[FM24] Tulach Bòide [Scotland Tier 13]

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, BML said:

Something in the back of my mind is telling me that UEFA forced countries to bin that off, as it was diluting the competitions due to some lower level teams getting in (think Millwall about 20 years ago).

In UEFA's mind, it is UEFA, and UEFA alone, who is allowed to dilute such competitions!

EDIT: Found it - no mention of why but I suspect my reasoning is sound!

Thanks for that. It does make sense. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2047. 

Scottish Premiership. We're still pretty decent going forward and likely to score against anyone, but we also still concede far too many goals. God only knows what we will be like at the back next season when we lose (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 *. 

'

We missed out on the top half of the split by just 1 point, (and 6 goals). We're getting much close though and we're at least in contention now

I'm really frustrated not to turn 71% possession into a win. It actually really doesn't matter because we can't now finish any higher than 6th, (even if we finish on more points than Kilmarnock), but I really hoped to go on a run during this last period of 5 games to the end of the season. 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 25/37 from the spot at 68%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Stats. May 2047. 

Squad by Appearances.

Squad by Goals. 

Squad by Assists. 

Squad by Avg Rating. 

Squad by CA. 

Squad by PA. 

5.0 PA players. 

4.5 PA players. 

4.0 PA players.

Loans. 

Squad by National Team. 

Senior Int Appearances. 

U21 Int Appearances. 

[TIR669]

Wow, very unlucky first in the Cup then in final stages in the league to miss out on top 6 and possible continental debut.

 

Nonetheless the best players in the squad are proper strong now.  Bentley & Quinn are a star duo and hopefully no chairman shenanigans anymore... Defense is again far too leaky, CB problems or? Who will take over once Antonucci leaves in the summer? Any chance of sold players returning this year?

 

GL!

[Jimbokav1971]

45 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Wow, very unlucky first in the Cup then in final stages in the league to miss out on top 6 and possible continental debut.

Nonetheless the best players in the squad are proper strong now.  Bentley & Quinn are a star duo and hopefully no chairman shenanigans anymore... Defense is again far too leaky, CB problems or? Who will take over once Antonucci leaves in the summer? Any chance of sold players returning this year?

GL!

I'm not completely sure that we were hugely unlucky. I think we've made good progress this season but we're just not quite good enough to take the next step to top half & Europe. 

Yeah we do have some really good CA players now. 

GK. We're in a decent position with some good youngsters coming through. 

DC. We've struggled in this area for so long because we keep losing everyone who's any good. It seems ridiculous that (38b) Jayes (SCO) 6'4"* PPM was named in the Team of the Year this season. Maybe that means that we're not as bad as I think in this area? A lot will depend on how well (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC is able to fill in for the now departed (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 *. If he does even reasonably well then we will have a good season. Either way a season starting every week should explode his development. 

WB's. I think I've mentioned that these positions are really key to us and (46d) Bentley (AUS) (F.Pro) * has been eased in with just 6(1) appearances this season. He will be starting next season though. 

MC. I would still like to see (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *'s physicals improve because it's a weakness, (literally), and (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)* is of a similar mould in that respect. 

SC. I think we're strong in this area. Although he doesn't look amazing, (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro) scored 13 goals in the league this season but his position is under threat from a trio of lefty youngsters. I think he will still start next season as #1 though. It's just a shame that we're not playing in Europe though because we could really do with the extra games to boost development of the youngsters. (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) * looks amazing, (but has only just started to show it recently). He scored 12 goals in the league, but 7 of them were in the last 6 games of the season. I'm hoping he will take that form into the start of next season and score 20+ league goals next season. (40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) * contributed a "double-double" this season, (double figure goals and assists), so fingers crossed he can improve on that next season. 

In terms of players returning, I will always be on the lookout for a bargain or a freebie, but the idea of us spending £1M+ for a player is just a big no-no at this stage of the save, (unless he's worth much more than that). 

(39d) Thijs (NED)(Bal) 5'11" * is a player I was keeping an eye on, but he is joining Dundee, (who have just avoided relegation via the playoff), on a free. The only position I'm really desperate to recruit in, (for the 1st Team), is centre-half, and there really aren't many options out there for us to sign.

The top 3 are all way out of our league
I would like to sign (41g) Thomson (F.Loyal) 6'1" * but not sure how realistic a signing ge is. I can't remember why/how he left. 
We missed out on (39d) Thijs (NED)(Bal) 5'11" *.
HG Thomson (ENG) * DC could be an option. We will see what the scouts say. 
Not sure about (38p) Gordon (F.Det) 6'4" *. Again, will have to look at new scout report to refresh my memory. 

I'm not overly keen to sign players in other positions because I don't want to clog the pathway for our youngsters coming through. I have to develop them for this save to work and the best way to develop them is to play them. 

I really feel like we're right on the cusp of hitting the big-time here and we could be just a decent Libero season from (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC or a big goal-season from (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) * away from smashing our way into Europe and getting close to winning something. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2047. 

Scottish Premiership. It's a good finish to the season as we record our highest ever placing in the Scottish Premiership. 

Debuts. 

Records. 

Internationals. 

Awards. 

Team of the Season. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 25/37 from the spot at 68%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

We're currently spending just under £40k of a £94k budget, so even without moving the £7.4M transfer budget over, we still have a bit to play with. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2047. 

GK. I'm actually really happy with the GK's we've got at the club, but you can also see that there are quite a few decent GK's who have come and gone and are playing at a decent level. 

1st Team. (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *
2nd Team. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * made 20 appearances last season despite being 2nd choice, so I'm happy to keep him here again. 
Loan. (44f) Gordon (F.Amb) 6'0" *
Loan. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" *
U18's. (45c) Paskowski(POL)(Bal)6'0 *
U18's. (46e) Hunter (Res) 5'11" *
U18's. (47l) Masterson (IRL)(Unamb)
Sell/Release. (45o) Manson.(IRL)(Unamb) 5'11

DL. We've been really struggling in this area for a while now. Even with playing "righty" (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal) there. Next season however, 16 year old (46d) Bentley (AUS) (F.Pro) * will be thrown into action early. (43e) Wills (F.Sport) * has been out on loan from Man City to League 1 Stoke, so I'm actually hoping we have a chance of at least a short-term loan next season.

