[FM11] Cymru fo am byth! (Prestatyn)

[DSYoungEsq]

This is the record of my sojourn in Wales, a Mission Impossible which I have dared attempt. As y'all probably know, the mission is to attempt to accomplish something akin to dafuge's challenge with a team from Wales. The goal is to win the Champion's League with the Welsh club, then jump to become the Welsh National Team manager and win the European Championship and the World Cup with Wales. A simple task. And I intend to do it without ever leaving the club of choice; if I'm sacked, the challenge is over, even if I get picked up by another Welsh club. I've got a journeyman save going, so I don't need to add another. It's all or nothing, baby!

But that's not all. We have a chance for something epic here. So I'm going for broke. I intend to make my club the Chivas of Wales. We're going to go all the way to the top without using English players. My goal will be to have no Saeson on the team by the third season. Thereafter, if a player isn't Welsh, he'll have to be Celtic in some fashion, and by the fifth season, I intend to have purged the team of any non-Welsh members. Truly, this will be about Wales forever!

The setup for this Challenge is:

Nations Loaded: All the home nations of the UK, plus Ireland proper with all leagues view only except the Wales Premier League.

Database size: Custom – IIRC it's large sized with the addition of all Welsh nationality players and all players in Wales. Intended to run fast on my laptop, which gets bogged down by larger setups. We're going to be using real players, with attributes masked.

Here I am getting registered as a head coach. Notice that my “favorite team” is Wrexham. Correctly, I follow Leicester City, but a while back, when I was just getting into football in a big way, as the WC was coming to my country, in order to explain the game to us 'Merkins, an American went over to Wales and spent a year following Wrexham as they attempted to gain promotion. He wrote a book about it, which explained about the game, and described Wrexham's year. I've kept an eye on their progress/regress ever since. Seems fitting to use them as the favorite club for this challenge.

I've chosen to take the helm of mighty Prestatyn Town F.C., the Seasiders. Located in the beautiful town of Prestatyn (meaning Priest's Town), along the north coast of Wales, close to the border with England, this club has a fairly long history, going all the way back to the early 1900s. The club have had three distinct stages of development: the early years, when they were happily an amateur team, the middle years, when they decided to aspire to slightly more, and got involved in the semi-pro leagues, and the modern era (beginning only about 4 years ago), when they decided to go whole hog and jump into the big time for Welsh footie. I was impressed with their climb into the WPL, as well as the amazing story behind their frantic construction of the necessary infrastructure to get certified to play in the WPL (they had a week from council permission to inspection to make significant ground improvements, which they accomplished basically by drafting the townfolk to work 24/7 on it). Promoted for the 2008-9 season, they finished 15th of 18 the first year, and 8th of 18 last year.

This last result was very important for the Seasiders. The Welsh league system is undergoing some considerable revision, which among other things is shrinking the WPL. From 18, the WPL for this year has 12 teams. These teams compete in a home-and-home series of league fixtures ending in January. At that time, the league is split into a top-half and bottom-half. The top six teams vie to determine the champion, who gets Wales' spot in the Champions League, and for the two (sometimes three) additional spots in the Europa League qualifiers. The bottom six teams scramble to avoid relegation, with one or two teams relegated at the end (depending upon whether or not qualified lower-tier teams are available for promotion). Thus, if by the end of January, you are in sixth place, you cannot finish lower than 6th place, even if you never win another game! Further, you can still make the Europa League as the WPL allows the teams in the top half to participate in a playoff for European football. Quite an amazing league!

So, by finishing 8th in 2009-10, the Seasiders stayed up in the WPL after this year's reduction in size. It is this rump league that I will be taking my club into battle as part of.

The team plays its home games at Bastion Gardens, a lovely little 1000 capacity (500 seated) ground. It's nothing special (indeed, it's not even anything particularly ordinary), but it has some new features and it's home. Located near the beach, backing up on a row of homes, it's never going to be anything but a small-potatoes stadium (which might matter to me in about 20 years!).

So, with this background in mind, on with the adventure!!!!

[DSYoungEsq]

Preparation Is Key

I take the hot seat. Yep, I'm a newbie

The club are satisfied with a safe position in the League.

I promise much more!

My staff. We're running a bit on the bare bones side at present. The club are willing to let me have more staff.

Meet the Seasiders. Note the relative absence of English players. It's also a young squad. Note the suspensions. My Ass. Man. rates the squad. Clearly, the reserves and the youth team have little to commend them.

I've got plenty of time to prepare my squad. Although the season won't start until early August, I'm only in the beginning of June, with all summer to put my house here in order. My Ass. Man., Martin Jones has little in the way of value as an assessor of talent. He suggests a 4-4-2, which makes sense given the large number of strikers, including two English forwards who rate high among the squad. But since I'm determined to cut back the English presence right from day one, I decide to format the team around a 4-5-1, using attacking wings and a DM paired with some good quality mids. That's going to require a substantial re-vamp of the squad.

Fortunately, the Board are willing to back me in the upgrade effort. They have handed me $4.5K for transfers, and have granted me around $400/wk added salary. I have no intention of actually purchasing players; there should be ample decent players free of contract so I'm going to convert all my transfer kitty to added salary budget and go wild. With luck, I should be able to bring in at least one player of substantially increased value at every position, and find some youth gems to stock up on as well.

The first thing I do is modify the friendlies schedule slightly. The scheduled friendlies in July aren't bad, but they don't include a really tough game near to the end like I like to have, to show we can mix it up with the big boys. I find it gives a shot of adrenaline if you can do well in such a game, and it gets shrugged off for the most part if they hammer you. Prestatyn have had good clubs come in before; this time I manage to convince Bristol City to come pay us a visit. If we can hang with a team from the Championship, we will be well on our way to a good season, I feel.

So, to sum up, it appears that my pre-season task will be to remake the team by strengthening it, and stocking up on some good center of the park players. We're also weak on the right side, and there's minimal depth at left back as well, so those positions need work. I'd also like a permanent keeper, rather than the loaner I have. I'm not going to assess my squad more until I've gotten some better players in, because I have a nasty suspicion that these five-start fancies are gonna be two-start hope-to-hang-ons before I'm done.

[JonesMathew]

I'll be following this closely. Sounds like a real tough challenge to use only Welsh players eventually. I'm currently playing as Swansea and haven't had a regen/newgen come through in 4 seasons that looks good enough for Wales. I've been keeping an eye on Cardiff too and they don't seem any better off. Then again, most of the big Welsh players don't come through Welsh club's academies anyway, so hopefully they're out there somewhere. Good luck!

[jackripper]

Good luck with the challenge mate il be reading for sure.

[DSYoungEsq]

A team of two minds - Preseason report

We finished the preseason with a decidedly mixed record. The highlight of the pre-season has to be holding Bristol City to a 0 - 1 scoreline at our grounds. I was quite happy with the squad after that match. Our friendly wins also showed that we had ample firepower if we wanted, not surprising given our strike force. But the losses were troubling, since they showed a complete capitulation of team effort against teams that shouldn't have been that much better (certainly not anywhere near the caliber of Bristol City!).

