ri916's FM15 Youth Academy Challenge

[Willafus]

I've just signed a Head of Youth Development, He's just retired as a footballer but his long-term plans are "Would prefer not to play for Histon" What have you done Shakes?

Neil Lapton. I'm Not sure if he starts at Histon, he might have moved there at the start of the save. Spent some time of his career at Kingstonian too!

[Braumiller]

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 3 Review (2017)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances

Competitions

First Division South : 2nd (playoff winners) (Fixtures)

Swedish Cup : 1st Round loss

Season Review

Wow! I was not expecting this. A consolidation season eventually grew into a potential title winning season, only to threaten to turn into a 'throw it all away' season! Thankfully for me, I apparently like the Swedish playoffs a lot more than the English playoffs!

We started out playing our season tactic as we finished last season with, which saved us from a relegation battle, a 4-2-4 set-up with a counter mentality. This changed slightly during the season, due to a happy accident. Our 7th game of the season was at home and due to a couple of injuries, I was without any of my usual defensive minded MCs. I decided to play Henrik Boman (YP 00A) who can play DM, so I dropped that MC back to DM. We lost the game 0-2, but in the after game news the fans complained that we played like an away team! Cue *lightbulb* moment. Maybe I should play this in away games then! And so my two tactic system was born.

Home games my 'standard' 424 counter. (MC/MC)

Away games my 424 with a DM (DM/MC).

No other changes.

While it is by no means foolproof, it worked nicely both in game and in theory. Indeed our very next away game we won 7-0! This was also our best ever game, so maybe we caught them by surprise.

Anyway, by week 14 we had caught the leaders and made the spot our own, until we had a late season wobble. Trelleborgs eventually won the league, and did so in style winning all 7 of their last 7 games! We stumbled to a draw and a defeat in our last two games to seal the playoff spot. A two leg affair against Motala AIF from the league above. I was afraid our bad form would hurt us here, but they were in worse form. A pair of nice victories (3-1 at home and then 2-1 away) saw us seal promotion!

"Frolunda Five" - 2017 Edition

Joel Perkhed - Another season of top goalscoring for us. 16 goals in 28 appearances.

Johan Eckerman (YP 01A) - A stop-start season due to a pair on injuries, but Johan is now our first choice inside forward on both flanks. Gives very nice flexibility to use any other inside forward, regardless of their side.

Robin Rundstrom - This years surprise package. Robin came in when Johan was injured and made an impact. 6 goals in 13 appearances.

Robert Smolander - Initially a worry as he declined to hold contract talks with only 12 months left on his current one, he eventually resigned halfway through the year and was again our constant in midfield.

Christofer Bengtsson - Try as I might to drop the 36 year old, he keeps defying father time. 8 assists from right back, he was always in the top 5 for average rating all season. I have just offered him a new 2 year contract!

Youth Intake

Another disappointing intake! Ignore the 6 tags, it should have been half that at least. My HOYD actually pinpointed Joakim Sandstrom (YP 03F) in his news item, who I would otherwise have left untagged. Hoping he is right (JP/JA 13/13) and my AssMan is wrong (9/12).

Anders Sjoberg (YP 03A) - The best of a bad bunch! Should make a decent midfielder.

Johan Stromberg (YP 03B) - An interesting inside forward option, but he has the Frolunda inside forward disease of low finishing

Joakim Malina (YP 03C) - A decent DC prospect

Mustafa Tasdelen (YP 03D) - A left back, who is as far from my ideal left back as possible with his technique, crossing and passing all at 1!

Anders Olsson (YP 03E) - A decent DM/MC option, especially helpful in my new two tactic set-up where one spot switches between those two positions

Joakim Sandtrom (YP 03F) - Another inside forward option, that my HOYD liked. Slow......

Miscellaneous

A great surprise season, which just clicked after a minor tactical tweak. I imagine we are going to start struggling mightily here soon, especially with the intakes so far. The starting crew of players are proving better than anticipated and maybe this is playing into the relative low star ratings of the intakes as well.

We are losing our starting DL to an expiring contract this close season, which is going to hurt.

Finances contined to decline, although not horrendously.

We finally are getting youth products in the first team and making impressions. Johan Eckerman (YP 01A) is now first choice out wide, Emil Avdic (YP 01C) plays out wide as well, Niklas Berg lund (YP 01D) is in line for the now vacant DL slot and Henrik Boman (YP 00A) is waiting for Peter Pan to retire at DR (and is first choice DC back-up). The darkest horse though is Gustav Sjoberg (YP 03) who went untagged this year. Due to our lack of numbers up front, and Gustav's finishing of 9 (making him a straight up lethal striker, relatively speaking in our squad!) he got chances at the business end of the season and managed 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 starts and 3 substitute appearances.

Season 4 (2018) Goals

* Survive

* and survive

[toonbalmy87]

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 3 Review (2017)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances

Competitions

First Division South : 2nd (playoff winners) (Fixtures)

Swedish Cup : 1st Round loss

Season Review

Wow! I was not expecting this. A consolidation season eventually grew into a potential title winning season, only to threaten to turn into a 'throw it all away' season! Thankfully for me, I apparently like the Swedish playoffs a lot more than the English playoffs!

We started out playing our season tactic as we finished last season with, which saved us from a relegation battle, a 4-2-4 set-up with a counter mentality. This changed slightly during the season, due to a happy accident. Our 7th game of the season was at home and due to a couple of injuries, I was without any of my usual defensive minded MCs. I decided to play Henrik Boman (YP 00A) who can play DM, so I dropped that MC back to DM. We lost the game 0-2, but in the after game news the fans complained that we played like an away team! Cue *lightbulb* moment. Maybe I should play this in away games then! And so my two tactic system was born.

Home games my 'standard' 424 counter. (MC/MC)

Away games my 424 with a DM (DM/MC).

No other changes.

While it is by no means foolproof, it worked nicely both in game and in theory. Indeed our very next away game we won 7-0! This was also our best ever game, so maybe we caught them by surprise.

Anyway, by week 14 we had caught the leaders and made the spot our own, until we had a late season wobble. Trelleborgs eventually won the league, and did so in style winning all 7 of their last 7 games! We stumbled to a draw and a defeat in our last two games to seal the playoff spot. A two leg affair against Motala AIF from the league above. I was afraid our bad form would hurt us here, but they were in worse form. A pair of nice victories (3-1 at home and then 2-1 away) saw us seal promotion!

"Frolunda Five" - 2017 Edition

Joel Perkhed - Another season of top goalscoring for us. 16 goals in 28 appearances.

Johan Eckerman (YP 01A) - A stop-start season due to a pair on injuries, but Johan is now our first choice inside forward on both flanks. Gives very nice flexibility to use any other inside forward, regardless of their side.

Robin Rundstrom - This years surprise package. Robin came in when Johan was injured and made an impact. 6 goals in 13 appearances.

Robert Smolander - Initially a worry as he declined to hold contract talks with only 12 months left on his current one, he eventually resigned halfway through the year and was again our constant in midfield.

Christofer Bengtsson - Try as I might to drop the 36 year old, he keeps defying father time. 8 assists from right back, he was always in the top 5 for average rating all season. I have just offered him a new 2 year contract!

Youth Intake

Another disappointing intake! Ignore the 6 tags, it should have been half that at least. My HOYD actually pinpointed Joakim Sandstrom (YP 03F) in his news item, who I would otherwise have left untagged. Hoping he is right (JP/JA 13/13) and my AssMan is wrong (9/12).

Anders Sjoberg (YP 03A) - The best of a bad bunch! Should make a decent midfielder.

Johan Stromberg (YP 03B) - An interesting inside forward option, but he has the Frolunda inside forward disease of low finishing

Joakim Malina (YP 03C) - A decent DC prospect

Mustafa Tasdelen (YP 03D) - A left back, who is as far from my ideal left back as possible with his technique, crossing and passing all at 1!

Anders Olsson (YP 03E) - A decent DM/MC option, especially helpful in my new two tactic set-up where one spot switches between those two positions

Joakim Sandtrom (YP 03F) - Another inside forward option, that my HOYD liked. Slow......

Miscellaneous

A great surprise season, which just clicked after a minor tactical tweak. I imagine we are going to start struggling mightily here soon, especially with the intakes so far. The starting crew of players are proving better than anticipated and maybe this is playing into the relative low star ratings of the intakes as well.

We are losing our starting DL to an expiring contract this close season, which is going to hurt.

Finances contined to decline, although not horrendously.

We finally are getting youth products in the first team and making impressions. Johan Eckerman (YP 01A) is now first choice out wide, Emil Avdic (YP 01C) plays out wide as well, Niklas Berg lund (YP 01D) is in line for the now vacant DL slot and Henrik Boman (YP 00A) is waiting for Peter Pan to retire at DR (and is first choice DC back-up). The darkest horse though is Gustav Sjoberg (YP 03) who went untagged this year. Due to our lack of numbers up front, and Gustav's finishing of 9 (making him a straight up lethal striker, relatively speaking in our squad!) he got chances at the business end of the season and managed 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 starts and 3 substitute appearances.

Season 4 (2018) Goals

* Survive

* and survive

flying up the leagues might wanna slow down just incase its not too much to soon good luck next season

[Shakes]

Well done Braumiller although those intakes are terrible, hopefully you've just had bad luck with them so far. I went through a patch of crap ones, maybe you just got them at the start of your game?

[Shakes]

Histon FC - 2034/35 - Sky Bet Championship: 13th

Squad | Transfers

Our board had to spend some of our profits last year on upgrading our stadium to an all-seater to meet league requirements. This meant two things: we had to cancel the youth facilities upgrade, and ground share with MK Dons which hurt our early attendance. When we moved back in though we were nearly packing out our 5000 seater stadium - which also makes Histon (population 4520 according to Wikipedia) one of the rare places to have a stadium with more seats than people.

On the pitch the step up in quality was evident, but pleasingly we never looked in any danger at all of relegation, finishing much closer to the playoff spots than the relegation zone. Our biggest problem was simply being outclassed, our defense wasn't its usual stingy self, especially away from home, with us having the 3rd worst away record in the league. Still overall we won as many as we lost and finished with a small positive goal difference. Another year or two of development still required, but we can build on this.

Finances

Annoyingly the non-football costs rose to swallow up the extra TV money. We should show a profit once the solidarity payment comes in, and hopefully that will be enough to allow us to pay for the youth facility upgrade rather than cancel it for a 4th consecutive year.

Key Players

Really only one player I want to single out, and that's (23a) Aidan Potter who bounced right back from a down year to score 23 goals, all in the league. That was good for 3rd best in the league, a great achievement for someone who only started 30 league games for a mid table team.

Youth Intake

A good intake with a focus on defense which is exactly what I need.

(35a) James Smith - DL - Excited to get our first player with Championship potential (yeah, the league we just finished mid table in!)

(35b) Clark Gallagher - AML/ML/WBL/DL - Injury prone, which is the one red flag I am finding really hard to ignore, very difficult to build a squad around guys who miss half the season.

(35c) Christian McGeorge - DC - Finally some decent size at the back. Slow and bad at tackling but should work out.

(35d) Seb Bowditch - DC/DL - Didn't tag him at first but my ass man likes him better now. Has size but is very slow, we'll see if he develops on quickness training.

Previous Season Goals

Survive and make money to push up our facilities! - Success, assuming the solidarity payment pushes us into the black.

Next Season Goals

Keep at it. I doubt we're ready to go up yet so this next year is one for development.

[Willafus]

Great seasons for you both. Hopefully the step up isn't too soon for you Braumiller, good luck next season. Excellent work Shakes, another couple of seasons at mid table would be great then you can look at sneaking into the play-offs in time

[Willafus]

Kingstonian

Season 1 - 2015/16

Vanarama Conference South - 18th

Squad | Finances | Transfers

We stayed up, what a turn around! From being rock bottom after 13 games with only 7 points, our next 13 games saw us win a stunning 25 points which saved our season. The run in was tough, the squad was being tested. Our only consistent goalscorer, Javlon Campbell, had a little injury and never rediscovered his from after. It took a ridiculous 48 points to avoid the drop zone, most other seasons we probably would have been safe with games to spare. 3 games left and we had been dragged back into the relegation zone, I was a nervous wreck. Knowing there's no second chances at this level made it a lot more intense. 4 points from our last 3 was enough, just. The league table was incredibly tight, everyone seemed to be at a similar level. I only finished 15 points off a play-off spot!

We also made it to the first proper round of the FA Cup which was great. We lost 2-0 away to Plymouth. We were outclassed but I was really pissed off because both their goals came from long throws. there's nothing I hate conceding to more than Long throws.

Key Players

Javlon Campbell - ST - exactly what you need at this level, bags of pace with decent enough Dribbling, Finishing and Composure. Scored 22 League goals. I think we would have finished mid table if he didn't get injured at a vital time. Will play a big part if we are to move forward.

Jack Jeffery - CM - Too good for this level. Wont renew his contract, which I understand. He never contributed much directly in terms of goals and assists, but we always looked better with him in the team. Sad to see him go so soon.

Same Page - CB - Likes to get stuck in and takes control at the back, great in the air and consistent.

(16a) Peter Parris - AMC/AMR/ST - A season 1 youth candidate makes it into our season 1 key players. Due to injuries I was forced to play him as a right winger with 5 games to go. He scored an equaliser to help us win a point, so I played him in the next game, and the next, and next, and next. He started all of our final 5 matches. Scoring a goal in each one. Take away his contribution for the run-in, and we get relegated.

Youth Intake Forgot to screenshot the youth candidates, not too much to miss anyway.

(16a) Peter Parris - AMC/AMR/ST - Lets not get carried away with his great start, he still has work to do. The best of the youth intake, his starting attributes are mostly where I'd want them to be. He will start the first game of next season, earned it already. Lets see if he can stay in the team.

(16b) Paul Simpson - MC/AMC - I don't play with an AMC and he's poor defensively but I play with 3 midfielders so as long has he's got the attacking role it wont be a problem. He should make it in time.

(16c) Sam Murphy - CB/RB - Too lightweight to be a CB and not good enough on the ball to be a RB. Only tagged because he will probably get games as we only have 3 CBs in the first team. Hopefully he wont have to be called upon too much.

Pre-Season Goals

Avoid Relegation - Achieved

Next Season

Losing one of our key players means it's going to be tough but I always want improvement. 50 points please.

[Shakes]

Good job Willafus, you'd have been unlucky to go down with a -10 goal difference, took me 4 seasons to reach the point where my team was that good. Peter Parris looks a good one, pity his potential isn't a bit higher.

[worrell]

Hi guys,

i had competed in this challenge in FM13 but didn't complete it. Did get to 1st Bundesliga but didn't win the league and stopped playing.

I want to take another go at it. This time in France. Simmed the first season yesterday night. Will post later today with my profile and club.

[Braumiller]

Excellent first season in the Championship Shakes!

Willafus, fantastic turn around there, congrats! Definitely building blocks there for you to play with as well. Get Javlon Campbell tied up for as long as possible, that pace and acceleration at that level is superb. Liking the look and flexibility of (16a) as well

As for my save, I haven't played a day past the screenshots in my write-up yet, but I have very definite fears for next year. We have made great progress, but we are a house of cards right now. Definitely need a couple of years of consolidation and some good intake youths (please!).

[Willafus]

Cheers Braumiller, the main thing I need to improve on is my away form, 2 away wins isn't good enough. This following season will tell me a lot about the current limitations of the team, as I'm still not entirely sure where we should be finishing. Campbell keeps improving and has 5 stars potential, so if we don't progress with him then we could very easily lose him which would really really hurt us.

Good luck with your season, really hope your intake is good this time and if you can stay up, that would be an excellent achievement.

[toonbalmy87]

The player interaction thing on this game is garbage keep getting players whos squad status is back up keep asking for more 1st team appearances errr no you are back up so therefore you will play when you play so please F**K OFF!!!

It really needs sorting takes my morale down all the time

[korvalis]

Yeah had that in my second season, 3rd choice striker complaining about a lack of appearances, sorry but you're going to be sat on the bench a lot when the 2 guys in front of you are scoring pretty much every other game.

[Shakes]

I don't mind the player moaning, it's realistic enough, and lets face it I've kept every single player basically as long as I've wanted to keep them, so it's probably still way toned down to real life. If a player really is a backup (ie only there as a "break glass in emergency" player) then send them out on loan with a can be recalled clause. I treat my backup keeper(s) like that.

[toonbalmy87]

I don't mind the player moaning, it's realistic enough, and lets face it I've kept every single player basically as long as I've wanted to keep them, so it's probably still way toned down to real life. If a player really is a backup (ie only there as a "break glass in emergency" player) then send them out on loan with a can be recalled clause. I treat my backup keeper(s) like that.

not if there 15 16 years old demanding to playing every single game

[Shakes]

If they're 15 years old they're in the under 18s. Never had a problem with youth players, maybe the odd one who has actually developed so much as to be ready might ask for games, which I give since if you're 3 stars at 17 you should be playing! Other lesser players tend to ask for loans every now and then, which again seems fine to me, you can even tell them no because you're currently tutoring them.

Biggest problem is when they graduate to the main team at 19 and want to play, now I loan anyone out until I'm ready to move on a veteran to make playing time after learning the hard way just sitting them in the squad no longer works.

Mind you I do try (not always successfully) to tutor ambition out of my players. My ideal player has professionalism 20 to reach their potential and ambition 1 to do it at my club.

[toonbalmy87]

If they're 15 years old they're in the under 18s. Never had a problem with youth players, maybe the odd one who has actually developed so much as to be ready might ask for games, which I give since if you're 3 stars at 17 you should be playing! Other lesser players tend to ask for loans every now and then, which again seems fine to me, you can even tell them no because you're currently tutoring them.

Biggest problem is when they graduate to the main team at 19 and want to play, now I loan anyone out until I'm ready to move on a veteran to make playing time after learning the hard way just sitting them in the squad no longer works.

Mind you I do try (not always successfully) to tutor ambition out of my players. My ideal player has professionalism 20 to reach their potential and ambition 1 to do it at my club.

see my squad really bare a certain positions so i had to promote my youh intake lb into my starting lineup lol n he got the humph when my starter came back who is 4 stars and he is 1n1/2 spoilt little brat

[Shakes]

1 1/2 is good enough to rotate. I know that's a bad word for people in the Swedish leagues, who laugh at us poor souls slogging through 46 games (plus cups!) of English football.

