[FM23] On the Banks of the River Dee

[Gundo]

Somewhere on the Wales/England border.

Okay, it’s been a while – several years, in fact – since I last documented an FM save in one of SI’s Forums, but I finally have the time to play and time to share another FM adventure. Many moons ago, I was fairly active on here, mostly running Gundo’s European Adventure Challenge in the CES Forum. Remember me? *tumbleweed blows gently in the wind across a desolate landscape*

Anyway, on with the save game plan.





The Premise
I will start in the most realistic way, as an unemployed English/Norwegian manager with Sunday league playing experience and no coaching badges. I will then try to get the Chester FC job in the National League North. For me, I feel this also ramps up the difficulty at the start of a save – it’s often not straightforward trying to win over a squad that is reeling from the last manager’s poor decisions and one unwilling to believe in the new guy. But I will try to steer a likely underperforming wayward ship on the right course, and I will do so with a strict set of guidelines in place. But first let me tell you a little about the club.

The Club
Chester FC – formerly Chester City – is an intriguing little club in the city of Chester in Cheshire, England. It isn't my hometown club, but I did grow up only 20-odd kilometres away. I also used to play amateur football in the Chester and District football league for many years. Enhancing my affinity with the place further, Chester is also my favourite English City. The club plays its home games at the Deva Stadium, a modest ground with a capacity of 5,453 (4,157 seated). The stadium sits in an interesting position on the outskirts of the city – the pitch is actually located in Wales with only part of the office in the main building located in England. And it was this geography that thrust the club into the spotlight recently during the pandemic. ‘Chester is an English Club, says chairman after Covid “rule break”’ – you can read more about that here.





The Rules
With this glorious geography in mind, my save game will be a youth only save, except, I will also be allowed to sign only Welsh players. However, I can only sign Welsh players that have been scouted by my staff.  Welsh players offered by agents are also allowed. No loans are allowed. One exception to this is if we are able to gain a Welsh parent affiliate club – realistically, this means it will be either Cardiff or Swansea – then we can loan Welsh youngsters from them. Any loan players already at the club when I take over, can be used until their respective deals expire.

Goals
My aim(s) are simple. Firstly, I want to overtake local rivals Wrexham (I loved the documentary, Welcome to Wrexham, btw). Then, I want to take Chester back into the football league. I want to gain promotion to the hallowed ground of the Premier League with them. Before, finally – and albeit an unlikely ambition – win PL and Champions League.

I wanted something to restrict my progression in my FM23 save, but I wasn’t so enthusiastic about just a youth only save alone in England (it can be such a slog with so many teams and divisions).

When I was researching this save, I also asked myself this question – where would the Wales national team finish if it was a club playing in the English pyramid? I settled on the Championship, but in all honesty it's not an easy question to answer.

Chester FC – A Brief History
The Club was founded as Chester FC in 1885, but wasn't elected to the Football League until the 1931/32 season.
If you don't count the old Third Division North, which ran in parallel with the Third Division South, Chester's highest league finish was a 5th place standing in the 1977/78 season in the old Third Division (3rd tier; comparable to League One these days, I believe?).
They changed their name to Chester City 1983 (which happens to be the year I was born!).
The club was members of the football league until their first relegation to Conference national in 1999/2000 season; they bounced back into the league in 2003/04, but dropped out of the league for a second time in 2008/09 season.
Chester City was wound up in 2010 due to financial difficulties; that same year, Chester FC – with the same name as the original club – was formed by the fans (City Fans United). The club had to start again lower down the English pyramid in the 8th tier, the Northern Premier League Division One North. With Neil Young at the helm, three successive promotions followed, and a return to the Conference Premier in 2017/18. But Young left, and the club stagnated, eventually coming to settle in the Conference North – step forward Mathew (Gundo).

Wish me luck!

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Gundo

[Deisler26]

Classic Gundo's challenge lol!

Welcome back!

[Gundo]

Haha thanks @Deisler26.


