[FM23] Chapter Two: Schalke04, Rebuilding in Royal Blue with a budget of $5 dollars a day

[Hootieleece]

Preston North End FC

Hello again. It is Hootieleece with a new Career Update. This is an update I have been mulling over the past few years. I was first exposed to PNE's success as a founding member of the Football League in the book, Inverting the Pyramid.  I have found after some cursory research a team that has been mired in mediocrity. The last trophy coming in 2000. It will be the focus of this save to bring the Premier League Trophy to its true home in Lancashire.

Preston, Lancashire

As one can see Preston is in the middle of a hotbed of Football. Longtime FM players will recognize many of the communities of the area. Also this is where many of the original 12 members of the English Football League are from the northwest and the midlands.

Save objectives:

• Get Preston FC to the Premier League
• Use primarily English and Scottish Players (the Old Invincibles were made up of Scottish "Professionals") but any nation of UK is fine.
• Win the Premier League Title
• Win the Premier League Title undefeated
• get an academy player named Captain of England or Scotland

Honors

Roll Of Honour

Founded 1880
Founder Member of the English Football League 1888
League Champions 1889, 1890
FA Cup Winners 1889, 1938
War Cup Winners 1941
FA Cup Finalists 1888, 1922, 1937, 1954, 1964
Lancashire Cup Winners 1887, 1893, 1895, 1900, 1996
Division One Runners-up 1891, 1892, 1893, 1906, 1953, 1958
Division Two Champions 1904, 1913, 1951, 2000*
Division Three Champions 1971, 1996*
* In 1991 the former Division One broke away from the Football League and formed the Premier League, the former Divisions Two, Three and Four later became the Championship, League One and League Two respectively.

 

This will be a true project for me. I am starting the save officially on Monday May 1, 2023. I am going to holiday to that date and takeover PNE in whatever state they are in.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Hootieleece
Changed title.

[13th Man]

Good to see a new career thread from you! Definitely going to be a project, but I’ll be here for it.

[karanhsingh]

Following! Best of luck with the original invincibles

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Following! Best of luck with the original invincibles

I'm going to need it. Just wait for the first true post. (I started the save and vacationed till 5/1/23.) 

On 29/04/2023 at 10:36, 13th Man said:

Good to see a new career thread from you! Definitely going to be a project, but I’ll be here for it.

I am going to try and be a little more thorough in at least some of my posts on my thinking and reasoning.  (Some of which I definitely "borrowed" from others on the Forum) but mostly I enjoy playing the games to see if my/others tactical Ideas work and so I can get to the fun of transfers and squad building.

 

This team is going to be a real project due to a limited budget and scouting scope at least initially. ($16M/year Payroll and sign England based players)

[TheGoodRebel]

As someone who lives in the area I’ll be looking forward to seeing how this one unfolds. Good luck 

[Hootieleece]

Prologue

The start of a new football season always interested University of Central Lancaster Adjunct Professor Cort Jester. It made him reminisce about when he was an up and coming player at Coldstream FC in his hometown. Unfortunately, there was a motorcycle accident the night he signed to transfer to Rangers. Instead of a career in football he started studying the classics and graduated from the University of Glasgow. After years of working as an Adjunct Professor at many different universities he had settled in Preston and continued to hope for a more permanent position. Which would come after he finished his work on his magnus opus about the Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings. The local team Preston got off to a bad start and also didn't get going after the World Cup Break. As the season went on Cort found himself wondering if thing would have turned out differently if he had stayed in Football. Yes, he had tried his hand at coaching and gotten some of the licenses, but his young age often caused problems with older players, so he went into teaching.  As the season dragged on Preston FC seemed to be doing worse than their usual midtable mediocrity. Jester attended some of the matches and was appalled by the basic defensive mistakes being made and the lack of scoring. The team couldn't find a Center Forward to lead the line. They tried bringing several young talents on loan, but none of them were able to help.  When he watched the Home match against rivals Blackpool at Deepdale on his Birthday on April Fool's Day (also his birthday) he made a vow to himself that he would manage this team if he got his chance. After the win that day the team, as if to answer his prayer went on a losing streak that lasted the end of the month. In a desperation move the Board sacked the manager after the 4/29/23 match with one match remaining in the season! The team needed to win to remain in the Championship since they were in 22nd place. Jester submitted his CV and Resume online for the opening. He was surprised when his cellphone rang from an unknown number. That phone call led to a whirlwind 48 hours that led to his resigning from the University of Central Lancaster and to become manager of one of the Historic Football Franchises.....the money wasn't bad either! No more Ramen Noodles!

I used the suggestions to create this manager. I know that many would research a former pro player that would make a believable manager. I couldn't think of any and I just want to tell a story.

(Yes, I played the game before I took these screenshots)

The Gameworld started on 9/5/22 and I holidayed to 5/1/23.

The Leagues loaded:

MAYDAY MAYDAY

One game for Survival.....

The terms of Employment:

To be continued:

 

 

 

[Carambau]

Yay! This is beautiful! I´m in!  

Edited April 30, 2023 by Carambau

[Hootieleece]

Survival Sunday

The first thing Jester did was to try and figure out a tactic that would win the match on Saturday versus Sunderland. Luckily for Preston FC, Sunderland had already been relegated to League One.  That didn't mean they would be pushovers because Jester was sure they wanted to ensure that this team would join them in their misery. Unfortunately there wasn't time to make radical changes in what the team did in the four short days until the final match. So Jester decided to modify the formation they had been using a 5-2-1-2. Instead of playing deep and long balling it which seemed to be the modus operandi during the matches he had attended. Jester decided to attack the flanks of the Sunderland team with Vertical Tiki-Taka and pressing on defense.

