[FM24] Tulach Bòide [Scotland Tier 13]

[leicester33]

i hope McLean does good for you, mainly cause hes a unique nationality

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Scribe said:

Congrats on an incredible cup run!

It's not over yet, but with our (un)availability at WB it might as well be. 

[Jimbokav1971]

14 minutes ago, leicester33 said:

i hope McLean does good for you, mainly cause hes a unique nationality

I've got to admit, as much as I love PA, and as much as I need CA, what really does it for me is an unusual Nationality. 

Please please please please please let him be good. 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2037.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2037. 

Injuries. Ahead of this month I was a little concerned about our availability at WB, (both left and right), and it's going to be tough to overcome. 

We've lost our 1st choice WBL in (30l) Docherty (F.Pro) because he will be suspended for the Scottish Cup Quarter-Final with Falkirk. He will only miss the Scottish Cup match though and will be available again. 
We've lost our 1st choice WBR in (32d) Gauld (Res) and he might be missing for 3 more weeks with a broken toe. 
We've lost our 2nd choice WBR in (31l) Reid (Unamb) * and he will be out until well into next season with a broken ankle. 
We've lost our 3rd choice WBR in (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(Spirit)* and he's cup-tied after being out on loan in the 1st half of the season, but will be available for league games. 

It means that for the Cup match against Falkirk we will probably have to play (32m) Hogarth (F.Pro) on the left and possibly (31d) Johnston (NIR) (Unamb) on the right, (who is a right-footed left back). 

I think with all these players available, or even just 1 decent left back and 1 right back, I'd fancy us against Falkirk, but without them..... not so much. 

Scottish League 2. We went top of the table after beating East Kilbride, and then lost top spot when we lost to Cove Rangers. The FM Gods giveth, and the FM Gods taketh away. 

We trail Albion Rovers by 2 points with 5 games to play, but we do have a game in hand. 

Scottish Cup. Beating Celtic was amazing, (ridiculously so), and then beating St Johnstone and Ayr was great, but losing our full-backs cost us any chance we had of beating Falkirk when I was just starting to think that we had a real chance of getting to the Final, (especially when you consider that Rangers have also already been knocked out). 

(The opposition are 9th in the Premiership). We led 2-0 after 31 mins, but we couldn't hang on and the Premiership outfit drew level on 68 mins and then finally scored the winner on 85 mins. 

Internationals. 

Injuries. Usually injuries are a bad thing, A damaged spine that keeps a player out for 9-13 months in a really bad thing. A damaged spine to a key player who keeps him out for 9013 months is a really really bad thing....... Thank God he is leaving us on a free in 2 months. 

Vision. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[leicester33]

Never ask a women her age, a man his salary, and Jimbokav what his 3rd most replied thread is.

Edited January 2 by leicester33

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, leicester33 said:

Never ask a women her age, a man his salary, and Jimbokav what his 3rd most replied thread is.

If nobody else can ask, can I ask myself? 

What's my 3rd most replied thread? 

[leicester33]

the french lingerie one

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, leicester33 said:

the french lingerie one

Hahaha.  How do you even find that info? It's my thread and I didn't even know that! What's my most replied thread? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2037.

Scottish League 2. We went unbeaten this month, but I still feel like we've bottled it. We have just 1 game to play, (against top of the table Albion Rovers), and if we had won just 1 of the 2 drawn games we would be 1 point ahead and just need a draw against them next month to win the league. Instead we need a win. 

Albion Rovers Head to Head. The season doesn't completely come down to the last game of the season against Albion Rovers, (because we still have the Playoffs if we lose to them), but it is a pivotal moment and could be huge for us. I really didn't expect to finish anywhere near as high as we will do and after last season I would have just been happy with a top half finish. 

I actually thought that we had a really poor record against them, but it seems that the 5-1 loss has lived much longer in the memory than any of the wins against them. If you ignore the 6 friendly results then our record against them is even better, with 4 wins and 1 draw from 7 games.

I'm actually feeling a little more positive about the last game of the season after seeing this.  (I've just checked and we're even at home, and while Albion Rovers are unbeaten at home in the league this season, (14 wins and 4 draws), they've lost 5 times away from home, (7 wins and 5 draws). We however have drawn 4 games at home and lost 4 more. We've actually collected more points away from home than we have at home. 

I think the smart money is probably on the last game of the season being a draw, and then winning the league as a result. 

