[FM11] Cymru fo am byth! (Prestatyn)

[DSYoungEsq]

Awesome read and your progress in Europe is simply amazing, with a luckier draw i think that winning the Europa League might be a possibility soon.

Good luck!

Thanks! I doubt we'd go further than we are for at least a few years. This year's version of the EURO Cup had Man Utd. in the knockouts, alongside two other English Premier League teams, and several good teams from other countries. Fortunately, it was Locomotiv Moskva we got drawn against, which we've already proved once is "doable."

[DSYoungEsq]

The Sieve Defense – Europe Group report - 2024/5

My squad.

Fame, or at least good defense, is a fleeting thing.

Europe:

Last season's amazing run was accomplished on the backs of a very strong defense. Out of 63 games played, all competitions and friendlies, we only allowed more than two goals twice: 3 to Tottenham Hotspur in a preseason friendly, and 4 to a rampaging Inter Milan team at Bastion Gardens, redeeming their honor after we had beaten them 1-0 at the Giuseppe Meaza. We only allowed 2 goals twice: Leicester City in a friendly and Bayern München in a 0-2 loss away at the Allianz Arena. And last, but certainly not least, there were an amazing 42 clean sheets kept, with runs of 8 straight and 7 straight.

That's gone this season. By comparison to last year's team, we might as well be a sieve with soccer ball-sized holes. It's more entertaining, in a way, if you like clinging to your seat and hoping to hold on! But it almost doomed us in Europe.

This year's group was always about how we would handle SK Sigma Olomouc, of the Czech Republic. The likelihood was high that we would dump both games against Manchester City, and against Atlético Madrid. So the Olomouc games were critical.

And my prediction held true. Fortunately, we found enough scoring touch to do the deal. But it was a close call. The opening match at home against the Czechs almost cost us the whole deal, as we went up 3-0, only to let them back into the match with three of their own. The 83rd min. strike that tied us gave me heartburn, as I knew that it should be tough for us to win away at their stadium. All the other games gave me no real hope, either, as Madrid and City both handled us with contemptuous ease this season (though in fairness, the defense did manage to keep City from scoring a third against us when we were visiting the Mancunians).

So, in the last game of the group, we had the table set for us, and stepped up to the feast. And did we ever feast. After giving them a two-goal head-start, my boys rallied around and smashed the Olomouc hearts with five unanswered bulges of the old onion bag. We were certainly helped by their improvident sending-off, which put the game pretty much out of their reach. So it's another Springtime for Footie in Europe.

This year, we got an old friend: Lokomotiv Moskva. A repeat of the match-up from two years ago should hopefully see the same result (the Russians go home unrewarded), and then we can shiver and shake while we wait to see which awesome remaining team will send us packing.

Home Front:

The home front has been equally difficult, though we are now in first to stay, I believe. Our long-time nemesis, Neath, managed to take another 1-2 victory off of us, and we've given up two drawn results as well. Further, we've shipped 14 goals in 16 games, including three to Llanelli (admittedly we scored 6 while giving them up!). If this keeps up, the record this season will be quite interesting.

Despite the issues, we are still the dominant force in the League. Notice, though, two of my former youth on the list of leaders. Nice to know they can do well in the League, even if they can't do well-enough for me.

It's not totally clear why we've been relatively poor at the back. The exact same fullbacks are plying their trade for us, as I made no effort to upgrade there (and why would I after last season!?). I can only assume that the midfielders this season are not as effective at tracking back and disrupting the play of the opponents in our half of the pitch. I'm going to have to remedy that, else we're likely to slip up against the Russians in February.

So far, we've managed to keep ourselves from going out of either Cup. Hopefully, we'll be treble winners again this year, for the first time in three years. That might make it worth the agony of exciting games!

Manager overview.

Financials.

Finally, in other notes:

First, I've changed skins, as you can see. The dark skin is easier on the eyes, and uses less juice from the laptop, so I can run on the batteries longer before plugging in.

Second, I've finally corrected a long-standing issue (one I had HOPED the v.3 update would solve). Prestatyn Town FC have played for some years in a home kit of red, and an alternate kit of blue. But this season, they are using a home kit of blue to commemorate their 100th birthday (the team traces its roots back to a club formed in 1910/1). The game knows that they are supposed to wear blue, and resolves color conflicts on that basis. But the game's database thinks they are still dressed in red as the choice kit, so they often appear in the game wearing red against red teams, and blue against blue teams. I changed the kits using FMRTE to properly represent the Home-Blue, Away-Red that they are using this year, since altering the game's color-conflict table is beyond my easy capabilities.

Sometime soon, I'm going to try and apply an updated version of Welsh team shields and icons I received some time ago. Then, we can marvel at PTFC in all it's proper glory. Cymru fo am byth!

[RavingLibDem]

Hmm, anyone know why after finishing 6th, but winning the welsh cup that I got entered in to the european play-off?

[DSYoungEsq]

The Welsh Cup winner gets the top slot after the WPL winner. So if you are still in the 1 team to the UCL, 3 to the EURO Cup mode, the WPL champs go to the UCL, and the Welsh Cup winner gets the highest entry into the EURO Cup qualifiers.

If you have progressed to where you are getting two into the UCL and 3 into the EURO Cup, then I'm not sure who gets the other UCL slot, since I won't have that experience until next season (2025).

You'll have to be more specific as to which competition and what round of it you showed up for your first match.

