Bergbatov Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 Welcome to The Non-League thread A lot of FM-players is starting from the bottom and trying to build a dynasty. This is for the hardworking, passionate and dedicated people who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. It is a lot of sunshine stories about non-league players who climbed to the top tiers, but do you got what it takes? Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it describes football played at a level below that of the Premier League (20 clubs) and the three divisions of the English Football League (EFL; 72 clubs). The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League (from 2016, the EFL); all clubs who were not a part of The Football League were therefore 'non-League' clubs. The term can be confusing as the vast majority of non-league football clubs in England play in a type of league. Currently, a non-League team would be any club playing in the National League and below and therefore would not play in the EFL Cup. We already got a Salford thread but I think it's time for a more general thread of the beloved National league and below. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergbatov Posted March 5, 2019 Author Share Posted March 5, 2019 Barnet FC - The Bees are back in town The Project: I have always had an FM crush on Barnet. Barnet relegated to Vanarama National League last year and is one of the favorites to get up. My goal with every team is to play attractive football, why? Because football is supposed to be entertainment! We want to climb the ladder without taking huge financial risks, so we need to be smart with the transfers and build a good fundament. We are going to build the team around young and hungry players that we can develop. Season 1: We had a great season and we finished as number one. We had some great loan signings and the signing of Ruben Bover, who played here before they got relegated, was really contributing to the great season. We didn't do any good in the cups but we played with a lot of backup players because the league was the only goal this season. Transfers: All of these transfers are players who can play at a higher level, so I was really pleased that we were able to get that kind of quality. There was no doubt in my mind about promotion after we secured these class players. We did it! The Bees are back in the League! It was a great season and we what was expected of us. The new signings did great and I would really recommend Alfie and Adam May if anyone else is playing in Vanarama National. Wrexham gave us a little fight but it wasn't really a big one. We were just far too superior at this level. Season 2: After the great first season we had a mid-table prediction if we could strengthen the squad with some quality additions. There was going to be a lot more games and we needed to add several players so we could handle the tough schedule. Peterborough, Rochdale, MK Dons and Wycombe relegated from League One so I wasn't expecting to be able to fight at the top. But then came.... Transfers: WOW, just wow! Look at these signings After the window was done I was pretty sure that we would be able to fight for promotion. I was not expecting to be able to bring in so many quality players. Some of these are just on another level.. And guess what... Players like Sam Hart, Kane Wilson, Xande and Ethan Hamilton was just on another level. We were knocked out in the 3rd round in the FA Cup against Bournemouth so we had full focus on the league. We got most of the awards and the project was really going strong. Our tactic is just so good, we are really performing above expectations. Season 3: After two straight promotions we had a mid-table prediction. Even tho we took some huge steps pretty fast we did not change out playstyle. We are attacking and bringing positive vibes to the Barnet supporters. After the promotion we needed to strengthen the attack. We got some solid additions and I was hoping that we could get to playoff if we didn't get injuries on some of the vital players. Transfers: Once again I was really happy with our transfer window. We got some great technical and speedy players that suits our tactic. And WOW, they delivered so good..... Just take a look at the ratings. Insane season! Ethan Hamilton is such a legend, scoring so many beautiful long shots. We still haven't spent any money on transfers, pretty amazing if you look at that squad. Hart and Wilson were just tearing apart the oppositions with their offensive contributions. We started the season with two draws and a win before we lost to Dover in the Carabao cup, I wasn't happy about that one, but we played with our backup players and that wasn't our main target. We came to the third round in the FA cup but lost 3-1 against a far superior Arsenal team. Things have gone far above any expectations so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefinitelyTaylor Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 I'm glad to see a thread like this as a fan of a Non-League club. Hopefully people will contribute and share their saves! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gungner Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 I'm currently halfway through my second season with Blyth Spartans... Will post some screenshots later Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergbatov Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Season 4: We had a really tough task ahead after three straight promotions and still not a lot of money to spend. There was no chance that we were changing our tactics to a more defensive minded. Our most important job is to please all the fans, so they can enjoy some entertaining football at The Hive. I still couldn't believe that we were in Championship! The media expectation was 23rd but I thought we had a good chance to avoid relegation even tho the squad needed some improvements. We needed to bring in a quality striker and I had one young prospect in mind, Jack Clarke, I tried to get him on loan every year but this year Leeds finally thought our squad was good enough. All our money was spent on Ryan Kent who played really well last season. Transfers: I was pleased that we managed to get Pedro Pereira on loan. He was a perfect fit for my tactic, unfortunately we only had a 6 month loan deal and they didn't wanted to extend it further. So Deameaco Duhaney was the only RB half of the season. He did really well and luckily only had like a week of injury. Adli and the regan Udo added some creativity to the midfield and the rest had a backup role. Jack Clarke is a monster! I can't believe it! We played so well at the start of the season but we had some struggles around gameweek 28, but the team showed great character and got it rolling again. We managed to beat Wigan 6-0(3-0,3-0) in the first playoff matches and then we met Crystal Palace, a team we didn't win any of out games against in the playoff final. We were lucky that Milivojevic was injured, because he doing really well against us. We had a really great game, I focused on set pieces, tactical training and wow, we delivered so good. Such a great and dominating final match to secure our spot in the Premier League! Jack Clarke finished the season like this: Above all expectations. One thing I'm not that pleased about is our youth intake. The last two intakes have been really poor. But we can start to make improvements towards youth facilities and coaches. Jeez, the whole club needs improvements after 4 promotions in a row. The plan now is to get some players that are out of contract and bring in some great young talent to build the team around. Wow, we got plenty of money to spend if we want, and we probably need to do so as well. Next goal is to survive and then we are taking over London! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechy85 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Very well done with Barnet there! I haven’t really got into this years game and must set a new save up nearly every time I play the game! But today I have downloaded kits and logos and a lower league DB and decided to take over Gainsborough Trinity in the Northern League Premier Division. The squad is decent but needs a few additions and so far I have added Cameron Healey, Zayn Hakeem and Teddy Bloor all on loan from Mansfield who all really add to the quality of the squad will be looking for 2/3 more signings to fill out the squad a bit more with 1/2 players departing to make room in the wage budget then my assault to the Vanarama Leagues will begin! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Great stuff! I used to live in Barnet and saw them at Underhill/The Hive a number of times. They were the archetypal stay up on the last day of the season club but unfortunately their luck ran out eventually and it's been a struggle in the last two seasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gungner Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Wasn't given much of a chance by the media with Blyth Spartans, but the first season told a great fairytale... We played superbly, and secured promotion to the National League! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergbatov Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Thanks guys! Transfer window just closed and we signed 10 players, no one older than 20. So it's a big challenge ahead of us. Great to see some other saves up as well. Best of luck @beechy85 and great work @Gungner ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechy85 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Cheers @Bergbatov took me a while sorting everything out staff, training, tactic and setting friendlies etc but finally started playing friendlies last night and I bear Solihull Moors 4-1 in our first friendly followed by two 3-1 wins against lower league opposition. In our last game Cameron Healey picked up a 4-5 week injury though 😩 I seem to have a decent board too! Asked for a sports scientist, data analyst and extra coach and got all 3!! Our staff are no1 on across the board for the league but I feel I need a new ass man and gk coach as mine are poor! Looking forward to the season start and am currently tweaking my tactic in friendlies my wingers are great 6 in 3 for my MR and a few assists and 2 in 3 and 3/4 assists for my LM just need to get my strikers on form now and my defenders using the ball better as currently they lose possession a lot! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wilson Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 I’ve just started managing hungerford town , predicted to finish bottom of he league , but we’re 5th after a third of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CityAndColour Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Just got promoted at the second time of asking with Gloucester City (third season overall as I holidayed the first) from the Conference South. Dulwich and Billericay are usually the big teams but neither really got going, making it a two-way title race between us and Brackley - funny as we are the two clubs that play in both the North and the South, depending on other teams. I've struggled to attract players overall, meaning I play a fairly small squad, but some luck with injuries and a couple of really good players has made the difference. Rhys Sharpe - a really consistent left back, my current captain. Joe Hanks - starts at the club and runs the show from the middle of the park. Great on set pieces. Lewis Walker - son of Des and brother of Tyler, he's given me 60 goals in two seasons as a pressing forward. His poor off the ball rating (6) makes me question how effective he'll be at higher levels. Tobi Omole - former Arsenal youth, my best centre half. Jayden Bennetts - former Watford youth, seems to play well above his attributes as an AMC. Kazenga LuaLua - former Brighton winger. No idea how I managed to get him to sign for me, but he has predictably dominated this level cutting in from the left, scoring some absolute belters. Have found a 4-2-3-1 works really well, especially utilising an inside forward and a box to box midfielder to take advantage of the match engine's love of long range shooting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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