I had been a busy beaver during the two months leading up to the start of the season, as you can see, I had managed a very thorough overhaul of the team:

My squad at start of season.

My AssMan's opinion on them.

Their pre-season efforts rated.

My first move was to bring in some staff. I've decided to approach this effort with some fiscal restraint (OOC: I'm going to play the game a bit more realistically than it will allow if you push it). So although I'm allowed two scouts and two coaches, I'll make do with one each. I don't see a second scout as necessary to beat the bushes for Welsh players, and it's really hard to find a second coach with enough ability willing to work for the paltry wages a club like this will offer. And in a complete departure from my normal methods, I've decided to hang onto the poor excuse for an Ass. Man. that I have. I was going to sack him straight away, both because he's a complete idiot when it comes to football, and because he's listed as being English. But it turns out he's really Welsh (OOC: not sure why the game lists him as English; he's quite thoroughly Welsh!). So I'm going to try to nurture him into being better than he is. If after two years he still can't recall that a football is round without someone handing one to him, then I'll send him on his way.

My new staff as coaches.

My new staff as workers. Note that I might now actually be able to know something about the abilities of players!

A brief rundown on key players for the coming season:

Joe Perry - GK

One of my first acquisitions. He's going to do well for me as a youngster in this position. I'm never happy relying upon a loaned GK, and in this case, Mr. Williams is scheduled to depart mid-season. Perry is a bit eccentric, and lacks the ability to communicate effectively, which will limit his long-term usefulness, but for now he's going to be fine. He'll need plenty of confidence boosting as a young player.

Craig Tawton - DC

The catch of the preseason. Speedy for a DC at this level, but doesn't really sacrifice defensive ability for that skill. Much better than my other DCs. I intend for him to be the centerpiece until we have to step up the squad for Europe, when we finally start qualifying for European play regularly.

Stuart Thornley - DM

The key to my 4-5-1 lineup is the DM, who has to be able to play either a solid defensive role against stronger teams, or a holding mid role when we are more focused on controlling the ball and attacking. Thornley seems up to the job. I'll have him train on his passing skill, because I want someone who can distribute the ball with a passing resemblance to Scholes. The initial squad I had had no one who could play this position; I've loaned myself coverage for the position with one of the innumerable Davies that you find in this land.

Gwion ap Dafydd - MC

Anyone with a name this wonderful has to be a good player, right? He's young, he'll get better, I hope, and I'm entrusting the offense to him, mostly because of his first touch and passing skills. We are still light in this position, despite my best efforts; the best MC's on the team are the DMs.

Kayne McLaggon - ST

I don't use a lot of strikers since the 4-5-1 only allows for one of these egotists at a time. Hopefully, this guy is worth the considerable money I'm paying him a week. He's being paid almost three times what anyone else that I'm going to use is. His selling point is that I can use him at AMR too.

I should make a special note here about Lee Hunt. Hunt is English. He's the only English player I have left on the team. He's stubborn: he doesn't want to leave the club at all. I've listed him, I've offered him for loan, I've practically burned out neighboring club's fax machines with offers to take him off my hand; no one even tries because he says he won't budge. So I'm going to bench him, playing him only sparingly in the reserves to keep his hand in, and hope someone comes along who wants him. And if need be, I can swallow my pride and use him to fill the gap at striker, should one occur.

So that's the pre-season in a nutshell. I've bribed the players with the promise of extra-high squad bonuses for both cup and league. Now we can but wait and see if my moves were enough. There was a LOT of transfer activity by other WPL clubs, so I'm not the only manager upgrading.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Struggle - Mid-Mid-season update

It seems convenient to review the position of the club three times during the year: at the end, at the end of the first phase, when the league is divided into halves, and at the half-way point of the first phase. This approach divides the season into rough thirds. We've reached the midpoint of the first phase, 11 games into the league season, so it's time to see where we are.

The club reside in ninth place (OOC: forgot to snap a shot of the table at this point ). We've struggled even to be that high; we were in 11th place after the home loss to Aberystwyth. Aberystwyth and TNS lead the table, as expected. Bala props it up, and they don't look to be likely to get off the bottom anytime soon.

The game away to Bala to start the season set the tone for our team. Note the three sendings off. And still, it wasn't until the 87th min. that we finally surrendered our lead. As you will recall, I pointed out that we had two suspended players when I joined the team; now I know why. We're a vicious team that lacks any control on the pitch at times. We've had players sent off in several matches now; I'm starting to issue fines because warnings simply aren't doing the job.

Recently, however, we've had a good patch of results, with three wins in a row in the league. I'm not sad about the League Cup loss, because the Board didn't care how I did in that, and I hate crowded fixture lists. Losing away to Airbus isn't so bad, either; we were very competitive and might have won on a different day. So the trend is positive and I'm looking for more of the same.

[DSYoungEsq]

Why be good when you can be lucky? - Mid-season update

WE are very lucky blokes!

As I've mentioned, after the teams have completed a home-and-home series against all other teams, the league is split into two halves. The top half is competing for European places, the bottom half is competing to stay alive. Going into the last day of the first phase, we were lying 9th. But we thrashed Bangor City 3 - 1. And at the same time, Neath, playing poorly this year, went away to Airbus and stomped them 3 - 0. The combined effect was to increase our goal differential from -3 to -1, and decrease Airbus' from 0 to -3. And thus, we jumped to 6th place on goal differential!!

We've definitely been a streaky team. We continued our good form at the end of the last update with 4 games unbeaten for 8 pts., which meant we had gone 8 games with only one loss and taking 71% of the points available. Sadly, this only lifted us to 8th place, and we proceeded to bump along in 8th or 9th, often on goal differential, until the dramatic last weekend of the qualifying phase. Now, we are guaranteed of finishing no worse than 6th, even if we never win another game!

Here is how our squad looks now. You will notice the suspensions. The team continues its penchant for stupid acts. One of them managed to get sent off for deliberately handling the ball in the middle of the park having already been cautioned! It's meant that getting a regular lineup going has been difficult.

You will also note that I've finally given up and have decided to let Lee Hunt back into the first team. Right after the last update, Kayne McLeggon managed to get seriously injured during training. So I was down my best striker. I used Hunt as a sub in the home game against Newton that kicked off the second half of the qualifying phase, and he scored. He proceeded to score six times, including a dramatic brace in the Bangor City game to give us that victory. He's still being shopped around, but I'm swallowing my pride and using him to get us as far as we can this year.

So, it's on now to qualifying for Europe!!

[DSYoungEsq]

Thank God it came to and end! - End of Season Update

When a team gets on a bad run, you wonder when the train will stop. We were on a bad run.

We lost the first 7 matches in the final phase of the league. And we lost them in the most agonizing ways. Two of the three 1 - 2 results we scored first in, then threw away the lead. We lost one of the 0 - 1 games by giving up a goal within the first minute, and then never managing to get our own goal. One of the games was lost in injury time. It was a nightmare.

