[FM22] Youth academy only - from English tier 10 to Premier League - Worcester Raiders

[Ron_Swanson]

October 2028

Good performance in the league, few points ahead of others. FA Cup run is over with unlucky loss vs Gloucester City (VNL) - a total of 48 shots and we couldn't score in both matches. There were Notts County waiting in 1st round draw so we missed a big game and potentialy record income from tickets.

[mariogriffiths]

Fantastic read, keep up the great work.

 

[Ron_Swanson]

Thanks @mariogriffiths more updates are coming

[Ron_Swanson]

November 2028

Pretty tight at the top, some draws here and there and we keep only minimum advantage. Nice attendance against Hereford - give me more games like that. Financialy we're around net zero this season, but without FA Cup I expect it to drop slightly in next few months.

[Ron_Swanson]

December 2028

At the end of the month some minor injuries, bad fitness, we lost few points and fell behind Solihull Moors. They were relegated after 12 year in VNL, very strong team and bookies favourite to win our division.

Good thing that we expect some A-graded wingers (I hope it'll be a right wing). My best player Ross Ross is constantly approached by bigger teams as he thinks we are to small club for him at this time. I got him contracted until june 2030 and I see two options here - either we get promoted this season and it will be good enough to make him sign new deal or he's going into transfer market next summer. If that happens I'm gonna need a replacement and my second best AMR is a 2*CA 16yo so quite a difference

[Ron_Swanson]

January 2029

We lost against Solihull Moors (but beat them in cup same week) but they also took a loss and a draw so we were better by 2 points this month. It's all about who's gonna make less mistakes. Also big plus in our bank account but it didn't charge me a fee in West Ham U23 friendly game, I don't know if it's a bug, first time it happened in this save. Or maybe some kind of promotion like "play 100 and get 1 for free"?

[Ron_Swanson]

February 2029

Second place but we're one game short. Great performance by Ross Ross - that's why I don't want to lose him, he's so good for this level.

 

[Ron_Swanson]

Youth intake 2029

Not the best intake, none of them is ready for a first team play yet. We'll see if someone will shine in U18's

Spoiler

Ashley Green - best one from this group, very decent highlited attributes, I think I can train him to be AMR just to have a balance on both sides depth.

Jose Cerrillo - I have plenty of keepers with good potential, so there will be loans to get them enough playing time

Mel Jeynes - he can be a backup for my substitute MC's

 

[Ron_Swanson]

March 2029

Whole month packed with league games. Too bad we lost against Chelmsford, because Solihull Moors won it all and we need to chase them.

[Ron_Swanson]

April 2029

What a mess, including march it's 4 games with only 1 point and we can forget about direct promotion and have to fight in playoffs. Getting more than 100 points and still finish 2nd hurts, I could win the league any other time with such a result but not this year.

[Ron_Swanson]

May 2029

Yes, we did it. 4th consecutive promotion and we're going to Vanarama National League. Absolutely brilliant performance in both playoff games, and look at that massive crowd in the final, over 5k people rocked at Sixways. There was no other option, we had to win.

Also my U18's team debuted in a youth league - pure dominance, the future looks bright.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Ron_Swanson

[Ron_Swanson]

Some award were also handed.

Russell Griffin was crowned as a topscorer and a player of the season

Patrick Stanley also was chosen by the other players as a player of the year and became young player of the year

On top of that I was named as a best manager

 

[Ron_Swanson]

June 2029

Squad stats for this season. In spoilers you can see few of my players who are developing the most.

Spoiler

Mark Daniels - GK

Louis Congreve - DR

Sean Quilty - MC

Michael Thornton - MC

Ross Ross - AMR

Russell Griffin - ST

[Ron_Swanson]

July 2029

Just friendlies as usual, everyone's healthy, no injuries, we're preparing to fight against relegation, because that's what the board expects.

New budgets, 10,4k for wages after converting.

Unfortunately Ross Ross still wanted to leave and it was last year of his contract. Very hard decision to let him go but it is what it is. Portsmouth made a great deal getting him for such a low price but no one offered more. That 50% clause is nice though, his value spiked to 275k-2,7m

[Ron_Swanson]

August 2029

We're expected to be a bottom half team so there's not a lot pressure. But we started really well, 3 wins and 1 loss, just keeping far from relegation zone since the first games. Big profit thanks to a friendly against Portsmouth that was part of the deal.

There's a good news and there's a bad news. We lost another great player. This time our board decided to accept offer for my goalie from Bristol City, 23,5k plus instalments so basicaly a joke. I've vetoed it once but they did it again and I had no choice. I offered him for a higher price, half of Championship teams answered but finally he joined Fulham and he's going to Premier League (of course he's not gonna play there any time soon). 70k plus 50% of next sales profit (look at his current value, if I could just cash that clause right away) and a friendly game already scheduled in september.

[Ron_Swanson]

September 2029

Second part of the month was terrible. Having to play a 1,5* 16 years old goalie is giving me a hard time.

Somewhere mid-month we got transfer embargo due to takeover talks. There were some rumors couple of times before but this time it got more serious. If this will happen I hope I won't get fired as it's applied in the news.

[Ron_Swanson]

October 2029

We managed to survive this bad form and we're back with some wins. Safe mid-table spot is what I'm happy with right now. We started our FA Cup journey in 4th Qualifying round against lower side opponent and a win makes it our best result in clubs history.

Takeover is done. It went smoothly, I didn't lose my job. New chairman gave us only 22k so it looks like he's not going to pump a lot of money, but that's fine, I'm handling finances pretty well.

And first thing I tried with the new board was asking for upgrades. We've had enough in our bank balance and they said OK, so even better newgens are coming soon

[Ron_Swanson]

November 2029

Average results in the league, but we're closer to playoff zone than relegation so it's fine. A nice win in cup against League 2 Colchester thanks to last minute goal and pretty lucky 2nd round draw as we're playing vs Hartlepool - a mid table team from my division - so there's a good chance we can make it even further.

Another contract extension, they offered me 750 p/w but at the end gave me a 100 more.

[Ron_Swanson]

December 2029

There's a big problem with fatigue, almost half of squad needs rest and I'm using a lot of rotation. The schedule is really packed also in january so it's gonna be even worse.

Very tough battle in FA Cup. First game we were down 3-0 at half time but managed to come back and in a rematch it was a close game. Unfortunately Hartlepool scored in 103rd minute and this is the end for us. Good run, nice money, but with a little bit of luck we could be playing in next round against Blackburn Rovers. Maybe next year.

Intake preview. What can I say? Golden generation but the best grade is only a C, seriously? Position-wise is not where my priorities are, I need center-backs as I only have two decent ones currently.

[Ron_Swanson]

January 2030

Not so good results but enough to keep us in the middle. Unlucky loss by 1 missed penalty in FA Trophy. My squad needs to rest badly

[Ron_Swanson]

February 2030

League games only on saturdays so we're back with friendlies just to repair our budget. The youth setup costs are staring to killing me so every possible income is welcome. There's an option to sell the 50% clause from Ross Ross transfer for 715k, it's very tempting but I think I can take a risk and wait. Portsmouth is leading the Championship table and if they get promoted his value can be on a nice rise, I hope it'll be worth waiting.

[Ron_Swanson]

Youth intake 2030

Looks like they need some time to improve. Not looking great but maybe overall squad quality got to the point where all intakes will look like this. Currently the best Eoin Fell has low potential so could be better. Beside him I'm highligthing you only one graded as elite talents

Spoiler

Kyle Holland - we lost one GK and we got one GK, nice potential, personality not so much, he'll remain in U18's

Eoin Fell - it's good that he's a DC, could be taller, maybe he'll be used as a substitue from time to time

Keenan Gillard - decent looking MC, I see some playing time for him if he develops a little

Ethan Webber- he'll be fighting for AMR spot, he's not there yet but my other right wingers are also not a game changers at the moment

 

[Ron_Swanson]

March 2030

We officialy avoided relegation and barely have a mathematical chance for playoffs. Basicaly I'm trying to settle in this division for few more years before we push for promotion. It will be similar to what we had in tier 9.

[Ron_Swanson]

April 2030

Bad finish, only one win and we fell to 14th place which is better than expected at the start of the season.

 

[Ron_Swanson]

May 2030

Hello again after a little break. Time to post some updates. Here's how the squad contributed this season. I was forced to play with underskilled young keeper after Mark Daniels' departure, and my currently bets goalie was on loan. Other than that my best lineup is looking quite decent and they can still improve.

Patrick Stanley grabbed two season awards. He's my best player now and is heavily targeted by bigger clubs. Good for us he's on a long contract.

Spoiler

My U18s won their league by a mile again. I would love to have them in higher division with better opponents

And suddenly this showed up. 4,43mil is massive but seeing his transfer value I'm not sure if it's fair price. I'll wait a moment and see if it will raise

[Ron_Swanson]

June-July 2030

We started preparations for this season, instead of doing all friendlies against U23s I played most of them with higher leagues first teams, including our new affiliate Coventry City - paying no fee for that game gave us a really good money. Results are very promising.

We're considered as a mid-table team so pretty much the same that we achieved last season. If we keep our core players it's definitely doable.

New budgets, after converting we ended with 10,2k for wages so still plenty of room for new contracts if necessary.

 

Finances for june and july, we're keeping around 0, so not great not terrible

Edited May 20, 2023 by Ron_Swanson

[Ron_Swanson]

August 2030

Nice start, safe spot in upper half of the table

[Ron_Swanson]

September 2030

Just one loss against leading Guiseley. We present huge confidence in offence making us a playoff contender at the moment.

Board is happy with the results so another contract extension with a nice pay raise

[Ron_Swanson]

October 2030

Amazing performancein the league, I think we're not gonna fall below that playoff zone and with a little bit of luck we could push for promotion. Pretty easy cup game against tier 8 Barking, next round we're facing Bradford City at their ground

[Ron_Swanson]

November 2030

Few points lost in league so like others, we're 1 point ahead and that's basically what I want for rest of the season. We advanced to the next round of FA Cup, more money for us, in december we're facing League 1's Crewe Alexandra at Sixways.

[Ron_Swanson]

December 2030

We managed to keep a small points advantage despite tough loss vs Morecambe where I played with reserves just to have my best lineup fresh for cup game. And it paid off, another win while being underdog, next round we play against Luton Town.

Poor intake preview, low grades, nothing to be excited about

[Ron_Swanson]

January 2031

Worst month so far, only 1 win. Guiseley and Hartlepool used this opportunity and pushed us into 3rd place but it's still very close. Cup run is over at 3rd round - it's a great result as we eliminated higher division teams twice but Luton were just too strong. Nevertheless we got a big chunk from gate receipts.

[Ron_Swanson]

February 2031

Less league games so a chance to refresh fitness, it was a big problem for a while, the squad was very tired. Results were pretty ok, but we only got draw against Hartlepool

 

[TelcontarTargaryen]

That intake..

[Ron_Swanson]

36 minutes ago, TelcontarTargaryen said:

That intake..

Yeah, I still think it's funny. Always a 5* preview with golden generation label but when you look at positions breakdown it's something completely different

[Ron_Swanson]

Youth intake - march 2031

The actual intake looks bad, very little potential. Only one player is elite talent and the rest... I don't know, I hope there's some misjudgement from HoYD but I don't have much hope for this group.

This years best, he won't make into first squad now, I'll let him develop in U18 league. Nice potential and personality, looks promising but needs some time

We cut the distance to 3 points, it ain't much but now only one match can make a difference. If we won against Stevenage we could be a leader already.

Some heavy injuries, Biai is my first choice left winger and Crabtree-Steadman a rotation player who covers 3 positions so it will be difficult end of season without those two

Edited May 24, 2023 by Ron_Swanson

[Ron_Swanson]

April 2031

Nothing was sure until last minute of last game but we made it, we're going up to League 2 sooner than I thought. Hartlepool messed up their finish by drawing a lot and we were able to surpass them.

Promotion means we can't be a semi-pro club anymore, so we are turning professional. More training sessions should gave our players better chances to improve.

There are also some expenses I didn't plan, but it's just league regulations so I can't do much about it. 230k is not horrible but ut could be used for other upgrades. Hopefuly the league income will get us a lot more.

[OleDK]

Congratulations with a fantastic result. Good luck in League Two  

[TelcontarTargaryen]

Professional league football, congratulations.

[Ron_Swanson]

Thanks @OleDK @TelcontarTargaryen I'm really excited about next season. From my previous youth academy challenge tries I found it to be easier once you get  to this level than lower leagues grind. And it's time to update the topic title

[Ron_Swanson]

May - June 2031

Let's start with a squad overwiev. I still need more depth in most of positions, especially in defensive line, but overall it's a pretty good squad. Some of this guys are already to good for non-league football so maybe that promotion will make them a little happier and they won't be complaining about transfers so often.

Season awards were handed and it's not a surprise that we got some after winning league. Four players in best 11, I'm little shocked with Jaydn Towers, he was my 3rd choice for DC and played when Glauco or Thomas had fitness/suspension problems but maybe now he deserves a starting spot. More individual awards in spoiler

Spoiler

My U18s still dominating. There's a lot of potential, best ones are getting call ups for first team from time to time.

Big loss over those two months but with no games there's no income, just a season tickets sell

[KGregory44]

Just signed in for the first time in ages to comment this....what an amazing story! Just read the whole thing and love what you're doing. How long do you think you leave it before the GK at Fulhams value potentially drops? Keep up the brilliant story, makes me want to start one, what would you say are the key 3-4 things to make the save viable?

[Ron_Swanson]

Thanks @KGregory44 Unfortunately the buyout of his clause was available for like two weeks and never shown up again so I missed that chance. His current value varies around 30-40mil and slightly rises, got a contract until 2035, he's at a fairly big team, still developing so it may not drop for a long time. That 4,4mil back then could be enough for upgrading training and youth facilities even twice, maybe I made a costly mistake, we will see. I hope it's not a lost case.

If you want to try a youth academy only career, I think it's crucial to have at least decent facilities as soon as possible, invest any time you can afford it. That way you give yourself a chance to get better intakes. Another thing, keep your best players on very long contracts and renew them on regular basis so you won't get hurt much when a key player demands a trade one year before his contract expires, you have very limited squad options since you can't buy any replacements.

[KGregory44]

@Ron_Swanson Ahhh you may be okay then, I just worry goalkeepers never move for big money in my saves! Fingers crossed for you! Okay that's great to know, I'm thinking of doing one in Spain, so I'll keep that in mind.

[Ron_Swanson]

Yeah, goalies are often far away from record breaking transfers. But in England where you have some squad restrictions and work permits a very good player with home grown status can be very pricey. I hope he'll be one of those guys or at least I will get another chance to cash that clause

[KGregory44]

Good plan! Think I'll be looking to start my version of it in the Spanish leagues tonight. Did you just holiday a year in advance and basically start from there? Hoping there isnt some cursed finances in Spain.

[Ron_Swanson]

Usually I holiday first season and pick newly promoted team to do a proper youth academy challenge, but in this save I just chose the team that caught my interest as it's a custom database (link here) with no relegations in tier 10. Spain should be interesting choice, I saw some people doing this challenge with spanish clubs so it seems to be ok, no bugged finances or other issues. There's just one thing I don't like in that league - an obligatory minimum release clause so other clubs can buy your players easier, I try to exclude this clause every time I offer new contracts. But it's just my personal preference.

[KGregory44]

Ahhh that's a good point, forgot about the min release clause! Would end up being brutal in the promotion years when players have performed well. Best I keep a look at alternatives, but enjoy the idea of being in a bigger league.

[Ron_Swanson]

It's always nice and rewarding in this type of challenge when you build team strong enough to eventualy compete with the biggest and wealthiest clubs. Good luck with your save @KGregory44

[Ron_Swanson]

July 2031

A standard set of friendlies to maximize profit. According to bookies we should be fighting relegation but we're not rock bottom with those odds. I offered new contracts to most of my players just to upgrade them from part-time contracts. Two issues with that. I must went above wage budget, there were a lot of 20% promotion pay raise clauses in previous ones that were activated so when starting negotiations I needed to offer even some more. And the second is that every youth contract that was 6$p/w automaticaly became 170$p/w (due to turning pro if I'm not mistaken).