[FM24] Tulach Bòide [Scotland Tier 13]

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2025. 

Friendlies. 

Transfers. (These players were all released). 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2025. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. We went Wed, Sat, Wed right at the start of the season, and when I saw that the 3rd game was the big one against Strathaven Dynamos I knew straight away that I was going to rotate the whole squad, (including GK), on the Wednesday. In fact there was even only 1 1st Team starter on the bench! The success in games 2 and 3 has made up my mind about this. I will continue to rotate like this whenever we play twice in a week. I really believe that the Strathaven result is huge, even at this early stage of the season. Even after losing to us they're still 2nd  and many other clubs have played a game more. Really good start. 

Friendlies. 

Season Preview. Well this is a surprise.  They think we will finish 7th in the league.  I think that's roughly where we were expected to finish last season, (and we romped it). I was expecting to be log-jammed in this league for a while but until we start playing teams I don't really know. 

The relegated side Easterhouse are the only Amateur side in the league. Everyone else is Semi-Pro. 

Just having a quick look at Facilities... (Junior Coaching & Youth recruitment). 

Strathaven JC 11 YR 9. 
St Patricks JC 2 YR 2.
Annbank Utd JC 2 YR 2.
Harestanes JC 5 YR 3.
Griffnock North JC 1 YR 1.
Easterhouse (A) JC 3 YR 3)
Tullibody Community JC 2 YR 1.
Scoutable Utd. JC 2 YR 15. (They are definitely worth scouting!!!)  They sound/look like a REALLY interesting club for a save. 
Calderglen AFC JC 1 YR 1.
EagleSham JC 1 YR 1.
Thurlford Thistle JC 1 YR 1.
Cambria JC 1 YR 1.
Rothesay Brandanes JC 1 YR 1.
Dirrans Athletic JC 2 YR 1.
New Farm Loch AFC JC 1 YR 1.
Callander Thistle JC 1 YR 1.
West Kilbride AFC JC 1 YR 1.
Shortlees Amateurs Football Club JC 1 YR 1.

So there appear to be 2 outliers and the rest seem to be much of a muchness. I expect Strathaven to romp the league and for Scoutable to do better than 8th but anything else I haven't a scooby. 

FT/PT debate. Even at this level, there are rules for minimum wage restrictions for players on FT contracts. 

I very much doubt that any club at this level is able to run on a FT basis without running at an enormous deficit. 

16 players (in a squad minimum) x £250 per week = £4,000 per week x 36 weeks the season runs for = £144,000 per season, (and that's at the lowest rate of pay and only covering the period when patches are played). It's worth keeping that in mind for later in the save.

Debuts. 

Squad size. We currently have 31 players and I really need to reduce that by 5-10 by the time the next intake comes round. 

Transfers. 1 more player released brings us down to 30 players at the club. 

Goal-scoring GK's. A goal in the big game against Strathaven Dynamo gets (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" off the mark for the season. 

(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 15/18 from the spot at 83%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 3/3 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. Our season ticket sales didn't go up, our attendances haven't gone up and now we're paying money out to players. This seems like a rubbish idea! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2025. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. This is a really good start. We're 9 points clear after just 7 games and our 2nd Team have played 2 of these games.  

The win against Strathaven was indeed key and I'm positive that the morale hit they suffered has impacted their form since then

Friendlies. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

(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 15/18 from the spot at 83%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 3/3 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2025. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. We're playing ok, but we're not smashing teams yet. The EagleSham  game was a disaster that might have been worse had (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" not saved a pen. The game came 4 games after we played Scoutable, so the 2nd Team came in en masse and they were poor for the 1st time this season. We deserved to lose but are still 9 points clear at the top. 

William Turner Challenge Cup. This was played on a Saturday so the 1st Team played. 

Friendlies. 

Rivalries. We don't have a rivalry at the moment, but EagleSham are the closest thing to it. If we both stay in this league for another season then it might develop, but fingers crossed that doesn't happen, (and only 1 of us can get promoted this season). 

1st Coaching badge. 

Job Interview. Not interested. 

Records. We won the 1st 11 games of the season and the last 2 games of last season, so the run finally finished on 13 games.  (Time to start again now).

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month, although (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" did save a penalty. 

Finances. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2025. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. Our GK (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" fractured his arm in the 1st Cambria game and we've conceded 8 goals in the 3 games since. 

We're "only" 11 points clear now, but have played an extra game. I would really like to extend our lead in further and completely kill off any chance for anyone to overhaul us. 

William Turner Challenge Cup. Comfortable win. 

Friendlies. 

Vision. We've only played 2 games in this competition and are in the Quarters, (because we join at a much later stage now). 

Job interview. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing of note this month other than (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" fracturing his arm which rules him out for a couple of months. 

(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 15/18 from the spot at 83%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 3/3 from the spot at 100%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2025.

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. After dropping 5 points at the end of last month, we started this month by doing exactly the same thing and in 4 games we'd coughed up 10 hard earned points and I was starting to look over my shoulder. Even before this we had been doing ok, but we hadn't been tearing teams apart, so I went out and signed someone who I thought might the catalyst for change. He won't be arriving until 1st Jan, but all the players know he's coming. I'm not sure if it gave them the boost they needed, (or scared the pants off them), but either way, (23) Thom (Unamb) (who had only scored 3 goals and 1 assist in 17 games from the start of the season), suddenly banged in back to back hat-tricks. We were suddenly like a new team. We were like the old us. 