When we stopped the slide in the home game against TNS, we celebrated like we had won something. Of course, we then promptly lost the next game despite dominating all the stats that don't matter. But the last game of the season offered us some redemption, and we took it. This gave us a slightly uplifted mood going into the first playoff game.

Airbus, by virtue of winning the bottom half of the league, got a chance to play their way into the playoffs through beating us in a "quarter-final" game (better thought of as a play-in game). In an agonizing result, we went out on penalty kicks, making only one of the four we took. We again dominated the unimportant things like possession, shots, etc. But our strikers were terrible, and our dominating defense wasn't enough to see us through.

Fortunately for ME, all this matters very little. Because the initial expectation of the Board was only comfortable survival, my result of 6th place was satisfying to them. My job isn't in danger, and I'm ready to strive onward to another year, with the goal of actually qualifying for Europe this time.

End of Season Recap:

Placement: 6th

Cups: out early in both

Europe: didn't qualify

[Nobby_McDonald]

Give me an L... L

Give me an L... L

Give me an A... A

Give me a N... N

...

What do you get?

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!

Edit: Don't know why a space has appeared in the name, there isn't in the typing.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Year End Summary

Prestatyn Town FC Honors

Player of the Year: Craig Tawton - DC

News for Prestatyn Town FC:

We are being denied a move to a new grounds by the town council.

We are being allowed to add 500 seats to the current grounds. We averaged attendance of 100 per game. Won't help much.

Ian Hunt leaves the club out of contract. Last Saison to go!

The club lost $190K during the year on income of only $240K. Salary costs of $325K didn't help.

News about Wales and the World:

The WPL has moved up in the world.

Wales still getting the same slots in Europe.

[DSYoungEsq]

Once more, into the breech! - 2011 Initial Report

Again, the Board just wants safety.

Again, I promise more, but not so much more this time!

We face 10 - 1 odds of winning the league.

The 2011 Season Squad, at present.

The squad rated by the Ass. Man. (take with heavy grains of salt) Note that the scheduled 6/30/11 transfers are not shown.

What remains of the "reserves."

This is why the "reserves" aren't sticking around long.

The youth squad for the year.

Why I cannot WAIT for the youth to grow up! An amazing intake for a club like ours...

This is going to be a very interesting year. My goal, as I told the board, is to make it to Europe. I'm hopeful that a couple of seasons in European games would help our financials considerably. But there isn't nearly enough money in the till, and thus the reins have been pulled back hard on salaries. As it is, I'm not able to afford the salaries I'm paying, and I have two more coming in, and another offer on the table I'm hoping gets accepted, and only one player still to leave. So I'm going to have to have a Saturday Night Massacre, I think, and simply wipe some salary off the books. The financial hole is already so deep, another $10K or so won't matter. Pretty much the whole of the "reserves" will be gone when I'm done.

Meanwhile, the clubs around me have all gone on an arms race, bulking up with pricey players. TNS must have a ton of money stashed away, and the other clubs aren't going to let them get out of sight if they can help it. It's been very frustrating; I've been outbid for at least three players. So we are going to have to do better, with less by comparison. I guess I will earn my keep this season!

My biggest concern at this point is my lack of strikers. I've kinda thrown the baby out with the bath water. I had one striker from the Reserves last year who was only a one to two star player. But as we neared the end of the season, he had become a three-star player, and understandably was miffed at the lack of interest I had shown in negotiating a new contract until very late in the cycle. Once he left, I have no cover remaining for my #1 striker, who spent 8 weeks or so on the injured list last season. So that's the most obvious issue to address this next month and a half.

After that, my main weakness is at the left back/wing position. The #1 is only fair, and he has no back-up other than a center back I'm converting (a project that has been going on for half a year already). I've shored up the midfield with a couple good transfers in, though: Chris Davies (who was on loan here last season) and Ryan Crockford. I'll report in depth on them when I do the start of season report.

And the REALLY good news is the youth intake this year. Three of the players are rated at 2.5 stars or better, and the new 'keeper is rated as a 5-star recommendation. These three initiate my efforts at the Youth Player Project, as well as a more general tracking of youth players coming through the system.

YP - 1: Martin Morris - GK (report on Morris)

This was a godsend. I was missing a goalkeeper to back-up Joe Perry, and now I don't have to try and scare one up in the transfer market. This guy's going to be a bit erratic, and I'm a little concerned about his poor distribution and lack of ability to challenge in the air. But I'm counting on him to have a good work ethic and take the job from Perry within a couple of seasons.

YP - 1a: Stuart Edwards - MLC/AMLC

Master Edwards will help address my future midfield needs. In tandem with Tim Jenkins (a youth player, but from last year, and since I don't know if he came up by academy or by transfer, am not including him in the YPP), and possibly Adam Bradley, they could fill the needs of the midfield for four or five years, until we've made inroads into Europe.

YP - 1b: Anthony Davies - AML

Another with potential, though I'm more likely to let Tim Jenkins continue to rule the left side of midfield and sell Master Davies to someone who can use him better.

So, in sum, a great youth intake may, just may, end up saving our bacon. But we need a striker backup, or two, and we need some depth at the back left. AND we need to play better than last year. No excuses!

[DSYoungEsq]

Ready, set, go? - 2011 Pre-season Report

We had a very good pre-season. The only blemish was the heavy loss to Swansea, as we were unable to duplicate our effort from last year against Bristol City. However, we had a very wonderful win over Shrewsbury, a League Two English side who were predicted to clean our clocks. I also thought our 3-0 domination of Hickley was an excellent showing, as they are a pretty decent Blue Square Bet North side.

The most wonderful part about the pre-season was the sudden awakening of our top striker, Kayne McLaggon. Against Edinbugh Utd., he woke up and tossed in a hat trick of goals, and never stopped during the rest of the pre-season. I'm hopeful that this presages some decent results from him during the season.

The Squad ready for season start!

The Squad's Ass. Man. ratings.

The Reserves, somewhat bare boned.

The Reserves Rated.

I've made some aggressive moves, but I've not been as active as I would have liked to be, mainly for two reasons: I don't have much budget, and I'm not the kind of manager to sack/transfer players just because they've become overtaken by better options after only a year. There were three really tasty left backs on the free transfer market, and I was so close to obtaining one of them, since that's a problem area for me. But their salary cost would have forced me into a serious sell-off of players, some of whom would have been people brought in by me within the last year. So I closed my eyes, hardened my heart, and passed on them. They, of course, are now esconced with WPL rivals.

But I have gained some good players, and here are the ones I'm happiest about:

Matthew Harris - MC

This young midfielder is very versatile. He's adequate at left-mid, he's been taught the rudiments of right back, etc. He's easily by the "numbers" my best center mid. What attracted me to him is his passing, as well as his physicality, especially stamina and fitness. He'll do well in the middle of the park, laying off the ball to useful people and not needing to be subbed 65 min. in.

