[FM20] The Dragons' Lair

[GreyedOutMan]

This is probably the most important moment of the save so far. If you want to know why, look out for my end of season p post, coming soon!

[GreyedOutMan]

  2029/30 Season Review

In pre-season I really struggled to find players who would improve my side. Suffice to say I found someone in Stolworthy! A really poor run at the end of the season cost us possible automatic promotion which was on at one point:

 

But I did make the very complicated playoffs; just!

 

In the play-off quarter-final, Stolworthy did what he does best:

In the semi, believe it or not, Picco (a centre back, remember) got his SECOND HAT-TRICK OF THE SEASON! I'm not sure I've ever seen a centre-back score one hat-trick in a season let alone two!

So to the final. It was inevitable that it would be Basingstoke, who missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference. The highlights of the game are here, so I won't give away the result yet but there are comments after the next few bits! But sadly, I forgot to take screenshots of the relevant screens from here on before the season was reset so I've had to cobble together the screens a bit!

You all know who the best player this season was. He was transformative and I have him for another year, so I'm pretty optimistic.

And he formed a good partnership with Daryl Hornby, with Scott Readings the pick of the bunch behind them

Very important to have Stolworthy for another year, clearly, but a lot of the other key players have been tied down, too - you'll see a bit of a preview of my new season squad here because of my oversight!

The playoff final defeat to Basingstoke was a shame. We fought hard, and apparently our disallowed goal in the 37th minute was harsh which could've changed the game but oh well! Getting to the final with some ease was a significant achievement, I think, even if it was achieved with the worst ever disciplinary record in the league with 139 yellow cards and 5 reds!

 The player of the season was obvious, but here are the best XIs. Inevitably, Picco inducted into the historical XI in his rightful place alongside Rees. He is clearly going to be around a while so whilst it's harsh on Raggett, this was inevitable at some point! Rees will overtake Isiaka for the most appearances next season but it will take a while for anyone to catch his goal tally!

  

Transfer Thinking

It's simple this year really. I want to get a bit more depth throughout the squad but there are only two places where I need first teamers: left back and central midfield. There are hints in the squad picture of where I am with that!

SEASON BY SEASON HISTORY OF THE DRAGONS:

Season		League					Position	Points		Notes								Total Trophies (Major)
2019/20 	Middlesex County League Premier		1st		92		INVINCIBLE								1 (0)
2020/21		Spartan South Midlands Division 1	1st		102		Consecutive promotions, South Midlands League Cup Winners		3 (0)
2021/22		Essex Senior League			1st		91		3 consecutive promotions, Essex Senior League Cup Winners		5 (0)
2022/23		Isthmian League Div 1 S-Central     	1st 		85      	Moved to Copthall Stadium (shared), 4 consective promotions             6 (0)
2023/24		Southern Premier League South	     	5th 		77      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2024/25		Southern Premier League South	     	3rd 		83      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2025/26		Southern Premier League South	     	5th 		75      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2026/27		Southern Premier League South	     	3rd 		73      	PROMOTED via playoffs							6 (0)
2027/28		Vanarama National League South	       18th		46		None									6 (0)
2028/29		Vanarama National League South	       10th		63		None									6 (0)
2029/30		Vanarama National League South	        5th		69		Lost in Play-Off Final							6 (0)

 

[GreyedOutMan]

2030/31 Squad Update

I managed to find a centre mid, but not a left-back. So Rawle will get another chance to impress after a really poor year last year. Obviously my first selection will be different with the bans, but I thought it was best you saw the first choice team!

GK - Andy Hall-Molyneaux
DR - Cesar Mota
DCR - Brian Rees
DCL - Simone Picco
DL - Joshua Rawle
MR - Mason Roper
MCR - Dean Jee
MCL - Scott Readings
ML - Tommy Fitzpatrick
ST - Des Stolworthy
ST - Kevin Gough

Isiaka is still around but now on a non-contract so he won't be bleeding me dry. I'm hoping he can come into the side occasionally!

[GreyedOutMan]

Stolworthy is doing the business big time. But he won't sign a contract...I think the minor issue is why. But how can the coaching team be both a positive and a negative?!

[GreyedOutMan]

Bit of a disaster.  My board accepted an offer for Stolworthy above my head. I protested; they cancelled the transfer. They then accepted a lower offer and wouldn't cancel it again! So I've lost him. I am starting to think it's a blessing in disguise since he didn't seem likely to sign a contract, but he has been loaned back to me for the rest of the season - although I didn't really need the money, for reasons that will become clear in the season review!

[GreyedOutMan]

I think this is what SAF referred to as "squeaky bum time"!

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by GreyedOutMan

[GreyedOutMan]

  2030/31 Season Review

I hope you enjoyed that rollercoaster ride of emotions - I honestly can't remember a more dramatic end to a season in my FM career!

 

So here is the final table, and the team of the year which accurately sums up the state of my squad!

In some ways more exciting was the cup run which saw us reach the third round for the first time ever, including a dramatic shock against Swindon of League 2. The 9-0 win, by the way, was against a team just one division below me, and with a second team out!

It was enough to give me a youth recruitment upgrade as well as an academy upgrade so I might finally start seeing some proper players coming through at the club!

So we can all thank Des Stolworthy for his service; although I am still annoyed with the board for sanctioning the transfer, I suppose given that it was looking unlikely he would sign, they might have been right, even if they got less money than they could have done. They didn't even get a sell-on clause!!!

But Kevin Gough looks like he may be a very important player for me with Stolworthy gone: I will try to replace Stolworthy for sure but I doubt I'll get anyone as good as him.

Owen Betts' influence at the back end of the season after signing late in January was critical even if the form in the last few games nearly cost us dearly!

 

Stolworthy is the only major player we're losing this summer (in terms of quality: watch out for some legends departing for sure!):

The player of the season was obvious again, but because he left and came back, Stolworthy clearly wasn't eligible (a minor FM flaw), so Gough won it. Four players inducted into the historical team this year, which is a lot! Stolworthy, Readings, Wolf Hall (real name Andy Hall-Molyneux) and Mota. I was wrong about Picco being around for a long time, I fear: he hasn't improved enough to be a first-choice in the National League.

   

Bad news is that the board decided to waste over half the money the cup run brought in on a totally pointless stadium expansion!

Transfer Thinking

There are two ways of doing this: I think my squad is good enough that I could get away with just two first-team signings: left back and striker. In reality, I think the quality of player I could attract has increased so much that there will be a major overhaul. For example, when I signed DJ (Dean Jee) at the start of the season after failing to attract him four times, he was my best player by rating. His performances did dip at the end of the season so that partially explains it but he is now thought to be the weakest link in the 9 players I think could be first-team ready for next year. Things are evolving very fast here!

Future Plans

Since lockdown I've been binge-watching various streamers and it got me thinking about my next project. This could change, but I'm currently thinking that I will aim to win everything with Kensington Dragons and establish myself as the best team in the world alongside being England manager and aiming to win the Euros and the World Cup, and if I manage to win it all with KD, I will leave and aim to complete the "Pentagon Challenge" and win the title in Spain, Italy, France and Germany too. Usually this would be impossible but I have so much time with lockdown, that it might not be.

SEASON BY SEASON HISTORY OF THE DRAGONS:

Season		League					Position	Points		Notes								Total Trophies (Major)
2019/20 	Middlesex County League Premier		1st		92		INVINCIBLE								1 (0)
2020/21		Spartan South Midlands Division 1	1st		102		Consecutive PROMOTIONS, South Midlands League Cup Winners		3 (0)
2021/22		Essex Senior League			1st		91		3 consecutive PROMOTIONS, Essex Senior League Cup Winners		5 (0)
2022/23		Isthmian League Div 1 S-Central     	1st 		85      	Moved to Copthall Stadium (shared), 4 consective PROMOTIONS             6 (0)
2023/24		Southern Premier League South	     	5th 		77      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2024/25		Southern Premier League South	     	3rd 		83      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2025/26		Southern Premier League South	     	5th 		75      	Lost in Play-Off Semi-Final				     	        6 (0)
2026/27		Southern Premier League South	     	3rd 		73      	PROMOTED via playoffs							6 (0)
2027/28		Vanarama National League South	       18th		46		None									6 (0)
2028/29		Vanarama National League South	       10th		63		None									6 (0)
2029/30		Vanarama National League South	        5th		69		Lost in Play-Off Final							6 (0)
2030/31		Vanarama National League South	        1st		88		Promoted (6th PROMOTION), first trophy in 8 years!			7 (0)

 

[GreyedOutMan]

 

The first of quite a few legends to come in the next couple of seasons has left. As you can see from the screenshot, he just wasn't going to be up to it in the Conference. But he leaves after 6 years with an overall KD record of:

255 games
42 goals
75 assists
12 PoM
Average Rating of 7.05

He joins Grubb, Raggett and Harrison in the ranks of the KD greats (my list, not FM), but at least one and up to four more will join him this summer.

[GreyedOutMan]

He is older and unlikely to improve but I have found a half-decent Stolworthy replacement. He'll do!

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by GreyedOutMan

[GreyedOutMan]

I've had to accept that Stolworthy's time at the Dragons has come to an end. He leaves after two full seasons, with a pretty impressive record:

94 games
91 goals
21 assists
26 PoM
Average Rating of 7.74

He is the best player we have ever had by a long lnog way. Nobody else has left yet with anywhere close to 100 games who also has an average rating over 7.15 (Ellis Harrison).