Records.

Debuts. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Despite scoring at a ratio of 100%, just 6 pens scored this season in 48 games, (with 1 game remaining). That's an appalling level of pens won per game! (It's a pen every 8 games!!!) I'm used to a pen being awarded every 3-4 games in other saves. Can understand it when we're struggling, (like last season), but not when we're competing at the top of the league. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Champions at the death. May 2037. 

Scottish League 2. It felt like we were dominating more than the stats suggest, and I must admit that when they scored the pen in the 2nd half to make it 1-1 I thought we were done for, but we finished strongly and won it with a bit to spare in the end. Could and should really have been more. We're Champions (and promoted to League 1). 

Ooh! A proper real trophy so I don't have to go and find a picture of the real one. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2037. 

I must admit that I expected us to draw to Albion Rovers, (thus finishing 2nd in the league), and I then expected us to lose in the Playoffs. Really pleasantly surprised how this season has gone after the shambles that was last season. 

Facilities. We've just been crowned Champions and promoted to League 1, so now would seem to be a good time to request another Facility upgrade if we can afford it. We've got approx £410k in the bank and we still have a Training Facility upgrade in the pipeline. It used to be that the money was deducted either when the work was started, but not it's deducted when the upgrade is agreed, (so it never gets cancelled for a lack of funds). It either gets agreed or it gets declined. 

I've just had a look though and it won't even allow me to ask for a Youth Facilities upgrade yet, but it would be good to find out how much the last upgrade of each type cost so I can try and estimate the cost of the next level. 

The last Training Facility upgrade cost £750k and that's the one that will be completed this Summer and is the 3rd upgrade that should take it to L9. 

The last Youth Facilities upgrade was completed last year and cost just £190k and that was the 2nd upgrade that took us to L6. 

I think that means that when it becomes available, the cost of the next Youth Facilities upgrade should be doable. 

I've been stuck on a Continental C licence for a while now, but I do understand their thinking. While we remain a Semi-Pro outfit and they keep extending my contract by just 12 months, it is a risk to let my reputation grow too big. My rep is currently 2.5 (minimal) and the Club rep is 1.5 (regional), so they have a bit of catching up to do. 

New stadium. I'm guessing we will take out a loan to pay for this. I just hope that the stadium isn't too small and also that it's back in Tullibody. 

Ticket Prices. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Stats. May 2037. 

Squad by Appearances. 

Squad by Goals. 

Squad by Assists. 

Squad by Avg Rating. 

Squad by CA.

Squad by PA.

Overall Best XI.

Records. 

Awards.

[Rick87]

Congratulations mate, a great season!

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2037. 

Season Preview. 10th is bad but 50-1 isn't too bad.  

I have been surprised by quite how small the jump in quality from league to league has been. There's no guarantee that this will remain the same as we continue our upwards trajectory, especially as we start competing with Pro Teams and teams who have previously been Pro. 

Alloa, Forfar, Queen of the South & Stenhousemuir are all fully Pro in this league. I wonder if we can turn pro here or will we have to get promoted again? (I think we will have to get promoted again). 

Job Interview. Stirling Albion finished 10th in the Championship and have just been relegated to League 1. 

Transfers. 

Reputation. 

[leicester33]

4 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Hahaha.  How do you even find that info? It's my thread and I didn't even know that! What's my most replied thread? 

I found it by going to your post history then selecting topics, and your most replied is the Portugese Youth Challenge which I haven’t dug into yet cause I like the Tier 10 save better.

[BML]

15 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

VGB kid aside (like everyone else, I love an obscure nationality) I also spy a non-Alloa born Scottish kid.

I'd have assumed the second nationality 'nudged' his birthplace, but then you have the other 4 SCO/2nd kids all born in Alloa.

[parsdaft1982]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Jun 2037. 

Season Preview. 10th is bad but 50-1 isn't too bad.  

I have been surprised by quite how small the jump in quality from league to league has been. There's no guarantee that this will remain the same as we continue our upwards trajectory, especially as we start competing with Pro Teams and teams who have previously been Pro. 

Alloa, Forfar, Queen of the South & Stenhousemuir are all fully Pro in this league. I wonder if we can turn pro here or will we have to get promoted again? (I think we will have to get promoted again). 

Job Interview. Stirling Albion finished 10th in the Championship and have just been relegated to League 1. 

