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dafuge's FM11 challenge

dafuge

By dafuge,
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments

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Jazzfusion

Jazzfusion

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I started this challenge as a kind of tactics experiment, but I enjoyed the first season so much I thought I'd continue. I haven't been posting here, but I just thought I'd post this:

Champions of BSS! :D

First season we finished 6th, brought in some great players in the summer though and we've cruised in 1st place the entire season. Will post season stats and whatnot at the end of the season!

Great thread & challenge, good luck everyone!

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Jazzfusion

Jazzfusion

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Tonbridge Angels // Season 2 // 2012/13

After finishing 6th last season, we were predicted a lowly 15th! Thankfully the media suck :p We finished 1st.

League table

Cruised in 1st place the entire season, brilliant effort on my teams part. I think being knocked out of the cups fairly early helped, it meant we had a longer break between games. Saying that, we did get a an FA Cup 2nd game vs. Crystal Palace that generated £100k in TV and ticket sales.

Squad stats

Liam Buchanan

Absolutely brilliant, but I had even higher hopes for him. Should of had another 10 goals atleast, but he went through a slump along with low morale and that made a dent on his stats.

Vincent Pericard

The battering ram :p

Dali Gomez

Signed in my first season and showed a lot of promise with 13 goals. This season was even better, he was prolific coming from the bench/backup. My asst. only rates him 1 star :S

Oliver Norwood

Along with Buchanan, he's my best player. Deployed as a deep playmaker, he was an absolute star for my side the entire season. Scouts said he was League One quality when i signed him!

My two centrebacks Kudiersky and McGinty were rocks. I think they'll be able to step up too.

Between the sticks a 41 year old Mike Pollitt showed he's still got what it takes. 28 clean sheets! Contracted for another season, I'll be looking to get another good year out of him at BSP.

That's about it, if anyone has a screenshot request feel free, I'll get it up asap!

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wriches

wriches

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Eurghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :mad:

I was doing really well up until December. Then several clubs were interested in my star striker, his general happiness went to "Flattered by the interest being shown in him" and his morale dropped from Superb to Very Low, and then every game it says "Playing without any confidence".

Seriously???? Just because clubs were interested in him? They didn't even make any bids and he was in the form of his life. And ever since then, he's been absolutely pish, and we're losing loads of games. I really can't make any sense of this morale system. :confused:

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Dons

Dons

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Eurghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :mad:

I was doing really well up until December. Then several clubs were interested in my star striker, his general happiness went to "Flattered by the interest being shown in him" and his morale dropped from Superb to Very Low, and then every game it says "Playing without any confidence".

Seriously???? Just because clubs were interested in him? They didn't even make any bids and he was in the form of his life. And ever since then, he's been absolutely pish, and we're losing loads of games. I really can't make any sense of this morale system. :confused:

Maybe he doesnt handle pressure very well :)

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Dons

Dons

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How does the game rate players? Seen a few now that has CH potential but really poor stats, and seen some that has BSP potential with really good stats... Is a player rated by potenial/current ability? by fame? by club history?

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KLH84

KLH84

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HUFC_Badge__2_160x170_bigger.jpg

Hastings United - BSP - 2013/14

Predicted - 15th

Finished - 2nd (Promoted via playoffs)

Promoted twice in two years and, to be honest, it had to happen - after spending two seasons in the BSS my 1st XI was packed full of 'good' players (for the level not, like, actually good...)

I almost sabotaged the promotion bid by continuing to play without wingers (*this is not FM10*) and then switching to 3-1-3-1-2 (which didn't work). I ended up going back to the drawing board, and analysing (briefly) exactly which teams dominated me and the formations they were using. This led to the current formation of 4-1-2-2-1. You can see the difference this made to the season here *hint - when the line goes up, we were using wingers*

Cups really didn't feature this year - We went out to Yeovil in the first round of the FA Cup. Yawn

Players of the season

Daryn Hennessey - When I decided to use wingers I had a slight problem - I didn't have any. So, I had a chat with one of my reserve left backs and asked him to play as a winger. He had no experience of the role, and I had little hope. He was excellent - one of those quirks in FM that make it as addicting as it is.

Neal Lawson Neal filled the AMR gap. For this he was paid £9 p/w. Absolute bargain - again, it's the quirky players that you aren't sure about that end up being the best signings.

Aaron McLean Aaron was originally brought in to replace Ricketts but has become my main striker (after you know who threw a hissy fit) - always reliable from the bench, not as good when he starts but should still cut it in League 2.

Top scorer and highest assists for the season belong to he who won't be named. He doesn't exist anymore so neither do his records. If you don't know what I'm talking about...you're lucky.

