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

Nobby_McDonald · December 7, 2011

Abramovich can't buy the Champions League so he brought the World Cup instead.

Raware · December 8, 2011

A fine season of consolidation in your first season in the Championship. Looking back on your career so far, it's usually been a couple of consolidation seasons before you've made a push for promotion. Do you think you're able to make a push for another promotion next season?

CityAndColour · December 8, 2011

Great, steady rise. I always feel a bit of pride when one of your prospects goes to a higher league and does well, even though you always think what could have been.

Pangaea · December 8, 2011

2026/27 - Walton & Hersham

Championship

Board expectation: Mid-table finish

Media expectation: 16th

Odds: 80-1

Season tickets: 1360 (up 94)

12th and mid-table is a fine debut in the Championship; but I wanted better this season. To help us with that the board have us a handsome transfer kitty for the first time: 2.1 million plus an increased wage budget to 60,000 a week.

Transfers

The first thing to happen this summer, however, is that our to-step-down chairman lands us a knockout punch when a bid is faxed in for our starlet midfielder and playmaker Niall Fitzpatrick. I frantically offer him a new deal, but a few days later he accepts the West Ham contract and the chairman confirms the 2.5 million transfer. Later that very same day he is in take-over talks, and a couple weeks later he clears his desk and buggers off. I was not well pleased. Was thinking about handing him the captain's armband, and then this happens. He had a neet little career here though.

Nothing to do but to brush off the disappointment and call a meeting with the scouts. Being able to scout all over Europe now, we locate a few targets. Jozef Vyskoc comes from Elfsborg to replace Fitzpatrick as playmaker (forgot the screenie). Neil Garrick comes from West Ham to provide some experience and grit in midfield. Tamas Takacs arrives as talented trainee up front. The best find is a local one, however. Striker Robert Martin is picked up on a free, and will prove to be a crucial asset in the "goals for" column.

Some players leave too. In addition to Fitzpatrick, the most important ones are old servant Alan Rioch heading off to Derby for free, and talented goalie Jamie Puncheon off to West Ham for 1.3 million. Striker Thornley has been less than impressive lately, and is taxied off to Stockport for 230K.

League Cup: We go a couple steps further in the League Cup this season, but then PL Leeds beat us on pens after a 1-1 draw in the 3rd round.

FA Cup: Not such luck in the FA Cup. Last year's Championship winner Queens Park Rangers beat us 2-3 in a close match at Stompond Lane in the 3rd round. We almost make a late comeback, but it wasn't to be.

League

The start of the league campaign leaves me cautiously optimistic. We win the first five, lose the next two, and then win 7 and draw 2 of the next 9 matches -- meaning that after 16 matches we sit in 2nd place with a record of 12-2-2. New signing Robert Martin is scoring for fun, almost a goal a game, and I am envisioning Premier League football at 6,500 capacity Stompond Lane next season.

Time to teach these wanna-bes some manners, West Ham say. They play us off the park and lead 4-0 at half-time, which is also the final result. Only consolation is that Fitzpatrick only comes on after 64 minutes so at least he isn't the maestro behind our heavy defeat. Unfortunately the defeat takes the wind out of our sails. What follows is 1 win in 17 matches (16 of them in the league). 10 points in those 16 matches quickly end any hope of a promotion push. But thanks to our great start we "only" slide down to mid-table instead of the relegation zone. Half-way into the season, early in the horrid run, we still sit pretty in the playoff zone.

In an attempt to rectify the crooked ship I change the tactics and go about matches more cautiously. This leads to some boring draws at the end of our win-less streak, and in early February we win 3 on the trot. Finally some joy in the dressing room again. The final 10 matches see us draw 7, win 2 and only lose 1. Not a lot of points, but enough to stear us into 10th place in the league. The final away match, against Crystal Palace, was of the exciting type, however. We drew them 4-4 after scoring the final equaliser 5 minutes into added time.

Despite the bad run mid-way through (again!), we are actually only 5 points behind the last playoff spot. So if we can avoid such a bad run next season I am hopeful we can get into the mix. Overall there is also improvement as we got 70 points now and 63 last seson. We also move up two spots from 12th to 10th.

League Fixtures (I've added some FM11-ish dots to make it easier to spot the runs of good and bad form)

League Graph: Good start but slow decline towards mid-table

(the position numbers to the left are mucked up; do anybody know if it's fixable?? It's become like this for all 24-team divisions)

Squad - Right midfield is the obvious problem, but with 6 goals and 10 assists between Hoyle and Tidswell I'm not too concerned. Reid and new signing Martin doing the deeds up front.

Finances - "Only" 200K profit as most of the 2.5M forced sale of Fitzpatrick comes in packets over 48 months. There is also a 35% of the profit clause which may prove useful in the future as his value has gone up. Bank balance is quite healthy with almost 3 million.

Pile o'Stats - Have redone the stats page so the extra fluff is visible now. One thing I can (still) take from this is that my wingers run an awful lot. It's not strange they often have to be subbed and rotated.

Key Players

Alan Jones (GK) - Has taken over as the main goalie this season.

Lewis Wyatt (D RL) - Closing in on the club's record of most appearances. Solid as always.

John Gaffney (D RLC) - Our best central defender. Can also pitch in on either fullback when needed.

Jozef Vyskoc (M C) - Not the success I had hoped, but did provide 2 goals and 7 assists. Hope he improves next season.

Matthew Stansfield (DM, AM LC) - Very dangerous from left wing. Unfortunately he wants away.

Leon Tidswell (AM R) - Coaches don't rate him, but he provided us with 4 goals and 8 assists so I'm not complaining.

Stewart Reid (AM/F C) - Mostly playing as supporting striker now, but still provides the goods.

Robert Martin (AM/F C) - A fantastic find. 24 goals from 41 starts. Could easily play in the PL I reckon.

Team of the Season - No complaints here, apart from the usual position mixup of my defensive and offensive midfielder.

Historic Best Eleven - Sherwood makes the bench. Doubt it will last long.

Summary and Other News

This was a season of three halves. First section was great, second was horrible, and the third was somewhere in between. So no big surprise we finished mid-table. We still picked up some merits though. Stansfield makes left wing of Championship Team of the Year (or Players' Select as the game calls it), and Robert Martin sits down on its bench. Robert Martin is also deemed the signing of the season. That's nice.

The facilities are upgraded again, and are now starting to look decent. Still get dross recruited each year, but one guy had 2 stars at least. Needless to say the 6,500 capacity stadium is starting to hold us back now, but no sign of improvement yet. All I know is that Stompond Lane unfortunately cannot be expanded. The board signed new main kit and kit sponsorship agreements, but it's hardly a big hike in our budget. Not impressed with the length either (6 years).

The board offered me a new contract, as usual one year before the current one expires. I negotiated it down to a 2 year extension, as I'm getting a little worried it may be tough to take this club any further given the financial constraints. I make 2,000 a week now, which is double what the previous one inserted into the beer budget.

Next Season

This season was a bit of a bummer given our splendid start. But we did improve over last year and that's the main thing. Hopefully we can move into the playoff zone next season. That's the goal anyway.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url][/b]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url][/b]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url][/b]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url][/b]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url][/b]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url][/b]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url][/b]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url][/b]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url][/b]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2024-25/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2024/25[/url][/b]  League One               2nd P   5th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Winners. New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2025-26/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2025/26[/url][/b]  Championship            12th     5th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2026-27/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2026/27[/url][/b]  Championship            10th     3rd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract. New chairman (internal).

P = Promotion, R = Relegation

Deisler26 · December 8, 2011

Solid second season in the Championship, Playoffs next year?

