The FM23 Youth Academy Challenge

[Bartrcm]

I've put my Toulon save on hold. Finished the second season, and it was a good season. Also got a good youth intake, but just don't feel a connection with the team. 

[Neo_Geo]

Really enjoyable first season and particularly pleasing to find a counter attacking formation that works really well with the players I have.

It appears that the issue about not being able to play in the same league as my affiliate club, Lugano, was not an issue as the link was terminated upon the start of the new season, so FC Chiasso are a fully fledged Swiss Super League team!

Trying a different format with the season review but will still provide some of the other details in spoiler sections below

Supporter Profile

Spoiler

I was happy to see that the supporter profile not only changed but the changes were reported. Following promotion it looks like the social media presence increased a little and there were some fluctuations within the categories of the supporters (given I have no kids that might be why the family percentage dropped as the manager is not a family man!)

Youth

Spoiler

First intake in FM 23 was pretty decent with 2 players who I ended up using at the tail end of the season

With Nuzzi's professional personality he has already taken the left wing slot (slight change in formation as I previously had an inverted winger with overlapping wingback) and his attributes are already on the rise.


Capone is a solid addition to the backline as I really only had 2 centre backs that are good enough, the backup was fairly sub-standard.

 

Players

Spoiler

Nivokazi as can be seen from the season overview was the main man however 9 of the 11 this year were 7+ average ratings.

You can see from the numbers that the team relies heavily on assists from crosses and goals from the two centre forwards (not sure why it has Nivokazi on the right there as he played on the left as a poacher whilst Manicone was a DLF on the right). I expect this to be my formation for the foreseeable until I get some more technical players in central midfield from the intake.

 

On a side note, how are others getting the real pictures for the regens?

I had a look at the output of the NewGan filter and the resulting file is in a different format so I'm assuming its a case of wait until the FM 23 version is available or manually find the images you want to use for each regen and update the config file.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Neo_Geo

[JAwtunes]

6 minutes ago, Neo_Geo said:

Really enjoyable first season and particularly pleasing to find a counter attacking formation that works really well with the players I have.

It appears that the issue about not being able to play in the same league as my affiliate club, Lugano, was not an issue as the link was terminated upon the start of the new season, so FC Chiasso are a fully fledged Swiss Super League team!

Trying a different format with the season review but will still provide some of the other details in spoiler sections below

Supporter Profile

  Reveal hidden contents

I was happy to see that the supporter profile not only changed but the changes were reported. Following promotion it looks like the social media presence increased a little and there were some fluctuations within the categories of the supporters (given I have no kids that might be why the family percentage dropped as the manager is not a family man!)

Youth

  Reveal hidden contents

First intake in FM 23 was pretty decent with 2 players who I ended up using at the tail end of the season

With Nuzzi's professional personality he has already taken the left wing slot (slight change in formation as I previously had an inverted winger with overlapping wingback) and his attributes are already on the rise.


Capone is a solid addition to the backline as I really only had 2 centre backs that are good enough, the backup was fairly sub-standard.

 

Players

  Reveal hidden contents

Nivokazi as can be seen from the season overview was the main man however 9 of the 11 this year were 7+ average ratings.

You can see from the numbers that the team relies heavily on assists from crosses and goals from the two centre forwards (not sure why it has Nivokazi on the right there as he played on the left as a poacher whilst Manicone was a DLF on the right). I expect this to be my formation for the foreseeable until I get some more technical players in central midfield from the intake.

 

On a side note, how are others getting the real pictures for the regens?

I had a look at the output of the NewGan filter and the resulting file is in a different format so I'm assuming its a case of wait until the FM 23 version is available or manually find the images you want to use for each regen and update the config file.

Mate, you've just raised the infographic bar. That is amazing, no need for a write up anymore 

[Neo_Geo]

11 minutes ago, JAwtunes said:

Mate, you've just raised the infographic bar. That is amazing, no need for a write up anymore 

Thanks.

