 26K a month combined on them.

Wages are about 44K a month now, so that's bound to be the issue. Last season wage costs were 3.5M compared to a turnover of 5.6M.

Ah yes. This month there has been a 600K investment. That's surely from the very recent consortium takeover. So finances aren't great - but far from dire either.

What is "Non-football costs" btw? For some reason it's included in wages in the Summary panel.

[Pangaea]

Oh blimey. They've paid a lot more on the loans going back a little bit. Until August 2014 they paid 90K a month. That's a solid portion of their costs back then. Total costs were about 500K back then.

[uncle ron]

2016 and the Swindon financial position is still very realistic!

Both the £2M and £3.5M loans were ones I imputed, there was also a third (£3M loan) which expired in 3 years.

I'm experiencing the (realistic) problems with Swindon's finances, loosing £200K per month, in my save.

Wages are way too high, they should be around £30-33K per month.

Not sure about the non-football costs?

[Pangaea]

The 3rd loan must explain the sudden drop from 90K a month then. Great to hear it's still realistic levels that far into the game though

I've reloaded the game now, so don't have access to the finances, but I think the current wage budget was 42K, and they had gone a bit over that. Don't know how the wage budget was the last 5 years. But going by my own club and it's very limited resources, we're probably given too high a wage budget. I was given 9.7K this season. Although I'm only at 6.5K and filling out the stadium, we are losing money every month. Have almost 500K in the bank though so maybe we'll stay in the black to next season, at least if we are lucky in the FA Cup. Already out of the others

[uncle ron]

The 3rd loan must explain the sudden drop from 90K a month then. Great to hear it's still realistic levels that far into the game though

I've reloaded the game now, so don't have access to the finances, but I think the current wage budget was 42K, and they had gone a bit over that. Don't know how the wage budget was the last 5 years. But going by my own club and it's very limited resources, we're probably given too high a wage budget. I was given 9.7K this season. Although I'm only at 6.5K and filling out the stadium, we are losing money every month. Have almost 500K in the bank though so maybe we'll stay in the black to next season, at least if we are lucky in the FA Cup. Already out of the others

You were only given £9.7k per month in League One

If you stay up, you will deserve an award!

[Pangaea]

LMAO! We only have a 2,500 stadium, and even with 6.5K spent on wages a week and filling up the stadium to the last seat, we are losing money.

It's only this low because most contracts run out in two years though. No way I could afford to extend the contracts on this budget. Could be up for quite a team re-shuffle next summer unless we are very lucky with an away draw in the FA Cup. I'm allowed to give almost 1000 for players now, but I haven't as it would just kill us economically.

Maybe I should just go with Ian's mantra though. I take care of the team, and if the board are stupid enough to give me more money than we can afford, it's their crap to clean up. I'll see what happens next summer. Though my hand may be forced as half the team want new contracts and are starting to go to the media.

[uncle ron]

Also, interesting the Board got a 5 year £100K per year stadium sponsorship deal, yet it is called Trafford Stadium! Is it sponsored by the City Council or the Trafford Centre?!

[Pangaea]

Haha! I don't know. I'm just really glad it's not called some stupid brand name. Old Spice Stadium? Neh.

The news message said we got a 2.3M grant from the authorities, so perhaps that could be the local council, and the stadium name is therefore not a stupid one? Just glad it's a fairly okay name tbh.

Swindon Supermarine got relegated to Southern 1S btw. And they've been there ever since, just missing the playoffs the last 3 seasons. Good start this year, so maybe they can finally get back up again.

[Pangaea]

European Championship 2016

Hosts: Norway

Groups Stage

Knocked out from Groups

A: Scotland, Bosnia & Herzegovina

B: Switzerland, Romania

C: Portugal, Bulgaria

D: Ireland, Ukraine

Knockout Rounds

Quarter Final

Holland - Russia 2-1

Norway - Germany 0-3

Italy - Spain p1-1

Czech Republic - France 0-1

Semi Final

Holland - France 2-3e

Germany - Italy 0-1

Final

France - Italy e4-2

France wins European Championship 2016

Norway hosted it so we got there automatically. But it was great to see we got through the group stage. Also funny to see that both Scotland and Ireland qualified, but England, once again, failed. Why Stuart Pearce still has a job I'll never know. He has now failed to get England to both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euro Champs. While Brazil keep firing their managers for not winning everything they participate in. Brazil has turned into England!

[Pangaea]

2016/17

League One

Board expectation: Battle bravely

Media expectation: 24th (last)

Odds: 40-1

Season tickets: 1262 (up 573)

This was a summer with little transfer activity in. The youths whose contracts expired were released as usual, and some players were sold. Goalie Lyness had done his deed, and was sold for a club record 85K. Two promising goalies in Pennock and McCluskey was brought in, plus a DC/DM on loan. Our biggest weakness is in central defence. Some deadwood left too.

Again I hoped for a season of struggle at the foot of the table. And again I was disappointed. I feel like every season is a repeat of the last one. Each time I hope to struggle, as that is what ought to happen, and each time I end up disappointed. The team stayed practically the same as last season, but even so the players managed to lift the quality and play well against teams who ran rings around us last season. I've stopped trying to understand why this happens. I just notice that it does.