Ryan Crockford - MC

Fast and capable of scoring, this midfielder should be a good complement to Mr. Harris. He'll also be able to back-up at left attacking mid when I get him re-trained. Sadly, he's not very physical. I forsee replacing him often at the 60 min. mark. But you can't have everything, not in the WPL anyway!

Thomas Gregg Lopes da Silva - ST

This season's steal. This excellent striker comes at the hefty price of no money down and only $110 per week! (sounds like a Kia, doesn't it?) I was really getting desperate to find someone to back up McLaggon, when this kid showed up at the Wales Trialists match and impressed me (which, btw, is where the excellent left-backs I passed on showed up as well).With a name like he's got, he had best be good, or else he's going to get some ribbings! Had to take back seat in pre-season to the on-fire, on-form McLaggon, so his results are a bit misleading..

Tim Jenkins - Midfielder of all stripes

Yes, he's from last year's team, but I have to highlight him here. He's been busting out with confidence ever since I included him in a couple first team games at season's end last year. If this kid really did come through Prestatyn's youth program, then they can obviously produce some real talent. His ability at the AML position has saved my bacon when Rhys Jones went out for 2 - 3 months with a herniated disc in his back (I TELL the idiots to use a spotter in the weight room, I really do!).

Other than the games, pre-season has been pretty dull. The only real surprise is that the Board offered me a new contract, with a substantial raise!. I guess I'm not doing so badly after all. I've again offered the squad hefty bonuses for both cup and league results. We'll see if they have a nose for money.

My main concern for the season as it starts is the extent to which the other clubs have strengthened themselves. We have to manage a significant increase in quality if we intend to contend for a European spot by season's end. I'm not counting on another Miracle on 22nd Week to get me into the top half. So if the other teams have really pumped up with all those players I had to pass on, it could be a rough year.

[bluebirds4life]

Bastion Gardens \o/

Cymru am byth!

[DSYoungEsq]

On task, for a change! - The 2011-2 Mid-Mid-Season Report

Our position graph.

The Squad.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

Amazingly, we are on task! Standing 5th in the WPL, with only 2 losses, we are in solid position to finish in the top half after the next 11 games. The loss to Port Talbot in week 4 scared me, making me think we were back to our old ways. But the only real blemish on the record to date is the 0-4 hammering we took away to surprise team Neath. And while I worry that TNS will eventually right the ship and get back to the top third of the table, I'm also expecting Port Talbot to continue their slide downwards, so we should be safe if we continue our form.

Of course, as this screen shows, I'm doing it at a cost. I'm enough over-budget that bringing in new players is difficult. I did squeeze one added midfielder in, who's ability was so good in comparison to what I had that I just felt compelled to hire him, Zak Evans. Of course, he promptly got all snotty with me when I put him on the Reserves for a short spell (OOC: I'm still not used to the fact that manipulating players around the various squads just to help get things organized produces instant feedback, even if you don't intend to make the move last the day out; SI need to get that sorted, maybe limit a player's reaction until a day has passed). At the end of this season, we're going to have to let some players go to get the ship righted financially.

I also hired a youth coach, since I'm planning on using the youth team to generate valuable stocking stuffers for the team. That should lower my need to go out into the market for niche players, since I can train up the youth into slots I find useful. Although I've toyed with the idea of letting my 15-y.o. youth keeper take a spot on the first team from time to time, I've decided to let him progress with his mates through youth and reserves games.

The only real downer this season has been our inability to handle Neath. Of course, since they lead the league, it's not too surprising, but I was gutted by the League Cup loss. We went down to 10 men against them, but managed to hold onto a 1-1 result. AND we were up a PK going into the fifth kick, only for my star striker to fluff his lines. Four kicks later, we were out. Still, the Board don't mind, and at least it wasn't a whitewash like we received in the League from them. All in all, a very successful start to the season.

[DSYoungEsq]

Bastion Gardens \o/

Cymru am byth!

It's a cute ground, from what photos I've seen! I love the old days, before the upgrade for the WPL, when they had bus stop shelters along the touch line for the fans to stand and watch from. Gives totally new meaning to the concept of parking the bus!

[DSYoungEsq]

Made it safely! - The 2011-2 Mid-Season Report

Our position graph.

The Squad.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

Well, the first part of the task is complete. We are again into the top six safely. And this time, we are positioned 5th, in striking distance of the bunched up leaders, so automatic qualifying is a possibility. Of course, we've been 5th for several weeks now, so that might be a good indicator of our real relative ability in this league this year.

My main concern is our away record; we took only 1 point from an away game not against the inevitable relegatees Afan Lido. That's got to change in the last third of the season, as we jockey for a place in Europe. There aren't any more minnows to swallow then; the formula for success is home wins and away draws. It's going to be especially crucial to produce a better result against Newtown when we play them away again.

The good news is that we finally broke through for a point against Neath, though we had to get them to Bastion Gardens to do it. Proves they aren't invulnerable. They've been showing some signs of invulnerability; frankly, it's quite possible for any of the top four teams to win the league, and we have an outside shot at it, though I'm more willing to back us for the second spot, which also automatically qualifies for the Euro Cup, one round later than the third and fourth slots get in.

The squad is finally showing some fragility. We went a long period without much in the way of significant injuries, but that stretch is definitely over. Poor Thomas Gregg Lopes da Silva has been having to prove his worth, lately, as the only true striker healthy enough to suit up. Good thing we play a 4-5-1! Notice that two of this year's youth intake have been pressed into service: GK Martin Morris (YP-1) and ML/ST Stuart Edwards (YP-1b). Both are in the lineup because of injuries. Morris has been phenomenal, given that he's only 15; Edwards has been serviceable. I doubt Morris will let Perry back between the pipes in a game that matters ever again for us. Onward, and upward we go, served by youth!

[DSYoungEsq]

Success! - The 2011-2 End of Season Report

Our position graph. Compares us with the League winners, Carmarthen.

The Squad.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

The Youth Rated.

We have done it!!! Not quite the way we wanted to, but by virtue of capturing our first silverware since my arrival! We are the winners of the Wales Cup 2012, with a famous 2 – 1 win over Airbus. The winning goal was scored by our young striker, Stuart Edwards (YP-1b), who's continued presence in the lineup was made necessary when the “star” striker managed to tear a calf muscle two games into his return from the prior injury. And with our Wales Cup victory, we qualify for Europe!

Still, all wasn't coming up roses for us. We positioned ourselves to where we could have actually taken the title, and had a serious chance of taking second place. But after an excellent spell in the middle of the period, which included an excellent win at home over TNS and a good result in the Cup semifinal, we started to unravel. For reasons I cannot discern, the squad started losing its morale. We barely scraped a home draw to Neath, and then in the crucial away match at then second-placed Carmarthen, we laid a total egg. The squad was in a terrible mood, they acted like they didn't care about the result, and it showed.

