[FM23] Another Island Life - Green Lion Pride - A Guernsey FC Youth Story

[Punch]

On 14/03/2024 at 01:49, Stuniverse said:

 Good luck. Hope to see you back home in Guernsey SOON!

Hopefully for more than one game a season 

[Punch]

 

2040-2041 Season Review

 

[Punch]

 

2040-2041 Season Review - Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

Another great year from our Captain, as Finnegan, despite not being rated as our best striker, continues to lead the way on the front line.

After scoring over 100 goals in our four years in the Championship, he lead the line with 20 goals, and also provided a further 10 assists.

[Punch]

 

2040-2041 Season Review - Attributes

 

The favourite time of year where we can review how the squad has improved, or not, in certain areas.

 

Goalkeepers

Redmond becomes our first 75+ point player, although his CA is lower than Hamilton and Al-Habib still, so they will remain our 1 and 2.

Mason will be sent out on loan, as he has pretty much reached his potential, and is unlikely to unseat Hamilton as number 1.

 

Defenders

A season of solid improvement in the defensive line sees us with plenty of options available to rotate as necessary.

 

Midfielders

Solid growth in the midfield as well sees us with an embarrassment of riches to pick from.

 

Forwards

Steady growth in the forward line as we see our first forwards pass the 70 point barrier.

We now have plenty of solid options up front.

 

Best Squad

Our average age pushed up a little while our average score has almost reached 70 points.

 

Our continued improvement should hold us in good stead as we move towards a new season, and look to establish ourselves as a Premier League club.

[Punch]

 

JUN 2041 - Off Season things

 

Internationals

We had a few players on international duty over the break.

 

The job market is in swing again as I am rumoured to be linked with Liverpool, while Arsenal did offer me an interview.

 

The take over rumour keeps circling, although the owner has denied it is happening.

 

Another solid month keeps the bank account ticking along.

 

The Bookies have us just out of relegation range so far.

 

A few friendlies next month to get us prepared for the season ahead.

[Stuniverse]

A good season, @Punch

And the Season Preview doesn't have you as relegation favourites.

Time to build on the foundations you've laid in the Premier League.

Good luck!

[Punch]

2 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

And the Season Preview doesn't have you as relegation favourites.

Time to build on the foundations you've laid in the Premier League.

I was quite surprised by that, as I expected us to be at least considered among the newly promoted teams, and while we are still listed in the bottom half, we are quite aways from the relegation odds.

Will be interesting to see how that looks come start of the season, and once the transfer craziness dust has settled.

[Hootieleece]

With those odds you will have to be careful especially against the newly promoted teams to make sure you get maximum points to assure your survival yet again.

 

[Cube1397]

Just found this and looking forward to reading it thru. Just wondering if you posted the links to the spreadsheet you use to calculate your players overall? Thanks

[Punch]

6 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

With those odds you will have to be careful especially against the newly promoted teams to make sure you get maximum points to assure your survival yet again.

 

Similar to last season, we needed to make sure we got the points against the relegation zone teams, and for the most part we were able to.

It will be another tough season I think.

[Punch]

5 hours ago, Cube1397 said:

Just found this and looking forward to reading it thru. Just wondering if you posted the links to the spreadsheet you use to calculate your players overall? Thanks

Thanks, hope you enjoy.

I am sure I have posted it at least once along the way, but if you don't find it, send me a message and I will drop it in for you.

[shd34_216_42]

400-1 is not bad for odds. (Although as I mentioned earlier, real-life bookies would value reputation and popularity far more highly than the game does.)

[Punch]

33 minutes ago, shd34_216_42 said:

400-1 is not bad for odds. (Although as I mentioned earlier, real-life bookies would value reputation and popularity far more highly than the game does.)

More than likely, although I still think we are in for another tough battle this season.

[Punch]

 

JUL 2041 - Pre Season Things

 

A solid start to the pre-season, with plenty of goals, but more importantly, playing solid defensive football, and not conceding a goal.

 

Internationals

We had one player on International duty this month.

 

We are not last, but we are a long way behind in the match day revenue list.

 

We have come in from 400 to 350, but still sit in 16th, and just above the teams favoured for relegation.

 

Transfers

 

Downing was unlikely to ever push for first team places, so when Portsmouth came knocking, we couldn't really refuse their offer.

