wearesporting Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Started unemployed and just a mere sunday league footballer. Going to be a journeyman save which I'll try to keep as realistic as possible regarding clubs I may move to in the future. Only Irish and Northern Irish leagues active right now and this will change depending on where I see as realistic career options on the off chance I'm successful! Being an Irish sunday league footballer I figured somewhere in Ireland would be where my first job would be. Come the 2nd of January 2012 Rockmount AFC from the middle of nowhere in County Cork have just been promoted to the Irish First Division, went from amateurs to semi-pro, and decided to take me on as their new manager with a bunch of rubbish non-contract players on the team. Predicted to come 12th of 13 in the 2012 season so I needed some players and many took the call mostly on part time contracts with a few amateurs thrown in. Finance situation after the various players came in. How any other bonus payments come back to haunt them remains to be seen! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 According to my rubbish Northern Irish assistant manager Liam Bell, English left back Andre Blackman is my best player. I'm not so sure though..... Time will tell. He came late to the show so only saw one preseason game. Four were played and here they are: Not the most impressive of build ups but we will see how things go! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abulezz Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Good luck in Ireland! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cragswfc Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Good luck with Rockmount AFC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dejay Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Good luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake Appeal Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I want to start in Ireland some day, perhaps as part of a journeyman save. Until then, I will live vicariously through you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks for the best wishes guys!! MARCH 2012 We played 5 league games in March to open up the 2012 season. Only another 43 to go...... Just the one win in what is a hard division for us as I believe there is a big gap between teams. Two hard to take batterings at home were quickly forgotten with a big surprise win over Cork City. Being County Cork country boys the fans seemed to like that one. My player of the month was LB Andre Blackman: He played four of the games picking up two assists and defending less poorly than the other defenders..... Took one MOTM award. This left the table on the 1st of April looking like so: Already firmly in the second half of the table! The upcoming fixtures in a busy April provides us opportunities for wins to make sure we don't finish in the one relegation place. The League Cup already looks ominously close for a quick exit after we were drawn away against Dundalk from the Premier Division. Until the First of May! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Not the best start but not a dreadful one either. Good luck . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 April 2012 Seven games played in a hectic month. Most of them away games and with our recent away form bad results followed. The loss to Dundalk in the League cup was however to be expected. Late goals by Waterford and Firhouse cost us good points. The player of the month, perhaps loosely described in this case, was RB Mark Clegg. He played four out of seven games and did well making an assist and 26 interceptions in the games he was involved in. Table looks like so: This season would appear to be all about avoiding that trapdoor. This is my board's only request. In May: Another seven games including my first go in the cup. A home tie against Premier Division side UCD. Hoping to get momentum going as home games take over once more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Need to start picking up wins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 MAY 2012 After a downright atrocious first four games there came a glimmer a hope. Defeating 2nd placed Monaghan, putting up a good show against league leaders Finn Harps, and defeating UCD in the 2nd round of the cup! The media gave me a mid month assesment: Could have been worse. Player of the month was once again a defender! DC Declan Timlin, who was a non-contract player here already when I arrived, had a good month getting two goals and making vital key headers in dangerous situations. He was also man of the match in the cup game against UCD. The table on June 1st looks like so: The division expanded for 2012. The teams that came up were ourselves and the three teams below us. Bit of a gap then! We're winning the mini-league of lowly promoted teams at least..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 In the upcoming fixtures we have two home games to gun for. The remaining four games are away so away form improvement is needed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Should be able to stay up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 June/July 2012 Our fortunes don't change in the next two months...... One game I've picked out from the lot: This horrible game pretty much made me certain the team will not be relegated as the table looks like so on the morning of August the 1st: We are 2nd in the mini group of 4 promoted teams, so maybe there is some pride to play for yet. The board at least are pleased that we are currently steering clear of relegation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 The month of July is the mid-season transfer window for Irish football and a bunch of effort was made getting in guys on short 5 month contracts until the end of the season to make 100% sure of avoiding relelgation and maybe finding some players for next season. Squad is much deeper now. The ins..... And the outs..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 End of 2012 season Despite numerous tactical changes our form never improved over the 2nd half of the season. One place ahead of our media prediction in 11th and 2nd in the little mini-league of four promoted teams. Only 17 points seperate the rest of the league. The gap between the promoted 4 and the rest a whopping 40 points! Yes it's a challenge.... Waterford in 2nd qualify for the Euro Cup as they won the cup! Cork City off to the Premier League. I sign a new contract late in 2012 only for the chairman to drop it on me. A good 65% cut in the wage budget for the 2013 season. I'm left with a team of 6-7 good semi-pros and a bunch of guys on amateur contracts. Needless to say too many injuries and it will be a huge struggle. With a seriously low reputation this does not make for hope of progress. However I've decided to give it a try with the group of players I've cobbled together however I will be looking at clubs I may be getting linked to...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 ROCKMOUNT AFC 2013 SEASON And so another season is about to begin. Firstly here's a look at the prevelency of amateurs in the team. Needless to say, injuries would be extremely unhelpful.... This is the line up for the Irish First Division for 2013 Cork City left us after promotion with Galway United relegated to the division. Firhouse fell out of the basement replaced by Bangor Celtic. Otherwise it's how you were. My assistant says this is my main man for the season. His versatility is very helpful too. We had a morale boosting preseason schedule against weaker teams. May the 2013 season begin! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 March/April 2013 season Doing better this season than the one previous despite the huge wage decrease. So far at least anyway.... It took a little while to get going. The results leave the table looking like so: Bray are underachieving, could be a possibility of a job going there which might interest me.... Defensively we are doing great but we are not scoring enough at present with only 12 goals in 11 games. 6 of which were scored by the player of the season so far 19 year old Darragh Duggan Not to forget the defensive end of things Dermot McVeigh has had a major hand in keeping the scoring down. Hopefully we can keep up the better work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Just a quick look at average attendance and salary per annum: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Mini update Two good wins Bangor Celtic's only win of the season so far was against us so we put them in their place in front of a crowd of 98 people.... Darragh Duggan scored a hatrick taking his tally to 9 goals from 13 games however....... Will we cope without him for 2 months? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 In even more unwelcome news my top guy at the back Dermot McVeigh is out for a month too. Could be a difficult few weeks ahead... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpfc543 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Good start to the season but unlucky with the injuries. Keep up the good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thanks very much. The loss of the two players might have been recoverable. However when your first three strikers are all injured at the same time then there's trouble..... Ryan Brennan, normally a midfielder, was a surprise hit playing as a striker. When he drops back into his midfield role I'll be looking at getting him further forward. His partner for the period of injuries was a 17 year old from the U19 team with good potential but not cut out for it presently. A nice little bit of first team playing time for him. During the bad spell we knocked Drogheda United of the Premier Division out of the cup and have a tie against a poor team in the next round so possibilities of progress here! Table resulting from the results above is: Looks like us and Wexford have ended up in a 9th/10th black hole though if we can finally pick up a win or two in my games in hand then maybe we could do more. Cherry Orchard are a major surprise package up in 2nd. Bray very disappointing. They, Waterford, and Galway all sacked their managers. I wasn't linked to any of the positions.... In the absence of Darragh Duggan and Dermot McVeigh, English left back Andre Blackman stepped up to be the best performer of the team. Me and him have gone toe to toe many times in the past but when it comes to the crunch he will fight on the pitch. The injured players are slowly returning to the team so here's hoping the morale of the team hasn't been too damaged and we can improve again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 14 league games left in the 2013 season Latest results have been pretty mixed: Leading to a table like so: Rather than being flattened at the bottom endof the table like last year we've managed to just hold onto the coat tails of the teams directly above us. We also currently have the 3rd best defence in the league with a positive goal difference. Both opposing managers and my own board like to comment on how they dislike my style of play...... Two of my better players, Ryan McCann and Dermot McVeigh have rejected new contracts from myself to join other clubs at the end of the season. My top guy Darragh Duggan: He refuses to negotiate a contract and I suspect he will leave too. 12 goals and 9 assists a good return. This loss of players and a likely smaller wage budget once again next year means I will more than likely leave the club to find new pastures. Ive been linked with several jobs. Clearly someone has noticed me dragging some club from the middle of nowhere away from relegation they surely should have suffered. Also I am in the quarter final of the cup, a great acheivement for Rockmount AFC. On a side note Rory Delap is linked with every single Irish job going....... Next update will be the end of the season and the plan for next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 And so the 2013 season comes to an end!!!! We had a fair end to the season... Culminating in a 5-0 trashing of Athlone! We managed to get to the semi-finals of the cup before bowing out to Monaghan United and ended our last four games undefeated. End table looks like so... Monaghan are champions and we say goodbye to Bangor Celtic. A 10th placed finish for ourselves with a much more respectable points tally. My top performing guys of the year were like so..... Darragh Duggan the top dog with 17 goals and 12 assists. Darren Murray chipped in with 12 and would have had more if it wasn't for constant injury. Robert Campbell had an impressive 11 goals for himself too. Dermot McVeigh and Andre Blackman doing the biz in defence. The 2014 season is ahead. I resigned from Rockmount AFC.................... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 We thrashed them 5-0 in the last game of the season. Welcome to Athlone Town! We've gone from the arse end of the Cork countryside to the town of Athlone right in the centre of the island of Ireland. It has a population of roughly 20,000-30,000 people. Their stadium at Lissywollen is an all-seater with 2,500 capacity. They were formed way back in 1887 and have been out of the top league of Ireland since the mid 90s. They won the league twice back in their heyday of the early 1980s. Our media prediction for 2014 is 5th and the board expect a respectable league position come the end of the year. Their finances aren't that much bigger than what I left at Rockmount although their reputation is higher. I'm running a fair bit over their wage budget set for me so unless I perform I'm going to be under pressure. With the players I have I wouldn't be ultra confident of getting to at least their expected position but we'll give it a go! This year I hope to keep them in mid table with hopefully a push for promotion next year. These are the league participants for the year ahead.... Longford remain with us having lost their promotion/relegation playoff against Drogheda United. Monaghan United are gone as winners of the league last year. Bangor Celtic fell out of the bottom. University College Dublin (UCD) came down to the division from above. Firhouse were promoted back up to the league. On a side note I also received a job offer from Bohemian FC but rejected it on account of a team from the Premier Division of their stature wouldn't try to hire someone who had been playing around the bottom of the league below them. Rory Delap was taken on as manager instead, no doubt teaching them the trade of long throw ins....... May the 2014 season begin! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 ATHLONE 2014 Preseason fixtures for the 2014 season went well enough, though a slightly embarrassing draw with St. Joes! These are my best two players who I hope help us succeed. They are both worryingly young. The team is definitely stronger in attack than defence. Let the games begin!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
naughton81 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Cmon De Town:thup: Currently playing with them aswell. Finances are your biggest problem. Best of luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niebiescy Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Going on the screenshots of the last couple of players your new squad look a lot more talent. Good luck! I've never played in one of the truely tiny national leagues. Maybe should try it next time I start a new game instead of staying in Eastern Europe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Athlone Town 2014 Season 12 games of 48 played Great start to the 2014 season with Athlone. It had to be too considering how much I am over the wage budget for the year! We got off to a great start with 4 straight wins. Went through a three league game streak failing to win after. I lost to my previous club Rockmount at home which was hard to take. And the final game of the first series of games was frustrating as after dominating we failed to win mainly due to an inability to hit a ball on target. Hopefully this improves! The league results leave us 2nd in the table sitting in the promotion/relegation playoff place. Waterford are on fire at present sitting on top though we did manage to beat them in their own turf to slow them down. We progressed to the second round of the League Cup with a fighting win over Galway. We have a home tie against Premier Division Dundalk in that round. We've also been handed a plum draw in the second round of the main cup competition against non-league Drumkeen at Lissywollen. After professing that my team will be better in attack than defence, with three man of the match performances, 6'4 giant centre back Marc Mukendi from Northern Ireland has been my standout player. We suffered an injury to our main creative midfielder early in the season and he will be back to action in the next couple of weeks to challenge Marc for player of the year come season's end. Here's hoping we can keep up the good form over the next 12 league game period! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 24 out of 48 games played and it's turned harder on us. Lots of losses this quarter. Remarkably we remain in second place, however just 10 points separates 2nd from 10th. This is one competitive league though Waterford have left everyone for dead to battle it out for the promotion/relegation playoff place. Our form unfortunately has forsaken us at this point. We lost out in the 2nd round of the uncared for League Cup to Dundalk. More embarrassing we were dumped out of the main cup by non-league Drumkeen at home. Players got a rollicking after that one! With cups gone we have just the league to focus on. We need to avoid getting thumped 5-0 at home as Waterford did a few games back! Despite defensive frailties our other main centre back Jamie Carr was player of the quarter for me suddenly finding goals from free kicks and corners Can the bad form be banished as we enter the second half of the season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Guys what's the story with adding leagues? I heard it caused an insane number of players to appear and slows down painfully on cheap laptops like the one I'm typing away on here. Is it bad? I've only the Irish leagues loaded to start and am a little concerned about what will happen when I open some leagues up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Two signings during the Irish July transfer window though they were all on free transfers. Singed up for 5 months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Following 36 games out of 48. 