[FM21] Extreme Scottish Lower League - Vale of Clyde

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2041

A strong defensive intake this year. Some great personalities amongst the entire crop but only a handful were signed due to PA's so let's delve in.

John Young has been signed as we seem to have a conveyor belt of goal keepers coming through. He's got a strong PA with an average personality so I'm thinking currently he could go straight in as my back up and cup keeper for next year.

No left back's this year but we got an average right back pop through in Dominic Wilson. He's not got the best of personalities but we'll see what we can do with him.

We got a couple of gems for central defence this year in Jamie Quinn and in particular Daryll McKeown who both have great personalities and strong PA so I'm very excited to see what they can do for the club.

We passed on Liam Campbell who you may notice has great PA but I don't use wide players and his personality isn't great so I'm not going to take the time working with him.

The last player we signed was Mark Cameron who has got a mixed personality but a decent PA and already strong key stats for his position so I'll give him a chance at the club.

[metallimuse]

Season 2040-41 Review

A good season I felt this year. We were a bit loose with our play but that's to be expected with the young squad we have. Our Scottish Cup run was fantastic and massive for our finances. I was able to get the board to improve our junior coaching youth recruitment over the season and they are both coming along nicely. I still didn't pull the trigger and ask the board to turn professional this season. I think I might wait for our second year in the Championship if the board don't turn us professional once we are promoted, whenever that may be. If we get a plum tie in the cup next year I'm going to improve our training or youth facilities.

 

Great improvements in the squads CA but that's to be expected with the age of the majority of players.

Everybody out of contract will leave this summer and Cunningham will go also. I'm not sure who will leave on a transfer but MacPherson is already on his way out as we know but I suspect a few others will be courting attention. I've promised Phil Duffy he can go this summer so he might end up going also.

 

I don't agree with McKenzie and Bulpin being in the best eleven, I'd have picked McStay and Cook.

Calum Richardson absolutely stole the show this season and completely took me by surprise. He was playing as a substitute last year and now he's a club record breaker...

 

A great season for the club as I said and I'm incredibly excited for the summer and seeing who we can bring in from Celtic and the team that we can assemble. I think we could really make waves next year and could be in for a brilliant season, the building blocks are in place.

 

[Lodi Lemmer]

Great news about the link with Celtic!

[metallimuse]

Season 2041-42 Preview

Straight into the Betfred Cup this year with no friendlies. A poor showing yet we beat the toughest opposition so mixed signals there .

We have sold a few players this summer, we didn't get the five figure sums we've previously been able to generate but the players weren't essential so I allowed them to leave for the good of their careers.

There was a bit of a grumble from Naismith and Thain about the sale but I told them that Cook hadn't kicked on like I hoped he would and we have plenty of cover for Smith.

So what came of our affiliation with Celtic this summer? Well...nothing actually. It turns out that they don't think it would be beneficial to send any of their reserve team to our division. Hopefully when we reach the Championship that will change. We did however continue to hunt around the divisions above us and managed to get a few loanees in. I looked around England as well but again they didn't want to send us anyone either.

William McColl has come in at centre back from Rangers, Blair Conway from Dundee United to add some bite in midfield along with Billy Kelly to bring some guile and finally Dale Davidson arrived from Motherwell to take a spot in my trident of attacking midfielders.

 

Must be due to the loanees but the bookies aren't backing us for last...

The board and the players however are still as pessimistic as ever though. I think this year we will definitely be in the play-offs. I think this year I will be prioritising the league this year rather than the Scottish Cup. A few of my young boys are really starting to push on with their CA and with the loanees I think we can make a real go of it, especially if Calum Richardson has another year living in the heads of League One defences and has a good haul again.

[metallimuse]

Aug/Sept/Oct 2041-42

A great start to the season as we remain undefeated in the league after the first three months and look very good for a play-off spot at this point.

Calum Richardson is still finding the net and the new loanees have slotted nicely into the side although Will McKenzie has stepped his game up after getting a chance due to Conway going injured for a few weeks and now has to settle for a place on the bench.

Our old nemeses Pollock have been promoted so we're in the same division again and I've got to say I'd actually like to see them keep improving and maybe one day end up in the Premiership with us. I'd love to see us officially have them listed as one of our rivalries.

Partick top the league and have considerable breathing space so maybe we won't be able to achieve top spot this year considering how many draws we are still playing out. We've got them next so if we lose I think I would be of the mindset that the league will more than likely be theirs.

The only loss we suffered was against Championship side Livi in the Trust Trophy which I suppose is a bit of revenge as we knocked them out of the Scottish Cup last year and by the way, I realised after that Scottish Cup game that, they were in fact the current holders.

[metallimuse]

@Chris Hamilton I actually now have my reserve side involved in proper competition this year funnily enough...

