[FM23] The 44 - The EFL teams who have never been in the Premier League - [4/44] - Chapter 5: Colchester United FC

[Punch]

 

APR 2025

A rough start to the month as we really struggled against some of the bigger clubs, while holding on for a draw against West Ham.

We got out to a 3-1 lead and then hung on for dear life to claim a win over Leicester, then caused the shock of the season as we knocked over Manchester United at home.

 

We have officially avoided relegation from the Premier League now, mission accomplished.

 

We've also turned the club into on of the most profitable...although when you are given so much money and spend very little, it's easy to make a profit

 

Just three games remain in the first chapter of this journey.

[Punch]

 

MAY 2025

A loss, a draw, and a win to round out the season.

So we finish out our inaugural season in the Premier League in 10th place, which has been a massive achievement, as the smallest club  in the League.

 

We collect a huge payday for that position as well.

 

The club is in a good financial position for the future.

 

We achieved this having spent only £20 million in transfers, which is not much compared to a lot of teams.

 

Just for the comedy section again.

[Punch]

 

2024-2025 Season Review

[Punch]

 

Chapter 1 Wrap Up

 

With our first season in the Premier League completed, I have now completed the 1st Chapter of this save.

Accrington Stanley were struggling in the middle to bottom half of the League One table when I took over.

The club was struggling financially, had minimal sponsors, and a very small ground.

With no transfer budget, and minimal space in the wage budget, we made some clever free transfers, and smart use of free loans, allowing us to go on a 21 game unbeaten steak on the way to an improbable League One title, won on goal difference after a 3 way tie at the top.

With a small transfer budget we brought in decent players in key positions, who helped us battle through, where we fell into the play offs as all those around us fell over themselves.

An improbable run through the play offs, lead us to promotion in the play off final at Wembley, and we were off to the Premier League.

Predicted absolute certainties to be relegated, we started with a bang, beating Fulham in our first EPL match, we went on losing runs, and winning runs, including an 11 game unbeaten stretch, before finishing dead middle of the pack in 10th place.

From a club that was nearly broke, to now having £60 million in the bank, from having a small, old, 5k seat stadium, to about to open a near 14k seat brand new stadium, the future looks good for this club.

Mission well and truly accomplished.

 

And on that note...

 

Chapter 1 is complete.

[Punch]

Chapter 2 - The search for a new club

 

So I have decided not to do them in alphabet order, but rather by generating a random number to select the next club to manage.

Counting then in apha order, Accrington Stanley being number 1, AFC Wimbledon being number 2, and so on, down to number 44 being Wycombe.

 

The random number generator gave me...

 

Umm...well that was a bit of a let down, and that's the club I just finished.

Second time lucky, lets hit the button again...

 

 

That's better.

So counting down the list, number 36 is...

 

 

Rotherham United FC

 

We take a just over 100 kilometer trip from Wham Stadium in Accrington, to AESSEAL New York Stadium in Rotherham.

 

[Stuniverse]

5 hours ago, Punch said:

We have officially avoided relegation from the Premier League now, mission accomplished.

Amazing achievement on a shoestring budget. Congratulations!

Edited December 10, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Punch]

Chapter 2: Rotherham United FC

FOunded in 1925, 'The MIllers' have spent most of the last decade bouncing between The Championship and League One.

 

Home games are played at the 12 thousand seat AESSEAL New York Stadium.

 

A one year deal.

 

 

My main goal is to keep us in The Championship this season.

 

The fans also wants survival, and to beat Wednesday.

 

We have money in the bank, a bit of money in the transfer budget, but not a lot of room in the wage budget.

 

Plenty of players, but looks like we could do with some more depth and quality in the defence, and up front.

 

We are off to France for a training camp, before we kick off the season at home to Swansea.

 

[Punch]

 

JUL 2022

A solid pre-season of games which was more about minutes in legs and getting us used to tactical changes, more than results.

Good thing that results in the pre-season count for nothing, as we come out and blasted Swansea off the field in the first game of the season.

 

 

Not much to be read into the table yet.