Pangaea · December 9, 2011

Club Records 2026/27

Attendances
- Highest: 6,500 (full)
- Lowest: 5,411
- Average: 6,380
[*]Results
- Biggest Win: 4-1
- Biggest Loss: 0-4
- Highest Score: 4-4
[*]Sequences
- Won in Row: 7
- Lost in Row: 3
- Without Losing: 9
- Without Winning: 12
- Without Conceding: 3
- Without Scoring: 3
[*]Players
- Top Goalscorer: 24 - Robert Martin
- League Goals: 24 - Robert Martin
- Most Assists: 10 - Robert Martin
- Highest Rating: 7.32 - Robert Martin
- Most MoM: 13 - Robert Martin
- Player of the Year: Robert Martin
[*]Finances
- Wage Budget: 60,000 p/w
- Transfer Budget: 2,100,000
- Profit (Season): 200,000
- Balance (End): 2,970,000 (40,000 loan)

Roll of Honour 2026/27

English Premier Division

Chelsea | 25-9-4 | 84 pts

Italian Serie A

Genoa | 29-7-2 | 94 pts

Spanish La Liga

Real Madrid | 28-6-4 | 90 pts

Champions Cup

AC Milan | Barcelona 0 - 2 AC Milan

EURO Cup

Lyon | Schalke 1 - 2 Lyon

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rioch, Alan             MC              SCO     432      15      81      40
Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     417      14       9      10
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     342       1      12       9
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     336       1      39      11
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     298       0       3       8
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     296      13       3       5
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     244      32      52      27
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0       0       5
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     168      51      36      17
Grant, Garry            D R             SCO     162       1       6       4
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     156      88      35      33
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WB L      ENG     153       2       4       3
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Tidswell, Leon          AM R            ENG     139      14      17       8
McNally, Richard        DM, M C         IRL     138       4      19       1
Joyce, Chris            D C             ENG     136       2       1       1
Fitzpatrick, Niall      AM C            IRL     135      11      35       8
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Gaffney, John           D RLC           IRL     120       3       0       2
Reeves, Michael         M L             ENG     120      10      12       6
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Stansfield, Matthew     DM, AM LC       ENG     115      18      15       8
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     156      88      35      33
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     168      51      36      17
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     244      32      52      27
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Martin, Robert          AM/F C          ENG      43      24      10      13
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9

Roll of Honour

[b]England Italy Spain Champions Cup EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10 Arsenal Lazio Barcelona Barcelona Arsenal
2010/11 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid At. Madrid
2011/12 Man Utd Juventus Barcelona Man Utd Tottenham
2012/13 Arsenal Genoa Barcelona R. Madrid AC Milan
2013/14 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid AS Monaco
2014/15 Man City Genoa Barcelona At. Madrid Man City
2015/16 Chelsea AC Milan Barcelona Juventus AC Milan
2016/17 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Bordeaux
2017/18 Man City Genoa At. Madrid Chelsea AC Milan
2018/19 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Man Utd
2019/20 Aston Villa AC Milan Barcelona AC Milan Sporting CP
2020/21 Aston Villa Juventus Barcelona Barcelona Man Utd
2021/22 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Man City FC Bayern
2022/23 Man City Lazio R. Madrid AC Milan Werder Bremen
2023/24 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Man City Genoa
2024/25 Arsenal AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Inter
2025/26 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Aston Villa
2026/27 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid AC Milan Lyon

Pangaea · December 9, 2011

Abramovich can't buy the Champions League so he brought the World Cup instead.

It would look good above the fire place

A fine season of consolidation in your first season in the Championship. Looking back on your career so far, it's usually been a couple of consolidation seasons before you've made a push for promotion. Do you think you're able to make a push for another promotion next season?

Couldn't make it this season, so it looks like the usual pattern re-emerges again. Hopefully we can improve next season and prolong the season.

Great, steady rise. I always feel a bit of pride when one of your prospects goes to a higher league and does well, even though you always think what could have been.

Thanks. It is nice that he is doing well elsewhere, but I can't help thinking what a beast like this would do for our promotion chances...

We do have a 25% of next transfer fee cut though, so I am (not-so) quietly hoping somebody buys him. Wouldn't hurt our chances for a new stadium.

Solid second season in the Championship, Playoffs next year?

Thanks. I hope we make it next year. It's quite wonderful to not get handed promotions on a silver platter, but going up would do wonders for our finances -- even if we are pushed right back down.

Pangaea · December 9, 2011

2027/28 - Walton & Hersham

Championship

Board expectation: Mid-table finish

Media expectation: 15th

Odds: 40-1

Season tickets: 1366 (up 6)

In our hunt for promotion I hoped the new chairman wasn't too stringy with money, as the old bloke had a pretty loose purse given our income. Perhaps he wanted us to move upwards and onwards too, cause he gave us a transfer kitty of 2.9 million and a wage budget of 71,000 a week. That's a fine increase on both counts.

Transfers

Priority one had been clear for a while. If we are to take the next step we need to shore up defence. We scouted high and low for suitable recruitments. Happiness all around the office when a scout calls me up and says he's found a cracking player in Partizan Beograd named Nicklas Flindt. Only one problem: they want a shedload for him. The young Dane looked stunning though, so I forked out the 4.5 million they wanted. Maybe a bit much with a turnover of 8 million last season? They get half a million if we get promoted and most of the money is wired across over the next 48 months.

The next problem was right midfield. Tidswell did fine last season but Hoyle did not, and we needed an improvement here. Finally my Norwegian connections were bearing fruits. Our Scandie scout located a fellow Norwegian in Man Utd. He wasn't to make the grade, but they wanted 700K for him. Fine. Vegard Monsen is young and talented.

Matthew Stansfield requested a transfer again, but as my only left winger I had to turn him down. The vultures have locked on to his scent though.

Competitions

League Cup: This will be quite the adventure for us. West Ham go down 4-1 in the 3rd round, Coventry 1-0 in the 4th and Fulham 2-1 in the Quarters. Semi final draw is enticing... Man Utd isn't the force they once were, but it's still a tough nut to crack. We welcome them at Stompond Lane first, and manage to hold them to 1-1. No mistake about who's the boss in the second leg, however, as Man Utd beat us 0-3 and 1-4 on aggregate. The final is a re-match of last year's final between Man Utd and Man City. Man Utd surprisingly win again (on pens). Backway into the EURO Cup again for them. Eherm....

FA Cup: Looked like cups were going to be our thing this season. We progress nicely in the FA Cup too. Then we fall to Luton 0-1 in the 5th round. They go on to win League 1 at a canter, but we should still have beaten them I think.

League

Success in the cups, but what about the league? We have gotten into a habit of starting well lately, and we do this season too. 6 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in the first nine matches puts us in a respectable playoff spot just behind direct promotion. Robert Martin is providing the goods up front, and new signing Flindt has tightened up the defence, and even scored the odd goal himself. It all looks good.

One win in ten matches quickly changes that. I'm starting to wonder if we have a lot of betting men in the team. It's uncanny how good starts are replaced with crap form. Shortly before the Xmas lamb tilts its head for the last time (yes, we eat lamb here, yummy) we've sagged down to 13th. We're not far off the pace though, so the promotion hope can still be rescued. To help us with that, young Belgian Geert Benker is bought for 900K in January. We're buying ourselves into the poor house at this rate.

Mostly in naive hope the tactics is tinkered with too. I'm not sure if it's related, but we find good form over the next matches, winning four of five (a heavy 0-4 loss too). Then we pick up just two points in five games. But after that we start to play some pretty good football and rack up the wins. The small tactical changes have given us a lot more possession. Although we often don't do much useful with the ball, at least the opposition can't score. From mid-January to well into March we only lose 1 of 11 league matches, and win 7 of them.

We have a tough fixture composition, however, and face 3 promotion contenders in Stoke, Preston and Huddersfield. We lose to Stoke away and Preston at home, but manage a 0-0 draw at Huddersfield. Despite this we have a tiny playoff chance with 3 matches to go - particularly because they are "should win" games against poor opposition in Watford, Birmingham and Notts County. We need to win all three though. We do our job while Stoke and Sheffield United lose to promotion rivals further up-table. Ahead of the last match anything can happen. Our goal difference is inferior, however, so we need to win while both Sheff Utd and Stoke don't.