(Some of you will recognize this as "Nesselquist Ball") @SixPointer

With that emplaced during the too short and to few training sessions. Jester also had to deal with players many of whom were decent attacking playmakers who had not received "adequate" playing time and grumbling about it.

Luckily Defender Diaby held a Players only meeting on the night of May 5th (that might have included use of Tequila and Tacos) to rally the team for an effort the next day.

The Bookies and Media favored the team to win the match but would need help to stave off relegation.

Jester could only hope that the players would play better for him than his predecessor.

The team played well and with more practice the team might have scored more goals. The team spent a lot of time passing the ball just to pass the ball especially after we scored the first goal and there were a lot of nerves because Sunderland has as many or more chances than Preston did but in the end the Lilywhites won!

The Final Table

Jester had achieved his immediate objective which was to stay in the Championship. Jester has plans but the next update will show some of the shambles of a club he inherited.

To be continued:

Edited April 30, 2023 by Hootieleece
edited to become grammatically correct

[karanhsingh]

Court jester 

Interesting time to take over the reigns! But first task is completed. 

[13th Man]

Watch out for those motorcycles.  He should have just told Gandalf to summon Gwaihir to fly him to Rangers rather than try and travel to Mordor...er, Rangers on a motorcycle.

[I did have to look up the Gwaihir reference, btw.  My wife is the LOTR nerd, not me.  Half of what I know is ways to trigger her by getting the lore wrong.  Also, the music in the LOTR trilogy was excellent so I paid more attention.  Still, I now fully expect to see references to Tolkien's works in this career thread.]

Well done so far.  100% record (don't muck it up).

Good luck with what looks to be a difficult task!

Edited May 1, 2023 by 13th Man

[Hootieleece]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Court jester 

Interesting time to take over the reigns! But first task is completed. 

I don't want to take it too seriously.....and maybe even poke fun at myself from time to time.

 

4 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Watch out for those motorcycles.  He should have just told Gandalf to summon Gwaihir to fly him to Rangers rather than try and travel to Mordor...er, Rangers on a motorcycle.

[I did have to look up the Gwaihir reference, btw.  My wife is the LOTR nerd, not me.  Half of what I know is ways to trigger her by getting the lore wrong.  Also, the music in the LOTR trilogy was excellent so I paid more attention.  Still, I now fully expect to see references to Tolkien's works in this career thread.]

Well done so far.  100% record (don't muck it up).

Good luck with what looks to be a difficult task!

I am more of a general-purpose nerd. I have read LOTR books and watched the movies. I am also a Sci Fi nerd Star Wars, Star Trek, and Dune as well. I did write a paper on the importance of Eowyn for a Beowulf to Tolkien class in college.

The Motorcycle Accident was reminiscent of American Basketball player Jason Williams. He had been 2nd pick of the draft by the Bulls and even played a season, but during the offseason had a bad accident that ended his career. Now he is a radio personality and analyst on ESPN.

[Hootieleece]

State of the Club

With survival assured Cort Jester decided to see what he had actually gotten himself into....

The team finished 20thin the Championship only due to its win against Sunderland which was bottom of the table.

How they got there

One can see that the team was playing its usual midtable mediocrity with a good September and decent October. The Team went on World Cup Break and never got it going again. The 5 straight losses in April were the end of the Previous regime.

The Team 

As one can see a team that has spent most of its time in the Championship and had even been relegated to League One as recently as 2011. It is going to be a long way back to the top.

 

The facilities are in pretty good shape, but Jester is going to want to upgrade the Youth Recruitment, Coaching, and Facilities in the next few years. That is just one part of the plan unfolding in his head to restore Preston NE to glory.

The staff was not really ready to do more than they currently were doing, and he would try to add and upgrade the staff.

The Financial Situation

The Team was in the red and only had modest budgets in any case.

The first thing that came to Jester's mind was that he was going to try and emulate Liverpool with young players and Gegen press. Unfortunately, that would mean firing the current staff and when he tried to terminate the Assistant Manager the board stepped in and blocked it. He found that ALL of the staff had just been given long-term (2-3 year) contracts that the board wasn't willing to buyout.

The Team

The team wasn't terrible and had some decent players, but the best players were loans and most of their Parent clubs were unwilling to let them return for more losing.

Several players were unhappy with their playing time or wanted to leave. Woodburn was THE star attacking player actually contracted to the club and had been barely used. Brad Potts had his playing time reduced by the prior manager. Getting both to sign on for the future would be an important step for rebuilding this club for the immediate future.

Several Players were already set to join the club or leave.

Both of these players were already leaving on free transfers and would leave holes in the lineup at least depth wise.

Transfer in. A depth signing at best.

The team was going to be a true rebuilding job. In the next post we will look at some of the data from the past season to show what is being planned by Jester the "Black and White" to make Deepdale a feasting hall for Football to rival Meduseld or Heorot.

To be Continued

 

 

 

 

[Hootieleece]

Data and Season Review

Data

As the team analytics show it was a below average season for Preston. Particularly disturbing is the goals per game average of .80!

The reason for the low goals was twofold Lack of shots and low cross completion from a team using wingplay.

Jester made a note to have the team play more on the front foot rather than passively absorbing pressure so that team would be able to take more shots as he started to determine a tactical plan for the future.

Defensively the team didn't make many interceptions, blocks or clearances. The lack of blocks and clearances is troubling for a team playing defensively and countering from a low block.

Jester decided that the team would move the Defensive line up and play in the Mid-block going forward.

The support for the team was a strong point, but their Season Ticket holders only filled about 35% of the seats in Deepdale.

Jester decided that the team would have to play attacking football while being responsible at the back. 

Commercial revenues weren't the best, but were improving.

Season Review

 

Board Meeting

The Board meeting was held shortly after the Awards banquet and the team was sent on vacation. It was here that Jester found out what the objectives for the season were and what he would be given to work with financially. 

The Board wasn't outlandish in its objectives. Midtable Finish and sign cheap youngsters to the team due to the limited budget. Easily obtainable if Formation and Mentality change could fix the abysmal attacking record.

Jester's Five-Year Plan

• play attacking football while remaining responsible at the back. 
• sign young players to the team. Establish a Team DNA and Identity (Bigger, Faster, Stronger) and (Intelligent)
• make long cup runs (Especially FA Cup) to improve finances.
• improve Youth recruitment and training (upgrades needed finances from Cup runs)
• Seasons 1-3 remain Midtable and make Cup runs
• Season 4 Make the Playoffs
• Season 5 Win the League and be Promoted as Champions

The Board was impressed with the vision introduced by Jester, but after he left the meeting. He realized that he knew next to nothing about implementing it. So he went to the Central Lancaster University and researched Football Tactics. He thought about emulating Klopp's Liverpool or Guardiola's Man City but decided that he was going to do something slightly different and he hoped it would become the Lilywhites signature for years to come. Yes, He borrowed from other managers Nesselquist and Tuchel, but tweaks during the Preseason would make it his own.

to be continued:

[karanhsingh]

Keen to see what tactic you come up with!

[Hootieleece]

June 2023: Offseason

While Jester was working on new tactics he was also busy finding out who would play for him as well.

The month of June didn't start well because many of the best attacking players at the team saw their loans run out and their Parent clubs didn't want them to return to Preston. 

The players were happy with their time in Preston but their Parent Clubs wanted them to play with better players!

Jester thought where was he going to get better players without loans! Given the budget constraints here in Preston.

So he decided to work for the most part with players already here even if they were older....

The FA Cup finished and Man City had completed the Domestic Double!

Early Transfers saw the Team Bring in Two Players:

Jester overpaid but this player would provide competition for places in midfield or AMC positions. He comes from Reading FC.

This was a transfer already arranged not to sure about him doesn't have the technical skills necessary for Jester's Vision of Football. He will be trained as a CD-X for the middle of the Back Three.

With the best Strikers leaving when their loans end this is the area most in need of improvement.....but there wer possibly capable players already here.....

Including former Liverpool Starlet Ben Woodburn.

In any case Jester would look to expand the ranks of Strikers.

The teams best academy prospect extended his stay he will be built around as the Shadow Striker of the Future!

The New Season was coming....

With three teams that would be tough to beat especially Nottingham Forest if they kept their young talent.

In other News the club somehow kept its reputation intact

For Strikers the General Manager and HOYD found the following player:

He will be developed in the U21's

The Board reminded Jester of the Season Expectations:

These fell in line with what Jester thought was achievable.

Now that the Schedule was out it was time to prepare for Preseason:

The team had many matches because Jester believed putting a tactical system to practical use was the best way to have players learn. He could go over theories in the classroom or the practice field but players applying the principles would benefit the team twofold: They would become match fit and learn the new system to be ready for the new season.

This is Depth Chart going into the season.

So Jester needed to sign a few more players:

The team raided the big clubs academies for depth players to fill out the roster.

A centerback to build around and a Future Captain once his personality improves with mentoring.

A future #1 Keeper from the Arsenal. Is good enough to be backup but due to financial constraints will train with first team but mostly get match practice with the U-21's except in an emergency!

And in the search for strikers, we were able to bring a former loanee back to the club.

Yes his loan says he is a regular starter but he is actually a backup. He is a Poacher and I am not fond of the role. Plus, Jester wants to give the players under contract to the team first chance at the positions.

Management Reports

Financial Update

 

Jester has his work cut out to mold this group of players into a Fellowship that will defend Deepdale with tenacity and brotherhood. 

 

to be continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hootieleece]

July-August 2023: Preseason "Time to forge a Fellowship"

The start of the preseason came and Jester unveiled the new Tactics. In the end he hadn't strayed far from the Nesselquist and Tuchel Foundation. Even though he dreamed of copying Guardiola with beautiful passing.

The Nessequist Ball that won his first match in charge. This will become the main tactic.

This is Nesselquist through the Middle. After looking at this Jester decided to change some of the roles to better fit with training for the main tactic.

This is Tuchel Ball but after early preseason Jester adjusted the roles to better fit the training.

Jester wasn't looking for much practice ground training this preseason!

having scheduled 10 matches before the season started and shortly after this schedule was presented to the players a 11th Friendly was added. Eiche from LaLiga Challenged us at Deepdale. Another Friendly against a "better" side would be the "Final Exam" for his players this Preseason to see if they understood and were ready to play the Jester Way!

"Study Groups" were created to help some of the Younger Players with their Social Emotional Learning and Skills.

At the beginning of Preseason we were considered Midtable:

Ben Woodburn a Player Jester wanted to keep and Jester agreed had been underutilized by the previous regime came to his office complaining about his contract and how he was going to keep his options open. Jester promised to play him more and see if that would change his mind about leaving.

Woodburn was happy and Jester got the Starting DLF he envisioned for his tactic based on current players.

The relegated teams had some real firepower in front of goal. Jester just wanted to score more goals than he conceded and wasn't bothered by who scored them as of yet.

The preseason definitely didn't go to plan with early losses and a disastrous trip to Holland, but upon returning to Lancashire the team started playing better.

Jester was really happy with the effort in the match against Leicester and Rafa Benitez. Preston had played their equal in the match and that boded well for the future.

While the team was practicing and playing at home after the trip to Holland Jester worked on planning for the future of the team bearing in mind the financial constraints.

A well thought of youngster that will be loaned out and is a future RPM.

He extended the Captain because he was in the prime of his career and Jester needed his help to convince the older players about the project. The younger players were buying based on their training ratings but the older players not so much yet.

Andrew Hughes was an experienced player and wanted to be Wide Centerback, Jester agreed to it. He was technically capable but would have a Defend role because of the Attacking Wingback on that side. This created the first role change in the tactic.