I wanted to take a bit of time to rework the season reviews to save time in the long run (hopefully), hence the long time for the first season update (that plus lack of playing time again but looking into getting a steam deck to get the brunt of each season done on there).

[15charactersmax]

HANVIKENS SK

SECOND SEASON

Okay so I'll admit, we regressed slightly in terms of points and position, but sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards right? At least that's what I'm telling the board, the fans and myself! It wasn't a disaster by any means and importantly we were able to give some game time to our youngsters who actually performed really well. Managing to get my coaching badges without too much fuss, however things like improving junior coaching or youth network feels a long way off due to our financial situation. I'm seeing some small improvement in our players attributes but going pro at some point will be a big turning point in our fortunes. The only problem with that is we might need two promotions to do it!

  

We we're better defensively this season and that had much to do with the performances of Ludvig Johnsson who is by some way our best defender. He's big and at this level that counts for a lot as teams will often go long trying to catch you out.  He's very young and looks like he has room to improve which is encouraging. Nour Alkatah was again our main man up top and reached his 20 goal target that I set for him. He's a really consistent player who spreads his goals out nicely across the games and rarely let's me down in big moments. Interestingly he's the first player in the squad to get an agent, which as of yet hasn't caused an issue. Sead Corovic is our midfield allrounder who can do a bit of everything. He's also our set piece taker and contributes nicely with free kick goals and assists from corners.

 

Our second intake was much better and included at least two players worth of an immediate first team inclusion. However as the intake happens at the end of the season that will have to wait for next campaign to see any of them in action.

 

We were desperate for a new keeper and seeing a already first team worthy professional personality keeper come through was a godsend. Needless to say he'll go straight into the first eleven and I have a feeling will make a really positive impact immediately. Wagberg is an interesting one, he's a scrappy ball winner with a lot of flair. Not really a role I use as both my central mid players are creators. There's a temptation there to retrain him as a wingback but we'll see.

Next season

Hoping we can kick on a bit now and maybe threaten a playoff place. We weren't that far off in our first season and now I feel like we're in a much better place squad wise. Financially we aren't great and we can't afford to kick around in the bottom division for too much longer before it becomes a real problem. There are no cup competitions or tv money at this level so there's not really much chance to supplement our income.

[russ the womble]

Sold my first youth player to Stabaek for £1500 with a 50% sell on clause, instantly valued at £65k and loaned back to me for the season - nice player!

 

[Makoto Nakamura]

2031/32 Youth Candidates

I'm disappointed, this looks likes the potential worst intake yet, at least we're starting to get a few Fairly Professional personalities coming through.

[benrollo]

11 minutes ago, russ the womble said:

Sold my first youth player to Stabaek for £1500 with a 50% sell on clause, instantly valued at £65k and loaned back to me for the season - nice player!

 

That sell on clause hopefully comes in big! Sadly, you can't loan back players in this challenge though

[Bartrcm]

13 minutes ago, russ the womble said:

Sold my first youth player to Stabaek for £1500 with a 50% sell on clause, instantly valued at £65k and loaned back to me for the season - nice player!

 

Nice one, but you can't use him. Loaned players are not allowed.

[OlivierL]

1 hour ago, Neo_Geo said:

Really enjoyable first season and particularly pleasing to find a counter attacking formation that works really well with the players I have.

It appears that the issue about not being able to play in the same league as my affiliate club, Lugano, was not an issue as the link was terminated upon the start of the new season, so FC Chiasso are a fully fledged Swiss Super League team!

Trying a different format with the season review but will still provide some of the other details in spoiler sections below

Supporter Profile

  Reveal hidden contents

I was happy to see that the supporter profile not only changed but the changes were reported. Following promotion it looks like the social media presence increased a little and there were some fluctuations within the categories of the supporters (given I have no kids that might be why the family percentage dropped as the manager is not a family man!)

