[FM10] It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Be a Swan) - Featuring Pile o'Stats

[uncle ron]

Great season, can't believe it went down to the last game. So close.

Surprised Crawley didn't go up in the play-offs

[Luton Town]

Crawley and AFC Wimbledon in the Blue Square South is the most surprising.

[AK22]

Well done on the promotion! Reckon if you bring in a handful of decent players you'll be fine in the BSP.

Cameroon reaching the semis of the WC was a bit of a shock!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Nice one Panagea. Up with the non league big boys now.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Crawley and AFC Wimbledon in the Blue Square South is the most surprising.

More so than Exeter?

[Pangaea]

Great season, can't believe it went down to the last game. So close.

Surprised Crawley didn't go up in the play-offs

Love when it goes down to the wire like that. Couldn't believe both of them messed up at the end. 5 points behind with 3 to go shouldn't be possible to catch up to. Very harsh for Crawley to not go up with 92 points. Before this season 90 was the record. They also had a guy up front who were bagging them in for fun. 36 goals in the league alone, which ofc was a new record.

[Pangaea]

Well done on the promotion! Reckon if you bring in a handful of decent players you'll be fine in the BSP.

Cameroon reaching the semis of the WC was a bit of a shock!

Had a very thin squad of only 18 players, but managed to find a few backups just before the deadline. Very few want to join though, so it's slim pickings. But if the start is anything to go by we should be fine.

[pezza1]

Just read through all this. A great read and congrats on all those promotions. Good luck In the Blue Square Premier!!

[Pangaea]

What's up with Stourbridge btw? Are they rich from the start of the game? They are valued to 3.4 million in the BSP, with several players on 1000+ a week. One guy is on 7,000! :o

That's almost twice my whole budget. The highest earner is striker Marshall on 350 p/w, and I broke the bank to seal that one. Naturally our wage budget has increased a bit since the season update, but 350 for one player is still very much. Could probably warrant a FT contract actually.

They have a fairly small stadium and only 85 season ticket holders, so the money can't possibly come from that. Rich "uncle" I guess.

[Pangaea]

Just read through all this. A great read and congrats on all those promotions. Good luck In the Blue Square Premier!!

Thank you. Good to hear people enjoy reading it

[Luton Town]

More so than Exeter?

I didn't even notice Exeter

[Pangaea]

Stupid question from a long-time one-clubber. Is it not possible to declare interest in a club in another country?

I'm actually getting a little twitchy feet here, particularly because the start to the BSP season has been laughably successful. I'm thus a little worried this may turn into another back-to-back promotions run-off scheme, like in my earlier Trafford save. I saw a couple of "Precarious" jobs in Serie C2, but I have no option to declare interest in them. Is this because my reputation is too low? I have that option for other English clubs.

Not saying I'm going to move on, but having the option would be nice - especially if Walton & Hersham turn into a promotion locomotive. 11-3-0 so far this season. That just isn't right. I really liked spending 3 seasons in Blue Square South building up the team.

A tycoon took over in Stourbridge btw, so that's why they were filthy rich. By a rough estimate they have wage costs of 40,000 a week. That's kinda much in BSP!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Stourbridge will go places with that backing.

[Pangaea]

2015/16 - Walton & Hersham

Blue Square Premier

Board expectation: Try to stay clear of relegation

Media expectation: 21st

Odds: 12-1

Season tickets: 142 (up 25)

League

I am quite happy with the team, but the scouts uncover some players that can improve or strengthen our depth, so we sign 5. Paterson (DL, retraining to DR), Turnbull (MC), Davies (ST, MR), St Juste (ML) and Connolly (ST, MR). Particularly Turnbull is a very good player and goes straight into our first team.

We start the season reasonably well, finding our feet and all that. We do that by going 25 matches without losing in cup and league. Halfway through we have the league by its balls. We are playing good football, and even when we're not we manage to grind out results. In the following league match, however, Histon romp us 3-0. Our confidence vanishes and suddenly finding goals is difficult, and often impossible. We don't lose a lot, but our 11-point cushion evaporates within a month. We win a few in a row in February, but then go 5 without scoring a goal and 7 without a win. That's not promotion material. Going into the last months we grind out draws instead of losses, and as main promotion rival Wrexham lose the odd match here and there, we stay on top. It's very close, but going into the last match we are still one point ahead. As expected they win theirs (2-0) so we need to match it by beating 13th positioned Accrington away. We go down 0-1 early on, but play some magnificent football and create chance after chance. Unfortunately it's just one of those days when there seems to be a wall in front of goal. Their keeper plays out of his skin. Top scorer Purcell finally scores in the 92nd minute, but it is too late. It's your typical FM match. 21 shots, 1 goal, the other team has 1 on target and scores on it. Bah. We draw 1-1 and finish 2nd.

Playoff

Exeter are up in the semi finals. They got promoted with us last season (maybe not a big difference between BSS and BSP?) and we haven't done well against them. I therefore take a defensive approach to the away leg. The players do very well, however, and we stump them by winning 2-0. The home match should just be a formality now. There are no good teamtalk options, so I tell those who played well to pick up where they left off, and the rest to not get complacent. Well, apparently that translates into "Don't give a toss, it's summer now!" We are the better team out there, but somehow find ourselves 0-4 down after an hour of play. I take off the worst offenders and go gung-ho the last half hour. It's a hopeless task, though, as we need 3 goals due to away goals. We get one, but lose 1-4 and 3-4 on aggregate. So after dominating both matches we strike out. Payback perhaps from promotion a few seasons back when St. Albans owned us but Lady Luck smiled our way in the semi. And then smiled again when the AI got their keeper and another guy injured and had to play with 9 players in the Playoff Final extra time (we scored twice and won 3-1).

That notwithstanding, I have a Feature Request for FM2012: Decimation. The 'good' old Roman tradition of executing every 10th soldier if you lost the battle (or there was a mutiny). As that feature is not (yet!) introduced, I took out my anger via the check book. "No wage for you!" (yelled in a Seinfeld-esque Russian accent). I fined all I could two weeks. This upset the team a tiny bit. With all contracts expiring a month later this was probably not the wisest of choices. As a result our young but without doubt best keeper Williams utterly refused to renew his contract. I must have sent him 20 proposals, with a big fat brown envelope in several of them, but he was adamant. "I will not play for a draconian manager like you any longer!".