The team finished the Preseason with a victory during their "Final Exam"

It was as complete a performance as we had this Preseason and it showed that the hard work of learning a new system was paying off.

This was end result of the Preseason Friendlies. We got better after some early teething problems. The team performed well against better teams the only real mistake was the match against Barrow. Jester took the foot off the gas at halftime and Barrow came back with roar!

After that Preseason the Bookies and Media made new opinions.

We had dropped two places and were considered one of the teams in the relegation battle.

Management Report

Eventhough Jester is under budget on payroll unless we get a big payday in the Cups this will be another season in the red. Last season the team ended up about $5M in debt. Biggest problem are the cheap season tickets. $27/match or $325/season.

to be continued:

 

 

[13th Man]

Glad to see things going well after a worrying preseason start. Takes a bit to get used to the new tactics and all. 
Seems like a good fit for a midtable club too - should be defensively solid and score even with limited players.

[SixPointer]

Fantastic club choice one of the very best back in there day!

[Hootieleece]

8 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Glad to see things going well after a worrying preseason start. Takes a bit to get used to the new tactics and all. 
Seems like a good fit for a midtable club too - should be defensively solid and score even with limited players.

It has started well as you will soon see, but we hit a blip when I started tinkering with the tactics in September. Midtable is the goal in the League. Like another thread states the Cup are our true objective this season for financial reason. Also took awhile to sort out the starting XI. This is the first time I have really tried to play with the players already established on the team and not just bring in a bunch of youngsters to start at the ground floor.

58 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Fantastic club choice one of the very best back in there day!

Preston is almost perfect for the challenge of building up and/or a youth only challenge. They are "Fallen Giants" but that history is so far in the past that it might just as well be mythological.

[karanhsingh]

Your signings look decent but i think you'll eventually need better players at championship level tbh. On the other hand, loving the tactical shape. 

[Hootieleece]

34 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Your signings look decent but i think you'll eventually need better players at championship level tbh. On the other hand, loving the tactical shape. 

They were young signings to develop and follow the club vision. I will be scouring the u-18 failure list for the next couple of years. They were about all the team could afford due to almost everyone being older and on high wages. I will need better players to get promoted but during these first 2-3 seasons I am actually happy with midtable mediocrity in the league as long as I do well in the cups. It is about putting the foundations in place to STAY in the Premier League in the future.  This Club is going to have to become Football Factory to stand a chance. (Better Youth Coaching, Facilities, and Recruiting)

As for the tactical shape I can't take ownership of it in that it is in fact @SixPointer  Nessequist Ball from a few years back. I have played further and changed some roles and TI's to better reflect the squad I have. (Big, Strong, Slow and not Technical) but the principles remain the same. It started out as Vertical Tiki-Taka but has morphed into a mid-block Gegen press.   Gegen press will help us achieve our immediate and mid-term goals, but Vertical-Tiki Taka will win Championships with better players. (Because it breaks down Parked busses better)

Eventually I think I want to get to the 3-2-4-1 shape Guardiola currently uses and play Vertical Tiki-taka.

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

They were young signings to develop and follow the club vision. I will be scouring the u-18 failure list for the next couple of years. They were about all the team could afford due to almost everyone being older and on high wages. I will need better players to get promoted but during these first 2-3 seasons I am actually happy with midtable mediocrity in the league as long as I do well in the cups. It is about putting the foundations in place to STAY in the Premier League in the future.  This Club is going to have to become Football Factory to stand a chance. (Better Youth Coaching, Facilities, and Recruiting)

As for the tactical shape I can't take ownership of it in that it is in fact @SixPointer  Nessequist Ball from a few years back. I have played further and changed some roles and TI's to better reflect the squad I have. (Big, Strong, Slow and not Technical) but the principles remain the same. It started out as Vertical Tiki-Taka but has morphed into a mid-block Gegen press.   Gegen press will help us achieve our immediate and mid-term goals, but Vertical-Tiki Taka will win Championships with better players. (Because it breaks down Parked busses better)

Eventually I think I want to get to the 3-2-4-1 shape Guardiola currently uses and play Vertical Tiki-taka.

I like the stage wise development plan and idea of becoming a talent factory. Sadly I rarely have the patience for that, so applaud those who do. 

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

I like the stage wise development plan and idea of becoming a talent factory. Sadly I rarely have the patience for that, so applaud those who do. 

I hope to have that patience hopefully this save lasts until the next FM comes out!

 

[Hootieleece]

Seeing that Big Sam Allardyce just got hired to manage Leeds United this week.  

I found it funny that a bunch of Championship coaches were discussing hiring him as a SCOUT!  

 

[Hootieleece]

August 2023: Regular Season "It is time to start the journey"

Jester was quite pleased with how his "students" passed the proverbial Final Exam against Eiche.  The Championship Season would start again on Saturday against Swansea. He had settled on a Starting XI and if he could have them play most of the matches together he felt sure of reaching his objectives. There were one or two things he wasn't pleased with his tactics even though they seemed to be working well, but he thought that it would only take minor adjustments and tweaks.

This is the main tactic with the First XI in their correct roles and positions.

"Tuchel" Ball with changes to the front three and attacking opposite of the main tactic.

Schedule

Highlights

The first match was to be held at Deepdale versus Swansea on Saturday 8/12/23.

The team was seen as favorites due to home advantage hopefully we would take advantage.

The Board took time to remind Jester of the team's vision for the season.

All well within the abilities of this team.

 

The analytics department created this report based on the last five matches of Preseason when we played well. Hopefully the form would continue during the early season.

The First match of the new season was a victory over a team that went down to ten men. Mikey O'Neil made his debut from the academy and scored a late goal!

The Victory buoyed the spirits and convinced a famous footballer to join u-18 staff!

The Marketing Department shared that Season Tickets sales remained the same from the previous season...

The next match saw the team head to newly promoted Birmingham 

It was a Carabao Cup match and Jester started the backups to Rotate the side and learn how good his young signing were in a "real" competition.

The Rotated side did well and some subs from the First XI ensured another victory and clean sheet.

As a result of the victory we would head to the home of local Lancashire team Fleetwood

Our First Road trip of the season would see the team travel to Stoke.

They were recently relegated and not in good form so we would have a chance....

It was a tough match, and we took the lead but Stoke kept fighting back and Dwight Gale was the Super Sub that scored the tying goal.

The next match would see the team return to Preston and take on recently promoted Bristol City.

The Fans were impressed with the display put on by the team....

The Press described it as a hammering. It was actually due to our Set-Pieces that allowed us to evade their "Parked Bus"

Of Coursr Jester was satisfied with the win.....

and our formation created good passing lanes as well.

The Final match of the month was a trip to Highbury Stadium home of Fleetwood Town.

The team continued its good play with a rotated side winning the honors.....

and it was another good front footed effort in the passing department

League Table

Analyst Report

Players of the Month

Ben Woodburn DLF-S

Mikey O'Neill SS-A

Management Report

The Board and Supporters are behind Jester and the Team is coming around creating relationships with the leading players and giving them contracts really helped the Group Dynamics.

The only dark spot is that the team is hemmorhaging money even staying within the budget set by the board!

to be continued:

 

 

 

 

[13th Man]

Excellent start. The tactic seems right, the use of a slow rebuild makes a lot of sense rather than the quick clear out. It takes time, and seems like this is a good project to start slow and gain momentum over time. Though with this kind of form you’ll be pushing for promotion!

[SixPointer]

Great start! Nice to see my time in Norway as ole Martin nesselquist still has an effect 

[karanhsingh]

Great start! the tactic is coming along well

[Hootieleece]

7 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Excellent start. The tactic seems right, the use of a slow rebuild makes a lot of sense rather than the quick clear out. It takes time, and seems like this is a good project to start slow and gain momentum over time. Though with this kind of form you’ll be pushing for promotion!

Yes, it worked great in August, but there were a few things I wanted to tweak. Spoiler: After adjustments it didn't work as well is September.

1 hour ago, SixPointer said:

Great start! Nice to see my time in Norway as ole Martin nesselquist still has an effect 

Yes. He was the inspiration. I had to use a 3 ATB tactic because that is what the team was used to stave off relegation. It made sense to use going forward because that would ease the tactical transition.

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Great start! the tactic is coming along well

I made tweaks in September that didn't work so well... as you will soon see! (Later Today)

[Hootieleece]

I have played into the future and will catch up with the writing this Weekend. I am almost to January Transfer Window and there will be a big shake up to the lineup due to Brexit and Injuries. I also plan on doing a team profile with each player and explain how they fit into the tactics. The plan is to pause playing on January 1, 2024 (Gametime) catch up with the writing and try to do a more in depth tactical and team analysis. Then start playing again on Monday.

The reason I use so many screenshots is that it helps me remember when making the updates. (because I am often playing way ahead) I need to learn where others go to make smaller images or parts of screenshots to make my posts not as long.

I will at least add September later today about 3-4pm EST.

[Hootieleece]

September 2023: Regular Season

Transfer Window

This shows most of the transfer business done by the team.

17th in payroll and about $1M under budget, but still in the red.

Schedule

The two losses occurred when Jester tinkered with the formation by using less TI's. His changes to roles were on the whole successful. 

Highlights

The month of September saw the team lose to both the best team and worst team in consecutive weeks. This was mostly due to Jester tweaking roles and changing TI's because He thought the team was being pressed to hard on the flanks when they had the ball and too many players were getting in each others way in the center of the Box.

The first match of the month was versus Sheffield Wednesday at Deepdale

Before this match Jester tweaked the roles the SS-A became a Trequarista and the left Centerback became a WCB-D. The Trequarista dragged defenders out of the box  and helped create the first goal.

The next match saw the team head to Nottingham Forest a recently relegated team. We were hopeful of piling on the misery....

but early in the match our starting RCB-BPD-D went down with a bad injury and that is how the CB crisis started.

The Nottingham match was an almost complete "beatdown" we could attack and couldn't defend either and their players were just BETTER!

It was Jester's first defeat and he decided to tinker with the TI's for the next match.....

This was a match against Cardiff at Home and should have been a walk over, but the players didn't know what to do without the specific instructions on How to attack when we had the ball.

This led to an embarrassing 0-1 loss to possibly the worst team in the Championship.

Jester quickly put the TI's back in place and had a few more tactical sessions during the week before the trip to Rotherham.

We kept the ball much better and finally broke down the "Parked Bus" with a fantastic shot just after halftime.

and the passing formation was fantastic, and we completed a record number of passes.

The team then travelled to Hull for the next round of the Carabao Cup

Jester decided since the team was going to play Hull twice in a row. He would Rotate the Staring XI and Sub in his best players if the match was close in the second half.

The game started poorly and the Rotated boys looked thoroughly outmatched but a rousing Speech at halftime fired them up for the second half.

Wingback Jacob Slater scored in 56 minutes and then loanee Tom Cannon put the team in jeopardyith a stupid tackle, but somehow the team scored another to draw level and then held on for penalties. 

Our reward for the victory was a trip to London!

Our young Academy Grad is making a name for himself in the Carabao Cup!

A different passing map due to different players.

The last match of the month would see the team play in front of the home crowd in Preston in the rematch just 3 days later.

Preston were considered favorites since they had just won the cup match with their backups!

We played the same system with the First XI but it wasn't as successful. Hull Manager must have figured out how to stop us from scoring even though we scored early we couldn't get a second and were frustrated when Adama Traore score to make it even.

The formation was well spread out, but we were pushed back most of the time and had a hard time penetrating their box after the first minutes of the match.

League Table

Monthly Analyst Report

Player of the Month

Robbie Brady - LWB-A

Management Report

Support from both the board and supporters! They are enjoying the tactics that Jester has brought to Deepdale

The general good play is bring the team around, Jester doesn't quite have any supporters among the players but that will come with time.

 

Financial Report

to be continued:

 

[13th Man]

A few disappointing results to be sure, but still looking good for Jester’s first season. Only 3 points off the playoff spots!

Maybe gets worse based on your comments, but promising signs…

[Hootieleece]

58 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

A few disappointing results to be sure, but still looking good for Jester’s first season. Only 3 points off the playoff spots!

Maybe gets worse based on your comments, but promising signs…

It does get worse but not by much.....mostly a lot of draws, Due to teams playing deep or losing to just better teams.  We are midtable! (in future) I am just a little frustrated since everyone seems to be one season wonders and that is usually what happens for me too.

This season is playing out much like I thought but I was thrown a wrench in my plans up front. (more on that later)

[karanhsingh]

Decent start, in touching distance of the playoff spots. Btw i just crop my pics manually before posting them. No fancy apps. 

[13th Man]

12 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

We are midtable! (in future) I am just a little frustrated since everyone seems to be one season wonders and that is usually what happens for me too.

This is the goal! Preston were nearly relegated so it makes sense that it’d take a bit of doing.

[Hootieleece]

40 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

This is the goal! Preston were nearly relegated so it makes sense that it’d take a bit of doing.

Thanks for the inspirational talk....Jester was having doubts about his ability.

[13th Man]

2 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Thanks for the inspirational talk....Jester was having doubts about his ability.

BELIEVE!

[Hootieleece]

October 2023: Regular Season "Reinvigorated Mediocrity"

Manager's Thoughts

Jester came into the month of October knowing that there would be an international break to reacquaint his players with the original principles and tactics of the 5-2-1-2 WB.

This was because our opponents keep needing to delay matches due to International callups. We have them also, but many are young backups except for a few (2-3) in the Starting XI. 

Schedule

Don't mind the date on the screenshot......Jester forgot to take a few in his excitement to keep playing to see where this was going....

Highlights

The team was training for the West Bromwich match and the second terrible injury happened to the Back Three.....

2 of 3 starting Center backs down. Time for the youngsters to step up!

We were given a chance, but Jester wasn't expecting because his defense wasn't ready.....

This match surprised Jester because a Playoff Caliber team sat back and parked the bus against a team with a patchwork defensive line. The lack of penetration by Riis and Woodburn was the factor that led to us shooting from outside the box and auditioning for American Football.

The passing map isn't bad.....the players upfront have decent average positions.

In other areas of the club the team was looking to get better at analyzing matches....

This guy answered the want ad in the Job Center. Jester was mystified as to why an Assistant Manager of Top Flight Clubs wanted to work here.....

Unless he wanted to keep his work permit and maybe transfer to the coaching staff later....He was NOT hired.

The backup Left Wingback is now out for about Two months that will be a strain on Robbie Brady the starter because we don't really have a third string that is ready to take his place. The Defense Injury Crisis Continues....

In better news Jester was able to tie down Woodburn for the future.....

He is the starting DLF-S but should probably be the Trequarista instead, but Onomah is much better.

The next match was after the International Break and it was against Luton Town.

We have a chance, but Luton doesn't have a patchwork defense to contend with.

This match went against the run of play. We were out possessed and ended up defending in our version of the "Parked Bus" and got a lucky early goal.

The pass map shows we were pinned in our end and had very little of the ball.

The next match would see the team host Reading. Yes, somehow we are in 8th place just one behind Reading but the Luton match showed that we were doing it with "Smoke and Mirrors"!

adding intrigue was the return of playmaker Daniel Johnson who left because he wanted a new challenge.

We would mark him and tackle him hard.....

It was an even match until halftime then in the second half we took an early lead and then all of a sudden Reading started attacking and playing with intensity. We were pinned in our half and were scrambling to defend the goal....The Mentality was switch to Defensive but it was no use. Johnson scored and then in Extra time they brought on Andy Carroll and started pumping the box with crosses.....inevitablly he scored the game winner.

After the match I said they were lucky.....when we were hanging on by the string in the end!

but Jester still wanted a Positive reaction after the late defeat.

The next match would see the team host Fulham at Deepdale. Fulham was recently relegated from the Premeir League and would be tough to beat.

The Positive reaction came when Riis scored just before half and the team defended like heroes in the second half!

After the match Jester just stated the obvious.....

even though it was 1-0 this was an end-to-end match which saw both sides try and score but each defense was up to the task except Preston's was a little better that day due to our goalie Woodman.

The next match would start November and See the team travel to London to play Tottenham Hotspurs who just fired Antonio Conte! (He lasted 7 months more than real life)

Jester is going to play his Strongest XI and let the chips fall where they may. The bank balance will be helped by playing at the Big Stadium regardless.

League Table

Player of the Month

Emil Riis- PF-A

Monthly Analysis

The Team is overperforming which is good, but the statistic that worries Jester is Shots on Target Ratio. (Our players would make great NFL Placekickers)

The scary thing is even with our 3-place overachievement the team is still three places out of the playoffs.

Management Report

Financial Report

Even though we are under budget we are hemorrhaging money, and some players may have to be moved in the winter transfer window.

to be continued:

 

 

 

 

 

[Hootieleece]

November 2023: Regular Season "The Fellowship stops at Bree"

Manager's Thoughts

I came into the month of November knowing it would be a busy month for the team. I wanted my best players available for the Big Matches and that started the First Day of the month in London. Actually, I was just happy to be there for the paycheck for the team. When we pulled off the upset, I started to believe anything was possible. I was soon brought back down to earth by a patchwork defense that was bailed out more often than not by great goalkeeping. The team was still gaining points and in a decent place in the table but so many of the matches could have been won if we could breakdown "Parked Buses".

