psychonaut Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Game: FM 2012 ver 12.0. Database: Custom, with no edits. Leagues Selected England (Blue Square Regional and above). France (view only, CFA and above). Germany (view only, Third Div and above). Italy (view only, Serie C2 and above). Northern Ireland (2nd Division and above). Ireland (First Division and above). Scotland (Third Division and above). Spain (view only, Second Div B and above). Wales (Corbett Sports Welsh Prem only). ==================================== So I set up my manager, and instead of heading straight to the lowest level available in England, I decided that this year I'd start with a team from my current home city, Glasgow. And as a friend at my local pub thinks I'm a closet Spiders fan, I opted to take the helm at Queen's Park Founded: 1867. Current Division: Scottish Division 3. Status: Amateur. Nickname: The Spiders. Fierce Rivals: Clyde, Partick Thistle. Other Rivals: Albion Rovers, Berwick Rangers. Home Ground: Hampden Park, Glasgow (Capacity: 52500 all-seater). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 CAREER HISTORY DOMESTIC League ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |SEASON |TEAM |DIVISION |FINISHED |QUALIFIED FOR | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2011-2012 |Queen's Park |Scottish Division 3 |8th | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2012-2013 |Queen's Park |Scottish Division 3 |1st (P) | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2013-2014 |Queen's Park |Scottish Division 2 |1st (P) | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2014-2015 |Queen's Park |Scottish Division 1 |7th | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2015-2016 |Queen's Park |Scottish Division 1 |7th | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2016-2017 |Portadown |Northern Irish Premier Div |5th | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2017-2018 |Portadown |Northern Irish Premier Div |4th |Europa League | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2018 |Portadown |Northern Irish Premier Div |Resigned | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2018-2019 |Falkirk |Scottish Premier League |6th | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2019-2020 |Falkirk |Scottish Premier League |3rd |Europa League | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2020-2021 |Falkirk |Scottish Premier League |2nd |Champions League| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2021-2022 |Falkirk |Scottish Premier League |2nd |Champions League| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2022-2023 |Falkirk |Scottish Premier League |1st |Champions League| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cups ------------------------------------------------------------------- |SEASON |TEAM |CUPS WON | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |2017-18 |Portadown |Northern Irish Cup | | | |Mid Ulster Cup | | | |All-Ireland Cup | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |2021-22 |Falkirk |Scottish Cup | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |2022-23 |Falkirk |Scottish Cup | | | |Scottish League Cup | | | |Europa League (EURO Cup) | ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clubs Managed: 3. Times Promoted: 2. Times Relegated: 0. Cup Wins: 7. League Wins: 3. Award Wins: 20. Total Earnings: £1.3M. INTERNATIONAL ------------------------------------ |SEASON |TEAM | ------------------------------------ |2019-2021 |Costa Rica | ------------------------------------ |2021-2022 |Trinidad & Tobago | ------------------------------------ |2022-2023 |Mali | ------------------------------------ Cups Won ------------------------------------------------------- |SEASON |TEAM |CUPS WON | |------------------------------------------------------ |2022-23 |Mali |African Cup of Nations| ------------------------------------------------------- Countries Managed: 3. Cups Won: 1. Times Sacked: 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 2011-2012 --- Queen's Park --- Scottish Division 3 Pre-season Matches By the time I'd arrived at the club, pre-season fixtures were already underway. I took the helm on the eve of our friendly against Hibernian. I had no prior opportunity to assess the squad, and I was amazed when they welcomed me with a 2-1 win (ok, it wasn't the strongest Hibs squad, but an SPL scalp is an SPL scalp!). With carefully selected team talks, and the implementation of a new 4-4-2 setup, our performances seemed to improve greatly. A good preparation for what will be an exciting season ahead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 2011-2012 --- Queen's Park --- Scottish Division 3 Season Summary League Oh, where to begin? Our pre-season form was I'd hoped a good indication of our campaign. We lost our first 2 matches, but then hit a magnificent spell of form, racking up 8 wins in our next 9 games. Sitting top of the division, the team, fans, and myself had thought this was our season for promotion. The wheels fell off the team bus at the start of November. I have no idea what happened. The team couldn't buy a win, and we posted a horrific statistic of 4 wins, 7 draws and 16 losses in our remaining 27 games of the season. I watched helplessly as we slipped down the table, and ended up in an embarrassing 8th place. Going into post-season, I was a bit annoyed with the transient nature of my team, and thought about moving clubs. I applied for the job at FC Halifax Town in Blue Square North, but they laughed me out the door. The Queen's Park board found out about my application, and I had to go into Hampden on bended knee to save my job. Cups Scottish Cup Had a nervy game against Keith in the 2nd Round. They took us to a replay, and we won 2-0. Then beat Alloa 2-0 in the 3rd Round to set up a tie against SPL side Kilmarnock. They beat us 4-0. League Cup A brilliant 5-0 win against Ayr United (SD1) set us up against Kilmarnock in the 2nd Round. We lost 2-1. ALBA Challenge Cup Lost 4-0 v Livingston in the 1st Round. The Squad The main trouble with Queen's Park is that they are an amateur squad on amateur contracts. As soon as any of our players showed a sign of talent, other teams were swarming like vultures to pick us clean. And as they were deemed as Free Transfers, this could happen at any point of the season. Perhaps this was the reason for our terrible dip in form. We would lose two or three players at a time, and there was no real backbone to the team. There was no time to gel. I was able to make a few signings this season, but some didn't even last until the final day of the campaign. Some found new clubs, and others got the sack following very poor performances. In total we had 18 players in and 23 players out. No outstanding players this season. This was the best we got, and surprisingly, nobody came in to whisk him away. At least that's one unique thing about Queen's Park this season - we have the only Ugandan in the league. Staff Stuck with my Backroom Staff until about February. But I finally got fed up with the rubbish coming from their mouths, and got rid of my coaches and assistant. I tried to sign 3 coaches, only to be told by the board that I could only have 1. I complained, and they said I could sign 2. Got a cracking Assistant Manager on board - ex-Rangers and Dundee United player, Billy Dodds. He's doing well so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Good luck with this psychonaut I'd expect, before long, you'll hit a glass ceiling with Queens Park, due to their amateur status. But it's a good place to start, before moving on to bigger and better things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 2011-2012 SEASON SUMMARY SCOTLAND SPL Winners: Rangers. Relegated: Kilmarnock. First Division Winners: Partick Thistle. Relegated: Queen of the South. Second Division Winners: Brechin City. Relegated: Stenhousemuir. Third Division Winners: Elgin City. Bottom Club: Alloa. Cups Scottish Cup: St. Johnstone 0-5 Rangers. League Cup: Hearts 1-5 Rangers. ALBA Challenge Cup: Hamilton e1-0 Livingston. ENGLAND Premier Division Winners: Manchester United. ECC Q: Chelsea (2nd), Tottenham Hotspur (3rd), Manchester City (4th). Europa Lg Q: Stoke City (FA Cup winners), Liverpool (5th), Arsenal (League Cup winners). Relegated: Wigan Athletic, Norwich City, Swansea City. npower Championship Winners: West Ham United. Promoted: Southampton, Birmingham City. Relegated: Middlesbrough, Doncaster, Crystal Palace. npower League 1 Winners: Sheffield United. Promoted: Preston North End, Chesterfield. Relegated: Tranmere Rovers, Stevenage, Bury, Leyton Orient. npower League 2 Winners: Bradford City. Promoted: Swindon Town, Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers. Relegated: Macclesfield Town, Crewe Alexandra. Blue Square Premier Winners: Cambridge City. Promoted: Grimsby Town. Relegated: Bath City, Tamworth, Southport, Barrow. Blue Square North Winners: Boston United. Promoted: Histon. Relegated: Eastwood Town, Hyde United, Vauxhall. Blue Square South Winners: Eastbourne Boro. Promoted: Woking. Relegated: Hampton & Richmond, Staines, Weston-super-Mare. PROMOTED FROM REGIONAL PREMS: Lewes, Chester, FC United of Manchester, Bury Town, Bedford Town, Hendon. Cups FA Cup: Manchester United 2-2p Stoke City. League Cup: Reading 0-3 Arsenal. JPT: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Gillingham. FA Trophy: Fleetwood Town e1-0 Mansfield Town. ==Champions League== FC Bayern Munich 2-4 Barcelona @ Allianz-Arena, Munich. Att: 66000. ==Europa League== Dortmund 1-2 Sevilla @ National Arena, Bucharest. Att: 55200. ==PLAYER STATS== Scotland Player of the Year: Steven Davis (Rangers). Top Goalscorer: Gary O'Connor (Hibs) - 17. Young Player of the Year: Callum Booth (Hibs). Manager of the Year: Ally McCoist (Rangers). England Footballer of the Year: Gareth Bale (Tottenham). Players' Player of the Year: Luka Modric (Tottenham). Top Goalscorer: Fernando Torres (Chelsea) - 17. Players' Young Player: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City). Golden Glove: Joe Hart (Manchester City). Manager of the Year: Tony Pulis (Stoke City). ===Other European League Winners=== Austria: SK Sturm Graz. Belgium: Standard Liege. Bulgaria: Levski Sofia. Czech Republic: Sparta Prague. Denmark: FC Kobehaven. France: Paris Saint-Germain. Germany: Wolfsburg. Greece: Panathinaikos. Ireland: Sligo Rovers. Italy: Juventus. N. Ireland: Linfield. Norway: Molde. Poland: Legia Warsaw. Portugal: Benfica. Romania: Rapid Bucharest. Spain: Barcelona. Sweden: Helsingborgs IF. Turkey: Besiktas. Wales: Aberystwyth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Good luck with this psychonaut I'd expect, before long, you'll hit a glass ceiling with Queens Park, due to their amateur status. But it's a good place to start, before moving on to bigger and better things. Cheers. I'm going to see how far I can go with them. Finished 8th in the division, and the Board thinks I'm doing a good job. Hope our next season is a bit better though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 EURO 2012 Hosts: Poland & Ukraine Holders: Spain Group Stage Group A Qualified: England, Russia. Out: Greece, Ukraine. Group B Qualified: Sweden, Poland. Out: Portugal, Israel. Group C Qualified: Germany, France. Out: Czech Republic, Holland. Group D Qualified: Spain, Italy. Out: Slovakia, Norway. Quarter Final England 0-1 Poland Russia 2-1 Sweden Germany 1-3 Italy Spain 0-1 France Semi Final Poland 0-1 France Russia 2-0 Italy Final France 1-0 Russia @ NSC Olympiyskyi, Kiev. Att: 63467. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 2012-2013 --- Queen's Park --- Scottish Division 3 Season Summary League After the disappointment of last season, we couldn't have had a more miraculous turnaround in fortune if we'd knelt at the end of the bed and spoken with the Big Man each night. We didn't get off to the best of starts, opening our campaign with two draws. But a win at recently relegated Stenhousemuir in our third match gave the team a lot of belief, and that started to turn into improved performances on the field. A 9 game unbeaten run was ended at the hands of Annan Athletic on November 10th, and that signalled the start of a shaky patch which only saw us pick up 5 points in our next 5 games. But it appears that Santa brought us the gift of football, when a 3-2 victory over Alloa Athletic on Boxing Day set us off on an 8 game winning streak which saw us notch up 6 clean sheets and propelled us into the top spot. On April 13th, we guaranteed ourselves at least a playoff spot. But we were still top, and I was pushing for promotion. Some wrongly chosen words in a team meeting nearly wrecked everything. I tried praising the players for their effort, and told them not to slip up. A lot of them took this badly. We drew our next 2 games 0-0. With 2 games left, Berwick Rangers were knocking on our door. We won at 1-0 at Clyde, and they won at Annan Athletic. Just 2 points separated us going into the final day of the season. We were away to Annan Athletic, who were chasing a playoff spot. Berwick were at Montrose, surely a walk in the park for Berwick. A draw would see us crowned Champions, and when Berwick went 1-0 down in the first half our fans burst into cheers. Going in 0-0 at half time, we had 45 minutes between us and the Scottish Third Division trophy. Second half - almost disaster. Annan were awarded a soft penalty on 68 minutes, and they scored. Berwick had levelled at Montrose. We had to either find an equaliser, or pray that Berwick wouldn't go 2-1 up. Our top scorer Ricky Shakes had the ball in the back of the net on 72 minutes, but it was ruled offside - an extremely dubious call. We pounded the Annan goal, but to no avail. 1-0, final score. However, news came through that Montrose had held Berwick Rangers at 1-1. DIVISION 3 CHAMPIONS - Queen's Park . Only their second Third Division title in 146 years. As the season finished up, I was voted Third Division Manager of the Year, and Ricky Shakes won the Third Division Player of the Year award. The Queen's Park chairman offered me a new contract, amusingly it's for 0 years and the wage is n/a. I'll see what I can do with the team in the Second Division, and then I may try to make some money! Cups Scottish Cup Beat Fraserburgh 2-0 in the 2nd Rnd to set up a home tie against SD1 side Hamilton Accies. They beat us 3-1. League Cup Claimed an SD1 scalp in the form of Raith Rovers in the 1st Rnd. We were off to Fife again in the 2nd Round, facing SPL side Dunfermline Athletic, who beat us 3-0. ALBA Challenge Cup Scalped SD1 side Greenock Morton 2-0 in the 1st Rnd. Lost 2-0 to Hamilton in the 2nd Rnd. The Sqaud More stablility in the squad this year, which surprised me. After the feeding frenzy during last season's transfer windows, there was very little activity in terms of clubs swooping on our best players. That in itself was a major relief because, mainly with the help of Assistan Manager Billy Dodds, we managed to unearth some real gems, who were more than happy to play for nothing (Queen's Park don't pay wages!). The lads adapted well to my tactics, and gelled very quickly. There was a lot of competition for first team places, and we had the depth to cover most eventualities. Most of the time, my team talks spurred them on, but during our barren spell of form before Christmas I had to fight to get morale back up. I brought in 14 new signings this season, and most have impressed. 