A decent fee for a player who hasn't played a senior game, while we get some add ons to keep the bank balance flowing.

 

And in big news, we have brought our first ever player...but not really...

 

We sold a midfielder in Pedreno, but in return, received former player Fyn Mitchell, and a payment in our favour.

 

Mitchell, a Guernsey native, was a big part of our team when we first joined the Football League, but had his eyes on bigger things.

We sold him to Spurs for £8 million, nearly five years ago, but he was never able to establish himself, only playing one game around loan spells at Brighton, Rangers, and Blackburn, before being sold to West Brom for £1.2 million last season.

With a wealth of midfielders, it was an easy decision to send Pedreno on his way, while we gained a more experienced defender, who only has required being a squad player, to help bolster our back line.

This is the first time we have brought a former player back to the club, so it will be interesting to see how he performs, after having spent time away from the club.

 

Another solid month financially, and thanks to a massive increase in ticket sales.

 

Time for another couple of friendlies before the season proper kicks off mid-month.

We kick off away to newly promoted Championship winners, Middlesbrough, before hosting the Gunners at home, and then rounding out the month with our League Cup kicking off.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2041 - Part 1 - More Pre-Season things

 

As I have decided to go back to match by match updates for a while, I am just doing a post to finish off the pre-season.

 

We rounded out our friendlies with a thumping win over Forest, before going down in a close one against the Hammers.

Plenty of goals, plenty of minutes in legs, and we get through them all without any major injuries to important players.

It's been a good build up, so we are now in the best position we could be in to be ready to go for the season proper.

 

The training facility upgrade has been completed.

So we are not quite finished, as there appears to be one more upgrade available to finish off, so I may approach the Board about that soon.

 

Transfers

 

There have been no more players sold, although we have sent some players out on loan, mostly younger and fringe players who were not going to see a lot of time with us, to try and get them some more first team experience.

 

We are ready to go for our second Premier League season, traveling to Middlesbrough, before hosting the Gunners.

We have been drawn at home to Southampton in the League Cup.

[BML]

I will always remember the day that I saw a Part Exchange work in Football Manager.

I thought they were a myth.

[Punch]

On 19/03/2024 at 02:16, BML said:

I will always remember the day that I saw a Part Exchange work in Football Manager.

I thought they were a myth.

The myth works out well for us, as we get a player valued at 8-10 million, plus a payment of 1.4 million, for a player who was only valued around the 6 million mark.

Pretty good deal for us.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2041 - Match Day 1 - At Middlesbrough

 

 

We kick off the season away to the Boro, and it was a really tight affair.

Chances were few and far between, although we probably had the better of them.

A late penalty, converted by Captain Finnegan, ended up being the only goal, and enough to secure the points.

A solid defensive effort to keep the hosts scoreless, was an impressive start to the season.

 

Not much to read into this yet, but we are in the top half of the table.

 

Up next - we host our first 'home' game for the season as we welcome Arsenal to AFC Bournemouth's Eddie Howe Arena, which will be our temporary home this season.

[Stuniverse]

Great start to the season, @Punch

[Vakama2619]

Back to the matchday updates I see. Good start so far, fingers crossed that it sets the pace for a great season!

[Punch]

12 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Great start to the season, @Punch

A tough win over the newly promoted team. I am not reading too much into it at the moment, other than three points is a good way to start the season.

 

7 minutes ago, Vakama2619 said:

Back to the matchday updates I see. Good start so far, fingers crossed that it sets the pace for a great season!

Yes, have wanted to do it for a while, and now that I am back home and not travelling for a while, it seemed like a good chance to get back into match by match reports.

[Stuniverse]

5 minutes ago, Punch said:

Yes, have wanted to do it for a while, and now that I am back home and not travelling for a while, it seemed like a good chance to get back into match by match reports.

Nice one 

[Punch]

 

AUG 2041 - Match Day 2 - Vs Arsenal

 

The AI has moved AFC Bournemouth into a new stadium called Eddie Howe Arena, which is our temporary home this season under a ground share agreement.

Being there will clearly be no pics of this new stadium, I will use their former home, Dean Court, for our home game pics this season.

 

Out played, and out classed as the Gunners cruised to victory.

We tried hard, but once the visitors got the lead, they were able to control the match, and we were not able to chase them down.

A disappointing result, though not unexpected.

 

Another tough loss as we lose one of our first choice defenders for two months.

 

We drop to 11th place, but this early in the season, it doesn't mean a lot.

 

Our first home game in the temporary stadium, and we set a new attendance record.

 

Up next - we host Southampton in the League Cup Second Round.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2041 - League Cup 2nd Round - Vs Southampton

 

 

A heavily rotated squad, and while it wasn't our prettiest performance, we got the job done.

A good defensive performance in the first half held the visitors scoreless, while we broke the game open in the second half, scoring two goals to secure our spot in the next round.

 

The rotated squad included a few debuts, with young Carney making a scoring debut as well.

 

We are off to Blackpool for the 3rd Round.

We have a pretty decent record against them from our time in the Championship.

 

Up next

A return to League action as we travel to Villa.

[Stuniverse]

Are Southampton in the Championship, @Punch?

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Are Southampton in the Championship, @Punch?

Yes mate, relegated on the final day last season.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2041

A quiet start to the season sees us with a win and a loss in the League, before advancing in the League Cup.

 

Another upgrade completed, and while there is still a few to go, we are making great progress.

 

The take over rumours continue, with the owner flipping again to being willing to sell.

 

Another good month financially.

 

With the bigger temporary stadium, we smash our season ticket record.

 

We are to receive over £7 million for the sell on clause for former Keeper, Arani.

 

A busier month coming up, with some tough matches, along with an International break.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041 - Match Day 3 - At Aston Villa

 

 

A cracking result as we find our scoring boots, with four different players netting in a come from behind six goal attack-fest at Villa Park.

We dominated the opening exchanges, but still managed to find ourselves behind early.

We hit straight back to level, and from there it was one way traffic, before we conceded a late penalty.

A good three points to pick up away from home early in the season.

 

A big win shoots us up into the top half of the table, but with only one win separating 4th from 14th, it's too early to ready anything into the form guide yet.

 

Up next

A mammoth task as we host the 3 from 3 Liverpool, after the International Break.

 

Edited March 23 by Punch

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041 - Match Day 4 - Vs Liverpool

 

 

We put up a pretty impressive fight against the much bigger Reds outfit, but their class in finishing proved to be too much for us to overcome.

We did create a few chances, but struggled to hit the target.

 

Two home games, two record attendances, two losses.

 

We fall back to the mid-table with our second loss of the season.

 

Up next

We travel to Brentford to take on the 14th place Bees.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041 - Match Day 5 - At Brentford

 

 

A massive point away as we come from two goals down to share the spoils with the Bees.

The hosts came out firing and we found ourselves two goals down early, before Finnegan pulled one back before the break.

We soaked up their pressure and managed to level it in the second half, and then hang on for dear life to keep the point.

 

We sit 9th, with a but of breathing room to the relegation fight...for now at least.

 

Up next - we travel to Blackpool for the League Cup Third Round.

We hold the advantage over the Championship Seasiders in every area except age, but even with a rotated squad, we will be expected to win this one comfortably.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041 - League Cup 3rd Round - At Blackpool

 

 

We made harder work of it than we should have, but done enough to get the job done.

With another League game in a few days, we rotated the squad to rest some legs.

We took the early lead, but it took another hour before we finally got the second goal, and even though they pulled one back, we were able to hang on and advance to the 4th Round.

 

A solid performance from Jackson, making a name for himself in our defensive line.

 

In an ironic twist of fate, we are drawn against AFC Bournemouth, as the home team, in their stadium

 

Up next

We are the home team, in their stadium

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041 - Match Day 6 - Vs AFC Bournemouth

 

 

A tight battle in front of a full house at Eddie Howe as we battled to a scoreless draw with the Cherries.

Both sides struggled to hit the target, we really ramped up the pressure in the second half, but we could not find a way past their keeper, who had a blinder keeping us scoreless.

 

A full house breaks our record attendance again.

 

We stay 9th, with a 6 point gap from the relegation zone.

 

Up next

A tough match as travel to West Ham, who are on an incredible 31 game unbeaten run.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2041

A win, a loss and two draws in the League, while we advance in the League Cup.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

Internationals

We had a few players on duty during the International break, with Zachariou overtaking Pellejo as our most capped player.

 

We are in 8th place in terms of the number of players representing in the top Leagues.

 

While we are not at the bottom of the table, we are a long way behind the curve.

 

We are last on this list, and a long way behind everyone...so far behind we are not in the same area code.

 

We didn't sell any players this window, but sent plenty out on loan.

 

Former Captain Luc Geall has made the move from Birmingham to Cardiff, which nets us almost a million from the sell on clause.

 

The take over rumour is on again...and then off again

 

We continue to be profitable.

 

Some tough games coming up again.

 

 

 

 

[Punch]

 

OCT 2041 - Match Day 7 - At West Ham

 

 

We gave the top of the table Hammers a run for their money, coming from behind twice, before ultimately falling to a second half goal.

The hosts were all over us, but we kept up, before running out of steam, and to be honest, keeping the scoreline so close, was probably a flattering result.

West Ham have now stretched their unbeaten run to 32 matches.

 

The loss drops us to 11th place, and we are now only one win above the relegation places.

 

Up next

We host Fulham, who like us are winless in four games, but they are also scoreless in four.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2041 - Match Day 8

 

 

A tough battle but we gave up points against the Cottagers as they come from behind twice to take a point.

An early penalty from Finnegan, before one of our own came back to bight us, as former player Luis Clapton leveled before the break.

Finnegan scored a second after the break, and just when it looked like we had done enough to seal the three points, we gave up a late equaliser.

 

Finnegan continues to impress up front, having scored 5 of our 10 goals in the League so far this season.

 

Five games without a win and all of a sudden we are being talked about as one of the relegation teams.

 

We fall to 13th place, 4 points above the relegation zone.

Upset of the round would be Newcastle being thumped by Blackburn.

Newcastle had only conceded one goal all season, but gave up 4 in 30 minutes.

 

Up next

It doesn't get any easier as we travel to 7th place Wolves.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2041 - Match Day 9 - At Wolves

 

 

A stunning result that might make a few teams sit up and take notice as we thump Wolves, in what was a close game, everywhere but the scoreboard.

A brilliant hat-trick from Chambers, but after Wolves equalised, it was all one way traffic for us.

The hosts had plenty of chances, but our defensive line held firm, while our attacking line took their chances, and we were the much more clinical team.

 

A first win in 6 games eases the pressure and sends us back up to 9th place.

We are scoring plenty of goals, but conceding way too many as well.

 

Up next - we host AFC Bournemouth, in their own stadium, in the League Cup 4th Round.

 

Edited March 28 by Punch

[Stuniverse]

11 minutes ago, Punch said:

A first win in 6 games eases the pressure and sends us back up to 9th place.

We are scoring plenty of goals, but conceding way too many as well.

Going well so far, @Punch... if you can just shore up the defence without adversely affecting Guernsey's attacking prowess. 

[Punch]

1 minute ago, Stuniverse said:

Going well so far, @Punch... if you can just shore up the defence without adversely affecting Guernsey's attacking prowess. 

We've always been a good attacking team, but yes, we need to tighten up that defence. A lot of good attacking teams in this League though, but we are showing signs of improvement.

A long way to go yet though.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2041 - League Cup 4th Round - Vs AFC Bournemouth

 

 

We make hard work of it, but come from behind twice to beat the Cherries and book our place in the Quarter Final.

After conceding early, we hit back to be level at half time.

The second half exploded with three goals in 5 minutes, the final two scored by us to take the lead, from which we never relinquished it again.

 

We host Norwich in the Quarter Final, and while we had a rough start against them, we have turned it around in the last few matches.

 

Up next

We host the struggling Manchester United, currently sitting in 16th place, who will be desperate to get their season back on track.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2041

 

One of each in the League before we advance in the League Cup.

 

A cracking month from Chambers and he takes out the Young Player of the Month award.

 

Internationals

 

Players on International duty, Chambers continued his impressive form, netting his first Senior International goal.

 

We currently have two players in the England set up, along with Chambers, former player 34c Luis Clapton, currently plying his trade at Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga.

 

...and the take over talk is back off again.

 

We make a small loss this month.

 

A tough start to the month, with three hard games before we face the winless Watford to round out the month.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2041 - Match Day 10 - Vs Manchester United

 

 

The Red Devils have been extremely poor this season, and despite having the better of the chances, we were unable to take advantage of their struggles.