I decided in the last game of the regular season to rest some starters and play some youngsters. They did a credible job against Newtown (the game didn't matter for our final placing at all). And I was careful to talk to the usual starters ahead of time and let them know I was resting them for the Cup Final and the playoffs. They all thanked me. Then, even after they managed a famous win in the Cup, they were still all unhappy and in poor spirit for the playoff match. Newtown proceeded to blow us off the map, ending our season.

Indeed, the squad remains an enigma in some respects. This headline captures the situation quite perfectly! Funny how even the game gets it right. The situation wasn't helped by having one MC I brought in mid-season who got all ticked off at the fact I promptly stuck him on the reserves (OOC: see the Mid-Mid Update). He never got over that unhappiness, and perhaps managed to spread it among some of his mates. Then, there was the matter of the fines I levied against our top center-back and our top right back for their second and third red cards of the season, respectively. Seems that action wasn't popular with the players, either. We racked up NINE red cards this season; I felt I had to get my message across somehow.

Then there was the Saturday Night Massacre. Right after the wonderful home win over Saints, it dawned on me I was never going to be able to re-sign the players whose contracts were expiring who I wanted to stay, since I was so far over-budget that the Board would seriously limit the amounts I could offer. So I cinched in the belt, warned the Board what was coming, and let go on free transfers the dead wood that was cluttering up the books, and the reserve squad. This freed up some $500/wk, and let me complete contract negotiations with no trouble, but I'm sure it caught some people by shock that I was sending players out the door in the middle of the season. Of course, it's not like they didn't get lump-sum settlements of their wages due, now is it?

Well, that's all behind us now. We're still not in the best of shape financially, but I have the Board's solid backing. I also renegotiated my contract, so I'm signed through another three years, which made them quite happy (of course, they have no way of knowing I'm never leaving unless they boot my butt out the door!). And next year, we play in Europe!

Oh, in other news, we've been denied permission (again!) to move to a new stadium, so we are expanding by ANOTHER 500 seats. Of course, we never pull in more than about 120 people to watch us as it is...

[Jason the Yank]

Interesting. I had signed Tawton and Lopes da Silva for my Aberystywyth side.

And yeah, the money from being in Europe helps, but not enough. I'm going to end up burning through most of the cash I got for my Champions League qualifying round.

[Colorado]

Great threat - I'm actually going to watch Prestatyn this afternoon at Neath. I've also been to Bastion Gardens too, it's right next to a Pontins!

Good luck!

[DSYoungEsq]

@ Jason: I'm hoping that I can stash some cash, as I'm hemmorhaging money like I think the damn tree is growing in my back yard. Tawton is a really reliable rock in my backfield and Lopes da Silva, though somewhat mercurial, produces the goods. He finished top scorer in the league; update coming.

@ Colorado: How did Prestatyn do? Neath have been our bugaboo this season in the game, but I suspect that's more to do with players the game has signed for them.

[thezogsageordie]

I've always wanted to do this on FM! Have done something similiar on the old CM01/02 but FM is obviously so much harder. You're doing well, keep it up mate

[DSYoungEsq]

Thanks, Mr. Geordie! (couldn't quite bring myself to calling you Mr. Zog... )

Update coming tomorrow, but here's a teaser: we didn't go out of Europe as quickly as we might have!

[Jason the Yank]

@ Jason: I'm hoping that I can stash some cash, as I'm hemmorhaging money like I think the damn tree is growing in my back yard. Tawton is a really reliable rock in my backfield and Lopes da Silva, though somewhat mercurial, produces the goods. He finished top scorer in the league; update coming.

Yeah, some of it may be because I kept saying "Oh, he's better than what I have now!" and signing players on free transfers. Think I had about 6 center backs in the first team squad (tbf, 2 of them were player-coaches)

I sometimes would play Tawton as a DMC. He's not a guy you can plug in there consistently, but he does decently in spot duty.

[thezogsageordie]

Thanks, Mr. Geordie! (couldn't quite bring myself to calling you Mr. Zog... )

Update coming tomorrow, but here's a teaser: we didn't go out of Europe as quickly as we might have!

Haha, no worries. I was a big N'Zogbia fan when he was at Newcastle when I made the account at the tender age of 15! Sounds good re Europe, looking forward to reading.

[Colorado]

the game was actually called off on Sunday due to bad weather here.

Prestatyn have complained because they were assured the game would be played and wasted two and half hours travelling right down through Wales to get to Neath. Their pretty unhappy about it all.

IRL their a good team, but one of the smaller clubs in the newly reduced 12 team league.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Year End Summary - 2011/2

Prestatyn Town FC Honors

Player of the Year: Craig Tawton - DC 2 years running

News for Prestatyn Town FC:

We were again denied permission to move to a new ground, but we are expanding by another 500 seats. Again, we average about 115 per game, so what's the difference? (Screen shots in last update)

The club lost only $42K during the year on income of only $457K. Salary costs were up to $414K. There was an injection of roughly $115K by the Board.

News about Wales and the World:

The WPL has moved up in the world again.

Wales still getting the same slots in Europe, but they start earlier in the Champions League.

European Championships 2012: England top of group undefeated, but crash out to eventual winners Holland at the first go. In other news, the sun rises in the East.

[DSYoungEsq]

A new dawn - 2012 Initial Report

This year, the Board is greedy.

Once again, I promise more; this time we go for gold!

We face 5 – 2 odds of winning the league. Obviously, the bookies like us better this year.

The 2012 Season Squad, at present, Ass Man ratings included. As always, take anything my Ass Man says with several salt grains.

What remains of the "reserves." I really am trying to control costs this year... no, really...

The youth squad for the year, reports included. Another year with a supposedly good player. But that's my Ass Man making that report...

Well, as I noted last update, we made it to Europe. Now, we have to try and make that count. To do that, I've got to figure out a way to get past the first round and into the second round. I'm not counting on doing more than that; as I recall, by the 4th Qualifying Round (we get to skip the first one), some of the big boys of Europe start to show up. My goal is to gain enough money from the play to wipe out our debt and leave us a modest surplus. I'm not counting on making Europe twice in a row.

I've not had any ability to line up incoming help in advance. We were really over-budget on salary trying to finish off the season qualifying for Europe, and that put knots in the purse strings. So they all have been working to try and shore up their teams while I've been quite static. That's going to make the upcoming month quite hectic. And we're going to be playing our first EURO Cup game by about the 19th of July.

Fortunately, I like my team. My only real concerns are lack of truly good wingers/wide mids, and a thin selection of backup help at DL, should Powell go down with an injury. I've got an over-abundance of central mids, and central defenders, and I'm not really worried about strikers, so up the middle of the park I'm pretty solid. And right back is VERY solid, with newly acquired Kieron Freeman, backed up by the over-achieving, if somewhat reckless Steve Rowland (more red cards than anyone else in the squad for two years now).