Transfers. 

Reputation. 

Well done for increasing your stature, do you think you will achieve promotion?

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, BML said:

VGB kid aside (like everyone else, I love an obscure nationality) I also spy a non-Alloa born Scottish kid.

I'd have assumed the second nationality 'nudged' his birthplace, but then you have the other 4 SCO/2nd kids all born in Alloa.

Great shout! I had completely missed that and I even looked for it. I think I missed it because it was next to the Irish flag so it didn't stand out as much ]. 

Brilliant stuff and exactly what we hoped/expected/wanted to see. 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Rick87 said:

Congratulations mate, a great season!

Thanks very much.  Really enjoyed it after what was a real tough slog the season before, (especially the 2nd half). 

[Jimbokav1971]

51 minutes ago, leicester33 said:

I found it by going to your post history then selecting topics, and your most replied is the Portugese Youth Challenge which I haven’t dug into yet cause I like the Tier 10 save better.

You know I never knew you could do that. 

When I have looked for my old threads before I have always had to do so manually. This would have been much easier. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, parsdaft1982 said:

Well done for increasing your stature, do you think you will achieve promotion?

Thanks. Yeah the Rep increase really is significant. 

As for how we will do this season I really don't know what to make of the league.  We have 4 fully Pro clubs, (although it's possible they will drop to Semi-Pro before the start if the season, although I would have thought that would have happened already if it was going to happen). 

The Pro clubs are estimated to finish 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th, so it doesn't appear, (to the bookies at least), that their Pro status gives them preference over the Semi-Pro clubs in that respect, but having a looking into it now, it also appears as if the promoted teams from this level often come straight back down again. 

2023/24. Falkirk promoted as Champions and Queen of South promoted via Playoffs. Following season in Championship Falkirk finished 3rd & were promoted via Playoffs and Queen of the South were promoted as Champions.  (Well I wasn't expecting that). 

2024/25. Hamilton were promoted as Champions. Following season in Championship, Hamilton finished 10th of 10 and were relegated. 

2025/26. Dunfermline were promoted as Champions and Cove Rangers promoted via Playoffs. Following season in Championship Dunfermline finished 5th and Cove Rangers finished 8th of 10. 

2026/27. Arbroath were promoted as Champions and Hamilton2 promoted via the Playoffs. Following season in Championship Arbroath finished 8th of 10 and Hamilton2 finished 9th of 10 and were relegated via the Playoffs. 

2027/28. Ayr were promoted as Champions and Greenock Morton promoted via the Playoffs. Following season in Championship Ayr finished 4th and Greenock Morton finished 10th and were relegated. 

2028/29. Cove Rangers2 were promoted as Champions and East Kilbride promoted via the Playoffs. Following season in Championship Cove Rangers finished 10th and were relegated and East Kilbride finished 9th and were relegated. 

2029/30. Inverness were promoted as Champions and Hamilton3 were promoted bia Playoffs. Following season Inverness finished 10th and were relegated and Hamilton finished 9th but survived by winning the Playoffs. 

2030/31. Airdrie were promoted as Champions. Following season in Championship Airdrie finished 10th and were relegated. 

2031/32. Clyde were promoted as Champions and Raith Rovers promoted via the Playoffs. Following season in Championship Clyde finished 8th and Raith Rovers finished 7th. 

2032/33. Arbroath2 were promoted as Champions and Inverness2 promoted via the Playoffs. Following season in Championship  Arbroath finished 7th and Inverness2 finished 10th and were relegated. 

2033/34. Greenock Morton were promoted as Champions and Dunfermline2 promoted via Playoffs. Following season Greenock Morton finished 6th and Dunfermline finished 3rd.

2034/35. Raith Rovers2 were promoted as Champions and Airdrie2 promoted via Playoffs. Following season Raith Rovers finished 6th and Airdrie2 finished 10th and were relegated.

2035/36. Queen of the South were promoted as Champions and Stirling promoted via Playoffs. Following season Queen of the South finished 9th and were relegated and Stirling finished 10th and were relegated.

So it seems like most of the teams who have gone up have eventually come back down, but it's not exactly a yoyo cycle with only 3 clubs being relegated twice and only 3 clubs promoted twice. 

[Edit]

I guess that means that I'm not really expecting to go straight up again, (because it hasn't been done since it was done twice in the 2nd season of the save), but that when and if we do eventually go up, there is a reasonable chance that we will come back down immediately and a very good chance that we will come back down eventually. 

Edited January 2 by Jimbokav1971

[TIR669]

If I learned anything from the Scottish pyramid, its that the difference from L1 to Premiership is minimal. I'd assume same applies in a long term save such as this one - most of the squads will be close. That's why 8 out of 10 teams are predicted so closely to finish first.

 

But it will be tough without Martin who was miles above other CMs for sure. Congrats on levelling up in the final round, and the fantastic cup run.

 

Looks like youth recruitment pool expanded alongside reputation hence the non-Alloa regens, hopefully you'll get stronger players soon. GL!

[Jimbokav1971]

16 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

If I learned anything from the Scottish pyramid, its that the difference from L1 to Premiership is minimal. I'd assume same applies in a long term save such as this one - most of the squads will be close. That's why 8 out of 10 teams are predicted so closely to finish first.

I think the 1st few levels I went through were all much of a muchness because the game isn't really designed to go down that far, and especially in the amateur leagues I think we would have needed to go down to attributes of about -5 or even maybe even -10 to do it justice. 

I'm expecting a bit of a jump in this league because of the Semi-Pro and Pro clubs. The training, fitness and development should be enough on their own (IF...... they are managed properly by the AI). 

I will just be happy with avoiding relegation if I'm honest. 

The biggest change in the last 12 months or so is that I'm able to offer long-term contracts and also +3 options now, (albeit on PT contracts), and that means I can start playing my normal long-term strategy, (without the player sales). Little steps forward is all I need. 

[Jimbokav1971]

24 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

But it will be tough without Martin who was miles above other CMs for sure. Congrats on levelling up in the final round, and the fantastic cup run.

I actually don't think we will miss (33d) Martin (Pro) * much at all. The MC roles I'm using are more functional in this tactic now than anything else. While I might personally love a technical DLP ball-player, what the role really needs, (especially at this phase of the save), is an athletic destroyer who can just basically stop then opposition playing and then give it to someone else.

[Jimbokav1971]

32 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Looks like youth recruitment pool expanded alongside reputation hence the non-Alloa regens, hopefully you'll get stronger players soon. GL!

Yeah, as well as the Rep from the Cup run, that will be boosted further by promotion and then playing at the higher level, I'm hoping to bang out another Cup run this season while our Rep is still low enough that big opposition still disrespects us. 

Still hoping/expecting some monster CA players to come through the intake. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2037. 

GK.

1st Team. (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) *
2nd Team. (35d) McGinlay (IRL) (Unamb) *
Loan. (34c) Soutar (L.Det) *
Loan. (36b) Evans (ENG) (F.Det) 5'9"
U18's. (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" *

DL.

1st Team. (30l) Docherty (F.Pro)
2nd Team. (32m) Hogarth (F.Pro)
Loan. (33n) Grant (SCO)(IRL) (F.Pro)
Loan. (35g) Redman (F.Det)
Loan. (36j) Gilchrist (Bal)
loan. (34i) Banks. (Unamb)
Release. (36p) Hogarth. (Driven)
U18's. (37p) Gibson. (Spirit)
U18's. (37k) Park. (Bal)

DR.

1st Team. (32d) Gauld (Res)
2nd Team. (33b) Skrzyński (POL)(Spirit)*
Loan. (31l) Reid (Unamb) *
Loan. (35a) McColl (Bal) *
Loan. HG Thomson (ENG) *
Loan. (36d) McIntyre (Bal)
Loan. (34f) McMullan (Unamb)
Loan. (35j) Polworth (L.Det) WBR
U18's. (37d) Romanis (L.Heart) *

DC. We're desperate for some decent centre-backs coming through the intake. I mean DES-PER-ATE. 

1st Team DLC. (31g) Connolly (IRL)(Bal) 6'6"
1st Team DC. (30m) Runciman (F.Pro) 6'0"
1st Team DRC.  (34b) Morrison (ENG) (Resil) *

2nd Team DLC. (30i) Thomson (Bal) 6'3"
2nd Team DC. HG Thomson (ENG) * DC 
2nd Team DRC. (33h) Paterson (Unamb) 6'1"

Backup. (35b) Hogarth. (Bal) 5'9"

Loan.
Loan.
Loan.

U18's DLC. (37l) Williams (TRI) (F.Pro)
U18's DC.
U18's DRC. (37m) Munro (IRL) (Unamb)

MC.

1st Team MLC. (34n) Robertson (Unamb)
1st Team MRC. (30e) Allan (SCO)(IRL) (Res)

2nd Team MLC. (37a) McLean (VGB) (Res) MC
2nd Team MRC. (31m) Docherty (Unamb)

U18's MLC. (37e) Renard (FRA) (Unamb)
U18's MRC. (37h) Romanis (SCO)(IRL)(Bal)

SC.

1st Team SLC. (31h) Donald (Res)
1st Team SC. (36a) Cunningham (IRL)(F.Det)*
1st Team SRC. (32a) Kelly (SCO)(IRL) (Bal)

2nd Team SLC. (32f) Martin (L.Det)
2nd Team SC. (37i) Morrison (Pro) *
2nd Team SRC. (30o) McDougall (F.Det)

Backup. (35f) Armstrong (NIR) (L.Det)

Loan. (37c) Brass (F.Sport) *
Loan. (34h) Shirra (SCO)(IRL) (Res)

U18's SLC. (37f) Ramsay (Spirit)
U18's SC. (35o) Domeracki (Unamb)
U18's SRC. (36i) Thomson (ENG) (LS-B)

Edited January 2 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2037. 

League Cup. (Premier Sports Cup).

Records.

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[leicester33]

do you know if St Magnar Thistle are in the DB? They lost a game 51-0

[Jimbokav1971]

45 minutes ago, leicester33 said:

do you know if St Magnar Thistle are in the DB? They lost a game 51-0

They're actually called St Machar Thistle, (based in Aberdeen), but no they're not in the database. They were only founded in June 2023 so maybe that's why/ 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2037. 

Scottish League 1. It actually doesn't feel as bad a start to the season as 4 points from a possible 12 suggests, but we also won 2 games in the League Cup and also won in the other Cup. It's not lost on me that the 1st Team remain unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw, and the 2nd Team remain without a point with 2 losses. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy).

(The opposition are 2 leagues below us in the Highland League). 

Season Tickets. It's taken a long time to get to 100+ season tickets. 

Facilities. I think we're going to have to hold off on upgrades for the foreseeable future and hope that Cup prize money is enough ti propel us to the next level pretty quickly. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2037.

Scotting League 1. Again, I think we're done quite well with this month and I'm quite happy with our form. Only 4 points separate 3rd - 9th after 9 games, and I think that shows how competitive this league is. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust). I really don't care about this competition. 

(The opposition aren't in a competitive league). It was a real end-to-end game and we nicked it late in injury-time/ 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2037.

Scottish League 1. A bit of a frustrating month if truth be told. We were poor against Greenock Morton, (who were bottom of the table at the time), and then produced 2 good performances against both Partick Thistle and Forfar before somehow losing a game we dominated against local rivals Alloa, (who aren't listed as local rivals). The Stenhousemuir game just topped the month off in ridiculous fashion as we led 2-0 and dominated, but in the end were lucky to draw. 

I think we should have quite a few more points this season, but maybe that's just the nature of stepping up another league and now playing against Pro clubs. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2037. 

Scottish League 1. We were 3-0 down to Airdrie after 20 mins and although we made a game of it in the end, it was too big a lead to claw back. All in all it was a good month with 9 points from a possible 15, but it was so close to more. Scoring 4 goals against top of the table Airdrie deserved more, but we gave them too much of a headstart and we were 3-2 up late in the Queen of the South game but came away with nothing. 

Debuts. 

Internationals.

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2037. 

Scottish League 1. Our form is decent if unspectacular. Personally I'm quite happy, especially as 3 of the games this month were away. We've also out-performed the clubs around us, (other than Forfar), and everyone seems to be beating everyone else in this league. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy). I'm not prioritising this competition, but when the game is on a Saturday the 1st Team play. 

(The opposition are top of our league). A dominant performance giving us a deserved win. 

Facilities. We're maxed out on Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment, (so we can't upgrade them), but we can't request an upgrade to our Youth Facilities right now and it's just Training Facilities that's an option. The last Training Facilities upgrade cost us £750k and as we only have £250k in the bank there is no way we can afford it right now. 

I'm not completely sure why we can upgrade our Training Facilities right now but we can't upgrade the Youth Facilities as the Training Facilities were upgraded most recently. I'm guessing it might be our low Rep and as that increases the option to upgrade the cheaper, (and lower rated), Youth Facilities will become available again. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2038. 