Last round could be more beneficial to us, but at least we have a chance. We play Notts County with nothing to play for on 20th. You'd think the players were really up for it. We even had Robert Martin back from injury. We had lots of possession, but the team simply wasn't up to the task of breaking through. In a last desperate attempt to snatch the win from the fists of defeat we pumped everybody forward. Two minutes before time Notts County scores on a corner. 0-1. Crap. A win wouldn't have mattered though, as Sheff Utd and Stoke did their job. Stoke grabbed the last playoff spot. They should have been fighting for direct promotion, but entered administration in March and were docked 10 points. Not strange with a wage structure like this. Crikey! Stoke were docked points last season too, but it didn't affect their relegation from the Premier League as they were well off the pace.

Preston finished in menacing form, going 28 games without getting beaten and thus taking a new Championship record.

We are short of the playoff again, but getting closer.

League Fixtures: A good start and finish, and poor middle. Just as last season, although not as marked periods as then.

League Graph: Bit of a bumper ride here and there, but I'm content with the finish.

Squad - Main holes from last season were filled, but a new one is emerging up front. Sherwood is getting old and is in decline, and Reid isn't the striker he once was. Central midfield could be improved too.

Finances - Have to admit splashing so much money on a new central defender was probably a mistake. He cost too much, and we're losing money quite heavily due to it. We are simply too small to make such big transfers. Money from the away Man Utd encounter helped though. Pre-match and post-match finances.

Pile o'Stats - One thing you can take from this is that it's pretty clear why goalie Scott Brown has regained his spot again. We concede a lot less with him between the sticks. He makes a crazy amount of great saves too, and has single-handedly gotten us many a point over the course of the season.

Key Players

Scott Brown (GK) - Back in goal and playing very well.

Lewis Wyatt (D RL) - Solid as ever on left fullback.

Miroslav Strnad (D RLC) - New signing on right fullback. Not as good as Wyatt, but doing well.

Nicklas Flindt (D RC) - Very good central defender. Hope he will stay for many, many years.

Matthew Stansfield (DM, AM LC) - Was injured for two months, but did very good while fit.

Vegard Monsen (AM RC, ST) - New signing on right wing doing pretty well, with more room for improvement. Promising.

Robert Martin (AM/F C) - Our best striker, hands down. 29 goals this season.

Tamas Takacs (ST) - Behind 20 goals in 24 starts so pretty good.

Worthy to mention Geert Benker too, who filled in on left wing when Stansfield was injured, and far surpassed expectations.

Team of the Season - Perhaps telling of so-called playmaker Vyskoc that two DMs make the team and he doesn't. He is seriously card-happy though. 22 yellows and 2 red in 38 starts.

Historic Best Eleven - Stansfield and Gaffney makes the team. Both are quality players and deserve it.

Summary and Other News

Had big hopes for this season, so can't help feeling a little disappointed. That said, the run-in was certainly promising so if we can take that form into next season and sustain it for more than 10-15 matches for once, we should be up there again next May. There seems to be a pattern emerging that may lend support. 12th, 10th, 8th. 6th and playoff next season?

Some laudits were received for our players, as Martin makes the Championship Players' Select.

West Ham got relegated from the Premier League this season, and reacted with quite some panic. With only token exceptions, every player was put on the transfer list for hiked up prices, including former Waltonian Niall Fitzpatrick. The great news is that Lazio made a bid and will sign him next summer. Due to a transfer clause we will make a hefty sum of money from this; almost 3 million.

Our facilities were upgraded again and now look like this. The board have agreed to ugprade them again over the summer, so I hope we will get the odd proper youth talent soon.

In the late stages of the season I managed my 1,000th game, all which have been for Walton & Hersham. We have gone quite the way together My profile and history looked like this on the day of rememberance. Thankfully the players did me a favour by winning the landmark game 1-0.

The board offered me new contract again. The press have linked me with some 15-20 jobs a season lately, mostly from the 2nd tiers in England, Italy or Spain, so when the board only wanted to increase the weekly wage by £200 I rejected their offer.

Not sure what will happen at the end of next season, but I'm lying if I say I'm not looking around. Have started to realise it will be difficult to take this club much further. Even if we do get promoted to the Premier League it will be pretty hard to sign and hold onto the players we need to survive and thrive there due to our small stadium (check the wages in the squad screen). So if the right offers come up it will be tempting to consider it.

In the meantime I was offered and have accepted the England U20 job. There is naff all to do really, but it's a way to spread my wings a little. Hopefully we can qualify for the 2029 U20 World Cup. Not sure how that works as there don't seem to be qualifying matches. Notice who is managing England now???

Next Season

Previously we have spent four seasons in both League Two and League One before we got promoted, so hopefully that will be the case in the Championship too. Playoff is the first goal, and if we make that the aim is of course to get promoted. If we take our end-of-season form into the new one and maintain it we should have a fighting chance.

Will have to cut drastically down on transfer dealings, even if the board give me a hefty sum to play with. It's just not good for the club's finances. Any buys will be paid over 12 months max now, as these 48 month deals just muck us up long-term if I'm not careful.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url][/b]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url][/b]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url][/b]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url][/b]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url][/b]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url][/b]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url][/b]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url][/b]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url][/b]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2024-25/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2024/25[/url][/b]  League One               2nd P   5th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Winners. New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2025-26/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2025/26[/url][/b]  Championship            12th     5th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2026-27/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2026/27[/url][/b]  Championship            10th     3rd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract. New chairman (internal).
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2027-28/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"][b]2027/28[/b][/url]  Championship             8th     5th Rnd    Semi Final   


P = Promotion, R = Relegation

Pangaea · December 9, 2011

Club Records 2027/28

Attendances
- Highest: 6,500 (full)
- Lowest: 4,169
- Average: 6,250
[*]Results
- Biggest Win: 4-1
- Biggest Loss: 0-4
- Highest Score: 4-4
[*]Sequences
- Won in Row: 4
- Lost in Row: 2
- Without Losing: 5
- Without Winning: 5
- Without Conceding: 3
- Without Scoring: 2
[*]Players
- Top Goalscorer: 29 - Robert Martin
- League Goals: 21 - Robert Martin
- Most Assists: 16 - Robert Martin
- Highest Rating: 7.61 - Robert Martin
- Most MoM: 14 - Robert Martin
- Player of the Year: Robert Martin
[*]Finances
- Wage Budget: 71,000 p/w
- Transfer Budget: 2,900,000
- Profit (Season): (-)1,940,000
- Balance (End): 1,030,000 (24,000 loan)

Roll of Honour 2027/28

English Premier Division

Chelsea | 26-8-4 | 86 pts

Italian Serie A

Genoa | 25-11-2 | 86 pts

Spanish La Liga

Real Madrid | 30-1-7 | 91 pts

Champions Cup

Man City | Man City 3 - 2 AC Milan

EURO Cup

Panathinaikos | Panathinaikos 2 - 1 Villareal

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rioch, Alan             MC              SCO     432      15      81      40
Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     417      14       9      10
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     390       1      15      13
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     336       1      39      11
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     334       0       3       9
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     328      13       5       5
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     258      32      53      27
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0       0       5
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     201      55      40      18
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     190      96      36      34
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Tidswell, Leon          AM R            ENG     175      20      22       9
McNally, Richard        DM, M C         IRL     170       4      27       1
Gaffney, John           D RLC           IRL     168       4       2       3
Grant, Garry            D R             SCO     162       1       6       4
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WB L      ENG     153       2       4       3
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Stansfield, Matthew     DM, AM LC       ENG     148      26      17      12
Joyce, Chris            D C             ENG     146       2       1       1
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Fitzpatrick, Niall      AM C            IRL     135      11      35       8
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Reeves, Michael         M L             ENG     120      10      12       6
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     190      96      36      34
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     201      55      40      18
Martin, Robert          AM/F C          ENG      96      53      26      27
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     258      32      53      27
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Stansfield, Matthew     DM, AM LC       ENG     148      26      17      12
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9
Tidswell, Leon          AM R            ENG     175      20      22       9