Our lead at the top of the table is now 7 points, and I plan on extending that in Jan. 

Friendlies. 

New contract. Have I mentioned that I really don't like being offered 1 year contracts?

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing of note here. 

(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 15/18 from the spot at 83%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 3/3 from the spot at 100%.

Finances.

[ToMexico!!]

Seems like the attendance has averaged out at around 90. How many season tickets did you end up selling? Even 100 fans at a friendly last month 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2026. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. I would have said it was a decent month until we lost to AnnBank at the end of the month. We're still 5 points clear though, but as we progress to the business end of the Cups and start to lose players to injury and suspension I'm concerned that we might be running out of legs at just the wrong time, (which is why I made a signing this month). I said during pre-season that Strathaven would run away with the league and I think their early loss to us really rocked them, but they've got their mojo back and have won 5 on the bounce in all competitions. I fully expect them to be our closest challengers come the end of the season, although the Calderglen challenge is built on the foundation of a miserly defence,

Scottish Amateur Cup. Dirrans are in our league and only 5 sides have conceded fewer goals so I'm not sure anyone saw this result coming. (23) Thom (Leader) 6'2" absolutely destroyed them with 4 goals in a virtuoso performance. 

William Turner Challenge Cup. We're into the Semi-Finals now and with Gartcosh 2 leagues below Rothesay Brandanes, (who are 4th in our league), and Easterhouse Academy 12th in our league, the smart money would be on a Tullibody v Rothesay Final. While our priority is always the league, considering that we won't be eligible for this trophy next season if we get promoted, it certainly becomes a higher priority than the Scottish Amateur Cup. 

Records. I'm guessing that the previous record was closer to £0 than it was to £500. There were only 76 people in attendance though and 23 of them would have been season-ticket holders, so I don't know how the remaining 53 people generated £500 in ticket sales, (actually I do, it's about £9.43 per ticket), but when we're selling tickets for £1 it becomes less clear. Maybe we charge a huge premium for Cup games? 

Transfers.

I completely understand that (23) Thom (Leader) 6'2" doesn't look great, but what does look great is the 46 goals in 58(7) appearances that he scored for us. My options as to who to bring in are pretty limited and I was gutted when he left and I know he can do a job for us. He's just one of those "cheat players" who has attributes that are ultra-effective. We don't want him to play football or be involved in the build-up. We want him to head away set pieces in our own box and nod them in at the far post in theirs. Job done.  The fact that our 1st choice SRC (24d) Main (Unamb) got injured against Harstanes and will be out for about a month is just an added Brucey bonus. 

In actual fact his arrival worked brilliantly as he scored 3 goals in 4 league games this month, but he also scored 5 more goals in 1(1) cup appearances to bring his tally to 8 goals in 5(1) appearances since his return. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 goal and 1 failure from the spot for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" this month. 

(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 15/18 from the spot at 83%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. The only problem with bringing (23) Thom (Leader) 6'2" back to the club and him scoring 8 goals in his 1st month with us is that as well as paying him an £80 appearance fee for each game, (which is much more than I wanted to pay), he also demanded £20 per goal, so on top of the 6x £80 we paid him for appearances, we also have to pay him 8x £20 for goals. That's a total cost of £640 this month which is FAR too much. While I think he's brilliant and have labelled him a "cheat player" in this thread, I will probably look to release him if/when we get promoted. He's very much a short-term signing to get us past the pinch-point of this league with the 1 promotion spot via the Playoff. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

13 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Seems like the attendance has averaged out at around 90. How many season tickets did you end up selling? Even 100 fans at a friendly last month 

Good spot about 100 fans at the friendly, but that was about the opposition, (who play in the Lowland League, which offers promotion to Scottish League 2 irl), so simply about the size of them. 

Our season tickets surprisingly stayed exactly the same at 23 which I don't understand at all. I would have thought purely by the sheer nature of our style of play and ridiculous number of goals scored/conceded it would have risen by at least 1, (even without the promotion). 

We're averaging exactly 100 in the league this season, which is the 7th highest, and I can't really complain about that as we've come from 2 leagues below. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Real life news concerning Tullibody Community FC 1999. 

Some of you may have read that an FM streamer called Mozza, (@MozzaPlays on Twitter), and who lives in Tullibody, has recently been instrumental in setting up a new Football club in Tullibody called Tullibody St Serfs FC, (named after the local Church), and has created some video content to record how it all panned out. 

I incorrectly assumed, (not having watched his videos yet), that there had been a falling out of some sort and this had created division in the original club, however it appears that they simply folded, (didn't ask why), and the new club is a Phoenix club of sorts, (at least for the locals). 

 

 

So this could be the last time they ever appear in FM. 

Fingers crossed though that Mozza and whoever else is helping to get Tullibody St S FC off the ground are successful and next season we see them in the database instead. 

I don't watch any FM streamers and have never seen Mozza in the past, (so I can't tell you if he's any good or not), but certainly the video content regarding the formation of the new club looks interesting, (at least to me), and might be worth a look. There are only 6 video's, all about 15 mins long, (so it's not a huge investment in time to watch them), and if you're interested in me waffling on about a fictional Tullibody Community FC 1999 team, (who actually no longer even exist in real life), then you might be interested in listening to Mozza talk about a real Tullibody FC that does actually exist. (At the very least, Mozza has a decent voice for vlogs and from the first 30 seconds of the 1st video looks at least competent). 