12 to go of the 2014 season with Athlone Town! A symmetrical 4-4-4 record. Enough to keep us on the coattails of the playoff place but more work required if we are to make it! The last two results is hopefully a sign of better things to come, a draw away to runaway leaders Waterford folllowed by a solid beating of Bray Wanderers. Got my first win against former club Rockmount too Robbie Murray has been top dog this quarter. 14 goals and 5 assists to his name now for the season. Good accurate shooting and passing too and a deserved 5 Man of the Match awards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 And so the season comes to an end. We finish in 3rd place, a good showing. Helped by just two defeats in our last 12 games, including another thrashing by Waterford before they go sample the Premier Division with 103 goals under their belt. Finn Harps go into the promotion/relegation playoff against Drogheda. Firhouse were down long ago. That's the order of goodness among the players. Both centre backs top it despite me commenting that my strikers were stronger. Aksel Guldager was top in the league for assists and Robbie Murray was 5th top scorer. Bar any interesting approaches I'll be doing a second season with Athlone to try hopefully push on for a shot at promotion. Bring on 2015! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 And so another year is upon us! Waterford were promoted last year automatically, replaced by relegated Monaghan from above. Bangor Celtic retook their place from relegated Firhouse. Finn Harps lost their playoff to Drogheda 0-3 and remain in the First Division. We've no major players gone and have added a few on contract and on loan. These three signings I'm hoping will make an big impact. A good loan player to get and two exciting young talents from abroad on contract at the club. Stephen McAlorum Niels Christian Bak Florian Muller Media says I am third favourite for the title, the bosses just want top six finish. I hope to do better than last year and make a strong go at promotion but only time will tell. Bring on 2015! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpfc543 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Should get promotion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Should get promotion Sure hope so! 2015 season 24 of 48 games played A great season so far it must be said! Monaghan are also good though............. But despite being a point behind we have two games in hand so all to play for! We were knocked out of the uncared for League Cup in the 2nd round. In the national cup we beat Wexford in the 2nd round and await Premier Division Cork City in the 3rd round, who as would have it knocked us out of the League Cup. If we are to continue our good form my top two performers so far will have to remain fit and on form! Aksel Guldager Robbie Murray Also looking for more improvement from new young free transfer signing Willo Rice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 2015 season: 10 games to go Most recent results: Table 10 games remaining 1 point ahead and 2 games in hand. Also in the Semi Finals of the cup though we must travel to Shamrock Rovers.... Will the players keep their cool? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 End of 2015 Season: We didn't exactly roar over the line, rather stumbled. However, Monaghan also choked somewhat which means..... PROMOTION! Shamrock Rovers taught us a lesson in the semi-final of the cup on their way to a league and cup double. They dominated the Premier Division. This is how the players' league stats ended up... ...and how the league stats shape up. I've decided to stick with Athlone Town and not apply for the Sligo Rovers job which propped up, however I will be open to a move to a bigger team even if it came up just before the start of the season. Realistically I'd imagine any team in the league would take me on except perhaps Shamrock Rovers who would be above my station still. Here's to a possibly struggling 2016 in the Prem! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 With only the Irish leagues loaded and the add leagues feature's issue likely to send my weak laptop to a snail's pace because of it's issues I'm considering dropping these updates on a high. What do you think? Will I continue on until I win the Irish league or drop it now and get involved in another game which I'll update on the forum. Are you enjoying this career? If nobody responds I'll take it as a 'start another game' reader decision My little man beside me here is getting cranky so talk soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
direstark Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 have a file going on here starting with your first ever fixture Limerick FC, did they get relegated at some point from the first division? And how many teams in the prem have gone full pro? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearesporting Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 have a file going on here starting with your first ever fixture Limerick FC, did they get relegated at some point from the first division? And how many teams in the prem have gone full pro? How's it going! Limerick were promoted in the first year and have been in the Premier Division since. Cork, Dundalk, Sligo and Shamrock Rovers are the only ones fully pro though I'm not sure how many were pro from the start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
direstark Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 How's it going!Limerick were promoted in the first year and have been in the Premier Division since. Cork, Dundalk, Sligo and Shamrock Rovers are the only ones fully pro though I'm not sure how many were pro from the start. dont think any were , but dont quote me on it , shamrock rovers were the first i seen , considering they always seem to dominate the league they've champions league qualifier money to burn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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