1st Team. (46d) Bentley (AUS) (F.Pro) *
2nd Team. (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal)
Loan. (42n) Murray (F.Pro) WBL
U18's. (47g) Duffy (Bal) *
U18's. (45k) Williamson (Pro)6'1" WBL
U18's. (47o) Roxburgh. (NZL) (Unamb)
U18's. (46m) Dunne. (Pro) PPM
Sell/Release. (45h) Lilley. (F.Pro)

DR. We could do with another WBR coming through the next intake. 

1st Team. (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) *
2nd Team. (35a) McColl (Bal) *
Loan. (42f) Johnstone (Unamb) *
Loan. (45i) Candé. (POR)(GNB)(L.Det)
U18's. (46c) Cunningham (Res)
Sell/Release. (33b) Skrzyński. (POL)(F.Pro)

DC. This area isn't a strength, but it's also not as bad as I feared. If (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC develops this season then we could be in for a real strong 2nd half of the season.

1st Team DLC. (44e) Henry (F.Pro) 5'11" *
1st Team DC. (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC
1st Team DRC. (38b) Jayes (SCO) 6'4"* PPM

2nd Team DLC. (42m) Martin (Fickle) 6'0"
2nd Team DC. (44h) Lemetti (IRL) 6'3"
2nd Team DRC. (45g) McCroary (Merc) 6'4"
Backup. (36e) Dickson (Unamb) 6'2"

Loan. (47n) Black. (F.Sport) 6'0"
Loan. (40c) Villanueva (PHI)(F.Det)*

U18's DLC. (46p) Weir (F.Det) 6'1" *
U18's DC. (47c) Holt (Merc) 6'6"
U18's DRC. (47i) Anthony (Unamb) 6'0"
Backup. (45m) Hilson. (Res) 5'10"

Sell/Release. (40i) Paterson. (IRL) (F.Pro)
Sell/Release. (43j) Strachan. (Det) 6'3"

MC.

1st Team MLC. (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *
1st Team MRC. (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)*

2nd Team MLC. (45e) Brass6 (Fickle) MC *
2nd Team MRC. (44b) Harvey (Spirit) *

Loan. (43b) Bradley (Perfect) *
Loan. (45j) Marshall (F.Sport) *
Loan. (41l) Aitken. (F.Amb) PPM
Loan. (46k) Phillips (Unamb) PPM
Loan. (43g) Severin. (L.Det) PPM
Loan. (46g) Jimenez.(FRA)(ESP) (Bal)

U18's MLC. (47j) Sharp (L.Det)
U18's MRC. (45p) Douglas (Res) PPM
U18's. (47f) Kennedy. (Fickle)
U18's. (44o) Thompson. (Bal) PPM

Sell/Release. (33d) Martin (F.Pro) * SELL
Sell/Release. (38i) Waddell. (Res)
Sell/Release. (32e) Dick (Bal) *
Sell/Release. (43i) Roberts. (CAN) (F.Pro)
Sell/Release. (43l) McKay. (F.Sport)

SC. It's actually really hard to have a coherent plan for developing so many players. There is not just a balance between having the best players available for the 1st and 2nd Teams, but also ensuring that those in the 2nd Team get enough football so that their development isn't stunted. Then on top of that, the experienced players in the 1st and 2nd Team, (I'm looking at 26 year old (37i) Morrison (Pro) and 29 year old (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro) in particular here), is it smart to keep them at the club when we could sell them for £1M+ cash immediately, get them off the books and free up space for more game-time for players still in their development phase? I think that the answer is that they still offer value to the club on the pitch, but at the same time I think this might very well be the last season for both of them, but then I'm also looking ahead at my goal to qualify for Europe next season, (that is a bit stretching I would admit), and at that stage and with, (hopefully), the extra games involved, then their on-pitch value increases. It's so much harder doing this without European football because the number of games that we actually get where I'm forced, (sort of), to rotate, is only actually about 20 games across the whole season. 

1st Team SLC. (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro)
1st Team SC. (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) *
1st Team SRC. (40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) *

2nd Team SLC. (45a) Pobořil (CZE) (Real) *
2nd Team SC.  (37i) Morrison (Pro)
2nd Team SRC. (40o) Banner (F.Amb) *

Loan. (40g) Paterson (IRL) (F.Pro) *
Loan. (45b) Dick (F.Sport) *
Loan. (37c) Brass3 (F.Sport) *
Loan. 46h) Wilson (Bal)
Loan. (46n) Sadiku. (KOS) (Bal)

U18's SLC. (44a) Neill (F.Pro)
U18's SC. (47b) Smith (Det) PPM *
U18's SRC. (46b) O'Sullivan (IRL)(F.Amb)

U18's2 SLC. (45d) Findlay (F.Pro) *
U18's2 SC. (46f) Weir (F.Sport) *
U18's2 SRC. (47a) Currie (Bal) 6'1" *

U18's. (47e) McSweeney (IRL) (Bal)
U18's. (47d) Warnock (IRL) (F.Det) *
U18's. (46i) Jack. (Bal) PPM
U18's. (47k) Bonar (L.Det) *
U18's. (47p) Banda. (ZAM) (F.Det)
U18's. (47m) McMullan (Bal)

Sell/Release. (44k) McMenemy. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (42j) Luke. (IRL) (Unamb)
Sell/Release. (43d) Brass5. (L-H) SC
Sell/Release. (43c) Ross. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (43f) Stewart. (Unamb)
Sell/Release. (44n) Martin. (Bal) SRC
Sell/Release. (44g) Judge. (Fickle)

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2047. 