[toonbalmy87]

Rotation what is that :confused:

[Shakes]

Some parts of the world aren't civilized enough to play their sport only on a weekend.

[Willafus]

So once again we are bottom of the table after 13 games. This time we are 3 points better off with 10 points but the board are not happy at all. I had a meeting and I have been set a target of 7 points in the next 5 games. We have some very tough games but hopefully we can pull through. It's probably going to be harder this year as one of our strikers retired in the summer, the other was unhappy and didn't sign a new contract, so Campbell is our only striker. We are missing Jeffery in midfield too.

I'm disappointed that the board aren't showing more faith and patience with me after turning things around last season when nobody gave us a chance.

[Braumiller]

Hope you are navigating those next 5 games ok Willafus!

I can without a doubt confirm that our season in the First Division Elite is a huge culture shock........

[toonbalmy87]

Hope you are navigating those next 5 games ok Willafus!

I can without a doubt confirm that our season in the First Division Elite is a huge culture shock........

as long as you survive everything should be ok have you tried a defensive approach with counter attacking and direct style of play

[v1n1akabozo]

Shakes Mate, don't take this as a bad thing, but i'm surprised at how what a would consider as a weak player as Aidan Potter is performing this well on the 2nd division. Or i am really bad at either tactics or judging players or the gap from Championship to PL is enormous, i'm very stunned by this, i really thought that by now you should have players far better in mentals and technical skills to even win a single match on Championship, but if Aidan managed to score 23 goals i may have overestimated the sides from all divisions above the 5th tier (which is more or less the tier i'd say that Aidan fits into, maybe L2 but not any higher).

[Shakes]

One thing I can't fault my board on, without fail they only ask me to battle against relegation. My players are way more eager to do well, they get cranky if I don't tell them I aim to do better than we did the previous season, but the board are happy for me to just play the games and hope for the best.

v1n1akabozo:

No offense taken at all! You're absolutely right, my players aren't good enough for the divisions I'm playing in, I think I posted that I was last in 23 out of 40 of the categories on the comparison report (and maybe only outside the bottom 4 on a couple). Potter is rated a "Decent player for most League 1 sides" as are a few of my other players, most of my team are rated at League 2 or even Conference level in the case of my keeper and some of my centre backs. Eye balling Potter rather than trusting my ass man, I think on another team he'd be solid in league 2 and maybe be a bench player in league 1.

I play my own tactic, no downloads, it's really fairly basic without tons of instructions. I think it works because

• My players have decent personalities and have played together for years so team morale tends to stay up even if we lose a few
  
• I've played the same tactic for a decade so my players are trained to fit it. They're not great players but they're the best they can be for their ability levels.
  
• It lines up as what the game calls 4-1-2-3 DM Wide but due to the support duties on both flanks is basically a defensive 4-1-4-1 so is hard to break down once we're set. The front 5 press more with the safety of having 5 men behind them. Balls over the top are dangerous as nothing can hide our lack of pace at the back.
  
• Both my MCs are set to roaming playmakers - that tells the rest of the team to focus passing to them, and being roaming they find space. They're the two guys in the team with the best passing attributes so I want them to have the ball more often than not. With the AML/AMR cutting inside, we really pack the midfield so it keeps possession high (even in the Championship I can generally at least break even, in League 2 I had more of the ball most games). I don't believe in possession for possession's sake, and I think I'd score more with a more direct approach (pace up front is one of the few areas I am better than an average team at this level), but it means they can't score while we have the ball, and fewer turnovers are fewer dangerous counters where my lack of pace hurts.
  

Anyway that's how I go about obtaining unrealistic results with a realistic formation. You saw I struggled a lot with various other approaches before I settled on this, it typically takes me a long time to get into the swing of the challenge but once I find something that works I stick to it and train my players for it! In FM12 it was a 4-4-2, in FM13 it was a 3-5-2, this year it's the 4-3-3 (I hope, the 15.3 patch may have something to say ...)

Also other players are far better at this than I am! My only completion is I think the slowest of any completion at 36 years I believe from memory?

[Willafus]

8 points, we're back in it and I'm safe for now A few players from my intake last year which I didn't tag have featured here and there, the squad is so incredibly thin this season, but I guess that's what I need to give the young ones a chance!

edit: although a couple of losses after this, my job is now on the line again and they say I must win my next game

edit 2: We won 1-0, my job is now 'stable' apparently. I wont post any more updates until I finish the season or get sacked.

Braumiller, as long as you can grind out some results then you have a chance. Although it wouldn't be the end of the world if you went down, you'd probably come back stronger anyway

[v1n1akabozo]

Shakes And that explains it all. You're way more tactically enlightened than me hahaha.

I'm not posting anymore due lack of time, and my Corby save got completely ruined after 15.2.0, my 30 goals season 1 striker didnt score a single in the 33 'first' matches of the second season and we ended up getting relegated. Managing Weymouth now, first season, if i ever get to EPL i might post a screenshot of all years transfers and wrap-up it all in a single post hahaha

[worrell]

US Ivry Football

Us Ivry Football were promoted to the National.

My profile

Senior squad

Youth squad

Two players transfers were already agreed before i took charge - proof.

I am currently in the winter break of the first season. Still in the danger zone but after a horrible start, the form picked up and i think i can survive.

Will post the youth screens in the season review post.

[Willafus]

Good luck Worrell The lack of midfielders in your squad looks painful. Any defenders or wingers you can train at CM? Hopefully your youth intake gives you what you need.

[Willafus]

Kingstonian

Season 2 - 2016/17

Vanarama Conference South - 8th

Squad | Finances | Transfers

If last season was a great turn around, then how about this season? Excellent. I predicted it would be harder to turn things around this time, and in a way it was. It definitely took longer before things clicked. But this time once we started getting results it stayed that way for the rest of the season.

There are three results throughout the season which I consider absolutely vital to our season. Firstly there was the 5 game run where the board had demanded 7 points, with my head on the line. After 4 games, we had 5 points and the 5th game was at home to Bromley. We grabbed a deserved 2-1 win, 2 late goals from (16a) Peter Parris, and (16b) Paul Simpson. However this was followed by another league defeat, and an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Barkingside in the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying round. I am then told that if I don't win my next game then I will lose my job. So here is the second vital game, at home to Chelmsford in the league. We restricted them to 0 shots on target and pulled through with a 1-0 win, Javlon Campbell with the goal. Another 3 points from the next 2 games and my job was now 'secure'.