Level one complete:

[anagain]

Pretty sure I remember doing a Gundo's challenge way back on here. My brain does have a habit of mis-remembering though.

Chester is a lovely place. Best of luck getting back to the big time. 

[Swaban]

I grew up in Chester, so im very much looking forward to this save, good luck mate!

[Gundo]

A New Beginning in Chester – 2022/23 season

Profile



I managed to secure the Chester job on the 23 February 2023. Their former manager, Calum McIntyre, did a fairly poor but not a completely disastrous job during his time at the club. 



The club sat in 18th position, five points above safety, with just 12 games left to play. Luckily, there wasn't too much discontent within the squad – most players seemed in average mood,  however, the major thing was that nobody wanted to negotiate a new contract until the club was safe from relegation. So I had to get straight to work at the Deva Stadium.



I opted for my favourite formation, 433, and it seemed to work out pretty well. I also decided to keep things simple – and minimal in sense – from here I could make small adjustments. It seemed to work. We lost only two of those last 12 games of the season, drawing 5, and winning 5. And once our survival was secured, all but one of the squad were happy to negotiate; so I went and offered new deals to those that I think can offer us something next season and beyond. I'll go into more detail about players next season. But one player who performed nicely for us this season, was Kurt Willoughby. The youth intake was a little disappointing so not much to mention here just yet.

The Squad

How it finished



It was comfortable in the end. Next season, the board wants a top half finish – this was a little more comforting than the playoff finish laid out in the initial exceptions when I joined. For now I can breathe easy and try and add 3 or 4 new (Welsh) faces before the start of next season.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

@anagain  I remember you.  And thanks for the luck, I'll need it! 

@Swaban Thanks. It's a cool city.

[Gundo]

We have seven Welsh players in the first team squad now after some ok work on the transfers during the off season. As a result, the media have as 7-1 odds for the title (7th out of the 24 clubs). However, one of our early objections moved slightly further away after Wrexham, unsurprisingly, gained promotion to the football league via the Conference National playoffs. 



The most talented of those new arrivals looks to be Striker Aaron Williams. And there was also fullback Mathew Blake, signed at the backend of last season, who looks to be very promising.

I was a little disappointed to miss out on a decent Welsh Goalkeeper that was released by Cardiff at the end of the season. He joined us on trial and we offered him a contract, but Brackley swooped in and snatched him. It is a reminder to act fast with regards to signings, especially because the player pool is so much less for us. 

Chester are almost ready for the first full season with Gundo at the helm. 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

1/4 season update (season two)
It's been a while since I have played a save in England, and I had forgotten just how much fun the FA Cup is (both the draw and the games). It was a shame out cup adventure was halted just before the first round proper against Darlington of the National League – we draw 1-1 away from home first, giving us a reply at the Deva, only to lose on penalties after another 1-1 scoreline after extra time. Maybe next year we can have a better run and earn some great British pounds in the process ...



In the National League North, after 11 games played, we sit in the playoff places in 6th:



Thanks, in no small part, to Kurt Willoughby:

[Deisler26]

Blimey! That'll do!

[Gundo]

12 hours ago, Deisler26 said:

Blimey! That'll do!

We sit pretty much where the media predicted us to finish. I was dubious on a playoff finish before the season started, but I'm more confident after this start. And Willoughby has been a huge part of that good start, but I fear an injury to him might well curtail our chances somewhat. However, let's stay positive.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

Half-season update (season two)
At halfway stage of my first full season in charge at the Deva Stadium, things are going really well. After 23 games in the National League North, we are in 1st place! 



At this point, we are also on an 11-game unbeaten run in the league. However, things didn't go quite so well in the FA Trophy; a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Kings Lynn ended our hopes of a cup trophy this season. 

Player-wise, Kurt Willoughby is playing okay, but his goals have dried up somewhat of late. But we did manage to sign some much-needed backup in the shape of former Tranmere Rovers Striker Jake Cassidy. And the Welshman has made a solid start to his time at the club. The 7.25k we paid for him seems reasonable on the goal returns so far (3 goals in 6 games).