Scottish League 1. Considering we played 1st and 3rd this month, I can't complain about a haul of 7 points from a possible 9. I'm not looking upwards in the league at all, but there is a healthy gap of 7 points between ourselves and Queen of the South in 5th with 10 games to play. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). The problem with moving up the leagues is that we now join the competition at the same time as the bog boys and it's a tough ask to get something out of an away trip to a top 4 premiership side. 

(The opposition are 4th in the Premiership, 2 leagues above us). 4 - 0 is a bit tough on us, but they deserved to win. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy).

(The opposition are 5th in our league). 

1st Manager of the Month award. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2038. 

Scottish League 1. A nice little 100% record this month. 

Challenge Cup. (SPFL Trust Trophy).

(The opposition are 5th in the Championship).

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[TIR669]

Queen of the South having a crazy run and gun season...71 scored, 82 conceded, with 1 draw in 28 games  

 

Looks like playoffs are secured, I don't see you winning the league looking at Aidrieonians form and goal difference. What's your H2H against Forfar, Alloa and the leaders, are you optimistic? 

[Jimbokav1971]

24 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Queen of the South having a crazy run and gun season...71 scored, 82 conceded, with 1 draw in 28 games  

Looks like playoffs are secured, I don't see you winning the league looking at Aidrieonians form and goal difference. What's your H2H against Forfar, Alloa and the leaders, are you optimistic? 

Until right now I haven;t looked at all at the teams above us. Honestly, finishing in the last playoff place will be amazing and because we're no longer losing all our best players (because we can offer 2+3 deals), there is scope for almost guaranteed progression. Previously, we were getting a max of 2 seasons out of the best players we produced because they were just getting snapped up by bigger clubs at a higher level. 

[Jimbokav1971]

29 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Queen of the South having a crazy run and gun season...71 scored, 82 conceded, with 1 draw in 28 games  

Looks like playoffs are secured, I don't see you winning the league looking at Aidrieonians form and goal difference. What's your H2H against Forfar, Alloa and the leaders, are you optimistic? 

Just loaded up and this is where we are now. 

We've won the last 2 against Airdrie, and we seem to have improved against them as the season progresses, (which reflects our season on the whole). 

Something I've noticed elsewhere in my save is that the home/away bias seems stronger in this issue of the game and this is evidenced by our performances against Forfar, (who we play next). 

We've had a much tougher time of it against Alloa, (our local rivals who are not classed as local rivals or competitive rivals which is a real shame).Again, our only win came at home and 2 of our 3 draws also came at home. 

Assuming that we will finish 4th then provided the playoff is a 2 legged affair rather than a single game where we're away because we finished lowest, then I think we have a chance, but while I think beating whoever is in the Relegation Playoff in the Championship, (it's currently Ayr Utd but it's tight up there), ir quite likely, (largely because of their form), I think we're unlikely to beat those who finish above us in our league, (but you never know). 

I really need to check up on how the Playoffs work actually. I can't remember if I've done this before but if I have done so then I can't remember. 

This is the final League table from last season. Queen of the South were the participants from the Championship. 

2nd play 3rd and 4th play 9th in the Championship, but the good news is that it's over 2 legs so we do have a chance at least I think. If it was 1 leg and we were away then it would be different. 

Looking at the teams involved as it stands right now....

Forfar are fully Pro.
Alloa are fully Pro. 
Ayr Utd, (in the league above), are Semi-Pro.

On that basis I would much prefer to finish 4th rather than 3rd, but to be completely honest I would just be happy to make the playoffs at this stage. (More than happy). 

[Jimbokav1971]

57 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Queen of the South having a crazy run and gun season...71 scored, 82 conceded, with 1 draw in 28 games  

I hadn't actually noticed that. 

Queen of the South have only drawn 1 game and only 10 of their 28 wins/losses have been decided by a single goal. They seem to just win or lose, and usually by a significant margin. They play a 4231 DM AM Wide and 4 different players have hit double figures for goals, (with another 2 of 8 and 7 respectively). Their top goal-scorer is a bloke called Barclay Ashe, and he has 17 goals but they have dropped him to the bench and I presume it's because he has agreed a deal to join Queens Park at the end of the season. He didn't even come on as a sub in the feb game where we smashed 6 past them. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Mar 2038.

When I mentioned a "Monster CA player", I was actually thinking of a 5.0 CA player. Because of the level we've reached, it's probably a little naive expecting a 5.0 CA player to come through, but this intake is showing significant improvement in terms of CA and that'll more than do for me. 

[Janiculus]

I've been following along steadily for a while, as I have with some of your earlier topics, but I don't think I've ever actually commented 

 

Arthurs looks class! I'd be looking to retrain him to a central midfielder as he'd fit the Mezalla role pretty well, but I suppose you're going to use him as a striker?

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2038. 

Scottish League 1. This wasn't quite the form I was hoping for. Our 4 losses on the bounce coincide with 4 wins on the bounce for Partick Thistle and they are now 2 points ahead from 10 points behind. 

Debuts. 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

54 minutes ago, Janiculus said:

I've been following along steadily for a while, as I have with some of your earlier topics, but I don't think I've ever actually commented 

Arthurs looks class! I'd be looking to retrain him to a central midfielder as he'd fit the Mezalla role pretty well, but I suppose you're going to use him as a striker?

In that case thanks very much for reading and now commenting. 

I think (38a) Arthurs (NIR) (F.Det) is wasted in midfield for us, but I agree that he could certainly do a job in there. To be honest I will probably end up playing wherever we can fit him in most easily. 

[Rikulec]

Arthurs does look like a CA monster to be fair.

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Arthurs does look like a CA monster to be fair.

Yeah he does. I think had he come through a couple of seasons ago he might well have been a 5.0 CA player. 

Obviously we're playing at a higher and higher level and Facilities are slowly getting there but I have noticed that they are developing more significantly and more rapidly than before. 

This is the best player at the club right now by CA.

You might remember a couple of seasons ago that someone...... (I've looked back through the thread but can't find the post), commented that (34b) Morrison (ENG) (Resil) * was too small, (I think he was 5'10" originally), and he much preferred bigger players we had available. I've got to admit that I'm just a little surprised that he hasn't been called up to the SCO U21's squad. I think that he has never even been capped at U18 or U19 level shows how rapid his development has been from such a low starting point. 

This next list is players at the club who can play centre-half, (but not all centre-backs), ranked by CA and it shows how much better he is than everyone else, especially when you consider the following.

(33b) Skrzyński (POL)(Spirit)* is a DR
(38b) Jayes (SCO)(ENG) (Unamb) has just come through the recent intake.
(36g) Lomax (ENG)(L.Det) 5'11" seemed way off the required level so was loaned out. 
(35g) Redman (F.Det) is a DL. 
HG Thomson (ENG) * DC is a player who was poached from our Academy & brought back, but has been retrained from a DR. 
(33h) Paterson (Unamb) 6'1" is decent. 
(37l) Williams (TRI) (F.Pro) came through the intake last season and is developing nicely. 
(31g) Connolly (IRL)(Bal) 6'6" has been a key player for us for a while now, but is still only 22 years old. 
(34n) Robertson (Unamb) is a midfielder. 
(30m) Runciman (F.Pro) 6'0" is 24 now and really shouldn't still be involved in the 1st Team. 
(30i) Thomson (Bal) 6'3" is decent(ish), but has serious physical deficiencies. 
(32m) Hogarth (F.Pro) is a DL.
Everyone else is lower than 2.0 CA

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2038. 

Scottish League 1. The last 3 games of the season were against the bottom 3 teams in the league and we were expected to win all 3. That we dropped 5 points from the 3 games and still only missed out on the Playoffs by goal difference is all the more galling.  Partick Thistle took a total of 3 points from their last 4 games and STILL qualified for the Playoffs. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[TIR669]

Last game of the season, you need to score to maybe get promoted. Opponent is at 99 conceded goals. And you draw nil-nil. 

That'll teach you never to forget the username of your dwarf defender no.1 hater. 

Enjoy the 200k or so from prize money, and since you didn't mention any starter players leaving in the summer, gl in the next seasons' title run I guess, with a less catastrophic end to the season hopefully.

Youth intake was unreal, Arthurs looks fantastic (time to adjust tactics to fit him in?), you got a tall non-crap defender and a bunch of attackers, what more can you wish for.

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

That'll teach you never to forget the username of your dwarf defender no.1 hater. 

You know.... I thought it was you, but I couldn't find the post.