[DSYoungEsq]

Teaser:

Girondins Bordeaux 1(2) - 2(2) Prestatyn Town FC

[RavingLibDem]

Nicely done man on that last result! and I finished 6th, usual coefficents and euro places, won the welsh cup, gaining the top euro cup place, but was then entered in to the quarter final of the euro qualifiers against Bangor, who had finished top of the relegation group. I promptly lost, so I don't know what would have happened if I won, but it confused me a bit!

[DSYoungEsq]

OHHH, I see what you mean. Yes, you play the playoff anyway. But if you were to have won the playoffs, then the team you defeated in the final game would have taken the playoff spot, you having already qualified.

[DSYoungEsq]

Teaser 2:

OM 1(2) - 2(2) Prestatyn Town FC

An almost identical result, to boot, in terms of when goals scored by which team.

[RavingLibDem]

Fair enough, it just seemed a bit strange! Also I have finally matched some of your success in Europe; beating a team from the Faroes 8-0 and 3-0, before knocking out a far superior Burkaspor using your principle of park the bus with a 4-2-1-2-1, which led to a 2-1 loss away, and a 3-1 win at home when I moved an extra player to the central midfield! I may also have signed both Byron Anthony, and Stuart Fleetwood in a slight mirror of your career...

[DSYoungEsq]

Fair enough, it just seemed a bit strange! Also I have finally matched some of your success in Europe; beating a team from the Faroes 8-0 and 3-0, before knocking out a far superior Burkaspor using your principle of park the bus with a 4-2-1-2-1, which led to a 2-1 loss away, and a 3-1 win at home when I moved an extra player to the central midfield! I may also have signed both Byron Anthony, and Stuart Fleetwood in a slight mirror of your career...

Imitation is the sincerest form of compliment, or some such.

[RavingLibDem]

Imitation is the sincerest form of compliment, or some such.

lol, well true in this case, to my upmost surprise I just went and topped that, winning a second leg away from home, against a good portugese side, 4-1, to enter the group stages! I am slightly in shock, and slightly screwed, given that my squad is in no way ready for this!

[DSYoungEsq]

Got a strange magic - The 2024-5 End of Season Report

The Welsh Cup (last four rounds)

The League Cup

The Squad.

The Squad's stats (combined).

The Reserves. These are mostly people on the way out.

The Youth Rated.

In Europe, a bit of amazing magic! They say lightening doesn't strike twice in the same spot, but don't you believe it. Two straight French teams were dispatched by the dogged determination of the Seasiders from Wales. And even mighty A.C. Milan had to scrape the barrel to find a needed goal in the San Siro. Amazing stuff, enough to make me dizzy with joy. Except...

Don't ask about the Welsh Cup. Again.

Europe

I had expected this year's version of Spring footie to be an attack of "same ol', same ol'." We had Lokomotiv Moskva up first, a team we've seen off at this stage once before two seasons ago. But the scheduled opposition after that was stiffer: Girondins Bordeaux. I figured that we'd be done with the Spring European games in time to relax on the home stretch in the WPL.

I thought so, but I was wrong. Not wrong about Lokomotiv: we spanked them and sent them home on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline at Bastion Gardens. They were tougher in their home stadium, but 1-1 draws don't make up for yielding 5 away. Then the Republicans came to town and were granted a dubious 13th min. penalty, which they duly converted. However, we didn't give up, and they didn't score again. When we went into the Grand Stade du Lac, we fought them furiously, holding to a desperate 0-0, looking for a breakthrough. I threw my men forward late in the game, and we were rewarded with an 81st minute counter-attack that was finished off with aplomb, knotting the teams at 1 goal apiece, both scored away. Then extra time saw our enthusiasm dampened by a wonder strike header. But my boys won't give up, and the restart after the end-change saw them rush down and score while the Girondists were still getting their bearings! We battened down the hatches, rode out the storm, and rolled out of town with the tie ours on away goals.

Our exultant mood was appreciably subdued the next day when the result of the next draw was televised: Olympique de Marseille were our opponents, to be followed by the winner of the Juventus v AC Milan blood match. It's not that OM are unknown to us; they were our first big European scalp just a few seasons back in a UCL group. But I expect them to do well at this stage in Europe, whereas we've never made it to the quarter finals before! That's the sort of thing that makes for scary results.

But our lads tackled the situation like they knew what they were doing. We frustrated OM all game at Bastion Gardens, and slowly we began to feel our oats, as they say. I started asking the center mid to play more of an attacking position, and eventually I threw caution to the wind, substituted in a second striker for the DM playing in front of the flat five in back, sent the two remaining mids out wide, and took it to OM. Sadly, with a minute of normal time remaining, the referee was forced to point to our spot, and OM drilled the PK for their only goal. Fast forward a week to the Bicycletrack in Marseilles, and you'd think the game was a replay of the game in Bordeaux. We held them scoreless, we opened up our attack, we slotted home a goal, forcing extra time. They scored almost immediately upon the restart for the extra time, but we didn't panic, and our relentless attack earned us a penalty, which we coolly converted to win the tie on away goals! It was, as poor Yogi said, deja vú all over again.

The tie with i Rossoneri was not scripted to follow the same format. Firstly, we had to head to the San Siro for the first leg. While there, we worked our butts off to hold them scoreless, hopeful that a 0-0 draw would allow us to snatch the tie at home and shock Europe with a place in the EURO Cup final! However, even with the advantage of a missed Milan penalty, even with one of their players sent off in the 10th min of the game, we couldn't keep them from scoring on a header off a corner kick about half-way through the second half. This doomed us; forced to chase the game at home, we allowed them to notch 3 goals to our none. Clearly, the Italians had no intention of letting us steal their thunder.