Roll of Honour

[b]England Italy Spain Champions Cup EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10 Arsenal Lazio Barcelona Barcelona Arsenal
2010/11 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid At. Madrid
2011/12 Man Utd Juventus Barcelona Man Utd Tottenham
2012/13 Arsenal Genoa Barcelona R. Madrid AC Milan
2013/14 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid AS Monaco
2014/15 Man City Genoa Barcelona At. Madrid Man City
2015/16 Chelsea AC Milan Barcelona Juventus AC Milan
2016/17 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Bordeaux
2017/18 Man City Genoa At. Madrid Chelsea AC Milan
2018/19 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Man Utd
2019/20 Aston Villa AC Milan Barcelona AC Milan Sporting CP
2020/21 Aston Villa Juventus Barcelona Barcelona Man Utd
2021/22 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Man City FC Bayern
2022/23 Man City Lazio R. Madrid AC Milan Werder Bremen
2023/24 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Man City Genoa
2024/25 Arsenal AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Inter
2025/26 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Aston Villa
2026/27 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid AC Milan Lyon
2027/28 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid Man City Panathinaikos

AK22 · December 9, 2011

Inching ever closer to the playoffs, could sneak in there next season :thup:

Excellent cup runs too, semi-finalists of the Carling Cup is a huge achievement for a club of this stature.

Pangaea · December 9, 2011

Hopefully we can go that extra little stretch next season and sneak into the playoff. If we avoid such a run of poor form as we've had these three seasons I think we stand a good chance.

The cup run was good and shows what we are capable of on our day, but it also affected our league form. Good money from the United match in particular, but I'd rather take promotion next season than another good cup run.

Trying to work some magic in the transfer market now, but it's so difficult when we can't offer good wages. A couple of guys with excellent potential have changed hands in the 10K a week region. Unfortunately that is way out of our reach

Raware · December 10, 2011

Excellent progress in the Championship. 12th, 10th, 8th...surely 6th is next? There's some big clubs in that league which will make it tough to get out of not to mention who's coming down too?

deltablue · December 10, 2011

Indeed, getting out would be a great achievement.

Pangaea · December 10, 2011

Excellent progress in the Championship. 12th, 10th, 8th...surely 6th is next? There's some big clubs in that league which will make it tough to get out of not to mention who's coming down too?

Indeed, getting out would be a great achievement.

There are many good teams, and it's hard to dislodge the former PL teams. Decent start to the season so far. Hope we can maintain it longer than in previous seasons. Currently 6th and playoff....

New signing Henn has gotten a decent start. Notice the U21 too. Got a 10.0 for that outing. Seen that before, but very rarely.

Needless to say I'm happy with that piece of business, especially as Reid is showing signs of decline and wasn't very good last season either. Hopefully this lad can take over for him. According to coaches there isn't a lot of room for improvement, but reckon he can improve a little still.

Small worry is that our domestic player percentage is down to 52% now. I prefer to have a solid base of British players, but with our finances and wage budget they are out of our range almost without exception. So Eastern Europe and Scandinavia have been good to us so far.

Pangaea · December 10, 2011

Small Update

After a good start, this season has really frustrated me

Hoping we could finally make a push for the playoffs and promotion, we have entered the seemingly obligatory horrible run of form. 4 straight losses and 7 without a win. Currently sitting 15th in the table, a third into the season. Even Martin is playing badly, it's like he has completely turned off. Suppose there is a good chance my tactics are terrible since I know more about decorating flowers than tactics (and I know very little about flowers too). But the finances are stifling us something terrible. From next season core players need their contracts extended, and without a promotion and thus better finances I can't see that happening. Martin's run out in 2030 and apparently we don't have the funds to offer him a new one (or so he says when I try).

Then this happened.

These have come flying at me from all directions at times, but it's only the second this season. Chievo looks like a fine place with a decent economy and facilities, so for once I said I was interested. No idea what will happen next as I've never done it before. Have always been a pathological one-clubber. But the constraints are really getting on my tits now so maybe it's a good sign I need to move on. If nothing happens I'll try to stay out the season and see what happens then, as my contract runs out by the end of this season. Cheeky board didn't give me a decent wage increase so I rejected the offer this summer (also for the first time).

What do you think guys?

Nobby_McDonald · December 11, 2011

I think you're making great progress.

CityAndColour · December 11, 2011

I'm probably not the right person to ask as I love one club saves, but you've taken the club from the 8th tier and you're one promotion off the Premiership. If that was me I wouldn't even take the Barcelona job. Plus if you do leave and then don't feel an attachment to Chievo, it'll ruin the game for you.

Raware · December 11, 2011

A tough decision :scratches head:. I'm tending to lean towards what Nobby and CityAndColour said. You've made great progress so far, if you leave you may regret it and miss what you've created. But then again...I can see your understanding of findng a move to Chievo appealing . I always go with my gut.

Pangaea · December 11, 2011

I think you're making great progress.

I'm probably not the right person to ask as I love one club saves, but you've taken the club from the 8th tier and you're one promotion off the Premiership. If that was me I wouldn't even take the Barcelona job. Plus if you do leave and then don't feel an attachment to Chievo, it'll ruin the game for you.

A tough decision :scratches head:. I'm tending to lean towards what Nobby and CityAndColour said. You've made great progress so far, if you leave you may regret it and miss what you've created. But then again...I can see your understanding of findng a move to Chievo appealing . I always go with my gut.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

Chievo never offered me the job, so there was no tough decision to make in the end.

Still time to rescue the season, but more likely it's a complete write-off. Then it's up to the board at the end, I suppose, whether they offer me a decent deal or not. Really want to take this team to the PL and see how that may affect our financial muscle, but it has also become terribly frustrating to not really get anywhere these last few seasons. I do love to see a club develop, though, and Walton & Hersham sure have come a long way from Tier 8 football in the Isthmian League First Division South.

Hopefully my love for them will re-kindle. PL income and hopefully a new stadium would do wonders for our long-term chances of growing into a proper top-flight side.

Deisler26 · December 11, 2011

Good luck with the season! I'm crossing my fingers for the playoffs! And maybe I'm biased, but I would have taken the Chievo job!

Pangaea · December 11, 2011

Hehe, you've been there before?

deltablue · December 11, 2011

Because of his playing in Italy. I wouldnt have gone myself.

Nobby_McDonald · December 11, 2011

The Chievo board made the right decision for you.

Pangaea · December 12, 2011

Because of his playing in Italy. I wouldnt have gone myself.

Only three nations are loaded, England, Italy and Spain. If I were to leave England I would prefer Italy over Spain I think. Have gotten both Real Madrid and (particularly) Barcelona so far up my throat I don't think I would stomach to manage in the same league, and inevitably get pounded to smithereens by them four+ times a season.

The Chievo board made the right decision for you.

They did make the right decision for me, that's for damn sure...

Pangaea · December 12, 2011

2028 - European Championship

Hosts: Greece

Group Stage

Group A

Q England

Q Germany

- Ukraine

- Russia

Group B

Q Bosnia & Herz.

Q Belgium

- Greece

- Switzerland

Group C

Q Spain

Q France

- Czech Republic

- Bulgaria

Group D

Q Portugal

Q Holland

- Italy

- Ireland

Greece crash out in front of their own fans, and Italy have to go home early after losing out in the inevitably named group of death with Portugal, Holland, Italy and Ireland. Ireland couldn't have been best pleased with that draw either...

Group stage

Quarter Final

Belgium 0 - 1 England

Germany 3 - 0 Bosnia & Herz.

Spain 2 - 3e Holland

Portugal e3 - 1 France

Semi Final

England 0 - 2 Portugal

Germany 0 - 3 Holland

Final

Portugal 5 - 3 Holland

Knockout stage

That really was a final to remember! Holland takes the lead in the 15th minute, only to see it cancelled out right from kickoff. No more goals before half-time, but in the second half both teams were storming forward and scored a handful each. Portugal decided the final with 3 goals in 5 lethal minutes from the 53rd to 58th minute. 4-1 was more than Holland could make up for. But they did make it 2-4 for some excitement and hope. A few minutes before time Portugal scored their fifth for the day, probably on a counter as Holland were chasing goals. Holland got another consolation goal in the 90th. Portugal's captain Silvio Rodrigues had a decent game with a perfect 10.0 rating.

This is the first major trophy for Portugal. They were runners up in the Euro Championship in 2004 (when boring Greece won it), and came third in the World Cup in 1966, with that time's superstar Eusebio on the team and scoring for fun. As nobody in England will make us forget, England won it that time.

EdSB · December 12, 2011

Just started reading this - love it! I would definitely have to say that, with regards to the Chievo job, I have taken the offer in situations like this a couple of times and always tend to regret it, unless it was always my intention to move on. You've achieved so much, you can smell the rarefied air the Prem!

Pangaea · December 13, 2011

Just started reading this - love it! I would definitely have to say that, with regards to the Chievo job, I have taken the offer in situations like this a couple of times and always tend to regret it, unless it was always my intention to move on. You've achieved so much, you can smell the rarefied air the Prem!

Thanks, always a pleasure to hear people like what they're reading

Am glad Chievo never offered me the job because there is a good chance I would have taken it at the time. As you say I have come a long way with this team so I'm sure it would have been a mistake I would have regretted. Have voluntarily changed teams a couple of times in earlier careers, and it usually isn't a good move tbh. Tend to lose the affection for the save as I can never get properly into a new team that isn't "mine". Will just have to try and work through the difficulties on the western outskirts of London.

Pangaea · December 13, 2011

2028/29 - Walton & Hersham

Championship

Board expectation: Top half finish

Media expectation: 12th

Odds: 40-1

Season tickets: 1467 (up 101)

Finances dwindled last season, but the season itself was promising which perhaps explains why the chairman still gave us a fair deal to play around with in the transfer market. He gave us a 1.5 million transfer kitty and increased wages from 71,000 to 75,000 a week.

Transfers

Already last season my scouts had found a few viable targets on the continent, so the transfers of fullback Robert Dolezal for a measly 65K compensation and promising central defender Johan Mettlen for 800K were already set to arrive on July 1st. As Sherwood was over the hill (he left for nothing) and Reid not far off, we needed new people up front. 1.4M for Sergei Henn is a lot for a club in our financial position, but I hope it will be well worth it. He has basically everything I want in a striker, as I prefer them quite accomplished, so I hope he will do well. Vyskoc hadn't managed to fill Fitzpatrick's big shoes as the creator in midfield, but I hope Bruno Figueira from Portugal can do the job. In January our parent club Sevilla sent us a striker on loan too. Plenty of potential (good PL) but I mostly preferred to match Henn instead of Jesus Maria.

With no notable transfers out, we once again lost money in the market - over 3 million. The sale of Fitzpatrick was therefore great news for us. This brough in 2.7 million to a pretty empty club safe.

Competitions

League Cup: We got some easy draws against L1 Barnet and L2 Barrow. Blackburn popped out of the hat in the 3rd round. We always do well against them, and they were beaten 3-0 in their own back yard. Stoke came up in the fourth round, and they neatly ended our campaign in a 0-1 loss. Stoke had another fantastic League Cup run, and were undeservedly beaten on penalties by Man City in the semi final, who went on to win the trophy for the first time in their three League Cup finals on the trot.

FA Cup: Blackburn were again defeated on their own turf, before we only narrowly managed to beat BSP side Northampton 3-2 on ours. High-flying Southampton ended our dreams of fortune when they beat us 0-2 at Stompond Lane in the fifth round.

League

Last season's finish with 7 wins in the last 11 matches and the trajectory of improvements with a 12th, 10th and then 8th position promised a lot. As those who closely follow the thread will already know, however, this season resulted in more head scratching and frustration than success on the pitch. With no notable transfers out and some good guys in, there is no doubt in my mind that our squad was stronger this season. But "the football is round" and instead of making a push for promotion we slid down the table.

As is our norm now, the start promised fortunes to come with 6-2-2 after 10 games. But alas, it wasn't to persist. Only four wins in the next 21 matches quite effectively ended any hope of a playoff chasing campaign, and we were sat mid-table at the half-way line, only to drop further down as the run of poor form continued. We were so woeful that Notts County, who had not won in their first 30 Championship matches this season, came to Stompond Lane and stumped us 0-1 to record their first win of the season. Our star striker Robert Martin going 13 hours without scoring didn't help of course.

We sort of went full circle tactically this season. I started with the same possession-based style that brought us success at the backend of last season, but as results were poor and we couldn't score in a brothel void of customers I returned to "hoofball" with Martin and Reid leading the line. This, too, got us nowhere. Towards the end of the season we thus returned to a more possession-based football. I'm not going to exaggerate and say this drastically changed our fortunes and the finish promises great things for next season, but we did at least get the odd narrow win to make sure we didn't further drop down the table.

One swallow doesn't bring summer, the saying goes, but it seems wise to take a look at our logo and look brightly up at the sky and hope more swallows will follow suit soon.

League Fixtures: A good start but not much else to write home about afterwards.

League Graph: A hallmark "mid-table obscurity" season.

Squad - No particular grave holes in the team, which is a bit puzzling given the season we had. No huge stars either, which may explain why we aren't able to take that last step up to the playoff zone. The gravest news for the coming season is that Martin's contract will expire at the end of it, and despite my best efforts to renew it he won't budge. No idea what to do about that one, but selling our best striker doesn't seem like a particularly wise choice either.

Finances - We've gone from bad to worse here, and are now almost a million in the red. It's tempting to blame this on expensive transfers such as the 4.5M for Flindt, but we almost broke even due to the transfer clause that brought us 2.7M for Fitzpatrick. The issue is clearly wage costs. With a turnover of 8.1 million, I don't think our accountant would label wage costs of 6.6 million, over 80% of turnover, very healthy.

Pile o'Stats - We have conceded no less than 16 goals due to mistakes. Clearly way too many. Martin missed 2 of 3 penalties, but one of them still resulted in a goal as we got first to the rebound.

Key Players

Nicklas Flindt (D RC) - He cost a lot, but he is playing pretty well too in a grim season.

Lewis Wyatt (D RL) - No bells or whistles, but he actually does better than his more-starred fullbacks.

Richard McNally (DM, M C) - Got 12 assists from 37 matches, which I'm very happy with from central midfield.

Matthew Stansfield (DM, AM LC) - Our only left winger, who thankfully stayed fit the whole season.

Vegard Monsen (AM RC, ST) - Not a great season, but did well enough from right wing.

Robert Martin (AM/F C) - Not a great season, but even so he is quite clearly our best attacker with that amount of goals and assists.

Tamas Takacs (ST) - At 20 years old, he is starting to make a proper mark. 14 goals in 31 starts.

Team of the Season - This is a little mucked up. Martin is skewed to the left and Strnad looks like a striker for some reason. Hope it's a one-time error.

Historic Best Eleven - Martin makes the bench, which is well deserved after 68 goals in 129 appearances. Not to mention the plethora of assists and MoM.

Summary and Other News

Impossible to not be disappointed after a season like that. Last few seasons have promised so much, where we have missed playoff after a poor run in the middle of the season. Well, this season that poor run started earlier and lasted much longer. We failed the board expectations and finished one spot lower than the media predicted. Ending up 13th felt right, somehow.