Matthew Blake has been in impressive form at left back. I play him as a maraudering fullback, and it appears to be getting results: 5 assists to his name already. Also in defence, Liam Edwards has been a tower of strength at centre back:



As well as Cassidy, Cian Harries was another new arrival at Chester. On face value, he looks decent, but the guy is incredibly sluggish – we will make a decision on him after several more games because we have an optional one-year contract extension on him.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress so far – can it continue until the end of the season? We will see, but things feels good. Snapshot:

Edited November 19, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

Willoughby still can't hit a barn door! 

  We have 20 players in our first team squad: 10 are Welsh and 10 are English. 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

2023/24 Season Review 
So close! My first full season in charge at Chester ended in a 2-0 playoff final defeat against Spennymoor Town.





It was, though, a season that exceeded my expectations by some way. At times, it felt easy, we'd be on a roll and feel unbeatable, but then there were those games we lost but should real have won. And a handful of matches lost because we really wasn't that good at all. Then there was also the time when my Mac crashed after a 0-0 draw with Boston United, a result I was delighted with, only to lose 3-0 to them when I loaded it back up – I left it up to the FM Gods from there. But, in the end, it wasn't that moment that cost us the title; I felt Scarborough Athletic were better and that proved to be the case. Spennymoor were also strong, patricianly their two front men who killed us in the playoff final at Wembley.



The signing of the season was Striker Jake Cassidy. We joined just as Willoughby started his goal drought, and without the Welshman, we would have struggled big time. 





Welsh youngster Rio Dyer is another signing that deserves a mention. This guy has excellent technique for this level, which presumably helps him excel with the ball at his feet. He will be important again next season.



The fans player of the season was Liam Burke. This surprised me slightly, even if he was dependable (mostly) at the back.



Here is a snapshot and best of the rest:




 10 Welsh players and 10 English dudes I the first team squad.


Expectations
Next season, I'm expecting a title challenge. I think, if we can pick up a decent GK, add a more agile DMC, then we have a chance. Time will tell.

[Gundo]

Season 2025/25 in underway!
We had been in the market for a few new additions to the squad before the season starts, but we failed to add a single player. Negotiations with a few Welsh players broke down because they opted for National League football instead. Despite the lack of new faces, I do have high hopes of title challenge or, at the very least, a play off finish. The media see us 5-1 odds for the title.



I've have finally managed to create a summary table that I will add to the end of season reports each season. So far, we have had one upgrade in youth recruitment: adequate > average. Elsewhere, more fans are flocking to the Deva Stadium – you love to see it! 

[Gundo]

Half-season update (season three)
In short – we are going great guns this season!  We sit top of the pile at the halfway stage of the season, that, with a number a games in hand. I do hope we don't bottle it from here. In the FA Cup, we, again, suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat in the fourth qualifying road at the hands of Blyth Spartans. They were one of the newly promoted clubs to the national league north this season and have been our main rival; the Northumberland club also beat us in the league, 1-0 at the Deva Stadium. We are still in the FA Trophy; we will play Guiseley away from home in the fourth round of the competition. 

The high-flying nature of of season, has meant that a few players have attracted attention from bigger clubs – most notable League Two Tranmere Rovers – but I have refuted the offers and said players are now unhappy (surprise!). Luckily for me, the rest of the squad have sided with me which means morale has suffered in the dressing room. But the players haven't been the only ones attracting interest. I have, at versions points this season, been on the wanted list of Cardiff, Coventry, Gillingham, Chesterfield and Forest Green. Cardiff are in a relegation battle in the Championship, so I'm flattered. In terms of incoming players, there is hasn't been any – we have had a few targets, but they have been just out of out reach budget-wise.