Schedule

Highlights

The trip to London was an immense undertaking and Jester took it seriously by planning to play the Starting XI. He wanted to go as far as possible for the ducats the visits to the Premier League Arenas would provide. Luck seemed to be on Preston's side in that the London Club had just fired their manager, Antonio Conte.

 

But no one was predicting an upset by the Championship side. But the team FM'ed them in an open match due to VAR which corrected the Refs decisions. 

"They played oh so Spursy" to quote a prominent member of the media.

on to the Quarterfinals!

Jester tried to calm the exultation in the upset!

Most importantly the victory was worth $1M to the Club Bank Balance!

This was a match by all the analysis should have lost only 3 players played well. A true "FMing"

We had tried to play on the front foot somehow got a lead late then tried to play what American Football Fans derisively call "Prevent Defense" by dropping the mentality to Defensive and almost immediately surrendered a goal but the Clock was our friend and ran out before they could equalize.

The biggest Question the next day was who our next opponents would be:

We drew Man United and trip to the "Theater of Dreams". Jester was thinking Jackpot!

Another Payday and Jester planned on giving the Starting XI their chance to play at Old Trafford.

After the excitement of the trip to London it was back to Championship business and travelling to Huddersfield.

Our defense was still patchwork and the team would be missing Robbie Brady who was a prime creator with crosses.

This was a match we had a chance of winning because they were of similar stature and in bad form. Would the team be able to take advantage?

No the match turned into something akin to watching Paint dry.....

having a rotated side out on the pitch might have had something to do with it.

The next match would see the team head to League leading Ipswich Town....

The match was a Xerox copy of the Huddersfield Match....except the Starters were on the pitch.

The fans were salty about the "boring" Football, but the place in the table mattered more!

The Pass map wasn't bad we just didn't have the ball enough to make an impression on their defense.

Another tough match, Relegated Wolves....leading the League.

Even though the match was a Deepdale Preston was on the back foot all match and lost decisively 0-2!

Jester tried to "protect" a player from the fans Boos and Taunts....after a bad match by everyone,,,,NO SCAPEGOATS!

We made alot of sideways and backwards passes during the match when we had the ball which wasn't often!

On to the next match!

Middlesborough would be visiting Deepdale. Currently 4rth in the League.

Our "boring" draws were being applauded by the opposition manager.

Jester had to respond in kind, and this was his response:

Emil Riis scored and that was the highlight of the match for us. After halftime Middlesborough played better and our patchwork defense finally brokedown.

After Middlesborough the team would face our local Lancashire rivals Blackpool

This was a big match for our fans and the local media hyped it up!

Jester said he and the team were excited and ready for the match...

and after all the hype....

Just a dull draw.

The Pass map shows that the team was pushed back and had a hard time finding the Poacher.....

League Table

Player of the Month

Freddie Woodman- SK-Su

The goalie has been the real reason for our defensive success his shot stopping has been magnificent!

Analyst Report

Management Report

Financial Report

Even with record revenues from gate receipts due to the Carabao Cup the team still was still in the red this month and overall.

to be continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[karanhsingh]

Busy month there - great win over Spurs! Although Man Utd may be a step too far 

[13th Man]

Really good form Id say. Obviously massive win over Spurs. I can see how you’re a bit frustrated though - draws where you just can’t get through are so annoying. On the whole, you seem to be making great progress 

[Hootieleece]

10 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Busy month there - great win over Spurs! Although Man Utd may be a step too far 

December is even busier.

55 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

Really good form Id say. Obviously massive win over Spurs. I can see how you’re a bit frustrated though - draws where you just can’t get through are so annoying. On the whole, you seem to be making great progress 

Thanks. We aren't really playing that well it is the heroic ffforts of Riis and Woodman that are making the difference.

The Spurs match was classic FM. We parked the bus (Defensive Mentality) and Tottenham started the match thinking it was a walkover.....but with a lot of luck (Spurs hit woodwork 3 times in first half) and then some decent counters and a penalty gave us the victory. If the match had been 5 minutes longer Spurs would have drawn level and probably won.

[Hootieleece]

December 2023: Regular Season "Busy Yuletide in the Shire"

Manager Thoughts

When I looked at the schedule for December, I was shocked to find NINE Matches on the Docket. I would have to rotate the team so some of the results might not be up to standard. I was determined to give the Starting XI their match at the "Theater of Dreams" so rotation was done with this in mind. Our defense continued to be patchwork. Then came the Striker crisis. We thought we needed to sell Riis because of work permit problems and eventually sold our talisman for $4.4M. The we received a email saying he did have a work permit. Damned Bureaucrats!

Any way that made for restracturing and changing roles. Ben Wood burn would take Riis place and Mikey O'Neill would become the DLF-S in his place. With these changes the team continued to over achieve even though there were a few terrible results versus bigger teams. Our biggest problem is the lack of penetration when the opponent plays deep in front of their goal.

Schedule

Highlights

The First match of the month was a visit from Birmingham.

We just got the Defense back and now we are starting to lose midfielders.....

We played a brilliant match even though we were playing against 12 men.

The next match would see a visit from Derby County who was struggling just outside the Drop Zone.

Derby went ahead but Two Stunning Strikes by the Big Dane won the Match!

In fact he was named Player of the Week!

and as shown by the analysis he is integral to our playstyle.

 

In the days after this Jester was advised that even though his contract had been extended, he would not be given a Work Permit without a Higher Wage. Contract Negotiations were hurriedly held. A New Contract was agreed to, and the paperwork was submitted.

Unfortunately, the Permit was turned down......

and Riis was then Transfer-Listed due to the fact that he wouldn't be able to play for the team after the end of the year.

We then had a match with Sheffield United on of the relegated Premier League Teams in the Steel City.

The shock of Riis having to leave was obvious in the way the team played thinking about losing their "Talisman."

Also during the match backup Striker Ched Evans was the victim of crunching tackle that will cause him to miss the rest of the season.

We then returned home to lick our wounds and face Watford.

another tough test....

During the Days leading up to the Watford Match the FA Cup was drawn.....

It was the best and worst draw we could have, A trip to Anfield would be a boon for the bank balance but now we have no chance of advancing and making even more money.

The Watford match saw Ben Woodburn decide to take up Riis mantle.

After the Match Jester was given an analysis of the Academy Players....

Excellent intake but more of everything we already have except strikers....

This was the first team to start sniffing around after the transfer listing.....

We then headed down to London to take on QPR at Loftus Road.

The team was heavily rotated with the trip to Old Trafford in mind and injuries.....

PNE scored first and then it became the QPR show!

The next match was the Carabao Cup Quarterfinal

and the Media Hype became a Circus.....

But in reality our team wasn't ready for the big time and it showed in our performance. We tried the same Gameplan as Spurs , but Man U was utterly Ruthless evem without Rashford

So the dream was over......but the bank balance was happy! Just like Spurs match it was worth $1M!

and another serious injury......

Our defense will give his understudy McCleelland a lot of game time.

In the Post match interview Jester stated the long-term vision of the Club.

After being smashed by Man United we then had to head to Coventry for another match. 

Jester held a team meeting to inspire the team.

Coventry had a new manager.....

Jesse Marsch late of Leeds United.

It worked out in the end the team didn't lose!

During all this time we fielded offers for Riis and he ended up returning to Denmark....

I didn't want to sell but the Work Permit wouldn't allow us to play him. 

@Carambau and @Jogo Bonito Recognize this Player that rumor says wants to move to Lancashire?

Afterwards we had to get ready for another match with Sheffield United

We played well but gave up a two-goal lead and it ended in a draw!

With Riis leaving and not being able to find a suitable replacement Jester had to rethink his lineup. He moved Woodburn to PF-A from DLF-S and moved Mikey O'neill from Treq to DLF-S.

To replace O'Neill as backup Trequarista. Jester found this player as a Free Transfer.

and just before his first match newly promoted from U-21's Striker Tyler Roberts got ill.

Preston went into the match with Hull with a rotated squad match congestion was catching up with the team even with frequent visits to the sports Scientists!

That was the last match of December but the next one would be on New Year's Day!

and on January 1rst we received this Email from the Home Office:

We hadn't needed to sell Riis!

League Table

Player of the Month

Ben Woodburn PF-A

Monthly Analysis

Management Report

Solid support of the Board and the Team which is always good.

Financial Report

The Finances are still a concern for me, but the sale of Riis should help next month.

to be continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

Jovan Milosevic has a pre-agreed transfer to Stuttgart that sees him arrive in July 2023, so I've not yet had the opportunity to meet him myself. But he looks like a promising young forward so it would be interesting if you did sign him.

[Hootieleece]

11 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Jovan Milosevic has a pre-agreed transfer to Stuttgart that sees him arrive in July 2023, so I've not yet had the opportunity to meet him myself. But he looks like a promising young forward so it would be interesting if you did sign him.

I am about six months to a year ahead game time ahead of your save. I can't afford him. I can't even afford the team I have according to the financials.

Unless I somehow get a Sugar Daddy Tycoon, this is going to be a Youth Movement to progress.

[Jogo Bonito]

10 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

I am about six months to a year ahead game time ahead of your save. I can't afford him. I can't even afford the team I have according to the financials.

Unless I somehow get a Sugar Daddy Tycoon, this is going to be a Youth Movement to progress.

When I managed PNE a few versions running, they had a rich owner called Trevor Hemmings (who sadly passed away). But they always held the morals of a historical family club and never ran it carelessly. Their recruitment model was mostly focused on Ireland with a bit from Scotland, and then they were good picking up lower league players and Lancashire cast-offs from their wealthier neighbours. They delve in to Denmark and similar places (like Riis) but they've always been modest market players.

[Hootieleece]

48 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

When I managed PNE a few versions running, they had a rich owner called Trevor Hemmings (who sadly passed away). But they always held the morals of a historical family club and never ran it carelessly. Their recruitment model was mostly focused on Ireland with a bit from Scotland, and then they were good picking up lower league players and Lancashire cast-offs from their wealthier neighbours. They delve in to Denmark and similar places (like Riis) but they've always been modest market players.

I have a similar plan and club culture at least at start wanted players based in England and U-23 for First Team.

I have so far let the AI control scouting and looking for players for U-21's, but I have final say on any signings.

I may actually manually set the scouting in the future and due to the Work Permit I will probably do most of my scouting in UK until I am established in the Premier League.

[Carambau]

Jovan Milosevic wasnt ecactly a success Story at my Stuttgart, he performed well when loaned out to 2nd/3rd tier clubs though. Maybe we just didnt help him develop too much and he could grow better with better tuition 😊

Edited May 8, 2023 by Carambau

[Hootieleece]

3 hours ago, Carambau said:

Jovan Milosevic wasnt ecactly a success Story at my Stuttgart, he performed well when loaned out to 2nd/3rd tier clubs though. Maybe we just didnt help him develop too much and he could grow better with better tuition 😊

I don't even know his stats to decide if I want to try and bring him in as he is outside our scouting range!

 

[karanhsingh]

Good to see you keeping it realistic in terms of the transfers. To be fair, there are a few hidden gems to be found in Scotland. Ireland I'm not as sure about.