[FM18] E22 - England to Level 22

[phnompenhandy]

Hopefully Bob's yer man!

[lionel messi]

7 hours ago, jwchriste said:

One cup match left.  It figures:

I'll have to bring up one of my youth to use as a sub.  I'm thinking this guy:

He looks quite good.

[jwchriste]

He better be.  He's starting the season as my ST sub since my other, more seasoned, options are all injured again.

[phnompenhandy]

I was coasting the season, expecting a Grand Slam when I was mugged by Climate Change. I always get a couple of postponements in the soggy winter but this season for six weeks through January and February every match bar one was wiped out at the last minute. By the time football resumed my squad was horribly short of match conditioning and our first two fixtures in the space of three days were both cup ties, both going into extra time and one to penalties. My boys were dropping like flies and we lost both ties. We somehow regrouped after that despite the injuries and bumbled through the rest of the season, ending up with a not-too-shabby four pots. We shaded a very tight Senior Cup Final against a good Level 13 side 1-0, which I think indicates our true current standard.

On the positive side, the youth intake threw up just what I needed – a viable goalkeeper after four and a half years, and a much-needed back-up left back. I’m now strong in every position – both first and second choice, with kids whom I could throw in if necessary - a solid squad of 2 keepers and 3 for each outfield position. Weather permitting, we will storm through the next few seasons.

 

free upload pictures

[jwchriste]

After winning every match last season, my undefeated streak came to an end in match #17 this season.  Third straight promotion though:

Inexplicably, my attendance dropped quite a bit this year so my profits were down.  Fortunately, all three cup finals were home matches which drew large crowds and helped make up for some of the lost earnings.  I also had a better injury situation this season - my main striker stayed healthy all year and played in every match except one.  That helped the club score a boatload of goals in all competitions.  Fun to watch.

[phnompenhandy]

6 minutes ago, jwchriste said:

After winning every match last season, my undefeated streak came to an end in match #17 this season.  Third straight promotion though:

Inexplicably, my attendance dropped quite a bit this year so my profits were down.  Fortunately, all three cup finals were home matches which drew large crowds and helped make up for some of the lost earnings.  I also had a better injury situation this season - my main striker stayed healthy all year and played in every match except one.  That helped the club score a boatload of goals in all competitions.  Fun to watch.

Nice. My board have got into the habit of pumping money into the coffers to cover the professional wage bill although there's nothing left for upgrades to the facilities. I got a windfall when Hull City poached my best player for buttons - they came and played a friendly - a 1,000 sell-out for which we bagged 15K.

[lionel messi]

54 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Nice. My board have got into the habit of pumping money into the coffers to cover the professional wage bill although there's nothing left for upgrades to the facilities. I got a windfall when Hull City poached my best player for buttons - they came and played a friendly - a 1,000 sell-out for which we bagged 15K.

Im losing quite a bit of money this season, im about 15k in the red now.

[phnompenhandy]

Just now, lionel messi said:

Im losing quite a bit of money this season, im about 15k in the red now.

If you're not paying wages, where is it going?

[lionel messi]

not sure, maybe on junior coaching and youth coaching budgets

[phnompenhandy]

Just now, lionel messi said:

not sure, maybe on junior coaching and youth coaching budgets

Yeah, I've got no chance of any of that being upgraded for the foreseeable. Currently 150K in the red. If I can keep my young squad together, I won't really need academy kids for the next 3-4 years. Big ''if' though - half-way through the season my chairman slashed the wage budget by 50%! I just ignored it and the board ended up digging in their pockets. Can't guarantee they'll continue to find loose change though.

[lionel messi]

1 minute ago, phnompenhandy said:

Yeah, I've got no chance of any of that being upgraded for the foreseeable. Currently 150K in the red. If I can keep my young squad together, I won't really need academy kids for the next 3-4 years. Big ''if' though - half-way through the season my chairman slashed the wage budget by 50%! I just ignored it and the board ended up digging in their pockets. Can't guarantee they'll continue to find loose change though.

I have some really good youngsters coming through, I have just promoted another 16 year old to my 1st team squad, that is 3 now that have made the grade and are in my starting line up.

