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FM15 - The Vanarama Conference, North & South thread


CityAndColour

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Going to stick with the same tactics yeah, as they saw us massively overachieve the first time around.

How is the new game with Leamington going? I have started with them one more time, this time trying a 4-3-3. Started with two wins followed by a loss and four draws. Enjoying it so far. Just hope it doesn't fall away like every other tactic I have tried.

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How is the new game with Leamington going? I have started with them one more time, this time trying a 4-3-3. Started with two wins followed by a loss and four draws. Enjoying it so far. Just hope it doesn't fall away like every other tactic I have tried.

It's still going very well - with eight games to go we're a clear second (eight points behind 1st, eight points ahead of third) so we'll contend in the playoffs, barring an epic collapse by Guiseley.

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Im hoping to find that out soon. I've started as Concord Rangers, getting to the end of the season now. 2nd behind Ebbsfleet and only by 1 point. Been bouncing there all season so im hoping now my Forwards are back I might be able to take them and go up first time of asking!

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Just a quick update - I'm second, 11 behind Guisley in December. They are insane - my four losses consist of a 4-0 and a 1-0 to them, a 2-1 to Harrogate and then a crap 2-0 against some other club.

They had somebody called Danny Forrest up front who scored 15 goals - in true FM fashion, Guisley sold him to me on a free. I'd advise anybody to sign him!

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After starting a few different lower league saves with no success I may finally have turned a corner. After 20 games with Leamington we are in first spot using a flat 4-3-3. Always wanted to try a 4-3-3 but I was worried how it would hold up defensively. Figured it can't hurt as I was leaking goals in my other games, and turns out it has been the best defensive tactic I have tried on FM15. Hopefully I haven't jinxed it now!

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Im hoping to find that out soon. I've started as Concord Rangers, getting to the end of the season now. 2nd behind Ebbsfleet and only by 1 point. Been bouncing there all season so im hoping now my Forwards are back I might be able to take them and go up first time of asking!

Have you got an young Aussie named Jeremy Walker? Should be a D/MR.... if so how good is he?

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Have you got an young Aussie named Jeremy Walker? Should be a D/MR.... if so how good is he?

I always wondered where he got to - seemed promising at Heart after Marrone left. He does start at Concord on the game and is very good for that level.

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Great stuff Wor! There's nothing like having a potential legend carrying you up the leagues to add an extra level of attachment to a save. I'm still waiting to discover the next Jamal Lacoste, a French newgen striker who carried my Forest Green side from the Conference to the Premier League crown on FM11.

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Just a quick update - I'm second, 11 behind Guisley in December. They are insane - my four losses consist of a 4-0 and a 1-0 to them, a 2-1 to Harrogate and then a crap 2-0 against some other club.

They had somebody called Danny Forrest up front who scored 15 goals - in true FM fashion, Guisley sold him to me on a free. I'd advise anybody to sign him!

Impressive - Guiseley were running away with the league in my current save too (yet they were relegated in my previous save), however a poor run of form has left the door slightly ajar going into the final round of matches. We are three points behind but have a better goal difference, and face a trip to 8th placed Barrow. They host 9th placed Hednesford, and neither team can make the playoffs.

They also released Forrest in March - I offered him a trial but the cheeky git rejected it.

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Hey, wanted to share my Chester save so far.

I've had a hugely busy transfer window brought in 19 players over the summer and more or less released the whole squad, also now slightly in debt i think close to 100K (due to the compensation i had to pay everyone for releasing and agent fees), probably less now.

Transfers in:

Filip Mentel, GK - Free

Mansour Assoumani, CB - Free

Valentin Gjokaj, CB - Free

Sam Sodje - Free

Robbie Threlfall, DL - Free

Louis Tomlinson, DR - Free

Hrovje Kovacevic, DM - Free

Charlie Allen, CM - Free

Yusuf Ozcan, AMR - Free

Ibrahim Atiku, AMR - Free

Eurico Sebastiao, STC - Free

De'jaune Taylor-Crossdale, STC - Free

Dominic Smith, DC - Loan

Leo Chambers, DR - Loan

Bryn Morris, DM - Loan

Aidan Nesbitt, AML - Loan

Tom Eaves, STC - Loan

Danny East, DRL - Loan

There is a keeper as well on loan forgot his name

Transfers out:

Everyone except - Danny Harrison, Ibou Touray, John Rooney, Michael Kay, Gareth Roberts, jamie menagh

I know huge change, but i also got rid of the entire back room staff and brought in my own. Overall, this is a huge overhaul but it is working as I have been playing 4-3-3 DM Wide or 4-4-2 Wide.

Started off very rocky in pre season losing to the likes of my under 21's, swansea under 21's, ashton utd and hearts but then the team started to gel and i've won every game since, we are not scoring many goals as we are only really winning 2-0 at most but then again we have won 10 in 10 in the league!

Hey All,

Just an update on my season which is turning out to be a corker!

Transfers in:

Taavi Laurits ST - Free // after an extensive trial, got this guy late in the season in 19 appearances he has scored 22 times, he is an out and out goal machine

Fabrice do Marcolino, ST- Free // current gabon international so snapped him up

Eric Djemba-Djemba, DM - Free. Just got him in Jan

Oumar N'diaye, CB - Free // current mauritiana international and has amazing stats snapped him up after 4 week trial.

Pablo Gonzalez - AMR - Loan from villareal just got him in Jan

Nathan Mendez-Liang AMRL - Loan // just arrived in Jan

Lee Lucas - DM, Free // just got him in jan after 4 week trial

Transfers out:

Danny Harrison - Free

Gareth Roberts - Free

Jamie Menagh - Free

Sam Sodje - Free

Louis Tomlinson, DR - Free

Charlie Allen, CM - Free

Yusuf Ozcan, AMR - Free

Eurico Sebastiao, STC - loan then 1k fee in Jan

De'jaune Taylor-Crossdale, STC - Loan

Danny East, DRL - cancelled loan

League:

We have played 31 games so far in Jan and we have won 29 and drawn 2!

FA Cup:

We are in the 4th round (i'm shocked my self too), we won round 1 and 2 against Vanarama Conference sides and then in the 3rd round we played Port vale at home which we surprisingly won 3-1. In the 4th round we got Stoke at home, being a Liverpool fan I deployed my version of the 4-4-2 diamond Brendan Rodgers was using last season. Which we managed to draw 1-1, which was really unlucky as i managed to get 4 Stoke players injured and one sent off, so the replay will be interesting.

So far I think my season has been fantastic and I will be continuing to build for League 2 as I normally on FM try and build teams for the next division from the get go. I have been pretty lucky with injuries and managed to keep the same back team more or less through out the season switching from 4-1-4-1 DM, 4-4-2 Wide (with 2 wingers) and for the tougher matches 4-4-2 Diamond narrow

Will update when I get back on!

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Quinby... He does seem like a handy player yes :)

Yeah his stats are good.... (as they should be since I added him to db when I was researcher haha).

In my Barnet save he got picked up by Crawley in first window. So good luck keeping him.

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So, I've just been promoted through the playoffs. Dropped too many points to catch Guisley, my record was W:21, D:13, L8.

Danny Forrest is better than Jason Walker and Andy Cook by a country mile. I'm not sure where he starts, but I snapped him up mid-season on a free from Guisley. He scored 16 in 23 for me and 12 in 15 for Guisley, making 28 goals in the league.

Other notable players were:

Andy Cook: P:32, S: 14, As: 11

Average Rating: 7.08 (although, he did go 7 games without a goal)

Jason Walker: P:24, S:13, As:4

Average Rating: 7.10

Jonny Gorman (Left Midfield): P:36, S:11, As:12

Average Rating: 7.03

But overall, the man of the season for me was Izak Reid, somebody who can play either at right back or right midfield. His stats were:

P: 29, S: 4, As: 18

Average Rating: 7.38

When Reid was injured, I managed two wins out of seven, the other 5 (in all competitions) being quite bad losses.

--

In the cups, it was a mixed bag. In the FA Cup, I managed to get to the second round before losing 1-0 to Gillingham. In the FA Trophy, I lost 4-1 to Sheffield which was diabolical.

ANYWAY: CityAndColour, Izak Reid is insanely good. That is all.

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Izak Reid has been released by Barrow at the end of the first season in my game, and won't even talk to me, which is frustrating as I use a right wing back on attacking duty.