Danny Henderson – a very promising youth academy player – was one of those who I had to reject a bit for. I was a little surprised he got upset because he has only featured twice for the first team and is only a breakthrough prospect. His low bravery and teamwork ratings both me a lot, if they were higher, I think I'd have a serious player on my hands.



National League North: 1st after 23 games
FA Cup: lost 1-0 to Blyth Spartans in the fourth qualifying round
FA Trophy: we will play Guiseley in the fourth round





Jake Cassidy is having another great season with 18 goals in 26 games (including sub appearances). The 31-year-old is now the firm first choice ahead of Kurt Willoughby, who has been very impressive in his own right when called upon (8 goals in 14 games; including four goals in a 4-0 romp of Reditch in the FA Trophy).

 Nationality count: 10 Welsh players, 11 English players and 1 Romanian player in the first team squad. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Gundo

[deltablue]

Looking good for promotion.

[Gundo]

13 hours ago, deltablue said:

Looking good for promotion.

Thanks. Yeah, I think it is ours to lose from here. Fingers crossed. I think the improved team chemistry has made difference this season, and the players really season to believe in me.

[Gundo]

The final run – 10 games left
Our FA Trophy run ended with a fifth round to defeat to a resurgent Kings Lynn, who also happened to beat us twice in the league this season, too.

Speaking of the league, it is squeaky-bum-time. We have been in 1st place for the majority of the season, only ever being dislodged on a few rare occasions. There are a few teams that lurk menacingly below us, but I'm not sure any have of them have what it takes to topple us from here without some kind of catistrophic folding on our part (famous last words?). From the 10-game mark, I decided to rotate Cassidy and Willoughby, and, in general, it has worked quite well with both amongst the goals; both strikers have be crucial to our title chances. Still no transfers in or out, but I have been fairly content with the players with have. Henderson is still here, just, but I had to promise him that he would leave if a 35k offer comes in – largely because a few prominent senior members of the squad wanted the situation sorting out ASAP to avoid more disruption. 

Anyway, on with the season – wish me luck! 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

End of season review 2024/25 (season 3)
We did it, just! Well, in truth, we crawled across the line. In the last ten games, we won only two and picked up just 11 points from a possible 30. A 2-2 home draw with Braintree – and a York defeat away at Nuneaton – was enough for the title after the penaltimate game round. 

  

National League North: 1st Champions
FA Cup: lost 1-0 to Blyth Spartans in the fourth qualifying round
FA Trophy: lost 2-1 to Kings Lynn in the fifth round

The players
Liam Edwards clinched the fan's player of the year award for a second successive season; the central defender also clinched the highest average rating, 7.27. Jake Cassidy and Kurt Willoughby both had nice a nice season, although both faulted during the final run-in, it was Willoughby who I seemed rely on more. However, it was the former who picked up the top scorer award with 27 goals in 44 games overall. Willoughby hit 20 in 45 appearances. 
On the creativity front, Rio Dyer was potent on both wings; the young Welshman finished with 14 assists, in addition to 9 goals, in a remarkable 55 games (I think he played a part in all be one games league and cup).
In other squad news, Henderson is still here. He is still unhappy. And there are some pretty big clubs interested, including Livingston and Ipswich, but no one wants to make a bid.



Next season
I'm not quite sure what I'm in for next season, I am just glad to be out of this tin-pot-league for now.  We definitely need to strengthen in all areas of the pitch, but I am hoping that playing in a higher division will at least help with attracting players. The board say they want us to attempt to avoid relegation and have given us a rather generous half a million Great British pounds to spend to help achieve that. 



Thanks for reading. Up the Seals! 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

Brennan Johnson – I really hope I can get this guy in a Chester shirt in the future. I’m a big fan of him irl.  This article is a nice read btw.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/brennan-johnson-premier-league-nottingham-forest-soccer-wales-world-cup

 

On a Welsh note, up until now, I’ve only signed full welsh players, but do you also think I should be allowed to sign players who have Welsh listed as there second nationality? 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

2025/26 Season Preview
A new season, a new division, and rather unsurprisingly, the media have us ranked 23rd out of 24 teams and 150-1 for the title this season, only Oxford City have a worse chance in their eyes.