11 players left us, including 2 who were released following "We asked the supporters if you should have a first team place" polls in the newspapers. Only 2-4% of fans said yes, so out the door they went. Top Players Ricky Shakes - AM ®/ST. On paper, he might not look like much. Originally just a right midfielder, I decided that he should train as a striker after he came on as a sub for an injured striker, and scored 2 goals. Since that match, he just banged them in, and outscored our regular strikers. He finished as our top scorer, with 18 goals, and was our top rated player with an avg of 7.29. A product of the Bolton youth system, he played for Bristol Rovers, Bury, Swindon, and Ebbsfleet United, before signing for us after being released by Ebbsfleet. Laton Wint - DLC/WB (L). Signed for us on November 11th 2012, he was a product of the Stoke City youth setup. Only 20 years old, but a cracking player. Made himself an instant hit with the fans during our league fixture against Stranraer on November 24th. Scored on his debut, and posted a 7.9 rating. He continued to perform extremely well all season, notching up 2 goals, 2 assists and 4 Man of the Match awards. One for the future. All Transfer Activity. Staff Chuffed to bits with Billy Dodds as my Assistant Manager. Proved his worth time and again, finding me gems to sign, and even steps in for team talks. And he doesn't even get paid for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Noticed this on my profile page: I hate you too, Alex! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 2012-2013 SEASON SUMMARY SCOTLAND SPL Winners: Rangers (x5). Champions Lg Q: Rangers. Europa Lg Q: Celtic (3rd & Scottish Cup winners), Inverness CT (2nd in SPL), Hibernian (4th in SPL). Relegated: Partick Thistle. First Division Winners: Falkirk. Relegated: Ayr United. Second Division Winners: Queen of the South. Relegated: Stirling Albion. Third Division Winners: QUEEN'S PARK. Bottom Club: Clyde. Cups Scottish Cup: Celtic e2-1 Hearts. League Cup: Hibernian 1-3e Rangers. ALBA Challenge Cup: Forfar Athletic 2-3 Dundee. Player Stats Player of The Year: Oscar Cardozo (Rangers). Top Goalscorer: Baba (Celtic) - 22. Young Player of the Year: Oriol Romeu (Rangers). Manager of the Year: Ally McCoist (Rangers). ENGLAND Premier Division Winners: Manchester City. Champions Lg Q: Manchester City, Manchester United (2nd), Arsenal (3rd), Liverpool (4th). Europa Lg Q: Chelsea (5th). Relegated: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers. npower Championship Winners: Reading. Promoted: Wigan Athletic, Norwich City. Europa Lg Q: Norwich City (League Cup winners), Burnley (FA Cup runners up). Relegated: Watford, Millwall, Chesterfield. npower League 1 Winners: Sheffield Wednesday. Promoted: Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town. Relegated: Exeter City, Wycombe Wanderers, Walsall, Bradford City. npower League 2 Winners: Leyton Orient. Promoted: Rotherham United, Gillingham, Oxford United. Relegated: Morecambe, Dagenham & Redbridge. Blue Square Premier Winners: Mansfield Town. Promoted: Lincoln City. Relegated: Kidderminster Harriers, Boston United, Ebbsfleet United, Braintree. Blue Square North Winners: Barrow. Promoted: Stalybridge Celtic. Relegated: Corby, Colwyn Bay, Worcester. Blue Square South Winners: Eastleigh. Promoted: Lewes. Relegated: Basingstoke, Maidenhead, Hendon. Promoted from Regional Premier Divisions Northwich Victoria, St. Albans, Weston-super-Mare, Canvey Island, Stafford Rangers, Billericay. Cups FA Cup: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal. League Cup: Arsenal 1-3 Norwich City. JPT: Colchester United 1-2 Carlisle United. FA Trophy: Luton Town 0-1 Lincoln City. Player Stats Footballer of the Year: Ganso (Man City). Players' Player of the Year: Samir Nasri (Man City). Top Goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) - 25. Players' Young Player: Kwadwo Asamoah (Arsenal). Golden Glove: Szczesny (Arsenal). Manager of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Man City). ===Champions League=== Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester United @ Wembley, London. Att: 90000. ===Europa League=== CSKA Moscow 2-1 Napoli @ CSKA-Peschanoye, Moscow. Att: 35000. Other European League Winners Austria: Rapid Wien. Belgium: Anderlecht. Bulgaria: CSKA Sofia. Czech Republic: Sparta Prague. Denmark: FC Kobenhaven. France: Olympique Lyonnais. Germany: FC Bayern Munich. Greece: Olympiakos. Holland: Ajax. Ireland: Shamrock Rovers. Italy: Inter Milan. N. Ireland: Linfield. Norway: Rosenborg. Poland: Wisla Krakow. Portugal: Sporting Lisbon. Romania: CFR Cluj. Russia: Zenit. Spain: Real Madrid. Sweden: Helsingborgs. Turkey: Fenerbahce. Wales: The New Saints FC. ===Manager News=== 22/6/2013 - Sir Alex Ferguson retires. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadfncat Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 nice job on the promotion How is Matt McKay doing at Rangers? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Good luck in the 2nd Div. Wonder what on earth Sir Alex would have to dislike you about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I think Sir Alex hates everyone, so don't take it personally Well done on the promotion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 nice job on the promotion How is Matt McKay doing at Rangers? He's doing quite well, he's made 50 league appearances and scored 5 goals. He's won the Scottish League Cup in 2012 & 2013, the Scottish Cup in 2012, and the Premier League in 2012 and 2013. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 I think Sir Alex hates everyone, so don't take it personally Well done on the promotion Cheers. The situation with Sir Alex will probably come to an end now that he's retired. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Good luck in the 2nd Div. Wonder what on earth Sir Alex would have to dislike you about. Not sure what I said about him, maybe he doesn't like me being in charge of the club where he started his playing career. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielgear Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Congrats on promotion mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 Congrats on promotion mate Cheers, was a close run battle at the end Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 2013-2014 --- Queen's Park --- Scottish Division 2 Season Summary League Queen's Park's first visit to Scottish Division 2 since season 2008/2009. The boo boys were after us before the season had even started, and press could only see us getting an 8th place finish. The board wanted us to stay clear of relegation, and I thought we would get a mid table finish at best. However, what was to happen would shock everyone. We lost 2-0 in our opening match, away against Cowdenbeath. They had finished 7th in this division last season, and I feared we were in for a nightmare season. But the team rallied round for the next fixture which we scraped a win from. 4 games in and we had 7 points, and things were starting to look good. East Fife knocked some of the wind out of our sails, thrashing us 5-2 in our first match in September. A defeat at the hands of Forfar was next, but then we hit a superb patch of form. A 4-0 thrashing of Elgin City on 21st September started a run of 19 games, during which time we only lost 1 match. 