Youth

  Reveal hidden contents

First intake in FM 23 was pretty decent with 2 players who I ended up using at the tail end of the season

With Nuzzi's professional personality he has already taken the left wing slot (slight change in formation as I previously had an inverted winger with overlapping wingback) and his attributes are already on the rise.


Capone is a solid addition to the backline as I really only had 2 centre backs that are good enough, the backup was fairly sub-standard.

 

Players

  Reveal hidden contents

Nivokazi as can be seen from the season overview was the main man however 9 of the 11 this year were 7+ average ratings.

You can see from the numbers that the team relies heavily on assists from crosses and goals from the two centre forwards (not sure why it has Nivokazi on the right there as he played on the left as a poacher whilst Manicone was a DLF on the right). I expect this to be my formation for the foreseeable until I get some more technical players in central midfield from the intake.

 

On a side note, how are others getting the real pictures for the regens?

I had a look at the output of the NewGan filter and the resulting file is in a different format so I'm assuming its a case of wait until the FM 23 version is available or manually find the images you want to use for each regen and update the config file.

Great graphics !

Newgan filter is working for me, already used it . only had to change the graphics location.

[fries]

53 minutes ago, russ the womble said:

Sold my first youth player to Stabaek for £1500 with a 50% sell on clause, instantly valued at £65k and loaned back to me for the season - nice player!

 

A better and allowed solution is to postpone the transfer date to after the season instead of a loan back.

[Neo_Geo]

13 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

Great graphics !

Newgan filter is working for me, already used it . only had to change the graphics location.

Did you have to alter the filter at all?

I tried to use the file saved from the filtered players but it complained it wasn’t in the correct format, I inspected it and the table was completely different. Maybe I did something wrong somewhere along the lines, thanks for letting me know, I’ll try and sort it out later.

[the_hdk]

Well as we are already on page 12.....I will wait with starting with Polonia till after beta...but till than...

I'm going to try a run in Turkiye!

Great stadium already!. Love the 2 derbies. We are actually going to play Goztepe as they relagated.

I'm playing as Roman Dabrowski...aka Kaan Dobra in Turkiye. 5 time capped for Poland, has been a youth trainer at besiktas few years ago. We share a birthday so that is handy.

For RP reasons hired many polish staffs...including Maciej ZURAWSKI, ex-Wisla krakow and Celtic player as Chief Scouting and Jaroslaw BIENIUK as DoF.

Also got a Polish HoyD....with Perfectionist personality!!!

stats are not great...but lets see how he develops.

[russ the womble]

17 minutes ago, fries said:

A better and allowed solution is to postpone the transfer date to after the season instead of a loan back.

Thanks, will bear that in mind next time

[russ the womble]

1 hour ago, benrollo said:

That sell on clause hopefully comes in big! Sadly, you can't loan back players in this challenge though

Argh forgot about that rule! What do I do with my save?!

[benrollo]

3 minutes ago, russ the womble said:

Argh forgot about that rule! What do I do with my save?!

I actually had the exact same thing happen in my Elverum save 2 years ago haha. I believe the response back then was to leave him in your reserves/don't pick him, or go back to an earlier save depending on when that was!

[russ the womble]

7 minutes ago, benrollo said:

I actually had the exact same thing happen in my Elverum save 2 years ago haha. I believe the response back then was to leave him in your reserves/don't pick him, or go back to an earlier save depending on when that was!

Will roll back to July then, bit annoying but I don't think anything else major has happened so not a big loss. Cheers.

[bjwphneb]

2023/24 Season Review

League | Graph | Fixtures: 1 2 Cup | Squad

Season Overview

With 14 players in the squad there was a serious lack of rotation options and every player made 40+ appearances, kudos to Alfie Young for starting every game (not that he had much choice). We have an abundance of 4+ start attackers so scoring goals was never an issue and we finished 6th in the goalscorers table with three players racking up 19 in all competitions. The other end of the pitch was a big concern as we let in a whopping 86! Our first clean sheet coming in December meant we started with 5 points from our opening 13 matches and sat rock bottom of the table. Things picked up in November and we lost just 3 league games in the next 3 months (15 matches, 29 pts). Just when it looked like we were on for an easy ride we got sucked back  into the relegation scrap picking up 2 wins between February and march. With 4 games to go there were 6 teams within 1 point of each other at the bottom of the league, thankfully we pulled off an upset against play-off hopefuls Chippenham Town on the penultimate game to secure our survival for next season.
With so few players I didn't want to risk injuries in the cup so after the 9-0 win in the FA Cup I then rested my best players and gave the greys a run out (I'm pleased to say they have now all disappeared into the universe of forgotten greyed out players).

Youth Intake

The preview, like many before in this thread, promised so much and delivered.. very little. To be honest I was grateful for whatever my HOYD gave me, just having some options next year will be nice. There were of course a few stand outs in the intake. Most surprising was the sheer diversity in the first intake, players flocking from Scandinavia and Portugal to play for a small village on the South Coast of England. The best of the bunch is Causso Gomes YI24b however if there's a position we don't need filling it's AM(L) so his play time will be limited to substitute appearance and cup competitions. The Sweedish GK Joseph Ebongue slotted straight into the team and immediately outperformed Lewis Carey with a 7.17 avg rating from 3 fixtures. His determination is an issue but hopefully he can do the job for the next few seasons. Other prospects include Josh Middleton YI24c who will bolst up a weak central midfield pair and Kenny Gill YI24a a 6'4 RB who I am retraining as a CB. I was probably a little reckless in offering everyone a contract but just wanted to get some players in and give them some time to show me what they can do.

2023/24 Academy Graduates

Top Prospects

 

 

Other Updates + Next Season

It was rather uneventful off of the pitch, I finally got accepted to study the National C licence and was allowed to add a further coach meaning we now have a specialised GK coach - hoping to see further improvements to this next season. Financially we're doing okay, it's been a little while since I've managed in the depths of England so when offering out Landmark Goal Bonuses and Avoid Relegation Bonuses, I forgot that £4,000 is almost 1/5th of our balance so we took a hit towards the end of the season, however with so few first team players it was important to keep everyone for at least another season and for some offering bigger bonuses was the only way.

Next season will be another scrap at the bottom but with some players improving and some academy graduate biting at the heels of last years squad I'm hoping for a slightly better start and hopeful we can kick on and achieve slightly higher.

Spreadsheet Overload

Spoiler

Season History

Club Profile

Records

 

Graduates in the First Team

 

Where Are They From?

 

Edit:

Not Youth or Lewes related but (Championship side) Sheffield United have won the FA Cup! There's hope for us all!

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by bjwphneb
Update

[XaW]

                  

XaW - Holbæk Bold- & Idrætsforening - Season 2024/25 (Season 2) - 3. Division

Squad | Transfers | Finances

We did one better this season as we secured promotion after a very strong seasons overall. One issue was that we lost out top scorer last season before the season even started, so I had to rely even more on youngsters this season. In the end though, it worked out for the best as quite a few are now mainstays in the team. Christian Dylong 24k, my goalscoring goalkeeper with 6 goals this season, had a good season between the posts. He was too young to play initially, but once he turned 16 he was first choice and did well. Stephan Kronberg 24j is becoming a nice allround midfielder, while Bjarne Jørgensen 24e are doing well on the right wing. Mathias Pedersen 24i are our striker and is still trying to find his feet as goalscorer. We actually won the preliminary stage, but fell behind Young Boys FD even though we got the promotion in the end. Looking forward to the club turning semi-pro as well, so I can hopefully avoid the poaching we've endured so far!

DBU Pokalen: We beat Fremad Valby before losing to B93 in the 2nd round.

B Team:

They only played friendlies.

U19 Team:

They only played friendlies.

