Northernpilgrim Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Getting to the Prem this season will depend on how the squad fare regards injury and suspension. I'm already having to use a left back from the under 18s, as I have no money for transfers and every loan the club are asking for a fee, even my Parent Club, which I haven't had happen before. Normally when I've been a feeder club, the parent club will loan a reserve for free. Not this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Here are our results from August to October 2013. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 And the league table. As you can see, the 6-0 defeat was against a well placed Reading side, but the staff meeting I held immediately afterwards seems to have stopped it becoming a crisis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 So, a bit about my plan for this career. My plan is to replicate the path taken by Brian Clough, and to have exactly the same number of games in charge of each club. I will resign and wait for the relevant job to become vacant if it's not available, but will put pressure on the manager through the media and expressing an interest if he looks vulnerable. I aim to achieve everything Brian Clough did in his career, but if I'm offered an international job, or I get sacked without reaching the right length of time, it'll turn into a 'what might have happened' career. Enjoying life at Hartlepool, but know I'll be leaving them this season, one way or another, as BC only managed them for 84 games. So, 38 Championship games to get the 9 wins and 4 draws I need to emulate the great man. But as I'm chasing the Derby County job, I'll need to do rather better than that! You've not quite done what you stated you would do. I'm not seeking an argument, as I said before you're entitled to play the game entirely how you want to as it is your game and you paid for it. As I said before, enjoy the rest of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Indeed you are correct, Nobby, but I took the view that the Derby board weren't likely to replace their manager any time soon, as dure to financial constraints, his remit was basically to survive. I further took the view that my career should be about what Brian Clough achieved at each of his clubs, and finding out a little more on this was part of the appeal. I accept that some, yourself included, may see this as moving away from the original vision, but others (myself included), saw it as facilitating the challenge continuing. One thing is for certain, and that is that the Derby County element of the challenge is going to be by far the most difficult. I feel confident of getting out of the Championship in my first full season, but getting to the European Cup semi final before the 6 years is up? Given the poor financial health of the club, that's going to be my biggest challenge. As previously stated, if I'm sacked, or run out of time, the challenge is over, and I will officially not be a virtual match for Brian Clough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 UPDATE: Just loaded up to continue playing, and the game hadn't saved last time. As this has happened to me a number of times with FM12, I save after every match, so just the Blackburn game went. The replayed fixture was won 2-0 by us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Results from November to January. Fabulous run of form until the very last game, against the team currently second Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 And the league table as it stands at the end of January 2014. Not quite a given for promotion, but very definitely ours to lose.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 It's Wigan in second. I really must be more careful where I leave my mouse pointer!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 And my 2013/14 transfer activity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Michael Higdon, my star player. Take a bow, son. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Going along very nicely indeed . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Where's your Mackay? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks SRL88. Must admit I wasn't expecting to be in the top two quite so soon. Given the small squad, I thought we'd sneak up the able as the season progressed, and grab a playoff spot. Now, I think I'll be disappointed with anything less than the title. I realise what people mean now when they say that coming second is a disappointment, because there are no trophies for second. Deltablue, I guess what you mean is, where is my experienced player waiting in the wings to step forward into the managers shoes following the inevitable bust up between me and the board? Truth be told, I don't have many older players in the squjad, although several have reached milestones recently, 100 or 150 games for the club. Much of that is down to the money worries that have dogged Derby since their last relegation from the Premier League. Our fans are likely to be delighted at the sight of Nottingham Forest so close to the Championship relegation zone, but I personally would prefer to see them lurking around the fringes of the playoffs. It may be a long while until I take the Forest job (I've got the rest of nearly 7 years at Derby, followed by a spell at Brighton and a stopoff in Leeds to do first), but I'd rather they lost their manager to promotion to a bigger job, than see him get the sack. Their current manager? Why, Nigel Clough of course. Talk about history repeating itself! Is he trying to do the same as me, without the apprenticeship in the lower leagues or the fallout with his Chairman? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Derby hit 70 points in mid February by hammering third bottom Ipswich 4-1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 We've now played 35 games, have 78 points, a 9 point lead over second placed Blackburn, and a 15 point cushion to third place, which at time of writing is Norwich. Our next opponents? Blackburn Rovers. They did the double over Derby last season before my arrival, I'm looking to do the same to them this time, having claimed the three points at home in October (the game I had to play twice due to a save error). Fingers crossed we can get a similar result at Ewood Park. For me that would almost kill them off as a threat, whereas defeat for us puts them right back in it. Not sure I'd go as far as to say a Championship 6 pointer, but close to it. Five games later and it really would be do or die for them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Sadly we didn't win the Blackburn game. Our defence let us down, and we shipped goals for fun, going down 6-1. That means we've now conceded 12 goals in the two away games at our closest rivals. Given that we're the division's highest scorers, it's no secret where my rebuilding efforts will be concentrated over the summer. I've always been a 'you score 3, we'll get 4' kind of player, but even I draw the line at needing 7 to win an away game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Anybody got any advice as to how to get back on track? After the previous 6 goal battering, I held a team metting saying if we kept going we could still get promotion. Can the same work again, or will the players take the attitude that they've heard it all before? I don't want to lash them, because we're still 6 points clear, and I need their confidence to stay high, especially as our run in has some tough games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Promotion secured. Now to hold our nerve and win the title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Next up we face Norwich City, and whilst we can't actually win the league with victory, we CAN ensure that we do it in the following game, in front of our own fans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Great work getting promoted fella. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Well done going up already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Cheers guys. I have absolutely no worries that we'll score enough goals in the Prem to give us a shot at staying up, but given that we've conceded more than a quarter of our goals in just 2 games, I'm seriously worried that we'll take a load of punishment in the goals against column. Wonder if I should consider ditching my 4-1-2-3 formation in exchange for something a little more defensive? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Title secured, with breathing space Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 And how we did it. Results from February to May 2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Had a dodgy spell, losing 3 out of 4 at one point in March, including that 6 goal hammering at Blackburn, but 8 wins from the last 9 (and it should have been 9 out of 9, Hull got away with robbery), was just too much for the others to live with. Can't believe the press asking me in my last press conference whether I will renew Michael Higdon's contract, which expires this summer. 48 goals in 46 league games, 54 in 51 overall. He's injured himself in the last game, and out for 3 months, but how can I let that kind of goal threat go? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Nigel Clough has been sacked by Nottingham Forest just days after the season ended. As you can see from the League Table above, Forest survived only on goal difference. I only hope the next manager performs better! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Shortly after the season ends, this happens Normally this would have me heading for the exit door, but I still have to win the Premier League and reach a Champions League semi with Derby. That's going to be tough given our shocking finances. Almost £4m in the red, and losing more by the week. If the Premier League money doesn't come soon, Administration will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Shortly after the season ends, this happens Normally this would have me heading for the exit door, but I still have to win the Premier League and reach a Champions League semi with Derby. That's going to be tough given our shocking finances. Almost £4m in the red, and losing more by the week. If the Premier League money doesn't come soon, Administration will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Denied any interest in the Newcastle job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Now I'm really feeling conflicted. Just received the following offer, which is bite your hand off brilliant, but I'm supposed to be mirroring Brian Clough unless I get sacked. Advice greatly appreciated. Stick with the plan of Hartlepool-Derby-Brighton-Leeds-Forest (with the possibility of managing any of the nations BC applied for), or say sod it, I've earned this, and go? I'm going to sleep on it, and check back in a couple of days for responses. I would like reasons as well as a decision if possible. Thanks in advance guys Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I would stick with your plan to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Deal. Despite the near £7m debt we're currently in, and the fact I've not signed anybody, but have released several who are not up to the Premiership, I'm going to stick with it. Clough took 2 seasons before he got Derby promoted, and only won the league the season before leaving, so this IS doable. I just need to stay up, avoid Administration, and hope Michael Higdon reproduces his Championship goalscoring form. If he can bag me 20 goals (doable, as he passed 50 this season), we might just have a chance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yeah, I'd stick with the plan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yeah, I think so too. Any advice on how to reduce debts of £7m when you're under the wage budget (we were 11k per week over until I released a ruck of unwanted players at a cost of just under £3m) would come in handy. I think I have a squad of 14 or 15 players, and only 2 strikers. I need at least 1 more to be able to continue the brand of attacking football that got us the Championship title, but don't want to tip the club into Administration and risk losing my star players for peanuts, as happened to my real life club, Plymouth Argyle. It still rankles that Bradley Wright Phillips only fetched £200k. Should have been 5-7x that ammount. I'm not having this club raped like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron6632 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 You've come so far, would be a pity to leave when your plan is coming together Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 I will be continuing with the plan. I'm going to place all hope on getting four or five loan players in, and not spending any more on wages. If the money from the Premier League comes soon, I may have a little bit of wiggle room, but it's looking like it'll be almost none. The debt situation is concerning, although our finances aren't even described as insecure yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Before the start of the season, another job offer Rejected, of course. And the board have given me a massive wage budget increase, plus a £9m transfer budget. Seems they aren't concerned about the club's debt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Here is my squad for 2014/15 - far too many in and out to list them all, it won't fit on one screen! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Odds on us winning the league have been quoted at 2,000-1. I'd say that's about right, and will be fighting to win the mini league of the bottom 4 or 5 clubs, and guarantee another season of Premiership football. Last season my first XI played as often as possible. This season, I'll be looking to play my strongest team against the weakest opponents. Many managers disagree with setting a points target and working out how to reach it. I feel that if I chase games I have no hope of winning, only to lose players for games I could win, that I'd be making a mistake. A well spent hour with a calculator may just keep us up. I have already decided on a points target (42), just need to work out where to get them from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Why 42 you might ask? Well, traditionally 40 has been regarded as the safety mark, but sides have gone down with 40, so therefore I want a couple extra as insurance. Also, it divides neatly by 3 to give me 14 games to target wins from. Realistically, that's going to mean picking the 5 other teams I expect to finish in the bottom 6, beating them home and away, and picking up 4 other wins from elsewhere. It can be done, but I may have to change strategy if results from the early part of the season dictate that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 The fixtures have been about as unkind as they could have been though. We could easily be cut adrift at the bottom at the end of August. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 All the best in the Premier League! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 If we're still in the fight in the last 5 games, we have as good a run in as I could hope for though: West Ham (a) Swansea (h) Norwich(h) WBA (a) Burnley (h) All teams I expect to be down there with us, and therefore all winnable. I just hope the rest of the season we can pick up enough to give us a chance. Michael Higdon is going to need to have another cracking season. Don't know where his 50-odd goals came from, he's never got near that before. Must be this formation, as James Brown topped 40 at Hartlepool playing the same position in it. Shame we're so crap at keeping clean sheets Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Cheers cerud, think I'm going to need more than luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Not the nicest of starts though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 You'll probably win the title Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 What an unexpected bonus in our first Premier League game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Really thought when Man Utd turned a 1-0 Derby lead into 2-1 to them, that they'd go on to hammer us, but the boys did me proud. Fergie had the cheek to say he didn't think we are cut out for the Premier League! I resisted the urge to respond, and will make my own judgement at Christmas. We have funds to bring in new players now if needed, as the PL money has cleared our debts and we're under wage budget, and should get sellout crowds most weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Nice job putting Fergie's words back in his mouth! That'll keep the old boy quit for a bit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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