A great season was ended by an extra time goal in the playoff final, as we went down 0-1 to AFC Fylde in a very even match. Eurico Sebastiao was phenomenal with 44 goals in all competitions, however he was somehow beaten to the fans' player of the year award by Jordan Goddard (10 goals and 11 assists). We put together some great runs of form but also ran out of gas a bit at the end; we were outplayed in the semi by Boston and needed penalties (and luck) to scrape through, and at times it felt like we were playing for penalties again in the final.

Priorities for the summer are a more physical striker to pair with Sebastiao, a cool-headed centre half and a composed central midfielder.

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Have you got an young Aussie named Jeremy Walker? Should be a D/MR.... if so how good is he?

Managed to pick this lad up for at the end of the first season and he's done a job at every level so far, plenty of goals and assists if not a bit injury prone. Worth a punt if you can get him!

Great stuff Wor! There's nothing like having a potential legend carrying you up the leagues to add an extra level of attachment to a save. I'm still waiting to discover the next Jamal Lacoste, a French newgen striker who carried my Forest Green side from the Conference to the Premier League crown on FM11.

Thanks man! I love how we can always remember those special regens that have stood out for us over the years!

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Wow the board are hugely expectant at Ebbsfleet. Got promoted the first season from Van N/S, and in the second season the lowest expectation I can choose at the start of the season is "Mid Table". I finished 14th in a tough consolidation season in the Conference Premier, and now the expectations I've been given are "Title Challenger", "Promoted" and "Winners" going into the third season.

It doesn't help that half my team think finishing in a "Respectable Position" this time round is asking for too much!

Also lost my wonderkid regen Right Back (potential to be a leading Championship player) during the break to newly promoted to prem Huddersfield. At least I got a cool 400k for him in the end :D

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  • SI Staff
Woking should be. Aldershot are in the game which strictly is incorrect as we train full time hours, just one day less a week.

The researcher insisted they were part-time this season.

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Michael... Reid better on wing or fullback? And what role did you use for him?

Erm, I used him at right back and right midfield - I tried a 5-3-2 and it failed miserably so I went back to my 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 that I use.

The other right back to Reid is somebody called Andrew Burns who is a defensive minded right back (6 ft., 12 tackling, 10 marking, 9 heading, 14 work rate, 13 bravery, 11 aggression). So where he played was dependant on the opposition.

In terms of duties, he was either FB (a), or WM (a). If he was the full back, I'd use look for overlap on the team instructions.

Izak Reid has been released by Barrow at the end of the first season in my game, and won't even talk to me, which is frustrating as I use a right wing back on attacking duty.

Surprised they released him but ah well, I've retained both him and Burns for the upcoming season. Both are good enough for this level I reckon.

The board has given me 80k to spend and a 14k wage budget which is an increase of 6k. I'll probably turn this into wages as I don't like to spend cash at this level unless I really have to.

Moving to the conference and I've released most of the dross I had last year - leaving myself with a base of 14 players.

I signed Sam Ashton last year and his competition was a 33yo keeper called Tony McMillan. Both are lower-level players and both are on month to month contracts until I find somebody who can take the reigns.

Right back is covered with Burns and Reid. At centre half, Danny Livesay and Simon Grand are the only recognised players, with Assoumani and Tunnicliffe both leaving at the end of the season. Word of warning - Tunnicliffe was horrifically bad for me to the point where I used a U21's player rather than him in an emergency. At left back, I have only Andy McWilliams who I feel is out of his depth in this new division. That so, I'll need to find a replacement for the first team.

Weirdly enough, Jonny Gorman is still refusing to sign a new contract with me and doesn't want to leave his non-contract. However, he is a great player and will be taking the LM spot. At right midfield, Izak Reid will be there, unless I find a superb replacement in which he will move to right back. In centre midfield, I have Valery Mezague and Alex-Ray Harvey who should be first teamers. Clearly though, I'll need some strength in depth, so new signings will be certainly arriving at Barrow.

Up front is my strongest area really. Jason Walker, despite his three months out last season, will be my star striker up front. Danny Forrest, despite his crap stats, will be his partner as I can't ignore the fact that he scored 28 goals in the previous league. Andy Cook will be backup to these. Even though he is a good player at this level, he had a pretty hefty goal drought last year and I can't afford this again.

If you need any screenshots let me know.