25 games gone, and we were sitting pretty in 3rd place, dreaming of a playoff spot. Forfar Athletic looked good for the title though, and there seemed to be no way of catching them, or indeed getting past second placed East Fife. Airdrie United were also hot on our tails, but over the next few games, all three hit bad patches of form. Ours wasn't brilliant either, but we did enough to claim the top spot from Airdrie United, but only on goal difference. With 5 matches left, our own destiny was in our hands. Annoyingly, we slipped up at Albion Rovers and Forfar. Airdrie United capitalised on our slip up, snatching top spot. However, my team responded with a 7-1 win against East Fife, and a 1-0 win at Elgin. Airdrie got a win and a draw, and points dropped were enough for us to reclaim top spot on goal difference. The penultimate match of the season was a top of the table clash with Airdrie United - a real 6 pointer. Airdrie, who had beaten us once, and held us to a draw twice this season were dreadful. We ran out 3-0 winners. The fans knew we were over the finish line. Even if we lost our final fixture, Airdrie would have to win 19-0 to overtake us on goal difference,, but nothing would be confirmed until the last week of the season. We won 3-0, and it was game over. Queen's Park return to Scottish Division One for the first time since the 1982/83 season, and we claim our first Division 2 trophy since 1981. Finished: 1st (Promoted). \0/ \0/ \0/ As the season draws to a close I am awarded Scottish Second Division Manager of the Year, and I'm also head-hunted. The message in my inbox read "Spiders manager headed for St. James's Park?". A bit soon for Newcastle United to take interest in me, I'm thinking. Yup, I was right - the Exeter City (English League 2) chairman tries to lure me away with a 1 year contract on £1.1k p/w, but I'm having too much fun at Queen's Park, so I turn down the offer. Besides, the SPL is only one promotion away Cups Scottish Cup A really good run this year :- 3rd Rnd - beat Albion Rovers 4-0. 4th Rnd - beat Brechin City (Div 1) 2-0. 5th Rnd - welcomed Celtic to Hampden Park for an alternative Glasgow derby. We lost 3-1. League Cup 1st Rnd - beat East Fife 2-1. 2nd Rnd - lost 2-0 to Aberdeen (SPL). ALBA Challenge Cup 1st Rnd - beat Berwick Rangers 2-0. 2nd Rnd - lost 2-0 to Partick Thistle (Div 1). The Squad Lots of changes this year. During the summer break, myself and Billy Dodds spent so much time together that people were becoming suspicious, and wondered if we were player hunting. We were. And we found some real gems to strengthen the squad with for the challenge of Division 2. It was difficult to have to tell players, who were so instrumental in getting us up to Division 2 that they were not needed, or not good enough for a regular first team place. But that's football. With all the signings we did make I was surprised at how quickly the team came together as a unit. I was sensible with what I said to the players on match days and in team meetings, and this helped to maintain morale and good performances on the pitch. In all 16 players arrived at the club this season, and 19 departed. I was surprised at how willing most were to join on an amateur contract, and play for nothing (if we do make the SPL, it'll be interesting to see who wants to play at the top tier for nothing). Next year will probably see the same level of coming and going, as we gear up for life at the next step. Best Players Victor Zapata-Caicedo (ST) Top Goalscorer - 23. Only 19, but what a player. Half Colombian, half English, we picked him up in the summer after division rivals Dumbarton released him - how they must be regretting that now. Took him a little while to settle in, but when he did the goals started to flow. Began his playing career at youth level with Spurs. Chris Zebroski (ST, AM(RL)) Highest Avg Rating - 7.50. Recommended to me by Billy Dodds, he was signed in mid-September after it became clear that we needed more clinical finishing up front. Scored all 3 goals in our end of the season clash with Airdrie, and a lot more besides, bagging 22 in total. Aged 27, Chris signed for us a couple of months after Bristol Rovers had released him. Before that he played for Torquay, Wycombe, Millwall, Oxford, and Plymouth. Rumour is that he's going to head back down South during the summer, but we'll do our best to hold onto him. He was named Scottish Second Division Player of the Year. All Transfer Activity. Backroom Staff The Board have finally seen sense and allowed me more coaches, etc. They don't take a wage, so I really don't understand why we couldn't have them before. Anyway, signed 4 new staff including ex-Bristol Rovers man Stuart Campbell as a Coach, and ex-Aberdeen player Ryan Esson as a Goalkeeping Coach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 14th July 2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 World Cup 2014 Hosts: Brazil. Holders: Spain. Group Stage Group A Qualified: Brazil, Norway. Out: New Zealand, Japan. Group B Qualified: Mali, Argentina. Out: Croatia, Australia. Group C Qualified: Italy, Portugal. Out: Peru, Saudi Arabia. Group D Qualified: Holland, Spain. Out: Mexico, Senegal. Group E Qualified: France, Montenegro. Out: USA, Egypt. Group F Qualified: Germany, Algeria. Out: Colombia, Bosnia & Herz. Group G Qualified: Ivory Coast, Uruguay. Out: Turkey, South Korea. Group H Qualified: England, Serbia. Out: Chile, Costa Rica. Second Round Brazil 3-0 Argentina. Norway 3-1 Mali. Spain 1-4 Italy. Holland 2-0 Portugal. Algeria 0-3 France. Germany 1-0 Montenegro. Ivory Coast 7-0 Serbia. England p1-1 Uruguay. Quarter Final Brazil 4-1 Holland. Norway e2-1 Italy. France 1-0 England. Germany 2-0 Ivory Coast. Semi Final Brazil 1-1p Germany. Norway 1-2 France. Third Place Norway 0-5 Brazil. FINAL Germany 2-0 France @ Maracana, Rio. Att: 76000. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 2013-2014 SEASON SUMMARY SCOTLAND SPL Winners: Rangers (x6). Champs Lg Q: Rangers. Europa Lg Q: Celtic (2nd), Aberdeen (3rd), Hibernian (Scottish Cup runners up). Relegated: Dunfermline Athletic. First Division Winners: Kilmarnock. Relegated: Ross County, Queen of the South. Second Division Winners: QUEEN'S PARK. Promoted: Forfar Athletic. Relegated: Albion Rovers, Cowdenbeath. Third Division Winners: Montrose. Promoted: Berwick Rangers. Bottom Club: Stranraer. Cups Scottish Cup: Hibernian 0-2 Rangers. League Cup: Celtic 2-3 Hearts. ALBA Challenge Cup: Kilmarnock 2-0 Partick Thistle. Player Stats Player of the Year: Joe Ledley (Celtic). Top Goalscorer: Franck Julienne (Aberdeen) - 21. Young Player of the Year: Hrvoje Crljen (Inverness CT). Manager of the Year: Ally McCoist (Rangers). ENGLAND Premier Division Winners: Manchester City (x2). Champs Lg Q: Manchester City, Chelsea (2nd), Arsenal (3rd), Tottenham Hotspur (4th). Europa Lg Q: Wigan Athletic (FA Cup winners & 6th), Manchester United (5th), Everton (League Cup winners). Relegated: West Ham United, Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion. npower Championship Winners: Birmingham City. Promoted: Burnley, Leeds United. Relegated: Nottingham Forest, Coventry City, Preston North End. npower League 1 Winners: Millwall. Promoted: Charlton Athletic, Watford. Relegated: Oxford United, Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers, Yeovil Town. npower League 2 Winners: Walsall. Promoted: Tranmere Rovers, Accrington Stanley, AFC Wimbledon. Relegated: Port Vale, Grimsby Town. Blue Square Premier Winners: Luton Town. Promoted: Wrexham. Relegated: ARC Telford United, Alfreton, Woking, Eastleigh. Blue Square North Winners: Kidderminster Harriers. Promoted: Nuneaton. Relegated: Gloucester, Altrincham, Bury Town. Blue Square South Winners: Ebbsfleet United. Promoted: Dartford. Relegated: Canvey Island, Weston-super-Mare, St. Albans City. Promoted from Regional Prems Basingstoke, Tooting & Mitcham, Kingstonian, Hednesford, Marine, Redditch. Cups FA Cup: Chelsea 0-1 Wigan Athletic. League Cup: Wigan Athletic 1-1p Everton. JPT: Bristol Rovers 1-0 Rotherham United. FA Trophy: Macclesfield Town 2-1 Kidderminster Harriers. Player Stats Footballer of the Year: Luka Modric (Tottenham). Top Goalscorer: Leandro Damiao (Tottenham) - 28. Players' Player of the Year: Sergio Aguero (Man City). Players' Young Player: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal). Golden Glove: Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal). Manager of the Year: Ian Ashbee (Wigan). ===Champions League=== Manchester City 1-0 A.C. Milan @ Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam. Att: 52960. ===Europa League=== Arsenal 0-1 CSKA Moscow (CSKA retain the trophy). @ Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal. Att: 50948. Other European League Winners Austria: FC RB Salzburg. Belgium: Anderlecht (x2). Bulgaria: Levski Sofia. Czech Republic: Viktoria Plzen. Denmark FC Kobenhaven (x6). France: Olympique Lyonnais (x2). Germany: Dortmund. Greece: Panathinaikos. Holland: Feyenoord. Ireland: Shamrock Rovers (x2). Italy: A.C. Milan. N. Ireland: Linfield (x5). Norway: Rosenborg (x2). Poland: Legia Warsaw. Portugal: Porto. Romania: Rapid Bucharest. Russia: CSKA Moscow. Spain: Real Madrid (x2). Sweden: AIK. Turkey: Galatasaray. Wales: The New Saints (x2). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Well done on another promotion, great job That win over Airdrie was crucial. Probably will start to get a bit tougher now in Division One, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Well done on another promotion, great job That win over Airdrie was crucial.Probably will start to get a bit tougher now in Division One, though. Cheers mate. Yes, life in Division 1 is far tougher so far. Halfway through the season, and we might just keep ourselves in the division. The players want to win, but it's the quality we lack. Players are turning us down because we can't offer them a wage. Understandable. Anyway, I have some soul-searching to do - Lincoln City have just tried to lure me away. They're bottom of League 2, so do I face a relegation battle with them, or Queen's Park??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Excellent start Psycho. Do the amateur contracts work properly? Stoke winning the FA Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 Excellent start Psycho.Do the amateur contracts work properly? Cheers. I'm not sure about the amateur contracts. But I'm finding it difficult to keep players. Other teams swoop on them during the transfer window, and there's often little I can do to stop people leaving. If I ever do get to the Premier. it'll be interesting to see what sort of players I get - although most of a Division 1 standard are quite happily sign for no pay. Maybe I'll give Queen's Park a phone and ask what would happen if they ever reached the SPL. Probably not something they ever need to think about though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Queen's Park will always remain amateur. Sounds about right... amateur contracts do have some protection, ie a player can only play for a certain number of clubs (two?) in one season. Players I believe can leave on four weeks notice, whether approached or not. I'm not completely au faix with it all though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Great achivement with the second promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 2014-2015 --- Queen's Park --- Scottish Division 1 Season Summary League This wouldn't be an easy league campaign. We were tipped to finish bottom, and the board wanted us to attempt to avoid relegateion. There were 4 or 5 very strong teams in this division, and we had to make the most of our chances against the weaker sides. At times performances were frustrating, other times magnificent. We spent the whole season in the bottom half of the table, but fantastic wins against tougher opposition kept us afloat. We even threw a spanner into Morton's promotion run at the end of March. They were 7 games unbeaten, and looking good for going up, until we vistied them and thrashed them 6-1, our best result of the season. A point against Dundee in our next game ensured our Division 1 survival, and we did enough in our last 4 games to ensure that we finished well in 7th. Cups Scottish Cup Knocked out Airdrie and Albion Rovers to set up a tie against SPL club Hearts in the 5th Round. We did very well at Tynecastle, holding them to 0-0. We then stunned them in the replay, winning 1-0, and setting up a glamour tie against Rangers in the Quarter Final. They came to Hampden and beat us 5-0. League Cup Humiliated 1-0 by Third Division Stenhousemuir in the 1st Round. Not a good day. ALBA Challenge Cup Beat Airdrie, Dundee and Arbroath to reach the Semi Final. But the lads bottled in, losing 1-0 to Second Division Ross County. The Squad 18 players in this year in an effort to stay up. Not all of them were successful though. And I think I got a bit signing-happy at one point. My assistant manager would say "sign whatever the price" and I would, knowing that there would be no money involved at all. Perhaps this didn't help too much, as the team took a while to settle. I was allowed to send Scouts further afield this season, and off two of them went to France and Spain, but I soon became aware that talent would be hard to capture from either country, unless the player was out of contract. What I really needed this season was a winning strikeforce upfront. Our top marksmen from last season had been snapped up by bigger clubs, and it took me a while to find an ideal partnership for my 4-4-2 tactics. Over the course of the season, I had 3 big clearouts, and that, coupled with players signed by other clubs meant 27 players left Queen's Park. It would be nice to cash in on outgoing signings, but we can't because of amateur contracts. A bit annoying when you find out a player is given a pricetag of £575k. Top Player Mikael Mandron Mandron was our top scorer this season, scoring 15 goals. He was also our top avg rated player, with 7.05 from 31 appearances. He was a product of the Sunderland youth setup, and we signed him after they released him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Well done on staying up, more than comfortable by the looks of things Nice little cup run too, I'm sure you would have had a nice little pay day when Rangers came to visit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Well done on staying up, more than comfortable by the looks of things Nice little cup run too, I'm sure you would have had a nice little pay day when Rangers came to visit. Cheers. The Rangers pay day was ok, only £400k. That was £25k down on the gate receipts we took when we played Celtic at home in the cup last season. But there are more Celtic fans living around Hampden Park in real life, so that probably explains it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 You can probably push on even further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 A very good season Psycho. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 First update for a while. Real life has kept me away longer than I expected, but it's all been fun - apart from no FM. 15th May 2016 After 5 years at Queens Park, I decided that it was time to move on. The latest season left me thinking that I'd hit a glass ceiling with the club, and I was becoming increasingly frustrated with clubs swooping on my best players. Also, it's about time I was paid a wage! Off to Shamrock Park, for a new chapter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 2015-2016 === Queen's Park === Scottish Division One Board: Avoid Relegation. Fans: Avoid Relegation. Media: 9th. SEASON SUMMARY League A league campaign which started strongly set us up to ensure survival in Scottish Div 1 this season. A good run up until December saw us reach the giddy heights of 3rd in the table. And it was just as well that we had racked up the points. We only won 1 match out of 9 in December and January, which saw us drop down the table quite significantly. The remainder of our season was full of hit and miss results on the pitch - probably not helped by some of my reactions in team meetings, which saw team morale go up and down more often than a porn star. We managed to steer clear of a relegation dog-fight, and finished up in the same spot as last year - 7th. At the end of the season, Portadown came in with a contract offer. I'll be sad to leave The Spiders, but I think the time is right to move on. Cups Scottish FA Cup Humiliated in the 3rd round, we somehow lost 2-1 to Inverurie Loco Works... Scottish League Cup Beat Elgin City (3-0) and Morton (3-2), to set up a 3rd Round tie with Hibernian. We lost 2-1. ALBA Challenge Cup Lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Berwick Rangers (SD2) in the 1st Round. Berwick went on to win the cup. SQUAD Quite a number of changes, given the ever-transient nature of the squad. It seems that as soon as any of our gambles show signs of genius, that some club higher up the league snatches them away. However, with being allowed to scout outside the UK this year, I did find one or two corkers. And not many squads in Britain could boast about having a player from Curacao. I'd found a cracker of a DL in Steward Wau, a rising star of the Curacao national squad. His Dutch nationality meant signing him didn't involve work permits. The team worked together well as a unit. But there were a number of times when the heads dropped too quickly, and some players just seemed to give up at times. I think they thought that with the likes of Hearts, Dunfermline, and Hamilton in the division that there was no point in pushing for 3rd or higher. Consequently, I think this affected my decision to leave. Key Players Top Scorer:Luca Scapuzzi - 10. Picked him up for free after Manchester City had released him. Began his football career at A.C. Milan, before dropping to teams in Serie C1/B and B. Didn't play at all for Man City, and spent a year on loan at Bury. Not a bad player, but not too hot either. Highest Avg: Milan Misun - 6.97. Signed on a free after Yeovil Town released him. Began his footnall career with Pribram (CZE), before Celtic snapped him up for £800k. After a loan spell at Dundee, he signed for Swindon Town, and then Yeovil. At the end of this season, he signed for Crawley Town (L2). Season's Transfer Activity Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 2015/16 Ups & Downs Scotland SPL Winners: Celtic. ECC Q: Celtic, Rangers. Europa Lg Q: Inverness CT, St. Mirren, Hibernian. Relegated: Partick Thistle. Scottish Div 1 Winners: Hearts. Relegated: Forfar Athletic. Scottish Div 2 Winners: Airdrie United. Relegated: Alloa Athletic, Arbroath. Scottish Div 3 Winners: Peterhead. Promoted: East Stirlingshire. Bottom: Annan Athletic (x2). Cups Scottish Cup: Celtic 1-2 Rangers. League Cup: St. Mirren 1-2 Celtic. ALBA Challenge Cup: Ross County 0-2 Berwick Rangers. ENGLAND Premier Division Winners: Arsenal. ECC Q: Arsenal, Chelsea (2nd), Manchester City (3rd), Tottenham Hotspur (4th). Europa Lg Q: Liverpool (FA Cup Runners Up), Stoke City (5th), Manchester United (7th). Relegated: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion. npower Championship Winners: West Ham United. Promoted: Huddersfield Town, Watford. Relegated: Preston North End, Brighton & Hove Albion, Derby County. npower League 1 Winners: Bristol Rovers. Promoted: Colchester United, Doncaster Rovers. Relegated: AFC Wimbledon, Carlisle United, Hereford United, MK Dons. npower League 2 Winners: Torquay United. Promoted: Lincoln City, Yeovil Town, Accrington Stanley. Relegated: Oldham Athletic, Port Vale. Blue Square Premier Winners: Stockport County. Promoted: Burton Albion. Relegated: Farnborough Town, FC Halifax, Dartford, Stalybridge Celtic. Blue Square North Winners: Tamworth. Promoted: Southport. Relegated: Northwich Victoria, Workington, Redditch United. Blue Square South Winners: Eastleigh. Promoted: Woking. Relegated: Bishop's Stortford, Billericay, Wingate & Finchley. Promoted from Regional Prems: Hitching, Nantwich, Carshalton, Kendal, Chesham, Tonbridge. Cups FA Cup: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool. League Cup: Arsenal 2-3 Liverpool. JPT: Hartlepool United 0-1 Exeter City. FA Trophy: Stockport County 0-2 Dover Athletic. Other European League Winners Belgium: Standard Liege (x2). France: Olympique Lyonnais (x4). Germany: FC Bayern (x2). Holland: AZ Alkmaar. Italy: FC Internazionale. N. Ireland: Linfield (x7). Portugal: Sporting L. Spain: Real Madrid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 EURO 2016 Hosts: France. Holders: France. Group Stage Group A Qualified: Russia, England, Denmark. Out: Poland. Group B Qualified: France, Bulgaria, Slovenia. Out: Bosnia & Herz. Group C Qualified: Germany, Croatia. Out: Scotland, Slovakia. Group D Qualified: Spain, Norway. Out: Sweden, Romania. Group E Qualified: Ukraine, Holland, Israel. Out: Portugal. Group F Qualified: Switzerland, Serbia, Italy. Out: Ireland. Second Round Bulgaria 4-0 Russia Serbia 0-3 Ukraine Denmark 1-2 France Slovenia 1-2e Switzerland England 4-3 Holland Israel e5-3 Germany Spain 1-0 Italy Norway 0-1 Croatia Quarter Final Bulgaria 0-2 Ukraine France 2-1 Switzerland England 2-0 Israel Spain 1-0 Croatia Semi Final Ukraine 0-1 Spain France 1-0 England FINAL Spain 1-2e France @ Stade de France, Saint-Denis. Att: 80000. - England sacked manager Stuart Pearce for not winning. Steve Bruce is linked with the job. He takes the post on 17th July 2016. His first move is to give Shrek the captaincy in favour of Peter Crouch, insisting that it will herald the changes to come. This'll be interesting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Good luck in Ireland, should be a nice little step up for you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Portadown Northern Irish Premier Division A Background Founded in 1924, Portadown are a professional Northern Irish club currently playing in the Northern Irish Premier Division. The club play their home games at Shamrock Park and possess fairly basic training facilities and basic youth facilities. The club also has fairly basic junior coaching and an average youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as Ports and retains a fierce rivalry with Glenavon. Having enjoyed their greatest spell of success during the 1990s, Ports are undoubtedly one of the most successful clubs in Northern Ireland. Boasting a proud total of 40 competition wins, here are just some of their highlights: Portadown won the Northern Irish top division in 1990, 1991, 1996 and 2002 and finished runners-up on 10 occasions, won the Irish Cup in 1991, 1999 and 2005 and finished runners-up on 8 occasions. Portadown have won the Gold Cup on 6 occasions and finished runners-up on 9 occasions, and won the League Cup in 1939, 1996 and 2009 and finished runners-up once. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abulezz Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Good luck with the new club - Steve Bruce as new England coach, eh? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 2016-2017 === Portadown === Northern Irish Premier Division Season Summary League Board: Qualify for the Europa League. Media: 5th. The league season was a rollercoaster ride. We started brightly, winning our opening game. I don't know what happened next, but we only won 1 of our next 10 games. Any hope of qualifying for Europe was being dashed early on in the campaign, and there were calls for me to be sacked before we'd reached October. I called team meetings, but to no avail. On one occasion, one of my players kicked off by saying "Oh great, another team meeting!" - he found himself in the reserves for the rest of the season. However, after a two week break I decided to try new tactics, and that worked. We won 4 of our next 5 games, and my job was looking a bit more secure, and we were heading up the table. Confidence took a slight knock in the most bizarre match I've seen for a long time. We picked ourselves up well though, responding with a 5-0 thrashing of Ballymena Utd. Things went reasonably well for the rest of the season, and we were in with a real chance of a Europa League spot. When the division split in two in March, we were sitting in 4th place, but we bottled it, only winning 1 of our remaining 5 games. Glentoran and Linfield proved too strong for us, and Ballymena and Cliftonville inflicted misery on us too. So we finished 5th - a lot better than the 9th place finish last season, but still not quite good enough. Bizarrely, the fans seem to think we've qualified for Europe. Maybe they know something I don't... Cups League Cup 2nd Rnd: Portadown 2-0 Knockbreda. 3rd Rnd: Armagh 0-8 Portadown. Quarter Final: Portadown 2-4 Linfield. Mid Ulster Cup 1st Rnd: Newry p2-2 Portadown. Beaten by a 1st Division side...*mad*. Irish Cup 4th Rnd: Portadown 0-1 Ballymena Utd. SQUAD Lots of changes this year. When I first looked at the team, I didn't think we had enough quality in any areas. So I raided the transfer market, spending £325k of the £1.1M transfer budget - although I had to put some transfer money towards wages. I signed a mixed bag of players, with some very pleasing free transfers being a highlight. There were a couple of duffers, like Connor Winn - a keeper I signed frorm Falkirk for £9k. After 2 games, he had racked up a rating of 4.7. Needless to say, he's on his way at the end of the season. After a tactical tweak, the team started to play well, and I was impressed by our strike force most of the time. We had frustrating times though where we couldn't buy a goal, and the strikers were playing as if they'd had their eyes poked out. With a large squad - 33 players in all - we had plenty of rotation options, but that still wasn't enough for some players who demanded permanent first team action. Some of them need to watch their step - crying to the press will get them a place on the transfer list. Some will need to go anyway, as the club is losing money every month, and outgoings need to be addressed. Top Players Top Scorer: Hamid Bouyfoulkitne (STR)- 24. A Moroccan magician. We got him on a free transfer from Belgian side Turnhout, and I'm glad we did. Extremely strong up front, and his 24 goals won him the Premier Division Top Goalscorer award. Best Avg Rating: Jens Dittrich - 7.31. A German goal machine. We signed Jens on a free after Rostock had released him. A real bargain, and a quality player. Scored 15 goals, and could have beaten Bouyfoulkitne's goal tally if he hadn't had his leg broken in February - broken by a dirty, dirty Donegal Celtic player (who injured 2 of my players that day, and the Ref stood by and did nothing). In preparation for next season, I'll see who we release - a number will have to go - and then decide if I'm going to dip into the transfer market. However, with club finances being the way they are, I might not be able to. All Transfer Activity. Club Finances Currently in the red: £1,200,786. To say we're all worried is an understatement. We need to qualify for Europe next season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good luck with the new club - Steve Bruce as new England coach, eh? Cheers. England are doing quite well, surprisingly. Steve Bruce offered Stuart Pearce the under-21s job too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 2016-17 Ups & Downs Northern Ireland League Premier Division Winners: Linfield. ECC Q: Linfield. Europa Lg Q: Glentoran, Ballymena Utd, Crusaders. Relegated: Dungannon. First Division Winners: Ards. Relegated: Ballinamallard Utd, H & W Welders. Second Division Winners: Lower Maze. Promoted: Killymoon. Relegated: Ballymoney United, Seapatrick. Cups Irish Cup: Glentoran. League Cup: Distillery. Mid Ulster Cup: Newry. All Ireland Cup: Sligo Rovers. England League Premier Division Winners: Arsenal (x2). ECC Q: Arsenal, Chelsea (2nd), Manchester City (3rd), Liverpool (4th). Europa Lg Q: Norwich City (FA Cup runners up), Manchester United (5th), Everton (6th). Relegated: Sunderland, Huddersfield Town, West Ham United. npower Championship Winners: Wigan Athletic. Promoted: Norwich City, Swansea City. Relegated: Chesterfield, Sheffield United, Bristol Rovers. npower League 1 Winners: Walsall. Promoted: Brighton & Hove Albion, Preston North End. Relegated: Bournemouth, Lincoln City, Tranmere Rovers, Brentford. npower League 2 Winners: Luton Town. Promoted: Cambridge United, Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle. Relegated: Stockport County, AFC Wimbledon. Blue Square Premier Winners: Darlington. Promoted: Grimsby Town. Relegated: Nuneaton, Southport, Eastleigh, Bury. Blue Square North Winners: Boston United. Promoted: AFC Telford United. Relegated: Altrincham, Nantwich, Kendal. Blue Square South Winners: Havant & Waterlooville. Promoted: Bath City. Relegated: Chelmsford City, Gloucester City, Carshalton. Promoted from Regional Prems: Workington, Hendon, Hyde, Maidenhead, Hampton & Richmond, Lowestoft. Cups FA Cup: Norwich City 0-2 Arsenal. League Cup: Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal. JPT: Brighton 2-2p Nottingham Forest. FA Trophy: Grimsby 2-0 Kidderminster H. === Champions League === Barcelona 4-1 FC Bayern @ Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels. Att: 50000. === Europa League === A.C. Milan 0-2 Valencia @ San Siro, Milan. Att: 80018. ===Other European League Winners=== Belgium: Anderlecht. France: Paris Saint-Germain. Germany: FC Bayern (x3). Holland: FC Twente. Italy: Sampdoria. Scotland: Celtic (x2). Spain: Real Madrid (x2). Portugal: Benfica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Solid first season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Yeah, pretty much as expected. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Scoring five goals and still being on the losing side Decent start, will be tough to break into the top two though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Scoring five goals and still being on the losing side Decent start, will be tough to break into the top two though. Yes, Glentoran and Linfield are especially strong, although we just managed to shock Linfield in the Northern Irish Cup. Details of my latest season coming soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychonaut Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 2017-2018 === Portadown === Northern Irish Premier Division SEASON SUMMARY League Board: Continental Qualification. Fans: Continental Qualification. Media: 5th. With a 5th place finish last season, I wanted to aim higher this year. Pre-season preparation went quite well, and included a cracking result against an English Premiership team, and a 4-3 thriller against Valencia (which we lost sadly). We got off to a good start, with 7 points from our first 3 games. But then we had to face Linfield and Glentoran within a space of 3 days, lost both matches and that knocked the stuffing out of us a bit. But at the end of September, my players found new belief in themselves. The team racked up a fine run of 10 win, 4 draws, 1 defeat. We found ourselves catapulted up the table, and into 3rd - although at times we were ahead of Glentoran, moving into 2nd spot for a couple of weeks. The highlight of the league season was undoubtedly beating Glentoran 3-1 at their place. Form over the remainder of the season was a little patchy, mainly due to players being away on extended leave. Talking of extended leave, I found a bug. If you have players already on extended leave, and then grant another player leave - let's say 2 weeks - FM also extends the leave period of players already on the list by 2 weeks. Discovered this when one of my players hadn't returned after a week off. Anyway, back to the action. When the league split, we were sitting in 4th, with Distillery 8 points behind us. We didn't make things easy on ourselves, picking up just 2 points in our remaining 5 games. Fortunately for us, Distillery weren't too hot either, and we finished in a coveted Europa League spot! As the season drew to a close, I won the Northern Irish Premier Division Manager of the Year award, and the club chairman offered me a new 1 year contract on £1400 p/w. During the course of the season, I was approached by the Livingston chairman, offering me £600 p/w. The team was in a mess, so I politely declined. Also turned down speculation about taking jobs at Bradford, Leyton Orient, Middlesbrough, Helsingborgs, and (according to the Argentine Press) Espanyol. Cups Northern Irish Cup Really good this year. Crusaders gave us a stern test of character in the 4th round, and we needed 2 extra time goals in a replay to get past them. Coleraine were then brushed aside as we headed to a QF tie with Limavady Utd of Division 1. We were poor, and drew 0-0 away. The replay was a formality, a 4-2 win setting up a showdown with our rivals Linfield at Windsor Park. Nobody gave us a chance, but after going 2-0 up after 15 minutes, we knew it was going to be our day, and we ran out 4-2 winners. The Final was against Distillery, and we had to come back from 1-0 down but went in 2-1 up at half time. That seemed to be enough for the win, until Distillery got an equaliser courtesy of an own goal from us on 90+1. We went ahead in extra time, but were pegged back again. But two goals from our Brazilians Carazinho (117) and Wendell (119) meant we would avoid a dreaded penalty shootout, and we lifted the cup that had eluded us since 2005. Norther Irish League Cup A cracking 2nd round display against Division 2 side Wakehurst. Hamid Bouyfoulkitne (Bouffy) found the net 5 times as we romped home to a 10-0 win. What happened in the 3rd round vs Dundela is still a mystery... Mid Ulster Cup This was to prove easy. We were the only Premier Division team in the competition, and we swept aside Coagh United (D2), Loughgall (D1) and Armagh (D1) to reach the final vs Annagh United (D2). We didn't play well in the Final, and were lucky to scrape the 1-0 win to lift the cup. All-Ireland Cup Our participation came as a surprise, as I didn't realise we had qualified for this cup. First up was Derry City. Everyone had written us off as underdogs, and after going down 4-2 at home in the fist leg, I thought they might be right. However, no one could have predicted what would happen in the second leg. We faced a huge challenge, given that we would need 3 goals to win the tie because of the away goals rule. Going in with the score at 1-1 at HT didn't bode well, but a blistering second half saw us 4-2 up at 90 minutes - we'd done enough to send the tie to Extra Time. Derry gifted us an own goal on 93 minutes, but they scored again. It wouldn't matter though, if things stayed this way until the end of extra time, we'd go through on away goals. My lads rallied round and secured the win with 2 more goals. An incredible 7-3 victory, 9-7 on agg. Shamrock Rovers were up next in the Quarter Finals. Once again, we were underdogs, but did enough to secure a 2-1 win at home in the first leg. Going into the away leg, there were concerns about Shamrock's away goal, and it almost proved costly. Rovers scored early on to level the tie at 2-2. We seemed to have no reply, until Jens Dittrich put us ahead on 73 minutes. We thought we'd done enough, but Shamrock scored on 90+2. 3-3, and all square on away goals. We took the advantage in Extra Time. Rovers found an equaliser, but it was to no avail. We went through on away goals (4-4 agg). Dundalk were up next - and yet again, we'd been written off. However, we got a 2-1 win away, and sealed the victory with a 6-3 hammering at home. (8-4 agg.) The Final: Portadown vs Sligo Rovers at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Holders Sligo were the hot favourites and were going to demolish us apparently. My boys had other ideas. Bouyfoulkitne got us off to a dream start on 3 minutes, and Brazilian defender Carazinho headed home on 8 minutes to put us 2 up. Sligo had no reply. Bouffy and Carazinho scored again in the second half, and we ran out 4-0 winners. Sligo were poor, and we lifted the All-Ireland Cup for the very first time \o/. Manager's Thoughts Very pleasing season. 3 cups under my belt, and Europe to look forward to. I'm starting to enjoy my time here. SQUAD The lads rallied round and worked really well together this year. Perhaps one of the key factors was that there were no new faces in the squad this season - well, there was no money for signings, and we didn't really need to sign anyone anyway. As a result, the squad gelled, and gave some great performances on the pitch. Moroccan striker Hamid Bouyfoulkitne (of Bouffy as we call him) was in lethal form for us this season, and a good back four kept things tight at the back (most of the time). The wage bill, and outgoings needed to be addressed this season, and there was a massive cull from our B team. I hadn't really looked at the B team last season, and was shocked to find about 50 players on the pay roll, some of whom were obviously never going to cut it at this level. New signings next season? I'll see what's available to me when the wage budget is decided, but we may need to strengthen a couple of areas to live up to the challenge of the Europa League. And a number of players needed to be rested in the second half of the season - not ideal when half of the first team needs to take a holiday. Top Players Top Scorer: Hamid Bouyfoulkitne (Bouffy) - 40 goals/52 apps. On fire this season, grabbing 32 league goals, and setting new club records. A real gem of a player, and just hitting his peak. Highest Avg Rating: Bouffy - 7.41/52 apps. Jens Dittrich (45 apps, 24 gls, 7.31 avg) Another cracking year for the German striker. He was on the fringes of the first team to begin with this year, due to his recovery from a broken leg. Soon found his form again when brought back into the action. Josh Langley (45 apps, 17 gls, 7.25 avg) Plays in defence, and controls the back line extremely well. Josh also likes to get up for corners, and has headed the ball home on many occasions. Frustrated by a torn calf muscle, picked up in the Northern Irish Cup semi-final vs Linfield. Sadly, it meant he missed out on winners medals in the Northern Irish and All-Ireland cups. Szymon Nowicki (44 apps, 4 gls, 7.38 avg) Second highest rated player on the squad, Nowicki is a great midfielder, and very versatile. Can play in RLC positions, although we're currently training him up as a left sided winger due to his crossing skills. Picked him up last season, on a free from Polish side Beskid Andrychow. All Transfer Activity CLUB FINANCES As of 22nd May 2018: £1,448,460. Losing money like no tomorrow. Got a nice £698k cash prize from winning the All-Ireland Cup, which helped a great deal. Hoping for a good run in the Europa League next season - group stages would be nice, but probably just a fairytale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Good season, got into Europe. Well done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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