[metallimuse]

Nov/Dec/Jan 2041-42

So we lost the game against the Jags and I think now we are resigned to finishing second at best this year. We're playing well though and I'm confident of achieving that so let's hope we can finally do the business in the play-offs this time out.

We have managed to progress in the Scottish Cup were we will face recently relegated Queens Park who now find themselves in the Championship, it's a home game though so I'm hoping we can win so we can get an away game against a big side for the cash injection again.

It's a good season so far but I just hope we don't come up short again.

There has been a future transfer agreed which will take place at the end of the season as the player wanted to leave...

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2042 Preview

Forgot to grab the news item so here's the preview from the development centre.

It's a good write up so I'm excited to see what pops out this year especially since we've improved our youth set up.

[metallimuse]

Feb/Mar/Apr/May 2041-42

More of a mixed run of form at the end of the season this year as we found ourselves in limbo of not being able to win the league but pretty much assured of finishing second so I rotated the side a lot and tried to give playing time to the whole squad so that effected us a bit.

We managed to reach the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup again where we played Hearts in a thrilling game but inevitably came up short. We got a great cash boost though to see us pass £2m in the bank.

So we made the play-offs for the third year straight and yet again there was heartache. Duncan Thain was sadly out injured for the games against Morton and we missed him so much. We lacked a creative spark and Calum Richardson, who again had another strong season, was feeding off scraps. Gutted.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2042

A decent looking intake this year but the stars haven't quite aligned with the mixtures of personality and PA.

We've made five signings so let's have a little look, with all an all new facepack no less...

First up is Donald Kettlewell who I've snapped up mainly due to his brilliant personality. Phil Duffy and Jamie Docherty continue to court interest from clubs so we may need a back up in the role so he may get game time next year.

Andy Moorhouse has been signed for central defence as Ronan Graham isn't really kicking on like I would like and I have some doubts over Paul Gordon as well.

We've got a ball winning midfielder in Jimmy Smith signed as he has a decent amount of PA and another midfielder in Jamie Sloan who can play in a verity of positions and I've not quite decided if he will play as a central midfielder or as an AMC.

And the last player signed is striker Michael Williamson who has the best PA in the crop but his personality is terrible. We'll see what we can do with him but I don't have high hopes.

[metallimuse]

Season 2041-42 Review

Well our best season on record in the division still found us come up short in the end which was a blow but there was lots to be excited about in general. The fact that we were so hard to beat points to the form that saw us start to stake a claim for promotion in League Two so I'm confident that it's a matter of time before we go up. We performed exactly the same funnily enough in the cups and the Scottish Cup runs we've been on our now really starting to swell the bank balance. I've mentioned it before but this is the summer where I'm confident the bosses will allow us to turn professional, I think that will be the step that allows us to really harness the talent coming through and help us to gain promotion, fingers crossed the board agree.

 

The potential in the squad is good enough to be playing in the Championship by my metrics so hopefully the board allow us to turn professional this summer as I'm convinced that more time on the training pitch will allow us to unlock the potential and really kick on.

The loanees that came in really helped to add that touch of class to the side and we're cultivating a strong squad personality that makes us hungry and really take the game to our opposition.

We still have a young squad but in a few years we could really be looking to get to semi finals or cups and see us be a strong side in the Championship when we get there.

 

No complaints with the best eleven.

Calum Richardson again rightly dominating the player awards this year and he broke another record this year as well...

 

So overall a good season even though we came up short and didn't gain promotion. Season tickets were up, average attendance's were up, the bank balance grew and we played some great football over the season. We aren't far away from going up so hopefully next year can be the year we kick on.

 

[metallimuse]

Season 2042-43 Preview

A tough time in the Betfred Cup again this year and sadly our game against Premiership boys the Steelmen was at home rather than away so we missed out on a pay day bump. Calum Richardson has started the season well though so there is some positives to be take  from it.

We asked the board to turn professional over the summer but they refused as they didn't think hey could meet the costs of running a professional team. They have allowed me to improve training facilities for both the main squad and the youth side though at a cost to nearly £900,000 and that will take place at the end of the season. They also agreed to improve junior coaching and youth recruitment so the club is at least developing and we won't need to worry about being miles behind when we step up the divisions. Although we will need to significantly improve our stadium in the years ahead if not build a completely new one so that may stunt our growth for a while.

There has been a couple of free signings and a couple of loans this summer so let's have a look...

Our young keepers while performing admirably over the past few years haven't kicked on like I'd want and I noticed Joe McDonald without a club so I snapped him up as he's considerably better than what I have here and still young.

We brought in Alan Newman for nothing to add a bit of guile to central midfield and he's also young so I'm confident he will be a big success and will have sell on potential in the future also.

And we brought in a left back on loan from Ross County who should add some extra quality and Robbie Woolley has returned from Celtic on a second loan to improve my AMC trident.