Season Preview. 

Internationals. 

Transfers.

This is a bit of a strange one. We sold (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 * in Sep 2046 for £6.75M Although this deal is good for us, it does mean that we're going to miss out on a £2.3M clause after 10 league appearances. That's offset though by the fact that not only are we going to get 30% of the profit from this deal, (he was sold for £6.75M and this deal is said to be £12.25M so that's 30% of £12.25M-£6.75M= 30% of £5.5M), so that's £1.65M.

£1.65M is obviously good, but it's less than the £2.3M I would have got if the player made 20 league appearances at AC.Milan, so overall this is probably a negative deal for us. 

The only thing that saves us is that we have 30% on everything going forward, and AC.Milan have been astute enough to include a 40% profit clause and we will get 30% of that so for arguments sake if (44c) Antonazi (AUS)(Res)6'0 * goes to the Middle East for £50M, (which is £37.75M profit) which AC.Milan get 40% of, (which is £15.1M), then we get 30% of that, (which is £4.53M). 

Ideally the player would have played for a season, earned us the £2.3M appearance bonus and then gone for a bigger fee which would mean our 30% cut would have been higher.

TV Rights.

Sponsorship. 

Records. 

Reputation. 

And after the season ticks over. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2047. 

League Cup. We needed pens to win our 2 away games, but that didn't stop us topping the group. (It's still just a bunch of friendlies, but I'm liking it a little more each season). Our reward is a trip to Celtic Park. 

Debuts.

Transfers. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 26/38 from the spot at 68%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2047.

Scottish Premiership. We 100% deserved our win against Celtic as we bossed possession at 63% and won the xG battle even with our opening goal was an OG. We were really unlucky against Hearts as we were 1-1 going into the dying moments, but they were good to be fair and we might have conceded more than 1 goal in the 1st half. It all went wrong against Ross County though. We trailed early on and fought our way back, but injuries to both 2nd Team GK (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * and 1st Team WBR (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) *, (who was on as a sub), in the last 10 mins meant that we finished the match with 9 men and they took an advantage with a late winner.  A really good performance, but no points unfortunately. 

League Cup. We may have beaten Celtic at home in the league, but we couldn't repeat that away in the League Cup. It was close though. We hit the woodwork twice in the opening 10 mins and then had 2 glorious chances in injury time but just couldn't get the leveller that our performance deserved. We won the xG battle and had 56% possession so it really wasn't a smash and almost grab. we honestly deserved at least a draw.  

Season Tickets. 

Job Interview. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 26/38 from the spot at 68%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2047. 

Scottish Premiership. We've actually been playing really well, but we're just not getting that little bit of luck we need. 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 26/38 from the spot at 68%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2047.

Scottish Premiership. Now this is what we needed. 2 brilliant 1-0 away wins and then 9 goals scored in our 2 home games. We're up to 5th and 1 and even 2 games in hand on many around us. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 28/40 from the spot at 70%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2047.

Scottish Premiership. It's ridiculous! Just 2 league games this month and then next month we have 8.   We played ok in these 2 matches but Hibs were good and we were a little lucky to draw, and Aberdeen battered us and deserved to win by far more than 1 goal.

Internationals. 

Coaching Badge. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 28/40 from the spot at 70%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2047. 

Scottish Premiership. With 4 more points picked up against the Old Firm, (albeit both games at home), we've now lost just 1 of our last 15 league games and the only real surprise is that we're not higher in the league.... The reason for that can be seen in the Form section of the league table, where 4 out of the 5 teams above us have collected more points than us over the last 5 games, despite the fact that we're the only unbeaten side over that period. That's simply down to 3 points for a win and the fact that our 2nd Team aren't quite yet up to standard and also that we're hammered with injuries at the moment, (not that I'm complaining). Either way, we're 4 points clear of Hibs in 7th and have 2 games in hand on them. Things might not be looking great as far as European football goes, but they're certainly looking good for finishing in the top Half of the split, (and that's aim #1). If we can make the split, whether or not we play European football next season will probably come down to how many points we win in the 5 games after the split at the end of the season. 

European Golden Boy. 

(43a) Quinn (F.Pro) * has been in really good form this season, but this was still a surprise to me. While he's been one of our best players when on the pitch, he's also spent quite a while in the physio room with 5 different injuries in 2047 to contend with. 

Goal-scoring GKs.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 28/40 from the spot at 70%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2048.

Scottish Premiership. Part of me thinks that when you're playing at home, in front of a sold-out crowd, against a team placed lower in the league, and dominate the xG battle, then only drawing could be seen as a slight negative, but when you're losing after 96 mins, (and don't actually lose), then you can't possibly see that as anything other than 1 point gained, (and our unbeaten run extended to 9 games, (and 1 defeat in 16). We had 72% possession but almost lost. 

We're up to the heady heights of 3rd in the league,  but we've played 2 more games than 1st placed Aberdeen, 1 game more than 2nd placed Hearts and 4 games more than 4th placed Rangers, (who I assume have been busy playing in Europe). Who we're actually competing against for a European place though is Kilmarnock, (we've played 1 game more), and amazing Celtic, (both played same number of games), while all 3 of us, (plus Rangers), are all on the same points. 

Rangers don't seem to be scoring many goals though. Let's hope that continues. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). Stranraer are mid-table in the Lowland League so this was expected to be a bit of a walk-over, but I'm very aware that we've pulled off some ridiculous shocks earlier in the save when we were the smaller club, so we went with a full-strength line-up and still needed extra-time to get the job done.  On the plus side, at least we're through to the next round.

Transfers. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 28/40 from the spot at 70%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2048. 