The stubborn Henderson is finally sold (to League One Blackpool). I had to take a cut price deal (11k), but at least I managed to get 50% of next sale clause in there. In other transfer news, we have been fairly active with incomings; however, I don't think many of the new boys are worthy of a mention. Perhaps only Tom Sparrow who joined us on free after being released by Stoke City at the end of last season. I have a plan for this guy – I want him to be the holding midfielder and sit and spray those long forward passes for the attacking players to run onto. He has decent passing for this level, I just hope the new FM update hasn't scuppered this plan with less long balls over the top. We will see. Billy Waters is another worthy of note. He is an inside forward or striker who doesn't appear on that ins because he was signed at the end of last season. I'm hopefull he can add some experience at this level and some more firepower up-top.

Main objective: SURVIVAL!

Edited December 2, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

2025/26 Halfway Season Review
Such a strange season. At the halfway point, we sit in 4th place in the National League. It was a flying start in first 17 games, as we looked unbeatable at times; however, as I write this, we have won just one of our last 6 league games (losing four and drawing one). In the FA Cup, we finally made it to the third round, but lost 3-0 away to Walsall at the Bescott Stadium. In the FA trophy, we will play Aldershot in the 5th round. The National league leaders are one of the few teams to beat us comprehensively this season in the league, so they will probably dispatch from the FA Trophy.



I really liked seeing this ahead of our FA Cup first round game against Boreham Wood – I have never noticed it before. "The Deva Stadium in Chester was built in 1992. The Stadium has room for 5,452 supporters with the potential to be expanded to a capacity of 20,000." It is a cute hint at the possible stadium size in the future. I'd love to stay playing the Deva, too, and not have to move into a new stadium.



After my initial transfer reports, we managed to make our biggest signing of the season shortly after the season kicked off. Welsh youngster Josh Thomas was signed on a free after being released by Swansea at the end of last season. However, I did have to alter the wage budget, give him a generous signing-on fee and some pretty attractive bonuses in order to secure his signature. It was worth it, though. I have successfully retrained him to be an inside forward on the left, and he has taken to the role really well. He has scored some pretty classy goals cutting in from the left wing – it is beautiful to watch!




 In the first team squad, we have 17 welsh players, 6 English lads, and just a single Irish player. It is becoming more Welsh by the season!  

Renewed expectations: Survival looks assured so a playoff finish would be nice, but a top-half position would also be satisfying. Let's see ... 

[Gundo]

End of season update 2025/26
Well it happened, after I posted the mid-season update, our form fell off a cliff. However, I'm actually a little surprised we managed to finish as high as 10th in the table, which was in thanks largely to decent spell of form in the last handful of games. The position graph below highlights our plight pretty well. It did – by far – exceed my pre-season expectations, though. 

National League North: 10th





FA Cup: lost 3-0 to Walsall in the second round



FA Trophy: lost 4-1 to Dag and Redbridge in the fifth round



The squad 
Liam Edwards was again the fans player of the year and the player with the highest average rating in the squad (7.15). Up top, Jake Cassidy grabbed the top scorer again with 19 goals, but his form was pretty awful from halfway onwards. Kurt Willoughby followed him with on 11 strikes overall (most from the bench). Willoughby has been great servant, despite not being top quality or beeing the most determined, he knows how to find space and finish on his day. Some FM players you just get attached to. The welsh youngster Josh Thomas had a great first season at the Deva as our main inside forward, and hope he can go from strength to strength from here. And final mention is reserved for one of the originals, Iwan Murray, who had another nice goal-scoring season from his mezzala position – he is probably the most intelligent player we have at the club. See career overview:





Upgrades
The board have been really accepting of pretty much every request I've asked of them in the last two seasons. I think maybe it is because we are financial stable with just over 1 million in the bank. This season, we had one training facility upgrade (it was previously downgraded pre-season so it was important to bring back unto standard). We also got a junior coaching upgrade and two youth recruitment improvements. However, nothing seems to have made any difference to the junk coming through our youth programme! 