[phnompenhandy]

Got a ton of cracking kids myself - look at all the teenagers in my squad:

[lionel messi]

8 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Got a ton of cracking kids myself - look at all the teenagers in my squad:

Yes you have a very good squad there with the potential for them to get even better.

[phnompenhandy]

Well, not through training, but they will all get tons of gametime. Six cup competitions was ridiculous. Is it still like that though the next few levels?

[lionel messi]

2 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Well, not through training, but they will all get tons of gametime. Six cup competitions was ridiculous. Is it still like that though the next few levels?

Its down to 4 cups at level 17 & 16

[TerrenceG17]

Wanting to start an FM save using this database and just have a few questions...

Not sure if my laptop will be able to run such a large database, can anyone give me a rough guide of the minimum specs to run it?

Also, will i be able to start a create-a-club within one of the lower divisions? Thinking making a team within the Humber Prem Tier 12/11.

[phnompenhandy]

3 minutes ago, TerrenceG17 said:

Wanting to start an FM save using this database and just have a few questions...

Not sure if my laptop will be able to run such a large database, can anyone give me a rough guide of the minimum specs to run it?

Also, will i be able to start a create-a-club within one of the lower divisions? Thinking making a team within the Humber Prem Tier 12/11.

Specs don't need to be anything special, but it will run slowly. The save files will be 200kb from early on, but I just make sure I keep deleting old saves as I go along.

I haven't used that feature because I just run Dan's file through the pre-game editor and make my own tweaks. I'd just take an existing club in your Humber league and change its name and whatever details you want.

[TerrenceG17]

11 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Specs don't need to be anything special, but it will run slowly. The save files will be 200kb from early on, but I just make sure I keep deleting old saves as I go along.

I haven't used that feature because I just run Dan's file through the pre-game editor and make my own tweaks. I'd just take an existing club in your Humber league and change its name and whatever details you want.

Alright that’s great, thanks a lot.

I’m going to look into the create-a-club option as I feel it makes it more personal, starting with no history etc. But very excited to start this this weekend👍🏼

[lionel messi]

4 out of 5 competitions won this season.

[TerrenceG17]

Anyone who's good at using photoshop or other editing software fancy making me a badge and 2/3 kits for my Kingston Athletic save using this database?

Wanting a badge with 3 crowns on it, Kingston Athletic and Est 2018. Colour scheme to be Blue/Orange.

Then Blue/Orange Home kit and Black/Orange Away kit and your choice of 3rd kit (if you choose to make one).

Any help would be appreciated as i've been looking for websites to do this on but have had no luck so far and i have no clue how to use photoshop or anything of the like...

[lionel messi]

Some really useful players coming through my youth team.

[jwchriste]

Poor Ditchling II

They had three red cards by the end of the first half.  It was weird, they removed all their forward attackers and only had one mid-fielder that would venture beyond the midfield line.  I subbed all my best scorers at 50 minutes and even removed an injured player without replacing him or I would probably have scored quite a bit more.

[phnompenhandy]

^ Very nice Lionel. It's interesting that you're getting such good kids through your academy as an amateur village team. It undermines my theories reflecting on my position. In my situation, it feels like after the trauma of the financial hit of going professional so early, the benefits have now kicked in. I can only survive with the board regularly pumping in 20K per month to cover my wage bill, and my facilities are too poor to substantially improve my squad despite full-time training. The key difference is that whilst my own academy kids are still useless, I can attract some of the best regens from elsewhere in the lower leagues of south-eastern England because I can offer them a minimum wage - full-time as opposed to amateur, youth or part-time terms. Also, they're not going to leave for anything less than a professional, probably league club.

[lionel messi]

9 hours ago, jwchriste said:

Poor Ditchling II

They had three red cards by the end of the first half.  It was weird, they removed all their forward attackers and only had one mid-fielder that would venture beyond the midfield line.  I subbed all my best scorers at 50 minutes and even removed an injured player without replacing him or I would probably have scored quite a bit more.

I think rhey ditched in the towel lol.