What shocks me is that my squad is incredibly YOUNG. As I look at it, fewer than a third of the players are 21 or older. I am almost trying to win something with youth, from the looks of things. The bad news here is that I lack experience in important situations. The good news is that they are too young to fear much of anything, and they will be around for a long time, if I want them.

Adding to the youth movement is a really good potential DM, and a possibly decent striker. Last year's top of the crop, YP1 Martin Morris, ended up minding my senior side nets for most of the season, easily surpassing the regular GK Joe Perry, even though he was only 15 at the start. With any luck, I'll get much the same out of the new guy. I've also added into the tracking two players who showed through the year that they might excel even though not originally tagged by my Ass Man. I've given them a designation of 'x' after their YP tags to indicate they are added post hoc.

YP - 2: Aaron Evans - DM/MC

I want him for no better reason than his PK taking ability! The PKs here at this level are atrocious; often a 50-50 shot at best. If he develops well as a DM, then I can sell my other DM, having already let my older DM go (Thornley). His problem will be finding first team opportunities this year.

YP – 1d x: Daniel Pritchard - DC/ST

Personally, I'm not that impressed with Mr. Pritchard; speed isn't enough to do everything, and as a DC he's pretty poor. The novelty of having a striker who can be dragged into the back line in a pinch will wear off soon, I'm thinking.

YP – 1e x: Michael Holloway - AML/ML

Eventually may help out with the left side of midfield, but I'm not counting on it. Too slow.

My last comments are about my staff. First, I hired a Youth Coach, who, amazingly, has some actually above average coaching skill! That's very unusual for the type of coach who is willing to take the salary my board are willing to offer. I decided that, if I'm going to develop my youth into strong players, I'd best have someone dedicated to working with them while they are stuck in the Youth team, waiting for a chance on the first team or Reserves.

Second, my Ass Man is actually improving! I'm a bit shocked; I thought he'd be good for nothing for a long while. He's almost decent in a couple areas (for this level of play). I really should sack him and install Coach Howell as his replacement, since the Ass Man can't recognize either present or potential ability even when it's a trout that slaps him in the face. But I have to keep the experiment going for at least another year or two.

Oh, a snapshot of my finances, and of the Board's confidence in me. Aiming higher, that's me!

[rancer890]

Been following for a while. Good luck in the Europa League mate!

[DSYoungEsq]

We have a good Euro Run! - Preseason report - 2012/3

My squad at start of season.

The Reserves, including those available from the first team and youth squad.

The Youth Note that Tom Thomas already has an upgraded recommendation from the Ass Man. Waffler.

Europe was very good for us! We scrapped our way past an under-performing Dinamo (Zagreb). The highlight of that tie was our penalty kick to steal an away goal, after which I not only parked the team bus in front of goal, I grabbed a couple of 18-wheelers that were in a nearby parking lot and used them as well! I don't remember much of the last 20 min. of the game other than repeated attacks of cringing fearfulness as the opposition tried to break through our defense. Amazingly enough, it never happened.

We weren't quite so lucky against the somewhat cagier Spartak of Subotica (Serbia). Although we held our own in the away leg, losing only 1 – 0, the lack of an away goal meant we had to press at home to win. Sadly, we gave up a goal in the 10th min., and that meant we were taking substantial risks all the rest of the game. Spartak only scored one more goal, but IIRC they had one in the net called back for a dodgy offside, so it could have been much worse. Still, I was justifiably proud of the lads. And the roughly $400K we earned in Europe didn't hurt!

I only did some minor tweaking in the preseason:

Chris Llewellyn – AML/ML

As noted last time, I need some decent wingers, as the youth are inconsistent. This guy's quite old for my squad at 32, but I'm hoping he can tutor Tim Jenkins, and he doubles as a striker when needed.

Luke Jones – DL/R

This guy I couldn't turn down. He's 19, with speed and defensive capabilities. He can work both sides, which makes him very versatile. His presence is enough to allow me to ease the mercurially tempered Rowland out of the squad.

There were some other minor pick-ups, including a new right winger (Chris Jones) and a backup striker (Scott McCarthy). As is par for the course, I'm now running over budget. But now I have a squad I really like, with very few holes in it. I truly am to the point that I don't drool like a kid at the candy shop when a decent player is recommended to me by my scout or staff. I'm not sure yet that we can actually win the WPL, but I'm very sure we'll be in Europe again, and I do know that, if we aren't the champions, then whoever are will have heard our footsteps right behind them!

Minor notes: Finances are MUCH better now. I've decided to try a 4-1-2-1-2 for away fields that play narrow, rather than the simpler 5-3-2. I've got a lot of confidence in my DMs, and in a pinch they can always drop back into the back line for a modified 5-3-2.

[DSYoungEsq]

Not sure why the image isn't showing.

[DSYoungEsq]

Been following for a while. Good luck in the Europa League mate!

rancer, thanks! I forsee some issues in the long term with the effort due to the way I've limited the playable leagues to just the WPL. Means that migration of talent is going to be fairly limited, I'm afraid.

As you see above, Europe went pretty well this year.

[rancer890]

rancer, thanks! I forsee some issues in the long term with the effort due to the way I've limited the playable leagues to just the WPL. Means that migration of talent is going to be fairly limited, I'm afraid.

As you see above, Europe went pretty well this year.

Never seen a Welsh team advance past the round they entered in...nice work.

If you load one country only it kind of imbalances your game world IMO because of the DLR effect and it's not very realistic. And since you have all the other nations as view only, the other leagues won't produce a lot of newgens even if you only want to only acquire Welsh players. There's always the possibility of finding the odd Welsh player in an UK/Ireland based club, and there's the likes of Cardiff, Swansea, Methyr that will produce Welsh newgens for you to acquire.

[DSYoungEsq]

Yeah, I think this is going to end up petering out eventually as a hopeless cause. However, I did it the way I did to speed up the game; one of my problems in the past with lengthy career saves is that I not only take forever to play my voluntary parts, but the computer takes forever to run the processing parts. I've gone further with this save in shorter time than any save I've had since I stopped playing FM'09 with Rochdale. Oh well...

[thezogsageordie]

Well done in Europe mate, at this stage I'd just see it as a money spinner personally.

[DSYoungEsq]

Just a teaser: 8 games played, top of the table, W6 D2 L0. My kids are finally hitting their stride!

[DSYoungEsq]

Meeting expectations - The 2012-3 Mid-Mid-Season Report

Our position graph.

The Squad.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

Relatively short update, here. We are meeting the expectations, as we sit second only by goal differential. We've only lost one league match out of the 11 played. And, we won the Welsh Cup tie we had, though we certainly didn't take that match by the scruff of the neck.

Our only blemish so far has been the loss to Newtown in the League Cup. Newtown have yet to win a league match, and are firmly rooted at the bottom of the table. Losing to them in the cup game was an embarrassment, and I let the team know it. In our defense, I rested a large number of players, as the tie was sandwiched mid-week between two league matches. I'm not really worried about the League Cup, yet, and neither are the Board.