Scottish Premiership. I went and did it in the last update didn't I. I forgot that the FM Gods are always watching and see and hear everything. I openly commented about us challenging for a European spot, (in January!!!!), and with so much of the season still to play they have given me a sharp reminder that you should never get too far ahead of yourself. We were up as high as 3rd and before the 2nd Aberdeen game we were as low as 7th. We're still actually playing ok, (in the league at least), but just not taking our chances. In our defence, 2 games against Aberdeen, (who are top), and then 1 each against Rangers and Hibs is a tough month, and to win 1 and lose 2 others by a single goal and be peeved is probably a sign of how far we've come. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). I feel really frustrated by our performances in the Cup over the last few seasons. Dundee Utd are bottom of the Premiership, are scoring at less than a goal per game and are conceding at almost 2 goals a game, so I find it strange that they are able to channel their inner 1970's Ajax when they play us. They xG was 2.25 and they scored 4 goals. We on the other hand had a similar xG from double the number of shots on target, but failed from the spot, hit the woodwork and basically looked like a team of primary-school children rather than one of the most potent attacking threats in the league. 

I commented last month that we've had FAR more than our own fair share of giant-killing exploits as we rose through the leagues, so I can't really complain, and that's the only thing stopping me from smashing things at the moment. I'm not sure if any of you saw the Marc White, (owner and Manager of Dorking Wanderers in the National League), interview when they were knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this season, but that's how I'm feelin right now, just with more swearing and finger-pointing. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Not 1 but 2 missed pens from (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * this month as he cost us a point against Hibs on top of his dismal showing in the Cup. He's converting at 67% over his career, (which is really poor), and he's just signed a new 3+2 contract with a min fee release clause of £15M, (so he should be here for a while). 

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 28/42 from the spot at 67%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. 

Edited February 22 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Mar 2048. 

Well I did say I didn't need more strikers. 
But 6 wingers is a bit much, (when they are effectively still strikers). 

I'm not offering these players a contract. 

Unamb is fine. 
L.Det is fine. 
Unamb + L.Det is not fine. 

Assorted players who caught my eye.

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2048. 

Nobody currently at the club on the list, but we do have 1 Academy product.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2048.

Scottish Premiership. After losing 1 league game i 16, we've now lost 5 of our last 7, (which means it absolutely is time to save the game, exit and reload to see if we can change our attitude if not the RnG.  (Only half joking by the way).

A missed pen and a 48th min red card against Rangers.
A 22nd min red card and a penalty given away against Kilmarnock. 

Nothing is really working for us at the moment. 

Internationals.

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Janiculus]

I like how Quin is apparently good enough to win the Golden Boy, but not good enough to be on the NxtGn list!

Or is he just missing out because of his age?

Edited February 23 by Janiculus

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2048.

Scottish Premiership. 4 points from our last 2 games before the split gave us a little breathing space between ourselves and Hibs.

We trail Celtic by 3 points and Kilmarnock by by 6 points. With just 5 games remaining, (against each of the top 5), we need a good finish to the season to finish in the European spots, (or we need either Celtic or Kilmarnock to implode). At the very least though, it is our 1st top half finish in the Premiership. 

Hearts are 3rd, so this is a really impressive performance and result. We're still 6th and still 3 points behind Celtic & Kilmarnock, but there are now only 4 games to play, (although we play both of them obviously). 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 from 2 from the spot for (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Janiculus said:

I like how Quin is apparently good enough to win the Golden Boy, but not good enough to be on the NxtGn list!

Or is he just missing out because of his age?

Yeah he's 20, (21 in August), so too old for the NxGn list unfortunately. 

[Thebaker]

Good season, at least the GD is close enough that a win will let you overtake Celtic or Kilmarnock if you beat them.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2048.

Scottish Premiership. Would you believe that after growing through the final stage of the season unbeaten, (3 wins and 2 draws), we eventually miss out on Europe because Kilmarnock won the Scottish Cup. 

Internationals.

Facilities.

Awards.

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

30 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

Good season, at least the GD is close enough that a win will let you overtake Celtic or Kilmarnock if you beat them.

Celtic went on a ridiculous run and somehow finished 2nd,  but although we finished above Kilmarnock, we still missed out. 

[TIR669]

Best attack in the league AND least defeats? 

 

What's that Jimenez 46a like?

[Scribe]

Great stuff. Shame to miss out on Europe in that way, but it'll come soon I'm sure. 

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Best attack in the league AND least defeats? 

I hadn't actually noticed that. I was so peeved that I finished 5th and still missed out on Europe that I didn't really take much of anything in. 

Yeah we were top goal-scorers with 78 goals from 38 matches, but that's only 2.05 goals per game, (so not enormously impressive). It's still 3 more goals than Aberdeen and 5 more goals than Celtic, (I still can't believe they finished Runners Up from where they were with a couple of months to go). We scored 26 more goals than Rangers, (who have won 14 of the previous 18 Premiership titles). Aberdeen have won 2 on the bounce now though so so is there a new dominant force now? 

I also don't think our strikers were particularly prolific, and of course our GK's took pens so it means that the goals were shared around the squad well. Not loads of goals scored though, (at least for us), and I think our improvement this season is about conceding less rather than scoring more. 

Last season we scored 69 goals, (so only 9 fewer scored), but our goal difference was only +3, (compared to a +21 which was the joint 2nd highest this season). 

So we scored 9 more this season, but also conceded 9 fewer goal, (for an 18 goal swing in goal-difference from last season). When you consider we lost our best player who was a centre-half last Summer that's a big surprise, especially when you consider his replacement at Libero was a 17 year old midfielder. 

I think a big difference is that our whole squad has just developed and we're able to swap between 1st Team and 2nd Team and at least be competitive. 

We lost 4-1 at Home to Kilmarnock when we had a 22nd min red card, and Rangers twice beat us 2-0, but our other 6 losses in the league were all by a single goal. That really is progress. 

Overall I'm really happy with how things went this season, (apart from the Cup and missing out on Europe). 

[Jimbokav1971]

37 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

What's that Jimenez 46a like?

He's nothing special. 

[Jimbokav1971]

31 minutes ago, Scribe said:

Great stuff. Shame to miss out on Europe in that way, but it'll come soon I'm sure. 

Yeah, good season but that's just the way it goes sometimes. My goal was a top-half finish at the split and then I thought that whether we made Europe would be determined by the 5 games over the run-in, but to finish in the top half and then go unbeaten in the run-in and still not make it is pretty tough to take. 

Good progress again though. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad stats. Jun 2048.

Squad by appearances. 

Squad by goals. 

Squad by assists. 

Squad by Avg Rating. 

Squad by CA.

Squad by PA.

5.0 PA players. 

4.5 PA players. 

4.0 PA players.

Squad by National Squad. 

Squad by International Caps. 

Squad by U21 International Caps. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2048. 

GK. I think we're really strong at GK in terms of depth. (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is our best GK and is classed as a "Decent Premiership player" and we have him tied down to a 3+2 contract which will take him to 30 years old. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is our 2nd Team GK and he's a "Good Championship player" and he has just signed a 5+3 deal which will keep him at the club until he is 29. We've got 3 younger players who've got better PA than them and we just need develop them. 

1st Team. (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" *
2nd Team. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" *
Loan. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" *
Loan. (44f) Gordon (F.Amb) 6'0" *
Loan. (45c) Paskowski(POL)(Bal)6'0 *
U18's. (46e) Hunter (Res) 5'11" *
U18's. (47l) Masterson (IRL)(Unamb)
U18's. (48g) Fowler (F.Loyal) 6'0"
Sell/Release. (45o) Manson.(IRL)(Unamb) 5'11

DL. We struggled for years, (more like decades), without a proper WBL, but now things are starting to shape up nicely even if our 2nd Team WBL (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal) is a righty.

1st Team. (46d) Bentley (AUS)(F.Pro)*PPM
2nd Team. (41d) Dichev (BUL) (Bal)
Loan. (42n) Murray (F.Pro) WBL
Loan. (45k) Williamson (Pro)6'1" WBL
Loan. (46m) Dunne. (Pro) PPM
U18's. (47h) Hilson (Pro) WBL
U18's. (47g) Duffy (Bal) *
U18's. (48l) Wood. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (45h) Lilley. (F.Pro)

DR. I've mentioned that (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) * won Golden Boy last season, but 2nd Team RWB is up for grabs because (35a) McColl (Bal) * is 28 now and needs to be replaced. (46c) Cunningham (Res) will get the chance this season, but I think the future will more likely be converted winger (46b) O'Sullivan (IRL)(F.Amb) or proper WB's (42f) Johnstone (Unamb) * or (48h) O'Hara (Bal).

1st Team. (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) *
2nd Team. (46c) Cunningham (Res) 
Loan. (42f) Johnstone (Unamb) *
U18's. (46b) O'Sullivan (IRL)(F.Amb)
U18's. (48h) O'Hara (Bal)
U18's. (48p) Gair. (F.Pro)
Sell/Release. (35a) McColl (Bal)
Sell/Release. (45i) Candé. (POR)(GNB)(L.Det) is joining Bologna on a free.

DC.

1st Team DLC. (44e) Henry (F.Pro) 5'11" *
1st Team DC. (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC
1st Team DRC. (38b) Jayes (SCO) 6'4"* PPM

2nd Team DLC. (45l) O'Hara (F.Pro) 6'2" *
2nd Team DC. (44h) Lemetti (IRL) 6'3"
2nd Team DRC. (42m) Martin (Fickle) 6'0"

U21's. (45m) Hilson. (Res) 5'10"
U21's. (43h) Wills (F.Pro) 6'0"

Loan. (45g) McCroary (Merc) 6'4"
Loan. (40c) Villanueva (PHI)(F.Det)*

U18's DLC. (46p) Weir (F.Det) 6'1" *
U18's DC. (47c) Holt (Merc) 6'6"
U18's DRC. (47i) Anthony (Unamb) 6'0"
U18's. (48m) Lemetti. (Res) 6'2"
U18's. (47n) Black. (F.Sport) 6'0"

Sell/Release. (36e) Dickson (Unamb) 6'2"

MC.

1st Team MLC. (42b) Potter (F.Amb) *
1st Team MRC. (40b) Stewart (SCO)(IRL)(Pro)*

2nd Team MLC. (45e) Brass6 (Fickle) MC *
2nd Team MRC. (44b) Harvey (Spirit) *

U21's. (43b) Bradley (Perfect) *

Loan. (45j) Marshall (F.Sport) *
Loan. (45p) Douglas (Res) PPM

U18's MLC. (48c) McKee (L-Heart) *
U18's MRC. (46k) Phillips (Unamb) PPM
U18's. (47f) Kennedy. (Fickle)
U18's. (48f) Thompson (L.Det)
U18's. (47j) Sharp (L.Det) PPM
U18's. (48e) McKenna (F.Pro)
U18's. (46g) Jimenez.(FRA)(ESP) (Bal)

Sell/Release. (41l) Aitken. (F.Amb)
Sell/Release. (43i) Roberts. (CAN) (F.Pro)
Sell/Release. (43l) McKay. (F.Sport)
Sell/Release. (44o) Thompson. (Bal) PPM
Sell/Release. (43g) Severin. (L.Det) PPM

SC.

1st Team SLC. (33c) P.McCormack (F.Pro)
1st Team SC. (41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) *
1st Team SRC. (40a) Brass4 (F.Pro) *

2nd Team SLC. (40g) Paterson (IRL) (F.Pro) *
2nd Team SC. (37i) Morrison (Pro)
2nd Team SRC. (40o) Banner (F.Amb) *

Loan. (45a) Pobořil (CZE) (Real) *
Loan. (45d) Findlay (F.Pro) *
Loan. (45b) Dick (F.Sport) *
Loan. (44a) Neill (F.Pro)
Loan. (47e) McSweeney (IRL) (Bal) SC
Loan. (48d) Hogarth. (L-Heart) 6'4"
Loan. (47k) Bonar (L.Det) * PPM
Loan. (46m) Dunne. (Pro) PPM
Loan. (44g) Judge. (Fickle)
Loan. (43m) Doherty (NIR)(IRL)(Bal)*
Loan. (47p) Banda. (ZAM) (F.Det) PPM
Loan. (46h) Wilson (Bal) PPM
Loan. (46n) Sadiku. (KOS) (Bal)
Loan. (46n) Sadiku. (KOS) (Bal)

U18's SLC. (48b) Rodger (IRL) (Merc)
U18's SC. (47b) Smith (Det) *
U18's SRC. (46f) Weir (F.Sport) * PPM
U18's. (47a) Currie (Bal) 6'1" *
U18's. (47d) Warnock (IRL) (F.Det) *
U18's. (48a) Edwards (F.Det) 5'5" *

Sell/Release. (37c) Brass3 (F.Sport) *
Sell/Release. (44k) McMenemy. (Bal)
Sell/Release. (46i) Jack. (Bal) PPM
Sell/Release. (43c) Ross. (Bal) PPM
Sell/Release. (43f) Stewart. (Unamb)
Sell/Release. (44n) Martin. (Bal) SRC
SEll/Release. (44g) Judge. (Fickle)

[Jimbokav1971]

Apologies in advance if this offends any readers of the blue persuasion, however..... 

There is a God and he wears green and white!. 

I was about to say that they shouldn't have too many problems getting out of this financial mess because they have some valuable assets and they.... oh hang on, I've just seen that their net debt is £284M. 

This reminds me of by Barca save from a couple of seasons ago when we had to fund the repayment of £2.4B debt, (yes billion), over 3 years while remaining competitive in La Liga and Europe. 

I can see the problem now. 

They are paying 1 player £275,000 per week which equates to £14.3M per year for his wages alone.
They're also having to repay £1.25M per month in loan repayments.

{Edit]

Although Rangers spent a whopping £87M last season on player wages, that's actually significantly down from Sep 2043 when they were spending approx £15M per month on player wages. 

Edited February 25 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2048. 

TV Rights. 

Facilities. 

Internationals. 

Job Interviews. 

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2048.

Season preview. This is just silly. Rangers could sell all their players, play their kids and still not finish 2nd bottom. 

League Cup.

Debuts.

Job Interview. 

Transfers.

(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * was our 1st choice GK and while we didn't want to sell him, the fact remains that we're not going to turn down this sort of deal at this stage of the save. His replacement is 4 years younger and we just have to accept that we're a selling club. We're in the process of finding a location to build a new stadium so I need to keep an eye on the bigger picture. 

Records.

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 5/6 from the spot at 83%. 

Finances. For those of you who don't usually look at this page, Transfer debt is how much we owe other clubs, (obviously), and a red transfer debt figure is effectively a double-negative so it's actually a positive in that it's guaranteed money that is owed to us. 

[Foulththrow]

Glad you’re being approached by the basque boys!

Gourley looks a player.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Foulththrow said:

Glad you’re being approached by the basque boys!

Gourley looks a player.

He does indeed look good, but he doesn't play good (until the last month of the season). At least that's how it's gone for the last 2 seasons. 

He's been 1st choice central striker in a 3 for the last 2 seasons ahead of (37i) Morrison (Pro), but he's almost being outscored by someone who's only on the bench for the 1st Team or playing for a weakened 2nd Team.

(41b) Gourley (NIR) (F.Det) *.

This season scored 4 goals in 5(2) appearances in all competitions, but only 1 in 3 in the league. 
2047/48 scored 12 in 33(9) appearances in all competitions, but only 8 in 27(8) in the league.
2046/47 scored 18 in 34(6) appearances in all competitions, but only 12 in 26(4) in the league. 

Prior to that he was a 2nd Team player. 

2045/46 scored 8 goals in 33(5) appearances in all competitions, but only 5 in 28(5) in the league. 
2044/45 scored 8 goals in 27(6) appearances in all competitions, but only 7 in 14(21) in the league. 
2043/44 scored 9 goals in 15(6) appearances in all competitions, but only 7 in 11(8) in the league.
2042/43 scored 2 goals in 19(7) appearances in all competitions, and 2 in 15(4) in the league. 
2041/42 scored 1 goal in 7(1) appearances in all competitions, and 1 in 5(1) in the league. 
2040/41 scored 0 goals in 3(1) appearances, all in the league. 

All in all he's scored 62 goals in 166(66) appearances but only 43 in 122(52)  in the league. 

(37i) Morrison (Pro).

This season scored 2 goals in 5(3) appearances in all competitions, and 1 in 2(1) in the league.
2047/48 scored 10 goals in 11(28) appearances in all competitions, and 8 in 10(24) in the league. 
2046/47 scored 7 goals in 11(22) appearances in all competitions, and 3 in 8(16) in the league. 
2045/46 scored 11 goals in 13(28) appearances in all competitions, and 9 in 11(23) in the league. 
2044/45 scored 18 goals in 30(12) appearances in all competitions, and 17 in 25(10) in the league. 
2043/44 scored 25 goals in 33(8) appearances in all competitions, and 18 in 25(6) in the league. (Playing in the Championship). 
2042/43 scored 20 goals in 35(15 appearances in all competitions, and 15 in 28(11) in the league. (Playing in the Championship).
2041/42 scored 16 goals in 29(11) appearances in all competitions, and 11 in 20(10 in the league. (Playing in the Championship). 
2040/41 scored 3 goals in 10(9) appearances in all competitions, and 3 goals in 10(8) in the league. (Playing in the Championship).
2039/40 scored 6 goals in 9(18) appearances in all competitions, and 4 goals in 7(15) in the league. (Playing in the Championship).
2038/39 scored 3 goals in 6(3) appearances in all competitions, and 2 goals in 3(3) in the league. (Playing in the League 1).
2037/38 scored 4 goals in 10(17) appearances in all competitions, and 4 goals in 6(13) in the league. (Playing in League 1).
2036/37 scored 1 goal in 2 appearances, both in the league. (Playing in League 2). 

All in all he's scored 129 goals in 204(174) appearances in all competitions.
In Premiership appearances only he's scored 38 goals in 56(74) appearances. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2048.

Scottish Premiership. After 3 good wins, Ross County beat us with a 93rd mind pen when we should already have had the game won. The Dundee game was a closer affair, but I think if we beat Ross County, (or even draw), then we win the Dundee game. You know how momentum works in FM. Still, I'm happy with the start and just look at Rangers! 

League Cup. We've got Rangers in the Quarter-Final, but it remains to be seen if this new Rangers in Administration is as strong as the Rangers pre-Administration. 

Season Tickets.

Transfers. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 7/8 from the spot at 88%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2048.

Scottish Premiership. A bit of a strange month in that at home we were decent, (wins against Rangers and Falkirk and a draw against Celtic), but at home we were awful and where as last season we only lost by more than a 1 goal margin twice, (both 2-0 to Rangers), we twice got slapped 4-1 this month. Maybe that's just down to us losing our 1st choice GK this season. 

We're only 2 points off top of the table Hibs though, so we're still bang in the mix. 

Rangers still on minus figure points. 

League Cup. It's still a bunch of friendlies and that's why our 2nd Team beating Rangers isn't a big deal. 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 7/9 from the spot at 78%. 

Finances. 

[RoguPL]

5 loses in 8 games for Rangers is bad. I wonder if they lost many players during transfer window, hence the poor form. Seems like they deteriorated really quickly, from recently being a Scottish powerhouse. 

Edited February 26 by RoguPL

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, RoguPL said:

5 loses in 8 games for Rangers is bad. I wonder if they lost many players during transfer window, hence the poor form. Seems like they deteriorated really quickly, from recently being a Scottish powerhouse. 

Well they didn't win the league in either of the last 2 seasons. They finished 3rd last season and 2nd the season before after 14 Premiership titles in 16 years before that. 

They've dropped out of the Europa League and into the Europa Conference this season. 

 

Last season they dropped out of the Champions League but got to the Last 16 of the Europa League. 

The season before, they got to the Last 16 of the Champions League. 

Their last success in Europe was a victory over Celtic in the 2038 Europa League Final. 

They've sold a few players already this season and 1 big player left on a free to go to the Middle East. I can't give you a valuation on him, but he's getting paid £105k pw so he's likely decent.  

Last season they almost broke even.

The previous season was quiet.

The financial issue has never really been transfer fees though and player wages far more significant. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2048.

Scottish Premiership. It's a really good month in the league, with our only dropped points coming from the 2nd Team away to Champions for the last 2 years Aberdeen. They're a really good side and I'm happy to lose to them with the 2nd Team if it means that we win the game on each side of them. 

We're top of the table, but have played 1 game more than Aberdeen. 

Rangers are really struggling and are a LONG way away from safety. Even without the points deduction they would be bottom and their problem is scoring goals, (7 scored in 13 games this season). They have a good 21 yo Austrian striker who's injured, and a 20 yo young Scottish lad who I like the look of. They also have a 34 yo Brazilian, (who's past his best), but is the guy that scored loads of goals against us earlier in the save, (so I'm particularly gutted that his legs are gone and he's now finding it tougher at this level..........)  

Debuts.

Facilities. Still no news about the location of our new stadium. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 7/9 from the spot at 78%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2048.

Scottish Premiership. A late leveller against Celtic earned us a point that we didn't really deserve if I'm honest, but we were very good against Hearts and fully deserved the 3 points. 

League Cup. We're through to the Final where we will face the best team in Scotland, Aberdeen. Even though we're in the Final though, this is still just a bunch of friendlies. We've played mid-week 3 times in this competition and the 2nd Team have played on each occasion, (beating Stenhousemuir, Clyde & Rangers). 

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 8/10 from the spot at 80%. 

Finances. 

[Thebaker]

Great start to the season.

Rangers is a strange one in that they were in big financial trouble for years but still spending a lot in incoming transfers when you would expect transfer profits although they did overspend on the players bought.

They haven't seeming sold many players so some must be still there, so it seems surprising they are struggling, the players must have downed tools.

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Great start to the season.

Rangers is a strange one in that they were in big financial trouble for years but still spending a lot in incoming transfers when you would expect transfer profits although they did overspend on the players bought.

They haven't seeming sold many players so some must be still there, so it seems surprising they are struggling, the players must have downed tools.

I don't think the manager has done an awful lot wrong. I think the problem is that it's been coming since 2042 when the Chairman announced he was going to scale down funding. 

He obviously wasn't a normal owner. 

At the very start of the save, they had £10.7M in the bank, their wage budget was £569,932 pw, (which they were spending), and their transfer budget was £800k. They had £2.9M outstanding on a loan that was originally for £3.2M.

In May 2028, (just before the Tycoon takeover), they were £54.4M overdrawn at the bank, their wage budget was £1,088.254, (which they were spending), and their transfer budget was £0. They had £2.1M outstanding on a loan that was originally for £3.2M. 

In May 2029, (the Tycoon has been there for 1 year), they had £33.8M in the bank, their wage budget was £1,131,630, (and they were spending £1.18M), and their transfer budget was £47.3M. There were no loans. 

In May 2031, (the Tycoon has been there for 1 year), they had £33.7M in the bank, their wage budget was £2,015,595, (and they were spending £1,476,625), and their transfer budget was £45.5M. There were no loans. 

In Apr 2034, (after the Tycoon had been there for almost 6 years), they were £11.5 overdrawn at the bank, their wage budget was £3,316,569 pw, (they were spending £2,554,278 pw), and their transfer budget was £32.9M. There were no loan.

In Apr 2037, (after the Tycoon had been there for almost 9 years), they were £0.5M overdrawn at the bank, their wage budget was £4,353,783 pw, (they were spending £4,100,365 pw), and their transfer budget was £13.2M.

They got £140M in sponsorship this season! 

I've never had a Tycoon take over my club, (and I wouldn't want it), and I'm guessing that the 3 big "General" sponsorship lines at the bottom, (totalling £99.5M), is him investing money into the club. 

In Apr 2041, (after the Tycoon had been there for almost 13 years), they had £6.8M in the bank, their budget was £6,863,360 pw, (they were spending £4,481,487 pw), and their transfer budget was £24.6M. 

In Jun 2042, (shortly after the Tycoon scaled down funding), they had £116M in the bank, their wage budget was £6,863,360 pw, (they were spending £4,150,817 pw), and their transfer budget was £17.9M.

In Jun 2043, (1 year after the Tycoon scaled down funding), they had £45.8M in the bank, their wage budget was £5,218,625 pw, (they were spending £3,751,012 pw), and their transfer budget was £27.4M.

In Jun 2044, (2 years after the Tycoon scaled down funding), they were £56M overdrawn at the bank, t6heir wage budget was £4,032,586 pw, (they were spending £3,042,829 pw), and their transfer budget was £49.3M. 

In Jun 2045, (3 years after the Tycoon scaled down funding), they had £76.4M in the bank, their wage budget was £3,912,716 pw, (they were spending £2,623,982 pw), and their transfer budget was £54.5M.

.............................New owner............................

In Jun 2046, (The new owners have been at the club for 1 month), they had £36.5M in the bank, their wage budget was £3,180,736 pw, (they were spending £2,470,513 pw), and their transfer budget was £0. The 

In Jun 2047, (The new owners have been at the club for 1 year), they are £86.6M overdrawn at the bank, their wage budget is £2,706,533 pw, (they are spending £1,813,852 pw), and their transfer budget is £22.8M.

In Jun 2048, (The new owners have been at the club for 2 years), they are £124.7M overdrawn at the bank, their wage budget is £65,354 pw, (they are spending £1,703,393 pw), and their transfer budget is somehow -£19.5M.

Apologies for going into such detail, but I was really struggling to work out what had caused the problem and now I think it's clear. 

1. Rangers don't start the save off with loads of money, but they still had a budget of £569k pw at the start of the save. 

2. The problem didn't start with the Tycoon. Even before he arrived, their wage budget was up at about £1M pw, (and they were spending it), and as a result they were £54 overdrawn at the bank. 

3. When the Tycoon came in he obviously solved their money problems, (via sponsorship), and their wage spend rocketed up to £6.8M pw at it's highest, (which is £355M per year by the way). 

4. Even once the Tycoon left, the wage budget was still ridiculously high at £3.2M pw, and even if you give them 12 months to get their feet under the table, the wage budget 12 months after the new consortium bought the club was still £2.7M pw. Compare that to the £570k pw that Rangers were spending at the start of the save? 

5. To put things in perspective, our wage budget is currently £100,355 pw, (and we're spending £41,336 pw), so even if they were spending 10x what we're budgeting for, that would still only be approx £1M pw. 

They only have 11 players in the Senior squad, and none of them are worth huge money. 

Matias Morales has been good value as a signing, and is only valued so lowly because his contract is about to expire and he will be leaving on a free, (which will save £14.3M per year), but I don;t understand why you wouldn't either sell him or let him leave on a free , (to anyone who would pay his wages), as soon as the financial difficulties began. Maybe there were no takers?

There are a few more in the U21 squad. 

Michael Forbes is in the B Team/U21 squad, and he would walk into our starting XI. 

There appear to be some decent kids in the U18 squad. 

The Tycoon was never actually the problem. 

There was a problem before he arrived, (that he fixed). 
The only negative legacy the Tycoon left was a £39M loan that he took out to manage the debt after he reduced his funding. 
Post-Tycoon, the new consortium still kept the wage budget at £2.7M per week which is ridiculous.
They are so screwed I'm tempted to use this as a future save to come and try and fix the club, (but it's Rangers so I just couldn't bring myself to do it). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2048.

Scottish Premiership. A tough month. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a disaster, but as we're in the hunt for our 1st European qualifying spot, there's more at stake this season. We're 4 points clear of Falkirk in 5th and they've also played 2 more games than us. 

For a while there I was getting carried away and wondering if we could compete with Aberdeen for the title, but this month, (we've been hammered by injuries in key areas by the way), means that I just need to accept that 4th will be perfectly fine. 4th would be brilliant. 4th is all we need. 

League Cup. It's still a bunch of friendlies. 

New contract. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 9/111 from the spot at 82%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2049. 

Scottish Premiership. We scored a 90th min winner against Rangers, but then conceded a 92nd min equaliser against Hibs.

We're 7 points ahead of Falkirk now and also have a game in hand on them. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 11/13 from the spot at 85%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2049.

Scottish Premiership. Well this wasn't quite what we were looking for. 

Scottish Cup. (The Big one). 

Takeover.

Facilities.

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 12/14 from the spot at 86%. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake. Mar 2049.

This intake looks ok. The players with the best PA also appear to have the best CA, (which makes it easier for them to reach their PA), and 2 of the top 3 also have reasonable personalities (F.Pro). 

The biggest negative isn't one of CA of PA, but simply the position the better players play in. 

There are 2 players with Casual personalities and neither will be signed. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2049.

Scottish Premiership. After a poor month in Feb, we bounced back with 2 good wins and the gap between ourselves and Hearts in 5th is still 7 points. Rangers are still bottom and would still be bottom, (albeit only on goal difference), even without the points deduction. They will have to pull something really special out of the bag to escape automatic relegation from here. 

Scottish Cup.

Internationals. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club).
(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club).
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club).
(30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club).
(31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club).
(39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club).
(40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). 
(43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 12/14 from the spot at 86%. 

Finances.