The Cups went much as last season. We didn't impress in any of them. After holding Championship side Watford to 3-3 at home, we lost 1-2 away in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

The league went better. As usual the first 10 games left us midtable. But once the team got used to this level of football we started to improve our position. We were up and about fighting for promotion for most of the season. With two games left we secured promotion. And as both we and 2nd placed Coventry drew the last match, we won the division, 3 points ahead of them. It was of course nice to get promoted, but the whole thing just doesn't feel right. The game has to be easier this time around, cause I've struggled much more before.

League

Progress

Squad - The team is a little thin and weak in central defence, but other than I feel comfortable. Breen is the big star now.

Transfers - Not much activity. Goalies were swapped and some deadwood left. McCluskey looks very nice at only 15.

Finances - It's steadily improving, much thanks to a thus far small wage budget, but the end of season bonus took a big chunk out of the coffers. Wages will shoot up now, if I manage to renegotiate with my star players. Hopefully we get a bigger budget next season so this will be made possible.

Key Players

Gavin Dennison (D RL) - Another fine season from the young quick fullback

Tom Wright (D R) - Tough competition with Dennison, but played a fair bit

Barry Finn (D L) - Another good season on left back

Steven Grant (DMC) - Not good average rating, but is good and played a lot

Tony Woolley (DMC) - Has developed to a very good player.

Tommy Fraser (MC) - Not as dominant as he once was, but provided many assists

Daniel Swallow (AMC) - Slightly disappointing, but had many assists

Ian Wright (AMC) - Another good season, with a nice number of goals and assists

Chris Scully (ST) - Scored every other game and played well.

Johnny Breen (ST) - The star of the team. Top scorer with 33 goals, 2 short of Scully's club record.

Danny Egan (ST) - Can't cut it anymore. Leaving on Bosman. Was here for 7 seasons, so a little sad to see him go. He carried the team for a long time.

Scott Robinson (ST) - Was injured a lot, but played well when injury-free.

Other news

In mid-May I was approached for the first time in this career. Burnley, relegated from the Premier League, approached me with a pretty hefty transfer and wage budget. I hesitated a bit, but turned them down. I still have lots of work to do in Trafford It's a bit scary to know this is the kind of budgets I'm up against next season though. Michael Owen took over Burnley instead.

Finally the board agreed to upgrade the youth and training facilities, which still stands at "Basic" and "Minimal". The season has now started, however, and I've gotten no further news on this. So I'm worried the game has somehow "forgotten" it. I seem to remember this used to happen in July or so. It's now September and nothing has happened. Should I be worried?

Next Season

I'm just repeating myself here, but I hope the next season will involve some struggle. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to fly up the leagues, but it's hardly very realistic. Would love to have games of serious struggle while trying to get up the league ladder, like in previous saves. But for some reason this just hasn't happened with FM2010. Others struggle with the same I see, as can be observed from for example dafuge's thread.

The biggest challenge right now is to make sure our star players extend their stay.

Career Summary

[b]Season[/b]   [b]Division[/b]             [b]Pos[/b]  [b]Movement[/b]     [b]FA Cup[/b]        [b]Other[/b]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Northern 1 North     9th      -           -          Out of all cups early
2010/11  Northern 1 North     1st  Promotion       -          Out of all cups early
2011/12  Northern Premier    11th      -       4th Qual Rnd   QF of Northern League Cup, Consortium take-over
2012/13  Northern Premier     1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       Out of the cups early
2013/14  Blue Square North    2nd  Promotion   4th Qual Rnd   FA Trophy 3rd Round. Promotion through Play-Off
2014/15  Blue Square Premier  1st  Promotion    1st Rnd       FA Trophy winners
2015/16  League Two           1st  Promotion    3rd Rnd       [u]New stadium[/u] planned for June 2018.
2016/17  League One           1st  Promotion    3rd Rnd       Youth and training facilities to be upgraded

[Pangaea]

Roll of Honour 2016/17

Argentina - San Lorenzo & River

Brazil - Fluminense

England - Chelsea

France - Marseilles

Germany - Werder Bremen

Ireland - Bohemians

Italy - AC Milan

N. Ireland - Linfield

Norway - Rosenborg

Scotland - Celtic

Spain - Villareal :o

Wales - Cefn Druids

Champions Cup

Man City - Liverpool 2-3

EURO Cup

Udinese - Dortmund 1-1e

European Super Cup

At. Madrid - Udinese 4-1

FA Cup

QPR - Chelsea 1-4

League Cup

Arsenal - Chelsea 1-0

[Nobby_McDonald]

Six promotions in seven years? This is all getting rather easy!

[Pangaea]

I know

Even worse, we've gotten off to a pretty decent start in the Championship. I just don't understand WTF we are playing this well with players that don't seem to be good enough at all at this level. Bar Breen and a few others perhaps.

Maybe I should raise the issue to SI - once again. This simply should not be possible. I was hoping for a tough struggle all the way, maybe getting to the Premiership in 15-20 years. At this rate it's actually not impossible to make it in 10 - which is beyond absurd