shaunvamos Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 (edited) Hi all, This is basically a sequel to my last thread, where I used custom attribute formulas to assess and sign players in minnow European nations, with the ultimate goal of gaining an automatic Champions League Group Stage place (here). I got about 5 or 6 nations in before the new FM came out, so I'm looking to go a little bit more ambitious here. The Rules - Start as an unemployed manager with a nationality of the nation I'll be managing in - Nation choice is based of the UEFA coefficient rankings (so England will be first, followed by Spain, Italy and so on) - The Big 5 leagues will be loaded as playable no matter what country I'm managing in (for realism and difficulty) - Other nations loaded as playable will be nations bordering the nation of choice (including maritime borders, except in the case of any UK nations for self-imposed Brexit reasons) - Signing policy: I will only sign players bearing the nationality of the nation I'm managing in or their bordering nations. Second nationalities will also suffice. Unlike the previous thread, there will be NO age limit. If they're good, and cheap, I'll sign them. This challenge is about getting the best value for money after all. - I will try to upgrade the facilities as quickly as possible, as I still want to promote homegrown talent while bringing in some other players to strengthen the squad - Apply for all jobs in the nation of choice, and accept all interviews. I will probably accept the first job offered to me unless there are serious issues with the clubs vision. - If I get sacked, apply for all available jobs again and the process repeats. Once I win a Champions League in my chosen nation, that nation is considered completed. Instead of continuing from there, I'll go back to 2021 and start another career in the next nation. It'll just be easier than keeping track of all the newgens when all the real players retire. For nations that have bordering countries requiring added leagues, I'll add whichever ones I can find at this stage. If push comes to shove I'll activate them myself, but there are members of this community that release unplayable files pretty rapidly, and I'll give credit to whichever ones I use. Onto the first nation: England! Spreadsheet and views used for the save are available upon request 😊 Edited September 18, 2022 by shaunvamos 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 One interview in, and I already have a job! Curzon Ashton, a club just out of Manchester, seems like a decent place to start. There are low expectations, which means less pressure on me to deliver good results, and our wage budget has just enough for me to try and nab some decent cheap players. No transfer budget will also help me in the hunt for bargains, and also some loans. Decent training facilities for this level too, which is important. Jack Dunn - Alex Curran - Matt Challoner We have a very small squad of 18 players and only one goalkeeper, so we will need to be adding to that ASAP. Time to find some bargains! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 Preseason 2021 A pretty solid preseason, but those big wins were against non-league sides. The home draw against Wealdstone, who are a division above, is a good sign. Transfers Went wild with signings, but I only signed guys who wanted less than 100 pound a week. Once we ran out of funds I looked for players that were available for loan where the clubs didn't want any fee contribution. As a result 7 of these guys will feature in the starting XI, which goes to show the kind of quality you can get by being stingy. The new signings appear to have impressed the bookies, as we're now predicted 13th, up 8 spots from when I joined. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 August 2021 An excellent start to the season here. especially in the win over Darlington where we had to play a full team of reserves due to fixture congestion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 September 2021 The good start continues, getting our first clean sheet, but also our first loss. It was an away game, but we should be winning games when we score 3 goals. Need to improve at the back I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 18 hours ago, Punch said: Good luck! Thanks, I’m definitely going to need it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 October 2021 Another excellent month, disrupted by a 5-5 draw with Kidderminster that saw the Harriers score two goals in stoppage time, and a loss to Spennymoor in which we played most of the second half with 9 men. On the more more positive side, we're a point of 1st and we've qualified for the FA Cup proper, facing National league side King's Lynn. We've already beaten fellow National League side Solihull, can the dream run continue? I've also upgraded the junior coaching and will embark on my first coaching course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 November 2021 Another unbelievable month, and we're through to the second round of the FA Cup! Away to League One side Cheltenham, this will probably be where the run ends. But things are going quite well in the league, opening up a small gap at the top. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 Things are looking good so far 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 December 2021 We end 2021 with a few losses as fixture congestion begins to take its toll. Surprisingly, we only lost 1-0 to Cheltenham, but the loss against Alfreton was inexcusable, and the performance at Chorley came with an entire team of reserves, as the first team were all tired. But they should be ready for our next match, a top of the table clash away to Southport. Youth Intake Preview Our first intake doesn't look too bad, players in the midfield are always welcome, but they'll have to be retrained to DMs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) I must admit I do like the changes they've made to the way Youth Intake previews show in FM22. I will be interested to see how accurate people find them, compared with the basket case of irrelevance that you sometimes get from the FM21 Intake Previews Edited November 16, 2021 by Punch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 January 2022 We've faltered a little bit, losing top spot and finishing the month with a loss against Fylde. We did play 83+ minutes with 10 players, but still... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 55 minutes ago, Punch said: I must admit I do like the changes they've made to the way Youth Intake previews show in FM22. I will be interested to see how accurate people find them, compared with the basket case of irrelevance that you sometimes get from the FM21 Intake Previews Me too, I think they've definitely made it more immersive and removed a lot of that irrelevance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Just now, shaunvamos said: Me too, I think they've definitely made it more immersive and removed a lot of that irrelevance Not enough to tempt me to upgrade yet though 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 February 2022 It's ridiculously tight at the top, and we're doing ourselves no favours by losing to teams we really should be beating, especially Alfreton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 One game between 1st and 7th...that's crazy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 March 2022 We started the month off well, but the loss to Chesterfield brought about a poor run of form. Chorley jump ahead in the league, and we seem set to fight to even stay in the playoff spots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Punch said: One game between 1st and 7th...that's crazy The gap's a little larger now, and we're falling away Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 There's still time...you got this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 2022 Youth Intake Ryan Rowlands 1A - John Horton 1B* - Dean Smith 1C Not a bad first intake overall, with 8 players having 3* PA or higher. The personalities aren't too bad either. Rowlands will be retrained as a RW as we don't play with CAMs and his attributes suggest he can find a home on the wing. Horton will try out at LB and Dean Smith will stay right where he is. Pretty diverse array of nationalities here, with all but one country in the British Isles represented. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 April 2022 A solid month, and we have two more games with everything to play for. We could come first, or we could come 8th. Either way we've secured the club's highest ever finishing position in the English league system. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 We stumbled our way into the playoffs, but once it was sudden death we could do no wrong, with a strong win over Boston United, a tight game over Gloucester and then a penalty shootout victory over Southport. Promoted at the first time of asking was a lot more than I expected this first season, but we've got to keep going. I have an extra 4k to play with in the wage budget, so I suspect there will be another big recruitment drive as we aim to stay up next season. Best XI Harry Flowers - Scott Wilson - Alex Higgins Record Breakers Progress 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Congrats on the promotion 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Thank goodness for the playoffs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 Preseason 2022 A pretty strong preseason, buoyed by some transfers I'll go into further detail on below. Transfers I completely gutted the team from last season, releasing 11 players who only had bench roles. With just over 5k per week to spend on the wage budget, I set out to find a set of 11 first team calibre players who wanted 460 a week or less. We were able to do that and more, signing a whopping 15 players, earning an average of 337 a week. I'm not sure where we rank in terms of wage spending yet, but I'm sure we're quite low. A couple of last seasons loanees join us permanently for some compensation, and there are a few players who are ex-juniors for EPL clubs. Former Burnley junior and English 2nd nationality Kai Calderbank-Park will be our main number 1 this season. Interestingly, he joined Curzon Ashton on loan for the 2019/20 season, making 1 appearance. He'll be making a lot more this season. Quansah is something of a coup for us and I'm really surprised Liverpool even considered us worthy enough to have him. I project the Ghanaian/Scotsman to be an absolute star at this level. Rhys Bennett joins us having failed to make the grade for Manchester United. He'll be partnering Quansah in central defence. Gallagher will be our starting RB, despite his proficiency to play as DM. My formula seems to think he has the ability to be the best fullback in the team, and I'm not going to argue with that. He joins us on loan from Northern Irish powerhouse Cliftonville. Aston Villa academy product Hayden Lindley will be our primary LB, and is another great piece of business. Alex Bannon, on loan from Scottish League One side Queen's Park, has all the attributes to be a solid DM at this level. Middlesbrough junior Pharrell Willis will tower over his opposite number on the right wing, so I expect he'll score some goals from corners. We picked Jack up from Liverpool, and he will be heavily relied upon to deliver some quality assists. I'm hoping Louis will be our primary creator through the centre of the pitch. Bradley joins us permanently after an excellent season on loan with us. You may have noticed that most of these players are under 23. This is by design as the board have outlined that they wish for me to sign players for the first team who are under 23. I'm more than happy to oblige. Before we signed these players, we were predicted dead last at $351.00. Now the odds are much better, expected to avoid relegation and perhaps mix it up with a few of the stronger teams. I do think we have a stronger team than last season, but I'm just aiming for survival and consolidation of funds to maybe turn pro. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 14 hours ago, deltablue said: Thank goodness for the playoffs The perfect time to play your best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 July 2022 What an incredible start! We were down 3-1 after the first half, before scoring 5 goals in 45 minutes to take the win. Against the title favourites too! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 That's a fair come back 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 August 2022 It's certainly been an explosive start to the season! Just need to figure out how to concede less goals, we are yet to have a clean sheet. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 September 2022 A mixed month, but we finally got a clean sheet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 Holding your own. Not in the relegation zone at the moment at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 October 2022 A busy month, and squad rotation is responsible for a few poor results, but we're still looking okay and through to the FA Cup proper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 30 minutes ago, Punch said: Holding your own. Not in the relegation zone at the moment at least. Indeed, I'm hoping we can start to build up some good form though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 November 2022 An excellent month started off with an extra time win in the FA Cup over League 2 Newport and we sit comfortably mid table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 Another good intake on the horizon, which will supplement our U18 side that is killing it in their division. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 December 2022 Out of the FA Cup after a valiant performance, but we have a good month in the league, and if we win our game in hand we're in touching distance of a playoff place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 January 2023 Out of the FA Trophy after a disappointing performance, but if we keep up our form we have a shot at sneaking in to the playoffs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 Thats still looking like a pretty solid first season in the VNL 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 February 2023 Having no mid week cup games has done wonders for our recovery, and consequently our form has reflected that. An unbeaten month, and the best win was over 3rd placed Barnet, where we played an entire second team due to the quick turnaround of fixtures. But with the majority of the remaining matches a week apart, there's no reason we can't keep playing like we are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 March 2023 We are duly demonstrating the benefits of a full week's recovery after matches. The result against Bromley brought us back down to earth a little, but the win against Stockport reinforces the belief that we can reach a playoff spot, which is soooo close. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 2023 Youth Intake Jordy Smith 2A* - John MacKenzie 2B - Greg Pearson 2C* A stronger intake than the first season on paper, with 2 5* PA players. Pretty cool to see an Afghan in there too! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 It's interesting seeing you track where players are from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pompeyboyz Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 That was a good pre-seasons transfer market work there. Some really quality coming in, and they look to be getting it all together just at the right time with you sniffing at the play off places. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 We scraped into the playoffs, but we were too tired to put up a fight against Bromley, a team we are yet to beat. Still, a playoff appearance in the first season is nothing to be scoffed at, and we're going to be better next year. Best XI Rhys Bennett - Jarell Quansah - Bradley Rolt As you can see our players are a little tired But as I predicted our defence had to perform if we wanted to stay up, and they definitely did. Unfortunately Bennett is leaving us for Shrewsbury, but hopefully we can work something out with Quansah. Rolt continued his goalscoring exploits, and is set to earn the VNL Golden Boot. Record Breakers Progress 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 Good first season in the VNL 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, deltablue said: It's interesting seeing you track where players are from. Do you mean with the transfers or the youth intake? 26 minutes ago, Pompeyboyz said: That was a good pre-seasons transfer market work there. Some really quality coming in, and they look to be getting it all together just at the right time with you sniffing at the play off places. Thanks! It actually took me close to two hours of poring over all the data to figure out who to sign. If they didn't meet my wage expectations, onto the next best one. If they were picked up by another club, onto the next one. Hopefully we can ride the momentum of this season into next season, and with a few more quality additions, we can make a serious push for promotion. Edited November 17, 2021 by shaunvamos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 From my Isle of Man save...you in trouble with your board? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 12 minutes ago, Punch said: From my Isle of Man save...you in trouble with your board? I will be if they keep refusing upgrades 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, shaunvamos said: I will be if they keep refusing upgrades Haha I am having the same issue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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