 

The board are now requesting we qualify for the play-offs and the players, on the whole, think we can also achieve this so I would agree. Falkirk are overwhelming favourites for the title and I can't disagree so let's hope fourth time will be a charm in the play-offs.

Mon the Tin Pail!

[metallimuse]

Aug/Sept/Oct 2042-43

A brilliant run of form to start the season off has seen us go top of the league and setting the pace for the rest of the league. Calum Richardson is in lethal form again and Corey Bulpin has also been in incredible form to help out.

We're playing some great football and managed to see off a few SPL reserve side's in our run in the Trust Trophy, the draws weren't kind to us but we did well until we came up against Celtic which was just a bridge too far.

I'm hopeful that we can keep the run of form going and hopefully avoid the play-offs this year.

There has been some sales before the end of the transfer window, not for much money but we have got future clause's in all the deal's so hopefully we get a future fee for a few of them, not that we've seen much so far.

We also hit a nice milestone as well over the period...

[metallimuse]

Intake 2043 Preview

Well it doesn't look promising this season for the intake but hopefully we have a few to work with, probably a left back 

[metallimuse]

Nov/Dec/Jan 2042-43

A decent period for the club but a shaky start to the period meant we dropped off the top for a period but we've managed to go back after a great run at the turn of the year. It's so close up at the top though and it could be any from the four in the play-off spots that take the title.

Calum Richardson has been in tremendous form so far this season and could very well break his own goal scoring records this season if he keeps it up. We've managed to tie him down to a contract extension to ward off the teams sniffing around but there is a £150,000 release clause in it which if we go up his asking price could very well start to get up to that amount. It's something we need to keep on top of and be aware at all times.

We've advanced in the Scottish Cup but sadly drawn the Staggies in the next round so we will more than likely end up going out without a bumper pay day sadly.

[metallimuse]

Feb/Mar/Apr/May 2042-43

We've done it! We've actually done it!

We didn't win the league as we dropped off a bit, in particularly March was an issue as we lost 4 players due to internationals which as you can see really effected us. But we were able to cement our place in second and we went on a great run of form which carried on into the dreaded play-offs which we actually managed to come out on top in and with that we've now managed to achieve promotion to the Championship! Delighted.

We had a great win against the Bairns amongst it when we went far more attacking than we normally do to try and shock them and it worked.

It was brilliant to see Matthew Naismith get a goal in the final game to take us up as he's a one club man who's been with us on our journey up and it brought a tear to the eye as we celebrated our promotion.

[metallimuse]

Intake 2043 Review

Well it turned out far better than I was expecting getting my preview earlier. The personalities aren't the greatest but we have a lot of PA to be excited by and we should be improving our facilities over the summer so hopefully we can get the best out of the players I have signed. Let's have a look at them.

First up we have goalkeeper Derek Fleck who is decent but probably won't make the main team even as a squad player. With this intake I've been a bit looser with my signing policy considering now we have a proper reserve side who are playing in competitive matches. He's been signed for the reserves and we'll see how he develops there. He might force his way into the main squad depending on transfers.

Josh Slater is another who's been signed for the reserves that won't make the first team but his personality is a winner so I thought he could do a job for the reserve team for a few years.

Michael McGowan could make the first team squad in the future with his PA but we do have better prospects already so that will depend on how he develops in the reserves and what happens with future sales.

Finally for the back line we have my personal favourite in Milán Vég a young Hungarian that's come through. He's got a brilliant personality and one of the best PA's so I'm buzzing to see how he turns out. We love a left back at this club don't we?

We then have four midfielder/attacking midfielders in Simon Finlayson, Alan Irving, Jordi Goedhart and Paul Stephen who have been signed. A few of them need training in the position due to being naturally wide men but they all have strong PA's so we might as well. Again, especially since we now have a proper reserve side.

I'm really pleased with the past few intakes, I do as I'm writing this what the actual posts were I'm not sure. I might be romanticising them in my mind .

 

[Rikulec]

Congratulations on the promotion, that was well deserved.

[metallimuse]

Season 2042-43 Review

Another season, another play-off spot but this time with promotion at the fourth time of asking.

It was clearly our best season to date in League One as you can see by the stats above. More goals scored, less goals conceded, more wins than ever before and less losses than ever before. This was our year. We were tremendous and really deserved the promotion.

Our bank balance has slightly reduced but I suspect that is probably down to the cost of improving our junior coaching and youth recruitment which is at a very high level now. We are scheduled to be improving both the youth and training facilities this summer so expect the balance to drop further for next year. I'm not sure of the financial reward for league placing's next year but hopefully it's above £500,000.

 

Well, you surely don't expect me to be at this point and say the lads were anything short of incredible this season do you?

New signing Joe McDonald has been tremendous in his debut season and looking a head should be good enough to play in the Championship next year by my metrics so that's comforting to know.

The defence are all so so young but they did great this year. McKeown came on leaps and bounds over the season and is now good enough to play in the Championship and his central defensive partner Jaime Quinn isn't far behind so they will both be given the chance next season. The old guard of Paul Gordon and Ronan Graham will be let go this summer.

New boy Alan Newman had a solid season overall but he definitely had a slow start to his career with us. He came good in the end though alongside Will MacKenzie who maybe isn't quite up to the Championship next year but he'll get a season at least. His personality is too important to lose at this point as we try to mentor a few of the more balanced personalities into better ones.

What can I say about Calum Richardson? What can I say? Well, let's just put the record breaking stats he's accomplished up first shall we...

Just look at that. Incredible to see. He's a one club man so far and I hope that the fact we are climbing means I will be able to keep hold of him as the romantic in me wants to see him stay his career here and see him put up HUGE numbers and also take Naismith's league appearance record. His PA by my metric says he won't be able to compete at a Championship level so next year will be a make or break year for him. There's no doubting we are indebted to him though for our promotion so let's put that to one side currently and all take a minute to appreciate his quality and shout his name in appreciation.

 

So that's the record breaking stats, what about the season awards?

Unsurprisingly Calum took the majority of them as well. We won't be getting Woolley back next year on loan or attempt to sign as he's already agreed a deal to leave Celtic and sign for Hibs.

 

That is absolutely my team of the year and who I played when I could with the exception of the full backs who got a bit more rotation.

 

So that was our, hopefully, last season in League One. Six years which felt a lot longer. It was incredibly enjoyable don't get me wrong but the constant play-off heartache was incredibly disappointing. It would almost have been kinder to my nerves if we'd of had a slow build but in a league consisting of only 10 clubs I guess that would of felt a bit to stagnant. It was a great season, a record breaking season as we've seen. Let's enjoy this moment as it's a bout to get a LOT tougher as we move up into a division with some real big boys compared to our small semi-professional side.

[metallimuse]

5 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Congratulations on the promotion, that was well deserved.

Thanks mate. It's been coming hasn't it? Gunna be up against it next year to say the least.

[metallimuse]

Season 2043-44 Preview

A pretty poor start to the season really as we can't muster a win before the start of the league.

The bookies have us as heavy faves to go down, the board are asking us to fight bravely against relegation and the players feel the same. For the first time ever I could honestly see us going down...maybe. I look around and think we're amongst some big teams who all traditionally compete around this level, we stick out like a sore thumb. We've not experienced relegation on our journey up the division's so far though so I will aim for 8th as normal but will accept 9th and the play-offs if that's what it takes.

We have agreed to our biggest sale of the save so far in the following...

 

He was furious when I turned down a few offers and the players all banded around in support of him so I agreed to a sale to Raith Rovers but managed to get them to agree to the sell on clause and he won't leave until the end of the season so we did the best we could in the situation. I have a nagging doubt that even though he's only currently valued at £8k by the end of the season in the Championship this fee could end up looking incredibly cheap.

 

There have been no incoming players this time out as I would rather go with what we have and the kids and see if we survive before maybe looking to get players in on bigger wages.

First year in the Championship ahead, let's go!

[metallimuse]

Aug/Sept/Oct 2043-44

Not a bad start I think. We've had our fair share of losses but that was to be expected. Far more wins than I thought I'd get and managing to eek out draws as well. I think we might be ok in the division.

Calum Richardson is managing to find the net at this level and my goalie has my highest average points, that's winning form with regards to staying up.

My bank balance has taken a drop off a cliff, a mixture of facility upgrades and also having such a strong youth set up. We badly need a good cup run this year to help us through each year until we reach the Premiership. That or we need to become a selling club. I expected to be a selling club as we went on our journey but I don't enjoy selling for such small fee's currently.

[metallimuse]

A player that until now has been a one club man, a player who played his part in dragging us through the league system and shone bright at our club for many a season. A player who tops the all time league appearance chart. A player second in the league goals chart. A player who will surely be remembered by the club for many a year to come.

All that's left to say is simply, "Thank you Matthew Naismith". 

Edited February 18, 2021 by metallimuse

[metallimuse]

Nov/Dec/Jan 2043-44

I'd say a slightly tougher period for the club at the turn of the year and matters weren't helped when star goal keeper Joe McDonald went injured for 6 weeks. Can you guess when it was? Yes, February. It's a shame as we've not encountered this situation before and we have just done our best to get by. Can't wait for him to be back though.

We got Aberdeen at home in the Scottish Cup so we've gone out without a payday which is very disappointing considering our current financial woes. I really hope it's around £500,000 for our final league position to help us. Speaking of league positions, I'm happy with where we currently lay.

 

There has been another transfer agreed in the winter window and again I've managed to get the buyers to agree to us keeping him until the end of the season, we've again managed to break our own transfer fee received record...

Jaime Quinn will also join McKeown at Raith Rovers next year.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake Preview 2044

Well we don't use wide players so this is disappointing but we'll see how they all look. I went into last year thinking something similar to this would be poor and it turned out ok so let's hope for a repeat.

[metallimuse]

Feb/Mar/Apr 2043-44

A poor run of form really to end the season if I'm being honest.

We struggled a bit as Calum Richardson seemed to lose his sparkle and we just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net really, we still played some decent football and enjoyed lots of possession. We also rotated and played some the academy boys (you'll see them in the next post) and some of the squad players as I knew we would be staying up and avoiding the play-offs.

We've been pretty solid in 7th this year as you can see from the graph below. The placing netted me around £350,000 which hasn't wiped my debts. I could be deep deep into the red by the time we start next season 

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2044

A good intake in terms of PA but some very disappointing personalities to match so it's been a mixed bag this year.

We've signed quite a few of the boys though so let's get down and have a look...

We've signed Simon Connelly due to his great PA but his personality is the pits so I doubt he will make the cut but we'll keep him around for a few years.

Connor Hynes is one of the good ones this year with a strong personality and a decent PA who could be a good squad player for the next few years.

We've got a couple of central defenders with strong personalities in Kai Marr and Corey Adams who we've snapped up due to selling Quinn and McKeown who will leave at the end of the season.

And the last for the back line is Jordan Hogg who we've snapped up for cover in the left back role. Sweeney will probably be leaving in the next year or two we need more cover there. Not a great personality so he might not be a success at the club but he's a body that we need.

We then have one of the best PA rated players to ever come through the academy in Ally Gemmell. He's got an ok personality so he could work out to be a gem but he's a wide player who we will need to retrain so I'm not sure if that will hamper his development or not. I think I will train him as a shadow striker with a view to him taking over from Duncan Thain in the next year or two.

And finally we have a couple of midfielders in Nathan MacKenzie and the oldest looking 15 year old you've ever seen in Liam Stone. Bad to average personalities so maybe won't work out but we'll see how they perform and improve over the next few years before we decide to keep or let them go.

I decided against signing Allan Ruth. He does have a decent PA but he's listed as a striker despite being quite poor for finishing and composure. He does have some potential maybe as an AMC but I just decided against taking him on.

 

An interesting group, not massive expectations in my mind but we'll see what comes of them over the next few years.

 

[metallimuse]

Season 2043-44 Review

I though this could be the first time we could maybe be relegated but the lads proved me wrong and we turned out to be pretty safe and steady in 7th for the vast majority of the season. Never looked in any danger of being relegated and you'd have to mark that down as a successful season. The objective was obviously survival and we accomplished that quite comfortably I thought.

My finances are a real concern and I think that's down to me pushing so hard to improve my junior coaching and youth recruitment as the board wouldn't allow me anything else. I had a look in the editor to see the levels and...

On reflection that is probably too high for a club of our size and stature so the cost's are now crippling us. We need to start getting into the play-off spots which I think will help to increase my player values so that when I'm making sales they can be for £250k - £500k and really help to balance the books.

Our average attendance shot up and our season tickets also had a boost so that was very pleasing to see and match day revenue is covering wages by some way but the aforementioned issue is always going to hamper us until we reach the Premiership.

 

It was a solid season from the squad this year. No one set the heather alight but nobody stunk up the place with regards to average rating.

There has been huge improvements in players CA over the year but that's expected of course when the average player is so young. 

My squad personality is still considered 'professional' but I'm a bit worried about the amount of average personalities now in our squad. I really want that to change but it seems a long war rather than a short battle to change these.

The players out of contract will all leave this summer as will obviously Quinn and McKeown, so some good personalities leaving there sadly.

Thain is starting to wane I think a bit so he probably only has a year left I'd imagine.

 

Team of the year is as expected and the usual players took the plaudits in the player awards again...

It was nice to see Matthew Naismith get an award as it's his last year with us. A player who currently isn't actually considered a club legend or an icon but rather favoured personnel. I really hope this changes after he retires as he currently holds the record for most appearances...

...and holds a place in my heart for the club.

One other record was broken this season...

...one of our newest academy boys got himself on the scoresheet via the penalty spot.

 

So a successful season over all. Survival was the goal and it was achieved, can't say any more than that. Let's salute Matthew Naismith and enjoy our first year in the Championship with the knowledge that there will be a second.

[metallimuse]

Well I've said that we're a small team in this division but this just says it all...

We're working on a shoe string budget fighting against teams with far bigger budgets.

[metallimuse]

Season 2044-45 Preview

A far better performance this year in the Betfred Cup and we've actually managed to advance out of the group stage for the first time in years, only the second time we've ever managed it in our history. We'll take on recently relegated, fellow Championship side St Johnstone so there's every chance we might actually get a bit further with a bit of luck on the day.

 

So the board and the players are just expecting us to fight bravely against relegation and the bookies have us also dead set for last place...

I think we'll be around where we were last year. I'd be happy with anywhere between 6th to 8th with the bonus of good cup runs and hopefully a couple of good pay days. There have been no signings this summer and no further sales as of yet but there may be before the window shuts if we receive any suitable bids.

[metallimuse]

Jul/Aug/Sept/Oct 2044-45

Well the season started brightly but the past two months have been tough.

I was all set to come on here and say I couldn't buy a win if I wanted one then from out of nowhere we beat then top of the table side Ross County to put a bit of a smile back on my face. The team is just so young and I know we've been running like that for a while but I really do think it's affecting us. Also the majority of them are struggling to stay fit which I'm a bit puzzled by but I suspect that is also having a negative affect on our performances.

We managed to have good runs in the Betfred Cup and Trust Trophy though which was pleasing and pleased the board but we're now out of both.

It seems like the top four are going to open a gap between the rest of us so I think it could be a relatively boring season and just swapping around between 5th to 8th. I don't think we will get sucked into a relegation battle...hopefully.

[metallimuse]

Finally one of our sell on clauses has born a decent return...

 

I think what I'm going to do is to include the English leagues at the end of this season and see if some of their lower division sides start to come in for any of my players as their lower leagues are still better financially then ours even at Championship level so hopefully we can start to get more regular 6 figure fees to help our business model and finances.

[metallimuse]

Well this is strange...

Never managed in a top division let alone win a major honour yet I had this offer come through.

I turned it down as I would need to load the Portuguese leagues and with already adding the English leagues at the end of this season I didn't want that many running so I can speed through the game as much as I can until we start competing in Europe (whenever that may be ).

I do have aspirations of managing Scotland towards the end of this save and maybe leave Vale to see how they continue forward after my time there (whenever that may be ) but with this offer it has made me think I might take on a different nation in a dual role in the future once we are in the Premiership and competing in the top six.

[metallimuse]

Nov/Dec/Jan 2044-45

Well it's turning into a difficult second season isn't it?

It's been tough going and not many players are averaging over a 7 so far for their rating. I still don't think we are in danger of being involved in a relegation fight still but it's not an enjoyable play through currently. I'm wondering at this point if next season we might have to look towards the loan market to see if we can get a few lads in to help next year. My attacking three AMC positions this season are really struggling no matter what combination I use which I think is probably my big weakness and what we are lacking. I'll see if Woolley will still take my call since his move to Hibs 

 

There has been a 'sale' in the winter transfer window to East Fife...

He was the back up and out of contract in the summer. As much as I'd prefer to get some money in I was as well just letting him go for the good of his career so off he went.

There has been many offers for players over the window but no offers I found to be acceptable so I turned them all down which has resulted in a real dip in moral. The same happened over the summer as well so that's another reason possibly that we aren't in great form.

 

[metallimuse]

Intake 2045 Preview

Hmm, a promising striker you say? 

Another "golden generation", let's hope.

[metallimuse]

Feb/Mar/Apr 2044-45

We managed to pick up a few wins over the last few months and again, like last year, stayed steady in seventh.

Calum Richardson was in lethal form which really helped and he's proved he can cut it at this level which is brilliant to see. Once this squad start to get a bit more games under their belt and mature a bit I think we'll be in a fantastic position to look to push on and start challenging further up the league and in the play-off spots.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2045

An average intake this year.

Plenty of players of Championship quality this year and fantastic personalities on the whole. Some interesting nationalities this year as well with Australian and Zambian lads in there. Let's have a look at who I signed...

I've signed Jake Rodgers between the sticks as he's got a great personality which has been lacking in previous lads come through in the role. Maybe not as talented PA wise as the lads before him but probably a better chance of hitting his max than the others.

Matthew Hunt is another with a great personality and we're now starting to stock pile right backs over the past few years.

Dylan Jordan was signed for centre back along with Lee MacPhee at left back. MacPhee has an average personality but a high PA so it'll be interesting to see how he pans out.

We've signed a glut of MC's and AMC's in Aidan Paterson, Owen Iredale, Davide Mirante and best PA of the intake Martin Furness. I'm having to convert Furness to an AMC but his PA is high and just look at his personality, 'resolute'! I'm really excited about his development and hopefully we can improve him and get the best from him and keep hold of him to become an influential player and use him to mentor future generations at the club.

And finally, we've signed Simon Bell. We nearly didn't as our contract talks broke down as he spat the dummy but we eventually managed to tie him down. High PA with a strong personality so hopefully we can develop and sell him for a tidy profit in a few years.

[metallimuse]

Season 2044-45 Review

On paper, our league form was actually slightly worse than last year as we lost one game more . We had good cup runs this year though.

So another season of consolidation I think is what we can put this season down to. I really struggled with getting the best of the kids this year, in particular my attacking midfielders. That cost us in the league. We did score more goals than last year but that's down to Richardson's game rather than us creating more. 

Our season tickets went up but our average attendance dipped a little, hard to turn up every week when you're expecting a draw at best.

Our finances are continuing to go down. We need an Old Firm cup tie or a big sale to help us moving forward.

I said that we had good cup runs this year but looking on paper other than the Betfred Cup we were the same but we drew tough opposition in the Trust Trophy and I actually felt proud just reaching the 4th round . Our Betfred Cup run was brilliant and no shame in going out to a Premiership team who at that time were sitting second in the league. Scottish Cup exit to Aberdeen was expected but no payday was disappointing.

 

The average ratings this year were exactly that, average. Big Joe and Richardson were their usual consistent selves and Dom Wilson at right back stepped up and has started showing the form that I thought would get him a big move somewhere.

I had to work hard to get the defensive ratings up by criticising and praising performances week in and week out in the second half of the season.

Same could not be said for my attacking midfielders. Finlayson, Goedhart, Gemmell, Sloan were all disappointing for the majority of the season but did have patches over the season were they did well individually, that's the only reason some have hit 6.7's.

The players out of contract will be leaving this summer. Some, like Duncan Thain, have been stalwarts that shone bright and others just haven't been consistent enough so time to move on for pastures new. Thain is leaving as he wouldn't accept a reduced contract or reduced playing time so he can go. It's a shame to lose two highly influential squad members with resolute personalities' but that's the break of FM sometimes.

 

 

No complaints with the team of the year and the player awards are dominated by Big Joe and Calum Richardson. Tells you everything about my season though and the lack of creativity from my AMC's when left back Milán Vég has the most assists of the season.

 

A season without much excitement really. I think I wrote earlier that it was a case of knuckling down essentially and playing through these tough times, these tough years as we look to try to improve the club and level of player and start moving forward again.

Something to note is that our third year is usually one when we start to find form and start pushing on so I wonder if that will happen next time out?

 

[metallimuse]

Interestingly, after 5 years at the club in his first managerial role, echoing Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold has thwarted Celtic's dreams of 17 in a row and won the SPL...

I don't know what's going on with Celtic to have dropped so badly out of the picture. They are still in the transfer market operating like a huge club buying and selling players, and I mean elite players, for £40-50m a go.

Trent, it turns out has done well at Rangers and Celtic aren't the only Scottish club to win European trophies in my save as Rangers won the Europa Cup and also been on the wrong side of the scoresheet as well. Two finals in two years which is fantastic for Scottish football.

[metallimuse]

Season 2045-46 Preview

A decent enough showing in the Betfred Cup this year, Hearts was always going to be a tough ask. We played well in the game against them and in the game against Celtic, they did play a VERY weakened side though. No way could we cope with their full strength team who are regularly in the Champions League knockout rounds .

There have been some sales over the window...

Sold to Dundee

Another one sold to Raith.

With how much debt we are in we have to sell players when we can especially for the fees involved. I don't mind selling if we can get above £150k.

 

So the board and the players are yet again expecting to fight bravely against relegation and the bookies have us as around that level but we aren't dead last this year in their predictions...

I think it might be another season between 6th and 8th. Maybe 5th if the bookies are tipping the Jags and the Bairns the same. We seem to do well against Falkirk so maybe Thistle have sold a few boys and on paper are weak this year?

Let's find out!

[Pompeyboyz]

20 minutes ago, metallimuse said:

Queens Park were Premiership???

Are they still amateur?

[metallimuse]

2 hours ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Queens Park were Premiership???

Are they still amateur?

No they turned professional this season IRL breaking with tradition. They've turned into a yoyo club in my save between SPL and Championship. Currently got Lawrence Shankland managing them.

[metallimuse]

Jul/Aug/Sept/Oct 2045-46

A fantastic start to the season for us this time out. I mentioned in the preview that third season we typically start to get better and currently that is what is happening. There's still a long way to go though! But we have started brightly and that's good to see.

Calum Richardson has been in form again and four players are already half way to the most assists total of last season so that is incredibly promising. My three AMC's are playing a lot better so far and if we keep that up we will be good for 5th-7th I'd say.

We're out of the Trust Trophy but I've never but any emphasis on it at all so I'm not worried or upset by that.

The Jags are not as bad as I thought they might be after being backed the same as Falkirk and currently sit atop of the table, bit of a surprise to see the Pars where they are and I thought Livi would be stronger than they currently sit but it's good for us.

[metallimuse]

Nov/Dec/Jan 2045-46

And the good times keep on coming.

Only two loses in the league over the three month period. Tremendous stuff. The big two of Big Joe and Calum Richardson leading the team and the young lads through the season and I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe we might actually finish in a play off spot.

I still think promotion may be a bit too much to ask for at this point and we certainly aren't ready or good enough to hang in the SPL but we're moving the club that step closer with each passing year.

Sadly we went out of the Scottish Cup to Killie without a pay day. It's been a long time since we managed to bank ourselves a pay day.

Special shout out to young Nathan MacKenzie in central midfield by the way, having a great season so far and turning into the beating heart of this side.

 

We also had a sale on transfer deadline day...

Finlayson has joined the Jambos in a deal which equals our record fee received. This deal was done after I took the above snapshots so my finances are actually slightly better than they show in this post.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2046 Preview

Attacking midfielders would be good as they've been a bit out of form the past few years so more competition would hopefully see them up their game.

[metallimuse]

Feb/Mar/Apr/May 2045-46

A poor end to the season and we only just made it into the play-offs on the last day of the season thanks to results in other games on the day.

A very poor March and April really hurt us. Something that has badly affected us is international call ups. I've got 8 players now who play for under 18's/21's and we keep having to cobble together squads for games when they're called up.

We managed to make it into the play-offs though and after the first game against the Bairns I thought we might have put the poor form behind us and focused on the 4 games to make it to the SPL and the riches that come with it and I had thoughts of finally turning professional but we got skelped in the return game after beating them at home in a thrilling first game and that was our season over.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2046

A poor intake this year.

Poor personalities matched to some of the best PA and vice versa has resulted in only three players being picked up.

First up we've signed centre back Darryl Gemmell. He's got a decent PA and an average personality, he's been mainly signed to add a bit of depth. I don't envision him being around the club long or being a mainstay even in the squad but he's an extra body for the time being.

Then we have two AMC's picked up.

First up we signed Robert Barclay who has some good PA but a poor personality but hopefully we can get him firing and improve his CA and he can be of use to us.

And secondly and finally we signed Mark Jackson. He's got a strong CA already but huge PA and a strong personality so I've got high hopes for him and I can see him getting us some good money in the future especially if/when we make it to the SPL as players value will all take a big jump.

[metallimuse]

Season 2045-46 Review

A much much better season than we were expecting this year.

I said in jest at the start that we start doing better after a few years in a division but I did not expect us to do as well as we did. Up until March we were in with a shot of finishing second, outside shot of topping the league Queens Park dropped off a bit but it all went wrong in the run in. I'm not going to complain though as a 4th placed finish was far beyond what I expected coming into the season.

Our cup runs were per the norm for us but again I'm disappointed not to get a plum tie to really help with the club coffers.

 

 

It seems I say it every year but we can see just how youthful this squad is. They're young but a few are about to become 21 and although we will sell players for the right spot I think we could be on course to have a really strong team in the next few years as they start to mature now. If the intakes can keep producing a gem each year we can add in I think we can have a really good team in the next few years.

 

Bang on the team of the year.

Again the most assists was 6. We had 4 players on 3 by the end of October so that's disappointing to see.

A record fee received this year, we did it twice as well with Finlayson's sale in January.

 

I was happy with elements of this season but disappointed with the way that we fell away at the end of the season. We're moving in the right direction though and I think we could be on for the 5 year plan. We'll definitely be in the Premiership in the next 5 years I predict.

[metallimuse]

Season 2046-47 Preview

A strong showing in the Betfred Cup this year. If we'd have beaten Clyde in 90 minutes we would probably of qualified for the knockouts as one of the better second placed teams but it wasn't to be.

We haven't made any signings this summer but there has been a record breaking sale to Everton...

There was huge interest in Gemmell and initially I was fielding the offers and inserting 50% of future sale clauses in for all offers but once it rose above £500k the board stepped in and started accepting the bids made without me being able to be involved. We got a great fee considering his value was only £8.75k but we've definitely lost out on a hefty future fee I suspect.

 

So, season prediction time...

Bookies aren't expecting anything from us and the board are asking to avoid relegation. The players expect us to not be relegated also but for the first time rejected the notion we may need the play-offs to stay up so the ambition is improving.

I'm going to say play-offs. I think the boys are improving and while I don't think we can maybe mount a title push I think we are strong enough for play-offs. 

 

[metallimuse]

Aug/Sept/Oct 2046-47

A brilliant start to the season has seen us plant ourselves near the top of the table.

Only one loss in the league to the Bairns and we find ourselves involved so far in a title fight with a resurgent Dunfermline. The team is playing well and playing some great football. Calum Richardson hasn't quite been his lethal self which is a slight concern but young Michael McGowen has started finding the net from the bench and his overall game is really good as he leads the average rating charts. My AMC's are all playing well as well so I'm hopeful of what the season may bring.

There has been another sale (see below) and if we can finish high and get a plum tie in the Scottish Cup we could maybe finish the season in a positive financial position for the first time in a while.

 

There was a deadline day sale from the club as again the board stepped in...

Kai Marr had wanted away and the board granted his wish by selling him to Kilmarnock.