On overview, we're still not making the budget numers, as shown here. Partly, it's the cost of keeping the less and less often used McLeggon on the books. Partly, it's the cost of having Zak Evans around. I've agreed to list Evans, so that malcontent will be going soon, I hope. Fortunately, we have some money in reserve, now.

I'm increasingly likely to play a regular team, barring injury or suspension. I think that's a big help. Let's see where it takes us this year.

[B.W.G]

You have been doing really well with Prestatyn and have enjoyed reading it so far. Keep it up

[DSYoungEsq]

You have been doing really well with Prestatyn and have enjoyed reading it so far. Keep it up

Thanks! I'm enjoying it so far, but I hope that the lack of anywhere "up" to go doesn't make it a bit boring after a while. I think your's will be more fun, with the drive to the top of Wales facing you with our next door neighbors in Rhyl.

[rancer890]

Doing well so far DSYoungEsq. Keep it up! Get that top spot.

[DSYoungEsq]

rancer, I hope to, but as the next post shows, there are bumps in the road...

[DSYoungEsq]

Welsh Speed Bumps: Bigger than average! - The 2012-3 Mid-Season Report

Our position graph.

The Squad.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

Yikes. We remain the best in the league at shutting down our opponents in scoring. But boy, oh boy, did our own ability to stick it in the back of the onion bag take a hit! The first time through the league, we scored 19 in 11, conceding 6. The second time through, we scored only 11 in 11 games, conceding 8. The result was predictable: from 8-2-1 to 5-3-3. Needless to say, that was not enough to keep up with the leaders.

Saints have, as usual, joined the fray. They went 8-2-1 in the second round of games. Carmarthen, amazingly, though they lost 3, had no draws, adding 8 wins to the tally. As a result, our task for the remaining 10 games is clear: no losses, wins home and away against the 4-6 teams, and no worse than one draw each to the top two. That result should be enough to get back to the top, since Carmarthen and TNS have to play each other twice.

The drop in form is probably my fault. I've been trying to move us off the 4-5-1 (with AML/AMR) to something that allows me to use two forwards. The original idea behind the 4-5-1 was to solidify the back end at a time when we weren't so strong at the back. Now, we have a very good back line, so I believe we are able to take someone out of the middle of the park and put in a second forward. I've had them working on a 4-4-2 diamond for my entire time here, and this year, we started from the preseason working on a 4-1-2-1-2 for narrow pitches. While their training ground performances seemed to indicate they knew what to do, the result in game was less stellar; Lopes da Silva went almost incognito for about 8 games, nor was the slack taken up by Kayne McLaggon, my increasingly over-paid strike “partner”.

Of course, like any good manager, I managed to totally muddle things rather than clarifying them. I went out and got an even better striker, who costs me less per week. Kerry Morgan by rights should do quite well, though my scout thought he had better aerial ability than he turned out to have. I promptly dumped Kayne McLaggon (writing him off as an under-performing asset). But now I will REALLY have to figure out how to make two attackers work, because darn certain I'm not leaving Morgan on the bench as a “super sub.”

The good news is that I'm starting to clean out the over-supply of players. A couple of them have moved on in the January transfer window, and I have three players who will move at the end of the year to new squads. The result is a much better budget, as shown here. The

club's finances are back to $0, but even if we finish down $100K or so in debt, that will be an improvement over last year. Now that I'm more confident about my squad, I'm less likely to keep marginal players next year.

In other news, I've reached my 100th Game! Let's hope the next 100 are as much fun.

[DSYoungEsq]

I might add that, while I like seeing who scored the goals, I MUCH prefer the little circles that visually tell you what the game's result was. SI need to combine those for the scorers view, IMHO.

[DSYoungEsq]

Teaser: No double.

[crouchaldinho]

I might add that, while I like seeing who scored the goals, I MUCH prefer the little circles that visually tell you what the game's result was. SI need to combine those for the scorers view, IMHO.

You could probably add them in yourself by editing an XML file. Could be complicated though!

[DSYoungEsq]

Champions! - The 2012-3 End of Season Report

The Position Graph

The Squad.

The Squad's stats all competitions.

The Reserves.

The Youth.

Well, it took us three years, but we did it! We are the Champions of the Welsh Premier League! And it wasn't nearly so hard as I expected it to be.

You will recall from the last update that I expected we had to go 8-2-0 over the last ten games against the top-half of the league, in order to move up from third to first. However, as it turned out, we were able to lock up first place with two weeks to spare, and did it with a drawn result away to Saints. THAT was a real nail-biter of a game! We took an early 2-0 lead, then let them get ahead 2-3, equalized, let them get ahead AGAIN, and equalized again in the 83d min. After that result, we were 7 ahead with 2 to play, and it was party time!

Eventually, we extended our record number of points in the League to 68 out of a possible 96. Fortunately, during the run-in, our closest rivals managed to drop games and points all over the place. Indeed, it almost seemed the gods smiled upon us; I had to laugh when I saw how badly banged up Havorfordwest were when they faced us. Thank goodness I've not had injury problems THAT bad.

Sadly, though, we couldn't accomplish a double. The Welsh Cup final was doubly disappointing, firstly because we had had such famous wins getting there (demolishing Saints in the Quarters made me OHHHH so happy), and secondly because it took them until extra time to break through and beat us. Of course, sadly, our own strike force couldn't manage any goals, for the second straight game, after a glorious outburst on the run-in. But in the afterglow of the League win, I was only mildly upset we didn't do the double.

With our win, we not only get to go back to Europe, but this time it will be in qualifiers for the Champions League. I'm not sure that's a good thing; I'm pretty certain the likelihood of duplicating a win in our first tie next year will be close to nil. Hopefully, the financial payday will be correspondingly higher for being in the UCL.

I want to make mention of one very good thing that happened in the last few weeks: we started scoring at a torrid pace. Not only did it turn out that Kerry Morgan was worth dumping McLaggon for, but Chris Llewellyn, given a chance to shine when Morgan had a short injury spell, came through splendidly. And Lopes da Silva turned out to be a very good assist man, as well as finishing 2nd in the League in scoring. When they turn it on, boy oh boy do they get difficult to stop. I am hoping that Lopes da Silva wins the Player of the Year award; with comparative stats like this, he deserves it!

The Board and the fans like me. That's good, because next year, we have to finally address the squad size issue and reign in some costs. I want new facilities for the youth, and that ain't gonna happen without a substantial bank account. I'm planning on paring the squad down to about 19, plus whatever youth of no quality are still signed on (at $8/wk, they don't add up to enough to worry about, and in a pinch, they can cover for an injury-depleted squad). That's likely to make it difficult to repeat as Champions. So we shall see what happens if we don't. For now, I'm just drinking it all in!

[DSYoungEsq]

You could probably add them in yourself by editing an XML file. Could be complicated though!

One of these days, I might fiddle around with an XML file. MIGHT.

