FM21 - The New York Times

[Jogo Bonito]

The present club was formed in 1922 and prior to their election to Division Three North of the Football League in 1929, they played in the Midland League (trialling quite a few kit designs & colours too).

In 1932 the club moved to Bootham Crescent, where they would remain for 88 years. In this period, they became known as The Minstermen (oh right, not the Mr. Men then).

 

They remained in the Northern Section until 1958 when they became one of the original members of the Fourth Division. In 1974 the club reached the Second Division (now Championship) for the first and only time in their history, with Aston Villa the opponents for a memorable day on 17th August 1974.

During two seasons in the second tier of English football the club competed with Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest amongst others, and in 1974/75 achieved their highest ever League finish of 15th.

 

But the following campaign 1975/76 saw them relegated down to Division 3, and by 1977 they were back in (the old) Division Four.

In 1983/84 they won their first major honour when they finished runaway Fourth Division champions with 101 points - becoming the first club in Football League history to reach three figures.

In 2004 the club finished bottom of Division Three (now League Two) and dropped down to the Conference - bringing an end to their 75 years membership of the Football League. During that time, they had spent two seasons in the second tier and 16 in the third tier. 

On May 20th 2012, promotion back to the Football League was achieved when Luton Town were beaten 2-1 at Wembley. This latter game marked the club’s 4th appearance at the national stadium in four years and completed a league and cup double that season.

After four years back in the Football League, York dropped back into the Conference finishing in 24th place in League 2 in 2015/16. The following season City suffered a second successive relegation, after finishing in the final relegation place in the National League. Since 2017/18 they have been competing in regional non-league football (National League North) again for the first time since 1929.

 

But now it’s time for something different. In October 2020 the club plan to be relocating to the brand new all-seater LNER Community Stadium.

The club needs to be playing league football again by their centenary year in 2022. And if things go really well, promotion back to the 2^nd tier can just about be achieved 50 years on. So for season 2020/21, there is a new stadium, a reasonably new team, and a new manager. This is the beginning of ‘The New York Times’…

[Ronaldo Beckham]

15 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

The present club was formed in 1922 and prior to their election to Division Three North of the Football League in 1929, they played in the Midland League (trialling quite a few kit designs & colours too).

In 1932 the club moved to Bootham Crescent, where they would remain for 88 years. In this period, they became known as The Minstermen (oh right, not the Mr. Men then).

 

They remained in the Northern Section until 1958 when they became one of the original members of the Fourth Division. In 1974 the club reached the Second Division (now Championship) for the first and only time in their history, with Aston Villa the opponents for a memorable day on 17th August 1974.

During two seasons in the second tier of English football the club competed with Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest amongst others, and in 1974/75 achieved their highest ever League finish of 15th.

 

But the following campaign 1975/76 saw them relegated down to Division 3, and by 1977 they were back in (the old) Division Four.

In 1983/84 they won their first major honour when they finished runaway Fourth Division champions with 101 points - becoming the first club in Football League history to reach three figures.

In 2004 the club finished bottom of Division Three (now League Two) and dropped down to the Conference - bringing an end to their 75 years membership of the Football League. During that time, they had spent two seasons in the second tier and 16 in the third tier. 

On May 20th 2012, promotion back to the Football League was achieved when Luton Town were beaten 2-1 at Wembley. This latter game marked the club’s 4th appearance at the national stadium in four years and completed a league and cup double that season.

After four years back in the Football League, York dropped back into the Conference finishing in 24th place in League 2 in 2015/16. The following season City suffered a second successive relegation, after finishing in the final relegation place in the National League. Since 2017/18 they have been competing in regional non-league football (National League North) again for the first time since 1929.

 

But now it’s time for something different. In October 2020 the club plan to be relocating to the brand new all-seater LNER Community Stadium.

The club needs to be playing league football again by their centenary year in 2022. And if things go really well, promotion back to the 2^nd tier can just about be achieved 50 years on. So for season 2020/21, there is a new stadium, a reasonably new team, and a new manager. This is the beginning of ‘The New York Times’…

Excellent opening post as always @Jogo Bonito and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Your first signing should be Brahima Outtara or Mario Balotelli lol.

Edited March 4, 2021 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Jogo Bonito]

Just now, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Excellent opening post as always @Jogo Bonito and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Your first signing should be Brahima Outtara or Mario Balotelli lol.

Haha! I'll be running this alongside my Parma career - its been going on for months but never posted on it before.

Super Mario, there is a story to tell on that - but for Parma and not York 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

Haha! I'll be running this alongside my Parma career - its been going on for months but never posted on it before.

Super Mario, there is a story to tell on that - but for Parma and not York 

Oh my god have you signed Super Mario for Parma again then. I look forward to seeing your Parma update now as well as your York progress.

[warlock]

Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into that introduction . New stadium looks great, too.

[Jogo Bonito]

Just now, warlock said:

Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into that introduction . New stadium looks great, too.

Cheers, I wrote it 5-6 weeks ago actually. As with Parma, I like the old 'retro fusion' stuff. I'm nearly at the end of December 2020 so will do an update when I get to 1st January 2021. 

I haven't seen my star striker (not Cedwyn Scott by the way) mentioned in any part of these forums so keep your eyes peeled for that one (it's not Mario). In game, York play their first home game at the new stadium (not sure if different on 21.3 as the opening was delayed until February 2021) and the attendances and finances are good because of it. If Norwich gets too taxing, maybe see you down there?

[Carambau]

Another York careeŕ? Count me in 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, Carambau said:

Another York careeŕ? Count me in 

Thanks for your interest 

I saw there were a few York games in here (assume Wrexham will be the new fans favourite now) but I didn't get far with them in FM20 and alongside my other games I wanted to try a bit harder this time on FM21. This effort started months ago so it is before the 21.3 update. I hope to do a proper report once I get to January 2021.

[Jogo Bonito]

York City start in the National League North, two promotions away from the EFL (League 2)

We have gone back to last season's retro kits with the 'Y' that featured heavily when York were last in the second tier

Here are the original squad numbers allocated ahead of the 2020/21 season

Departing on free transfers were Gamble & Spratt, who were not even good enough to be squad fillers

5'3" striker Redshaw was also not wanted, but he has kept rejecting moves to higher level clubs and costing us a chance to get a fee for him 

And below is a summary of the players we actually started the season with

New arrivals in order of signing (all on free transfers) were Scott, Adebayo-Smith, Lee, Cox & Rose

Grant Smith - a goalkeeper signed for free in July 2020 - was also sold on to Luton for £24.5k just before the season started in October 

And the one that got away?

Since this first offer of £60 per week was accepted on 4th July 2020 we have been unable to convince Max Watters to join on loan

After a series of pre-season friendlies, the actual season will start on 6th October 2020 with an FA Cup qualifier

Four days later the National League North campaign commences with a home game in the brand new 8,512 all-seater York Community Stadium 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[Dong21]

You’re taking over this Forum

Hope the seasons going well @Jogo Bonito, I look forward to reading your Jan 2021 update 

[Jogo Bonito]

Just now, Dong21 said:

You’re taking over this Forum

Hope the seasons going well @Jogo Bonito, I look forward to reading your Jan 2021 update 

Oops, I don't think so - certainly not the intention!

I just had it all mapped out well before I started with Parma and needed to pick it up again. It's ambitious for me to think I might get them back to the second tier as my longevity might not get me that far, but we will see how it goes!

[SixPointer]

From Parma to York interesting difference and always a good read! Following 👍🏻

[Hootieleece]

From Pasta to Pudding.....are you gonna find a crazy narcissistic Welshman to be your Striker also?

 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

From Parma to York interesting difference and always a good read! Following 👍🏻

Thank you for your interest! I'll be running both, after my York update I'll finish season 2 with Parma. Enjoying the contrast of the two countries and levels 

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

From Pasta to Pudding.....are you gonna find a crazy narcissistic Welshman to be your Striker also?

 

 

Pasta & Pudding, very good! I can't get a Mario equivalent here - well I could sign Nile Ranger but I am NEVER going to go near that one at all.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

Well, it's never great to end your first update on a home defeat is it? But despite the last two results it's been a strong start to life at York. Hopes were high after a really fine pre-season with some notable scalps including teams in higher leagues like Lincoln, Wrexham and Notts County - plus a decent draw with Ipswich too.

October looked good but that was mainly down to FA Cup successes - the league form was 2-1-1 and as the performance graph shows that was only 'average' compared to the likes of Boston who started like a house on fire. However, the game with Curzon Ashton on 10th October 2020 saw the new stadium opened in front of 7,707 spectators (a new National League North record). The attendances since then have been truly fantastic, and by 1st January the club had a soaring bank balance of £737,555 due to the venue and the decent cup runs.