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Just finished the first season of my new save with Leamington. Was top of the table by five points at the start of January and as soon as I signed a new contract the form went downhill. Battled away for the rest of the season and lost two crucial games out of the final three which saw us miss the playoffs on the last day of the season. Pretty gutted but a sixth place finish is a massive improvement over my earlier attempts.

Looking forward to next season now and I have signed up my best young players who are Jamie Tank, Jordan Goddard, Joe Magunda and Aron Wint. Two signings during the season - strikers Sean Mullen and Eurico Sebastiao (thanks C&C) - will likely lead the line with Wint in my 4-3-3 formation. Will be looking to add another good young CB to partner Tank, a creative CM as we lacked spark on attack at times, and a pacey striker to provide variation up front. Also undecided on my fullbacks. Stephen Morley and James Mace played pretty well but I could do with more pace and skill in those positions as they provide the width on attack.

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Surprised they released him but ah well, I've retained both him and Burns for the upcoming season. Both are good enough for this level I reckon.

I'm going to keep tracking him and hopefully he'll sign a couple of months into the new season. I've got two pretty good attacking wing backs in Hassan Sulaiman and Luke Hubbins but both are injury prone.

The board has given me 80k to spend and a 14k wage budget which is an increase of 6k. I'll probably turn this into wages as I don't like to spend cash at this level unless I really have to.

I don't like spending money on transfers at that level either, however I'll always try and keep something in the kitty in case a non-league team spawns a promising newgen.

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I'm going to keep tracking him and hopefully he'll sign a couple of months into the new season. I've got two pretty good attacking wing backs in Hassan Sulaiman and Luke Hubbins but both are injury prone.

I don't like spending money on transfers at that level either, however I'll always try and keep something in the kitty in case a non-league team spawns a promising newgen.

I'll do another bit of a update when I get to January, but I've spent £2,000 so far on James Harper. He's crap technically, but he has decent mentals and 20 natural fitness and at this level, players who are fit will win games.

Also, I lost Jonny Gorman on a free to Fleetwood who are in League One which was a real shame as he was a good player with potential. In terms of arrivals, I've bought a lot of young players who might be capable of a step up and they're on low wages. My job is to survive in the league and take 2/3 seasons to go up, which is slow but it'll make me financially secure in the long run.

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Well that's great. Mid-October second season, and we've shaken off the disappointment of a playoff final loss by sitting 3rd after 12 games, despite not really having hit our strides yet.

Then Sebastiao goes and tears his calf, which will be his season and possibly his Leamington career over too. 54 goals in 64 matches is a fair strike rate.

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Well I have just started my career at my hometown club of Gosport Borough with which I have a very personal connection to with my dad being their head physio for over 10 years.

I can see that I am going to have my work cut out but I will succeed.

BTW I am surprised Justin Bennett did not make the dream team as he is one of the most prolific scorers in non league football and is on fire this season as well. He just past 200 league goals with Boro too.

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Currently playing as FC United in the northern premier league after a great season we won the league with ease and have been promoted to the vanarama conference north

Managed to break the 100 point mark on the last day

2lsgv8m.png

Here is my player stats over the season and i would recommend having a look at Andy Welsh he plays on the left wing and is a assist machine, 28 in the league and 1 in the fa cup,

He is on a amateur contract so he should be able to get pretty handy first season

4l3yn7.png

Also signed francis jeffers last year, who is 34 but seems like a good squad player to have for experience alone

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Stunning season Graham - what sort of a tactical set up are you using? Also strong start Pompey, good stuff.

20 matches into my second season at Leamington and it's been another strong showing, winning 13 to sit a comfortable third; four points off top and 11 clear of sixth. Unfortunately we blew the chance to earn some money by crashing out of the FA Cup at the first possible stage to King's Lynn, but we're still in the FA Trophy at least.

Star striker Sebastiao scored another 10 before tearing his calf, a fate which also fell upon his loan replacement Ben Mackey. Striker Aron Wint has picked up the slack somewhat with 10goals of his own, while vice-captain Jamie Tank and loanee Ty Smith have been our two best performers.

Playoffs an absolute minimum from here.

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Romers, its a custom lower league English league which goes down to level 9, you should be able to find it around..

Cheers CityandColour using a 4-4-2 attacking structured.. downloaded it but changed it a bit to suit my players and it works very well so far.. I keep getting news reports bout my teams aggressive tackling and my players setting out to hurt the opposition.. although i do have some players on tackling hard i haven't picked up more yellow or reds then a non hard tackling tactics so it fine so far.

Just started the season played 2 won 2.. board are hoping for a top half finish, and thats my target too

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Halfway through my third season with Leamington - still battling away in the Conference North.

First season - missed the playoffs on the last day of the season to finish 7th.

Second season - ended up 11th after a poor start to the season.

Third season - currently in 5th spot at the end of December. Was 1st briefly but have fallen off in the last two months.

While consistently in the top half, I just can't seem to string a whole season together. Hopefully we can at least have a crack at the playoffs this season.

It is about this stage where I normally through in the towel if I haven't made it to Conference Premier, so I am determined to keep going. Plenty of young players and finances are good so long term I should be okay.

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After a blistering run with Ebbsfleet I won the Conference Premier in March. The board decide to build a new stadium and now we are in massive debt. I renewed Jordi Ortega's loan from Wolves as DM, and brought in Kristopher Da Graca on loan from Arsenal as a CB to help us stay up in League Two. My team should be capable of doing just that, but we'll see how it goes.

Some good signings I made to help us win the Conference:

Josh Thompson: Released from League One outfit Colchester, he has been the rock in our defence. He tires easily and tends to finish each match in the 60s but he has an amazing 16 Jumping and 10-12 in the other important stats. His only let down is his Acceleration which is a 9.

Javi Rodriguez: Finished the season with a whopping 17 goals and 21 assists from Midfield, with an average rating of 7.46. Signed for free from Oxford City, I retrained him from a Striker to a Wide Playmaker in the ML position. Awesome stats for this level.

Jamie Beaton and Jon Toral: They form an excellent technical CM partnership. Toral was released from Arsenal but definitely has the potential to take us all the way up there.

Bernard Mensah: Released from Watford, my scouts tell me has a 4.5 star potential. He banged in 11 goals in 12 games before a torn hamstring took him out for the rest of the season. Looking forward to seeing how he develops.

Van den Ban, David October and Michael O'Donoghue: Finally, my full backs are arguably the best players in my team. October I signed in my first season in Vanarama South but he is still developing nicely and has the potential to go further. Van den Ban is an awesome Dutch right back who was recommended to me by my Dutch scout. To me it looks like he can play in League One, no idea why he signed for us!

I also recommend Bogdan Vastsuk, a strong striker with good physicals but needs some work on his mental skills. Has great vision but low teamwork so that is his only letdown.

And finally, I asked the board to get us a senior affiliate. The first two times they returned Peterboro and Sheff Wed but upon reaching League Two they got us Man Utd! They are paying us 70k a year and that should help our dire finances. We have to stay up now with the state of our bank balance, any slip ups could cause us to go into administration...

Looking forward to this challenge. :cool:

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Just a little update on my progress. I don't play quite as fast as some of you guys so will have to bear with me.

Results so far. I don't lose many but I can't buy a win either.

iqt6UJbCp

My last result against League leaders Farnborough was spoiled by one of my CB being sent off just before half time and the winning goal was scored deep into stoppage time

And how I am standing in the League

idiKCPTZp

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He is superb in real life - will surely get a move to a League club in January. Very underrated in the game and I assume he'll get an attributes boost in the next data update regardless.

We've hit February now and have 11 league games to go - form has been very patchy but we're scraping enough points to stick around the top, with a handy 11 point buffer to sixth. Sebastiao has just returned from his torn calf so hopefully he can provide the required boost in the run in.

Jamie Tank has been absolutely superb, leading the league in key headers and ranking top five in average rating and interceptions. He's also helped himself to five goals and six MotM awards.

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Third season done and dusted with Leamington and again no promotion. Was in the playoffs spots for most of the season but lost my last six games to slip to a 9th place finish.

Determined to kick on to promotion in the fourth season after finishes of 7th, 11th and 9th. Reasonably happy with the squad so instead of snaffling up more youngsters released by bigger clubs I have decided to just sign a couple of veteran players up front. Still using the 4-3-3 formation I have had from the beginning. Still tweaking it to try find more consistency but it is definitely the best tactic I have tried on FM15.

I agree about Jamie Tank C&C. He is a beast and is now my club captain.

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