We played well but were unable to find the back of the net, and as we started to tire at the end of the game, we were probably lucky to escape with a point as they pushed hard for the win.

 

We earn another valuable point, sitting in 12th place, 8 points clear of the relegation zone.

 

Up next

We travel to Blackburn to face the 13th place Rovers, in an important match against a similarly placed opponent.

[Stuniverse]

Looks like the bottom four are really struggling so Guernsey should have no relegation worries, although I appreciate you want to be pushing into the top half, maybe even challenging for Europe. 🍀⚽️🤞

[Punch]

4 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Looks like the bottom four are really struggling so Guernsey should have no relegation worries, although I appreciate you want to be pushing into the top half, maybe even challenging for Europe. 🍀⚽️🤞

Not sure that Europe is a realistic expectation yet, although I appreciate the optimism

As long as we keep fighting to improve, and stay away from the relegation fight, then we can be happy with that.

[Stuniverse]

46 minutes ago, Punch said:

Not sure that Europe is a realistic expectation yet, although I appreciate the optimism

To be honest with you, @Punch I nearly left my comment at “top half” but then I added the Europe bit with a “maybe”. You got to aim high though, right?

48 minutes ago, Punch said:

As long as we keep fighting to improve, and stay away from the relegation fight, then we can be happy with that.

And you’ve done a great job of that all save 

[Punch]

2 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

To be honest with you, @Punch I nearly left my comment at “top half” but then I added the Europe bit with a “maybe”. You got to aim high though, right?

And you’ve done a great job of that all save 

Aiming high is always good lol

Thank you!

[Punch]

 

NOV 2041 - Match Day 11 - At Blackburn

 

 

Both teams toughed it out at Ewood Park, which turned out to be a midfield slogfest, with very little in the way of attacking chances.

We scored the early goal, but the hosts leveled by the break.

They looked the most likely early in the second half, while we had the better of the exchanges in the later part of the match, however, neither side were able to find a winner.

 

A fought match unbeaten, although only one win in five as we are in 13th place, but importantly, we continue to pull away from the relegation zone.

 

Up next

Another tough match as we host 4th place Newcastle.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2041 - Match Day 12 - Vs Newcastle United

 

 

Newcastle were just too good as they dominated the match from start to finish.

We were unable to build any real pressure, and could not even register a shot on target.

We will need to move on quickly from this one.

 

We fall to 14th, although still holding an 8 point gap from the relegation zone.

 

Up next

A must win match as we travel to Watford, winless in 13 matches.

Edited April 1 by Punch

[Punch]

 

NOV 2041 - Match Day 13 - At Watford

 

 

A game we had to win against the last place Hornets, and we get the job done in some style...eventually.

It was a really tight battle for the first half hour, but two moments of madness turned the match in our favour.

The hosts had a player sent off for dragging down a player through on goal, before a minute later, Finnegan was dragged down in the box, converting the penalty for the first of his three goals for the day.

In the second half we made our numerical advantage count as it was all one way traffic as we ran riot up front, completing a convincing win.

 

A massive win as it pushes us back up to 12th place, but a massive 11 points away from the relegation zone.

 

Up next

Back to the tough matches as we host 7th place Chelsea.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2041

 

A tough month but we managed to come out of it with just the one loss, and picked up 5 points along the way.

 

Our decent form showed up as our kids took out all three places in the Young Player of the Month award.

 

Internationals

Plenty of players on International duty as we welcome our 22nd International, with Kwame making a goal scoring debut for Sweden.

Mountney also scored his first International goal.

 

We are the leading producer of talent in the Premier League, contributing a massive 29 players from our academy.

 

While we are also ranked to 6th highest in producing talent across the European Leagues.

 

Both stats are a pretty impressive performance from a little island club.

 

A small profit this month.

 

A monster month coming up with some really tough games either side of our League Cup Quarter Final.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2041 - Match Day 14 - Vs Chelsea

 

 

A tough start to a tough month as we get taught another lesson in the importance of taking chances.

We were the better team for most of the match, but didn't take our chances, while the visitors did.

We dominated the second half, but were unable to find the net, and then gave up a heart breaking goal in the shadows of full time to give up all three points.

 

A tough loss drops us to 14th, 10 points clear of the relegation zone, but with some tough games coming up, we may not take a lot of points this month.

 

Up next

We host 10th place Leeds.