[Jason the Yank]

With our win, we not only get to go back to Europe, but this time it will be in qualifiers for the Champions League. I'm not sure that's a good thing; I'm pretty certain the likelihood of duplicating a win in our first tie next year will be close to nil. Hopefully, the financial payday will be correspondingly higher for being in the UCL.

FWIW, I ended up getting ~290,000 GBP from it, plus whatever gate receipts we took.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Year End Summary - 2012/3

Prestatyn Town FC Honors

Welsh Premier League Player of the Year: Thomas Gregg Lopes da Silva! A very deserved award!

WPL Team of the Season: We have three on the squad – Craig Tawton, Thomas Gregg Lopes da Silva, and Matthew Harris.

Prestatyn Player of the Year: Craig Tawton - DC 3 years running the fans fav!

News for Prestatyn Town FC:

For the first time, I've learned our UEFA ranking. We have slipped 5 places to #531. Can't imagine how we went down when we won our league and played in Europe for the first time!

Four of my U-19s and three of my U-21s were called up for Welsh National Youth Team duties at year's end. An indication that my youth program is cranking out some high-level talent for Wales.

We had a lot of mentions in the year-end summary for Wales.

The club made a profit for the year of $250K on income of $800K. No stadium news this year, though. Apparently they've done expanding, and aren't trying to move any more.

News about Wales and the World:

The WPL has dropped in it's UEFA ranking by over 100 places!

Wales still getting the same slots in Europe, despite the precipitous drop in the rankings. Unclear at this point if we will enter the UCL at the same spot Carmarthen did last year. The other European teams are TNS, Carmarthen and Aberystwyth (Carmarthen by virtue of being losers in the finals to the Cup winners)

Oh, and finally, some idiot named Douglas Young was WPL Manager of the Year. He'll probably face all sorts of added pressure next year, the poor sod!

[DSYoungEsq]

Begins to feel like same ol', same ol' - 2013 Initial Report

This year, the Board wants us to challenge again. Note they are willing to up my already bloated payroll!

Once again, I promise more, another Championship. I am greedy and want even more budget, even if I don't intend to spend it this year!

I've not been told what my odds are yet. I'll let you know when I know!

The 2013 Season Squad, at present, Ass Man ratings included. Augmented already by three dramatic signings. See below.

The "reserves." Essentially what youth of the last two years I've kept.

Pending transfers (3 out). More on this below.

The youth squad for the year, reports included. Doesn't look so good, but read below for why.

This is going to be a very interesting year. We are entered into the UEFA Champions League, in one of the preliminary rounds. It's not clear yet which one; I'm actually hoping for the very first round so we can get an extra set of games under our financial belt. I have no real illusions about winning a tie if we are entered at the second qualifying round; Carmarthen got handled pretty badly last season (0-5) by Hajduk. But even though we are reaching higher than ever, I'm going to be drastically cutting back on the squad, and ruthlessly promoting youth from within. Should make an interesting year.

I also have a goal this year: stay on top of the League while earning silverware. Ideally, I'd like to add the one trophy that has eluded us: the League Cup. We've been sent out of that competition at the first go each year I've been at the helm, and it rankles. I'm guessing we'll be given a bye again to the quarterfinals, and I don't intend to lose again at that level!

Unlike last year, when my budget forced me to sit on my hands until after July 1, this year I've already made some moves. I've added three top-shelf players to the squad, and none of them cost me that much.

Byron Anthony – DC

This gentleman is older than most of my squad, but I expect he can be an excellent role model for the up and coming Andrew Williams. He's also light-years ahead of Craig Tawton in skill, and I've spent the last year staving off complaints from various members of the team that they don't get along with Tawton. Tawton's been impressive, but my guess is this will be his last year with us, which might make the fans unhappy, but if Mr. Anthony achieves what I think he can, perhaps not too unhappy.

Owain Tudur-Jones – DMC/DC

Couldn't resist this gentleman, especially since he started the season totally unwilling to talk to us about a contract. A measure of how the team (or perhaps I) have progressed in reputation. He's tall, too, which I need; I give up waaay too many goals off set pieces crossed into the box. I expect he will really cement the DM position at the back of my diamond 4-4-2 and my 4-1-2-1-2 formations. Will make Chris Davies superfluous.

Stuart Fleetwood – ST

This one, I almost didn't pull the trigger on. When you have the League's Player of the Year, who happens to be the person who has scored more goals in the last two years than anyone else in the league, AND has contributed with one of the best assist totals as well, you don't generally think about getting a new striker! But I scouted him with my scout AND the two coaches who's opinions on future ability I trust (NOT my Ass. Man., trust me!), and they all rave about this guy. His speed is better than Lopes da Silva, his skills on the training ground appear to be as good, though he doesn't jump as well, and he's physical. My plan is to put him up top with Morgan, and let Lopes da Silva slot in behind them at the AMC position, where he will play as a Trequartista. I hope.

This year's youth crop has only one really decent player. At first, I didn't even think he was that decent. But then I started really comparing and realized that the 2.5 stars was more a function of the quality of my top players than an indication of lack of quality on his part. I have also tagged a second intake player to follow, but he's not that interesting and I don't expect enough to highlight him here. As I did last year, I've retro-actively tagged two players from last year's crop who have managed to outdo their initial expectations, but this year, I'm not highlighting them here. The one decent fellow is:

YP - 3: Ian Roberts - DC

His height says it all: 6' 5”. If I can manage to coax even a half-way decent skill out of him, he'll be perfect for stopping teams which rely upon pumping the ball into the box. He's determined, but he's also aggressive, so I'll have to make sure he doesn't take to Tawton's idea of managing two or three red cards per year.

My Ass. Man. continues to improve. Last year, he had become better at being a coach of defending. This year, his duties have increased his Mental, Tactical, and Technical coaching skills. By the time I'm done with him, he's actually going to be a decent enough coach for a WPL side to have; he might even break into English teams. I'm going to keep him for at least two more years, then we will see.

Finally, a mention about my finances. We are doing much better, obviously. My goal this year is to reduce the team's size so that payroll isn't eating away all the money we make in Europe. I intend to squeeze down to a squad of no more than 19 on the first team (11 + 5 subs, + 3 developmental players and injury insurance). With this in mind, I've already allowed some of the players who's contracts were ending to go. Most notably, I've allowed the constant malcontent Zak Evans to depart; he never forgave being put on the Reserves when he first arrived. In the screenshot of the squad, all the players who are not assigned a slot either as a starter or as a sub are now listed for transfer, and I intend to get them out the door in July if possible.

In addition, any youth still on youth contracts and on whom the jury is still out can play on the Reserves. I've decided not to play in the U-19 league this year. While I could have stayed in it, and played the youth in both reserve and youth games, I'm simply going to let the youth who won't contribute go right away and I won't bother with playing in that league. Hopefully, this will concentrate the efforts of my Youth Coach.

Lastly, here is a look at the Board's confidence in me. Let's see how they feel at the END of the year!

[B.W.G]

good luck for the new season and hope you enjoy the experience of the champs league