Next season
A mid table finish will be the order of the day, but perhaps a playoff push if we can sign some decent Welsh players.

[Gundo]

2026/27 season preview 
Although we only signed three players in the off season, they are, in my opinion, pretty tidy additions to the squad. All three will be regular starters. However, I did really have to bend the wage budget to get them to accept contracts. With that in mind, I'm hoping promotion will happen within two seasons. The media have us at 100-1 for the title and 20th out of 24 overall; however, it must be said that the new signings made some difference to this prediction – before the signings, we were rank outsiders at 300-1!



Meet the new boys



Bollin Menayese was signed on a free after being released by League One Walsall. He looks better than this level.



Marcus Dackers was another player picked up on free transfer. At 201cm and some nice physical attributes, he could be a real handful for some national league defenders this season. Also worth mentioning, the former Brighton youngster has played for Chester previously – in 2022, he had a loan spell that resulted in 8 goals from 19 appearances. Welcome back to the Deva, Dackers!



Lewis Webb was our last big capture of the closed season. He also joined on a free after being released by one of the big Welsh clubs (Swansea or Cardiff, I forget which!). It was a timely arrival because shortly afterwards, Alex Speake, who was rating as having League One potential, became unsettled after one season with us. He was no.1 for us last season and had a solid campaign. The want-away youngster was eventually sold to Blackpool with a nice 40% of next sale clause. He was immediately rated around 1.8 million upon his arrival at Bloomfield Road.




 Nationality count: 19 welsh players and 6 English players.

On with the new season!

Edited December 6, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

2026/27 1/4 season review
It's been an ok but uneventful start the season, but if we finish up in this position at the end of the season, I'll be happy. However, I have a feeling we are one defender and one midfielder away from putting up a serious challenge for promotion.

[Gundo]

2026/27 half (ish) season review

We have had a good run since I last wrote. It means we sit in 5th place in the table just six points off top. In the FA Cup, we suffered a 2-1 home loss at the hands of League Two Forest Green. It was a disappointing result in a game we dominated, only for our two centres backs to have a rare off day. At the other end of the pitch, Markus Dackers has been a big part of our impressive season – the 201cm tall striker has helped himself to 19 goals and is looking like a bargain for 50k.


 

Elsewhere, we signed yet another Welsh boy in Kai Ludvigsen. The defender also has Norwegian marked as other nationalities and is also eligible to play for England. And despite not having the best jumping reach, he is a very committed centre back, something we were lacking.

[Gundo]

2026/27 3/4-ish review
The season has progressed quite nicely since the halfway point report: with just 15 league games to go, Chester are 6th in the National league. I've found it fun travelling to some of the big clubs in the division, the likes of Oldham, Hartlepool, Torquay, Grimsby and Swindon, and playing at bigger grounds – it's even more fun when we manage to pick up all three points.  In the FA Trophy, we have made good progress and have managed to reach the quarter finals. Marcus Dackers has been incredible leading the line, a lot of defences simply can't handle his size, power and pace: 33 goals in 37 appearances overall so far for him. In other squad news, we actually started one match with an all Welsh starting XI (see image below).

[Gundo]

2026/27 season review
This season was all about one player – Marcus Dackers! The 50k signing from Oxford City had a phenomenal season propelling us to a 5th-place finish. His 26 leagues goals – 36 in all competitions – and his sheer physical presence, frightened many an opposition defence. He claimed the National League player of the season and was also voted fans player of the year by the Deva faithful. The big Welsh man also beat Chester's goal record, beating Michael Wilde's previous tally several years back from the club's time in the lower reachers of the English pyramid. Ultimately, though, it wasn't enough for promotion. A 2-1 play off defeat to Boreham Wood after extra time sealed our fate; we had 28 shots in that game to the visitors 10. On the plus side, at least we got rid of two big clubs from the division in Swindon and Hartlepool; Mansfield and Harrogate will join us from league football.