This was followed by a bizarre run of 7 draws in a row, none of them goalless. Three of them were 3-3. My tactic for this run was fully focused around Campbell as he scored 9 goals in the 7 games, but I decided to take a risk and change things up. I wanted more of our players to get involved. I knew that a loss at the end of this run could turn into a disaster and a win could really push us for a good run. We were 3-0 up at half time, then did our best to draw 3-3 again but escaped with a 3-2 win. After this we won 9 of our remaining 12 games, losing just 1. Amazing form, unfortunately it came a bit too late to snatch a place in the play-offs, but we're not ready for promotion yet so I'm delighted with this season. My job is now 'very secure', hopefully they think twice if we have another bad run of form as I have proven that I can turn it around.

The less said about our performance in the FA Cup the better. 4-0 away loss to Billericay in the 2nd qualifying round. I think the poor showing in both cups played a big part with the board turning on me early in the season.

Key Players

Javlon Campbell - ST - Thank you very much Javlon you wonderful man, where would I be without you? Top goalscorer in the league with 33.

Albert Jarrett - AML - Inconsistent but creates a lot, was unlucky to not get a mention last season. Probably wont play as much next season with the younger ones knocking on the door already.

(16a) Peter Parris - AMRC/ST - Impressive again. Unfortunately he is injury prone. He knows where the back of the net is. As a result of this years youth intake I will train him as a striker so I have a good young backup to Campbell.

Youth Intake

Fantastic. 3 great looking attackers and a decent centre half. Gives us some depth up front next season which we need, especially with our older wingers declining.

(17a) Phil Hogan - MR/AMR - Very good physically, has already been involved in the first team, high hopes for him.

(17b) Jay Maison - AML - This is what we needed, a left footed winger. I doubt he'll be a back-up for long, great pace and good dribbling.

(17c) Kieran Green - AMC/MC/AMR - Ass Man reckons he's the best of the lot. Quite well rounded attributes and versatile, similar to (16a) Peter Parris in that respect.

(17d) Clive Boyce - DC - Bit on the short side, needs to seriously improve his acceleration but other than that he looks decent.

Pre-Season Goals

50 points - Achieved

Next Season Goals

Have a strong start, don't want to be near the bottom after 10 games again.

I'll be happy with mid-table again, 60ish points is the aim.

Finances are poor, is there anything I can do other than hope for a good cup run?

[Sanno11]

Well done Willafus, incredible turn around again. Like you said with even a half decent start your club would be in a much better position to push for sneaky play off spot. 17a, 17b and 17c, look very promising. Green may not be as dynamic as the other two, but with his technical ability he should be a useful player. Maison could be a real handful at that level, excellent pace and dribbling. I Look forward to next seasons update mate.

Braumiller, great progress already. It will be interesting to see how you manage the transition from original players to all youth players especially in the higher league.

Worrel, you're the only person attempting this in France I believe, so good luck mate.

Everyone else keep up the good work, there are a few getting close to the big time now.

[Sanno11]

Sölvesborgs Season 9 2023-2024

First Division South

[League] [Results] [squad Stats][Transfers][Finances]

Season Review

As you can see from the screenshots and amazing season for Solvesborg. We really dominated the league and were on the cusp of an invincible season but for an annoying final three games. We won our first 13 games and I was just waiting for the inevitable slip up. But we just kept on getting results and found ourselves over 20 points clear at one point. We managed to keep our form even with some important players getting injured which was particularly pleasing. However the dream of an unbeaten season was snatched away in the final three games. I admit to changing the squad around as the league was won with 5 games to go, but it is still frustrating. It will be a long time before I ever get this close again. Regardless still the best season I have had since starting this challenge and hopefully we can survive the jump to the Elite league.

The team of the year was quite rightly made up of mostly my players

Youth Intake

The personalities of my top four prospects are music to my ears. Accidentally left my Assistant responsible for recruitment not HOYD and it turned out pretty well. The two I have tagged will reach the first team before they are 18 I expect.

Michael Sandahl (YP09a) My kind of midfielder and will fit into the squad well with his bravery and aggression.

Martin Ahlgren (YP09b) I haven't decided what to do with this guy yet, but with his versatility he will get appearances most weeks. I will let his performances guide my decision as to his best position (I don't use an AM)

Players of the Season

Jonas Norell - Managed only 20 games due to injury but with 16 goals an incredible season. He is vital to our success next year

Sebastian Blomquist - Appeared in every game, so much more consistent this year. Definitely found his role in the team (26 apps, 13 goals, 13 assists)

Tony Isaksson (YP06b) - Just keeps getting better. I think I could have retrained him to play anywhere, but right wing seems to suit him well. (25 apps, 7 goals, 16 assists)

Bengt Martensson (YP08a) I have to mention him, played every game but 1. He was very steady and led the league for clean sheets. Will be a Key player for many years I think.

Summary

A brilliant season and another big step up for Solvesborg. We are now professional, so hopefully player progression should take a leap forward as well. Still no facility upgrades, but this is due to having a bank balance hovering around £0. Our attendances have been steadily increasing and at the end of this season we had 420 attending, hopefully in the higher league we break the 500 mark.

Only possible goal can be survival.

[rferry]

Can you sign a player that previous management had on trial?

[Willafus]

Cheers Sanno11, all four of the tagged players from last season our heavily involved already. I'm playing quite fast at the moment so it shouldn't be long until my next update

Well done on your season, shame about the last 3 games but overall that's a massive success. Hopefully you carry the momentum into next season and survive. Very solid intake there too, especially with the personalities. Interested to see how (YP08a) develops and I predict another big season for (YP06b).

[ri916]

Can you sign a player that previous management had on trial?

Good question, but no

[Willafus]

When in the English lower leagues, does everyone else have a 1 day break between matches far too often?

I've compared my fixtures over the first three seasons with other teams in the league, and I seem to be playing Sunday-Tuesday all the time. And usually the Sunday fixture is just my game! Also Saturday-Monday is qute often. I'm getting this 1 day break about 10 times a season, this effects up to 20 games and it's contributed to poor results far too often. No one else in the league seems to be getting this horrid schedule.