[lionel messi]

10 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

^ Very nice Lionel. It's interesting that you're getting such good kids through your academy as an amateur village team. It undermines my theories reflecting on my position. In my situation, it feels like after the trauma of the financial hit of going professional so early, the benefits have now kicked in. I can only survive with the board regularly pumping in 20K per month to cover my wage bill, and my facilities are too poor to substantially improve my squad despite full-time training. The key difference is that whilst my own academy kids are still useless, I can attract some of the best regens from elsewhere in the lower leagues of south-eastern England because I can offer them a minimum wage - full-time as opposed to amateur, youth or part-time terms. Also, they're not going to leave for anything less than a professional, probably league club.

Its good to have them come through but clubs are constantly bidding to try and poach them from me. I have to turn about 50 or more offers down for them every week. When they turn 18 i dont think i will be able to stop them from leaving.

My traing budget is excellent and my youth budget is average. I would love to be able to increase the training and youth facilities to get some really good benefit from it but im slightly in the red so the board wont agree to that.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Down in Level 17 and linked with the WALES job? Are you sure?

 

 

Postscript: I only spotted this because I clicked on the news item about Giggsy getting sacked. In fact I never got approached, and Pardeux got the 'gig'. Poor Wales

[bigmattb28]

16 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Down in Level 17 and linked with the WALES job? Are you sure?

 

 

Postscript: I only spotted this because I clicked on the news item about Giggsy getting sacked. In fact I never got approached, and Pardeux got the 'gig'. Poor Wales

Does the file work okay then mate? What skin you using

[phnompenhandy]

2 minutes ago, bigmattb28 said:

Does the file work okay then mate? What skin you using

Works perfectly - just very slowly.

Skin is Andromeda - only available by friending their Facebook page.

[phnompenhandy]

Into February and a milder winter means no postponements this time although the heavy pitches are taking their toll on injuries. I've already bagged promotion with 7 games to go having dropped points in only one game when my star striker contrived to take and miss three penalties! The luxury of such early promotion affords me the opportunity to tweak my tactics. I originally set up in L22 to take account of a very weak defence but that's no longer the case, so I'm retraining all my defensive full-backs to be wingbacks, my DCB to be CBs and my BWM hatchetmen to be sophisticated DMs. With these 7 league games and probably 10 pre-season matches to come, we'll see if Fairwarp will become known as the Orange Barcelona of Level 16 rural Sussex!

[Pa FM]

Lads yer all flying n doin great.i follow this site everyday and to see ye going so far into the game makes me jealous.ive OCD n every time I start my game I’ve to take it so seriously it’s like real life for me.ive to read everything in the voice of Jim white from sky sports.ive to commentate on every game like Martin Tyler n Alan smith for d full 90 mins n if I feel ive made a mistake somewhere or said something wrong it’s back to the start which frustrates me.i love playing the game I have it since release in November but I’ve only ever gone 2 weeks into the game I wish I could just play like ye do n have some fun I’d love to be able to compete with ye.n hear I am now again thinking about when I should start again I think I’ll always be stuck in level 22.

[erikeagles]

I want to play this, but I can't find it on steam 

Is it possible to put it on steam? 

[phnompenhandy]

2 hours ago, erikeagles said:

I want to play this, but I can't find it on steam 

Is it possible to put it on steam? 

Why? Just download it from the first post in this thread and do like I said above. Couldn't be easier.

[phnompenhandy]

4 hours ago, Pa FM said:

Lads yer all flying n doin great.i follow this site everyday and to see ye going so far into the game makes me jealous.ive OCD n every time I start my game I’ve to take it so seriously it’s like real life for me.ive to read everything in the voice of Jim white from sky sports.ive to commentate on every game like Martin Tyler n Alan smith for d full 90 mins n if I feel ive made a mistake somewhere or said something wrong it’s back to the start which frustrates me.i love playing the game I have it since release in November but I’ve only ever gone 2 weeks into the game I wish I could just play like ye do n have some fun I’d love to be able to compete with ye.n hear I am now again thinking about when I should start again I think I’ll always be stuck in level 22.

Heh, I don't have OCD but I do have my own ludicrous weakness. Right now I'm tempted to abandon my perfectly satisfactory campaign and start again. My problem is that I put the file through the pre-game editor and make my own customised tweaks, switching a number of minor teams that mean nothing to me for teams (real and made up) that I personally relate to. This takes 2 - 3 full days. Today I worked out a system to do that much better and I have the urge to fire up the editor, do a bunch of fixes and start right back at the beginning. I think I might be able to hold off until July when I take a holiday in my beloved Highlands of Scotland and I'll want to add all the wee villages I've stayed in to the database. I don't think I've ever got further than 7 seasons into a save, so it's quite likely that during this coming week I will have broken that record. Let's see how long I can resist ....

[lionel messi]

3 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Heh, I don't have OCD but I do have my own ludicrous weakness. Right now I'm tempted to abandon my perfectly satisfactory campaign and start again. My problem is that I put the file through the pre-game editor and make my own customised tweaks, switching a number of minor teams that mean nothing to me for teams (real and made up) that I personally relate to. This takes 2 - 3 full days. Today I worked out a system to do that much better and I have the urge to fire up the editor, do a bunch of fixes and start right back at the beginning. I think I might be able to hold off until July when I take a holiday in my beloved Highlands of Scotland and I'll want to add all the wee villages I've stayed in to the database. I don't think I've ever got further than 7 seasons into a save, so it's quite likely that during this coming week I will have broken that record. Let's see how long I can resist ....

don't do it keep going as you are, you are doing a fantastic job under the cicumstances lol.

[jwchriste]

Another rung on the ladder...

Funny story: 4 matches left in the season, one more win guarantees the title and promotion.  I had been managing my club's match fitness and playing time so that I could field the best possible lineup for the clinching match.  A couple days before the match, Scaynes Hill poaches my best right FB!  He had been so reliable that I hadn't ever signed a capable backup.  With nothing better to do, I immediately offered him an amateur contract to come back to my club.  I had to play the deciding match without him (I won), but he agreed and came back without ever playing a match for Scaynes Hill.  As a further punitive measure, I also offered a contract to another of their key players who also accepted.  Scaynes Hill missed out on promotion by a single point.  The football gods are just indeed!

[phnompenhandy]

 

Love it jw! I've lured back about half the players I've lost like that, although now it's because I can offer them cash money.

It just occurred to me that I haven't lost a single player for two years now; as a result, I only retained one academy kid this season, and that's only because one of my DCs has had 4 injuries this season, which is looking a fatally chronic condition.

[jwchriste]

I haven't had too much trouble with players leaving, maybe 2-3 a season, but not all of them are in my starting 11.  But, one of them always seems to be my starting GK.  Last season, one left after we won the league, right before all the cup finals.  This season, my starter left 3/4 of the way through the season.

[Dan BHTFC]

Already planning a file for FM19 (I must be mad!). Looking at possibly a full Level 14/15 file

[phnompenhandy]

3 minutes ago, Dan BHTFC said:

Already planning a file for FM19 (I must be mad!). Looking at possibly a full Level 14/15 file

There you are! That's great Dan - you can see how a bunch of us are really loving your hard work!

[Dan BHTFC]

It's fantastic to see, I just needed a break away from the thread!

I've been thinking about what I can do to make the database new and fresh so thought about the full Level 14/15 file

[phnompenhandy]

9 minutes ago, Dan BHTFC said:

It's fantastic to see, I just needed a break away from the thread!

I've been thinking about what I can do to make the database new and fresh so thought about the full Level 14/15 file

I think many of us enjoy starting at a ridiculously low level, i.e. L22. However, I think you could streamline the file by omitting some of the other strands. Maybe canvas opinion as to how popular the various streams are, eg Mid-Sussex, East-Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Cornwall, Humberside, Bristol, Southampton, Brighton, Liverpool, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Peterborough and so on. Levels 12-14 seem overly bloated and probably take up a disproportionate amount of your time as well as slowing the save down substantially.

For me, I love all the Sussex leagues and have personal attachment to Devon & Cornwall leagues. In fact, I love all the L16-L22 leagues and wouldn't like to lose any.

One request - it may be un-IRL, but could you make ALL divisions have promotion and relegation (or at least promotion) - apart from the Scillies , although I wouldn't mind losing that one.

 

[phnompenhandy]

A QUINTUPLE! Love the sound of that word. Hides the fact that it took a remarkable 5 penalty shoot-outs to get there, all won of course.

 

 

Note one of my midfield assist-kings: I call him "Lil' John Wayne"

[erikeagles]

I am starting a game with Manchester Central but one question 

Is it possible to change the number of substitutions 

The players are very fast tiered 

 

[phnompenhandy]

Sorry guys, 

 

I know everyone is storming their leagues with near-100% records, but for me turning professional feels not only unrealistic but makes the whole thing unchallenging. I know I'd be guaranteed another dozen promotions and that feels kinda boring.

So i am going to start again, this time with a strict youth-only policy from the get-go and I'll assume the professional lightning thing won't strike twice. I'm now going to spend the next day or two in the editor re-structuring the pyramid so I can add tons of teams I relate to, including turning the 3 parts of Sussex into  Scotland and Surrey into Wales and all-Ireland. I'm also going to integrate 25 of the top teams in Europe into the top end of the pyramid. Then I'll be back to pick up the team at Level 22 which will be Fairwarp under a new, Scottish Highland name.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Just now, erikeagles said:

I am starting a game with Manchester Central but one question 

Is it possible to change the number of substitutions 

The players are very fast tiered 

 

In the editor, I think. Can't tell you how. But you're probably over-training them. You need to adjust your training and tactics to account for the players' limitations.

[erikeagles]

When I arrived at the club there was only a assistant manager 

So I put him in charge of the training 

I think I could better send them to a pub 

[phnompenhandy]

Just now, erikeagles said:

When I arrived at the club there was only a assistant manager 

So I put him in charge of the training 

I think I could better send them to a pub 

Never ever put the assman in charge of anything!!!!

[erikeagles]

1 minute ago, phnompenhandy said:

Never ever put the assman in charge of anything!!!!

I think he noise more than I 

[jwchriste]

1 hour ago, erikeagles said:

I think he noise more than I 

Nonsense.  They know nothing.  Just keep training simple.  I train everyone in the position they are going to play but I don't use any individual training because the coaching and facilities are very poor, it rarely accomplishes anything.  I rotate the team training once a month between cohesion, fitness, and balanced using the average intensity.  Once the team has great togetherness, I drop the cohesion and only use it during the weeks where there are multiple matches.  I keep my U18 team training on fitness and forget about it.

For players in my senior squad, but outside my 5 subs, I set them to play with the U23s for a max of 60min.  Then, I schedule a weekly friendly between by U23s and U18s to keep everyone match fit and ready to step into the top 11 if I have injuries/suspensions.  If I notice that some players aren't getting match fit because they don't get any playing time, I start cutting the dead wood to free up some space in the U23s.

This gives me options to rotate players in and out of the top 11 to account for match congestion and injuries/suspensions and I don't have to play players who are very tired.  It can be tricky to give everyone the senior team playing time they expect though.

[jwchriste]

So, I'm trying to be fiscally responsible.  I want to save up a war chest that I can eventually use for some youth facilities upgrades without going into too much debt.  I know I don't have to worry about contracts yet and I don't do any scouting, so I'm spending nothing toward those areas.  But, this season the vast majority of my cup draws were away so I missed out on a lot of the "match day income" from concessions.  I maybe had 20% of those draws at home.  Also, several of my staff decided they needed to go for the more advanced coaching qualifications which my club paid for.  I only barely broke even.  My average attendance has actually slightly decreased each of the last two seasons - mainly because the higher-drawing cup matches were all away.

Is this just a natural plateau in attendance?  Has anyone started to see their attendance start to grow regularly?  Or ticket prices go up?  I'm sure it will happen eventually.  I'm winning so I can't really complain.  Just want to plan for the far-distant future where my club is the best youth-producer in the country.