Cups

Because many cup matches fell in the period when we were in fantastic form, we did quite well in them. Northampton got promoted from League Two this season, but they fell to us in the 1st round of the FA Cup after a 1-1 draw in their place and 1-0 victory in ours. League One side Swansea were too much, however. We lost 1-3 away in an even match. The FA Cup run gave us good money, and that's the main task of the cups for clubs of our size.

The FA Trophy fell later in the season when we were in shoddier form, but we still manage to struggle our way to the Quarter final, where we lost out 0-1 to fellow BSP side York.

League Graph - Frustrating to lose out on the final day with a graph like that, but I saw it coming for a long time. Just took longer than expected to take us down from our perch.

Transfers - Turnbull was a great signing. He had much experience from League 1 side Stockport.

Squad - Some weaknesses have appeared in defence, which I will try and correct over the summer.

Finances - Big crowds in cup matches away and over 5,000 people at Stompond Lane in the playoff semi final means we make a small profit for the first time. \o/

Pile o'Stats - Another great season by Purcell and Marshall. Goals and assists galore. DC Kerr caused 4 goals, but he's our best defender on paper so it's hard to drop him. He seems a bit more consistent than the others too. Turnbull started great with bags of assists, but then didn't get a single one the last half season.

Key Players

Rob Williams - Our best keeper. Sadly he rebelled and is off in the summer

Kris Paterson - A good buy who can no play on both back positions

Kieron Charnock - Getting on a bit, but first choice on left back. A good tutor too.

Fraser Kerr - Best DC, though he did cause a handful of goals this season. He also has a knack for poking them in on corners, so it evens itself out.

Paul Turnbull - Signing of the season. Coaches rate him as a good/decent League 1 player, so we clearly won the lottery with that one.

Ross Draper - Lost his position a bit, but still highly useful as he can play both as defensive midfielder and right winger. Yes, it's an odd combination

Reece Connolly - Was meant for the right wing, but was rather deadly up front so he played there a fair bit too.

Marcus Marshall - Our main assist man this season, but also very dangerous up front.

Tadgh Purcell - Without doubt our best striker. He keeps on scoring. Probably due to good pace and jumping. Very good on short throughballs, and he is able to dribble his man too.

Team of the Season - We are quite clearly best going forward, and lacking a bit in central defence.

Historic Team - Turnbull and Paterson go straight into the eleven, and Rioch makes it too after two good seasons.

Next Season

We did better than expected this season by finishing 2nd after leading most of the way. The goal next season is to improve on that and get promoted. A couple of signing over the summer will hopefully make us more consistent and less reliant on Purcell and Marshall to shine.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     FA Trophy    Other Achievements[/b]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Isthmian First South    19th       -        2nd Q Rnd    Isthmian League Cup 1st Round. Consortium takeover.
2010/11  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd   1st Q Rnd    Isthmian League Cup 1st Round. New contract.
2011/12  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd   2nd Q Rnd    Won Isthmian League Cup.
2012/13  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd    1st Rnd     New contract.
2013/14  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd    Semi-final
2014/15  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd    4th Q Rnd    New contract. Consortium takeover.
2015/16  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd    Qtr Final

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2015/16

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 5,134
    
  • Lowest: 527
    
  • Average: 894
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-1
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-4
    
  • Highest Score: 4-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 6
    
  • Lost in Row: 2
    
  • Without Losing: 25
    
  • Without Winning: 7
    
  • Without Conceding: 2
    
  • Without Scoring: 5
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 30 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • League Goals: 27 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Most Assists: 17 - Marcus Marshall
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.66 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Most MoM: 15 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Player of the Year: Tadgh Purcell
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 4,200 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 325
    
  • Balance (End): -65,000 (210,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2015/16

England

1. Chelsea
   
2. Man City
   
3. Arsenal
   
4. Aston Villa
   
5. Man Utd
   
6. Tottenham
   

Italy

1. AC Milan
   
2. Juventus
   
3. Genoa
   
4. Napoli
   
5. Atalanta
   
6. Lazio
   

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Real Madrid
   
3. Valencia
   
4. Villareal
   
5. Atletico Madrid
   
6. Sevilla
   

Champions Cup

Juventus (Genoa 3-1)

EURO Cup

AC Milan (Leverkusen 2-0)

[Nobby_McDonald]

Oooo so close.

Some people I know would be glad to see the back of Rob(bie) Williams.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Oooo so close.

Some people I know would be glad to see the back of Rob(bie) Williams.

[Raware]

So disappointing to lead for all that time only to lose it on the last day! Still, you acheived your pre-season target of trying to stay clear of relegation 2nd round of the FA Cup too

[Pangaea]

Oooo so close.

Some people I know would be glad to see the back of Rob(bie) Williams.

Oh, you destroyed my good impression of him now

Guess it's a good thing he buggered off then.

[Pangaea]

So disappointing to lead for all that time only to lose it on the last day! Still, you acheived your pre-season target of trying to stay clear of relegation 2nd round of the FA Cup too

It was very frustrating given the way we played the first half season, but overall it was a good one. 2nd isn't to be sniffed at from promotion the year before. Hopefully we can be more stable this season.

[AK22]

Bad luck missing out on promotion.

What do think your chances are of doing well next season? Going to have to rebuild the squad after you fined them all?

[Pangaea]

Bad luck missing out on promotion.

What do think your chances are of doing well next season? Going to have to rebuild the squad after you fined them all?

Thankfully 'only' the goalie was mad enough to leave. With time I manage to renew contracts with the rest of the players I wanted. And I have now brought in a few new faces. The team should be a little stronger than last season so I hope we can get promoted this time around. Not sure when the update will be though, as I have some very serious academic responsibilities right now. But struggling badly with it

Surprised how slowly season tickets rises, and how few travelling fans we have. For most matches the away stands are completely empty

Some 140 season tickets is among the lowest in the league too. But attendances are now typically 700-ish so that's a big improvement

[Pangaea]

Just as most Norwegians, I'm distraught and in shock after the atrocious double terrorist attack in Norway on Friday 22nd July. The cruelty and evil of that man is hard to take in - to understand. It must have been complete hell on that island. So horrible to think about what they have gone through, what it would have been like to be there. So many young and innocent people were assassinated in cold blood, Mafia style. Words fail to describe how I feel about it.

