The New Mini Updates Thread.

[Jason the Yank]

Well, we'll have to be content with a treble.

With no chance to qualify from the group, I  played it straight up in our final ACL match against Shanghai Port with our usual positive 4-2-3-1, no bus parking. And we won! 2-1 to be exact. Even more impressive because we had to go extra time to beat Southern District in the FA Cup semifinal just 3 days earlier (having to fight from behind twice). Lots of heavy legs by the end of the ACL match, but we held firm.

But that was it. We battered TSV Pegasus in the FA Cup final, only to lose 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Then we lost the Sapling Cup final to Happy Valley 1-0 to close out the season.

So what next. My contract expires at the end of the month. The board came back with another offer of an extension, for 3 years with no pay rise. I countered with 1 year and no pay rise or 3 years with a pay rise. They did not like either of those options. So it looks like I'll be departing for pastures new after racking up 14 trophies in 4+ seasons in Hong Kong. Which is fine, as the club continues to bleed cash.

[john1]

 

Yes, Kumalo, have gone back to Porto on loan

Tsarev

[KristianT]

Following @ToMexico!!'s advice I will post my regen in my ASEC Mimosas save on FM19. I've checked and his PA is 186! Got him in season 3. I have him tied down to a long contract, but will renew a lot of times to keep him here. He came through as an 18 year old.

[Jason the Yank]

On 29/03/2022 at 12:40, Jason the Yank said:

So what next. My contract expires at the end of the month. The board came back with another offer of an extension, for 3 years with no pay rise. I countered with 1 year and no pay rise or 3 years with a pay rise. They did not like either of those options. So it looks like I'll be departing for pastures new after racking up 14 trophies in 4+ seasons in Hong Kong. Which is fine, as the club continues to bleed cash.

And time's up. The board kept coming back with contract offers, but they never budged from 3 years with no pay rise. So I let my current contract expire and then resigned. I depart as a "club icon" having won 2 league titles (back to back) plus a runner-up finish, 4 consecutive FA Cup wins (plus a runner-up medal), 2 Senior Challenge Shield wins (plus a runner-up medal), a Sapling Cup win (and a runner-up medal, there seems to be a theme here), 3 Community Cup wins, and an AFC Cup .... runner-up medal. And one -- ONE -- Hong Kong Manager of the Year award.

Daejeon Hanacitizen in K-League 2 offered an interview before my contract expired, but decided I wasn't the right fit. Gyeongnam FC (challenging for promotion from K-League 2) offered one after I left Eastern, but they also decided I wasn't the right fit (probably just as well since they admitted their finances are a mess and the continued cash bleed was one consideration for why I decided to leave Eastern). I also applied for the vacancy at Adelaide United and was offered an interview, but they decided to go with someone else.

So the job hunt continues.

 

[Jason the Yank]

Well I was in punditry a little bit longer than expected.

I chanced my arm at the St. Pauli job, but they rejected me without even an interview.

Then I tried Shanghai Port. Didn't get an interview, but the board said they wanted it on record that they thought I would have been a good fit for their culture. Maybe I shouldn't have reminded them that I took 4 points from 6 off them in the Champions League.

Then I tried Chengdu Better City. But they decided to delay a decision and stick with their interim manager for now.

I applied for the Jeonnam Dragons job in K-League 2, but although they gave me an interview they decided I wasn't the right person to lead them forward. Apparently my lack of a record in leading teams to promotion was a mark against me. Sorry, couldn't you over all these trophies in my ears.

But then, an offer came out of the blue. Henan, fighting against relegation from the Chinese Super League, decided to offer me an interview even without me applying for the job. The supporters said they considered me a leading candidate, and soon an offer was made: 1 year (the remaining 6 matches of this season, plus next season) on $11,000/week. An 11-fold increase over what I was making at Eastern.

The club is "rich" with a $42MM transfer budget and a wage budget of $1.1MM/week. By rule they can't sign non-Chinese goalkeepers, and they don't want to sign players over the age of 30.

The ongoing 5-year plan is to work within the wage budget, sign players to sell on for profit, and to build a new stadium. That middle part might be a bit tricky, as the club have below average training facilities (plus below average youth training facilities and fairly basic youth recruitment). So we'll have to get those upgraded at some point if we're going to coach up players to sell on.

The objective for this season is simple: Stay in the Super League (we're 13th out of 16 teams, with the bottom 2 going down). Beyond that, the club wants nothing more than to stay in the Super League, so no "top-half finish next season, then qualify for Asia the year after," etc. The talent in the club is a bit lopsided in favor of the foreign players (too many to play on the pitch at once) with the Chinese players .... well, they're not great.

[Ratface]

From my Rayo Vallecano save. I've just finished Season 1, and I've received this message.
 

I'm kinda proud

[john1]

Stadium named after me \o/ Will be biggest stadium in France, currently its Lyon at 59,186.

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by john1

[kerrdavidson95]

Life don't half come at you quick as an Airdrie fan.

[Jason the Yank]

On 31/03/2022 at 16:15, Jason the Yank said:

The objective for this season is simple: Stay in the Super League (we're 13th out of 16 teams, with the bottom 2 going down). Beyond that, the club wants nothing more than to stay in the Super League, so no "top-half finish next season, then qualify for Asia the year after," etc. The talent in the club is a bit lopsided in favor of the foreign players (too many to play on the pitch at once) with the Chinese players .... well, they're not great.

Well we stayed up ... in 14th place. Shenhua pipped us on goal difference, and we were both 4 points clear of the drop.

 

We lost to Chongqing on a questionable penalty, and already relegated Heb got an injury time equalizer.

 

There's clearly a lot of work to be done with the club. Our defenders are not very good, and despite some quality foreigners we managed only 25 goals over the course of the 30-match season. From the looks of things, the previous manager typically went with a 4-4-2 2DM setup, whereas I brought in a 4-2-3-1 for home matches and a 4-1-2-2-1 for away matches. 

There also seems to be a lot of fragile egos, with our "influential" players showing nervousness during games. And they don't have much respect for me given my lack of reputation (rumor has it they call me "Ted Lasso" behind my back).

With the conclusion of the season, I asked the board to upgrade the "below average" training facilities but they rejected that on the grounds that I haven't been here very long. But they did agree to fund a coaching course, so I'm off to get my first Continental badge.

 

[Jason the Yank]

Love player power in FM.

Sold one of our best players to Burnley. Now the remaining players are mad, saying that I shouldn't have let him go and support for me is "abysmal."

Burnley are in the Premier League. So they're mad at me for allowing one of their teammates to leave China to go play in the biggest (arguably) league in the world.

 

[Jason the Yank]

Bought FM22 on the last day of a Steam sale.

Doing the usual no badges, no experience, unemployed start and currently still applying for jobs early in the save.

 

[john1]

****ing get in Needed a win against Celtic in last game and Inter not to get a point against Man City,to go through. Gutted with our home lost to City, as their winning goal came from player mistake Also another player mistake for Inter's second equaliser goal ffs.

Man City team is ridiculous. here is their team against Inter

[john1]

I decided to drop 4-2-3-1 for 4-3-3 and it seems to have paid off with this pass map Celtic made 523 passes.

[MT55]

Been struggling to get into the newer FM's so decided to start playing Football Manager 2011 again as I have it installed on Steam. Started as a few different teams but I just couldn't get the feel of the team. One save I was enjoying I ended up sacked... I've now decided to manage Crewe Alexandra. I have a young 15 year old Max Clayton and 16 year old Nick Powell in the under 18's, both with huge potential. The squad is really young with Ashley Westwood being my best CM at 20 years old.

 

Going to use youth a lot and see how it goes.

[Jason the Yank]

On 23/04/2022 at 17:46, Jason the Yank said:

Bought FM22 on the last day of a Steam sale.

Doing the usual no badges, no experience, unemployed start and currently still applying for jobs early in the save.

 

Finally got stuck into a save, land a job in at part-time club in northern Sweden, and it turns out SI haven't fixed the "No Swedish Second Division playoffs" bug.

 

[Jason the Yank]

So that's weird, the playoffs did get scheduled but I didn't get an inbox item nor was my club's schedule showing it until after the first match (which didn't include us) of the 3-team group  was played.

 

[ToMexico!!]

Been continuing this save on and off for the past week or so. 

We're now at the end of the 2036/37 season and have won the league six seasons in a row now, also winning the Copa del Rey four times and Champions League in 2035. We reached the final in 2036 but lost to Liverpool who have won it eight times since the save started. 

I've relaxed the rules on signings, having won the league and champions league with regional/academy players. Initially it was only players from teams who I am affiliated with but now its any player although I'm still conscious of signing Spanish players first and foremost. 

34 year old Pablo Torre is still getting plenty of game time albeit in rotation with England midfielder Alfie Devine who I signed on a free in the summer window. Torre has now scored 242 goals and made 219 assists in 730 games for the club. 

We're really beginning to produce some potentially world class players in our intakes, Our first team currently has four academy players in it with five on the bench. And I'm not adverse to pinching some potentially great players from other clubs, for example I signed a 17 year old CB from Betis for £12.25m and thrust him into the first team, playing him every other league game and he's now worth £50m and has the highest average rating in the league at 7.60. We also have 18 players out on loan, a mixture of fringe players for the first team and youth players who need 2nd tier or above game time to improve, although I may focus on improving my B team and hopefully get them promoted from the 4th tier next season. 

[ToMexico!!]

On 13/06/2022 at 10:32, ToMexico!! said:

Been continuing this save on and off for the past week or so. 

We're now at the end of the 2036/37 season and have won the league six seasons in a row now, also winning the Copa del Rey four times and Champions League in 2035. We reached the final in 2036 but lost to Liverpool who have won it eight times since the save started. 

Ended up winning the Champions League for the 2nd time beating Man City in the final and then winning the Club World Cup for the 1st time and European Super Cup for the 3rd time, meaning I am the most successful English manager now, topping the Hall of Fame ahead of Shankly. 

I've trimmed the squad slightly, selling a DM (for £18m to Zenit), a winger to Leverkusen (£12m), a back up striker to Aston Villa (£12m) and a on the cusp of the first team winger to PSG for £35m whilst only spending £4.8m on 3 new players to supplement the B team and under 19s. 

[ToMexico!!]

On 16/06/2022 at 10:42, ToMexico!! said:

I've trimmed the squad slightly, selling a DM (for £18m to Zenit), a winger to Leverkusen (£12m), a back up striker to Aston Villa (£12m) and a on the cusp of the first team winger to PSG for £35m whilst only spending £4.8m on 3 new players to supplement the B team and under 19s. 

Squad trimming still going as we sell the ageing Corral for £1.1m to Ajax, the wantaway left back Pereda to PSG for £7.5m after he agreed a bosman deal with them (first time thats ever happened when clicking the sell now button) and three big sales in the un-played right winger Dmitrovic to Tigres for £25m, Diao to Bayern for £36m and Fofana to Porto for £25m.

I signed Diao for £83k from Diambars and Fofana from Horoya for £43k. So I've gone out and agreed deals for four more promising young Africans, ranging in value from £0 to £240k. All will go into the B team or out on loan when they arrive. 

Also signed a promising Argetinian from Belgian side Beerschot for £375k, a Spanish/Japanese midfielder from Real Madrid for £18m and a Brazilian defender from Palmeiras for £6m, all their release clauses and all going into the youth sides. 

[Hootieleece]

Hello everyone!

Since my ASSE save died....I have decided to do another except it will just be short updates here.

I started a new save as an avatar of me (only difference National C License) . Starting Unemployed on 5/2/22 (Iceland Season) and vacationed till today. And started applying for ALL the available jobs and ended up at Guisely in England in Vanarama North. The team is previewed for 15th and I just have to get them to stay clear of relegation.

I will probably provide half season updates at least until I get to the "Big Time" when I might turn it into a bigger write up.

It looks like I will start out by playing 4-2-3-1 Wide since that is what the club is set up for....and happens to be my BEST formation.

[Coin85]

First season with Llanidloes Town FC from the Welsh 2nd division. The squad is bad, we're semi-pro and National League teams would have a field day with us. Oh, and my first youth intake was terrible, but most of the players are better than the current ones.

 

Managed to get us promoted to the Cymru Premier, plus some silverware:

[ToMexico!!]

A 7th successive league title in Spain with Santander but a poorer season overall with just the European Super Cup added to the trophy cabinet. Quarter Finals of the CL and Semi's of the Copa del Rey. However, we are now the most successful manager in Spanish football history (according to FM). 

The B team finally achieved promotion back to the 3rd tier by winning the title of the Spanish Federation Second Group B. I will continue to look to help them next season rather than loaning loads of players out again. Our U19s won the Spanish U19 title for the 8th time. I've taken a look at PA values and we have 5 players 170+, 3 more at 160+ and another at 150+. We have 10 players at 150+ PA in the B team. 

Our front three were in great form notching 73 between them and then the Mezzala's contributing 14, 14, and 11 goals all in rotation with each other and also all three making double figures for assists. We had a few bids for the front three in January but managed to keep them, especially when the likes of Bayern were offering £50m for a £90m+ valued player. 

Not sure where to improve on this squad, my GK and 19 year-old CB are now only 3* CA/PA but worth £60-£80m each plus both are Spanish internationals. Pablo Torre is now 35 but got him to sign a new deal on less wages, 13(33) games with 14 goals and 10 assists is a great return for a player of his age. Alfie Devine could be a player to move on as he takes up 1 of the 3 Foreign player spots we have but again he contributed 14 goals and 18 assists as a 33 year old. 

[ToMexico!!]

Taken the Spain job again, a two years after quitting. A lot of the older players who were playing have quit international football so its a good time to refresh the squad and get a few more Santander players playing regularly. We start the new Nations League campaign in September against Northern Ireland, followed by Ukraine and then Denmark. 

As for Santander, we sold our utility back up RB/LB to Man Utd for £62m and replaced him with a 23 year old R/L/CB from Man Utd for £11m. We also signed another Englishman but he came through at Barca, he only cost £6m but will loan him out for a season until he becomes fully nationalised. Also signed two more 16 years old, an MC from Albacete for £2.7m (clause) who is now worth upwards of £30m and a LB from Betis for his release clause of £11.25m and he is now worth between £23m and £38m. 

Also promoted two youngsters into the first team, a Portuguese defender who can play across the backline and at DM; and a Belgian playmaker who can play either CM or AML. 

Hoping to win more than just the League this season, another Copa del Rey would be good. 

[ToMexico!!]

Topped our Nations League group with Spain, we meet France in the Semi's. 

Just reached the end of 2038 and we've cleaned up in the awards, striker Chiquichano is the Golden Ball winnerwith his 49 goals this calender year; he also wins World Player of the Year; my winger Zapata who is on loan at Dortmund wins World U21 player of the year; Juan Carlos my GK wins the World Golden Glove with 29 clean sheets in his 54 games and also wins the GK of the Year. 

On the pitch we're relentlessly top of La Liga with 17 wins from 18 and 12 points clear of Barcelona in 2nd. Mallorca and Las Palmas follow with Madrid in 5th having sacked Christiano Ronaldo earlier in the season. Atletico languish down in 15th. 

The chairman has sacked my B team manager despite them being in 7th in their first season back in the 3rd tier, no appointment has been made to replace him yet. The U19 are imperious with 16 wins from 17 scoring double the goals to the next highest team.

Agreed to sell Frank Romero who came through the intake in 2021, he's played 664 games scoring 159 goals and making 151 assists for the. The 32 year old will be joining Benfica for £13m. Two of the remaining four African players to join arrive in a matter of days. When the intake comes round once more I will look to sign up some more for the future. 

[Coin85]

Finished the 2nd season with Llanidloes Town FC. Won the Cymru Premier and the Welsh League Cup (again) as well. In the Cup we got knocked out again by lower opposition, but I'm not that worried about that. In the league the only team that gives us some difficulty is TNS.

 

Now the hard part begins: success in Europe. We're still semi-pro, and the league itself have low reputation, so let's see what we can achieve...

Edited June 23, 2022 by Coin85

[Hootieleece]

Second Season of a Journeyman save that sees an American in England.  Managing in the VNN with Guiseley AFC.  I vacationed until 6/16/22 and started unemployed Guiseley was the first job and took over in November/2022.

The season was a success.  Played a Counterattacking 3-5-2 we finished 3rd in the league and won Promotion to the VNL in 2024!

 

[ToMexico!!]

Another season done with Santander and its another title, easiest so far. We broke records for most points (103) and goals scored (109) as a team and individually right winger Oriol broke the record for the most assists with 20. Chiquichano notched 40 goals in 37 game which is also an in-game record since the save started and twice as many as 2nd place. We clean swept the Spanish PoTY awards with Escobar (CB), Martos (DM) and Chiquichano (ST) being 1st, 2nd and 3rd. 

We also won the Spanish Supercup, beating Mallorca in the semi's and then Barcelona in the final. We also added another Copa del Rey, beating Getafe in the final. 3-1. We made it a quadruple, beating Liverpool in the final of the Champions League, our 3rd title in five seasons. 

Looks like we'll have a summer of incoming bids for my better players; Liverpool want my LB; 34 year old Alfie Devine is wanted by a couple of prem clubs but I may keep him as he scored 20 goals and made 20 assists from CM; Bayern want my RW, Liverpool and PSG want my LW and Man Utd want Chiquichano. 

Nine goals and seven assists this season for Pablo Torre who is now 36 and showing major signs of decline, especially physically. 824 games for us now scoring 255 goals and making 236 assists. 

[ToMexico!!]

23 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Nine goals and seven assists this season for Pablo Torre who is now 36 and showing major signs of decline, especially physically. 824 games for us now scoring 255 goals and making 236 assists. 

Didn't play enough international games but had Pedri and Gavi ahead of him. Still though one of my favourite players I've used in FM and to have kept him with Santander for the duration of his career is fantastic. Will be interesting to see how he does in real life as he has signed for Barcelona. 

[ToMexico!!]

Having a summer Santander clear-out; I initially lost my starting Cypriot left back to Arsenal for £43.5m (release clause) but wasn't worried as had an equally as good 17 year old in the U19s to promote. Also sold an academy CM to Brugge for £4.2m, an academy striker for £5m to Rostov (he had 4 for finishing ) , a Brazilian defender to Roma for £11m after no progress in the B team and a Uruguayan defender to PSG for £5.5m again after no development. I've also loaned out two other players with plans to loan only a few more out at most. 

Incoming were 5 players, three African's (two Senegalese and one Guinean) for a combined 200k, a Japanese left back for £2.9m and Steve Wonder (what a name + he has 3 for vision) the Brazilian GK for £3.2m from Flamengo. 

I'm finally able to play my Colombian left winger this season after Escobar gained Spanish nationality. Zapata had been loaned out to Shakhtar, Ajax, Bayern and Dortmund in the last four seasons. I've also promoted my English academy DM to the first team alongside another academy player, a Brazilian Mezzala. We now have 10 academy players in and around the first team. 

[Coin85]

Since my laptop was acting wacky and I was forced to reset it, I was forced to start a new save. Using Rainbowz's Wales Tier 6 DB, I chose a team in the 4th tier, Ynysddu Welfare. No players, no staff and an amateur club means a lot of work to do, and most likely team rebuilds every season until we're able to turn at least semi-pro (which I think will take us 5 seasons at least).

Got some staff and some players already, will let you guys know once I finish the season.

Might as well start a thread about it. We'll see.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Coin85
Tier correction

[Coin85]

Ynysddu Welfare Football Club

So I decided to go deep down the leagues, Using Rainbowz's Wales database I found a team that had a nice badge and a nice name and decided to give it a go. After four seasons, I just got promoted to the Cymru Premier. We're now a semi-pro clubwith an average attendance of around 550. Oh, and we just moved to Barry Town's Jenner Park because our stadium doesn't comply with the rules. I'll post something once every 1-2 seasons, but here is a rundown:

 

2021-22:
Gwent County League Premier Division: 1st
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in 3rd Round by Aberystwyth
FAW Trophy: Knocked out in 3rd Round by Rhuddlan Town
Gwent County League Senior Cup: Winners
Ticket Holders: 65
Average Attendance: 519

2022-23:
Welsh Ardal SE: 1st
FAW Trophy: Knocked out in 2nd Qualifying Round by Rhyl All Stars
Ardal Southern League Cup: Winners
18th March 2023: Club turns semi-professional
Ticket Holders: 68
Average Attendance: 544

2023-24:
JD Cymru South: 2nd
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in Semi Final by Knighton Town
Nathaniel MG Cup: Knocked out in 3rd Round by Newtown
Ticket Holders: 68
Average Attendance: 557

2024-25:
JD Cymru South: 1st
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in 2nd Round by Newport City
Nathaniel MG Cup: Knocked out in Semi Final by Cefn Druids
Ticket Holders: 71
Average Attendance: 574

 

[Coin85]

Ynysddu Welfare Football Club

2025-26:
JD Cymru Premier: 6th
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in 4th Round by Cornelly Utd
Nathaniel MG Cup: Knocked out in Semi Final by Knighton
Ticket Holders: 81
Average Attendance: 919

2026-27:
JD Cymru Premier: 2nd
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in 4th Round by Llantwit Major
Nathaniel MG Cup: Knocked out in Quarter Final by Knighton
Ticket Holders: 85
Average Attendance: 1292

 

So we're currently at the 2027-28 season. At the end of the current season we'rer moving to a new 'almost 2000 capacity' (iirc) stadium, and we're playing in Europe for the first time ever. What's pissing me off is that we have some teams in the Cymru North/South leagues that have professional status, we're still semi-pro and the board refuses to turn professional. We can't get proper training and better players without turning professional, but they're still being stubborn and refusing my request. Hope they change their minds...

[Coin85]

Ynysddu Welfare Football Club

2027-28:
JD Cymru Premier: 1st
UEFA Europa Conference League: Knocked out in League Path 3rd Qualifying Round by Lechia Gdansk
JD Welsh Cup: Knocked out in Quarter Final by Gap Connah's Quay
Nathaniel MG Cup: Winner
Ticket Holders: 90
Average Attendance: 1416

2028-29:
JD Cymru Premier: 1st
UEFA Champions League: Knocked out in Champions Path 3rd Qualifying Round by Slovan Bratislava
UEFA Europa League: Knocked out in Group Stage (Tottenham, Sporting CP and CFR Cluj)
JD Welsh Cup: Winner
Nathaniel MG Cup: Winner
Ticket Holders: 101
Average Attendance: 2432 (that's due to the fact that we played most of our continental matches at Cardiff City Stadium)

And with that season done, we have a little more than 5 million in the bank. With that, the board finally accepted to turn the club professional!

[Muttley84]

15 hours ago, Jorgen said:

I can't find out how to remove the quote, and I can't find out how to remove this post entirely.

Click on the threw dots in the upper right of your poat > Hide.

[Jorgen]

1 hour ago, Muttley84 said:

Click on the threw dots in the upper right of your poat > Hide.

So, hide is effectively deleting it for others to see/read?

Thanks!

[Coin85]

Ynysddu Welfare Football Club

2029-2030:
JD Cymru Premier: We couldn't retain our title and finished 2nd, so we're playing Conference League next season.
JD Welsh Cup: We defeated South Gower and Prestatyn Town before being knocked out by Rhyl in the 4th Round.
Nathaniel MG Cup: Knocked out by Knighton in the 3rd Round. This team is starting to **** me off...
UEFA Champions League: We got past FCSB and FC Inter Turku before getting defeated by Rangers 6-4 on aggregrate in the Champions Path 3rd Qualifying Round.
UEFA Europa League: We got a hard draw against Lech Poznan. We drew 3-3 at home before being defeated 1-2 away. So group stages of Conference League here we go.
UEFA Europa Conference League: We were draw in a group with the likes of Qarabag, Sturm Graz and Slavia Prague. 4 wins, 1 draw and a single loss later and we finished top of the group. In the 2nd Knockout Round (got a bye in the 1st Round, guess it was because we were top of our group?) we got another scottish opponent, this time it was Celtic. We got a very credible 1-1 draw away, but we couldn't keep that at home and Celtic beat us 2-0 with Furuhashi and Maeda scoring.
Ticket Holders: 106
Average Attendance: 3,697

So basically... last season we won a domestic treble, while this season we didn't win anything. I will blame the transition to professional for that heh. I agreed some pre-deals in January and will take a look at the market, so let's hope we can change our fortunes back to the previous season.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Coin85

[ToMexico!!]

Had to stop the save in St Lucia, we didn't enter the FA Cup at the end of the second season nor did we qualify for any continental competition. 

So, after a couple of duds I've settled in England with King's Lynn, my most local "big" team. I'm now into our 3rd season. 

First season we won the National League North with 103 points and managed to reach the 1st Round of the FA Cup, losing to Rochdale. A few decent signings to compliment the squad in Khalon Haysman (Spurs), Augustus McGiff (Reading) and Tristan Nydam (Ipswich). 

After promotion to the National League we were expected to be relegated but we spent most of the season in the play-offs, topping the table in parts but ultimately finishing the season in 2nd place. We went on to lose the play-off final to Woking. We again got to the 1st Round of the FA Cup but lost to Mansfield whilst we won the FA Trophy, beating Notts County in the final after extra time. We signed Callum Hulme (Leicester), Pharrel Willis (Middlesborough) and Sam Habergham (formerly Lincoln) as players of note. 

We enter season three with mid-tabled aspirations but I feel we should be at least play-offs again. I've signed Jayden Barber (RB, Villa), Alex Kovacevic (GK, Arsenal), Tom Scully, Luke Robinson (LB, Wigan), Nico Jones (CB, Brentford) and loaned Oisin Gallagher from Lincoln and Gassan Ahadme (Ipswich)

[ToMexico!!]

On 16/09/2022 at 13:38, ToMexico!! said:

Had to stop the save in St Lucia, we didn't enter the FA Cup at the end of the second season nor did we qualify for any continental competition. 

So, after a couple of duds I've settled in England with King's Lynn, my most local "big" team. I'm now into our 3rd season. 

First season we won the National League North with 103 points and managed to reach the 1st Round of the FA Cup, losing to Rochdale. A few decent signings to compliment the squad in Khalon Haysman (Spurs), Augustus McGiff (Reading) and Tristan Nydam (Ipswich). 

After promotion to the National League we were expected to be relegated but we spent most of the season in the play-offs, topping the table in parts but ultimately finishing the season in 2nd place. We went on to lose the play-off final to Woking. We again got to the 1st Round of the FA Cup but lost to Mansfield whilst we won the FA Trophy, beating Notts County in the final after extra time. We signed Callum Hulme (Leicester), Pharrel Willis (Middlesborough) and Sam Habergham (formerly Lincoln) as players of note. 

We enter season three with mid-tabled aspirations but I feel we should be at least play-offs again. I've signed Jayden Barber (RB, Villa), Alex Kovacevic (GK, Arsenal), Tom Scully, Luke Robinson (LB, Wigan), Nico Jones (CB, Brentford) and loaned Oisin Gallagher from Lincoln and Gassan Ahadme (Ipswich)

2nd time lucky in the play-offs in the National League as we beat Chesterfield at Wembley. We returned to Wembley two weeks later to beat Hartlepool in a 2nd successive FA Trophy final. 

We didn't have the pulling power we needed for League 2 to make some statement signings and missed out on quite a few first choice players I would have liked. Notable names we signed were Kevin Zefi (ST, Free, Inter), Dylan Berry (GK, Loan, Norwich), Roshaun Mathurin (LW, Loan, Derby) and newgen Eric Imanzi (CM, Free, Arsenal). 

I expected us to struggle but it was far from it as we went on to finish in 6th place and net a play-off place. We beat Accrington 6-2 on aggregate to make it another Wembley appearance to face Swindon. It wasn't to be though as we lost 2-0. Kevin Zefi was fantastic, a pace merchant who scored 23 goals and made nine assists. Jordan Ponticelli continued to score goals with 18, which sees him reach 111 goals in four seasons for the club. Imanzi netted 10 goals and made seven assists from CM(a). 

We need a bit of a clearout in the close season as we have a few NL standard players who are out of their depth in league football. We have £10k spare in the weekly wage budget so hopefully I can find one or two gems to hopefully take us to the next level. 

[ToMexico!!]

On 17/09/2022 at 18:39, ToMexico!! said:

2nd time lucky in the play-offs in the National League as we beat Chesterfield at Wembley. We returned to Wembley two weeks later to beat Hartlepool in a 2nd successive FA Trophy final. 

We didn't have the pulling power we needed for League 2 to make some statement signings and missed out on quite a few first choice players I would have liked. Notable names we signed were Kevin Zefi (ST, Free, Inter), Dylan Berry (GK, Loan, Norwich), Roshaun Mathurin (LW, Loan, Derby) and newgen Eric Imanzi (CM, Free, Arsenal). 

I expected us to struggle but it was far from it as we went on to finish in 6th place and net a play-off place. We beat Accrington 6-2 on aggregate to make it another Wembley appearance to face Swindon. It wasn't to be though as we lost 2-0. Kevin Zefi was fantastic, a pace merchant who scored 23 goals and made nine assists. Jordan Ponticelli continued to score goals with 18, which sees him reach 111 goals in four seasons for the club. Imanzi netted 10 goals and made seven assists from CM(a). 

We need a bit of a clearout in the close season as we have a few NL standard players who are out of their depth in league football. We have £10k spare in the weekly wage budget so hopefully I can find one or two gems to hopefully take us to the next level. 

We walked League Two in the 2025/26 season, winning the title by 18 points. We had strengthened with Sam Blair (GK, Free, Norwich), Luke Plange (ST, Free, Palace), Saul Shotton (CB, Accrington, £5k) and a handful of newgens on loan or on free's. I also sold two regen midfielders and loaned them back; Imanzi to Derby for £500k + 40% profit and Curran (who I signed from Enfield for £5k) to West Brom for £375k + 50% profit. 

In League One we were expected to be relegated but we ended up finishing in 12th place, got the 5th Round of the FA Cup (losing to Liverpool) and the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup (losing to Stoke). I sold another newgen striker to Norwich (who I signed for free from Chelsea) for £850k + 50% profit and loaned him back, he scored 26 goals during the season and is now worth £12-14m. I spent a record £475k on newgen winger Jason Collins from Glentoran, didn't have a great season but is now wanted by a host of Championship teams. 

Intakes have got worse as the seasons have rolled on but we've managed an upgrade to the Junior Coaching and the Youth Level should increase with £650k worth of work to the Youth Facilities. 

[ToMexico!!]

On 19/09/2022 at 18:07, ToMexico!! said:

We walked League Two in the 2025/26 season, winning the title by 18 points. We had strengthened with Sam Blair (GK, Free, Norwich), Luke Plange (ST, Free, Palace), Saul Shotton (CB, Accrington, £5k) and a handful of newgens on loan or on free's. I also sold two regen midfielders and loaned them back; Imanzi to Derby for £500k + 40% profit and Curran (who I signed from Enfield for £5k) to West Brom for £375k + 50% profit. 

In League One we were expected to be relegated but we ended up finishing in 12th place, got the 5th Round of the FA Cup (losing to Liverpool) and the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup (losing to Stoke). I sold another newgen striker to Norwich (who I signed for free from Chelsea) for £850k + 50% profit and loaned him back, he scored 26 goals during the season and is now worth £12-14m. I spent a record £475k on newgen winger Jason Collins from Glentoran, didn't have a great season but is now wanted by a host of Championship teams. 

Intakes have got worse as the seasons have rolled on but we've managed an upgrade to the Junior Coaching and the Youth Level should increase with £650k worth of work to the Youth Facilities. 

2027/28 season completed and we bettered last seasons 12th with a 7th placed finish which in itself was disappointing because until about 4/5 games to go we were in the play-offs but managed to win just one of our last five games. 

Lost in the 1st Round of the Carabao to Ipswich, knocked out of the JPT in the group stages and managed to reach the 4th Round of the FA Cup and took Brentford to a replay before losing heavily in London. 

We sold newgen winger Collins to Watford for £800k but loaned him back for the season, his sale funded the signing on a new LB (Cahill, £350k) and a CM (Aremu, £450k). We also made two free transfers and loaned in another CM from Southampton. 

Graham (on loan from Norwich after his sale the season prior) top scored with 27 goals in 41(7) games whilst Kevin Zefi scored 14 and made 13 assists from left wing in a season which he said he wanted to leave before overturning his decision. Jordan Ponticelli continues to score goals, 19 this season in rotation with Plange (who netted 12 himself). 

Improved the youth facilities again at a cost of £650k. This seasons intake was poor again, no one over 100 PA. 

[ToMexico!!]

On 23/09/2022 at 11:12, ToMexico!! said:

2027/28 season completed and we bettered last seasons 12th with a 7th placed finish which in itself was disappointing because until about 4/5 games to go we were in the play-offs but managed to win just one of our last five games. 

Lost in the 1st Round of the Carabao to Ipswich, knocked out of the JPT in the group stages and managed to reach the 4th Round of the FA Cup and took Brentford to a replay before losing heavily in London. 

We sold newgen winger Collins to Watford for £800k but loaned him back for the season, his sale funded the signing on a new LB (Cahill, £350k) and a CM (Aremu, £450k). We also made two free transfers and loaned in another CM from Southampton. 

Graham (on loan from Norwich after his sale the season prior) top scored with 27 goals in 41(7) games whilst Kevin Zefi scored 14 and made 13 assists from left wing in a season which he said he wanted to leave before overturning his decision. Jordan Ponticelli continues to score goals, 19 this season in rotation with Plange (who netted 12 himself). 

Improved the youth facilities again at a cost of £650k. This seasons intake was poor again, no one over 100 PA. 

League 1 winners in the 2028/29 season, leapfrogging a goal hungry QPR side on the penultimate game of the season before beating 3rd placed Burton to clinch the title. 4th Round appearances in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup whilst we also won the JPT beating Liverpool U23s in the final. 

Five players came in this season, James Debayo (Leeds), Tom Wooster (Man Utd) and Mason Burstow (Brentford) all for free, whilst we paid £50k for a new right winger from Fylde and loaned in a left winger from Man City. Sold a couple of players including starting goalkeeper Same Blair and loaned out a further five players through the course of the season. Youth intake was again very poor, no player over 100 PA. 

Mark Graham top scored with 26 whilstnew signing Burstow netted 25 and the evergreen Jordan Ponticello (who will be leaving us) scored 20 mainly from the bench or in cups. Clarkson made 20 assists switching between CM and RM whilst Zefi made 13 from LW. 

We probably need half a dozen decent new players for the new season but as things stand I don't think we will survive a season in the Championship. We've been given £2.8m to spend and the wage budget increased to £64k per week. 

[dafuge]

Not exactly a glittering career, but it's the first time I've seen my son retire.

[Jorgen]

@maxtothemax  You asked if I would write about my savegame:

I am about to start my 15th season, but my savegame keeps on crahsing. :-(

For my hexagon challenge with a twist (use only teams from nations where no team before won any continental prize at all, ever) I loaded the Solomon Islands, Philippines, Malawi, Venezuela, Canada and Finland.

I won the OFC CL with Central Coast (Solomon Islands) and got to the semi finals of the AFC CL with Stallion Laguna (Philippines). I won my 5th double (league + cup) in a row, and my 13th league in a row. In the league I am 120 matches unbeaten in the league (= 5 full seasons in a row), but I might have to stop this save due to it being unreliable. I had a lot of fun and this would be a challenge to start again. I don't know if I'll do it with minor nations again, because it is awfully hard to let a club from the Philippines grow and I suspect it will be just as hard in Malawi. So, if I'll do it again, I might chose other nations.

For now this very nice savegame is almost certainly coming to an end...

[ToMexico!!]

On 29/09/2022 at 11:27, ToMexico!! said:

League 1 winners in the 2028/29 season, leapfrogging a goal hungry QPR side on the penultimate game of the season before beating 3rd placed Burton to clinch the title. 4th Round appearances in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup whilst we also won the JPT beating Liverpool U23s in the final. 

Five players came in this season, James Debayo (Leeds), Tom Wooster (Man Utd) and Mason Burstow (Brentford) all for free, whilst we paid £50k for a new right winger from Fylde and loaned in a left winger from Man City. Sold a couple of players including starting goalkeeper Same Blair and loaned out a further five players through the course of the season. Youth intake was again very poor, no player over 100 PA. 

Mark Graham top scored with 26 whilstnew signing Burstow netted 25 and the evergreen Jordan Ponticello (who will be leaving us) scored 20 mainly from the bench or in cups. Clarkson made 20 assists switching between CM and RM whilst Zefi made 13 from LW. 

We probably need half a dozen decent new players for the new season but as things stand I don't think we will survive a season in the Championship. We've been given £2.8m to spend and the wage budget increased to £64k per week. 

Don't know what I was worried about, a 9th placed finish in the Championship in our first season at that level. Jonathan Panzo (CB, Free), Lario (Newgen, LW, Free, A Bilbao) and Pizzolla (Newgen, GK, Free, Bari) were my key signings as we didn't disrupt the squad too much. 

4th Round of the FA Cup and only the 1st Round of the Carabao this season but at least it saw us concentrate on the league. 

Burstow scored 26 goals with nine assists, Graham managed 17 goals on loan from Norwich again. Lario made 12 assists for a team high. Graham won't be joining next season as his contract is up at Norwich so I've already signed a Uruguayan newgen from Defensor for his release clause of £1.3m. 

The club has just announced a new stadium with a capacity of 14000 at a cost of £15.5m. 

[Jorgen]

On 30/09/2022 at 18:25, dafuge said:

Not exactly a glittering career, but it's the first time I've seen my son retire.

I think I never had an in-game son. Not even when I had an 86 seasons career.

[anagain]

Dafuging the tallest spire in the land

This might end up being a bit Plain, which is why I'm not doing a full write up, but I thought I'd try my hand at and old fashioned Dafuge challenge for the beta. I don't plan to start a full save until after beta and will wait for the first patch and maybe some add on leagues.

My ancestors are from Downton, just south of Salisbury. They probably saw the tallest cathedral spire in England from their homes or farms. When I saw Salisbury come up I decided it had to be my team. Dunno how far I'll get. I'm also enjoying Satisfactory a lot lately. Will see how I enjoy the game.

Team is full of former Bournemouth youth players and a 16 year old keeper. That will be my priority.

Brandon Goodship is a good striker for this level (and one I had lasts eason when I started with Weymouth) and I'll build a team around him and Antonio Diaz, a solid player in midfield. Josh Wakefield is former Bournemouth and quality in midfield too. Defence needs some real work.

[anagain]

Guess this thread gets less use then...

As many may have guessed that Salisbury save didn't get far. Couldn't find the time to get really stuck into FM and I guess my mind just doesn't like the idea of putting effort in to a save I know will end that season.

I was in third place after about 10 games so not too bad. 

 

Have my mind working on a long term save for FM23, though I am in two minds about writing it up. I find it hard to sit and play FM for prolonged periods these days - darn back. I just like to write up my careers as writing is something I enjoy.

Have an idea for this year's based on a youthful memory of mine. Sort of a combination of fan fiction and FM.

Gonna have to splash the cash on that standing desk I was looking at so as I can do more hours in FM in my free time. 

Edited November 9, 2022 by anagain

[kingjericho]

Any half decent corner routines? I have one aimed at near post and one at far post, I have about 4 goals all them from the far post routine. Nothing from near post.

[Jorgen]

After my hexagon challenge savegame got corrupted, I needed something new. Tried a few things, edited some and found myself a new challenge.

I loaded editor files with as many nations and (semi) autonomous nations/regions as I could find. New continental cups and other updates too. They're made by Dave the Editor, V50, Robbles Quin, Daveincid, TMC, Anitamui, Lionel Messi, Timo and myself. I now have the options to manage in practically every nation from Afghanistan and Albania to Zambia and Switzerland (starts with a Z in my language) and from Åland and Anguilla to Turks & Caicos and Tuvalu. 

Just started my save with Simorgh Alborz FC from Afghanistan to win my first title. Now I'm waiting for a chance to get the managing job at Mariehamm (Finland) or another team that is from the Åland Islands. I know, this might result in ending before I reach te letter B, or in a huge time consuming journey around the world. I already did a 80+ seasons savegame before, so that's not gonna scare me. I think the waiting for a new team is the hardest.

 

 

Edit: already started over again, but the waiting is indeed the hardest. Could be a lot of years when waiting for FC Isle of Man, AS Monaco or IFK Mariehamm. So I'm thinking about not doing the "1 club nations", or finding any other workaround solution for that.

Edited December 20, 2022 by Jorgen

[kingjericho]

Every other match I see a freekick hit the bar, is it too much?