That's the end of that. If you're not interested then no problem at all. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2026. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. We were 3-0 up after an hour, but despite us usually being the side to finish stronger, the wheels properly came off against St Patricks. There were a total of 17 shots on target by both teams in this match. 

We're 8 points clear as Calderglen fall away and as expected Strathaven come strong at the business end of the season. 

Scottish Amateur Cup. I was expecting to lose the 7th Round and it was a low priority behind league and WTC Cup, so I rotated the squad completely and they came up trumps. 

William Turner Challenge Cup. I think we have a good chance of winning this so the 1st Team played in this game and they got the job done as expected. Much more of a surprise was the result of the other Semi-Final where Gartcosh, (from 2 leagues below), blew past Easterhouse, (from our league), and into the Final against us. On the 1 hand I'm astonished by the result, but pleased that at least on paper we have easy opposition in the Final, but on the other hand what a disaster it would be if we lost to a team from 2 leagues below! 

Friendlies. 

Goal-scoring GK's. For the 1st time this season (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is on the pitch when we are awarded a pen and converts for his 1st goal of the season. 

(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 16/19 from the spot at 84%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2026. 

No, still not one of ours. 

#

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2026. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. I can't believe that EagleSham beat us again.  The 2nd Team had to play, (despite my animosity towards the Sham), and I thought they had the job done when we were 2-0 up after 56 mins, but a red card, a penalty, and then a late deflected goal in injury time but paid to that. That's 4 times in a row they've beaten us now. 

The victory against Strathaven was a big one and our lead at the top of the table is now 8 points. 

Scottish Amateur Cup. This competition was our 3rd priority, but it was still a shame to go out when we were getting to the business end. 

William Turner Challenge Cup. Champions! 

Rivalry. It may not be an official rivalry, but I hate them with a passion you can only dream of! 

Club Vision. 

Trophy Cabinet. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Despite being 2nd choice GK, (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" notches his 2nd goal of the campaign. 

(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%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 4/5 from the spot at 80%.

Finances. 

[ToMexico!!]

Quite a financial incentive to try and win a cup each season, it will pay for Thom's goal bonus each season anyway! 

[Jimbokav1971]

29 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Quite a financial incentive to try and win a cup each season, it will pay for Thom's goal bonus each season anyway! 

He's been here for 3 months and so far we have paid him the following. 

18 appearances x £80 = £1,440
11 goals x £20 = £220
0 unused subs x £40 (no flippin way am I paying that!!!)

So we've paid him £1,660 for 3 months work. 

Treble that for a full season and we're looking at £4,980, so I know you were half-joking, but you are actually right. I actually arranged to sign him previously to when I finally signed him, but I couldn't justify the finances and as we were flying on a big unbeaten run at the time it seemed silly so I cancelled at the last minute. 

After 4 games without losing though, we needed an injection of something so I sucked it up and agreed to pay, (actually he wanted £100 per appearance and I knocked him down to £80). 

[Jimbokav1971]

What's in a name? Apr 2026. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. 

I'm not going to show you everyone from the intake, but I'm going to show you players that interest be either for their ability, name or just Nationality. 

(26c) McKean (L.Det) is the 1st "Mc" and I've got to admit that I'm not overly keen other than his pace and workrate. 

(26j) McCallum (Pro) 5'7" is the 2nd "Mc" and he looks great. I really like the look of him. 

(26o) McCafferty (F.Det) is the 3rd and final "Mc" and I don't like him at all. 

(26g) Thom (F.Pro) 6'2" is the 3rd Thom and we also have a Thomson. We're always in need of another centre-half. 

(26f) Adams (Unamb) looks like a cross between a right back and a centre-half. Maybe a wide centre-half?

(26l) Wilson (Unamb) is far and away the most clinical finisher we have produced and he has the physical ability to make the most of it. His lack of composure is a real shame, but let's not be too greedy eh. 

(26m) Hastings (Unamb) 6'2" is another much needed centre-half. 

(26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is only being shown here because of his Nationality. When I was doing my L10 save in England a few years ago, I found that players who came through the intake who had primary Nationalities which were..... unusual for the Nation where they came through, often had significantly better PA than their star rating suggested. This is the the 1st player of the save that meets the criteria so it will be interesting to see how his career goes. 

First Touch 1. 
Composure 2. 
Vision 2. 
Tries to play way out of trouble..... I see no problems here at all. 

It's too hard to make a decision on players on Day 1 so I have signed everyone except (26e) Wilson. (Slack). With a personality like that it doesn't really matter what his PA is like, and thankfully he's a winger who will play up front on the left and we have loads of them ahead of him so I'm happy to release him.

That brings the playing staff at the club up to 46 and we really need to take at least 20 off that. After I have given this current batch a couple of months so we get a more accurate CA/PA rating I'm going to try and 3 or 4 every month until we get down to a more manageable number. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jtomsett11]

Enjoying this save (as usual) after your abrupt and very unfair end to life in Colombia! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2026. 