Despite the disappointing season the board offered me a new contract, which I duly signed. Wanted a bigger raise than from 2000 a week to 2300, but didn't want to leave either so I didn't have a choice. Would have been better off to sign the 2200 contract last summer given the meagre increase now, but ho hey.

The board upgraded our youth and training facilities over the summer. They look pretty good now actually.

England U20

International management was just as big of a ball-ache as it has been previously. Picking players is such a pain it detracts more from the experience than it adds, in my opinion. Bloody well hope this is vastly improved in FM12. England U20 only played 3 games the last season. We beat Hungary 2-0 and Poland 3-0, before oddly playing Hungary again and this time beating them 3-0.

Two jobs became available and I applied to both. Spain U21 turned me down, but England U19 accepted the application. England U20 didn't get to play in the U20 World Cup so I saw no reason to continue there, but England U19 had a qualification campaign coming up. Wanted to play the last match, against Hungary first though, and the day before the match the "Accept Offer" button was still visible. After the match it was sadly not, maybe my assistant had pulled off a mean practical joke because apparently I had turned it down now. Or maybe the FA had looked me up. In any case, some other chap got the England U19 job, and with nothing happening for the U20 I resigned from that post.

Next Season

Despite an arguably stronger team, we took a couple of steps backwards last season. I'm just going to be cautious and say I want improvement, but not playoff. If that happens, great, but it's not an expectation given the disappointment this season. Martin's contract expiring is also a huge question mark, and if he has to be sold it will have consequences for our results.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url][/b]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url][/b]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url][/b]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url][/b]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url][/b]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url][/b]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url][/b]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url][/b]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url][/b]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url][/b]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url][/b]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url][/b]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2024-25/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2024/25[/url][/b]  League One               2nd P   5th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Winners. New contract.
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2025-26/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2025/26[/url][/b]  Championship            12th     5th Rnd     1st Rnd
[b][url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2026-27/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2026/27[/url][/b]  Championship            10th     3rd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract (2,000 p/w). New chairman (internal).
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2027-28/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"][b]2027/28[/b][/url]  Championship             8th     5th Rnd    Semi Final   
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2028-29/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"][b]2028/29[/b][/url]  Championship            13th     5th Rnd     4th Rnd     New contract (2,300 p/w).


P = Promotion, R = Relegation

Pangaea · December 13, 2011

Club Records 2028/29

Attendances
- Highest: 6,500 (full)
- Lowest: 4,632
- Average: 6,278
[*]Results
- Biggest Win: 4-1
- Biggest Loss: 2-4
- Highest Score: 2-4
[*]Sequences
- Won in Row: 4
- Lost in Row: 4
- Without Losing: 7
- Without Winning: 7
- Without Conceding: 3
- Without Scoring: 2
[*]Players
- Top Goalscorer: 15 - Robert Martin
- League Goals: 12 - Tamas Takacs
- Most Assists: 12 - Richard McNally
- Highest Rating: 7.24 - Robert Martin
- Most MoM: 10 - Robert Martin
- Player of the Year: Robert Martin
[*]Finances
- Wage Budget: 75,000 p/w
- Transfer Budget: 1,500,000
- Profit (Season): (-)1,960,000
- Balance (End): (-)780,000 (8,000 loan)

Roll of Honour 2028/29

English Premier Division

Chelsea | 23-8-7 | 77 pts

Strange season. Man City fail to qualify for the Champions Cup, and both Man Utd and Liverpool almost got relegated. Man Utd was down on 18th, but the new manager got them in better shape. Southampton and Oldham have become big household names. Chelsea win theird third title in a row, which hasn't happened since Man Utd did it in 2007-2009. Can they become the first team in English top-flight history to make it four?

Italian Serie A

Genoa | 25-6-7 | 81 pts

Genoa and AC Milan continue the sharing of titles. Genoa with 3 in a row now. Before that AC Milan had three in a row, with Genoa 2nd in all of them. AC Milan 3rd this season, but 2nd in the two previous.

Spanish La Liga

Barcelona | 27-5-6 | 86 pts

Barcelona back on top after Real Madrid claimed the title two times in a row. Before that Barcelona had three on the trot.

Champions Cup

Arsenal | Aston Villa 2 - 3e Arsenal

EURO Cup

Fulham | Sporting CP 1 - 5 Fulham

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

Lewis Wyatt has claimed to the top and become the Walton & Hersham player with most appearances. Still a few behind Rioch in league apps only though.

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     437       1      17      13
Rioch, Alan             MC              SCO     432      15      81      40
Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     417      14       9      10
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     355       0       4       9
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     336       1      39      11
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     334      13       5       5
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     258      32      53      27
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0       0       5
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     221     104      41      36
Gaffney, John           D RLC           IRL     216       5       2       3
McNally, Richard        DM, M C         IRL     207       6      39       4
Tidswell, Leon          AM R            ENG     205      25      23      11
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     201      55      40      18
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9
Stansfield, Matthew     DM, AM LC       ENG     194      30      22      15
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Grant, Garry            D R             SCO     162       1       6       4
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WB L      ENG     153       2       4       3
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Joyce, Chris            D C             ENG     146       2       1       1
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Fitzpatrick, Niall      AM C            IRL     135      11      35       8
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Martin, Robert          AM/F C          ENG     132      68      38      37
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Reeves, Michael         M L             ENG     120      10      12       6
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Garrick, Neil           DM, M C         IRL     106       3      14       1
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5
Jones, Alan             GK              SCO     101       0       3       2

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

Stewart Reid moves into third in the Walton & Hersham goalscoring chart, becoming the fourth player to sore 100 times or more for the club.

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     221     104      41      36
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Martin, Robert          AM/F C          ENG     132      68      38      37
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     201      55      40      18
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     258      32      53      27
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Stansfield, Matthew     DM, AM LC       ENG     194      30      22      15
Takacs, Tamas           ST              HUN      81      27      18       5
Tidswell, Leon          AM R            ENG     205      25      23      11
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9

Roll of Honour

[b]England Italy Spain Champions Cup EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10 Arsenal Lazio Barcelona Barcelona Arsenal
2010/11 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid At. Madrid
2011/12 Man Utd Juventus Barcelona Man Utd Tottenham
2012/13 Arsenal Genoa Barcelona R. Madrid AC Milan
2013/14 Chelsea Juventus R. Madrid R. Madrid AS Monaco
2014/15 Man City Genoa Barcelona At. Madrid Man City
2015/16 Chelsea AC Milan Barcelona Juventus AC Milan
2016/17 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Bordeaux
2017/18 Man City Genoa At. Madrid Chelsea AC Milan
2018/19 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid Barcelona Man Utd
2019/20 Aston Villa AC Milan Barcelona AC Milan Sporting CP
2020/21 Aston Villa Juventus Barcelona Barcelona Man Utd
2021/22 Arsenal Genoa R. Madrid Man City FC Bayern
2022/23 Man City Lazio R. Madrid AC Milan Werder Bremen
2023/24 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Man City Genoa
2024/25 Arsenal AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Inter
2025/26 Man City AC Milan Barcelona Arsenal Aston Villa
2026/27 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid AC Milan Lyon
2027/28 Chelsea Genoa R. Madrid Man City Panathinaikos
2028/29 Chelsea Genoa Barcelona Arsenal Fulham

Pangaea · December 13, 2011

Having been in the game for 20 years now, this seems like a good moment in time to look back upon what has happened so far.

I can of course look up specific teams too, if people are interested.

World Cup

2014: Spain

2018: Argentina

2022: Brazil

2026: Russia

European Championship

2012: Italy

2016: England

2020: England

2024: Spain

2028: Portugal

Copa America

2011: Paraguay

2015: Chile

2019: Mexico

2023: Argentina

2027: Chile

African Nations

2010: Cameroon

2012: Cameroon

2014: Ghana

2016: Ghana

2018: Nigeria

2020: Senegal

2022: Tunisia

2024: Algeria

2026: Nigeria

2028: South Africa

Asian Cup

2011: Japan

2015: United Arab Emirates

2019: Australia

2023: China

2027: South Korea

Confederations Cup

2013: Spain

2017: Chile

2021: England

2025: Spain

2029: Chile

Gold Cup

2011: USA

2013: Mexico

2015: Canada

2017: USA

2019: Mexico

2021: USA

2023: Mexico

2025: Mexico

2027: Mexico

2029: Mexico

Olympics

2012: Spain

2016: Argentina

2020: Italy

2024: Croatia

2028: Holland

World Ranking

1. Spain

2. England

3. Argentina

4. Holland

5. Italy

6. Portugal

7. Brazil

8. France

9. Russia

10. Germany

11. Ukraine

12. Mexico

13. Nigeria

14. Belgium

15. Ghana

16. Czech Republic

17. Denmark

18. Paraguay

19. Chile

20. Croatia

21. South Korea

22. Bulgaria

23. Iran

24. Ivory Coast

25. South Africa

Biggest Transfers

65M: Porto to AC Milan (2025)

56M: Lazio to Real Madrid (2028)

50M: Lazio to Barcelona (2018)

46M: Middlesbrough to Man City (2017)

46M: Cagliari to AC Milan (2025)

43.5M: Roma to Man City (2012)

41.5M: Udinese to AC Milan (2017)

39.5M: Lazio to Barcelona (2024)

39M: Inter to Man City (2015)

38M: Cagliari to AC Milan (2017)

England

Biggest Teams

1. Arsenal

2. Man City

3. Chelsea

4. Aston Villa

5. Southampton

6. Fulham

Premier Division

2010: Arsenal

2011: Chelsea

2012: Man Utd

2013: Arsenal

2014: Chelsea

2015: Man City

2016: Chelsea

2017: Arsenal

2018: Man City

2019: Chelsea

2020: Aston Villa

2021: Aston Villa

2022: Arsenal

2023: Man City

2024: Man City

2025: Arsenal

2026: Man City

2027: Chelsea

2028: Chelsea

2029: Chelsea

FA Cup

2010: Man City

2011: Tottenham

2012: Tottenham

2013: Man City

2014: Fulham

2015: Chelsea

2016: Chelsea

2017: Man City

2018: Man Utd

2019: Aston Villa

2020: Aston Villa

2021: Man City

2022: Man City

2023: Man City

2024: Aston Villa

2025: Man City

2026: Man City

2027: Man Utd

2028: Fulham

2029: Man City

League Cup

2010: Everton

2011: West Brom

2012: Portsmouth

2013: Newcastle

2014: Everton

2015: Birmingham

2016: Tottenham

2017: QPR

2018: Man Utd

2019: Aston Villa

2020: Arsenal

2021: Man City

2022: Man Utd

2023: Oldham

2024: Southampton

2025: Sheff Utd

2026: West Ham

2027: Man Utd

2028: Man Utd

2029: Man City

Italy

Biggest Teams

1. AC Milan

2. Genoa

3. Inter

4. Udinese

5. Juventus

6. Roma

Serie A

2010: Lazio

2011: Juventus

2012: Juventus

2013: Genoa

2014: AC Milan

2015: Genoa

2016: AC Milan

2017: Genoa

2018: Genoa

2019: Genoa

2020: AC Milan

2021: Juventus

2022: Genoa

2023: Lazio

2024: AC Milan

2025: AC Milan

2026: AC Milan

2027: Genoa

2028: Genoa

2029: Genoa

Italian Cup

2010: Inter

2011: Fiorentina

2012: Lazio

2013: Sampdoria

2014: Juventus

2015: Roma

2016: Cagliari

2017: Roma

2018: Lazio

2019: Genoa

2020: Genoa

2021: Udinese

2022: Juventus

2023: Juventus

2024: Genoa

2025: Juventus

2026: Juventus

2027: Juventus

2028: Inter

2029: Lazio

Spain

Biggest Teams

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Atletico Madrid

4. Racing

5. Villareal

6. Espanyol

La Liga

2010: Barcelona

2011: Real Madrid

2012: Barcelona

2013: Barcelona

2014: Real Madrid

2015: Barcelona

2016: Barcelona

2017: Real Madrid

2018: Atletico Madrid

2019: Real Madrid

2020: Barcelona

2021: Barcelona

2022: Real Madrid

2023: Real Madrid

2024: Barcelona

2025: Barcelona

2026: Barcelona

2027: Real Madrid

2028: Real Madrid

2029: Barcelona

Spanish Cup

2010: Real Madrid

2011: Atletico Madrid

2012: Villareal

2013: Real Madrid

2014: Real Madrid

2015: Barcelona

2016: Real Madrid

2017: Atletico Madrid

2018: Barcelona

2019: Real Madrid

2020: Valencia

2021: Murcia

2022: Real Madrid

2023: Real Madrid

2024: Sevilla

2025: Racing

2026: Atletico Madrid

2027: Espanyol

2028: Barcelona

2029: Racing

Raware · December 13, 2011

Wow! I'd of put my house on you progressing nicely into the play-offs this season (well, maybe not my house! ). Where to now? Despite having a stronger team, it seems you took a step backwards. Maybe that big name signing to rejuvinate the squad? Or will your finances not allow you seeing as you're now nearly a million in debt?

Nobby_McDonald · December 14, 2011

It might not have been your best season but you're firmly consolidated in the Championship now.

Pangaea · December 14, 2011

Wow! I'd of put my house on you progressing nicely into the play-offs this season (well, maybe not my house! ). Where to now? Despite having a stronger team, it seems you took a step backwards. Maybe that big name signing to rejuvinate the squad? Or will your finances not allow you seeing as you're now nearly a million in debt?

In that case I'm glad you didn't put your house on it

It might not have been your best season but you're firmly consolidated in the Championship now.

That we are. Four seasons and mid-table-ish in all four. We don't have to concern ourselves with the danger of relegation, so that is good news.

Pangaea · December 14, 2011

2029/30 - Summer Update

Due to our terrible finances, hard choices had to be made this summer. Thankfully my scouts had discovered some players in the season run-in we could get on Bosman, so that eased the decision making process. We were losing money head over heels so in reality had no option but to sell players to sustain the club. The most serious was to sell our only left winger, Matthew Stansfield. Wasn't easy to let go of Stewart Reid either, a club legend by now, but he was 30 and worth a good million, and we certainly could use the cash.

Transfers Out

Neil Garrick (DMC) to Watford for 210K - Good player, but somebody better was on the way in, and with 6,000 a week he had to go to cut some costs

Tony Ashford (DC) to Swindon for 120K - Backup so not needed

Stewart Reid (ST) to Swindon for 1M - A loss for us, and the fans, but age and value meant he had to go

Jozef Vyskoc (MC) to Chievo for 2.1M - Never lived up to fill Fitzpatrick's boots so for that money there was only one answer

Matthew Stansfield (ML) to Villareal for 3.8M - Had wanted away for a couple of seasons and now I let him go. Good money, but tough choice since there were nobody to play on left wing now

Leon Tidswell (MR) to Preston for 400K - Has done very well despite coaches not rating him, but too tough competition now

Scott Brown (GK) to Huddersfield for 190K - Last day business to get rid of some wages as I had decided to go for Alan Jones as the main goalie. 3 days later Alan Jones sustains his first injury in his career and is out for 6 weeks. Hey ho. 18 yo rookie in goal then.

Total: 7.75M

Players In

Ismael Abdullah (AM RC) from Hibernian for Free - Over 100 caps for UAE and will now slot into right winger for us.

Grzegorz Misiewicz (DMC) from Unirea Urziceni for Free - These Poles got some seriously nutty names! Will replace Garrick

James Reece (DMC) from Rangers for 900K - Regretted this when the Pole was found, but he is younger so can hopefully replace the Pole when he burns out in a few seasons.