Youth intake:

Trophy cabinet

None

Player statistics:

Most apps for the clubs

Name			Nation		2nd Nation	Apps
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominik Adamski 24c	Denmark		Poland		42
Martin Holm 24f		Denmark		N/A		40
Kim Sørensen 24l	Denmark		N/A		37
Stephan Kronberg 24j	Denmark		N/A		31
Christian Dylong 24k	Denmark		N/A		23

Most goals for the club

Name			Nation		2nd Nation	Goals
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mathias Pedersen 24i	Denmark		N/A		9
Christian Dylong 24k	Denmark		N/A		6
Martin Holm 24f		Denmark		N/A		4
Bjarne Jørgensen 24e	Denmark		N/A		2
Dominik Adamski 24c	Denmark		Poland		1

Most assists for the club

Name			Nation		2nd Nation	Assists
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephan Kronberg 24j	Denmark		N/A		4
Mathias Pedersen 24i	Denmark		N/A		2
Martin Holm 24f		Denmark		N/A		1
Jacob Hyttel Christiansen 24g Denmark	N/A		1
Kim Sørensen 24l	Denmark		N/A		1

Supporters:

Summary:

[Daddy]

2024/25 Midseason Review:

Started off with only 1 point in the first three, but made a tactic switch and since then only lost two matches. We wind up with a fair amount of 0-0 & 1-1 draws though. I still think we're good enough to finish in the top half when the group splits and again be pushing for a promotion spot even if we don't get promoted.

Still no immediate needs, so any good players to add to the depth or challenge for starting spots is welcomed.

[russ the womble]

Season 1 over after having to roll back a few months. 

The board asked for a defensively solid tactic with high tempo, direct football, so I settled for a defensive counter attacking formation. 

This generally performaed well. A very impressive 2nd placed finish in the league was the result:

Unfortunately - having beaten Hodd in the semi final, a red card in the final first leg saw the leg end in a 4-0 defeat. I then got a second red in the second leg (11 yellows!), although drew 1-1. I don't have a discipline problem usually, so maybe it was the weight of the occasion.

Magnus Solum was top scorer with almost a goal a game average:

Some notable youth players coming through:

Deni Mogamadov - having originally been sold, I rolled the game back. No one purchased him this time (wanted a 50% sell on clause) so he's still rocking away. Hopefully I can agree a contract extension or get a sale done, as currently he is not keen on signing as he wants to play at a higher level.

Sander Galaen

Started this season as a two star youth and at the end of it he's progressed to 3.5 stars! Signed him until 2026 with a year option, which will hopefully mean my RB slot is secure for a few years.

Lars Kastet

Was performing well in the development team so is now promoted and primarily coming off the bench for some experience. Stats are gradually improving:

 

Amund Overby

Generally deployed as an Anchor, and performing fairly well:

I do rely on some of the OGs at present (mainly at CB and up top) but hopefully in a year or so I can start to bed in several of the young players as first team material

Away from the team, finances have not been great. Despite massively underspending on wage budget, balance fell and it will be interesting how much comes in over the close season.

On a personal level, the board allowed me to complete a couple of training courses and now doing the National A licence, so stats are gradually getting better..

Quite a decent first season. Hopefully no unrealistic ambitions next year and then may try and give a few more youngsters a go.

Cup shock against Kristiansund was one of the highlights this year.

Edited November 1, 2022 by russ the womble

[the_hdk]

Kaf Sin Kaf

Season 23/24 (1) - 2. Lig

League

Transfers / Players

We managed to get right away promoted due to playoffs....that ware quite nervewrecking. Our rival Göztepe lost to Trabzon in playoffs so we will be leaving them behind in 2. Lig. Great start to the run with Karisyaka from Izmir. As Altay also did not manage to promote in the playoffs we will bethe only team in 2. Lig from Izmir.

I'm a bit worried though as 4 players decided to reire. Two of them warefirst team players. The regens from year 0...there is one betwene them who could step in.

Youth

Really a great intake for the first year. A goaly, left back, DM that will be retrained to central defende rand a striker. all needed. let's see how they develop.