Edit: After extensively comparing my schedule with other teams in the league, I have discovered that other teams only have a 1 day break when they play me! Then I suddenly remembered, AFC Wimbledon bought Kingsmeadow so we share it with them but they now own it. So I checked their fixtures. Whenever our home games clash, they move our game to the next day (Sunday), or the previous day (Monday). The rivalry just got real, we're coming for you Wimbledon.

Edit 2: AFC Wimbledon have just moved into a new stadium at the start of season four, my schedule is still the same as before but that's probably because the fixture list was arranged before Wimbledon moved into their new stadium. Hopefully by next year it's fixed!

Posting my Season 3 review at some point today.

[Dokara]

Ok, just one question before creating new save. Can you resign your old players? If you, down the road, had to sell your youth player, because of finances, player unhappiness, any other reason, can you sign that player after a few years?

[Braumiller]

Ok, just one question before creating new save. Can you resign your old players? If you, down the road, had to sell your youth player, because of finances, player unhappiness, any other reason, can you sign that player after a few years?

Nope. No signings at all, period. Just youth intakes. If a youth intake leaves you (sold, free agent etc....), he is gone / untouchable / dead to me

Will try and get my season 4 written up this afternoon / evening, although over here it is the National Championship game for college football over here this evening and our local university is in the game, so chances are I will end up somewhere watching it.....

[toonbalmy87]

BK Olympic - Season 7

2nd

Europa League Spot = MONEY!!!!!!

League Table

Squad

Finances

Transfers

Key Players

Jernberg

Granfeldt

Stenberg

Youth Candidates Ones that are highlighted were my YINT

Youth CandidatesOnes that are highlighted were my YINT

YP1

YP1A

YP1B

YP2

YP2A

YP2B

YP2C

YP3

YP3A

YP3B

YP3C - Released didnt turn up for training so i sacked him do not mess with the boss

YP4

YP4A

YP4B

YP4C

YP4D

YP5

YP5A

YP5B

YP6

YP6A

YP6B

YP7/Report

YP7A/Report

YP7B/Report

YP7C/Report

[Braumiller]

Vastra Frolunda IF - Season 4 Review (2018)

League Table | League Positions Graph | Squad Stats | Transfers | Finances

Competitions

First Division Elite : 13th (relegation playoff winners) (Fixtures)

Swedish Cup : advanced to group stages (next season)

Season Review

For the sake of my heart I could do without many more seasons like that one!

First game of the season we put in a good showing, finishing with a 2-2 home draw! A point on the board! Then reality set in and we lost our next 5 league games, even though we were in each game and not being embarassed. Still, 1 point from 18 and we were in the relegation spots. Which is where we stayed for the first 2/3rds of the season, although always just squeaking out enough points to not be cast adrift. As we entered mid August it basically looked as though we were toast. A 4-1 whopping away at Orgryte was our 5 loss on the spin and the writing looked on the wall. Then what can be looked back on as 4 seperate incidents happened all within a couple of weeks of each other and we unexpectedly saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

First up, our Swedish Cup game away at a lower league team. It was far, far from pretty, but we worked hard to grab a 3-2 win.

Second, on the back of our first win in forever, we managed to roll the increased morale into upsetting the league winners at our place in the league, as I imagine they underestimated us.

Then we received our youth intake, which held several interesting looking prospects, all fully fit and in good morale.

Then, as we entered our next game I asked the Assistant Manager to pick the team (which I will do from time to time to get a 2nd opinion, and then usually change it back to my way, or close to my way!). However, he placed a couple of this seasons youth intake in the starting XI and I decided 'why not!?'. Untagged Erik Sjursen (YP 04) repayed the faith, with goals in his first 2 games, both wins to make it 4 on the bounce!.

We finally peaked above the relegation and relegation playoff spots and the run-in was intense.

5 games to go

3 games to go

1 game to go

So, final league game. A win and we are safe. An Assyriska draw or loss and we are safe.

We end up drawing with Trelleborgs and an Assyriska win means that the great escape had failed, or at least been postponed. We are now in a relegation playoff against a 2nd place team from the league below. 2 legs and the season comes down to it.

Away first, and we are playing well and find ourselves in a 3-1 lead in the 2nd half. Then as we tire badly, they draw level and it finishes 3-3!

Home game and we come racing out of the blocks. After scoring twice in the first leg, after going quite since exploding onto the scene, untagged Erik Sjursen (YP 04) scores 2 more as we are up 4-1 at HT. Thankfully, we are able to take the sting out of the game and any potential comeback, and the 2nd leg finishes 5-2 and we are safe, at least for another year!

"Frolunda Five" - 2018 Edition

Erik Sjursen (YP 04) - Frankly I am not sure exactly how he did it given his attributes, but if someone is performing I am not going to take them out of the team! Erik scored 7 times in 9 starts and a sub appearance, and also had an impressive 5 assists. Helped turn the season around!

Emil Avdic (YP 01C) - Almost double digit goals and assists for Emil. With the new intake now in, and more interesting, higher potential prospects available he is going to struggle for games given some of his horrible stats, but I hope he settles into an impact sub role.

Robert Smolander - Steady again in the middle of the park.

Tobias Gustavsson - Didn't set the world on fire, but then how many central defenders do? What Tobias managed this season was to minimize the bad appearances.

Joel Perkhed - Joel, as everyone else did, was affected by the step up in class of the opposition. Still top scorer again for the season, this time with 11

Youth Intake

Finally an interesting intake! Not a "wow" intake, but definitely an intake which I feel I can try and build around and consolidate in the First Division Elite for several seasons (I hope!). Seven tagged this year.

Jacob Green (YP 04A) - Pacey and determined, Jacob give great flexibility on both sides a Inside Forward. Scored our final goal of the season, hoping for more to come

Joakim Augustsson (YP 04B) - A good looking central defender, need works (as they all do), but I like him

Nawaf Abbas (YP 04C) - A wide man who cannot dribble, but can pass. Will cause adjustments with my tactics when he plays, but he should find minutes coming his way

Emil Olofsson (YP 04D) - Sub 6 foot central defender, which I have a natural nervousness with, but he has the chance to break into the first team with some solid improvements in the next couple of seasons.

Filip Svedberg (YP 04E) - A very nice potential FC / AMC, but cursed with bad finishing and composure. If we can raise those up, Filip has a chance to be a difference maker.