The run was delicious. We were playing in Europe on May 8! We had the WPL title already in our pocket at that point, indeed, long since. I can only hope that such a run has whetted the appetite of the players for repeat performances over the coming years.

Wales

The WPL was not so easy this year, but still not a real worry. We had it fairly well wrapped up by the end of February split. It only took a few more games to make it official. The funny part about it is that, unlike last season, where we ran away with the League and were invincible, but had very few on the ballot for WPL PoY, this season we had 8 of the 10 PoY ballot slots. Go figure.

I won't say that the League Cup was easily won, though we got to the final relatively unscathed. In the final, however, TNS decided to really go for an upset, and we had to go all the way to penalties to seal the deal. Of course, that was in the middle of a run of having to play 5 games in 11 days, two of them in Europe, so we were a bit out of sorts, so to speak. The good news is the fact we got it done.

What we did NOT do this season was regain the Welsh Cup. This marks the first time since I became PTFC Manager that we have allowed the Cup to be out of our possession for two years running. But we were totally played off the pitch during the quarter final by Haverfordwest, my players apparently still basking in the glow of smashing Lokomotiv out of the EURO Cup. The 0-1 scoreline should in no way fool you into believing we were close to winning; a win would have required substantial bad luck on the part of Haverfordwest, and would have been quite an unjust result.

The evolution of the club continues, with two notable transfers. First, I allowed Kevin Irvine to leave, as his place in the first team was no longer secure (Sam Johnson has done quite well, even if he's not so versatile, since Danny Jordan is). Irvine managed to flee to the welcoming arms of Championship side Bristol City. And in a mega-blockbuster signing, I finally splashed some cash, and obtained a star striker:

Jamie Kirton – ST:

This player cost me $3.5M, and I figure he'll be worth every penny. He's the fastest, bestest striker we've ever had, and has the potential to be much better. The fact he was willing to come play for us at all was an amazing coup. Arsenal did not let him go cheaply, but I wasn't going to wait and see if he would catch on with someone else. Paired with either Tom Rogers or John Gibson, a formidable strike force is formed.

The WPL Player Statistics. There's a good chance my former player, Phil Morris Y7 could win PoY; his goal tally is impressive.

Manager Overview.

Boardroom overview.

Finances.

We now set record attendances. A far cry from the old days!

And lastly, Kieran Djilali is now our most WPL used player ever for PTFC.

[Jason the Yank]

Turning Wales into a footballing force, eh?

[Raware]

Excellent progress in Europe! And so unbelievably close! Good to see you splashing some real cash too to strengthen your chances of European success . I guess thats the obvious ambition for next season.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Aye, excellent progress indeed.

[hrbfcrule]

Woah!! The Euro cup semi finals, nice job. Hope the board don't expect a run like that every season from now on though

[DSYoungEsq]

Turning Wales into a footballing force, eh?

Well, Wales itself not so much, I hate to say...

Aye, excellent progress indeed.

Excellent progress in Europe! And so unbelievably close! Good to see you splashing some real cash too to strengthen your chances of European success . I guess thats the obvious ambition for next season.

Thank-you, gentlemen! It was close, though fairly far away, at the same time. But it did feel good to actually use some of that huge budget they've offered me for years! Of course, now I'll have to start producing more revenue to justify more cash to splash...

Woah!! The Euro cup semi finals, nice job. Hope the board don't expect a run like that every season from now on though

I worry about this. I think getting to the quarter-finals was above our true reach, and indeed, had we not scored late in the game at Bordeaux, would not have made it THAT far.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Year End Summary - 2024/5

Results:

WPL: 1st 25 pts. ahead of Llanelli

WC: Lost Quarter-final 0-1 v. Haverfordwest (won by Haverfordwest 4-2 aet over Aberystwyth)

LC: Won 0-0 (p) v. The New Saints

Europe: Won 1st tie v. Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag (FRO) 11-0 2nd Qual Phase UCL (Champions)

Won 2nd tie v. MSK Zilina (SVK) 7-3 3rd Qual Phase UCL (Champions)

Won 3rd tie v. PFC Slavia Sofia (BUL) 8-3 Playoff UCL (Champions)

Finished 3rd UCL Cup Group G W1 D1 L4 Pts 4

0-0-2 v Atletico Madrid (SPA) 0-3 A, 0-2 H

1-1-0 v SK Sigma Olomouc (CZE) 3-3 H, 5-2 A

0-0-2 v FC Bayern (GER) 0-4 H, 1-2 A

Won EURO Cup 1st Knockout Round tie v. Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) 5-0 H, 1-1 A

Won EURO Cup 2nd Knockout Round tie v. Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA) 0-1 H, 2-1 (aet) A

Won EURO Cup 3rd Knockout Round tie v. Olympique de Marseille (FRA) 0-1 H, 2-1 (aet) A

Lost EURO Cup Semi-final Round tie v. A.C. Milan (ITA) 0-1 A, 0-3 H

Prestatyn Town FC Honors

WPL Player of the Year:

Kieran Djilali With eight of our players to choose from, hard to decide, but I view this as a bit of a sympathy for the older player vote...

WPL Young Player of the Year:

Tom Jones Definitely had an impact for us. Expect him to break out in song.

WPL Team of the Season: TEN of the eleven this year: – Ben Brook, James Schooley, Jordan Stamp, Roddy Morrison, Tom Williamson, Andy Pearce, Kieran Djilali, Danny Jordan, Sam Johnson, John Gibson. Phil Morris Y7 still having great results over at Llanelli; he was top goalscorer by 8 goals or so over Gibson. If I ever manage to get two top goalscorers at the same time, I'll have all 11 on this team.

Fan's Player of the Year: Roddy Morrison. First time Djilali hasn't won this in a long time.

WPL Manager of the Year:

I get my due. This just shows how fickle the voters are: we don't do nearly as well as last season in the League, and I win the award; Savage, who leads his team to more points and its first ever UCL placing isn't chosen after winning last year.

News for Prestatyn Town FC:

Prestatyn are now 32nd in Europe. That puts us in with some big teams. Two more years of similar results will see us up to 23rd or so..

The Wales Season Summary. Another good year for Prestatyn Town FC, though you notice we've scored the worst signing for the first time ever.

Profit for the season was good, even with a dividend paid, though we haven't been told how much for sure.

We had record attendance for the WPL again. We're filling the newly renovated ground to almost 50% capacity for the WPL now.

Roddy Morrison set a WPL record for average rating for a season. Sadly, he won't be doing it for us much longer, unless he decides to stick with us (that's called foreshadowing).

Oh, and we have a new Shirt Sponshorship deal. Still not very big, but thrice what we got before. Note how wealthy we are relative to the rest of the League.

And, in sad news, our training facilities have had their quality downgraded, as it appears we aren't keeping up with technology. Sigh, just what we didn't need.

News about Wales and the World:

Wales' world ranking down to 35th. Bit of a roller-coaster right now. Djilali gets regular time on the national team, now. Morrison plays for Scotland and Carr for Ireland; Pinter for Hungary, too, often. Very international flavor to PTFC right now.

The WPL makes a move up in Europe to 35th. We are nine places away from 3 star reputation!

Wales don't change in Europe placings. Moved to 14th place, so the places and seedings are the same in 2026. Need to sneak up into 12th to make the next change, which won't be easy.

The top four WPL teams go to Europe, plus Cup winners Haverfordwest.

In other news of the world:

World Cup Qualifying is going on in Europe and about 2/3ds over. Wales is in a dogfight with Cyprus to see who finishes distant second to the currently perfect English squad; Norway are trying to stay in touch of the playoff spot. Scotland are clear second ahead of a dogpile between Bosnia/Herzegovina, Moldova, and N. Ireland. The Irish have already played their way home for 2026, even with 4 games of qualifying left.

[DSYoungEsq]

What do we do for an encore?! - 2025/6 Initial Report

The Board expect another season of the same. No European expectations, yet, thank goodness.

The 2025/6 Season Squad. There are two of everything, plus the DM, Milovanovich.

The "reserves." These are all people on the way out. Notice the strikers leaving (Carr has already left).

The youth team intake. One decent player, a DM. That's good; he can use up the S4 slot on the bench for the League games, which slot I rarely use for an actual substitution. Beats having to carry a sub-par striker on the bench to satisfy the U-19 squad requirement. Tried last year to sign a U-19 DM, and didn't manage it; now I'm glad I didn't.

The squad this year, compared to two years ago, has not changed as much as I thought. The back four are virtually identical, though I'm afraid I'm going to lose Morrison, who has offers from Burnley and Cardiff he's weighing; they exceeded the minimum fee release of $400K, which shows how valuable he's become to us, and means he'll be a big hole to plug if/when he leaves. I plan to offer an upgraded contract to see if I can entice him to stay, but I doubt it will work. The middle of the pitch is different, especially when Djilali is resting. The top of the formation is substantially better, with Kirton, Gibson, Habimana and Rogers to choose from. I'm fairly happy with what I have, and don't plan much in the way of change at this point.

I'm not expecting a repeat of last season's amazing European performance; both French teams had us within mere minutes of elimination not just once, but twice. Counting on lucking out is not a sound strategy for long-term growth. I want to pare the squad back just a bit, to help with the financial pressure of salaries. Not too much, though; part of the struggle last season was because we had more injuries than we had had in a long time.

As part of the lightening of the load, I'm offloading the superseded strikers. It's a wrench to do this, because a) they did well for us, and b) they continue to put the biscuit in the basket, at least domestically and in the early Euro rounds. But I've committed to the quartet mentioned above, and even if Saunders and Carr are still quite good at goal scoring, it's stupid to limit my ability to score against top European teams because I'm relying on guys who can score against WPL teams.

I have made no signings, yet.

Youth Intake was again poor. However, one player did get a tag:

Martin Prosser Y15 – DM/MC:

Not too bad by WPL standards. Will never make our first team, of course, but won't be a complete blob on the bench, either.

$1M of money for the WPL TV rights this year! That's almost unbelievable, given where we started.

Manager Overview.

Finances.

Lastly, I was intrigued by these news items at the start of the season: both Aberystwyth and Haverfordwest intend to go fully professional. That's an indication the WPL is booming; the money is sufficient for even the less fortunate teams to think about upgrading their commitment to the game.

[Coentrao]

So close to European Glory and already 32nd on the club coefficent, great progress, and that increase in TV money is also impressive.. from 700$ to 1M$!

Martin Prosser looks decent, not anything special but it looks he can be a good all-round regen.

Keep it up, awesome read.

[AK22]

Some excellent results, especially in the Europa League. Unbelievable progress for a Welsh club

[DSYoungEsq]

Qualifying Phase report - 2025/6

My squad. The lineup is for our Europe games.