Best two out of the bunch:

AKDENIZ. With decent tackling and marking I will retrain him to CD. Already 2,5 star ability so if he imporves he will probably start within 1-2 seasons.

 

GÖZLÜKAYA. Does not really excell in anything. Decent technique but bad dribbling. Ok pace but not too great acceleration. Bad finishing. No determination but ok work rate.  very conflicted individual. lets see if he develops into a first team player. I give it 25%.

 

Ohh and I got my first licence. National C

[The7Striker]

Sport Clube da Régua 2023/2024 Season

Finances  Supporters  Facilities

 

Campeonato de Portugal Serie A

Season Prev  Squad  Transfers

We did it! After a preview that shows us as one of the worst teams in the league and 4 teams out of 14 geting relegated, we manage to stay up with a 8th place finishing. It wasnt easy with our defense leaking goals all over the place but we manage that later in the season.
Outside the pitch, board allow me to take my first course and they did upgrade Youth Recruitment and Youth Coaching as well.

 

Taça de Portugal - We beat Castrense at home before losing against Paredes in the 2nd round.

 

U19 Squad - Despite not having a lot of quality the U19 team manage to win the U19 Vila Real Championship and got promoted to the 2nd National Division, quit happy with the young lads.

 

Youth Intake

 

Glad we have players in our ranks, but they still need to grow before they make it to the first team. Afonso looks very promising.

 

Next Season:

I don't expect an easy season again, so avoiding relegation should be our main focus.

 

[russ the womble]

Not a great pick up of youths, but better than owt

[bjwphneb]

Question regarding scouting: Does everyone set their budget to zero and simply not have any scouts? Or does an improved scouting network improve youth intakes?

[hubwub]

All this talk about a player being loaned back after being bought, I am tempted to end my Tampico Madero save. I forgot that I wasn't suppose to play the player after they are loaned back. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

2 minutes ago, bjwphneb said:

Question regarding scouting: Does everyone set their budget to zero and simply not have any scouts? Or does an improved scouting network improve youth intakes?

No. I don't have it set to 0 because I use my scouts to scout the opposition. Right now, I have two in which their priority is to scout opposition.

[XaW]

7 minutes ago, bjwphneb said:

Question regarding scouting: Does everyone set their budget to zero and simply not have any scouts? Or does an improved scouting network improve youth intakes?

I keep one scout for oppositions. When I have loads of money I get in all I can to get scouting knowledge far and wide IN CASE it impacts intakes...

[bjwphneb]

Good to know, thanks @XaW and @hubwub

[JLAB]

So question, how did we figure out it was the 28th that the holidays for the England save is done? Is it based on the day before the playoffs final for the Championship which is the 29th of May?

Edited November 1, 2022 by JLAB

[Ice029]

This is gonna be a long save.

 

First season update which I forgot to... update.

Transfers in: none

Transfers out: my 3 best player. Or at least 3 of the best 4.

Spoiler

 

Needless to say, the season was not great but we survived and we got our first intake which had 3 elite talents and some good ones, nothing to write home about just more squad depth for the next one when another 4 of the best players got poached by other teams (will update once this season is over)

Spoiler

 

Best player of said meh intake:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Ice029

[Braumiller]

Season 3 is in the books for me and I will work my way through to league reset day when I grab some info and put my end of season report together.

I may have found an issue, but currently not sure if it is a club/finance issue or a bug.  Could potentially affect us fairly drastically, but I will see if it resolves when our cash influx comes in with club membership payments.

(I cannot offer new contracts other than non-contract currently, I believe because we have just crossed over into debt for the first time.  My wage bill is way under budget, something like 600 out of 2,400 p/w.  Thankfully all seniors are under contract that are needed, but my new youth intake all look to be on youth deals which will roll into non-contract deals when they turn 17....  The worrying part is that this is probably the last season where we will have our heads above financial waters for part of the year, before being permanently in debt  )

 

@Neo_Geo that infographic is brilliant!  My season 3 one will be in the same style as my seasons 1 & 2 (due to being lazy and just editing info), but I need to look into stepping my game up!