 

One game in and we've already broken a record

 

A busy month to really get us rolling into the season.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2022

A monster month which became even bigger as we ended up with a second League Cup game thrown in.

We've shown an ability to score a lot of goals, but we can also concede a lot as well.

 

 

Predicted to be scrapping it out for relegation, we find ourselves in the play off places, but we are also only one win away from not being in the top half of the table.

 

Our first up win over Coventry broke all the records.

 

Washington scored 7 goals for the month, after scoring 5 in the first game.

 

 

We put together a dominant 1st Roundperformance over Carlisle.

 

Made the fans really happy when we thrashed Wednesday in the 2nd Round.

 

We host Ipswich in the 3rd.

 

We go backwards, even with two Cup games.

 

A less hectic schedule next month.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2022

Two wins and two draws looks like a great month, but in reality, we were just barley hanging on in most of the games.

 

 

 

We are still hanging around the play off spots, but Norwich have bolted.

 

Still losing money each month, and we are over budget on the wages.

 

Over budget, and still spending less than everyone else.

 

Plenty of games upcoming, before the World Cup break.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2022

A brilliant month as we run through undefeated, winning 5 and taking draws in the other 2.

 

 

We carry our unbeaten run from last month, and it reaches 11 games.

 

We hold 2nd place, although it's all pretty tight up there.

 

Our good form has lead to a few individual awards for the month.

 

The bank balance keeps taking hits.

 

A short month before the World Cup break kicks in.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2022

We smashed Burnley, before losing the top of the table clash, rounding out a shortened month before the World Cup with back to back wins.

 

 

 

We still hold 2nd place.

 

Eaves takes out the Player of the Month.

 

 

A solid performance even though we had to come from behind to beat Ipswich.

 

We travel to West Brom for Round 4.

 

 

We join the FA Cup in the 3rd Round, and get a tough match up against Cardiff.

 

We take a big hit in the finances this month.

 

We start the month with a friendly, as it will be nearly a month between games.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2022 - Youth Intake Preview

[Punch]

 

DEC 2022

A friendly to get us back in the mood after the World Cup, helped lead us into a good win against Bristol, before getting destroyed by West Brom, only to turn around and beat the same team three days later in the League Cup. We then lost our second League game in a row against Stoke, before finishing the month in a high at Huddersfield.

 

 

First time I have seen this one in the save...and hopefully the last.

 

 

A couple of losses drop us to 3rd.

 

 

A late winner gets us into the Quarter Final.

 

Where we travel to Newcastle.

 

I was only signed to a one year deal, the Board must be happy with my work as we have agreed to a new contract.

£2k a week pay rise for my efforts.

 

We lose slightly less this month.

 

Some tough League games, and two Cup games next month.

 

 

[Stuniverse]

Looking good for Rotherham, @Punch

[DavidBeckham]

Looking good for promotion! And congrats on the new contract! KUTGW mate!

[Sonic Youth]

The finish with Accrington was amazing. Kind of wanted to see a second season in the EPL with them 

Rotherham have started well too.

[Punch]

4 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Looking good for Rotherham

Might be a short chapter

 

4 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Looking good for promotion! And congrats on the new contract! KUTGW mate!

Thank you! Going well so far.

 

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

The finish with Accrington was amazing. Kind of wanted to see a second season in the EPL with them 

Rotherham have started well too.

The shoestring budget team came together really well. Another season with the money in the bank for some fresh faces and we might have been able to make a push for Europe.

It's been a fun start.

[Punch]

 

JAN 2023

Turned out to be a busy month, with extra FA Cup games after we needed a replay to get past Cardiff, then caused an upset by knocking out Leicester.

Three wins and a loss in the League as we played well, but lost in a tight one against Watford.

 

 

 

We still hold 2nd, although Norwich have bolted, so it seems the real battle is for the automatic promotion spot.

 

 

Our League Cup run comes to an end at the hands of Newcastle, who were just too strong.

A decent gate share is a nice reward for making the Quarter Final though.

 

 

We traveled to Cardiff and even though we were probably the better team, we couldn't get the 2nd goal, so it was back to Rotherham for the replay.

 

Back home in front of a full house and we dominated, to win our way through to the 4th Round.

