FM17 Youth Academy Challenge

[Braumiller]

@Shakes

@XaW awesome season, congrats!  Mesquita looks fantastic

 

[Braumiller]

Season 05 - 2021-22

The Season As It Happened.....

Preseason
Preseason again kicks off with the First Qualifying Round of the Europa League and we got the worst draw possible from the seedings, IFK Goteborg....  We lost the away leg 2-4 and then drew the home leg 1-1.  To be honest these are good results, but it is disheartening.  This also comes against the backdrop of a second (that I have seen) round of squad Determination drops due to the squads overall level.   This is a vicious circle I am feeling helpless against.  I have released some fringe players and recast the backroom staff, but time will tell if it helps or maybe even slows down the effects....
As with each season, the only tactical changes I have been making are during the preseason after viewing the season before.  This year just the one tweak, to the fullbacks to give them a little more presence in the attack.

August/September 2021
What a strange start to the season.  5 HUGE wins with a couple of frustrating results mixed in.  When we are on, we are a massive force to be reckoned with.  Obviously with so many kids running the show we do have our off days though.

November 17th 2021
Our run in the mickey mouse cup ends in extra time in the semi final.  It also ends a lovely run of 13 games without a defeat in all competition.

December 12th 2021
This felt like a true moment.  We had a horrible first half at home to Llandudno and went in 2-0 down, they got the full aggressive hairdryer treatment and went out and won the second half 5-0....  Four for Rob Martin 2018-B and an OG.  The 4 for Rob also gave him the goalscoring in a season record for Port Talbot already.  Great performances.

December 18th 2021
A magnificent 1-1 draw away at TNS.  A win would have put us top on goal difference and we gave it everything, in our first game where we felt the equal to them.  Match stats looked fairly even (which is a huge compliment to us) 13-10 on attempts to them and 52-48 possession to them as well, but clear cut chances went 6-0 in our favor!  We were unlucky not to win.

January 2nd 2022
A club record at the other end of the pitch for David Dyer 2020-C as his 12th clean sheet of the season sets a new standard!

January 22nd 2022
That feels like a back breaker.  First game of the Championship split and we went into it the closest by far to TNS we have ever been, just 1 point.  First game is away at TNS and after falling behind we clawed our way back into the game and led late on 2-1.  A 90th minute equalizer was harsh, but harsher by far was their 92nd minute winner

March 5th 2022
After a couple of TNS draws we were back to 1 point behind TNS as they arrived for our big top of the table game.  I broke my no tinkering rule and inserted the newly retraining Liam Maggs 2021-D at left back and changed the role to Complete Wing Back, to highlight his attacking winger tendancies.  This paid off as we went 2-1 up due to his involvement, then back fired as he picked up a 2nd yellow card at 2-2...  An 88th minute winner as TNS swarmed us put me 4 points behind them again with 4 games to go.  This has also allowed Bala to close in on us with them just 4 points behind us.

March 9th 2022
Youth Candidate Day 2022!  A very striker heavy intake, with the obvious need to retrain them.  That said, there is natural finishing and even some composure in there which we have been lacking up to this point.  They could be future goal scorers for sure.
Leigh Taylor 2022-A - There are a lot of positives to Leigh's game, with some expected negatives as well.  An exception level of finishing, composure and flair with decent off the ball, pace and acceleration as well.  Needs retraining to a shadow striker, but this kid excites me.  Passing, Determination and Decisions are worrying, but everyone has holes in their game here!
Jamie Fitzgerald 2022-B - Another striker to retrain, but I like his finishing, determination and flair.  Unambitious but we can work with him
Darren Follows 2022-C - As most of our youth central midfielders seem to be, Darren is versatile!
Barry Lewis 2022-D - Another striker and another retrain project.  Again, finishing is good for our level, so he has a chance
Chris Griffiths 2022-E - Youth GK!

March 11th 2022
Out of the blue and completely out of character with our squad...  Conah Howells 2018-C regular coach report news item had an unusual green upwards arrow, Determination.  It jumped this month from 5.2 to 15!  No tutor or anything of note...  Only 20 and one of 4 that play at DM/MC in rotation, Conah has now jumped into starter status with the hope of being a tutor in 4 years (as long as his Determination doesn't erode too much in that time!)

April 18th 2022
The second board cash injection of the year, 110k to add to the earlier 60k

May 4th 2022
Last day of the season and we have a one point lead over Bala for the battle of 2nd place.  They have TNS at home and we were away to the very dangerous but inconsistent Bangor City.  Thankfully we won 3-2 to make their result irrelevant, but they lost 0-1 anyway!  2nd again!