 

[XaW]

58 minutes ago, JLAB said:

So question, how did we figure out it was the 28th that the holidays for the England save is done? Is it based on the day before the playoffs final for the Championship which is the 29th of May?

I think the reset and save dates are done by trial and error, at least that's how I do it for my saves.

[JLAB]

1 minute ago, XaW said:

I think the reset and save dates are done by trial and error, at least that's how I do it for my saves.

Alright, I'm going to test out for the 29th May because of the Championship playoffs and test it out from there. If it does allow a change of teams, I'll give you guys a heads up.

Also, I'm not starting the YAC until the 8th, I'm just making a video for research.

Edited November 1, 2022 by JLAB

[XaW]

1 minute ago, JLAB said:

Alright, I'm going to test out for the 29th May because of the Championship playoffs and test it out from there. If it does allow a change of teams, I'll give you guys a heads up.

Also, I'm not starting a YAC until the 8th, I'm just making a video for research.

Yeah, if you find other dates or such, just tag Darren and he will update the op.

[Nottingham Forest]

England is the 29th? At least it was for me. Then holiday until the 25th.

[The7Striker]

Group A was hard, so FM just places you in the B group with a bunch of profesional teams 

[XaW]

2 minutes ago, Nottingham Forest said:

England is the 29th? At least it was for me. Then holiday until the 25th.

For England I usually save on May 25th, since then I can just select "in a month" and save time on selecting the date....

[BigJack]

FC United Season 4 - 2026/27

Season Preview

Preview

Predicted Finish : 18th

Competitions

Overview

VNLN - League Table

FA Cup - Got through qualifying for the first time this season before losing in the 2nd round to Swindon.

FA Trophy - Lost in the 3rd round to Nuneaton Borough.

We have made steady progress each season so far and this was the year it all came together as flew out of the blocks and led the league with just 4 games to play. We managed to hold our nerve and ended up as Champions with a game to play. This was the third season in a row that we finished with a league high goals scored and although we still conceded more than I would have liked, we managed to get the job done.

We also managed to get to the 2nd round of the cup before losing to League 1 side Swindon, another sign of our progress.

Playing Squad

Squad    Transfers    Best 11

It is developing very nicely but we look set to take a hit as both Fallon 24a and Hollis 24d look to be leaving on free transfers after refusing to sign new deals. I have held out on selling them as the offers are dismal and I am holding out hope our promotion and league title sways their minds. The below players deserve a mention as Al-Taib 24b is developing really well and has signed on for another season. Onyeka had another brilliant season. The bottom 3 players are starting to break into the first team and the added depth and competition is really starting to help.

Fallon 24a

Al-Taib 24b

Hollis 24d

Onyeka

McDermott 24c

 Arthur 25b

Lawton 26c

Youth Development

Intake Preview    Intake

5 elite talents and I am excited about Gaye 27a and Schorah 27b.

Gaye 27a

Schorah 27b

Shuker 27c

Ingham 27d

Bushell 27e

Finances and Facilities

Finances    Facilities

Another decent year and we still make a profit each month and the added cup run money helped even if it wasn't significant. We upgraded our Training Facilities and Youth Recruitment Network this season. I didn't expect the training ground to cost £750k already but we had the money so it wasn't that big a deal. We now have Good Junior coaching and youth recruitment so I am hoping some really good intakes are on the horizon.

Other

All Time Best 11    Club Records

We clocked up 200 Games in charge this season. 

[JLAB]

So did some experimenting and the change date for England is actually 29th May, which is rather exciting. @darren1983

[OlivierL]

1 hour ago, Ice029 said:

This is gonna be a long save.

 

First season update which I forgot to... update.

Transfers in: none

Transfers out: my 3 best player. Or at least 3 of the best 4.

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Needless to say, the season was not great but we survived and we got our first intake which had 3 elite talents and some good ones, nothing to write home about just more squad depth for the next one when another 4 of the best players got poached by other teams (will update once this season is over)

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Best player of said meh intake:

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How do get along with the lack of U19 team? Do you have to 'bid' for youth intake players or do you always have the first option ?

[Nottingham Forest]

As there are a lot of posts what’s the crack with the warning and fine to try and increase determination? How likely is it to work?

[russ the womble]

End of Season 2

Certainly not as successful as the first season

Two best players were sold during the season and certainly didn't help matters.

30% and 50% sell on clauses for the youngster, hopefully will give some decent funds at some point. Also sold some of the experienced guys to free up some wages as finances are precarious.

Tactics also seemed to get sussed out, so going to have to use pre-season for Season 3 to review the approach.

Another training course paid for by the board improves my stats, a few more levels to go..

Some good youth intake for this year, many straight into the senior team to boost numbers

A young squad that will need to improve as the season goes on or may be a tricky year!

 

[the_hdk]

First time I see this....just lost a rival!

[Braumiller]

1 hour ago, Braumiller said:

@Neo_Geo that infographic is brilliant!  My season 3 one will be in the same style as my seasons 1 & 2 (due to being lazy and just editing info), but I need to look into stepping my game up!

 

I lied.....  Currently sat on a boring video conference on one screen, testing new Infographic ideas on another....   

[JLAB]

11 minutes ago, the_hdk said:

First time I see this....just lost a rival!

That's new.

[SuperRedditch]

Season 5 - 2027/28

National League North - 8th

 

 

An excellent season, which saw us rise from mid-table to a chance at the play-offs once we got an influx of players from the intake. A few more games with them and I reckon we'd have snuck in, but next season is very promising. Cups were very disappointing, knocked out of both against National League opposition early on- that's affected our finances as prize money really keeps us afloat. We struggled with goals, evidenced by the fact that my winger was top scorer with 11. This has been a theme for the entire save though, have been desperate for a striker.

 

Star Players

Kieran Boucher - GK - One of the few legacy players still hanging on. Captain and player of the season.
Lamar Mackey 27a - AMC - Goal contributions are still lacking, but he's developed incredibly well.
Leighton Allard 27b - DM - Plays as a BWM(De). Dirty, abrasive and does the unfancy stuff in the middle.
Lamine Camara 27d - AMR - Was AWFUL for the first 25 games, but grew into the role. Developed well.

 

Youth Intake

 

We were promised a 5* intake in December.

 

 

FIVE STAR CA HOLY MOLY. Six of these players went straight into the first team. Graeme MacFarlane is actually GOD TIER. My current striker scored 6 this season, so this guy was immediately retrained as an Advanced Forward. He's already wanted by Burnley.

 

 

 

 

 

Next Season

Make the most of MacFarlane because I can't see him being here for long I did tie him down to a 2 year contract + 2 in my favour, but I KNOW the board will accept a low bid for him. Play-offs is the goal for sure, we're getting a solid team now - the last 2 intakes were of a much higher quality.

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by SuperRedditch

[JLAB]

If you don't lose Graeme MacFarlane in the next two seasons for (hopefully) big money, I'd be shocked @SuperRedditch

[Nottingham Forest]

MacFarlane!!!!

Can I swap?

[WhiteCat33]

Excited to see how MacFarlane helps you next season, what a roll @SuperRedditch! If he develops right, might be the first International for the FM23 challenge. 

Congrats on the trophy @BigJack, man I can't wait till I join you getting out of this division.

[JLAB]

So, I've made a video explaining what the Youth Academy Challenge is and I'll be linking the forum thread in the description of the video. I've been showing people the forum posts when I've been asked about it in the past, so I thought I'd just make a video explaining what the challenge is and how to set it up in England (since it's the most popular nation in FM) and showing how to get new teams if they didn't get the team they were looking for at first.

Just wanted to give you a heads up before it gets made public tomorrow.