[FM23] Roman Rovers - Youth Only from the 15th tier of English football

[Warg92]

The aim of this save is to take Roman Rovers from the depths of English football, all the way to the top of the world, using only players produced by the club!

This is something I tried to do in multiple nations, but never in England, and never with a team that has started this far down the league system.

I have managed to go all the way to the top with a team from around this level several FMs ago, but never with a youth only policy! This will probably be the biggest challenge I have tried, and it is very probable that I will fail. But let's give it a go shall we?!

 

I have taken charge of Roman Rovers FC, a team that was founded in 2021. In real life they have achieved two promotions in two seasons. And that is about the only info I could find.

We start out in the Essex & Suffolk Border League Division Four, in the 15th tier of English football.

 

The main reason for going for this team was their black and gold colors.

Just look at this beauty!

 

The Manager

This is "me".

I have "cheated" a bit, and we've played four games when writing this, and the attributes has already grown quite a bit.

 

Facilities

 

Squad

All the players at the club is just one grey mass.

 

Key Players

 

This is also the long-term goals.

 

We're predicted to finish in top two. It should be achievable.

 

Link to the database HERE.

[Warg92]

September/October 2022

We started our league campaign with two big defeats, and I was a bit worried that the season preview had overestimated us. But we soon found our footing, and has won six out of the seven last games.

 

Still very close in the league though!

[Warg92]

November/December 2022

I felt everything was going well, then High Roding happened! At least we bounced back in the next game.

 

The game is moving a lot slower with all these games simulated at the same time. I am looking forward to moving up the leagues, so I can remove this level!

[Warg92]

Youth Intake 2023 Preview

 

The preview for our first youth intake looks very good. Every A rated position is where we need strengthening, so that is great!

[Warg92]

January/February 2023

Two more months, and we're still top of the league! In the next game we face Tendring District, and a win there will almost certainly see us win promotion.

[Warg92]

Youth Intake 2023

The first youth intake of the save! And a decent one I think. We get a new partner to our current striker, and and a new starter at left back.

 

Top three sorted by CA.

[Warg92]

In the end we had no problems taking the title home, and ended up 11 points ahead of the team behind us. A very good start to the save! Peter Daly (YP01a) made his debut in the second to last game of the season, and managed one goal and one assist in the two games he played.

 

 

I'm not sure how many players that will be left going in to the next season. Every single player that is not a youth intake player from this season has been offered contracts from clubs in the leagues above us.

 

Player of the Season

 

Best XI 2022/23

[Warg92]

The two first upgrades to the facilities! I need players ready for the first team, and these upgrades should provide us with those players.

 

We have already lost a lot of first teamers in the weeks after the season ended.

[Warg92]

Pre Season 2023/2024

A lot of goals this pre season! The only game we lost was against a team from Belgium.

 

We are predicted to finish as league winners. Should be doable!

 

Squad

We have lost a couple of the starters from last season, but I really hope our young players will step it up this year!

 

Key Players

[Warg92]

September 2023

A perfect start to the new campaign! We even managed to keep a clean sheet, something we only did two times last season

[Warg92]

October 2023

We are still on a winning streak! Going to see a Roman Rovers game is almost guaranteed a fun experience, as the goals just keep coming In both goals to be fair.

[Vakama2619]

Loved the Try save from months ago, looking forward to this one, not really seen anyone go this far down before so should be a good save

[Warg92]

4 hours ago, Vakama2619 said:

Loved the Try save from months ago, looking forward to this one, not really seen anyone go this far down before so should be a good save

Thank you for following along!

I don't remember what year of FM it was, but someone tried to a youth only with a team from the 22nd tier!

[Warg92]

November 2023

Another unbeaten month, and we're already 10 points ahead of the team behind us.

[Vakama2619]

40 minutes ago, Warg92 said:

Thank you for following along!

I don't remember what year of FM it was, but someone tried to a youth only with a team from the 22nd tier!

Is it on this forum, I might have a look for it, I remember an experiment by the Youtuber Jenkaldo when a tier 22 team was given unlimited money

[Warg92]

20 minutes ago, Vakama2619 said:

Is it on this forum, I might have a look for it, I remember an experiment by the Youtuber Jenkaldo when a tier 22 team was given unlimited money

I think it was this forum. But I have no idea what the thread was called, or even what team he was manager at. This was probably 4-5-6 years ago.

[Vakama2619]

7 minutes ago, Warg92 said:

I think it was this forum. But I have no idea what the thread was called, or even what team he was manager at. This was probably 4-5-6 years ago.

From memory the Jenkaldo experiment team was called Fairwarp, gonna assume it's the same team, I'll have a look around

[Warg92]

Youth Intake Preview

For some reason, the top of the stars are missing. Oh well, it's still rates as an excellent intake, and I am looking forward to it!

 

[Warg92]

December 2023

We're still unbeaten, and even kept two clean sheets this month! Promotion is almost secured already

[Vakama2619]

Just curious does this slow your PC down at all having this many leagues loaded?

[Warg92]

On 01/09/2023 at 14:34, Vakama2619 said:

Just curious does this slow your PC down at all having this many leagues loaded?

The game is very slow for me at the moment, and I'm not moving forward as quick as I want :P But the more leagues I remove, the better it gets!

[Warg92]

January 2024

Only the one game in the first month of the new year, and it ends in a draw. The first dropped points of the season.

[Warg92]

Not even a year since we upgraded the recruitment and coaching, but here we go again! This is brilliant at this early stage

[Warg92]

February 2024

Back to winning ways, and another unbeaten month. And with five games to go, we have already secured promotion!

[Warg92]

Youth Intake 2024

Second youth intake of the save, and a great one at that! Several of these players will have big impact of the team in years to come.

 

Top players sorted by CA.

[Warg92]

March 2024

Three games to go. The team that won this league last season has just been promoted from the league above us

[Warg92]

So, so close to an unbeaten campaign, then we went and screwed it all up in the last game of the season. Really annoying! But hey, we won the league, and got promoted for the second time in two years!

 

 

We are missing a few players here, as we have lost some over the course of the season.

 

Player of the Season

 

Best XI 2023/2024

 

Best Overall XI

[KristianT]

Incredible that before this intake your five-star players had all single-digit attributes!

[Warg92]

12 hours ago, KristianT said:

Incredible that before this intake your five-star players had all single-digit attributes!

That is the quality of the 15th tier!

[Warg92]

Pre-Season 2024/2025

A lot of wins. Half of the teams we played this pre-season is from the 11th tier.

 

We're predicted to win this league as well. I feel like the quality difference between the levels this far down is very small, so getting promoted is the goal for this season!

 

As I am writing this, we have lost only one player, but he was one of our best players, so he will be missed.

 

Squad

 

Key Players

[Warg92]

September 2024

A good start to the new season, and after three wins and draw we are top of the league.

[Warg92]

More upgrades!

[Warg92]

October 2024

"The Gladiators" keep marching on! That is actually the nickname of the club, I just realised I haven't mentioned that fact

[Warg92]

Job Interview

I've had several clubs wanting an interview with me, but this is by far the biggest team. They are currently mid table in the Vanarama South.

 

[Warg92]

November 2024

Another great month, and we're 10 points ahead of Mersea Island.

[Warg92]

Youth Intake Preview

I have never seen so many "A" rated positions! This should be a good one, and I am really looking forward to it

[Warg92]

December 2024

A perfect month sees us going in to the new year 15 points ahead of the second placed team!

[Warg92]

January 2025

With seven games to go, we have already won promotion. Incredible scenes!

 

We have scored a lot of goals this far, but Gosfield United has a player that is a goal-scoring machine!

[Warg92]

February 2025

Two more wins on the board. And a nice GD

[Warg92]

Looks like I might lose my job...

 

*EDIT*

Thankfully it is Hugo that has taken over the club, and I will remain a Roman Rovers manager!

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Warg92

[Warg92]

Youth Intake 2025

This is a incredible intake! Only two players from our current squad is rated higher than the eight best players from this youth intake A lot of attackers though

Zigor Olabe (YP03a) looks very good for this level, and I doubt we will keep hold of him for very long.

 

The six highest rated, sorted by CA.

[Warg92]

March 2025

Two more wins. Only one month left of the season.

I am looking forward to moving forward, so I can remove more leagues. This is not going as fast as I want

[Warg92]

Another league win in the books. We scored 104 goals this season, that is exactly four goals a game!

At the moment, the board does not expect us to win the league next season, so that might be the first year we will have trouble in the league.

 

 

 

Player of the Season

 

Best XI 2024/2025

 

Overall Best XI

Edited September 5, 2023 by Warg92

[Warg92]

Pre-Season 2025/2026

A lot of games, and a lot goals! Two of the defeats was against teams in the leagues below us, so that was disappointing.

 

Predicted to win this league as well!

 

We're in two Cups this season, for the first time

 

Squad

Four players left from the original team. Might release them this season, we will see how much they will feature.

 

Key Players

 

We lost our second best player in terms of CA this summer. A big loss for us.

[Warg92]

September 2025

A perfect start in the league, and a win in the first Cup game ever for the club!

[Warg92]

October 2025

Yet another perfect month. I think the last time we lost a game was in the first month of this save

 

*EDIT*

I was wrong, we lost the last game of the 2023/24 season.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Warg92

[Warg92]

This is a surprise! Maybe we have a future star in our hands?! I doubt it, to be honest

[Warg92]

Okay, I will call it quits on this save. I'm moving along way to slowly for my liking, even with the leagues removed.

I will back with a save soon.