My last word on this season is on a promising youngster that came through in this season's batch of new players. It happened after a number of upgrades to the junior coaching and our youth recruitment network (see the table below). Meet Ian Blackburn, a local Chester lad who has some really nice-looking attacking attributes. 






Hopes for next season: I'm anticipating another play off push and hopeful of a title challenge, if we can add two or three quality players to the ranks.

[Gundo]

Average attendances have nearly doubled at the Deva Stadium in the last five years.

 

In other off-field news, the most Chester shirts sold last season – perhaps unsurprisingly – had striker Marcus Dackers’ name on the back. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Gundo

[deltablue]

Hopefully you can continue to push on and go up next year.

[anagain]

Commiserations on just missing out on league football.

Some of those signings are outstanding. I'd take Josh Thomas in my MTK save - which rather highlights that Hungarian football could be a but behind! 

And Menayese looks phenomenal for that level.

Good luck next season. 

 

And yes to players who have Welsh as second nationality. I see no harm. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by anagain

[Gundo]

Thanks, @deltablueand @anagain.

I'm really hoping we can go close this season and escape non league football. One thing that might help us achieve that is the board's decision to make Chester FC professional.  But i'm not sure what impact this will have? Better progression for players through more hours training? Can I attract better quality – Welsh – players? More expenditure due to increase in operations? We will see, I guess. 

[Gundo]

2027/28 1/4 (ish) season review
Along with turning professional just before the season kicked off, we managed to persuade the board to upgrade the youth facilities – TWICE!  The first upgrade coast £330,000, and changed to the description to "below arrange". The the next upgrade will cost just over half a million. As a result, the projected finances do not look good. It means promotion needs to happen pretty soon. 

On the playing front, the start to the season has been a flying one. Dackers is still dominating with his physicality and really helping to rollover opponents. 

 



We only managed to bring in one player since the end of last season, but his a pretty tidy addition. See screenshot below.





 

[Gundo]

2027/28 halfway point report
We may have suffered a cruel late to defeat to League One Hull in the second round of the FA Cup, which meant we missed out on a lucrative replay at the MKM Stadium, but we have been flying in the league. We sit top at the halfway point – I hope we can continue in the same form for the second half! Just one other signing (making a grand total of two for the season!), Will Jenkins-Davies signed on free after being released by League One Plymouth at the end of last season. The Welshman looks good for this level, but I have had some trouble finding a role for him in the system we play.

[Gundo]

2027/2028 end-of-season review
Urghhhhh! What a frustrating end to a great season. On the one hand, I'm delighted to have finished in second place in the league, but for the difference to be just three points is a killer. If that wasn't bad enough, a playoff final penalty defeat (5-4) against Eastleigh followed. It meant that my mood yesterday was probably on par with Christiano Ronaldo's – aha! Looking back, though, although our defensive record was okay, we lacked some real quality players in the back four. Both Champions Grimsby and Eastleigh had at least one center back each averaging over 7.30; in short, we did not. My main objective for the new season is to strengthen the back line! This is is b*****d to get out of! 

In the second round of the FA Cup, we lost (2-1) at the Deva to a last-gasp goal from League One opponent Hull. In the FA Trophy, we were exited at the third round stage.

On a more positive note, our youth academy graduate, Ian Blackburn has progressed very well during the season, to such a degree that he was ready for some first-team games in the final third of the season. He is only 16. The Chester-born youngster coped well the pressure of playing at such a young age and he will play an even bigger role next season. 

Marcus Dackers did his thing again up top. The giant forward helped himself to 47 goals overall – 43 in the league – which was another new record (second season in a row) for the club and it was also a new record for National League. He was also the fans player of the year and national league player of the year. I have never had a player like him! I just hope I can hang on to him ... 