Denis Mulcahy (ST) from Cardiff for Free - Good striker as replacement for Reid

Ian Cousins (GK) on Free Transfer - Young promising keeper; the reason Scott Brown was sold in the end.

Laurent Havenith (AM RC) from AA Gent for 500K - Promising right winger that we got because he was young and relatively cheap

Total: 1.4M

This meant we moved well into the black, which it turns out wasn't a particularly bad idea........

BIG NEWS!!!

This is obviously fantastic news for the club long-term as we'll finally be given a broader financial platform to enable us to grow. But it also means 150,000 extra expenditures in loan repayments each month for 15 years. Considering we were already losing money, the losses will be pretty big now. Very glad all those deals above were done now, as we need a cushion for the two years until the stadium is constructed.

As if this wasn't enough good news, I can't believe my luck in the following youth intake...

Remember that I had just sold our only left winger. Then we get this in the youth intake. I was walking on clouds!

According to the coach report he is a model professional (not a bad thing, I reckon) who can become a good Premier Division player.

Wanted to kiss the youth coach on the lips for finding a gem like this. Instead he just got a raise. He deserves it :thup:

He already looks like a beast, the only negative is a lack of speed, which isn't too weird given the guy's size. Can't recall all the youths I've gotten up through the years, obviously, but think this bloke might be the second best after this chap in my previous FM10 save. Garner isn't quite that talented, but it's a God-gift for us in the current situation, without a left winger. Couldn't find anything on the market within financial reach either, so was preparing to use the partially retrained left fullback Benker there instead.

This summer couldn't possibly have gone much better.

CityAndColour · December 14, 2011

Ripper. There's no better feeling than getting a hot prospect through your youth system I find. Even more reason to stay and see the job through.

Nobby_McDonald · December 14, 2011

Looks like we'll see big things from young Garner. He looks useful already.

EdSB · December 15, 2011

The Championship is a tough, tough league. I'm there at the moment (managing everybody's favourite, MK Dons) in FM12 and there are so many games where the difference between winning and losing is just a bit of luck. Stick at it, because I'm sure as soon as you hit the Prem you'll do great.

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

Looks like we'll see big things from young Garner. He looks useful already.

Thought he was going to be a star in the future, but he already is one. Still well short of his 17th birthday, but one of our most productive players. 21 matches so far from left wing, and he has scored 7 and assisted 6 goals. Coach report said he was selfish and that shows at times, but he keeps popping up in dangerous positions and scoring goals so I'm fine with him blasting shots from impossible angles well wide at times where better options are available.

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

The Championship is a tough, tough league. I'm there at the moment (managing everybody's favourite, MK Dons) in FM12 and there are so many games where the difference between winning and losing is just a bit of luck. Stick at it, because I'm sure as soon as you hit the Prem you'll do great.

It certainly is. Almost every game is a tight affair where small mistakes can cost you or efficiency can win you the game. If we were to get promoted the PL will give us so much more financial clout that will enable us to sign better players for higher wages. But until we get up there and hit the jackpot it's a pretty tough battle. That is a good thing, even if it can be frustrating at times.

Think given the players we have now we are perhaps underperforming a little, but tactics have never been my strong suite so I stick to chosen roles and let the Tactic Creator mechanics deal with the rest, and then use my voice during matches.

Doesn't help that a handful of important players want away either, so morale drops to the floor every now and then. Dolezal in particular is being an arse. Had hoped being tutored by a resolute Gaffney would help, but it hasn't improved his arsiness.

HotChocolate · December 15, 2011

Just read through the whole thread!! I never took my eyes off it for a minute

Brilliant progress you've made! Be nice to see you finally reach the Premier League!

Back to college work now, sigh.

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

Just read through the whole thread!! I never took my eyes off it for a minute
Brilliant progress you've made! Be nice to see you finally reach the Premier League!

Back to college work now, sigh.

Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'm enjoying the ride too, though it would be lovely to finally make it into the big leagues.

EdSB · December 15, 2011

It certainly is. Almost every game is a tight affair where small mistakes can cost you or efficiency can win you the game. If we were to get promoted the PL will give us so much more financial clout that will enable us to sign better players for higher wages. But until we get up there and hit the jackpot it's a pretty tough battle. That is a good thing, even if it can be frustrating at times.
Think given the players we have now we are perhaps underperforming a little, but tactics have never been my strong suite so I stick to chosen roles and let the Tactic Creator mechanics deal with the rest, and then use my voice during matches.

Doesn't help that a handful of important players want away either, so morale drops to the floor every now and then. Dolezal in particular is being an arse. Had hoped being tutored by a resolute Gaffney would help, but it hasn't improved his arsiness.

You're describing me! I stick to fairly basic tactics and try to influence the game with my shouts. Keeping morale up is tough when you can easily lose a game you have dominated. Stadium should make a difference though - what capacity did you have before? It won't be long before you're filling 17,000 seats though, especially if you get to the Prem!

deadfncat · December 15, 2011

Nice game! Awesome to see Man Utd not dominating. KUTGW

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

You're describing me! I stick to fairly basic tactics and try to influence the game with my shouts. Keeping morale up is tough when you can easily lose a game you have dominated. Stadium should make a difference though - what capacity did you have before? It won't be long before you're filling 17,000 seats though, especially if you get to the Prem!

Currently we only have a 6500 capacity stadium, with only 500 seats. Will have to content with that for another 18 months. The new stadium will be a big lift for the club, however. Right now the away stand isn't always full, but I reckon we'll get a lot more than 6500 in the new stadium, so that will increase the income quite a bit.

If we do get promoted, the new stadium is hopefully expandable as 17,000 won't be great long-term. It's a big move in the right direction though, even if it's a nightmare to pay off the extra 150K/month right now. We're losing half a million a month Had about 6 million at the start of the season, but at this rate it will be gone by the end of it.

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

Nice game! Awesome to see Man Utd not dominating. KUTGW

They look to have a bit of a resurgence this year after firing their manager last season, but Liverpool were under the line before they fired their bloke, and Tottenham are currently 19th. It's fresh to see some big names in trouble. Even City have had a rough start this season, but Arsenal and Chelsea have done well throughout.

deadfncat · December 15, 2011

at least with the new stadium you will be earning more from every home game

Pangaea · December 15, 2011

at least with the new stadium you will be earning more from every home game

Yep, that will be a great improvement. Then I can only hope the board has found a good location. Can't wait to get into our new home. Still a season and a half to go though.

Currently five players with very poor morale because they want away :/ Probably have to oblige but am trying to hold off until the summer as nobody within our means want to join.

AK22 · December 15, 2011

Most excellent news on the stadium front; definitely what you need to push on to the Premier League. Once built, I would expect the board to expand it further if you do achieve another promotion as 17000 would probably be the smallest capacity in the division :thup:

Garner should be a great player for you too, especially at set pieces. If you get his finishing up a bit, he's got target man written all over him.

Pangaea · December 16, 2011

Most excellent news on the stadium front; definitely what you need to push on to the Premier League. Once built, I would expect the board to expand it further if you do achieve another promotion as 17000 would probably be the smallest capacity in the division
Garner should be a great player for you too, especially at set pieces. If you get his finishing up a bit, he's got target man written all over him.

I expect it to be expandable, the stadium we got built in my previous save could be exactly doubled, but then it was only 9000-ish when built. But if it can be expanded to 25,000 or thereabouts we'll be in good stead for the future.

Garner has been excellent this season. Can't believe the guy is still 16! He's our only natural left winger though, so am retraining him to ML (he was AML, ST) and trying to get his speed up. With that height he'd do well in the air as a target man too, but I need him on the left to be honest, and he's doing pretty darn well there despite his lack of speed. He looks quite technical and has a nose for a good pass and cross so it's a good fit so far. Can probably do a fine job as the deeper forward too, but I already have four forwards. Maybe something for the future

Raware · December 16, 2011

A couple of great pieces of news with the stadium and youth product :thup: . Things definitely look bright for the future :thup: .

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

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