Words also fail to describe how incredibly proud I am of how our politicians, rescue crew, the surviving youths and the population at large have reacted to this tragedy. Instead of resorting to screams for revenge we have united as a people across cultural, religious and 'racial' lines. It sounds like something from a children's fairytale, but people who do not know each other have hugged in the streets, holding hands and being humane to each other, supporting one another in terrible grief. It is incredibly heart-warming and emotional to see. I hope it lasts.

These words were spoken by a young woman from the Labour Youth party (AUF). They have gone around the world by now and explain the national feeling very well.

"If one man can show so much hatred, imagine how much love we can show together."

I have played through one more season in between watching news reports on TV, but have not been able to write up a summary yet. But I wanted to make a note of these events, and the encouraging reaction by the Norwegian people.

Courage beyond belief was shown on that island. For example by an 11 year old boy, who walked up to the murderer and said "Don't shoot me. You have killed enough. You have killed my father. I'm too young to die. Please let us be."

He survived.

Or the young woman who grabbed a 5-year old boy and ran for their lives while the assassin was reloading his automatic rifle. "I knew we had 3-4 seconds since he was reloading. As I rounded a corner I saw 4 bullets whizz past my head." The young boy survived too.

I hope this video works outside of Norway and Sweden too (I live in Sweden now and it works here). Even if you don't understand Norwegian it's a powerful video showing some of the grief and unity of the people. Reportedly over 200 000 people showed up to a rose memorial in Oslo. Afterwards the whole city was bathing in roses. The spontaneous applause to the rescue personnel is a powerful moment.

http://www.nrk.no/video/oslo_vaknet_opp_til_blomsterhav/E26B466D9F1081AA

Here is an image of the ocean of flowers outside Oslo Cathedral. I think it's safe to say this is not the reaction he wanted.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]0[/ATTACH]

To the wonderful people who died in Oslo and Utøya

Rest In Peace

[Nobby_McDonald]

The only good to ever come out of events like these is that it strengthens the bond of the (local) community.

[Pangaea]

The only good to ever come out of events like these is that it strengthens the bond of the (local) community.

That is certainly something that has happened in a HUGE way.

I hope the Norway we see now will remain when the worst sorrow and media focus have subsided. People are standing together in a way I never thought possible. I wish it will last. In any case, I think it will be difficult to be as hostile to Muslims as many were before. As usual terrorists don't get what they want. It backfires in a huge way. It won't bring the dead people back again, but it is at least nice to see that the values they fought for and held close to their hearts are seen in daily life right now. Some of them are irreplaceable, Tore Eikeland could have been the prime minster in 20 years, he was that talented, but I hope people will flood to AUF now and fill the gaps these great people left behind.

People who live in such a rich society tend to take things for granted. I don't think we do any more. Hopefully our democracy and common belief in a diverse society will be even stronger after these horrible terrorist attacks.

[Pangaea]

2016/17 - Walton & Hersham

Blue Square Premier

Board expectation: Top half finish

Media expectation: 8th

Odds: 25-1

Season tickets: 146 (up 4)

League

After such a good frist season in the Blue Square Premier I knew the team was basically good enough to get promoted. But after the brutal criticism after the playoff loss our goalkeeper refused to sign a new contract and left in the summer. A new one was found in Daniel Holt. Some players who didn't play much left, while I recruited some quality players in James Cowen (DC from Southend), Tom Taiwo (MC) and Abu Ogogo (DR).

The start is better than any of us are hoping for. Draw in the first game away to Gateshead, then 15 -- yes 15(!) -- straight victories. The last win is a cup game, and in familiar fashion Oxford punish us the next match by beating us 2-0. We get back on track, however, and continue our terror reign in the league. Halfway through the league campaign we are still going strong, with only one loss to our name and 11 points clear at the top. Nothing can prevent us promotion now. Right?

In late January we face FC United in the FA Trophy. We go into the match with 7 wins in a row. They beat us 1-0 in a close match. Anyone familiar with FM can predict what happened next. Our brilliant form went out the window. We only recorded 13 points over the next 14 matches. Hardly playoff material, but thanks to our great start still finished 2nd. Exeter were in absolutely ridiculous form and romped the league and most of its records as they won Blue Square Premier with a silly 111 points and a +64 goal difference. The last half of the season, in 23 games, they got 64 points. Slightly good.

Playoff

We won the last match of the season 2-0 away to already relegated Hyde. That gave me a little faith after so many non-wins, but not much. Accrington faced us in the playoff semis. They beat us 2-1 in their place after we took an early lead. No disaster. The return leg was almost the inverse of our humiliation last season in the same match. Accrington were punished ruthlessly as we scored on 4 of our 5 shots on target and beat them 4-1.

Oxford are up in the final. They had gotten good results against us earlier, including ending our 15-match winning streak. It is a very even match that can tip both ways. We take an early lead through Purcell. They never manage to come back and we beat them 1-0. Promotion!

Cups

Some success in the cups would be nice before we got promoted into the "Can't Win These!" category cups. But it wasn't to be.

We did quite well in the FA Cup though. Held League 1 side Bradford to 0-0 in our place in the 2nd Round, and actually deserved to beat them. The rematch was very even actually. 0-0 at fulltime. But they scored twice in extra time, the last in the 120th when we were putting everybody forward. 0-2 was a good showing though.

I had hoped to do very well in the FA Trophy as we were already a team good enough to get promoted from BSP. But as mentioned earlier, FC United crushed our dreams with a 1-0 win in the 3rd Round.

League Graph - We were in charge for a very long time. But with Exeter's brilliant form and our's terrible, it was just a matter of time before they overtook us. Glad we held on for 2nd in the end.

Transfers - All four transfers in were good players, and strengthened our team.

Squad - Weak left midfield, but apart from that I'm quite happy.

Finances - The playoffs is a moneypit. 38,000 showed up in the final, which made us some 180,000. We also got 75,000 as the home match against Bradford was televised. Combined this meant we made a nice profit of 160,000. In the black for the first time in a very long time.

Pile o'Stats - Purcell and Davies were great up front, but the big surprise was the many goals Draper contributed from right midfield.

Key Players

Daniel Holt - Solid GK buy to replace the rebel who left.

Abu Ogogo - Good DR, whi chips in with the odd goal and assist

Kris Paterson - Very good DL, who also provide the odd goal and assist.

James Cowen - Probably our best DC, but neither has good average rating.

Alan Rioch - Our playmaker. Not been as dominant as I hoped, but still good.

Paul Turnbull - Quality player in the middle of the park

Tom Taiwo - Best player on paper. Had a good season.