Rollin Menayese sat in the the holding role in midfield and performed very well for us with an average rating of 7.29. Also a brief mention for Matthew Blake who assisted 19 times, most from set pieces. Defensively he isn't the best option but he is a beast with the ball at his feet.

Games played since mid-season update:

Edited December 19, 2022 by Gundo

[Gundo]

[deltablue]

Wow, it must feel so tough to miss out on promotion like that.

[Gundo]

It was. Simmered down now, though.  It’s true what you said, this league is a tough one to get out of.

[Gundo]

2028/29 season preview

I had hoped to strengthen before the season kicks off, but as we approach the first game, we have zero incoming transfers. This has forced me to look at my under 18 squad to see if there are any players that could prove useful – I think I might have two or three (including Blackburn) who can play a part. The Welsh only signing rule is hitting hard now. On the plus side, we haven’t lost any players, yet, but Colchester have unsettled Meneyese after a bid I rejected. Luckily, the rest of the squad sided with me so no further disruption. The media think we are 250-1 for the title  (23rd in the table); however, I believe we can go close again, if some of the younger players gel. 
 

Season 7 here we come – ready or not! 

[Gundo]

The three youngster I'm pinning my hopes on ...

[Gundo]

Half-season review 2028/29
We did manage to sign someone, eventually – Jack Williams joined us from nearby Connah's Quay Nomads of the Welsh Premier. He is a player that's been on our radar for some time, but he had always refused to even negotiate based on the fact that we are a non league team. Anyway, he is a very nice addition to the squad and will start most games at right back. 

In the league, we are we find ourselves in 6th place. It is slightly worrying that we are 13 points off leaders Torquay who were in a relegation battle at the other end of the table last season. However, I'm hopeful we can make up some ground in the second half of the season. In other news, the big man up front, Dackers, is still scoring by the bucket-load – I think he broke the match engine!  

[Gundo]

2028/29 End Of Season Review – PROMOTION!
What a strange season. We finished 2nd in the league again. And striker Marcus Dackers broke the match engine. Torquay were the eventual winners of the National League North, we tried, even beating them at 2-1 at Plainmoor, but no cigar. Instead, we had to settle for the runners-up spot and the dreaded playoffs, again! This year, though, there was a happy ending. We beat Gillingham in the semi-final before dispatching our bogey team Aldershot (no wins in our previous four games against them) in the final at Wembley. 38,000 fans watched Chester run out 3-1 winners after a Marcus Dackers double and a third from Harrison Burke – the latter is a Chester boy and one of only a few 'originals' left, so it was a fitting way to end the season and get back into the league. 

In the FA Cup, we made it to the second round before losing 2-0 away at Bradford City – we will make it to the third round one day! In the FA Trophy, we suffered a disappointing early exit to National League North outfit Harrogate after a reply.  

The three youngsters I pinned my hopes on at the start of the season, due to a lack of signings, proved to be vital members of the promotion push. Myles Whitty-Croughan played a part in 38 league games – 35 of them starts – and performed really well; he finished with an average rating of 7.17 in the league, good form that led to him getting called up to the England under 18s! Ian Blackburn averaged 7.02 in the league and was the creative spark of the midfield. Both players saw their development shoot up due the the good amount of playing time at a decent level of first team football. Danny Draper was less impressive with an average rating of just 6.64 over the course of the season.

The final word on the players is reserved for Marcus Dackers. The big man lone man up top scored a crazy 63 goals in the league and 65 overall in 51 games! 20 of them from corners; overall, we scored 25 goals from corners during the season. Dackers also won pretty much every award there was available to win for him! His jumping reach – and other impressive physical attributes – at this level meant opposition defenders simple couldn't cope with him. Yet still he is valued under 100k and there has been zero interest in his services. He will, undoubtedly, find things more difficult in league football, but it is going to be fun seeing how he gets on. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Gundo

[Gundo]

The two youth academy players that impressed: