KYU Natsukashii Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Hi there guys. Welcome to my trip through Scotland on FM20. I have enjoyed a couple of long term saves on this version, notably at Partizan and Manchester United, but felt the challenge of youth saves and bottom to top an interesting thing to combine with Scottish football. The aim of this is to hopefully lead Brechin up the leagues again, aiming to improve youth facilities to bring through our own players, and perhaps building a Scottish side too. Maybe also some kind of moneyball effort, who knows. Also going to be sticking my goalkeeper on set piece and penalty duties, for added fun. Brechin yo-yo'd for a few years during the earlies noughties, but then spent a long period of struggling to get out of League One. They managed to do just that in 2016-17 season, but the following year saw a disaster that left the club rooted bottom of the Championship with only four draws and no wins in 36 games, though in their past two seasons in the Championship combined the club has only won 2 out of 72 fixtures. Relegation followed again as the club couldn't adjust to life back in League One, and League Two soon beckoned for the first time since 2001. The club needs to stabilise to prevent the risk of a third, almost unthinkable, relegation. Financially, the club is not on a sound footing. There is nothing in the bank, nothing to spend, but we do have £500 in wages spare, which is good enough for now. Not sure where the money will come from, but we will work hard to keep the club afloat as best we can. The facilities are what they are. I wasn't expecting anything less than I got, so we can move on up from there hopefully, barring a catastrophic third relegation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 These are our current staff. I am not going to sack any of them simply to try and encourage a smooth transition within the club, and Stevie Campbell is a really decent assistant manager anyway. We're going to need to bring in a few staff members to fill gaps that have been left behind. Campbell is just below, with Craig Nelson our goalkeeping coach following him. This is the inherited squad. As we are unable to make any transfers in the first window, we cannot add to this and this is all we have got. There is one player in the reserves, a right back, so this really is all we've got. We need to just survive this season and see what we can do in a years time, whilst also integrating the first youth intake of my reign. Rhys McCabe and Andy Jackson are the best players we have at the club and I'm going to need the best from them. McLaughlin and McCord may also be super important for us this campaign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 The board aren't expecting miracles, and I'm happy with that. Working within the wage budget should be the bare minimum for anyone at any club at any level. And this is how we are going to be aiming to play. Nothing exciting, just a 4-4-2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 July 2019We performed well in our pre-season friendlies, beating our non-league opponents either side of a defeat to Partick Thistle. We spent the rest of July taking part in the Betfred Cup, which we pretty much treat like a friendly tournament. We were poor against Dundee and Alloa, but picked up surprising clean sheet victories against the other two sides. We were already eliminated at round three stage, but still managed to bring in roughly £50k into the coffers from game receipts, largely the Dundee game which saw a 5000 capacity crowd. Lewis McMinn scored his first goal for us, smashing a wonderful freekick in from the edge of the area against Alloa. We wound up finishing third in the competition group stage, which we are fairly happy with and would class as being competitive. Hopefully the money taken will keep us going for awhile. Being unable to sign players this first window, we instead moved to secure a few new staff members in our first month with the club, including bringing in the very experienced Kris Boyd as reserves manager in anticipation for having some youth players arrive via intake and via free transfers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallimuse Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Love seeing Scottish threads in here. Giving you a follow and eager to see how you get on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 August 2019 We went into August ready to come at the league full on - but despite a strong start we fell off pretty poorly. Beating Stirling again was good, having dispatched them in the cup last month, and we also caught Albion Rovers out. We instantly dropped out of the Tunnocks Cup, before a three game winless streak saw the month out. Andy Jackson and Matthew Knox were on good form for August, netting three times, while Lewis McMinn bagged his first league goal from the spot for us, to become our first league goalkeeping goalscorer. We need to regain some form as we have dropped down the league after being top two games in. It is early days, but we can be better. Knox ended up claiming Player of the Month, and Young Player of the Month, which is fantastic for us both and we hope he continues his fine form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 September 2019 So we started the month fairly well placed in the league, and knowing we could end the month much better off with there being few fixtures this month. There may have been cup games, but we aren't in them anymore so I've no idea. We won both our games though and I was very happy with the performances. The Cowdenbeath game was a lot further apart than it seemed, but it was great to see our goalkeeper bag his second league goal of the season. We fought hard for the Elgin win, who had started the season decently. We are starting to burn through our cash though, having only half of our early cup takings left, but that didn't stop me bringing in former Berwick midfielder Ogilvie on a free deal until the end of the season, and I might need a couple others to see us through as we are thin and getting tired easy currently. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 (edited) October 2019 October was a poor domestic league month for us. New signings appeared though, both strikers to replace potentially our aging pair. We went ahead at Stenhousemuir, which was disappointed as despite a top goalkeeping performance from McMinn we just capitulated with ease. Dispatching Edinburgh in the cup was nice, enabling us to potentially earn some money later, but then we lost to a rampant Queens Park who could have scored way more than one. Sam Jamieson joined us early in the month and bagged two goals, while another young striker joined as a back up option on a cheap wage. We really need to improve our poor league form, as currently it is quite sketchy. We will continue finding cheap young, unattached players to swell the ranks and see where they take us. Edited August 31, 2020 by KYU Natsukashii Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 We have contract trouble brewing, as expected. Both Matthew Knox and Chris McLaughlin are two of our better players and performers, but they are asking for money we simply can't give them at the moment, and chances are we will lose the pair at the end of the season. This issue will likely crop up as the season goes on too. We are already operating close to budget, and these guys are clearly better suited for a higher quality league. As you can see, we are expected to lose a fair portion of our squad at the end of the campaign, so we are going to judge each player come January and see who will be staying. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 November 2019 The month started well and ended well, but we encountered trouble in the middle. Jamieson has been a revelation for us this time round (having spent a small part of last season on loan here but without scoring and then leaving St Mirren), and bagged an award for his troubles. We made some decisions regarding which players we definitely weren't going to keep, and maybe that will free up the budget to offer more to keep our stars for next season. Form has been sketchy for most sides, so there is no real gap between the top five at the moment, which is good for us as we sit on the edge currently. We added a young defender to the ranks, while we also added a new physio and scout, but they are only here for the short term so for now I haven't bothered to name them. McMinn bagged his fourth goal from the net as we easily saw off Huntly in the cup, and bagged a small cash prize for our efforts which will actually go a long way for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 A small update on finances and the completion of a tournament. We were awarded £21k for our final position/participation in the Betfred Cup, which should keep us afloat for a couple more months. Our performance was fleeting at best but we fulfilled the minimum desire and the board accept the final progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 December 2019 This was by far a shocking month. We picked up just a single point and suffered very poor defeats. In turn, it has seen us drop well out of contention for promotion at the moment, we have just been abysmal really. Jamieson is still scoring, which is good, but he and McMinn are about the only lights in an otherwise dreary season so far. Our youth intake preview indicates some potential, so we will see come February what comes of that. We need to arrest this slump otherwise we run the risk of severely dropping further, and only Albion being awful at the moment gives us the belief that we won't be sucked into that battle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) Some big news regarding the Brexit issue and the future status of the United Kingdom within the EU. Hopefully this helps us further down the line. We also made a new acquisition on the same day, bringing in a youthful centre back who is highly rated for us and a quick winger on loan from Airdrie. Edited September 1, 2020 by KYU Natsukashii Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 January 2020 We went the month unbeaten, which was fairly welcoming for us, and we also stopped shipping goals with alarming ease. Sadly we just couldn't find a win at all, but at least we seemed improved. We managed to progress a round further in the Scottish Cup, dispatching Annan, with new boy Lewis Bell finding a last minute winner. We have been awarded with a home tie against Premiership side St Mirren. Next month we will play six matches in total, and definitely need to try and find 8 to 10 points in the league to strengthen our league status for next year. Our squad next season will look very different, but for now we have kept hold of our key players without losing them for the next six months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) My career will thankfully continue with the club, as the offer on the table shows. A one-year extension for me, and hopefully Stevie Campbell too, as we embark on a potential second season barring any relegation disasters. Edited September 1, 2020 by KYU Natsukashii 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 February 2020 Losing to Cove Rangers at the start of the month was tough as we were very poor, but we picked up against Cowdenbeath and didn't look back. Picking up a draw in the cup was vital for us - and the replay, which we lost, saw us net over £130k in total game receipt takings across both matches. Olly Hamilton's hat-trick against Queen's Park was a storming performance and result, though I'm not sure why Hamilton took the penalty over McMinn (edit - the takes penalty on hat-trick setting was active. That is no longer the case). It was great to have Aidan Laverty back in action, having been injured for the whole season so far. Jamieson continues to be our finest player, but he picked up an injury that sees him ruled out for eight weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Our involvement was fleeting at best - losing to East Fife in the 2nd round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 March 2020 A very topsy-turvy month saw us lose win and lose win, but it was nice to pick up a key victory over the only real seasonal rivals we have left in Annan, in our battle for 5th. McCord and McCabe both played well this month, and while we were unfortunate to lose at Edinburgh, they needed the win to secure a certain playoff spot. It's getting tight at the top now, Edinburgh and Queen's Park pushing for the automatic promotion spot. McMinn missed both the penalties he took this month which was disappointing, but neither would have changed our fortunes in these games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) A very underwhelming intake for us in my first season with the club. There might be a couple of players we can utilise in the first team, but the rest will make up the reserves and will probably not feature at all before moving on. Definitely keeping Garden, along with Lowe and Ross. The rest is uncertain right now. Intake 2020 Edited September 1, 2020 by KYU Natsukashii Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 April 2020 April was an unbeaten month for us - and it came at the right time. We have had a distinctly average season, and while defeat on the final day would see us end 12-12-12, it isn't a bad finish overall for a side having undergone a complete drop in recent seasons. We play one final game, and a point would be enough for us to finish 5th. The 4-4 draw with Queen's Park was a mental match, with our last three goals bringing us level having been 4-1 down. That draw cost Queen's Park there chance at the title, gifting Edinburgh that accolade. Andy Jackson had a great month finding the net, but Stenhousemuir will be his final game as we won't be renewing his contract, along with a host of others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYU Natsukashii Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 May 2020 So, my first season with Brechin is over. It was a tough season to begin with, struggling to get results at times, we ended strongly (namely after everyone had little to play for). We finished the season in 5th, a decent result, whilst we also ended in a decent place financially to help tide us over the summer with no real income to arrive. We now need to allow players to leave and take stock of who is left before embarking on a full recruitment window for the first time. All staff have been retained. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloch Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) I love the way you presented, neat and clear! Keep up the good work. Brechin definitely is an interesting challenge - there're not many teams in the world that would experienced a back-to-back.... relegation! Edited September 4, 2020 by johnloch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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