Ross Draper - The big surprise. 14 goals and 5 assists from MR.

Marcus Marshall - Many nasty injuries and didn't play or score as much as he usually does.

Craig Davies - Terribly injured last season, but now he came on in a huge way. 23 goals and 12 assists.

Tadgh Purcell - Player of the Season. Top goalscorer with 25 goals and most assists with 16. Getting on, sadly.

Team of the Season - Best up front again, with poor average rating on our DCs.

Historic Team - Davies made it to the bench.

Next Season

At the start of the season I hoped for promotion, but as our terrible form dragged on and on I was mentally prepared for another season in BSP. The promotion therefore came as a welcome surprise. Hopefully we can survive in League Two, but I won't be distressed if we go straight down again.

Other News

At the start of the season the board gave me a new 3-year contract. Don't recall what I made before, but think they about doubled it. Am now 'raking' in £600 a week

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     FA Trophy    Other Achievements[/b]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Isthmian First South    19th       -        2nd Q Rnd    Isthmian League Cup 1st Round. Consortium takeover.
2010/11  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd   1st Q Rnd    Isthmian League Cup 1st Round. New contract.
2011/12  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd   2nd Q Rnd    Won Isthmian League Cup.
2012/13  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd    1st Rnd     New contract.
2013/14  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd    Semi-final
2014/15  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd    4th Q Rnd    New contract. Consortium takeover.
2015/16  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd    Qtr Final
2016/17  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2016/17

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 3,755
    
  • Lowest: 438
    
  • Average: 745
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 4-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 0-3
    
  • Highest Score: 4-2
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 15
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 16
    
  • Without Winning: 7
    
  • Without Conceding: 7
    
  • Without Scoring: 3
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 25 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • League Goals: 22 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Most Assists: 16 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.58 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Most MoM: 11 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Player of the Year: Tadgh Purcell (odd, eh?)
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 3,800 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 315
    
  • Balance (End): 110,000 (200,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2016/17

England

1. Arsenal
   
2. Man Utd
   
3. Aston Villa
   
4. Chelsea
   
5. Tottenham
   
6. Newcastle
   

Italy

1. Genoa
   
2. Juventus
   
3. Inter
   
4. Cagliari
   
5. AC Milan
   
6. Atalanta
   

Spain

1. Real Madrid
   
2. Barcelona
   
3. Valencia
   
4. Villareal
   
5. Atletico Madrid
   
6. Sevilla
   

Champions Cup

Barcelona (Man City 3-3 p)

EURO Cup

Bordeaux (Galatasaray 1-1 p)

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done on the promotion bud.

[Pangaea]

Thanks. Have had great luck in playoffs in this save. Successful in 3 of 4 playoffs if I'm not mistaken.

[Pangaea]

Have played almost three seasons since the last update now. Things haven't gone very well, so decided to change the tactics a little bit. Maybe this was just a fluke, but we played much better in the first match, beating playoff striving Crewe 2-0 away. Very pleased with that

Will write up and post some updates when I'm done with the current season. This forum looks pretty quiet now, with summer and all, but I like reading these updates further down the line. Was reading this before I started playing this save again, to get into the mood of it all and to remember what we had done

[Nobby_McDonald]

At least in the summer there are less idiots on the forum.

[Pangaea]

Valid point for xure. It's not quite as torturous to browse threads in the GQ forum now.

[Pangaea]

2016 - European Championship

Out in group stage: Scotland, Turkey, Hungary, Wales, Greece, Czech Republic, Italy, Ireland

Qualified

A: England, Russia

B: Germany, Portugal

C: Spain, Holland

D: France, Switzerland

Group A-D

Quarter Final

England - Portugal e3-2

Germany - Russia 3-2

Spain - Switzerland 1-2

France - Holland 1-3

Semi Final

England - Holland 1-0

Germany - Switzerland 2-3

Final

England - Switzerland 3-0

Knockout stage

Great performance by Switzerland, but in the end England were too good for them. Surprising exit for Italy in the group stage, especially as I have Italy fully loaded this time.

The press in England was of course quite sober about England winning, not overstating the greatness of the team at all.

[Pangaea]

2017/18 - Walton & Hersham

League Two

Board expectation: Try to stay clear of relegation

Media expectation: 23rd

Odds: 16-1 (these are most of the time really weird)

Season tickets: 312 (up 166)

League

We were surprisingly promoted last season through playoff, so I expect a struggle to survive. To help us achieve that former Liverpool player Jay Spearing is brought in, after being released from Hartlepool. The left side is re-enforced by Steven Leslie (ML), Colin Daniel (D/M L) and young freckled Wyatt Lewis (DL). The latter arrives after Boxing Day. A striker named Nigel Riley also arrives, from Torquay. I was rather puzzled. Then found out they are our parent team and decided to send somebody our way. He wasn't very good. Some squad players leave to lighten the wage load and make room for the new blokes.

With the promotion to League Two we turn professional. Contracts are re-negotiated. It costs us a good bit, but throughout the season I manage to get them all over to full-time contracts.

Apart from a short dip to 18th we are doing well in the league, threatening to get involved in the playoff race. For the first half of the season we sit in a playoff spot. At the end of December we lose 3 in a row and go two more before a win. Results are all over the place from there on and out. No consistency and we slowly drop down the table. In April we make a good recovery with 5 games without a loss, winning four. Despite losing the next game, with one match to play we have a theoretical chance for another playoff adventure. We win the last match, but it isn't enough. Mansfield win theirs too and beat us to 7th for the last playoff spot. Good start though. This promises well for the future.

Bradford, Port Vale and Cambridge are promoted, with Macclesfield following suit after a few more matches and a trip to Wembley. Bristol Rovers and Scunthorpe are relegated. It was disaster for Carlisle. They led for a very long time, but totally met the wall the last few months. They dropped into the playoff zone (on the last day) and messed up there too.

Cups

We put up a good fight against League 1 side Gillingham in Walton & Hersham's first ever League Cup appearance, but they are too strong for us and beat us 3-2 in the 1st round.

Not much better luck in our first outing in Johnstone's Paint Trophy. League 1 team Brighton sent us packing with a 0-2 loss in front of our own (small) crowd.

The FA Cup was more to our liking. First fellow League 2ers Scunthorpe were pummelled 4-0 away, before Blue Square South team Welling were beaten 3-1 to set up a ching-ching 3rd round match away to Premier League Leeds. In true Giant Killing fashion we outlucked them and beat them 1-0 at Elland Road \o/ That made us a whole lotta money. About 300,000 from the gates, and another 68,000 from progressing to the fourth round.

Championship side Leicester awaited us there. We gave them a good outing and certainly could have gotten through, but they beat us 1-2. Our goal was only a consolation in the 90th. Natural very happy for going this far, especially for financial reasons. The FA Cup really is the lower league sides' only real chance for proper income.

League Graph - Good start, poor winter, and a good catch-up. Not good enough though, and we finish just one point shy of the playoffs. Never in danger of relegation.

Transfers - Leslie straight into the ML position. Midfield is very good so Spearing didn't play as much as he should have.

Squad - Central defence is a bit weak, but no serious flaws.

Finances - We made the year in the FA Cup tie against Leeds. That match made us not far off half a million, which meant we ended up with a profit of almost 300,000.

Pile o'Stats - Analyse this if you want. I forget if anything jumps out. It's been three seasons since I played this one now.

Key Players

Daniel Holt - GK

Abu Ogogo - D/M R (but always DR).

Kris Paterson - D RL.

James Cowen - Best DC. Great in the air.

Alan Rioch - Playmaker with a great season.

Tom Taiwo - The ballwinner.

Both Spearing and Turnbull are also great midfielders, but I only have two spots...

Ross Draper - MR. Not as good as last season (had 14 goals then).

Marcus Marshall - ST with 18 goals, 8 assists. In decline.

Craig Davies - ST with 16 goals, 14 assists. Player of the Year

Tadgh Purcell - In decline, but still pretty dangerous. 8 goals and 3 assists.

Team of the Season - 3 good strikers and a good central midfield.

Historic Team - Four players to the bench.

Next Season

Good start to our League Two struggles. Am hoping for better luck next season so we can grab a playoff spot or better. Hard to find any better recruits though, and our team is starting to age, particularly up front. Can't see anybody who can take over for Purcell's previous reign of terror.

Other News

As mentioned above we have now turned Professional.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
2010/11  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
2011/12  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
2012/13  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
2013/14  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
2014/15  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
2015/16  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
2016/17  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
2017/18  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2017/18

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 5,266
    
  • Lowest: 868
    
  • Average: 2,140
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-1
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-4
    
  • Highest Score: 5-1
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 4
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 5
    
  • Without Winning: 5
    
  • Without Conceding: 2
    
  • Without Scoring: 3
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 18 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • League Goals: 17 - Tadgh Purcell
    
  • Most Assists: 14 - Craig Davies
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.34 - Alan Rioch
    
  • Most MoM: 6 - Marcus Marshall
    
  • Player of the Year: Craig Davies
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 6,000 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 11,000
    
  • Balance (End): 400,000 (190,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2017/18

England

1. Man City
   
2. Aston Villa
   
3. Tottenham
   
4. Man Utd
   
5. Arsenal
   
6. Chelsea
   

Italy

1. Genoa
   
2. AC Milan
   
3. Lazio
   
4. Juventus
   
5. Roma
   
6. Fiorentina
   

Spain

1. Atletico Madrid
   
2. Real Madrid
   
3. Barcelona
   
4. Racing
   
5. Sevilla
   
6. Getafe
   

Champions Cup

Chelsea (Man Utd 2-1)

EURO Cup

AC Milan (Atletico Madrid 3-2e)

[Pangaea]

2018 - World Cup

Out in group stage: New Zealand, Russia, USA, Croatia, Portugal, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mexico, Czech Republic, Panama (!), Switzerland, Jamaica, Iran, Romania, France, Sweden

Qualified

A: Spain, South Korea

B: Brazil, Nigeria

C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia (ahead of Portugal and Ivory Coast, the media would surely have called this the Group of Death)

D: Chile, Turkey

E: Italy, Paraguay

F: Uruguay, Holland

G: England, Tunisia

H: Japan, Egypt

Group A-D

Group E-H

Second Round

Spain - Nigeria 3-1

South Korea - Brazil 0-3

Turkey - Argentina 1-3

Saudi Arabia - Chile e2-1

Italy - Holland e3-1

Paraguay - Uruguay 1-2 (commentators would probably find this humorous)

England - Egypt 4-1

Japan - Tunisia 1-0

Quarter Final

Spain - Saudi Arabia 3-1

Brazil - Argentina 0-1e (and the whole nation became suicidal)

Italy - Japan 2-1

Uruguay - England 0-0p

Semi Final

Spain - England 1-3

Argentina - Italy 3-0

Third Place

Italy - Spain 1-0

Final

England - Argentina 2-4

Knockout stage

I'm sure that World Cup final loss wouldn't hurt at all for the English...... Argentina takes the trophy back home for the first time since 1986. Maradona was seen jumping like a crazy person in the stands

War was not declared.

Surprisingly the non-sackable Stuart Pearce retired after winning the European Championship back in 2016. He usually stays on no matter how good or bad England does. Despite not winning the World Cup and thus being declared the Worst Team in History by the English media, the ensuing witch-hunt did not lead to Denis Wise's sacking or hanging.

[Pangaea]

2018/19 - Walton & Hersham

League Two

Board expectation: Top half finish (Respectable league position)

Media expectation: 13th

Odds: 25-1

Season tickets: 319 (up 7)

Transfers

We had a very thin squad last season, which meant we could only field a full bench when all were fit and not suspended. I therefore wanted to bring in a few more faces. It was very tough to find players that would improve our ageing squad, but two players came in the summer and another in January. I wanted some younger players to start battling the old age issue. Therefore 22 year old left winger Andy Pritchard came from Portsmouth for free, and we opened the check book for the first time and laid £7,000 on the table to Millwall for 21 year old DC Adam Lucas. Due to problems up front with two main strikers in terminal decline 22 year old striker Mickey Kenny was bought for £3,000 from Nottingham Forest.

Nobody left the club, except the usual bunch of crap youths.

Parent team Torquay also sent us a reserve keeper in January. He was better than our own Holt, but I wanted Holt to get games to aid his development and match accumulation (I'm a stats freak). He did get 9 matches when Holt was injured though.

League

We start the league campaign in fantastic fashion and quickly reach the top of the mountain. After 11 matches we have lost only once. Then we begin to struggle, perhaps partially as our strikers Purcell and Davies are now in serious physical decline that my default training schedule does nothing to constrain. From October we record only 1 win over the next 11 league matches. By the mid-way point we are still in a playoff position, one point off direct promotion, but we quickly slide out of the target zone.

For some reason the winter always seems to treat us badly, and we slide down the table after many draws and few wins. Form picks up in April with birds singing from the treetops. We finish the season with 3-2-0, but it's too late to save a playoff spot. We had a good chance with both two and one matches left, but 2 draws sealed our fate. We finish 9th two points off a playoff spot. One down from last season.

Darlington, Shrewsbury and Wycombe are promoted, while Lincoln win the playoff spectacle. Rushden and Carlisle are relegated. Carlisle was tipped 1st by the media, but has completely fallen apart after last season's late fall from grace. Don't think they have gone bankrupt (nothing in landmarks), but most of their players are now teenagers.

Cups

The first thing we do is to crash out to Championship side Colchester 0-2 in the League Cup's 1st round. Close match, but we failed in front of goal. That was going to be quite common.

Fellow League Two competitor Stevenage proved too strong too. They somehow beat us 1-3 in the first hurdle of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. What a waste of space that cup is. Many matches to win and hardly impressive prize money. Though I suppose it adds up decently if one goes far. So do injuries though....

Last season we had a great run in the FA Cup, beating Leeds from the EPL. Not the same fairy tale this time around. But we did beat Scunthorpe 4-1 in the 1st round, before an efficient Luton beat us 1-2 in the 2nd.

League Graph - Great start, terrible winter, and a good-ish recovery at the end. The winter messes us up again.

Transfers - Nothing out, a few in.

Squad - Purcell has sadly fallen apart. Davies is going in the same direction. Both will be gotten rid of. Always tough to wave good-bye to former great players, but I think the time is right for fresh blood.

Finances - With no Cup or Playoff adventure the books are sad reading. A 335,000 loss removes almost all we had in the bank. We also have considerably lesser crowds, which is worrying. Gone from 2,140 average last season to 1,692 now.

Pile o'Stats - We paid out big for Lucas in central defence, hoping he would be a great success. He has been nothing short of a walking (often rooted) disaster. He looks great, so I don't know why he plays so crap

3 goals in 15 for 3K striker Kenny can hardly be counted as a success either.

Key Players

Daniel Holt - GK

Abu Ogogo - D/M R (but always DR).

Kris Paterson - D RL.

James Cowen - Only 2 stars, but our best performing DC.

Fraser Kerr - DC doing pretty well.

Adam Lucas - New DC in horrible form. 6.53 average rating

Alan Rioch - Playmaker with another great season.

Tom Taiwo - The ballwinner.

Both Spearing and Turnbull did well, but didn't play too much.

Ross Draper - MR. Pretty good with 3 goals and 9 assists.

Leslie and Pritchard shared on the left wing duties.

Marcus Marshall - Most goals with 16. Player of the Year.

Craig Davies - Good rate before Xmas, but only two goals after the holidays. Off in the summer.

Tadgh Purcell - Sad to see players wither away like this. Only four goals

Reece Connolly - With most strikers failing, Connolly did well up front and bagged 10 goals.

Team of the Season - 3 good strikers and a good central midfield.

Historic Team - Old player Gier makes it back to the bench. He is a coach at the club now

Next Season

Pretty serious situation with our strikeforce now. I need to find a solution to that during the summer. Central defence is also a solid worry with Lucas playing like a garbage can. Honestly don't get why he is so crap. Goal is still to get into the playoffs next season, but we'll need new players to achieve that.

Other News

Managed my 500th match this season. This is the stats from the first 500.

The board offered me a new 3-year contract at the start of the season. They were tight-lipped with wage increases, but I did manage to squeeze an extra 50 out of them. Am making £650 a week now.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010 - Walton and Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2018/19

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 2,346
    
  • Lowest: 386
    
  • Average: 1,692
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 4-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-4
    
  • Highest Score: 4-4
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 5
    
  • Lost in Row: 2
    
  • Without Losing: 7
    
  • Without Winning: 6
    
  • Without Conceding: 2
    
  • Without Scoring: 3
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 16 - Marcus Marshall
    
  • League Goals: 15 - Marcus Marshall
    
  • Most Assists: 9 - Ross Draper
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.34 - Alan Rioch
    
  • Most MoM: 6 - Alan Rioch
    
  • Player of the Year: Marcus Marshall
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 9,750 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 40,000
    
  • Balance (End): 65,000 (170,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2018/19

England

1. Chelsea
   
2. Man City
   
3. Man Utd
   
4. Liverpool
   
5. Stoke (!)
   
6. Aston Villa
   

Italy

1. Genoa
   
2. AC Milan
   
3. Lazio
   
4. Sampdoria
   
5. Inter
   
6. Cagliari
   

Spain

1. Real Madrid
   
2. Barcelona
   
3. Atletico Madrid
   
4. Valencia
   
5. Sevilla
   
6. Getafe
   

Champions Cup

Barcelona - AC Milan 1-0

EURO Cup

Man Utd - Arsenal 2-1

[AK22]

A couple of solid seasons in League Two

Seems like you're only a couple of players off being in contention for the playoffs/promotion.

[Pangaea]

2019/20 - Walton & Hersham

League Two

Board expectation: Top half finish

Media expectation: 12th

Odds: 25-1

Season tickets: 325 (up 6)

Transfers

We had a big problem up front with two main strikers in decline due to age. Tried my best to find good replacements but it was difficult. David Gemmell comes from Livingston. Defence is also a problem area, so DC Tony Ashford is picked up from Crystal Palace. Then our scouts locate a fine young goalkeeper, and Scott Brown comes down from Aberdeen for 3K.

Several former first team members are sold or released, including strikers Tadgh Purcell and Craig Davies (sniff).

League

I'm hoping the new signings can plug the holes up front and in the back. It doesn't quite work out that way. Gemmell is basically a disappointment with only 8 goals to his name. Ashford proves to be almost as big a liability in central defence as Lucas. I've no idea why they do this poorly. In my mind they look pretty darn good for this level. It can't be explained by non-great aerial ability either, as they do crap in matches where they win practically all headers. To further stump me, all our coaches say Lucas "has no real weaknesses." A fine puzzle, this.

Based on the above it should not be a surprise we failed to achieve that longed for playoff spot this season either. We're actually falling further and further away from it. Half-way through the season we were just a few points behind, and that's how it mostly stayed throughout the winter and spring too. There was a theoretical chance with 2 to play, but not ahead of the last day. We finished 11th.

Port Vale, Derby and Luton are directly promoted, and Northampton does it via the playoff. Brentford and Hartlepool go down.

Cups

Crashing out in the League Cup's first round has become a habit for us. This time Championship side Ipswich battered us 0-2.

We got to the Semi-Final in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, where Cambridge beat us 1-3.

Not much hurrahs in the FA Cup either, I'm afraid. Minnows Eastwood Town were beaten 2-0 in the 1st round. We should have smacked Accrington in the 2nd round, but they held us to 1-1, and then beat us 0-2 in their own place.

League Graph - Never really in with a proper hold of the target zone of Playoff Plus.

Transfers - Strikers out, some new guys in. None a smashing success.

Squad - Replacing the strikers did not work out. Central defence is also wobbly, to say the least. May go back to my old pair of Kerr-Cowen to see if that works better. Rioch stands out in midfield with almost a 7.50 rating.

Finances - No cup success to speak of this season either, and even less people came to watch us. That meant we lost almost 250,000 this season. I hope our chairman got some money stashed away in his mattress...

Pile o'Stats - Apart from winning fewer headers than Kerr, nothing else stands out. We actually got fewer points a game with Kerr in defence than Lucas or Ashford, but they both have ****-poor average rating. Pretty poor if winning 80% of headers instead of 90% is the only explanation.

Key Players

Daniel Holt - GK

Scott Brown - Mighty impressive-looking young GK. Probably Number One next season.

Abu Ogogo - D/M R (but always DR).

Kris Paterson - D RL.

Lewis Wyatt - Fine young D LR

Fraser Kerr - Only decent-performing DC.

Adam Lucas - Looks good, did crap.

Tony Ashford - New DC did crap too.

Alan Rioch - Has become our most important midfielder. Player of the Year.

Andy Pritchard - ML who did quite well.

Marcus Marshall - Only remaining striker of the old Trinity. Seems to already be in decline aged 30.

Mickey Kenny - Last season's new striker did pretty well with 20 goals.

David Gemmell - New striker did poorly with only 8 goals in 36 matches.

Team of the Season - Our weaknesses are clear. DC and ST.

Historic Team - Old defender Charnock makes a re-appearance in the team now. Weird.

Next Season

Really hope we have more luck on the transfer market this coming summer. Desperately need a goalscorer that can take over where Purcell left a few seasons ago. We have plenty possession, but can't score enough goals. We also leak too much for my liking at the back, but I think I'll try the old pair of Kerr-Cowen and see how it goes, unless I find better DCs on the market. Goal is still playoff and hopefully promotion, but we can't achieve that with our current team.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2019/20

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 2,320
    
  • Lowest: 528
    
  • Average: 1,493
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 0-4
    
  • Highest Score: 4-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 3
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 10
    
  • Without Winning: 5
    
  • Without Conceding: 3
    
  • Without Scoring: 2
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 20 - Mickey Kenny
    
  • League Goals: 20 - Mickey Kenny
    
  • Most Assists: 10 - Alan Rioch
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.47 - Alan Rioch
    
  • Most MoM: 8 - Mickey Kenny
    
  • Player of the Year: Alan Rioch
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 11,750 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 30,000
    
  • Balance (End): -175,000 (150,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2019/20

England

1. Aston Villa (First time Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal don't win)
   
2. Man City
   
3. Chelsea
   
4. Arsenal
   
5. Liverpool
   
6. Man Utd
   

Italy

1. AC Milan
   
2. Lazio
   
3. Juventus
   
4. Udinese
   
5. Inter
   
6. Genoa
   

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Sevilla
   
3. Real Madrid
   
4. Atletico Madrid
   
5. Valencia
   
6. Sporting
   

Champions Cup

AC Milan - Chelsea 3-1

EURO Cup

Sporting CP - Udinese e2-1

[Pangaea]

A couple of solid seasons in League Two Seems like you're only a couple of players off being in contention for the playoffs/promotion.

Think that is correct. We are really missing the firepower and genius of Purcell up front, especially now when Davies is gone too, and Marshall is going downhill. Defence is a worry too, but the main problem is lack of goals and penetration in the final third.

Should be said I'm loving this stumbling block though. Too many saves in the past have been a steady march up the divisions. It's actually great to be stuck and struggle to find players that can improve the team, or getting such players when found. I've bid for a fair few the last few seasons, but I can't compete with wages of other League Two clubs (most of the time), and certainly not League 1 or Championship sides. We have the lowest average attendance in the league by quite some distance, and that has ripple effects throughout the whole operations of the club.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Keep knocking on the door and it will soon open.

[Pangaea]

Have had two tough decisions to make.

Tom Rigby was brought in this summer to compete with Andy Pritchard on the left wing. Pritchard happened to be playing most since he was doing well and Rigby was in poor morale, but both are quite even and it was nice to have two good options for injuries and fatigue. Then Morton accepted my assumed ridiculous negotiation of their offer for Rigby. I said 50,000 up front and 50,000 over 12 months and they agreed. Being 250,000 in the red I didn't have many options tbh, and I was somewhat surprised the chairman didn't make it for me. Wanted him to stick around for the future as he's only 23 years old, but in the end I accepted the offer and off he went.

It was become clearer and clearer Marshall didn't quite cope any more, despite being only 31. I always get attached to my players and want them to retire at the club, but since we're losing 50,000 a month wages had to be saved somewhere.... A fax was sent out to various clubs, and Crawley came back with a 6K offer. He still looks pretty good but I've noticed his physical attributes are in decline so it's just a matter of time. Still, bit miffed to see him performing well in Crawley now :/

That's all three great strikers from a few seasons ago gone. An era is over

[Deisler26]

Those were some good deals tbf. Good luck this season!

[Pangaea]

They were, especially for Rigby. Couldn't in good conscience turn it down, even if I wanted him to stay. Was expecting teams to get Marshall on a Bosman instead, but looks like Crawley needed a striker ASAP.

Btw, I have a new striker now with something like 3 jumping so pooh in the air. But he keeps having (and losing) 10-20 headers a game. Do players still pump balls up to low strikers in FM11, no matter how often you try to tell them not to? Suppose it could be more due to the heading tennis style of the match engine, but slightly annoyed to see him in so many headers each game as it seriously detracts from his rating and general play.

[Deisler26]

They were, especially for Rigby. Couldn't in good conscience turn it down, even if I wanted him to stay. Was expecting teams to get Marshall on a Bosman instead, but looks like Crawley needed a striker ASAP.

Btw, I have a new striker now with something like 3 jumping so pooh in the air. But he keeps having (and losing) 10-20 headers a game. Do players still pump balls up to low strikers in FM11, no matter how often you try to tell them not to? Suppose it could be more due to the heading tennis style of the match engine, but slightly annoyed to see him in so many headers each game as it seriously detracts from his rating and general play.

I don't have that, but then I have low tempo, control, pass to feet and work into box. Also, if I'm winning I use retain possesion and take a breather

[Nobby_McDonald]

That's not Tom Rigby. He plays at my golf club.

[Pangaea]

2020 - European Championship

Hosts: Spain

Out in group stage: France, Switzerland, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey

Qualified

A: Italy, Croatia

B: England, Czech Republic

C: Denmark, Germany

D: Russia, Greece

Group Stage

Quarter Final

Czech Republic - Italy 2-2p

Croatia - England 1-4

Denmark - Greece 2-1

Germany - Russia 1-2

Semi Final

Italy - Russia 1-2

England - Denmark 4-1

Final

Russia - England 0-3

Knockout stage

Many surprising exits in the group stage. Big footballing nations like France, Portugal and Spain sent home early. England continues its long FM overpowering tradition and takes home another trophy. Nice to see Denmark almost going all the way again. Sometimes the real thing is stranger than whatever FM can throw together.

Leigh O'Neill, a regen playing for Man City (bought for £46M from Middlesbrough), became the top scorer with a whopping 10 goals.

[Pangaea]

2020/21 - Walton & Hersham

League Two

Board expectation: Top half finish

Media expectation: 14th

Odds: 20-1

Season tickets: 327 (up 2)

Transfers

Backup left winger Leslie is sold for 2K to Dunfermline and replaced with Tom Rigby on free from Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately he didn't last long. Morton came with a 100K offer in January, which was impossible to turn down. Michael Reeves is then brought in on free. Not as good, but will do.

Right winger Tony Hoyle is bought for 8K from Luton. This turns out to be a great buy. Same with striker Liam Thornley on a free just before the free transfer window closed in November. Finally we had found a striker able to fill the shoes of Purcell. The last member of our local Trinity is also sold. Marshall leaves to Crawley for 6K.

League

We had made a fair few signings now, but the season started as the others had finished. We are doing well, but nothing outstanding in either direction. We struggle badly to score goals, but thanks to a good defensive record we are hovering around the playoff cutoff line. A blip in form follows and halfway we are worse off than previous seasons. Then we buy Thornley. He comes on after an hour in an exciting FA Cup match and is immediately a stunning success. He scores twice and almost becomes the hero of the night. With him in the team our results improve. But it doesn't last. He is still scoring a nice amount of goals, but he can't carry the team alone. We're just not dangerous enough. Thanks to 3-1-0 the last four matches we secure a playoff spot, however. With one match left we were there, but it was mighty close. Despite a draw in the penultimate match we held onto 7th and a playoff adventure. We can thank 20th positioned Grimsby for scoring the winner against Leyton Orient in the 80th minute. Without that we would have finished just outside. Again.

Playoff

Chesterfield (H): Right winger Tony Hayle has a stormer and scores twice before the crowd has found their seat. Chesterfield come back into the gamewith a goal after half an hour. We win 2-1, but are lucky to do so. A draw would be deserved.

Chesterfield (A): A very close-fought affair again. This time Chesterfield win 2-1 after we deserved to draw them. So we go into extra-time with 3 goals each over the two legs. Draper has replaced Hoyle on the right wing. Just 5 minutes later, in the 111th minute, he storms forward and meets a fine cross on the head. GOAL! Scoring on crosses on FM10 is quite the rarity, so I was well chuffed by the whole thing. We load up the bus and head to Wembley.

Barrow (N): Talk about an anti-climax for the huge 51,000 crowd (who the hell are these people? We had under 2,000 a game). DC Lucas score on a corner (another header!) and Barrow quickly hit back on a screamer of a longshot (shockingly poor players are remarkably good at this). But after that it was all ours. We quite honestly overrun them in the last half hour of the first half and decide the match there and then. Two goals from Thornley and one from fullback Paterson makes it 4-1 to half-time. We put another in the 2nd half. Their manager was not well pleased... We win 5-1 and are promoted.

Must admit it's pretty odd to get promoted after snatching 7th spot in the last minute. But we did well in the playoffs and managed to get the max out when it was needed.

Cups

League Cup: For the first time we progress past the first round when our parent team Torquay are beaten on penalties. Premier League outfit Sheffield United give us a good humping in the 2nd round. We lost 1-4. But the match was actually even.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: No trophy this season either. League 1 Cambridge beat us 0-1 in the first round.

FA Cup: We exit early here too, but the replay match against League 2 Rushden was quite the excitement. We drew the first 1-1. Thornley made his debut in the rematch and scored twice. Annoyingly Rushden first equalised on overtime in normal time, and then again on overtime of extratime, while we were still celebrating our goal a minute before. Argh!! They then go on to beat us on pens. The buggars! Stealing Thornley's thunder like that 4-4 was quite the excitement though.

League Graph - Never really in with a proper hold of the target zone of Playoff Plus.

Transfers - Finally a great striker in Thornley.

Squad - Despite missing the first few months Thornely is our top scorer with 19 goals in 30(1) matches.

Finances - Thanks to the huge crowd in the playoff final we just about break even.

Pile o'Stats - Starting to get fed up with my DCs now.

Key Players

Scott Brown - Our main goalie now.

Lewis Wyatt - Young find on fullback.

Fraser Kerr - Only DC worth his wage.

Tony Hoyle - Great buy for 8K. Player of the Year.

Andy Pritchard - Big threat on the left wing too.

Liam Thornley - Finally a striker that can lead the line.

Team of the Season

Historic Team

Next Season

We finally made the playoffs, and got promoted in our first try. After finishing 7th it will be tough to survive in League One, so I'm hoping for some good signings this summer. Goal is to survive. We need more money and more crowds to make money without relying on cup success or playoff finals.

Other News

The board offered me a new contract again. They are pretty tight with money, but managed to increase their pitiful offer to 750 a week.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation