FM14: "The wheels on our house go round and round" Wisbech Town Level 9.

[pearcey_90]

This is a single team save using the database created by FCUtdWill's where you can download from the steam workshop. I'll be using the level 10 database where level 11 is non active on the file, but promotion and relegation to level 10 is still active.

I've had a save early on when FM14 was released which was a journeyman save but found it hard to constantly keep it updated due to work commitments so it tailed off unfortunately. So for this save I won't be constantly updating but instead be doing a report end of preseason, in January and one at the end of the season. I'll also update if anything interesting happens during those times so feel free to have a look every now and then if you want

This save will be a single team save as mentioned before where I'll be taking charge of my home town club in Level 9, and hoping to take them as far as I can in my last ever FM14 save. Done a save with these before on previous FM with FCUtdWill's databases and reached the conference level before hitting a ceiling so hopefully this time I can go just that bit further and bring league football to my beloved little town

Leagues loaded are:

England - Down to Level 10

Scotland - Down to SL2

N. Ireland - Down to Belfast Telegraph C2

Ireland - Down to First Division

Wales - Welsh Premier League

France - Ligue 1

Germany - Bundesliga

Spain - Liga BBVA

Ones in red will be taking off after the first season has ended. Just had them loaded to see if any little gems become available.

Manager Profile

Disclaimer - The title is a song that is sung by the fans because opposition fans associate Wisbech as a Gypsy town.

[pearcey_90]

Wisbech Town FC

Brief History

Wisbech Town F.C. is an English football club currently based in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. The club are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division and play at the Fenland Stadium. They moved to the United Counties League Premier Division for the start of the 2013-14 season having previously played in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division due to travel distance. They won promotion at the end of the 2012-13 season having finished 2nd but the clubs members stupidly refused promotion on the basis the club couldn't afford the extra costs that would come with playing higher up. This led to the manager eventually leaving along with several first team players. (Hopefully one day people with more ambition will take over the club).

Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was established in 1920 by the merger of three local clubs. They initially played in the Peterborough & District League, winning it in 1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1931–32 and 1932–33. In 1935 the club turned semi-professional and joined the United Counties League. Former West Ham player Sam Jennings was the first major signing, and the club won the United Counties League Cup in their first season.

In 1945–46 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup, but lost to Ipswich Town. The following season they won the league title, a feat repeated the season after. In 1950 they switched to the Eastern Counties League, before joining the Midland League in 1952.

In 1957–58 the club reached the second round of the FA Cup, beating Colchester United 1–0 in the first leg, before losing 2–1 at Reading. That season they finished second in the league, and switched again to the Southern League, joining the North-West Division. After finishing ninth and reaching the first round of the FA Cup again (losing 4–1 in a replay at Newport County), the club was placed in the new Premier Division as the league reorganised. They reached the first round again in 1959–60, but lost 4–1 to Wycombe Wanderers. They were relegated in 1960–61, but returned as Division One champions in 1961–62. Despite reaching the first round of the FA Cup again, they were relegated back to Division One in 1964–65. In 1965–66 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the last time until 1995, losing 10–1 at Brighton, their record defeat.

In 1970 the club returned to the Eastern Counties League. They won the League Cup in 1971, the league and cup double in 1971–72, and the league again in 1976–77. In 1983–84 the club went 37 league matches unbeaten, but lost the title on goal difference. The following season they reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase, but lost to Halesowen Town in a semi-final replay after a draw over the original two legs. They reached the same stage the next season, but lost to Southall. They won the East Anglian Cup in 1988, and in 1990–91 they won the league again, and in 1995 the league cup.

In 1995–96 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 1960s, but lost 5–1 at Kingstonian. However, after finishing second in the league that season the club were promoted to the Midland Division of the Southern League. Whilst playing in the Southern League, the club's reserve team entered the Eastern Counties League. The club reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1996–97, losing 2–1 at home to St Albans City. The following season they reached the second round, after beating Billericay Town 2–1, before losing 2–0 at home to Bristol Rovers.

The club were relegated back to the Eastern Counties League in 2001–02 after finishing bottom of their division, and the reserve team dropped into the Cambridgeshire League.

Stadium

Fenland Park was their old ground up till 2008. The reason behind moving was to clear the clubs debts by selling the ground to a housing company and a build a new one on the outskirts of the town. Fenland Parks a historic ground that still to this day has not had the diggers move in so the ground could still be renovated and moved back in if the club wish to do so and sell the new ground.

The club moved into their new ground in 2010 (after previously playing in Outwell) with the first match, a 5–0 win over St Andrews in the FA Cup extra-preliminary round, taking place on 14 August 2010. The stadium contains a small seated stand, 2 end terraces with roofs along with a big club house that can be used for private functions.

Honours

Southern Football League Division One

Champions 1961–62

Eastern Counties League

Champions 1971–72, 1976–77

Runners-up 1970–71, 1973–74, 1983–84

United Counties League

Champions 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50

Runners-up 1948–49

Midland League

Runners-up 1957–58

Facilities

General

[pearcey_90]

Pre Season

Pre season saw the players return to the club following the summer upheaval with only 12 returning so major work had to be carried out to bring reinforcements that were good enough for this level. With such a limited budget £450pw it was virtually impossible to bring in players of a decent quality due to them demanding around £100pw and the club would only offer £20pw. In the end we brought in a few players on a year long contract, with quite a few arriving on non contracts so hopefully they won't get poached during the season.

Transfers

Probably the most exciting signing is Portuguse attacking midfielder David de Oliveira. He'll be the creative spark for our side and a lot of responsibility will be on his shoulders to help us open up teams.

Due to players being on non contracts we lost a few key players during the summer too with the club unable to match the wages they're getting at their new clubs. The loss Adam Milson, Deakin Napier and Neal Spafford are big blows and already put our promotion hopes on the back burners.

Results

Pre Season fixtures saw us take on local village sides in around Fenland, with the first annual Elgoods Fenland Cup (Elgoods is an ale making company in Wisbech) taking place. After dispatching our fierce rivals Wisbech St Mary in the semi finals we sealed the victory in the final against Whittlesey United to take the first ever Elgoods Fenland Cup. Last pre season game saw us come from 3 down to rescue a point and gave a good indication that the team does have some fight in them which could be crucial as the season goes on.

We now go into the season where we are 4th favourites to go up, so the fans/board will be expecting me to get the side up and around the top. In terms of promotion I think it's impossible for this season, and it's simply a case of finding our feet and hope we can improve the side next summer to have a bigger assault on the title.

[deltablue]

Probably won't see many Portuguese at this level, just how good is he?

[mark1985]

Look forward to reading this!

[pearcey_90]

Half Way Stage Update

League Results

It's a been a very up and down start to life in the UCL with some very good positive wins coupled with some annoying little set backs. In terms of tactics the team look like they are responding well to them at this level, which involves a mixture of attacking short passing football which can be hard to play due to certain pitches. The main problem we face are some of the players are just not cut out for the tactics which include a CM, Striker, LB and CBs. If we had a striker with a bit more pace that could finish we'd be clear at the top but instead we have a very talented striker in the form of Tony Battersby (played league football for Lincoln) who is just about doing the business up front, but with our game being about quick attacking he can sometimes slow the team down but nonetheless he has contributed with some good goals.

A big positive that is to established from the first half of the season so far is how well we respond after we suffer a mini blip. We rarely let it sink in too long and bounce back usually with back to back wins. This reminds me of a Man Utd side under SAF, when a few losses occur and goals are shipped the following games are much tighter with defence being stronger. Just a shame we can't find the consistency to go say 5-8 games winning in a row.

The nearest side we have in this league to be classed as a 'derby' would be the visit of Holbeach. Soto come out of the game with a 2-0 loss was a bitter bill to swallow and was sandwiched either side of defeats against sides we should have been picking points up against.

FA Cup

FA Cup saw us drawn against London side Greenwich Borough (think they're from London) and with league being the main priority we turned in two poor displays. The first game saw us somehow get a replay despite not having a single shot all game as we did a Jose double parked bus Replay saw us register 1 more effort but fell to a deserved 3-0 loss. No complaints from us.

FA Vase

In the Vase we came up against Stansted and this was a cup I was hoping to have a good little run so to crash out at the first hurdle was a huge blow and one I find very hard to take. Hopefully next season if we don't go up we can give a better account for ourselves.

UCL Knockout Cup

This so far looks like being our best bet for some silverware during our first season as we seem to impress in this competition and currently stand 3 games away from glory. The QF tie will be a tough contest but one if we get through we have to be considered strong favourites to lift the crown with some of the bigger sides having already crashed out.

League Table

Just beyond the halfway stage and the league is unbelievable tight, would have been even tighter if we didn't lose to Boston due to a last minute goal from an absolute howler from one of my CBs. The aim for me was to remain competitive for as long as we can and so far we are still competitive so I'm delighted with how things have gone so far on paper, but going off some of the results can't help but feel what if. If we had just that one decent striker we could have been around 10+ points and looking on course for promotion. Hopefully we can sneak in a gem during January and try and keep up with the breakaway pack which will surely happen, can't remain this tight till the end can it?

[pearcey_90]

Probably won't see many Portuguese at this level, just how good is he?

Doesn't look outstanding, but he seems to be thriving for me in the Treq role. Has his off days where he is utterly awful, but it's worth it for the games where he can change the game in a blink of the eye. Certainly a player worth carrying

Look forward to reading this!

Hope you find it enjoyable it pal

[Nobby_McDonald]

Who was de Oliveira's last club?

[pearcey_90]

End of Season Report

League Results

The season has ended and we just missed out on promotion as you can see from the table below by a single point! League was unbelievable tight and I can't help but feel what if, especially giving the horrid run we had in the 2nd half of the season. We started the new year how we ended the previous year with indifferent form, the two wins either side a shock hammering from the side who were 2nd bottom of the table at the time and they had 10 men whilst we were in front. We responded the following game with a fortuitous victory then the wheels firmly fell off our houses. 6 games without a victory heavily dented our promotion charge especially with poor results against sides in and around the top of the table. I tried tinkering with the tactics to get things back on track but nothing seemed to work with the players not responding to anything till the youth intake.

The youth intake (which will be shown further down) was a breath of fresh air which we needed, as it gave us fresh kids, fresh legs and meant it was pretty much a fresh start. With our promotion hopes seemingly over I decided to throw the best of them straight into the 1st team set up and start building towards next season and what followed was breathtaking. We went on a 7 game unbeaten run that involved 5 wins and attacking football that I've long been after. It gives me real optimisim that we can be more successful next season if we can bring in good experienced players to blend in what will be a very young side. The most pleasing victory in the 2nd half of the season was the win at Holbeach where we were on fire throughout the game and was capped off with a 45 yard beauty in the 94th minute by the Portuguese magician

14 of the Youth players were signed whilst 4 players from the current squad have been giving new contracts and 2 will be staying on non contracts so it'll give us 20 players going into the new season but defence will need strengthening with a majority of those players being midfielders and attackers.

UCL Knockout Cup

Smack bang during our terrible run we had the UCL Cup game and by no surprise with me tinkering with the tactics we ended up crashing out in disappointing fashion. This was a cup competition which I had high hopes for after the previous 2 rounds but it wasn't to be. Hopefully we can go further next season.

League Table

Spalding go up as Champions just like in real life whilst we finished 5th, 1 point behind them. It has been a very good first season at this level but it's just such a blow not go up as no team took control of the table. Can't see the league going the same way next season and fear a side will take control and run away which could mean we end up staying here again. Hopefully the kids continue to develop well to give us a good chance of competing at the highest level and hopefully we can find that gem that could help us win the league or push it all the way.

Top 3 Players

David de Oliveira

The Portuguese magician finished as our highest goalscorer, highest assist and highest rating which just goes to show how valuable he is to us. He's unfortunately on a non contract so hopefully no clubs come and poach him as we can't match his wage demands. If they do we can only hope he'll turn them down and be loyal

Matthew James

One of the players we brought in mid season and he's been a huge asset with his pace down the right. Not only does he bring much needed pace to the side he can also add goals and assists which are priceless from a wide area and gives us more options in attack.

Ben McMahon

Another player we brought in mid season and just like James on the right wing, McMahon gives us some raw pace down the left whilst also chipping in with goals and assists. Just like David de Oliveira he's on a non contract so hopefully again no clubs come in and poach him.

Youth Intake 2014

A very good youth intake and one where I gave contracts to 14 of the 16 players. They're on 2 year deals on £5pw which at this level is amazing and will hopefully mean we'll have some room in the wage budget to splash out on two big signings possibly. The best 3 I value from the intake are:

Ben Reakes

A much needed keeper who has impressed in his 6 games for the club and looks like a safe set of hands despite being a very young age.

Nick Mountford

His best position is LW but his ability to play anywhere across the attacking midfield line will be invaluable as it covers much needed depth. His just made sub appearances so far in his career with the starting front 3 being in good form, but each time of the bench he hasn't looked out of his depth.

Louis Wyatt

He only made 2 appearances since he joined from the youth team but he's one that'll be involved a lot more next season alongside the captain in the center midfield.

[pearcey_90]

Who was de Oliveira's last club?

Spalding in the 2010/11 season. Was part of Leixoes youth team from 2002-04

[Nobby_McDonald]

I wonder how he got to Spalding.

[pearcey_90]

Pre Season

Before everyone came back from their holidays we were dealt with a devastating piece of news

The loss of David de Oliveira is a huge blow. We were able to match his wage demands but in the end despite the club having him as a favored personal and him having Wisbech as his favourite club he decided to move on to seek a new challenge. This will be a huge blow already to our promotion hopes and one where I'm not sure how the team will cope without him.

Transfers

With the youth players making up a large portion of the squad we simply just went down the road of one in one out. The midfield and attacking department didn't really get strengthen too much, was mainly the defence where the main transfers happened with near enough a whole new back four coming in. This means they'll need to settle down quickly along with the keeper otherwise it could be a slow and demoralising start to the season. Battersby despite being our 2nd top goalscorer last season was allowed to leave simply because of his £190 pw wages he was on. Sam Murphy was one that I was reluctant to let leave after he made a good contribution last season but I felt the back up RW had a bit more potential so wanted him to get more game time.

Jamie Lawerence

A very experienced signing giving us much needed leadership qualities which we lack in such a young side. His 44 years old but still has the ability to do well at this level and his experience of having played in the Premiership will hopefully pay dividends.

Chris Moore

Another very experienced player who is 2 years younger at 42. He'll provide the leadership qualities at the back where the average age outside him in the defence must be around 19. His lack of pace should hopefully not be a problem.

Results

Very different pre season results compared to last season. Our first two games were simply money generating games where we brought in around £12k from the two games which helped clear some of our overdraft. We made a good account of ourselves in the first game against Bristol City but were well and truly dismantled by Bradford. We then followed that up with a very lackluster loss home to Bugbrooke despite them being a level below. We then traveled to our fiercest rivals March Town down the road and produced a very good solid display to bring some confidence to the side before the annual Elgoods Fenland Cup. The semi final saw us comfortably beat Parson Drove before we met Wisbech St Mary in the final. In the final we almost lost it but Reynolds equlised off the bench with the last kick of the game to send it to penalties where we came out 5-4 winners to retain the crown as the best side in Fenland Final friendly saw us slump to a poor defeat against village side Coates and sees us go into the new season with no idea how we'll fair.

League Odds

Newly promoted side Oadby Town go into the season as favourites whilst we are as far back as 14/1 with the media predicting us to finish around 8-10th (midtable). I'll have no complaints if we ended up around that position giving our young side but I'd like to see us try and challenge for the league and try and push the leaders all the way.

[pearcey_90]

I wonder how he got to Spalding.

Giving the continental contingent around the Fenland/Cambridgshire area its no surprise he ended up around this way