November started with a disappointing league loss at home to Brackley, but a 6-1 win in the FA Cup over Wealdstone set up a run of five consecutive league wins that saw the team shoot up the table. The month ended with an FA Cup exit, but a 1-0 loss at Tranmere wasn't a disgrace.

December began with five straight wins, three in the league and two in the FA Trophy as we rose to top spot - but the last couple of games saw a minor dip in form as a draw and another loss allowed Boston to pull back a points deficit. We still sit top, but now only o goal difference from them.

There have been numerous good contributions, but the star of the show so far has been my free transfer signing Jordan Adebayo-Smith. The Nigerian-American can be used as winger, but has been played exclusively as a striker in my 442 formation. The 19 year old had been released by Lincoln City and has struck 26 goals in 18 appearances so far (36 in 24 including friendlies). At one stage he had 18 goals in 11 appearances, so he perhaps needs to pick his game up a little 

The only addition to the squad since the start of the season was the arrival of free agent left-back Sam Habergham. He had been out of the game for a while, but offers experience and quality which includes an ability to provide fantastic delivery of corners and free kicks. He had been chased since July, so when his contract demands could finally be met on 8th November, it was a happy moment for York.

Off the pitch, there has been a return of some famous York names including McMillan (legend), Cresswell (icon), Miller (favoured personnel) and Greening who have many years service at York behind them. 

Also 'coming home' are York-born ex-staff member John Stockton and Rachel Potter (wife of Brighton manager Graham) who was also born in York and met her husband at York University!

The rest of the backroom team has been improved by bringing in Rodger Wylde (Head Physio), Ritchie Humphreys (Assistant Manager) and Peter Shirtliff  (Chief Scout) who had all served Sheffield Wednesday (amongst others) in the past, Also added to the team was Ben Nicholson (Head of Sports Science) who had previously worked at FC Halifax and Manchester City.

[Jogo Bonito]

Well it's taken a while, but season 1 is now complete at York City - and here is what developed

January & February saw a relentless run of form where regular victories were the order of the day

The one exception was s surprising blip at home to Leamington, where we take the blame for promising the players a relaxing Spa session ahead of the game

March saw a few dropped points, but we were unbeaten in the league and still topping the table

The team tucked in 2nd was Kidderminster, and they duly knocked us out of the FA Trophy at the Semi Final stage

A win in the opening game of April offered no suggestion of what was about to come

The absence of prolific forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith was a loss, but three draws and two losses from five winless games - and no goals scored - was a massive wake-up call

The lead at the top over Kidderminster was just a couple of points as May came around, so a return to form was critical

Luckily things got back on track with the return of my regular strike partnership, as Jake Cassidy helped Adebayo-Smith in the goal scoring stakes

Just one more loss from the last six matches saw the title lifted in the win over Bradford Park Avenue in the penultimate fixture 

The performance graph shows a fairly solid line after a few teething problems at the start

Adebayo-Smith grabbed 37 goals (with 22 of them in the league)

The most fascinating part of the image below is the financials though - the new stadium, attendances & revenue streams really pushing the club on at pace

Here is the final league table which shows how everyone got on

Kidderminster were beaten to promotion in the PO Final by Bradford Park Avenue, which was a major travesty as there was 20 points between them in the regular season

The average home league attendance of 6,923 played a massive part in the financial and on-pitch performance

And here is a summary of the player contributions across all competitions

The board have given massive budgets for 2021/22, although attracting exceptional players will still be tricky due to the league level

[warlock]

Couldn't have gone much better for a first season. Got your own Poundshop Adebayo, too 

That's one helluva transfer budget for non-league... good luck in the National 

[Jogo Bonito]

On 24/03/2021 at 22:56, warlock said:

Couldn't have gone much better for a first season. Got your own Poundshop Adebayo, too 

That's one helluva transfer budget for non-league... good luck in the National 

Sorry, only just saw your reply as I wasn't alerted to it. Yes it seems I do well with strikers called Adebayo!

The money York makes is amazing really. The budget won't help much though, due to reputation.

I'm just dabbling with a new club on 21.4 so will see how that goes before deciding whether I should continue this journey.

A club I can highly recommend to anybody though, especially those who plough through seasons much quicker than me.