This year marks our first in a new era: seeded into the 3rd round of qualifiers. Theoretically, this should mean an easier passage for us into the UCL group phase. It also takes pressure off our pre-season, giving us two more weeks to be ready for our first action. As it turned out, we almost made a hash of that this year.

Europe:

It certainly wasn't an easy draw out the door for us: Kalmar Fotbollsförening. One of Sweden's better clubs, we had to expect a relatively tough tie, and we were away to start. But the lads were not put off by the task. Of course, they had totally dominated the three Spanish friendlies, and were coming off a thrashing of Hibs, the sort of results that give a team confidence. When we were done, the combined total was 10-2, and the Swedes were sent home with their behinds sore from the spanking.

PFC Levski Sofia were then invited in from Bulgaria. I'm always wary of the East-Central European teams, as they have a good reputation, and are hard to beat at their homes. Levski almost brought our efforts this campaign to naught, playing the sort of spoiler role that we used to play ourselves. We had an edge in shots, 19-6, but they had the edge where it matters, with a second-half effort giving them the win. That put the onus on us to go into the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium and put immediate pressure on the Bulgarians. A first-half strike helped, but we were still going out on away goals at that point, so the three second-half efforts were welcome indeed.

Our reward was a group we might do something with. Chelsea, of course, are beyond our reach, but we saw off Girondins Bordeaux during the EURO Cup knockouts last season, and Young Boys should not be much challenge to us. The idea of sneaking into a second place is appealing, though a chance of a good run through the knockouts in the UCL is much less likely.

Home Front:

Early days on the home front. The friendly campaign was excellent; our Spanish holiday went well, with the farewell match a solid win against Rayo. We also handled Hibernian, and the second tier Belgian club from Oostende. The whole effort was brought to an acme with the 6 - 0 opening day demolition of our rivals, TNS

But we have a nasty tendency to be complacent when facing opposition that doesn't pose much of a question on paper. True to form, we allowed Barry Town to play us even in the second match. Hopefully, we don't play like that much this season, as I am looking to regain the Treble this season.

Squad building has been forced upon us. We've been the subject of considerable interest from larger clubs looking to pick off my talented crop of young players. Unfortunately, I cannot always keep the sharks from scoring. I was forced to let Danny Jordan go when the minimum fee release clause met. And although I didn't want to let Ben Brook go, his agent made clear to me at the start of the season that Ben would not be willing to resign with us. His contract up at the end of the season, it was clear he had to be replaced and sold while he still had value. I've also been hunting a decent left wing, knowing that Kieran Djilali's days running that side are numbered. And, last, but not least, our best striker, Jamie Kirton, went down with a torn hamstring early on. So I've been busy:

Ollie Watts –GK:

A failure at Arsenal, I've decided to take a chance on him to replace Ben Brook. He's got big shoes to fill, as Ben Brook was an outstanding find for us, easily the best player I've ever signed in terms of what he produced. But although Watts is a bit slower than I like in a 'keeper, I think he should be able to handle the job decently well for two or three years, while I try to hunt down another phenom.

Joel Harvey – DM/MC:

Another Arsenal reject, but one who comes very cheaply, for now. My scouts and staff all swear he's got the ability to become really good. I may end up changing back to 4-1-2-1-2 to develop his promise in the WPL.

Jerko Milic – A/ML/MC/ST:

Speedy winger who was unable to break into the first squad at Dinamo of Zagreb. His versatility means he should make a very good replacement for Djilali. Already proven he's better than Padron in the AML spot.

Tony Howell – ST:

Taken on loan for 5 months to cover the loss of Jamie Kirton. Is definitely second string behind Gibson and Rogers.

I'm still looking for someone to boss the midfield better than Sam Johnson can. He never has quite grown into that role. Also, I'm looking over several DCs for possible hire, since Roddy Morrison is one of the prime targets for those trying to steal my talent.

Manager overview.

Finances.

Boardroom Overview. They are letting me upgrade the Youth Facilities again. Now if we could only extend the youth recruitment network. Notice that I've gotten the go-ahead now to scout anywhere in the world for new talent. South America, here we come!

[DSYoungEsq]

So close to European Glory and already 32nd on the club coefficent, great progress, and that increase in TV money is also impressive.. from 700$ to 1M$!

Martin Prosser looks decent, not anything special but it looks he can be a good all-round regen.

Keep it up, awesome read.

Thanks! The progress is heartening, since at the start, I wondered if it would be possible to get this good at all.

Some excellent results, especially in the Europa League. Unbelievable progress for a Welsh club

Now, if only the Welsh players would become as good!

[Flamers]

Good luck in the CL!

[jordan07]

The whole thread has been a great read, congrats on the great work that you have done.

Wales are currently ranked in 4th in the world rankings after winng European Championship against Northern Ireland in my save.

[DSYoungEsq]

Nothing new under the sun – Europe Group report - 2024/5

My squad.

No surprises, sadly. Exactly what you'd predict for us, based on past form.

Europe:

I thought at last report our group offered us some chances for 2nd place. After all, we beat Girondins Bordeaux over the two legs last Spring. But I was over-optimistic. As it turned out, we only finished third (our minimum goal) because Young Boys were worse than us against the common enemies.

We started off sprightly enough. The 3-0 defeat of BSC Young Boys of Bern was well-earned; we stuffed them all over the park all day. But Girondins Bordeaux reminded us that they do play in the Ligue 1, not some sideshow. As thoroughly as we spanked the Swiss, the French spanked us, and sent us home.

On the basis of this result, one would have been hard pressed to muster the courage to put even a fiver on us when we went into Stamford Bridge. And for the first 60 minutes, you'd have considered yourself smart that you didn't punt that bill. But then, just 4 min. after Chelsea seemed to have nailed a win down, we pushed open the coffin lid with a screamer of a shot from Sam Johnson, making the score 1-2 with a third of the game left. It took Chelsea almost 20 min. to finally hammer the nail back in, but within seconds of the restart, we had a free kick from 35 yds which got floated right onto Roddy Morrison's head, from whence it then found the back of the net. Sadly, we couldn't find another goal to accomplish the amazing comeback draw.

Chelsea didn't slip up the second time, and the PTFC faithful at Bastion Gardens had little to cheer. Sadly, our trip to Bern wasn't any more fruitful, as a dull match came to frenetic life just minutes from the end, and the Swiss had the last piece of rewarding frenzy. Still, the result was enough to ensure us third place, assuming we didn't slip up with some sort of disaster against the Girondinistas in the last game. We didn't, as I had my five DBs and one DM acting to snuff out most chances. Exciting it was not; fruitful it was.

The knockouts have again been good to us in initial draw. This year, we got an old adversary: Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Long, long ago, they sent us out of the UCL qualifiers, proving themselves to be more potent than they appear on paper. This time, I think we are amply supplied to send them crashing out of the competition.

Home Front:

The WPL has been interesting. The New Saints have made a run at us this season. Of course, once we got our feet under us, and weren't so worried about Europe, we righted the ship, and now have a comfortable lead over them. But their somewhat shock 1-3 victory over us at their park certainly has given the supporters pause to wonder about our resilience. Still, I expect we will do our usual mid-winter job, undistracted by the European ties, and at the end of February, should be in command of the League.

We also have seen our way to the League Cup final, and won our first Welsh Cup game. So we are still on track for a Treble, which is the goal. I don't see much to stop us in the way.

As the new transfer window beckons, some of the players are antsy about wanting to move on. I'm thinking they are about to find out that they aren't as "indispensable" to us as they think they are. I've got a DM in town from England on trial who, if he's all they say he is, could be our best anchoring midfielder since the days of Mark Bradley. I've also got a replacement DC in camp, since Roddy Morrison is attracting a large amount of attention from larger clubs. There is a rumor that his $650K release clause might get met by one of the Scottish giants. If so, I want a replacement ready to slot in for him. Sadly, each of the trialists will want a substantially larger salary than we've offered anyone to date, so I may have to do some real work on pruning the hangers on around here, and going with a smaller core of dedicated, worthy players.

Manager overview.

Financials.

[Raware]

Normality in the league DSYoungEsq, pity about the Champions League. But a winnable draw against the Isreali's in the UEFA Cup.

Have you got a picture of the DM trialist please? If he's anything like Mark Bradley, i'm sure he'll be a steal for you on a free transfer!

[RavingLibDem]

Wow, you've kept up the amazing progress! Also, another update on my file, I managed to win the WPL for the first time, which was good, but more impressively, Haverfordwest are attracting the interest of a tycoon who plans to make £30mil available for signing players! We'll see how that plays out...

[DSYoungEsq]

Normality in the league DSYoungEsq, pity about the Champions League. But a winnable draw against the Isreali's in the UEFA Cup.

Have you got a picture of the DM trialist please? If he's anything like Mark Bradley, i'm sure he'll be a steal for you on a free transfer!

Here is the DM, who turns out to be not quite as good up front, but I hope he develops well.

And here is his new companion MR. Hopefully, they get the job done at the next level.

Wow, you've kept up the amazing progress! Also, another update on my file, I managed to win the WPL for the first time, which was good, but more impressively, Haverfordwest are attracting the interest of a tycoon who plans to make £30mil available for signing players! We'll see how that plays out...

I just went through a takeover saga, but no good came of it.

[Raware]

They both look half decent. Hopefully, they can do a job for you.

[DSYoungEsq]

Disappointed by so much! - The 2025-6 End of Season Report

The Welsh Cup (last four rounds)

The League Cup

The Squad.

The Squad's stats (combined).

The Reserves. These are people on the way out.

The Youth Rated.

The Youth Stats

It's amazing how fast our ambitions expand. If you had told me even five years ago that I would be disappointed with a year in which Prestatyn Town Football Club were treble winners, made it through a UCL group in third, and crashed out of the EURO Cup in the second knockout round to the eventual winners, I'd have said you were crazy. Sadly, you'd have been right, not me.

Europe

Springtime in Europe was not so nice as last season. Although the UCL group results warned us ahead of time of deficiencies in our game, I had hoped that we could plug the holes, infuse the squad with some exciting new blood, and make some noise. The only noise we made is that of a wet squib.

We were paired with a relatively easy opponent in the first knockout round, Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Or, at least they should have been relatively easy. Of course, they invited us in, stomped us 2-5, and sent us home licking our wounds. Fortunately, the lads responded properly, and the visit from the Israelis two weeks later was celebrated with a 5-0 spanking. It should be noted, however, that the home account in that game didn't get opened up until the 65th minute! So those five goals came with the threat of an ignominious early exit hanging like a Damoclean sword right over our necks.

The reward for finally waking up and playing some rewarding footie was a home-and-home tie with Manchester City. We did our best, but the visit to Eastlands was disappointing when we left 0-2 losers, no away goal to help us out. We did hold the eventual EURO Cup champions to a 1-1 draw at Bastion Gardens, but all that did was raise significant thoughts of "what if?" in our minds. Now, the only thoughts are, "Wait until next season!"

Wales

We were never in doubt with the WPL this season. Whatever else might be said about us, we had a potent strike force in the domestic league. We had three of the top four goal scorers in the WPL this season, and managed to bash in a healthy 109 goals, smashing the prior record. We were also +90 in goal differential, also beating the record held by us. We scored 4+ goals 16 times, including one stretch of 5 games straight with five goals scored. It was pretty pulverizing; demoralizing I'm sure for the teams that came to grips with us.

We also completed the treble, though that wasn't quite so easily done. The League Cup was won with a 77th min. goal; the Welsh Cup was won with two extra time goals. But I did make it a mission to obtain the treble again, and nothing short of a horrid disaster was going to keep us from fulfilling that mission. And, it was a very lucrative win!

And yet, despite this, it all seemed somewhat hollow. It's almost to the point that domestic triumphs are greeted by me with a very blasé response. I'm dragging Wales upwards with me, and I almost can't even care about it any more.

I tried to beef up the squad over the winter break in Euro footie. It was clear to me that standing pat was not going to take us the extra step needed to go deeper in Europe, either by finishing second in a group, or by replicating last year's experience. So I decided to open the pocketbook and spend our way to better results. In this, I was forced somewhat by the sudden refusal in December of the agents for some of our best players to discuss new contracts. Faced with the likely departure of John Gibson (top goalscorer), Andy Pearce (right mid of formidable talent), and James Schooley (right back), I realized that the only way to make things work positively was to bring in strong, costly blood:

Scott Hall – DM/D/M ©:

This gem cost me nothing in up front payments, since Man City had let him go in the summer. I had dithered about signing him; after all, I had a perfectly decent DM in Milovanovic. But my scouts swore he was the real deal. He played well in a brief trial for us, so I signed him, even though his salary was half again what anyone else was making. I also returned the offense to a wide diamond 4-4-2 to accommodate him as a DM. He should do everything for us that Mark Bradley managed, back when he was our expensive new toy.

David Barron – WB/D/M ®:

This is the costly addition. Faced with the likely end-of-season departure of Andy Pearce, I needed someone to take us forward, who could pair up with Milic and give me wings that would put fear into our opponents. Arsenal are getting rich off me; this time they shook me down for $4M plus. But with Barron, Hall and Kirton, I feel pretty confident that we will start knocking down some big clubs.

As a result of the signings, I started selling off players who weren't going to re-sign, or who weren't fitting into the revamped offensive system. Here is a list of the year's transfer activity. My goal for the coming year is to avoid spending any transfer fees if I can, and consolidate the team with free transfers.

The WPL Player Statistics. The #2 goalscorer slipped into that spot with a hat-trick on the last day. Otherwise, I'd have had the top three!

The WPL Team Statistics Notice how high our average attendance has gone for the League. We're over 50 percent capacity in League games, now.

Manager Overview.

Boardroom overview.

Finances.

Oh, and I've been managing the Seasiders now for 800 games! That's a lot of instructions I've given that have been ignored!

[Raware]

So...you've got me who constantly poor mouths my squad...and you...who isn't happy with a treble!

I was particularly impressed though with the fight back you showed against Maccabi Tel-Aviv .

How are you finding the WPL now? Are you keeping an interest in it considering the domination you have of it. Or is it a case of going though the motions and just concentrating on Europe?

[Flamers]

Well done

Just keep winning domestically and you'll be fine!

[AK22]

Making progress in Europe is definitely more a marathon than a sprint, keep persevering and you'll get there eventually! Still a great season overall

[Nobby_McDonald]

I fail to see the disappointment in winning three trophies.

[DSYoungEsq]

The Year End Summary - 2025/6

Results:

WPL: 1st 24 pts. ahead of The New Saints

WC: Won 4-2 aet v. Aberystwyth

LC: Won 3-2 v. Carmarthen

Europe: Won 1st tie v. Kalmar FF (SWE) 10-2 3rd Qual Phase UCL (Champions)

Won 2nd tie v. PFC Levski Sofia (BUL) 6-3 Playoff UCL (Champions)

Finished 3rd UCL Cup Group D W1 D0 L5 Pts 3

1-0-1 v BSC Young Boys (SWI) 3-0 H, 2-3 A

0-0-2 v FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA) 0-3 A, 0-1 H

0-0-2 v Chelsea (ENG) 2-3 A, 0-2 H

Won EURO Cup 1st Knockout Round tie v. Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) 2-5 A, 5-0 H

Lost EURO Cup 2nd Knockout Round tie v. Manchester City FC (ENG) 0-2 A, 1-1 H

Prestatyn Town FC Honors

WPL Player of the Year:

Jerko Milic Should have been won by new striker Jamie Kirton, but he wasn't even on the ballot, as he got going late. Milic got the nod mostly for his ratings and assists, I have to believe.

WPL Young Player of the Year:

Sam Johnson He's been getting better in the AMC role than he ever was as an MC.

WPL Team of the Season: Nine of the eleven this year: – Ollie Watts, James Schooley, Jordan Stamp, Chris Turner, Jerko Milic, Sam Johnson, Kieran Djilali, Jamie Kirton, Tom Rogers. Thought that the year I had the top goalscorers would be the year I had 11 for 11. I was wrong, mostly because I switched horses on the right in the middle of the stream.

Fan's Player of the Year: Tom Rogers. He's everything a fan would want for our team, and pleasant about it.

WPL Manager of the Year:

I get chosen again. For once, I definitely agree I deserved it.

News for Prestatyn Town FC:

Prestatyn dropped to 35th. That's the first year over year drop since I've been taking the team to Europe. More a function of our competition doing better, than of us doing poorly..

The Wales Season Summary. PTFC does well again. Not a shock.

Profit for the season was good not great, but that's because I spent $4M plus on signings.

We had record attendance for the WPL again. We also had record attendance for a Welsh Cup final and for a League Cup final.

Jamie Kirton set a WPL record for average rating for a season. At over 8 per game, he's really something. While he was doing that, Tom Rogers set a record for assists in a season.

News about Wales and the World:

Wales' world ranking down to 57th. The E-ticket ride continues for Wales. Djilali till playing for them, despite being so poor now he can't do anything but sub for me (mostly because of his versatility, else he wouldn't even be on the bench!). Djilali retiring this year, so his Welsh career done.

The WPL makes a move up in Europe to 22th. We have finally achieved our 3 star reputation!!!

Wales don't change in Europe placings. Dropped back to 15th place, so the places and seedings are the same in 2027.

The top five WPL teams go to Europe. A "normal" year, so to speak.

In other news of the world:

Wales failed to qualify for World Cup '26. This did not prompt the firing of the Wales manager, shockingly. I'll have to wait and see what happens after the World Cup finals finish.

[DSYoungEsq]

More with less (I hope!) - 2026/7 Initial Report

The Board expect another season of the same. Apparently, so do the oddsmakers.

The 2026/7 Season Squad.

The "reserves." As always, these are players being eased out.

The youth team intake. Not one single player worth tagging. Getting tired of this.

Last season started to see players refusing to continue their careers with PTFC. In the past I've usually been able to cajole them into staying, at least until I could decide I had someone better for them. Only a couple have left "prematurely" (Alex Nimely, for example). But now I'm having trouble hanging onto players, and I think it's my selection strategy which is too blame.

For the last few seasons, I've had a first team, playing all the European games, and a second team, playing most WPL and cup games. The first team tends to get a lot of league games over the winter, when there are no European games going. So the result is that I end up with neither the first team nor the second team players happy, since neither set gets to play often enough to satisfy them.

So this season, I'm going to pare back the size of the squad. This should help the finances as well. The cost of player salaries has been sky-rocketing as I bring in these talented new players. The cost of the salaries has reached a much higher portion of my allowance than I've ever reached before. Having 25+ players on the squad doesn't help that situation any.

My goal, then, is to have roughly 20 or 21 total players on the squad, including any U-19s used for the purpose of meeting the WPL rules. If we have an injury crisis, so be it. I'll try to get a loaned player, then, if it gets too bad But from now on, everyone gets their chance to play, so no one can complain they are left languishing on the bench too often.

I have made no signings, yet.

Youth Intake was again poor. No one got a tag.

Manager Overview.

Finances.

Carmarthen are the latest team to go fully professional. In addition, we have new blood in the WPL, as Cwmbran Celtic join and are forced to go semi-pro. We drag Wales and its teams up slowly but surely.

[DSYoungEsq]

World Cup 2026 (Mexico) Results:

NEWS FLASH: ENGLAND DEFEND WORLD CUP CROWN IN MEXICO!

England's group results. They were a good team, not quite so good as 2022, but good enough.

[DSYoungEsq]

Ok, I've got to stop and ask for some advice. The decision I'm about to make could make or break my effort at eventually completing this challenge.

Denmark? Or Sweden?.

I've already ruled out going off the continent. So thank-you, but no thank-you, Peru and Columbia.

Denmark are ranked about 65th in the world. They failed to make the WC finals this year. But they actually have some better players than Sweden.

Sweden are ranked about 20th in the world, and they made the finals, only to finish third in their group. They could easily have won the group with some better guidance. But they have no truly gifted players on the team.

So which do I make my first full national team job? Do I go with Denmark, on the theory that all I have to do is qualify for the finals of the European Championship to look like a hero? Or do I go with Sweden because I can take them deep into a major tournament and cement my future legacy (and my likely choice as next Wales manager), even though they don't really have the team to do that, from the looks of it?

Thoughts??????? Game is on hold while I ponder this.

[Flamers]

I would go for Denmark

Nice to see you going up on the world!

[Manav]

Definitely Denmark

[Paul Taggart]

You should go for Sweden

[Nobby_McDonald]

Denmark for tasty bacon or Sweden for tasty blondes.

I know where I'd go.

[DSYoungEsq]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon!

[Raware]

I'd go for Sweden too...and not just for the blondes... If the Wales job is your ultimate goal then the Sweden job is the better platform for you to be noticed. If it's building a future major tourament winning national squad then go for Denmark.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Why would he swap bosom blondes for fluffy sheep?

[Raware]

Why would he swap bosom blondes for fluffy sheep?

He has been in Wales for some time now. Maybe the 'Welshness' is rubbing off on him and he's growing 'fond' of sheep?!

[DSYoungEsq]

Thaaaaaaat's my daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

[DSYoungEsq]

Miss Bikini Sweden.

Miss Bikini Denmark.

Doesn't look like the Danes are that bad looking.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Denmark have Caroline Wozniecki (spelling?) too.