Mikael Olsson (YP 04F) - A full back who can play both sides. As with all other full backs at this level, has very little in attacking attributes.

David Backman (YP 04G) - Wide man with bad finishing, which hurts our style. Has a fair number of other youths ahead of him out wide, so may struggle to get games.

Miscellaneous

If you had offered me survival at the start of the year I would have taken it no questions asked! If you are offering me survival again next year, I will take it, but can I ask for less of a heart attack inducing finish?

Next year will be interesting. Outside of the morale boosting youth intake and cup win, we are still the same struggling side.

Add to that, 3 of our senior players are retiring this season (Christofer Bengtsson, Tommy Lycen & Erik Johannson. In addition, I will be terminating 10 or more youth contracts of season 1-3 youths who are now just making up the numbers.

I also need to oversee a backroom overhaul, as the current members are still on part time deals (they had just signed them last year before we went Pro) and better options are now available to me.

Hoping to keep on top of the turbulence!

Season 5 (2019) Goals

* Survive

* and survive

[Shakes]

Good seasons everyone, I'm kind of stalled due to a bit of burnout, taking a rest from playing for a bit.

Willafus I found when my games were moved while ground sharing I was actually getting fewer games on short rest than I was before, so it's just luck of the draw I guess.

[worrell]

Union Sportive Ivry Football

2015/2016

National - Relegated

Transfers | Finances | Squad | Past positions | Table

SEASON:

League - Battle for survival

We started off really poorly. Lost all 7 games at the start. But then i tweaked the tactics a bit and changed the lineup and the form picked up so i taught it will be OK and after the first half of the season we were 15th and in form. But after that i fined one player for second straight red and the squad got really unhappy. And lot of players complaining about play time. It affected the whole team, i think. Combined with injuries to key players Keita and Bahin the form dropped. I wanted to rally the team at the end of the season but from the last 10 games we drew 8! Which is incredible.

Somehow the chairman didn't sack me, but i have some kind of ultimatum 8pts from next 5 games.

I wanted to quit because with the general unhappiness i taught the squad won't renew and i will be left with an empty team with no possibility to bring new players in.

But i managed to keep the key guys in so i hope i can make it work next season.

French cup - 10th round

I was very happy with our cup run. 10th round and could beat Bastia also, but was unlucky in the last 15mins. Not really a lot of money from the cup tho .

These are the best youngsters that i had already in my squad.

Matteo Molica YP15a - AMC - best of the three presumably. Will need some time in u19.

Robert Gaillard YP15b - DMC - already played some games when the injuries hit us. Fared well.

Ethan Renard YP15c - DR - also played some games. Looks decent already.

YOUTH INTAKE

Pretty nice intake. All players seem to have already some ability so the probably see some game time next year.

Somehow i only have the screenshot of my first tag but i will make/find the others when i come home.

Ourdy Yenga YP16a - AMC/R - good looking AMC. If he progresses nicely i will try to change my formation to suit him better/ or will try to play him more deeper

Jean-Claude Leroy YP16b - DC - will get some tutoring.

Yammadou Kamaté YP16c - MC - nice to have some midfield depth now.

Justin Cuvelier YP16d - MR - suits my tactics well, has to play in u19s for now tho.

season	year	league		pos	GF	GA	GD	cup		europe		achievement
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.	14/15	National	18th	45	56	-11	10th		N/A		relegated

GOALS from previous season:

-Survive (failed)

GOALS for next season:

-Battle for promotion - i know i was good enough for the National but somehow finished last anyway

-Start giving my youth tags some serious game time

[worrell]

toonbalmy87 - Congrats to EL!!! GL in there.

Braumiller - Very nice intake. And what a finish of the season . GL next year.

[Braumiller]

Good seasons everyone, I'm kind of stalled due to a bit of burnout, taking a rest from playing for a bit.

I often hit this point as well. Both the FM13 and FM14 incarnations saw me taking breaks from my main game, before resuming.

Only reason this hasn't happened yet for me is that I rarely get the uninterrupted playing times I used to, when I would OD on FM

Look forward to your progress once your FM batteries recharge

[Willafus]

Kingstonian

Season 3 - 2017/18

Vanarama Conference South - 4th

Play-Off Semi Finals

Squad | Finances | Transfers

After a couple of years of uncertainty about what level the squad is at, this season made it clear to me. We should be a lot closer to the top end of the table than the bottom, for the most part we were excellent. We had a slow start as usual but this time it was acceptable, using the 13 game point to compare with other seasons, we sat comfortably in mid table with 17 points. A big improvement on our first two seasons. We went on a great mid season run of 10 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss from 12 games, which saw us top of the table coming up to the run-in. There was no stand out team in the league, literally any of the top 7 could have won the league. However this was followed by a run of 8 games without a win and we found ourselves in 7th position. 13 points from the last 5 games was enough to force ourselves back into the play-offs. A great achievement and something I didn't expect this season. Deep down I was gutted, because I knew we could have won the league had it not been for the 8 games without a win. We are the definition of a form team.

The play off Semi Finals saw us play Dover. Let me just take this moment to say I abseloutely hate playing Dover, they are the most unpredictable team to play against, one game they're parking the bus with a 4-5-1, next game they're all out attack with 3 strikers and 3 defenders. However I was confident, we recently got the best of Dover in the league and we had picked up our form at the right time. The first leg at home we just didn't take our chances and that's what ultimately lost it for us. It finished 0-0, the second leg we were lucky to get away with just a 1-0 loss.

In hindsight, losing the play-offs is probably for the best. I don't think we would stand a chance in the Conference next season as we are not ready yet. We are better off staying in the Conference South where we can continue to develop our young players. A promotion next time around would be the right time.

We also made it to the first round of the FA Cup, we lost 1-0 at home to Mansfield and were unlucky not to get at least a draw.

Unfortunately our goalkeeper will not sign a new contract. I feel he is a bit overrated by my ass man, he's never been a stand out in the squad but he will still be a loss.

Key Players

Javlon Campbell - ST - 40 goals in 47 games. 37 in the league, a new conference south record. Amazing. I have somehow managed to tie him up to a contract until 2020, but he does not want to sign a new contract after that. We must get promotion in the next two seasons because losing this guy could be a real setback. Hopefully a promotion would convince him to stay.

Dan Sweeney - MC - Steady progress since the first season and is now our best midfielder, had a great season, always seems to make the right decisions and has a positive influence on games.

(17a) Phil Hogan - MR/AMR - Brilliant first season, I think he's going to be a real star in this team for years to come, his physical attributes are excellent for someone of his age particularly at this level.

Youth Intake

(18a) Gary Fry - MC/AMC - Love this guys work rate, has good stamina and is quick, his potential is very good and I think he'll get plenty of game time next season.

(18b) Nathan Tosh - DR/WBR - We've been needing a full back to come through with good potential, his mental attributes are good and he'll get game time to develop being our 2nd choice right back.

(18c) Dominic Spooner - DC - Decent potential, high determination which is important. Needs to improve a lot in defensive attributes but with his potential he should become a handy player.

Player Progress Updates

Here are a couple of players worth a mention

(16a) Peter Parris - AMC/AMR/ST - His injury proneness has held him back a lot, but my assistant seems to be underrating him, apparently just 5 grey stars current ability. he always produces in matches, and will be an important squad player with his versatility.

(16i) Ekow Owusu - DC/DL - I didn't tag him when he came through due to 1 star potential, but that was as a left back. It is blatantly obvious he is a Centre Back and since retraining him there he has been excellent and his potential has shot up. A first team regular at the back now, and is awesome in the air with great strength.

Pre-Season Goals

Start the league stronger - Achieved

60 points - Achieved

Next Season Goals

I think we're ready for promotion, I don't expect us to win the league but we should be finishing in the play-offs, and if we do then we need to win them!

[Willafus]

toonbalmy87 - Great season, good luck in the Europa League.

Braumiller - Well done on staying up, good season review. Sounded like a very tense season. I think you'll be fine next season and it's good to see you get a good youth intake, definitely something to built upon there

[worrell]

5 games left into the season and i am leading the league!

Also the chairman gave me a present, renewed my contract and this:

[ri916]

I've been giving this a go the last few weeks with Dulwich Hamlet, enjoying it a lot despite very little progress so far. My league finishes to date.

Season 1 - 14th SS

Season 2 - 14th SS

Season 3 - 14th SS

Season 4 - 5th SS - Lost in the playoff semi-final

Season 5 - 2nd SS - Lost in the playoff final on penalties .

After 3 and a half average years, we transformed at the turn of the year in season 4 to charge in to the last playoff spot. Season 5 was a bit gutting though, we led 3/4s of the way before falling apart in the last 10 games, and even during the last game of the season we had a chance to overtake Sutton, they were 2-0 down just before HT before coming back to win 5-3. We got to the playoff final but just couldn't get a winner, and then paid for it in the shootout.

[worrell]

Union Sportive Ivry Football

2016/2017

CFA -A - Promoted

Transfers | Finances | Squad | Past positions | Table

Season:

League - Battle for promotion

Excellent performance in the league. With a compact team this year i was managed to keep the morale high all season. That lead to a 25 games udefeated streak. Best defensive record in the league. And a relatively comfortable finish.

French cup - 11th round

Excellent cup run! Defeated Nantes from League 1 in 10th rnd with good defensive performance. The next round was drawn against Lorraine. Again very good defensive showing but the red card broke us and were not able to equalize.

Player of the season: Loic Messara - Great perfomance all season. Lead the league with 20 goals.

Youth overview:

Robert Gaillard YP15b - used him in the rotation for the sitter midfield role. Can't get good performances from anyone here yet but he did OK.

Ethan Renard YP15c - my first choice for the DR position now.

Claude Leroy YP16b - did give him some games since I will probably need him to produce in one or two season already.

Justin Cuvelier YP16d - started for 2 games in mid season when i had some injury problems. Put in excellent performances so i started using in the rotation.

YOUTH INTAKE

Poor intake this year. Only one tag.

Melvin Parmentier YP17a - MC - good looking midfielder. I like his mentals WrkRt, Det, Ldr.

season	year	league		pos	GF	GA	GD	cup		europe		achievement
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.	15/16	National	18th	45	56	-11	10th		N/A		relegated
2.	16/17	CFA-A           1st	51	23	+28	11th		N/A		promoted

GOALS from previous season:

-Battle for promotion - success

-Start giving my youth tags some serious game time - 4 of my youths started in 15-20 games each.

GOALS for next season:

Stay clear of relegation

Turn professional

[Bartrcm]

Allemania Aachen - 1th division - 2019-2020

Predicted: 18th with odds 5000/1

Actual finish: 10th

We started the season very good. First 2 games we earned 2 draws against Stuttgart and Bremen, each time scoring the equaliser in the dying seconds of the game. Third game was against Hertha, a team that promoted together with us last season. We cmpletely outplayed them and won with 2-0. The next 7 games were a disaster. 4 losses and 3 draws leaves us in real relegation danger. Luckily we finally won our second game of the season against RBL, and this was the start of a very good run. We only suffered 1 loss in 9 games. The second alf of the season started well. After 24 games we were allmost sure we would survive. That was our luck, because in the final 10 games we could only win once.

A 10th place in our first season in the 1th division was way above expectation.

Games

German cup: a little disappointed that we got Bayern away in the second round, and they kicked us out of the cup fairly easy.

Youth intake: again very good with 5 potential 5* players

Philipp Helmer (YP5a): According my assistent, my best intake, but I have my doubts about him

Vincent Mainka (YP5b): For me the best intake, but seems to suffer a lot of injuries in my youth games.

Enrique Antonia Pavon (YP5c): First Spanish intake. Don't have any Spanish staff, so this is strange to me.

Panagiotis Vlachos (YP5d): Just as Mainka an AML, but I thnk Mainka is better.

Simon Siek (YP5e): Needs a lot of training.

Marvin Schubert (YP5f): Only 4.5* potential, but I think he will he becomes a better player as Siek who has 5* potential.

Upgrades of youth and training facilities agreed.

These are the facilities before these upgrades.

Extra note: Philipp Lorz (YP2a) has won the trophy of best under-U17 player in the 1th division.

Transfers: None

Goals last season:

Survive: SUCCES

Goals next season:

Top-10 place

Good cup run

Starting 11: Only players from youth academie

At least 1 draw against Bayern or Dotmund.