 

We hosted Leicester in the 4th Round in front of another Rotherham full house, and we caused a shock by knocking over Premier League Leicester.

We pretty much out played them for the entire game.

 

Drawn at home again to Plymouth in the 5th Round.

 

The extra Cup games resulted in a tidy profit for a change this month.

 

Transfer deadline closed, and we brought in...no one

Same as August, there were a few nibbles, but with no room in the wage budget, and everyone wanting crazy wages, we decied to stick it out with the team that we have, which is playing well.

 

We are still dead last on the wage table...but Norwich

 

A bit quieter schedule next month, but some important games coming as well.

[Punch]

 

FEB 2023

The month started in horrible fashion as we fell to a late defeat at home to Sheffield United, before getting belted at Blackpool.

We then turned it around completely going on a three game winning run, without conceding a goal, while slamming in 11

 

 

 

We have managed to maintain 2nd place, but Norwich have bolted even further away.

 

Back in the red with no Cup games this month.

 

We start the month with a Cup game, and I expect there will be another before the month ends if we get through, while we face another 4 big League games.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2023

With the Cardiff game at the end of the month moved to April due to internationals, we had just the three League games, and won them all 4-1.

We also cruised past Plymouth into the FA Cup Quarter Finals, where we were outclassed by Villa.

 

 

 

We hold 2nd, kind of in no mans land, as we are out of reach of Norwich, and have a big break over Blackburn.

 

 

A comfortable win over Plymouth sends us to the Quarter Final.

 

We were hopeful against Villa, but it was all over inside 5 minutes, and while we did put some pressure on them late, they were comfortable and cruised to victory.

 

A good gate from Villa leads us to a healthy profit for the month.

 

Wow! Two games a week for basically the rest of the season. This might hurt a bit.

 

[Punch]

 

APR 2023

A monster month of matches, and we got off to a wobbly start, but powered home.

 

 

 

Blackburn got the stumbles which secured our promotion to the Premier League, making sure that this will be a short Chapter

 

We have surprised at every turn this season, and marched all the way to a shock promotion.

 

One game left in an amazing season.

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations, @Punch. Never in doubt at Rotherham United. Very well done.

[Punch]

21 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations, @Punch. Never in doubt at Rotherham United. Very well done.

Thank you! Now to see if I can pull together a squad to keep them up.

[Cheez3y]

Gratz on promotion.

This was a quick one.

[LazgoNNO2000]

7 hours ago, Punch said:

Thank you! Now to see if I can pull together a squad to keep them up.

damn dude

you look like the english version of vitor oliveira

the next stop will be either millwall or wimbledon

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Cheez3y said:

Gratz on promotion.

This was a quick one.

Thanks! Don't think they will all be this quick.

 

1 hour ago, LazgoNNO2000 said:

damn dude

you look like the english version of vitor oliveira

the next stop will be either millwall or wimbledon

We will see what the random number spinner throws up.

[Punch]

 

MAY 2023

We finish out the season with a boring draw at Wigan.

 

 

 

We take 2nd comfortable, but a long way from Norwich, while Sunderland will join us in the Premier League after beating Blackburn in the Play off Final.

 

We round out the season in a decent place financially.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

 

2022-2023 Season Review

Predicted to fight for relegation, we spent most of the season in the play off spots, before running away with automatic promotion, as Norwich bolted for the hills with the title, and those below us faded.

 

To comply with Premier League requirements the some extra seats are being added to get us to the 12.5k requirement, and under soil heating being added.

[Sonic Youth]

Promotion! Congrats 

That stadium upgrade is a little underwhelming.

Looking forward to seeing who you bring in.

Do you have many players with promotion bonuses/contract upgrades?

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Promotion! Congrats 

That stadium upgrade is a little underwhelming.

Looking forward to seeing who you bring in.

Do you have many players with promotion bonuses/contract upgrades?

Thank you!

The stadium upgrade is the bare minimum to comply with EPL regulations.

THere will be a lot of contracts from before my time that will have bonuses for reaching the top division.

[Punch]

 

JUN 2023

Our nomadic striker was the signing of the season in the Championship, a free transfer that contributed 31 goals in 44 games.

Will be interesting to see how he performs with the step up.

 

A pretty tough start to the season.

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

In fairness we haven't yet made a signing, so they are probably basing it off our Championship squad, less the players that were not retained.

 

Let the money flow.

 

With the TV money already starting, we turn a profit straight away.

 

A training camp in Portugal, and a busy pre-season to get new players used to the formation and tactics.

[Punch]

 

JUL 2023

A solid month of friendlies to get minutes in legs. The results while not important, were impressive for the most part.

 

For the second time, the Board gave me a new contract, doubling my wage.

 

It was only a minor upgrade to comply with EPL regulations, but it's ready to go for the start of the season.

 

Nearly 11.5k of the 12.5k seats are already sold.

 

Transfers

Not much action, but some big value signings, as I went all in on two important positions that we were lacking depth.

 

First in was £7.5 million for an AM(C) who can also play up front, two areas where we lack depth, so to get in a quality player who can fill both roles, is a real bonus.

 

Next up, it cost us a bomb, but there was a real lack of quality players for the D(C) position available, and you can see by how far ahead he is on the star rating bottom left, that this was an area we had to improve, both quality and depth,

 

Those two transfers broke all our records.

 

Looking at the now updated transfer value for these two, it looks like we might have gotten two good players, at excellent value.

 

It leaves our best squad looking something like this, which even with only two signings, looks vastly improved on last season.

 

Most of our transfer budget is gone, but we may look to get a few loans in to add some more depth, especially on the left side of defence, and on the wings.

 

Two big transfers sends us backwards in a hurry, but the TV revenue should bring us back pretty quick as well.

 

One more friendly before the season proper kicks off, still looking like a pretty tough start to the year.

If we can get out of August with 2-3 points, it will probably be a success.

[deltablue]

Good luck in the Premier League.

[Punch]

7 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Good luck in the Premier League.

Thank you!

[Punch]

 

AUG 2023

We expected a tough opening month, and we got it.

We probably should have beaten Brentford, but we missed a penalty, Wolves was a tough match, we gave up a late goal to go down fighting. We gave United a fright as we came from 4-1 down to nearly get a point, while we came from 3-0 down to push Liverpool all the way as well.

Just need to stop giving up early leads, but we are very competitive at this level.

We rounded out the month with a thumping win, in the League Cup.

 

We are not in the relegation zone...on goal difference.

It might be a tough season though.

 

 

A pretty comprehensive thumping of the Tigers as we march into the 3rd Round.

 

We face Forest in the 3rd Round.

 

Transfers

We brought in another strong defender to boost the defensive line. This one cost us £5.25 million from Reading, but looks like a good buy as well.

 

We continue to break the season record.

 

Even with the expense, we make a profit this month.

 

Back in the comedy section again.

 

It doesn't get any easier next month.

[DavidBeckham]

Considering the resources you are on, this is a very solid start in the Prem! KUTGW mate!

[Punch]

4 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Considering the resources you are on, this is a very solid start in the Prem! KUTGW mate!

Thank you!

We are not playing badly, just giving up too many early goals to the good teams, and not able to run them down.

[Punch]

 

Transfer Window

 

The transfer window closed without us doing any further business.

There were a few players we looked at, but they were out of our price range, or wanted ridiculous wages.

Even looked at getting a few loans in from players that had been listed by the bigger clubs, but they didn't want to play for us.

Oh well, we go with what we have for now.

 

For the comedy value of course

[Punch]

 

SEP 2023

We started the month with a high scoring loss to Spurs, before our first ever Premier League win in a tight one over Bournemouth.

We then pulled off a massive upset by beating Man City in Manchester, we then put Forest to the sword in the League Cup, before rounding out the month by frustrating Leicester into a draw.

The big thing to notice, we stopped conceding so many early goals towards the end of the month, and the results improved with it.

 

We dropped into the relegation zone after the loss to Spurs, but then found our way to 12th by the end of the month.

 

A great performance to claim the Young Player of the Month.

 

 

We ran riot in Nottingham, putting Forest to the sword as we marched into the 4th Round

 

Where we will host Ipswich.

 

A big month of TV revenue nearly wipes out the transfer debt.

 

We are not last in something...but still sitting in the comedy section

 

Another month of tough matches in the League before we host Ipswich in the League Cup.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2023

Up and down month, as we gave Norwich a good fight, we then thumped Villa, before going down in a tight one against Everton.

We rounded out the month with another good win over Ipswich in the League Cup.

 

 

 

A dominant performance from start to finish as we march on to the Quarter Final.

We don't find out our opponent for a few days though.

 

And just like that, debt gone. Tv Revenue does wonders for a small spending club like us.

 

Just three games next month, but there are no easy ones.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2023 - League Cup Quarter Final Draw

 

We are back to Manchester City who will be out for revenge for us beating them in the League.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2023

After getting belted by the Gunners, we finish the month on a winning streak, after we hammered West Ham at home, before thumping lowly Sunderland away.

 

Showing just how tight the table is, after the loss to Arsenal, we sat 17th, just outside relegation zone, two wins later and we sit 9th.

 

Another award for young Cirjan, and we are getting some good value out of the loanee.

 

The money rolling in nicely now.

 

A big month as we have three games either side of the League Cup Quarter Final.

[Punch]

 

3rd Round Draw

 

We host Huddersfield to kick off our FA Cup campaign next month.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2023

A real mix up this month, as we manage 3 wins and a draw from our 6 games, and we also exited the League Cup despite scoring two late goals to scare Man City.

 

Still hanging around in the top half of the table.

 

Cirjan has been on fire controlling our attack, and smashing home 7 goals in 5 games.

 

 

City shot out to a lead in the first half, then had a player sent off. We launched a comeback as they started to tire, but we just left ourselves with too much to do.

A pretty good performance to reach the Quarter Final though.

 

The bank balance keeps rising.

 

Another busy month coming up.

[Sonic Youth]

Looks like you’ll stay up easily, with a handy gap of points.

Cirjan looks a good investment 

[Punch]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looks like you’ll stay up easily, with a handy gap of points.

Cirjan looks a good investment 

The squad are starting to get it together, still concede to many for my liking, but we play an aggressive attacking style, so sometimes it leaves us open at the back.

Yeah, a great loan deal for a kid only costing us 1,500 a week. Although the down side is, he is playing so well, pushing his value up, and he will probably be out of our price range if we wanted to try and keep him.

[Punch]

 

JAN 2024

An interesting month as we pushed City all the way before getting thumped at Villa, a good win in the FA Cup, before we struggled to beat Brighton, who had two players sent off before half time.

Man U were just too good, before two late goals got us home against Wolves.

 

We drop a place to 10th, but still more than holding our own, well out of the relegation discussion at the moment.

 

 

We kick off our FA Cup campaign with a solid win, although they made us work for it in the first half, we ran away with it in the second.

 

A tough 4th Round draw as we head to Palace

 

Up and up.

 

We sit alone in the comedy section on the wages list.

 

A quiet month coming up, but three very tough matches.

[Punch]

 

FEB 2024

We split the League games this month, after upsetting Palace to reach the 5th Round of the FA Cup.

 

Still sitting mid-table, and I just noticed, we don't like a draw

 

Cirjan wins his 4th award for the season.

 

 

A good performance to upset Palace in their own house, and book our spot in the 5th Round.

 

We head to Brighton for Round 5.

 

We've cracked the £20 million barrier.

 

FA Cup Round 5 before another month of tough League games.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2024

A very strange month, as we put together four consecutive League losses, bookended by two massive upsets in the FA Cup.

 

We fall to 13th place, but still 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

 

 

We upset Brighton at home, taking them to extra time before we got a winner to head to the Quarter Final.

 

Just three days after getting beaten by West Ham in the League, we took them on again in the FA Cup.

We got the early goal before they hit back, and looked like they would run over the top of us, but deep into injury time, we stole a winner and continued our giant killing run into a shock semi final birth.

 

We will face Liverpool at Wembley, our first trip there.

 

The Cup run adding nicely to the bank balance.

 

Another tough month coming up.