Goal of the Season

Borini Vs Morecambe (He can have this one just because I think it's the only free kick we have ever scored)

Plans for League 2 - don't get relegated. My squad might be ok to do this but I'm struggling to find any quality players to join me.

--Ends--

In response to rules followed etc I don't:-

1) Scout players based on others updates

2) Loan players unless they are realistic and no better than my current squad

I do:-

Everything else

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The_shocker7

The_shocker7

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Tooting and Mitcham Season 2 Review

so after a mid table finish last year i was confident we could push on for a playoff spot in season 2. The task was made harder when my wage budget was cut from £4k pw to £3.2k pre week and i had to offload several first teamers, however i managed to keep the core of my team and added a couple of decent youngsters on £100 pw contracts and i pretty much flew up the table and led for most of the season.

Unfortunetly i had a downswing in fortunes and in the penultimate game of the season lost a top of the table clash 4-3 and finished 2nd.

the playoffs were a breeze though Havant and Waterlooville despatched 3-0 on Aggregate and then Chelmsford turned over 3-1.

very disappointing to score over 100 goals and not top the league

http://yfrog.com/moseason2j

players were quality in partiuclar Evina with 15 assists and my centre back Williams with 12 goals!

http://yfrog.com/mtstatsseason2j

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Yidd0!

Yidd0!

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Hasn't got exactly to plan this season so far for me.

Was playing on the train up to work this morning, to succumb to two embarrassing 5-1 defeats, one to the other promoted team Sailsbury. Had a shakeup in the midfield, reverted to my shorter passing tactic and we got a result against Torquay, beating them 2-1.

Reading the post Quavis, I think I'll add my two cents to this:

1. <1000 rep. Not much I can say about this, seeing as I am FC United. I still aim to take Croydon Athletic on once someone has a save for me to start from.

2. Loans. I tend not to bother with loaning players. For some strange reason, FC United cannot find a suitable Parent club whatsoever. Really does my head in, as we could really do with the extra cash to boost our wage budget slightly. Loaning in BSS/N & BSP is difficult, seeing as nobody wants to come to you and the players that do are terrible. Since coming up to L2, its been easier to get players on loan, but I've only taken one on. This is just to bolster my Attack, while Mitrovic is out for another 6 f***ing months. Saric keeps getting injured and Montano seems a little bit 'rabbit in headlights' about playing in the professional leagues. I have one shining light in a youngster I signed during a backroom meeting (scout this player, he looks good sort of thing) turned out to be amazing. Whacked him in my reserves last season, promoted him this year and he's valued at 110k and is currently my top scorer with 4 (we've only played 8 games.) I like the idea of bringing in the occasional loan player while your first team recovers from a slump in results or a star player 6/7/8/9 month injury extravaganza.

3. Under 25 only players. I tend to look towards the youth for a team. I like to mould the players into my style of tactics, rather than chuck them in head first and see what happens (you fling enough s*** some if it will eventually stick etc.) Plus from a purely financial benefit, their valuation can go through the roof if they are having a good couple months, so I can always flog if I have to. I buy the odd over 25 player to chuck in some decent experience (Dominic Blizzard for example is my captain and my rock in the middle of the park)

4. Friendlies. These are a tough call for me. I can never get the top top top top teams to play me for some unknown reason, so I aim to get SPL/ occasionally Serie A teams, as well as the mid/low rep teams around me. I always stick in one random Rymans league team, to let us give them a battering and boost some confidence just before the start of the season.

HOPEFULLY my team will gel a little better now we are a few games in. My loan striker and my sexy Regen youngster seem to be doing a pretty good job, while Saric is recovering from a long stint out and Mitrovic decides whether to retire or not from the 2 long term stints (6 months +) out injured with the same problem (Torn calf muscle)

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wriches

wriches

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How does the game rate players? Seen a few now that has CH potential but really poor stats, and seen some that has BSP potential with really good stats... Is a player rated by potenial/current ability? by fame? by club history?

My guess is that it's based on a combination of PA (Potential Ability) and match ratings. And obviously the accuracy depends on how good the staff member is at judging PA too.

The reason I think that it considers match ratings is that I've brought in players that they rate as having 2-2.5* potential, and it's true that they're not very good but they have one or two essential attributes that make them perform well (e.g. a DC that's a bit rubbish but with really high Jumping). Then when they start getting good ratings, suddenly the same staff member thinks he has higher potential than before.

Personally, I don't care what division they think they're suitable for - all I look at is the difference between the CA and PA.

For example, with these two:

1) A player with 4* CA and 5* PA.

2) A player with 1.5* CA and 4* PA.

If both players are a similar standard now, I'll take player (2) all day, even though his PA is lower, as his PA is further away from his CA.

See what I mean?! :eek:

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Jaffa

Jaffa

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690.png

Northwich Victoria

Season 3 - 2013/14 – Blue Square Premier

Preseason - Media Prediction: 10th

Final placing: 1st

We Are Football League

Aim

This season the board offered me a target of a top half finish, but I usurped them simply for the wage budget (a difference of a few hundred quid!) and opted for the aim of promotion.

The season

I started off with a bout of patchy form only winning 5 of the first 10, including a stinging last gasp 3-2 defeat away at Salisbury. I did pick up though and managed to climb into the playoff spots and stayed there. 2/3’rds of the way through the season, probably with about 15 games to go I started flying, I stopped tinkering with my formation and with the new players bedding in my form improved. I still lost 3 games in the run in (all away; at Hyde, Cambridge and Burton) but I managed to stay at the top of the table due to having my main title challengers, Wrexham, York, Salisbury and Macclesfield all at home . I sealed the title with 2 games to go winning it comfortably by 6 points. I was very satisfied with this league title, my first since 2009 in Dafuges challenge. I literally punched the air last night…if I’d of woke the wife up there’d of been hell to pay ;)

The FA Trophy was a non-issue, I went out in a third round replay to Wrexham, but that was no big deal as the aim of 3rd round was achieved so the board didn’t seem to mind.

The FA Cup provided me with a great experience..I managed to beat league sides Torquay and Luton before drawing Arsenal at home. I think the heavy snow must have helped me because I managed to get a

! I was however firmly put in my place at Highbury losing 4-0 when it really should have been double figures. The finances looked a lot healthier though, I made over 800k from that game comfortably putting me back in the black *phew*

League | Graph

Transfers

Finances

Top Scorer

Callum Bagshaw

Scored 23 goals in 39(7) appearances. It’s not jus the goals with Callum though, he’s all round top man.

Northwich Victoria Managers Top player Award

Oliver Norwood, yet again easily my top performer eclipsing last years exploits without much problem at all. A 7.58 rating over the season, 21 assists 12 goals and 11 MoM's!

Next season

Survive. Simple.

Career Overview[/center]

Code:

Season          League          End Position          Achievements
2011-12          BSN                 2nd              Promotion via playoffs
2012-13          BSP                 7th
2013-14          BSP                 1st              BSP Champions

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Dons

Dons

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My guess is that it's based on a combination of PA (Potential Ability) and match ratings. And obviously the accuracy depends on how good the staff member is at judging PA too.

The reason I think that it considers match ratings is that I've brought in players that they rate as having 2-2.5* potential, and it's true that they're not very good but they have one or two essential attributes that make them perform well (e.g. a DC that's a bit rubbish but with really high Jumping). Then when they start getting good ratings, suddenly the same staff member thinks he has higher potential than before.

Personally, I don't care what division they think they're suitable for - all I look at is the difference between the CA and PA.

For example, with these two:

1) A player with 4* CA and 5* PA.

2) A player with 1.5* CA and 4* PA.

If both players are a similar standard now, I'll take player (2) all day, even though his PA is lower, as his PA is further away from his CA.

See what I mean?! :eek:

Yes, i see what you mean - only thing to add to that info then is: what would then calculate HOW/IF they achieve PA? :o

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Gypsum

Gypsum

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WTF?! My staff recommended that I scout Gareth Barry! He's available on a free, is interested, and I can afford him. ****ing going for him! :D

He was available for free on my game too. Alongside Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott! Strangely, all of them were in the England squad at the time too! Barry went to Championship Blackpool, Cole went to Championship Derby, and Walcott went to Galatasaray. It seems like a lot of good players reach the end of their contracts rather than being sold or re-signed. Good for people doing this challenge though!

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Terk

Terk

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OK, so after two very dodgy performances in which we just scraped draws, I quickly ditched the idea of trying to pay 4-2-3-1 at this level. Gone back to the base of the solid 4-4-2 that saw us climb the table last season. We've responded with three wins on the bounce to take us 2nd after five games. Better.

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Terk

Terk

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He was available for free on my game too. Alongside Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott! Strangely, all of them were in the England squad at the time too! Barry went to Championship Blackpool, Cole went to Championship Derby, and Walcott went to Galatasaray. It seems like a lot of good players reach the end of their contracts rather than being sold or re-signed. Good for people doing this challenge though!

This is a MASSIVE issue for me with FM11. Because I'm a Liverpool fan I often check how they're doing and who they're signing. A couple of seasons ago they picked up then 27 year old striker Mario Gomez on a free after Bayern released him. I've just gone through the PL transfers from this summer and players either released to free transfer or signed from free transfer include Fabio, Micah Richards, Keirrison, Diego Arismendi, Oscar Cardozo, Nedum Onuoha, Jermaine Jenas, Lukas Fabianski, Kevin McDonald, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Younès Belhanda (signed 3 seasons ago for £10M). The oldest of this list of players is 31, so none of them have been released, in my opinion, due to rapidly falling stats. I am staggered that these players were released rather than sold with 12 months left of their contracts, seems utterly ridiculous to me.

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Gypsum

Gypsum

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This is a MASSIVE issue for me with FM11. Because I'm a Liverpool fan I often check how they're doing and who they're signing. A couple of seasons ago they picked up then 27 year old striker Mario Gomez on a free after Bayern released him. I've just gone through the PL transfers from this summer and players either released to free transfer or signed from free transfer include Fabio, Micah Richards, Keirrison, Diego Arismendi, Oscar Cardozo, Nedum Onuoha, Jermaine Jenas, Lukas Fabianski, Kevin McDonald, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Younès Belhanda (signed 3 seasons ago for £10M). The oldest of this list of players is 31, so none of them have been released, in my opinion, due to rapidly falling stats. I am staggered that these players were released rather than sold with 12 months left of their contracts, seems utterly ridiculous to me.

There's definitely something wrong. At the beginning of this season on my game (in addition to the ones I already mentioned) Joe Cole, Tevez, Carrick, Pienaar, Jenas, Lescott, Carragher... and plenty of other decent players have been released. I expect they'll do something about it in the next patch.

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Terk

Terk

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There's definitely something wrong. At the beginning of this season on my game (in addition to the ones I already mentioned) Joe Cole, Tevez, Carrick, Pienaar, Jenas, Lescott, Carragher... and plenty of other decent players have been released. I expect they'll do something about it in the next patch.

I hope they do. Obviously you get the odd high profile free transfer (Joe Cole to Liverpool) but the sheer volume of high quality players, particularly in their late 20s, being released in the game currently is ridiculous. Although would be beneficial to sides like us when we get to the sort of top of the Championship/bottom of the Premier League level :D

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Gypsum

Gypsum

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I hope they do. Obviously you get the odd high profile free transfer (Joe Cole to Liverpool) but the sheer volume of high quality players, particularly in their late 20s, being released in the game currently is ridiculous. Although would be beneficial to sides like us when we get to the sort of top of the Championship/bottom of the Premier League level :D

Yeah, they need to fix it... but they can wait until I get to the Premiership first!

Just noticed David Moyes is the Barcelona manager!

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jordanswinburn

jordanswinburn

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Just had a rather good game. Sort of anyway...

1-0 down to Wycombe, so at 60 minutes, I decide to bring Borini and Saric (the old League 2 pairing) on. In the next half an hour, Borini scored and hit the post 3 times. In that same half hour, Saric 'assisted' Ibrahim when his lovely lob hit off the bar, and into the path of Abdi. He also hit the post a good few times. Borini and Saric did more in half an hour than Chopra and Nimely have done in about 3 games.

And in the next game against Rotherham, I started Borini and Saric, and they both scored!

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StellaF1

StellaF1

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AshtonUnited.jpg

Ashton United - Season 2011-12 - BSN

Squad ¦ Transfers ¦ Finances

Top Goalscorer: Tendaya Darwika ¦ Highest Av. Rating: Karlton Watson

Blue Square Bet North

League Table ¦ League Graph

The season started off a little bit slowly for Ashton as we drew many games early in the season but at the same time we never really looked like losing many games. At the half way point of the season we had managed to draw 11 of our games. The second half of the season saw us turn games we might have previously drawn into victories and this in turn resulted in a surge up the league table. We topped the league on several occasions towards the end of the season but we never seemed to play very well once we were top of the table and as a result we kept giving the lead away.

In the end it came down to the very last game of the season with Ashton 3 points behind Eastwood. We beat 15th placed Harrogate Town 2-0 and our fate rested in the result for Eastwood. Eastwood, at home to 3rd placed Nuneaton, ended up taking nothing away from the game as Nuneaton beat then 2-1 thus giving Ashton United promotion.

We were joined in promotion by Cambridge City who won the play-offs and ensured that 2 previously unplayable teams earned promotion!!!

FA CUP

Fixtures

I was happy with our first attempt at the FA Cup as we eventually made it to the 4th Qualifying round where we were beaten by a Grimsby side that were much better than us.

FA Trophy

Fixtures

Was delighted with our progress in this competition as we made it through to the 2nd round as we beat in the 1st round a Mansfield Town side in the League above us.

Next Seasons Aims: Improve the squad and achieve a safe mid-table league finish.

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jordanswinburn

jordanswinburn

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Eh.png

Anyone care to explain how we came 2nd? Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, we have a worse GD than Besiktas...

Lucked out getting there though. Lost 3-0 to Wisla in the final game, and only got through because Kaiserslautern beat Besiktas.

But how?! I have a worse GD than Besiktas?!

CSKA Moscow in the next round... yay?! Palermo or Wisla if we beat them... yay?!

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StellaF1

StellaF1

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2-1 win against Besiktas away.

1-0 win against Kaiserslautern at home.

0-0 draw with Kaiserslautern away.

2-0 loss to Besiktas at home.

Maybe not then!!!

Can see why you would be ahead of Kaiserslautern but not why your would be placed ahead of Besiktas.

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jordanswinburn

jordanswinburn

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World Update

Well... England update.

Mike Phelan has just been sacked as Man Utd manager, for lying in a lowly 8th position.

Man City currently lead the Premier League, with West Brom in 2nd, Spurs in 3rd and Arsenal in 4th.

Burnley, Huddersfield and Preston are in the bottom 3.

Liverpool/Arsenal and Man Utd/Sunderland are the League Cup Semi Final ties.

Mark Hughes is West Brom manager. Alan Shearer is Spurs manager. Rio Ferdinand is Blackburn manager.

Benni McCarthy of all people, is leading City to the title as of now. Ryan Giggs manages Millwall. Craig Bellamy is managing bottom of the Championship Portsmouth.

Damien Duff manages Championship leaders Newcastle. Dennis Wise manages Wigan. Andy Johnson manages Blackpool. Emile Heskey has Leicester.

Eidur Gudjohnsen manages Scunthorpe. Jonny Woodgate has Coventry. Ricardo Garder, Cardiff. David Dunn, Swindon.

I love the randomness with managers :cool:

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jordanswinburn

jordanswinburn

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Maybe not then!!!

Can see why you would be ahead of Kaiserslautern but not why your would be placed ahead of Besiktas.

Ahhh, I found out why. Turns out I got more points out of the games than Besiktas.

I got 7 points from Besiktas and Kaiserslautern games. Besiktas got 6. Their games were...

2-1 loss to FC United at home.

3-1 win against Kaiserslauten away.

2-0 win against FC United away.

1-0 loss to Kaiserslautern at home.

It all makes sense now.

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Gypsum

Gypsum

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FA Cup quarter-finals: Chippenham Town v Liverpool

LIVE from Hardenhuish park

A capacity crowd of 4000 is expected at the home of Chippenham town as they host Premier league giants Liverpool in a match which captures the true romance of the FA cup. Chippenham, who currently sit in 7th place in League 1, have had a fortunate run to the quarter finals, only being drawn against one team above their League 1 status, beating Tiverton, Northampton, Peterborough, Fleetwood and Swansea to get to this stage. Meanwhile Liverpool have beaten Barnsley, West ham and Norwich in impressive fashion, looking every bit the side who currently occupy 5th place in the Premier league.

As for team news, Chippenham's uphill struggle in this match has started to look even more perilous, as key central defender Christophe Labejot is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards. In addition, central midfielder John Worthington is also suspended, while Kem Izzet and promising Danish midfield prospect Anders Pedersen both miss out due to injury. In their place, former stoke youth product Tony Green looks likely to start in what will be just his 4th first team appearance. While Nikola Saric will start on the bench, as he continues to build his fitness after a long lay off with a torn calf muscle.

Liverpool meanwhile field a somewhat changed side, with Jose Enrique filling in at centre-back, while key players like Torres, Hamsik, Affellay and Skrtel are left out altogether. Chippenham will be relieved at not having to face a full strength Liverpool, but inclusions such as Hoarau, with 7 goals in his 9 games for Liverpool, mean they still face a remarkably difficult task.

Starting XIs;

Chippenham Town - (GK) Martin Hansen,

Robbie Neilson ©, Ignasi Miquel, Jack Dean, Jason Talbot

Ben Coleman, Peter Leven, Tony Green, Alvaro Portilla

Marlon Harewood, Adam Le Fondre

Subs: Santangelo, Devera, Arca, Evina, Obita, Cansdell-Sheriff, Saric

Liverpool - (GK) Reina

Glen Johnson, Sergio Sanchez, Jose Enrique, Emiliano Insua

Dirk Kuyt, Lucas, Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles, Tom

Guillaume Hoarau

Subs: Orlund, Romaric, Suso, Cardozo, Hamilton, Shelvey, McDonald

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KICK OFF

1 minute - A sign of things to come? Liverpool break down the right, but good coverage by the Chippenham defence leads Lucas to blaze his shot accross goal from 25 yards.

11 minutes - Surprisingly even so far, a ball lofted long into the box by Peter Leven is cleared by the Liverpool defence, and leads to a break from Dirk Kuyt leads to Hoarau bearing down on goal, he shoots from the edge of the box but it goes harmlessly high and wide.

13 minutes - A Liverpool corner finds the feet of Gerrard at the near post, he turns and shoots but is excellently blocked by Martin Hansen. Fantastic save!

18 minutes - GOAL - The deadlock is broken, despite being limited to shooting from range, Liverpool's Hoarau manages to make one count. Blasting at the goal and going in above the keepers head. Maybe Hansen should have done better with that... Chippenham 0-1 Liverpool

33 minutes - Liverpool persist with shooting from range, as they struggle to get joy from this stubborn Chippenham defence. Gerrard, Tom and Lucas all try their luck, with Lucas coming closest forcing a fine save and a corner from Hansen. The corner is comfortably cleared by Miquel.

39 minutes - GOAL - Kuyt and Gerrard link up to leave the Englishman one-on-one with the keeper from the edge of the box, as Hansen rushes out, Gerrard cooly slides the ball beneath him to double Liverpool's lead. Chippenham 0-2 Liverpool

42 minutes - GOAL - A throw in down the right leads to a Gerrard cross, which finds Hoarau at the near post. His flick on is enough to beat the keeper as it sneaks in at the back stick. Chippenham 0-3 Liverpool

43 minutes - GOAL - Would you believe it! Straight from the kick-off Chippenham break with Coleman down the left wing, he causes Johnson all sorts of problems before whipping a ball in towards Harewood in the box. But it doesn't reach him, instead hitting the legs of Jose Enrique and deflecting agonisingly past Reina into the near post. They're back in it! Chippenham 1-3 Liverpool

HALF TIME - Two changes for Chippenham at half-time, young midfielder Tony Green is replaced by the experienced Julio Arca, while Marlon Harewood makes way for Nikola Saric.

48 minutes - Nice attack by Chippenham. Working from back to front they manage to find Le Fondre is space near the edge of the box. But his shot is hit tamely into the hands of Reina.

59 minutes - GOAL - Game on! Chippenham have looked lively after the break and they finally capitalise, Portilla shows Johnson a clean pair of heels down the left wing and hits a fantastic cross into a busy box. Le Fondre tries to shoot, but it is blocked and falls to Saric who taps it past Reina. Unbelivable! Chippenham 2-3 Liverpool

63 minutes - The fans are going wild here as Chippenham continue to push for a goal. A nice move finds Le Fondre near the edge of the box, tunring well and making a shooting chance, he strikes across goal but Reina pulls off a world class save to keep it out. The Premiership side are rattled now!

67 minutes - The Chippenham pressure continues, but now they are caught on the break. Kuyt and Lucas link up well and find Tom running through on the edge of the box, he tucks the ball past the keeper and wheels away in celebration... only to be ruled out for offside! The Chippenham fans breathe a collective sigh of relief!

76 minutes - Another Chippenham attack is countered, Raul Meireles is forced to shoot from outside the box and his shot goes narrowly wide.

81 minutes - It's box to box now, as Chippenham push for a goal, Liverpool counter, and Chippenham counter in return! The Chippenham manager brings on the pacy winger Cedric Evina in place of the ineffective Peter Leven. Portilla moves into central midfield.

83 minutes - Sloppy defending by Liverpool leads to a Chippenham attack down the right, the ball is worked back to Neilson who whips in a fantastic cross which finds Le Fondre in the box, who hits it first time on the turn AND IT'S IN!!! WHAT A GOAL!!! ...but wait... it's disallowed for offside! Only the FA cup can produce this drama!

85 minutes - It's all out attack for Chippenham now. But a misplaced pass sees them caught on the break by Romaric, he beats his defender and has just the kepper to beat, he shoots across goal... and what a save by Hansen! he keeps Chippenham in it!

89 minutes - A free kick for Chippenham on the half way line sees everyone packing the box. Arca lofts the ball in and Reina comes to claim it... BUT HE FUMBLES! The ball is loose in a packed box and Saric tries to prod the ball into an empty net... but it hits Enrique and goes wide for a corner! The corner is hit in by Coleman, he finds Le Fondre at the near post who shoots... but it's blocked for ANOTHER corner!!! Amazing action here.

90 minutes - They've sent the keeper up for this one, another corner is floated in... it looks dangerous, but Liverpool manage to clear and find Romaric on the left wing! The goal is open as he runs with Chippenham defenders desperately chasing... he shoots from some 40 yards out... and it's wide! Talbot clears under pressure for a throw. Liverpool try and push forward and work the ball into the box, he's shoulder to shoulder with Miquel, and they both tumble, the whistle blows... what is he giving here? It's a yellow for Gerrard.

THERE ARE 3 MINUTES OF ADDED TIME

92 minutes - Hansen kicks the ball out and finds Coleman in space down the left, he beats Johnson as he runs down the wing, Saric and Le Fondre are waiting in the middle... but it's offside!That may be their last chance...

FULL TIME - Chippenham 2-3 Liverpool

What a game, Chippenham have done themselves proud here. While outclassed early on in the match, they defended well and limited Liverpool's chances. As the game went on, Chippenham looked more and more likely to score, Glen Johnson was targeted as the League 1 wingers beat him time and time again. Unfortunately the minnows miss out on a lucrative replay, but they would have won a lot of fans with their swashbuckling display against one of the biggest clubs in the world.

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Ridleys

Ridleys

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FC United of Manchester: 2012/13 Season Summary

fcunitedbadgepic.gif

Media Prediction: 22nd

Actual Finish: 3rd

League Table | League Positions Graph | Team Stats | Player Stats

Squad | Finances |Transfers

Season Best XI | Overall Best XI

A much improved season all round really. I think i succeeded in all five of the aims that i set, which must have meant we had a better season! We started off awfully, one point from our first five games. I was not impressed at all, i thought we had a squad that would have been up for the promotion push, change was needed! I changed from the attacking style of play that was so bad for me last season (why did i not change sooner? :D) and went counter attacking. The players responded, we won seven of our next ten games, shifting us up to fifth place in the table, that was more like it!

Our big game of the season came in the FA Cup Second Round, we were drawn against Torquay, who were doing well in League 2. We managed a draw in the first leg, the second leg was a much more entertaining game however! With seven yellow cards and three red cards, it was a fiery encounter, and one that we so nearly took to extra time! It wasn't until the second minute of injury time when Michael Hector (last years player of the season), brought down Lui Kam Tim in the area. He scored the resulting penalty, and we were out of the cup. I was gutted. We were also knocked out of the FA Trophy, just three days later, against York City of the Blue Square Premier, 4-2 we lost in the end after a valiant effort from the lads.

Anyway, things were still going well in the league, we were winning games and our home form was much improved. Unfortunately AFC Telford were miles in front of us and we had no real chance of catching them. A playoff place was settled for in the end, and i was happy with that..

Playoff Semi Final First Leg: Altrincham vs FC United

Moss Lane, Altrincham

Attendance: 3963

This is where we really needed to show what we were capable of, and my god we didn't half play well! Altrincham showed astonishing form at the end of the season, winning all 8 of their final games, but deep down i knew that their run was about to come to an end!

We started off brightly, strining nice passes together and hitting the post withing just four minutes of the kick off! Altrincham looked nervous, and the FC United fans behind the goal could sense it! Chris Herd opened the scoring after 16 minutes, and wonderful individual effort which ended with a 30 yard strike in to the bottom right corner of the goal! This was a sign of things to come! Drew Talbot doubled the lead twelve minutes later, with yet another 30 yard strike, this time hard in to the back of the net, i don't think the keeper even saw it coming!

Our heads were high and a Daryn Hennessy own goal for the home side made it 3-0 to FC United. This made the team talk very easy, i just told the lads i was pleased, and expected more of the same in the second half. I was not let down, Fabio Borini and Philip Roberts added to the scoring fairly early on in the second half, making it 5-0 to the away side! It should have been more as well, with Borini missing a penalty in the 81st minute, putting it well wide of the goal.

Final Score: Altrincham 0-5 FC United

Playoff Semi Final Second Leg: FC United vs Altrincham

Gigg Lane, Bury

Attendance: 6384

After such a unanimous victory in the first leg, a record attendance flocked to see the red rebels in action in the second leg. It was a pretty poor game for the spectators unfortunately, Altrincham didn't test the keeper at all throughout the whole game, and we only tested their keeper on three occasions! Fabio Borini only needs one chance though and you have to be pretty confident he will score it, and he delivered the goods again, 82 minutes in to the game, good link up play with Philip Roberts, and a tidy finish under the keeper.

Final Score: FC United 1 (6-0) 0 Altrincham

Playoff Final: Droylsden vs FC United

The Butchers Arms Ground, Droylsden

Attendance 2147

I thought it was a bit unfair that we were playing the game at Droylsdens home stadium, not that you would know it though, there was as many FC United fans as there were Droylsden fans, as we took up at least half of the stadium. The game was very even, both teams looking quite shaky in the opening stages. It was Droylsden who netted first. Phil Airey had broken free of the defence and lofted the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper. I started to believe it just wouldn't be our day.

Fabio Borini though thought differently! He won himself a penalty after a fantastic touch to get round his man, and stepped up to take the penalty himself! He smashed the ball down the middle and after half an hour we were back in the game! Both teams were still looking quite nervous, neither team looked like they wanted to go forward with the ball, despite me telling the guys we could win the game at half time! A draw was settled for in the end, and the game would go to extra time. I hate extra time!

Almost as much as penalty shootouts in fact. I could see our team was tiring, we had just one player who had got over 70% fitness, and we had used all three of our subs! The game was going in to penalties i thought, but Droylsden weren't done yet! Rhys Henry used his pace to go round Phil Picken, who brought him down in the box. Penalty. I was devastated! The 120th minute, the final minute, and Droylsden had won a penalty. I couldn't look, i went to the toilet in fact, and when i came back i could not believe it! Smith had saved the penalty! Fantastic! There was just one bad thing, it was penalty shootout time!

I was not confident at all! In fact the only person i was confident in was Fabio Borini! And guess what happened! He missed! That set a tone for the penalty shootout and only one of the first six penalties went in the back of the net, the only problem was it was not for us. Mitchell made it 1-1, but Nicholson hit back and they were back in the lead. Lingard had to score, and he did! A wondeful penalty to keep us in the game, it was not in our hands now, they had to miss. Kudiersky stepped up and blasted the ball over the bar!

We were in to sudden death. The first penalties were scored for both sides, and Kiernan was next up. The young lad looked nervous, this was probably the biggest moment of his life, and he missed it! Wide of the goal. Ajose scored for Droylsden and my head dropped. I was gutted, after such a hard fought game we had blown it at the very final hurdle. :(

Final Score: Droylsden 1 (4-3p) 1 FC United

There's always next season, i guess. :(

In other news: I won manager of the season, and also after requesting improved youth facilities, the board have decided to upgrade them, costing £200k. Also good news as this season was a record high position for FC United, beating last seasons 18th place.

Top Scorer and Player of the Season

Fabio Borini

25 goals in 44 games, (23 in 36 in the league). Had a pretty slow start to life at FC United, scoring only 3 goals in his first 10 games for the club. It was only after christmas that he really got going, netting on average nearly a goal a game for the secon half of the season! It was not only his scoring that won him the player of the season however. Providing 14 assists in all competitions, he made the highest amount of assists for the team over the season, quite an achievement for a striker. A wonderful season, and hopefully more to come next year!

Next Season Aims..

  • One aim really.. Promotion!

[font=Courier New]Season    Team        League              Pos   Pld  Won  Drn  Lst  For  Ag   G.D  Pts   Achievements[/font]

[font=Courier New] 2011/12   FC United   Blue Square North   18th  42   12   8    22   41   57   -18  44    None[/font]
[font=Courier New] 2012/13   FC United   Blue Square North   3rd   42   23   7    12   75   46   +29  76    Playoff Finalists[/font]

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Hans Bwixs

Hans Bwixs

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If you're getting bored...

doing-it-wrong.jpg

Naa, in all seriousness, it's a shame you're out. Hope you can get back into it at some point :thup:

Thanks pal.

Might start a save with my beloved Tottenham, their the only team I can really gety into as I support them in real life.

Good luck all in reaching the top!

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Yidd0!

Yidd0!

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Thanks pal.

Might start a save with my beloved Tottenham, their the only team I can really gety into as I support them in real life.

Good luck all in reaching the top!

Nonsense.

Spurs are probably harder to manage than the lower end teams imho.

Either way, you can't give up on it. Take a little break, regroup and mount another charge. Really, if you hang in there - some seriously good players become available!

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Gypsum

Gypsum

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Guys, im out of the challenge. Im getting a little bored :S

Well observe the thread with anticipation of all your stories.

Good luck all.

You'll be back. They always come back...

Bloody good result Gypsum. Getting two goals back against Liverpool is no easy feat! Bravo.

Thanks! It was so close. Just a shame we weren't playing at Anfield, but it's got me out of debt anyway.

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