Random Notes / Thoughts
This was the first season where outside thoughts of ousting TNS entered my head.  We went into the last 10 game Championship stretch only a single point behind.  While we can be seen to stumble a little and end up 7 back in the end, I am very proud of the performance this year.  TNS have not dropped off their pace (they only lost 1 league game all season), we have risen up.
Performances were fantastic.  New records this year for total goals (Rob Martin 2018-B 33), league goals (Rob Martin 2018-B 28), assists (Jordan Martin 2018-D 23), clean sheets (David Dyer 2020-C 16) and biggest win (7-0, and it happened 4 times!).
Downsides - Finances are still not great, professional status keeps getting turned down and the club has an overall determination problem where even our odd good ones have their values dragged down over time, before we can improve the overall averages.
The one things we did avoid this year is a major injury.  We had at least one every year, thankfully not this year though.

End of Season Screenshots
League Table
Results - League / Cups
Transfers
End of Season Awards
* Player of The Year 1st Place - Jordan Martin 2018-D (39%)
* Player of The Year 2nd Place - Rob Martin 2018-B (28%)
* Player of The Year 3rd Place - Mark Heyes 2020-B (21%)

Season 06 Targets
* Close the gap on TNS and scare them again
* Fight in Europe
* Keep asking for professional status

[XaW]

Good season there, @Braumiller! Very close to tipping TNS of the top. Next season?

[Braumiller]

38 minutes ago, XaW said:

Good season there, @Braumiller! Very close to tipping TNS of the top. Next season?

Thanks.  Fingers crossed!  Still slogging my way through the close season and the renewing contracts or finding replacements for every single member of staff due to only being able to give them 1 year contracts each time.....

[XaW]

I don't have the easiest of starts... Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP within the first 5 matches isn't the easiest of starts.

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

6 minutes ago, XaW said:

I don't have the easiest of starts... Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP within the first 5 matches isn't the easiest of starts.

Don't think you'll be taking any points off them for a couple of years

[XaW]

Just now, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Don't think you'll be taking nay points off them for a couple of years

Heh, I don't, they are far above our ability. They just screwed up my moral after I just got 4 losses in a row. Hopefully we can bounce back soon!

[Solo171013]

Bit off topic this sort of. Has anyone ever tried a reverse version of this?

By thst I mean take over team such as Chelsea/Barcelona/Madrid etc and apply the rules of only intakes etc?

While i can see you could win lots early would you be able to sustain the success and keep board and fans happy?

Just a thought.

[Tush]

Wow, what an intake, regarding the current ability of some players  that goalkeeper is better than my current 1st squad one!

[XaW]

34 minutes ago, Solo171013 said:

Bit off topic this sort of. Has anyone ever tried a reverse version of this?

By thst I mean take over team such as Chelsea/Barcelona/Madrid etc and apply the rules of only intakes etc?

While i can see you could win lots early would you be able to sustain the success and keep board and fans happy?

Just a thought.

I think it was tried some time ago, but it doesn't really feel the same. It's much easier with a team win already good infrastructure, than with a team almost without anything in place.

14 minutes ago, Tush said:

Wow, what an intake, regarding the current ability of some players  that goalkeeper is better than my current 1st squad one!

Nice. It's great getting intakes like that. That could be your main goalkeeper for years to come!

[Pippadoc]

@XaW - Amazing season, congratulations on promotion!

@Tush - Fantastic intake, hopefully that'll get you a promotion in the near future.

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

 

SV Spakenburg - 2019/20

 

Jupiler League | League Table | Dutch Cup | Transfers | Squad | Facilities | Finances | Best 11 

I decided to change tactics at the start of the year. Our narrow 4-2-2-2 had done enough to keep us above relegation, but I knew at some point we would have to push on and start attacking a bit. After a bit of trial and error, I came up with a 5-3-2 with WBs and a DM in which we pressed high, played short, fast, and fluid. As you can see by our 1 point in the first 7 games, the players hadn't caught on yet. To be honest, I expected the tactic to work the same as our old one, but have a better base to build upon in the future. So I was shocked when we started consistently winning games towards the middle of the season. We were flying from October to February, only losing 1 game out of 14. We managed to secure safety with 5 games to go this year and after which I put in all youth and we got outscored 14-0 in our last 6 matches, losing them all. So even though we ended up finishing 18th, we were in 13th before I started throwing the games. Much better than last year. Youth-wise we got a few good players this time around, but still no 2nd nationality from our staff, which I assumed would happen once every couple of years at minimum. Financially we're still good, so more facility upgrades to come.

Class of 2020

Emre Taylan (03a) - Finally, someone to be excited about! He's got some very nice stats and could be great if we patched up his holes. And he's part Turkish

Dennis van der Wal (03b) - Really like his mental stats, and our starting DM is 30 now so he might be able to take over in a few years.

Anouar Scholten (03c) - Doesn't look amazing, but we'll see how he develops.

Sebastão Ntyamba (03d) - Tagged cause 2nd nationality.

Antonio Werleman (03e) - See above.

 

Class of 2019

Kees van Berlo (02a) - Played around 1/2 the season at LWB (1st youth to play half our games) and turned in a decent performance, will be an important player in the future.

Achraf Rahmani (02b) - I thought he would be better than he is, disappointment.

Nathan Felomina (02c) - Still have hope for him, but time's running out for him to kick on.

Hüseyin Boşnak (02d) - Didn't get much game time in the U19 as Ed van den Beld (01a) made the starting spot his.

Muhammad Wijaya (02e) - He'll probably be released as his contract expires, sad to let an Indonesian go, but he wasn't good enough.

Lorenzo Babel (02f) - Retraining him as a RWB, but don't see a future for him at the club.

 

 

Class of 2018

Ed van den Beld (01a) - Improving well and I think he'll be ready for the starting job in 1-2 seasons.

Andy de Jong (01b) - Getting retrained as a RWB and I have faith that he can be a solid player.

Jamal Chihab (01c) - A lack of CBs coupled with our new formation gave him his break as he started a half of our games this year becoming the 2nd youth player to do so. We don't talk about his 6.51 average though.

Rzeni Anillo Saidi (01d) - He's been a disappointment, never the same after his long injury.

Jan van der Heijden (01e) - A fringe player who might get more chances in the first team next year. Actually scored our goal of the season with a cracking strike from 30 yards out.

Felizardo Costa (01f) - One of my personal favorites, isn't playing great, but I have misguided faith that he'll outgrow his potential.

 

2nd Nationality Watch

Morocco x3

Angola x2

Turkey x2

Aruba x1

Curaçao x1

Indonesia x1
Suriname x1

 

 

Career Overview

Season    League            Position    Dutch Cup      Training Facilities    Youth Facilities     Junior Coaching     Youth Recruitment   Achievements/Notes     Top Scorer                  Most Assists          Highest Avg Rating 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18   Jupiler League    19th        2nd Round      Poor                   Basic                Basic               Fairly Basic        N/A                    Tol/Van der Meiracker (16)  Tol (7)               Tol (7.07) 
2018/19   Jupiler League    19th        4th Round      Basic                  Poor                 Basic               Fairly Basic        N/A                    Tol (17)                    Van der Meiracker (7) Van der Meiracker (6.97)   
2019/20   Jupiler League    18th        2nd Round      Below Average          Below Average        Adequate            Fairly Basic        N/A                    Tol (13)                    Oostinjen (10)        Custovic (7.09)  

[XaW]

You're getting better @The_Gato_In_Goal. 12 points clear of relegation that season! Keep up the good work!

In other news, I lost another player. He had a minimum fee release clause. I never thought anyone would go for it and his agent insisted. At least I lost him to a fantastic team outside of Portugal.

[makovn]

i don't like being an optimist

[makovn]

@The_Gato_In_Goal nice season, looks like the jupiler league is a tough one. that striker looks like he can be real good

@XaW what a season!  is your team ready for the Portuguese premier league?

@Braumiller you are closing in on TNS, maybe next season will be the season

 

 

[Pippadoc]

GF-38 Youth Intake 2019

A fantastic youth intake for us, with both a couple of excellent talents and fantastic depth. Every player in the class already as at least 1/2 gold star of ability, whereas some of the players from previous intakes only have 3 silver stars of ability. We've managed to get some players in ket positions for us and I have tagged a whopping 8 players! 

Robert Fabre (YP19A) - A promising striker according to my assistant manager. He has a long way to go though, particularly the finishing attribute of 4 needs a lot of work. If we can develop him well he's could be playing alongside Amestoy (YP18A) for years to come.

Julien Clerc (YP19B) - A great looking prospect in a position we really need. Our current back-up WBL is retiring at the end of the season, and with poor finances and sporadic interest in our current starter there's a possibility the board could go over my head and sell him. Clerc has some work to do before he can challenge to be a starter, particularly on his attacking attributes, but I have high hopes he can become a starter in the long term. 

Jeremy Mahe (YP19C) - Mahe has a chance to develop into a starter for us in the midfield. I'm particularly intrigued by his strength at set-plays, he could be a real weapon of he can develop enough to justify enough game time. 

Cherubin Kouyombo (YP19D) - Kouyombo has the potential to be a replacement (although admittedly a downgrade) for our current WBR. Hopefully he will get plenty of time to develop with Cianci being 29 currently, although there has been interest in him for almost by entire reign.

Clement Dumas (YP19E) - We got two promising centre-backs and here's another, this is good to see as we play with three. He's huge at 6'6" and that could help to get him on the field as we have struggled at set-plays so far. 

Jean-Marc Clavel (YP19F) - From a huge player to a tiny one, Clavel is a measly 5'3". Whilst he may not have the ability to become a starter for us, he could be a quality versatile back-up. With the National and Ligue 2 both only allowing 5 subs, having a back-up who could play both wing back positions would be a huge help. 

Mould Sahraoui (YP19G) - Another versatile defender, who can hopefully develop into a good squad player. 

Antoine Ollier (YP19H) - Ollier is an interesting prospect, I'm not sure whether to develop him into an attacking minded wing back or to try and turn him into a central midfielder. One thing's for sure, I need to get rid of that unambitious personality!

 

[Bubbles_DK]

Season 2018/2019

League table - Cups - End of season awards - Facilities - Finances - Transfers - Manager profile 

The league

What a season I've just been through. In the beginning of the season it really looked like we were going to struggle while playing 4-4-2 from the previous season. 1 victory out of the first 6 matches was what the 4-4-2 could manage. I changed the formation to 5-2-1-2 WB and a 2-3-2-1-2 (WB - DM). After the change the team really played som fantastic football and we could finish 2nd in the league!  In the first round of the playoffs where Petershead (no. 3) were waiting. We drew 2-2 away from home after being down 2-0. The return game at home was won with 2-0, so with relatively ease we advanced to the playoff finals against Queen's Park. The first leg was at home - and the team were really up for it and we won 3-1. The return game ended up being more exiting than wanted. Luckily we had MacRae that ensured us a 2-3 defeat and secured us promotion! 

During the season we had some really embarrassing moments with a loss 1-5 at home to Edinburgh and 7-3 defeat out against Forfar, so it's going to be really really difficult in Ladbrokes League 1.

The promotion would never had happen without MacRae and Easton. They both played some fantastic football and MacRae was topscorer in the league! 

 

The cups

The Betfred cup groupstage draw was har as we drew Alloa (CH), Cowdenbeath, (LL1), Livingston (CH) and St. Johnstone (PL). Surprisingly we managage to beat Alloa 1-0 and draw 2-2 against Livingston. 

The Challenge cup and Scottish cup were just as expected. We won against lower and equal teams but lost as soon as we met teams with quality.

 

The youth

Last season I highlighted Jack Donaldson and he has played a major part in the promotion hunt.

Allan Mackay did his part and are developing nicely.

One more youngster, from the class of 2018, got introduced and played some games for the 1st team.  

The youth intake was again good to me and we signed the lot. There were 3 players who really stood out:

Lee McInally - A promising striker he has already scored his first goal for the 1st team.

Willie Smith - A nice left back (although plenty of depth at this position). He will remain at the youth squad to develop and learn to play at WBL.

Callum Alexander - Same story as Lee McInally except he is a winger.

 

EDIT: Bonus info - currently my GK is the penalty taker. He scored 4 in the season 

 

[XaW]

I did not see this coming!

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

11 minutes ago, XaW said:

I did not see this coming!

Nice work! What kind of formation are you using to get 60% of the ball against Porto?

[XaW]

18 minutes ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Nice work! What kind of formation are you using to get 60% of the ball against Porto?

I play a 4-5-1 with wide wingers as a general, but I narrowed it down against Porto (and other top teams). I try to slow the game down and keep possession. Short passing, slow tempo, retain possession are some of the instructions I use, but I keep on tinkering from game to game depending on how we fare. I tried the same against Benfica a couple of games earlier(I got the possession then as well), and it blew back in my face. So I guess it's down to a bit of luck and if my players manage to do what I ask of them.

[darren1983]

@Shakes  

@XaW well done on promotion. And that win over Porto.

@Braumiller another good season, getting closer to TNS as well

@The_Gato_In_Goal slowly getting there mat.

[QSF25]

@Braumiller Judge opinion of Gibraltar being part of this challenge?

[Shakes]

@QSF25 - The problem is Gibraltar has no promotion to the lowest playable league, so it doesn't meet the criteria of taking a previously unplayable team for the same reason that eg Republic of Ireland doesn't.

[QSF25]

1 minute ago, Shakes said:

@QSF25 - The problem is Gibraltar has no promotion to the lowest playable league, so it doesn't meet the criteria of taking a previously unplayable team for the same reason that eg Republic of Ireland doesn't.

Fine! I'll make my own Challenge with Blackjack and...

jk.

Thanks!

[Muttley84]

Greek Youth Adventure - Season 8

Seasons are begging to look-a-like now, like little droplets of water falling from the autumn rain. We managed our usual 4th position in the League, and therefore qualified for the European Places Playoffs, where we put up a good fight but only managed to finish in 3rd. That means Europa League qualifying stages, and hopefully we will be lucky enough in the draw to get into the group stage where the big money are. We added to that an early-exit from the cup (3rd Round to PAOK) and a consistent performance in the Europa League (finishing last and losing all matches).

We are starting to Transfer out the players which are no longer growing or have a poor potential and lost another player who had a ridiculous low release clause. This year I tried to renew all the contracts and leave the clauses out, giving them even more money in the contract to accept it. Haven't presented any individual players or season awards as I overall pretty disappointed in them as a group. Our Youth Intake was again good, so are our Finances. Just our stupid board who won't upgrade the facilities anymore, and actually this summer we suffered a downgrade on our training facilities. They prefer instead  to invest in dubious feeder clubs (just got our 4th this summer, Dundee Utd). I really think we need to either win the title or qualify somehow for the Champions League to hit the next level in our development. 

[Velodromè]

Season 7: 

Intake - Review - Stats

Signed the top four in the intake, not very pleased with the personalities, but they are okay. Østby will have a hard time making the team, since we no longer use fullbacks. Ole Edvardsen will be trained to fit in the deeplaying playmaker role, hopefully he will develop well over the years. Goalkeepers are tricky to develop, so I am not sure how much playtime Sægrov will get, but he has potential. 

As the season unfolded it became very clear that relegation was not on the table this year. We played really well and ended up on 7th place, last of four(!) teams with 52 points, separated by 2 goals. Truth be told, if we did have the striker with 12-15 in finishing, we would be in the race for promotion. Thomas Zetterdal was the player of the year, much to do with him being in the middle of the three centrebacks. Others worth mentioning are Ole Gjengdal, who took his chance when he got it after som sub-par performances from Lillevik, and Brede Fretland, who contributed with both goals and assists from his midfield role. 

 

Season 8: 

Intake - Review - Stats

Another disappointing intake from my resolute HoYD, so he was let go after this, replaced by a model pro with high determination, hoping for a change. Klaveness went straigth into the first team, and Vågen got a few chances during the season. Some of the others with potential have either bad personality or bad PPM, so there is work to do. Falk Pettersen has a PPM as a static targetman, which means he's not a candidate for the first team anytime soon. 

We started the season in great fashion, leading with 4p with 10-12 matches to go. From there on in it was close to disaster and other than Martin Holtvik, we could not find the goals to finish of the opposition. We lost our automatic promotion thanks to draws against teams placed 14th and 15th in the two final rounds, but still got promoted after beating Sandefjord in the playoff. The board celebrated by taking up a £5 mill loan to expand the stadium and still refuse to go professional. Martin Holtvik was the player of the season, setting records both for the club and in the division. Still he and others could have score more, as we wasted a lot of CCCs during the season. 

The future:

I have been over-playing it the past week, so I will probably cool it down a bit, as motivation has faded with some disappointing intakes.  The coming season will be backs against the wall, but hopefully our 3-5-2 will be victorious yet again. If we manage to stay up I will be really disappointed if we don't go pro next season. Lack of determination is still the major thing, but now I have a decent tutor in Emil Eikeskogen, who has 14 in det. Two more seasons and the fairly determined Holtvik will also be able to tutor, so there is hope. 

[Pippadoc]

@Velodromè - great couple of seasons there! Hopefully you can start to get some better intake's now your reputation is rising, good luck in the Premier Division 

[Velodromè]

@Pippadoc Thank you, will probably need it. Most of my squad are rated as decent/good second division players, so it could get ugly. Doesn't help that we have to play away from home as long as the stadium is expanded. 

[Tush]

@Velodromè oh I would like to have a decent DM in intake just like yours!  I am using one who has CA at grey stars.

 

In other news, this U19 match went for some time before it was decided 

[Velodromè]

@Tush Do the youth teams play competitive matches in your save? In mine its friendlies all year. Get the invite to the u19 leagues, but no matches get played. 

[Tush]

@Velodromè my youth team plays the whole time, here's the screen of their fixtures

 

[Velodromè]

@Tush Bah, my game is bugged then. Have to arrange friendlies all year around to keep them fit. 

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

15 minutes ago, Velodromè said:

@Tush Bah, my game is bugged then. Have to arrange friendlies all year around to keep them fit. 

I think you should be able to assign someone to arrange friendlies somewhere in the staff responsibilities page.

[Areolys]

Will be trying this challenge out very soon. Not sure If I want to start in Switzerland 2nd League or if I should go all out and restart my England lvl 22 save with the added restrictions...

Either way, just to let you know, Switzerlands reset date is 19th june.

[Braumiller]

@Duroliponte it is going to be hard to tell to be honest.  The team is trending upwards to begin with, so only a huge jump to running away with the league would point to definite / tangible benefits.

That said, I have raised my squads overall avg Determination with releases and youth intake and since then I have not had any more declines in players Determinations . I have my numbers in a spreadsheet at home and will post when back there tonight. 

Hoping to finish my season 06 tonight and get that posted as well!

[Tush]

When your tactics finally click - Fixtures

[Braumiller]

@Areolys lvl 22 youth only sounds sadistic   Sadly those database edits would disqualify it from this challenge, but I would read that story in that board  

[darren1983]

Injury crisis is killing me. 4 first teamers out and the back up to one of them also out  

 

[darren1983]

Safe to say the goals have dried up since the turn of the year eh?  

[Velodromè]

@darren1983 Results wise that look very much like the end of my last season. Pretty sure I am getting my ass handed to me quite a few times this season, playing against clubs that can spend £2,3 mill on a single player. That is three times my balance at the moment. 

[Areolys]

4 hours ago, Braumiller said:

@Areolys lvl 22 youth only sounds sadistic   Sadly those database edits would disqualify it from this challenge, but I would read that story in that board  

Had some time today to think this through...

Yeah, nobody in their right mind would try and do this. And it would be completely insane to even try it as a new player of the game.

...

That's why I'll do it. Ah, what the heck, I might as well restart my safe, and start over with this limitation. I can always start another more humane safe with my favorite swiss football team (allez Sion!)

And since Keymer & Hassocks were actually promoted this season to Division 9 it fits the theme. I'll be starting a new thread over at in the career updates for anyone who's interested in following, since it can't be part of this challenge. 

[darren1983]

Dulwich Hamlet - League Two - Season 2023/24

 

League - after just about staying up last season this was a big surprise, our form through the first half of the season was excellent, we took 50 points from the first 25 games and at the turn of the year we were 2nd. We couldn't live with Bristol Rovers though who were too strong, my change in tactics at the back end of last season made us tough to beat but meant that when the goals dried up we struggled to win games. After a 3-1 win over Northampton on New Years Day we would only score 7 goals in our next 14 games, winning only 2 but also only losing 3, the draws killed us, we found form again towards the end of the season and were 5th going into the last day. We were on 73 points and were away to 4th placed Doncaster (74 points) with 3rd place Rochdale (75 points) away to champions Bristol Rovers. If we won and Rochadle didn't we would grab 3rd due to better GD. We done our bit with a 1-0 win but Rochdale smashed Rovers 6-2 consigning us to the playoffs. We had to play Bury (0-0 draw (H) and 0-1 win (A) during the season) but with Danny Reed(YP05A) suspended we lost top scorer Courtney Hall(YO05C) to injury before the first leg leaving us down to the bones. The 1st leg was a 1-0 loss and with no strikers for the 2nd leg best we could do was a 0-0 draw. Bury went on to win promotion at Wembley.

League Cup - a cracking game with league one MK Dons

Checkatrade Trophy - won one, lost 2 meh. Pretty mush use this for game time to youngsters on the verge of first team action.

FA Cup - couple of 2-2 draws with league one Oxford before we won a penalty shootout. Another 2-2 draw, this time with Shrewsbury before a 88th minute winner for them saw us knocked out.

Transfers - starting to remove the deadwood of players that were on non-contract during our rise from conference to league football.

Squad - getting younger and younger each season.

Finances - better, over £500k in prize money at the end of the season was a massive help.

On another note it's taken 7 seasons but my board have finally (after asking every season) agreed to let study for my 1st coaching badge.

Youth Development 

James Daly YP02C - best player at the club now. Flies up and down the right wing

Vangelis Bosganas YP01A - 2nd best player, when he's off form we suffer

Ashley Roles YPo5D - breakthrough season for the youngster. Of his 3 goals 2 were from her 30 yards!

Youth Intake - not the best one this time with some poor personalities 

Ertugrul Orhan YP07A - another CB but this guy could be the best of the ones we have.

John Marsden YP07B - Left winger that could push Williams for his place

 

Career Overview

Season		League		Position	Achievements

2017/18		VNS		1st		Champions
2018/19		VNL		7th		
2019/20		VNL		14th 
2020/21		VNL		15th
2021/22		VNL		4th		Promotion via playoffs
2022/23		EFL2		22nd 
2023/24		EFL2		4th		Lost Playoff Semi Final

Next Season

Would love to push for the top 3 again but first things first will be to get to 50 point mark.

[Shakes]

Since doing this on FM13 I've failed at Sweden x3, Scotland x3, England x2, Portugal x2, France and Belgium. So time for somewhere new ... Northern Ireland it is. Amateur might be an issue but I holidayed a test season and even with no intervention not too many players moved so it seems playable. Besides if not, I can add another place to my list of failures.

I present ...

Manager | Facilities | Squad

I admit this choice is all about the name. Looking at the squad we have a bunch of defenders ... some can play sweeper ... I shall call my tactics the Chimney Sweep! I'll see myself out ...

From a bit of googling it looks like our ground is right next to the golf course in Antrim, so I shall be blaming any mistakes on being whacked by a stray drive.

[Braumiller]

Excellent season @darren1983, unlucky in the playoffs!

@Shakes has officially taken the lead on best team name in the challenge

 

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Progress had been slow as of late. I should have an update out by the end of the week, but this season has probably been one of my toughest yet for some reason.

[darren1983]

Have to agree with @Braumiller and think @Shakes has the best team name wrapped up this year.

[Braumiller]

Season 06 - 2022-23

The Season As It Happened.....

Preseason
It is preseason so that means only one thing, the hardest possible draw in the First Qualifying Round of the Europa League!  Hadjuk Split this time...  We lost 0-2 at home and did not play well and then lost 1-5 away from home in a game we never game ourselves a chance after being reduced to 10 men after just 24 minutes.  With money in hand I went and asked for Professional status and got turned down.  Went for Junior Coaching upgrade then and turned down again due to our financial projection.  Urgh.
A generally bad preseason.  Teams against cupcakes as usual and we lost one 0-2 and drew one 0-0.  Hoping this is not a sign of issues to come....

August 21st 2022
First game of the season and away at TNS!  Usually I would curse this start, but looking at their fixture list this is nestled between fixtures against Nantes in the Europa League Playoff round...  And they were distracted!  A lovely 2-1 win to start the season, despite being without our main goalscoring threat Rob Martin 2018-B

August 30th 2022
Bizarre game in the mickey mouse cup 2nd round (our first, due to getting a bye in the 1st round).  I played half first XI and half backups, as it was midweek and I needed to rotate.  It went to extra time, which was not ideal due to fitness and then we had a man sent off in the 93rd minute and a man went off injured on 100 with all 3 subs already on.  Bangor took the lead against the 9 men on 110, so I went Attacking.  We equalized on 117 and then a horrendous GK error on a backpass gave me a winner on 119....

October 8th 2022
Even when documenting the season as it happens I cannot tempt the FM gods by writing about streaks!  So now it is over, I can mention we just lost our 100% record in the league.  7 wins on the bounce to start and now a 1-1 draw after a Llandudno goal in the 89th minute pegged us back.  Truth be told we were poor and didn't deserve the win.  TNS have had a poor start, but won 7-0 on the same day to get back to 6 points behind.  Their warning has been noted.....

November 9th 2022
We have our first u21 cap!  Dean Martin 2019-C gets the honor

January 25th 2023
This is lining up to be a doozy.  After the initial 22 game league we are dead equal with TNS on wins, draws, losses and points.  They lead purely by 2 goals goal difference (52 for/12 against, to 50 for/12 against).

February 4th 2023
A very frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Carmarthen gives TNS a 2 point cushion.  It also ended our amazing streak of 8 clean sheets in a row in the league, and 11 in our last 12 (now 13)...

February 11th 2023
The unbeaten run comes to an end.  We got mugged by Aberystwyth 1-2 and that snapped a 16 game unbeaten run.

March 6th 2023
Youth Candidate Day 2023!
Shaun D'Auria 2023-A - What looks like a potential good solid central defender.  Options to play at DR or DM, but I think DC is where his future lies
Dale De-Vulgt 2023-B - I wish I played with more players in the middle of the park.  Another decent looking central midfielder
Mark Rowlands 2023-C - And again, although with a little more versatility in AMC as well
Ross Llewellyn 2023-D - This years youth GK prospect
Richard Pearson 2023-E - A good looking right full back, who may get a look in at the first team as we move forward
Marc Lancey 2023-F - Needs retraining to play at MR, but he should be good with that.  Looks decent, but not sure if that will be enough
Liam Price 2023-G - A young forward to be retrained as a shadow striker.  With none of last years striker heavy intake taking their opportunities to date, he has a chance if he progresses.

March, April, May 2023
A frustrating end to the season as our form dropped off completely.  We only won 1 of our last 6 league and cup games, failing to score in our last 3 altogether.  Not sure what exactly happened (or didn't happen), but it was a long season and a young squad.  Chalking it up to that.

Random Notes / Thoughts
TNS were just undeniable this year.  Initially I was fairly annoyed with being caught, overtaken and then having distance put between us, but when you look at their league form it was beyond impressive.  After losing 2 of their first 6 games, they rattled off 23 wins and 3 draws in their remaining 26 league games.....  Relentless.

End of Season Screenshots
League Table
Results - League / Cups
Transfers
End of Season Awards
* Player of The Year 1st Place - Jordan Martin 2018-D (43%)
* Player of The Year 2nd Place - Rob Martin 2018-B (28%)
* Player of The Year 3rd Place - Mark Heyes 2020-B (18%)

Season 07 Targets
* Continue to press TNS and hope they are not quite so superhuman
* Pray for a semi decent Europa League draw
* Keep plugging away

[Sanno11]

@darren1983 That is a great second season in league 2 and so close to promotion, it's a shame the youth intake wasn't better. I find myself experiencing a similar dip in form to yours. Start really well and win as the underdogs until eventually teams start to respect you and then winning becomes a real struggle.

@Braumiller Another great season. You keep improving and just need one off season from TNS to start grasping control of the Welsh premier division. It must be frustrating watching their results each week though.

 

[Shakes]

Chimney Corner - Season 1 - 2017/18 NIFL Premier Intermediate League

League | Cups | Squad | Transfers

It's nice when a plan comes together as you envisaged it. I saw we had a squad good at a few things - we had defensive positioning/marking at the back, and speed and finishing at the front. This looked like the perfect team to pack 3 in central defense, sit back and counter attack. Turns out this is an easier game when you have strikers who can finish!

When we got pretty hammered in our second league game we lost 3-1 and I'm wondering if it might be a little tougher than I thought. Then we went on an incredible run, 11 games (which is half the season) undefeated in the league! Semi final of the League Cup (so many cups in Northern Ireland). The fight was no longer to ensure we stayed up - we mathematically secured that with something silly like 7 games to play - the fight was for promotion.

Even finally taking a loss couldn't dent our confidence, we bounced straight back by beating then top side Queens University 4-0. Losing 3-1 to eventual champions Annaugh Utd was a big blow, but we stayed in touch and going into the last day we were 2 points off second with a better goal difference. A win for us against 4th placed Tobermore Utd would give us a promotion playoff if Queens University stumbled. It turns out they did, but so did we. We went down a goal early, levelled in the second half but towards the end of the game we missed a chance and Tobermore took theirs.

Still if I was offered 3rd place with the best defensive record and a +16 goal difference before the season began I would have absolutely taken it in a flash. A great season to build on, we've proven this year that players on non-contracts aren't a huge bother (just be attentive and re-offer them new non-contracts when another team tries to poach them and they are inclined to stay). Our cup experiences suggest there isn't even a huge gulf of quality between us and the top league, so if we can keep up these performances there's no reason why we can't move up rapidly.

Youth Intake

I'm not sure I entirely believe all the 5 stars on this intake, but even if only a few of them work out the future looks bright. The balance here isn't the best - would gladly have swapped a couple of the strikers for central midfielders - but after the slow progress in the last two attempts I'm just happy to get a bunch of top prospects.

• (18a) James McGovern - AML - The best way to get wingers is to play a formation that doesn't need them.  Doesn't quite fit perfectly anywhere, but he's quick and right footed and given the team balance right wing back it is.
• (18b) James Whiteside - DL - Quite a nice prospect - more balanced than most and a good personality - should be backup at left wing back next year,
• (18c) Nathan McKee - ST - The first of our many strikers. While our strikers worked well this year they're no spring chickens, so McKee will gradually get chances.
• (18d) Stephen Kennedy - ML - Another left winger. Will be third in line at left wing back.
• (18e) Willie McMurray - ST - A striker who can play midfield a bit. Got good goal support from one of those this year and training as a mid might round out his stats anyway, so giving that a shot.
• (18f) Chris Bell - ST - A quick clean finishing striker, very much in the mould of the type of player that has been working for us, so I have high hopes for him.
• (18g) Alan McGlynn - ST - Another striker who can play a bit of midfield.
• (18h) John Hanna - DC - We've got a strong central defense and this guys physicals need time so he's a long term prospect.

Next Season

A few things I have in mind

• Gradually introduce the youth players. We had a pretty stable team that worked, we don't need half a dozen nervous guys out there.
• Do not tinker with the tactics. Leave what's working alone. We have enough potential that we can afford to burn a few players that don't fit our tactic rather than fit them in.
• Promotion is the aim.
• We're going to lose money and so these facilities are what we have until we can move up. 3rd place in this league earns you 585 pounds. I'll try not to spend it all at once ...

[MCPlay]

@Braumiller Another good season, you'll soon catch them! Out of curiosity, how has TNS fared in europa the other years? In my game, they only got to the third qualifying round of the EL once, and rarely got past the first round. When I started winning the league, no other Welsh team won any european ties for quite some time.

Now after 23 seasons in my save, the other Welsh teams are starting to regularly win in the first round of the EL-qual, which is nice. Actually a couple of the Welsh teams have suddenly started buying pretty good players from Ireland and Northern Ireland, which I guess is due to the leagues reputation growing aswell as the prize money and sponsorships keep rising.