Caledonian Amateur Premier League. Everything was going swimmingly. We won the 1st 4 games of the month and although the last game of the season was technically in the next month I just thought I would group them all together in this update for ease. I was thinking about next season and enjoying the perfect hat-trick scored by (26l) Wilson (Unamb) from the recent intake and I was really looking forward to next season. I had blooded 4 of the recent intake this month and I was just thinking ahead to next season when after going 1-0 uo in the last game of the season, we were now 2-1 down. "What difference does it make?" I said to myself as it slowly dawned on me that the season wasn't finishing today despite us winning the league by 10 points. 

Although we were Champions, promotion wasn't guaranteed and we still had a 2-legged Playoff against the bottom team in the league above to navigate. WTF!  How can I have forgotten about this? 

Friendlies. 

Debut. 

Perfect hat-trick. 

Nobody else at the club has finishing higher than 9. 

The 2 Thom's who have scored a silly number of goals for us in the last few years have finishing of 7 and 4. 

(23) Thom (Unamb) has scored 55 goals in 88(3) games at a rate of 0.625 goals per game. (Not including sub appearances). 
(23) Thom (Leader) 6'2" has scored 60 goals in 74(8) games 0.81 goals per game. (Not including sub appearances).
(23) Scobbie (Real) has scored 54 goals in 83(24) appearances at 0.65 goals per game. (Not including sub appearances).

Facilities. We're top of the table and we've just won our 1st Cup competition & earned £10k prize money, so I thought I would ask El Chieftain if we for some upgrades. He agreed to the Junior Coaching upgrade straight away, and I manage to persuade them to upgrade the Youth Recruitment too. 

Remember the numbers here take a month or so to tick over after the upgrade. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We get 2 pens in the last month and (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" converts them both. 

(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%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 6/7 from the spot at 86%.

Finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

58 minutes ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Enjoying this save (as usual) after your abrupt and very unfair end to life in Colombia! 

Thanks very much, (but let's not mention the C word eh!) 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2025.

WoS 4th Div Playoff. There are only 5 subs for this game which is a surprise. I've been used to 3 from 7 for the 3 seasons so far. This tie is such a big deal. Yeah we romped the league, but there is no guarantee that we would do so again next season and I honestly believe that a large reason we won the league as comfortably as we did is because we beat Strathaven in that 3rd league game and it stopped them building up vital momentum while we went on a run of 11 consecutive victories at the start of the season. I think we had won the league at that stage already. The damage was done. After 14 league games of the season we had dropped just 3 points, taking 39 points from a possible 42. After the same 14 game period Strathaven had taken just 19 points from a possible 42 and were already trailing us by 20 points. When you consider that we only finished 13 points ahead of them this period becomes all the more significant. If we lose to them in game 3 I don't think we win the league. It's as simple as that. 

Tier 10 here we come. 

1st Leg (H). 1-0 down. 2-1 up. Finishes 2-2. We should have done better with the chances we had. 

2nd Leg (A). We were winning 6-0 going into the last minute. The 2 late goals they scored really flattered them. We absolutely battered them for 89 mins. 

Debut. 

Records. 

Stats. I really like this little feature. It could be improved by making it "clickable" though so that we could click on the rankings or something and it would take us to that stats page for the league. 

Trophy cabinet. Is it wrong to be peeved that we got promoted from tier 13 by finishing 3rd and didn't win the title? (Asking for a friend).

Favoured personnel. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

(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%. 
(25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 6/7 from the spot at 86%.

Finances. 

This is a BIG deal for us. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

To do list. Jun 2026. 

• Increase Junior Coaching again. 
• Increase Youth Recruitment again.
• Increase Youth Facilities. (I don't think we're ready for this yet because we don't have the money and even if we did it is best used elsewhere).
• Increase Training Facilities. (I don't think we're ready for this yet because we don't have the money and even if we did it is best used elsewhere).
• Turn Pro. I don't think we need to do this for quite some time. (All 16 of teams who played last season in Tier 6 are all Semi-Pro).
• Get an U18/U19's Team. 
• Get a Reserves Team, (this is not the same as the B Team). 
• Take a 2nd Coaching Course.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2026. 

Rep. I can't show you where we are on the list, because even if I exclude all clubs down to and including WoS 4th Div, we're still a mile down the list. 

Finances. I would love to try and stay in credit, but I don't think it's very likely. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2026. 

Friendlies. You can see by the attendances in our friendlies that our promotion, (and rep rise), has opened up new higher profile clubs to play against and I've picked some tough fixtures against some Northern based English clubs on purpose. Bradford City was a sell-out which was brilliant, but Barrow & Fleetwood also seeing gates of 250+.

Poached.

Transfers. There has only been 1 player signed directly by another club, and although I didn't want to lose him, he wasn't going to be 1st choice this season. 

(23) Thom (Unamb) has been instrumental to our success, but he wasn't going to be 1st choice so I think it makes sense that he moves on. 

I've been making a real effort to cull players and with that in mind 9 players have been released including some who have been big players for us, (even last season). 

(23) Sithole (SCO)(RSA) (Spir) is a player I liked, and he did really well for us early on, but he wants to be 1st choice, (and isn't), and with a spirited personality that can cause problems. 

(23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is the highest scoring GK in the save son far, (with 17/20 at 85%), but even more impressive than his penalty scoring was bhis penalty saving and it's this that he will probably be most remembered for. He wanted to be 1st choice GK but is way off the level required. 

(23) Thom (Leader) 6'2" is the only ICON at the club and weirdly his leaving isn't because he's not good enough to still play at this level, (I think he is). It's simply because I had to pay him too much money to bring him back and I did that just to make sure we got promoted last season. (Ity worked so well we did the double!) This season will be one of consolidation though, (I think), and I don't want to waste money on him when I could be investing the time into a youngster. Keeping him just isn't an effective use of our resources despite how effective he is for someone with such limited ability. A Lower League Scottish Orri Freyr Oskarsson is ever there was one. 

(23) Scobbie (Real) has been a bit of an unsung hero in the 1st 3 years of the save. Often overshadowed by the 2 Thom's, he just got on with it. In hindsight I wonder if we will miss his Leaderships qualities in the absence of (23) Thom (Leader) 6'2". We certainly haven't played many games with neither of them. That might have been an error on my part. 

(23) Esson (Unamb) did well for us, but I think it was more the system and our strikers who made him so effective. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2026. 

Season Preview. The Board want us to avoid relegation and the fans want us to become established at this level. I would like to stay well clear of relegation at the very least. 

WoS 4th Div. (I wish the full name of this was used in the game, so in future I will call it West of Scotland 4th Div). We were 2-0 down so I'm well chuffed to come away from our 1st league game at this level with a win. 

Interesting that our opponents Eglinton are actually top of the league, and nobody who has played more than 1 game has won both of them. 

Scottish Cup. (This is the big one and we've never been in it before).
(They require 2 GK's in the squad, (from 7 subs), and I don't usually have only 1).

(Our 1st opposition were 2 leagues above us).

(Our 2nd opposition were 1 league above us).

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. (Our opposition are 2 leagues above us). 

Friendlies. I know there was a discussion with someone, (possibly @phnompenhandy) earlier in the thread where he commented that he was struggling to find opposition to play regularly without getting battered, and he was concerned that this would lose to a morale hit. I usually avoid this by playing pretty rubbish opposition, (I never pay a fee), but because the start of this campaign was deemed less pressure than normal, (I don't expect promotion), I feel like it's time to experiment a little. As a result we're playing opposition that are much better than usual, and you can judge the increase in level by looking at the number of fans in attendance. (They aren't home fans!) With that in mind, (the tougher fixtures and some big losses), while it does show visibly on the squad morale, it only shows visible on the morale of the players who play in these games, (and if the 1st Team don't play then they don't take a morale hit). With regards to these fringe players, even if they do take a morale hit, how do you weigh up morale versus condition? I'm personally of the opinion that condition is more important than morale based on how effective this rotation strategy is going in FM24. 

Transfers.

Losing our 1st choice Libero (23) King (IRL) (L.Det) 6'2" is a big blow. He started off in midfield but really blossomed when stepping back to Libero. He's contributed 19 goals and 13 assists in all competitions and will be missed. 

Records. 

Debuts. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

Finances. Things are looking up financially. 

I wasn't expecting any TV money at all, so £6k is pretty decent all things considered. 

This is still the prelim-prelim round  of the main Cup and while it seems like a lot of money for such an early stage, we have had to beat a side 2 leagues above us to get it. Very happy with this. 

But gutted this isn't more considering we played an easier opponent. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[phnompenhandy]

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Friendlies. I know there was a discussion with someone, (possibly @phnompenhandy) earlier in the thread where he commented that he was struggling to find opposition to play regularly without getting battered, and he was concerned that this would lose to a morale hit. I usually avoid this by playing pretty rubbish opposition, (I never pay a fee), but because the start of this campaign was deemed less pressure than normal, (I don't expect promotion), I feel like it's time to experiment a little. As a result we're playing opposition that are much better than usual, and you can judge the increase in level by looking at the number of fans in attendance. (They aren't home fans!) With that in mind, (the tougher fixtures and some big losses), while it does show visibly on the squad morale, it only shows visible on the morale of the players who play in these games, (and if the 1st Team don't play then they don't take a morale hit). With regards to these fringe players, even if they do take a morale hit, how do you weigh up morale versus condition? I'm personally of the opinion that condition is more important than morale based on how effective this rotation strategy is going in FM24. 

Yeah it was me. I was saying the Under 18s get thrashed in friendlies. However, now in Tier 9, they can beat Tier 13 opponents. But your thoughts about morale - I'd love it if you got some data on that in this save. Are players who only play in friendlies and get battered still developing despite low morale? If it's your first team and just during preseason, there's probably not enough data to conclude anything.

How about finances, though? Are you making a profit from playing these teams, or do the gates not cover match day expenses still? Can you arrange away friendlies with these sides? That can bring in dosh.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, phnompenhandy said:

Yeah it was me. I was saying the Under 18s get thrashed in friendlies. However, now in Tier 9, they can beat Tier 13 opponents. But your thoughts about morale - I'd love it if you got some data on that in this save. Are players who only play in friendlies and get battered still developing despite low morale? If it's your first team and just during preseason, there's probably not enough data to conclude anything.

I'm not looking at CA/PA in this save so I can't track development and to be honest I don't particularly care hugely about development, (I can't believe I have written that) , because it's likely that the next intake will improve on where the previous can get to in 12 months, (as our facilities and rep grows). Effectively, the club is developing quicker than the players. 

I don't have data, but if you look at the Kilsyth Rangers game in the Cup last month, they're in the league above us and these players who have been getting battered in the friendlies, that's exactly who started that game because it was 3 days after the previous Cup game. If the morale hit outweighed the condition bonus then I really don't think we would be winning these games. Don't get me wrong, morale is another of those "marginal gains", but i think it's more marginal than condition which is key. 

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Don't get me wrong, morale is another of those "marginal gains", but i think it's more marginal than condition which is key.

Right, interesting. Talking of 'marginal gains'. I was watching Evidence-Based FM new study, which is on Conditioning. Good tips there, if you're interested, including ones that expose tactical exploits, things where part-time 16 year old kids should never have the conditioning to manage.

[Jimbokav1971]

7 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

How about finances, though? Are you making a profit from playing these teams, or do the gates not cover match day expenses still? Can you arrange away friendlies with these sides? That can bring in dosh.

That's something I was considering even before you mentioned it, but I don't have the answer at the moment. 

Because we only have a 500 capacity stadium, and I think tickets are somewhere between £1 & £2 on average, it's only quite a small amount anyway, but then additional sales under..... "Match Day Income" should be bigger so let's have a look....

Gate Receipts were £12k+ last season and we've already taken £2,573 this month, (although all 4 games were at home & 2 had particularly big attendances, (for us), because they were against higher opposition. 

Match day income has been the big increase. We've already taken £6,700 this month when we only took £7,520 through the whole of last season. 

In terms of expenditure, Match Day expenses have risen and so have other expenses. 

I haven't been tracking it in enough detail to see what sort of "net profit" we're making in light of this, (but my general gut feeling is that we're "winning".

[phnompenhandy]

3 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

That's something I was considering even before you mentioned it, but I don't have the answer at the moment. 

Because we only have a 500 capacity stadium, and I think tickets are somewhere between £1 & £2 on average, it's only quite a small amount anyway, but then additional sales under..... "Match Day Income" should be bigger so let's have a look....

Gate Receipts were £12k+ last season and we've already taken £2,573 this month, (although all 4 games were at home & 2 had particularly big attendances, (for us), because they were against higher opposition. 

Match day income has been the big increase. We've already taken £6,700 this month when we only took £7,520 through the whole of last season. 

In terms of expenditure, Match Day expenses have risen and so have other expenses. 

I haven't been tracking it in enough detail to see what sort of "net profit" we're making in light of this, (but my general gut feeling is that we're "winning".

I've kind of figured out that the Scottish Cup is 'big' - prize money every round, big gates, chance of getting the dream draw in a few rounds. The other cups are totally sucky though - poor gates, no money, and I'm convinced my fringe players win only because opponents want to get knocked out even more than we do!

[Jimbokav1971]

10 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Right, interesting. Talking of 'marginal gains'. I was watching Evidence-Based FM new study, which is on Conditioning. Good tips there, if you're interested, including ones that expose tactical exploits, things where part-time 16 year old kids should never have the conditioning to manage.

Evidence Based FM stuff is good, but I haven't watched any of his stuff in a while. (I haven't watch ANY FM stuff in a while). I just prefer to work out what I think rather than picking up from others, (although I do like the way he presents stuff). I might have to have a look because condition is a big thing for me in this save and I am going on about it a bit I suppose. 

Not sure I want to find out about exploits though, (although I would agree with you that maybe I'm using an exploit with this rotation policy myself). I suppose I don't mind an exploit, (like a big strong bloke with good jumping completely dominating at the far post). Is it an exploit or is it fine attention to detail? 

Going back to my finances response. I think I might look at income/expenses before a friendly, and then directly after a friendly and see what I can work out. 

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Evidence Based FM stuff is good, but I haven't watched any of his stuff in a while. (I haven't watch ANY FM stuff in a while). I just prefer to work out what I think rather than picking up from others, (although I do like the way he presents stuff). I might have to have a look because condition is a big thing for me in this save and I am going on about it a bit I suppose. 

Not sure I want to find out about exploits though, (although I would agree with you that maybe I'm using an exploit with this rotation policy myself). I suppose I don't mind an exploit, (like a big strong bloke with good jumping completely dominating at the far post). Is it an exploit or is it fine attention to detail? 

Going back to my finances response. I think I might look at income/expenses before a friendly, and then directly after a friendly and see what I can work out. 

I avoid exploits myself - I won't be changing my tactics due to what he shows. I keep my tactics what I view as realistic. For example, I know counter-pressing is super-effective, but I don't use it because it would be unrealistic with my squad. My intakes haven't delivered me tall forwards, alas, but it's not an exploit if you have one and use him appropriately.

Speed is part of my Orkney DNA, but it's still a pipe dream at this stage. Rotation, by the way, is just common sense; it's also, interestingly, very important according to EBFM's new research. But no, that's not an exploit either!

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

I avoid exploits myself - I won't be changing my tactics due to what he shows. I keep my tactics what I view as realistic. For example, I know counter-pressing is super-effective, but I don't use it because it would be unrealistic with my squad. My intakes haven't delivered me tall forwards, alas, but it's not an exploit if you have one and use him appropriately.

Speed is part of my Orkney DNA, but it's still a pipe dream at this stage. Rotation, by the way, is just common sense; it's also, interestingly, very important according to EBFM's new research. But no, that's not an exploit either!

Exactly. Everything that's successful is an exploit to some degree or another. That's what success in the game is. I personally think that rotation is slightly too consistently effective, but at least it's something I have developed myself over a few issues of the game rather than something I've just decided to do because some vlogger says it. There's only so much you can limit yourself. 

I mean if some vlogger came out and said that scoring penalties with your GK was an exploit because the penalty taking attribute is largely ineffective, would I stop taking pens with my GK? Absolutely not. 

Will have a look at friendly finances and come back with some info. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2026. 

West of Scotland 4th Div. The results and performances are obviously great, but I don't understand why our attendances are lower than last season? 

This is a hell of a start to the season and not what I was expecting at all, (having released so many of our big established players from earlier in the save). Maybe a 4th successive promotion and a 3rd successive league title is a possibility? 

Ticket prices. Our season tickets have remained at 23, (again), but the price of season tickets have increased from £7 to £8 and the average price of a ticket has increased from £1 to £2, (in truth it's probably increased from £1.?? to £1.?? that's closer to £2. 

Scottish Cup. (Our opposition are 3 leagues higher than up... I think). We were 3-0 down at HT =, so pulling it back to a draw in injury time suggests, (again), that out fitness levels are better than theirs, but also that despite our low Det levels we didn't choke at all. 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup.

(Our opposition are 1 league above us). 

(Our opposition are 2 leagues above us). 

Amateur Cup. I notice we haven't been entered into this competition this season. I thought it was active at this level. Is it because we've turned Semi-Pro? (Quite possibly). 

Debuts. 

Poached. This is the 3rd player we've had poached in about 12 months.  We have no idea how good this bloke might be. (Not see that before). 

Goal-scoring GK's. Finally (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is off the mark for the season. 

(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 7/8 from the spot at 88%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances and Friendlies. Oct 2026. 

I've created a friendly on 1st October and I'm going to have a look to see how our Income and Expenditure change after the game has been played. I've created it on the 1st specifically so that all the "this month" totals will be at zero and it should be easier to track.

 

Income. 

Expenditure. 

Balance. 

Friendly. We had 49 fans fans at the game. 

Balance. We've actually got £48 less than we had before the game. 

Income. There are only 2 items on the income page for this month. 

Expenditure. There are only 2 items on the expenditure page for this month. 

Conclusion. It could be that we've only lost £48 because there were so few fans at the game and that there will be a tipping point above which the club starts to make money. I will do this again and track the finances again and see if it's any better/worse with bigger/smaller attendance. It's hard during the season though because the options for available friendlies are more limited on a specific day, (such as 1st of the month). While I usually create the friendlies to play on a Monday or a Tuesday during the season, this game was played on a Thursday simply because that's when the 1st fell. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances and Friendlies part 2. Oct 2026. 

We're back to doing this on a Monday and it will be slightly harder to see the change in values, (but it should be fine). 

Income. 

Expenditure. 

Balance. 

Friendly. I actually thought we would get a bigger attendance than 49, but instead it was only 27, (but maybe that's because there's 148 miles and 2 hours 48 travel time between Inverness and Alloa). 

Income. 

Expenditure. 

Conclusion. I'm expecting the loss to be bigger than the £48 loss we made with 49 fans at the game and that's proved accurate as we lose £139 for this game. These figures are not huge either way, but it would be good to understand how the game mechanics work in this respect. What I really need is a friendly with 100+ fans to have a look at. The problem with that is that the big attendances in pre-season were all English clubs that are no longer available. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances and Friendlies part 3. Oct 2026. 

Just by way of a comparison, let's also do the same with a home league game. 

Income.

Expenditure.

Balance. 

Fixture. This is really weird. There were only 27 fans at this game. Oh hang on. We were away!  But they shouldn't be having just 27 fans in this league should they?  Anyway, I know we're away now, but let's finish this off. 

Income. No change in income, (as you would expect). 

Expenditure. 

+£50 Travel costs.
+106 Bonuses.

Balance. We've lost £157 but the expenses have only changed by £156. (Maybe it's a rounding up/down issue). 

Conclusion. It was a bit of a waste of time doing this, (because we were away), but it's all info I suppose. 

[ToMexico!!]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Poached. This is the 3rd player we've had poached in about 12 months.  We have no idea how good this bloke might be. (Not see that before). 

I love this, poached players at the level you're at. I always see it as a sign of progression behind the scenes with junior coaching. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2026. 

West of Scotland 4th Div. We're on a roll and the gap at the top is up to 7 points now. I still don't understand why our attendances are lower than they were last season. 

West Of Scotland Cup. (The opposition are in the same league as us). 

Fat Boys go crashing out and after injury-time Goal-scoring GK goal and then a penalty shootout. 

Friendlies. 

Job Interview. Bonyrigg Rose are a Semi-Pro club currently 9th in Scottish league 2. 

New licence. 

Records. This doesn't count a loss on penalties as a loss. It counts it as a draw. I like that. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 more goals for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" brings him to 3 goals for the season and 10 career goals. He's 17 years old. 

(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 9/10 from the spot at 90%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

51 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

I love this, poached players at the level you're at. I always see it as a sign of progression behind the scenes with junior coaching. 

Yeah I love the feature as a whole, but it's not working correctly in FM24. Maybe it will get fixed in a subsequent patch. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2026. 

West of Scotland 4th Div. First our winning streak goes and then our unbeaten run ends. We're still 9 points clear at the top, (although we have played 1 more game), but actually these 2 results come just at the right time as I was starting to think this was all getting a bit bored winning each week. The truth is that we snuck the win against Cambeltown and then we snuck another win against Lesmahagow either side of us sneaking a draw at Royal Albert. This was a really tough month when you add in the Cup matches against such tough opposition. 

West Of Scotland Cup. (Our opposition are 2 leagues higher). 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. We're into the Final where we will play another side 3 leagues higher than us. 

3rd Round. (Our opposition are 3 leagues higher).

Semi-Final. (Our opposition are 3 leagues higher). 

Records.

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 more goal to add to the tally for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1".

(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 11/12 from the spot at 92%.

Finances. The problem with scoring so many goals is that it costs you quite a lot on bonus payments. 

[phnompenhandy]

5 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Friendly. I actually thought we would get a bigger attendance than 49, but instead it was only 27, (but maybe that's because there's 148 miles and 2 hours 48 travel time between Inverness and Alloa). 

Caley Braves is not in Inverness or connected to Inverness Caley Thistle. They began as Edusport Academy, a football academy for young FRENCH rejects, were homeless but settled in Annan on the English border. They changed their name and then home to be currently outside Glasgow. Because they're new, nomadic and French-based, they don't have a huge following.

[Jimbokav1971]

23 minutes ago, phnompenhandy said:

Caley Braves is not in Inverness or connected to Inverness Caley Thistle. They began as Edusport Academy, a football academy for young FRENCH rejects, were homeless but settled in Annan on the English border. They changed their name and then home to be currently outside Glasgow. Because they're new, nomadic and French-based, they don't have a huge following.

Great info. 

You are spot on. Not only did I not know any of that, but I was absolutely getting Inverness from ICT. 

[phnompenhandy]

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Great info. 

You are spot on. Not only did I not know any of that, but I was absolutely getting Inverness from ICT. 

Try this then. A couple of years ago, Rossvale Academy (it was in WoSD4 with Rossavale FC its parent club being a couple of levels higher) wanted to change its name to Caledonian Thistle. My Inverness lot objected, and they ended up calling themselves Caledonian Locomotives. I had to research that myself because they're bombing up my tiers and I had no idea who they were. I did a Rossvale Academy save in FM21 and wondered what had happened to them.

[Mad Mull Jag]

Enjoying this one. I've actually played against some of these teams in real life many years ago!

I did a save with Campbelltown last year using Mozza's DB , i didn't find much difference in the tiers as i progressed up to the lowland league. I just tried to sign new players each season that were marginally better than the ones i had the previous as they were all on part time contracts.   The cups brought in much needed cash to keep me in credit every year. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake preview. Dec 2026. 

3x DC's is good. 
3x A ratings is brilliant.
3x MC's is good. 
Good 4.0 intake is ok. 

I think what this means is that the intake will have significant CA, but not as much PA as I would like. (Not that it matters because it's hard to develop them). At this stage of the save we want more CA than PA. 

[phnompenhandy]

32 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Intake preview. Dec 2026. 

3x DC's is good. 
3x A ratings is brilliant.
3x MC's is good. 
Good 4.0 intake is ok. 

I think what this means is that the intake will have significant CA, but not as much PA as I would like. (Not that it matters because it's hard to develop them). At this stage of the save we want more CA than PA. 

Looks great!

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2026. 

West of Scotland 4th Div. After taking 33 points from a possible 33 over the opening 11 games of the season, we've now dropped 9 points in the last 6 games.  We're still 8 points clear though and there is a long way to go. 

West Of Scotland Cup. (Our opposition are 4 leagues above us). 

Strathclyde Demolition Cup. (Our opposition are 3 leagues higher than us). 

 

Records. 8 goals and 2 assists in 9 Cup appearances for (26j) McCallum (Pro) 5'7", but 15 goals and 9 assists from 20 appearances in all competitions is brilliant for someone who plays on the left of a front 3 for our 2nd Team. 

New contract. Have I mentioned that I hate 1 year contracts? 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing this month. 

(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 11/12 from the spot at 92%.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Mad Mull Jag said:

Enjoying this one. I've actually played against some of these teams in real life many years ago!

I did a save with Campbelltown last year using Mozza's DB , i didn't find much difference in the tiers as i progressed up to the lowland league. I just tried to sign new players each season that were marginally better than the ones i had the previous as they were all on part time contracts.   The cups brought in much needed cash to keep me in credit every year. 

There are some great names of locations. 

Although I knew "someone" did a Lower League Scottish save, I didn't realise it was Mozza and have never really looked at it in too much detail because by the time it's ready to play I'm usually deep into my 1 and only save for that issue of FM. 

I don't find the signing of a new squad every time we get promoted attractive at all, and it's much easier, (for me), just playing Youth Only and playing whoever I have available, (although I might have got lucky with the strikers I inherited in this save). 

In this db we only seem to get prize money for Cup Finals, (other than for the Scottish Cup itself), and the amounts are pretty minimal in that, (although gratefully received). I think the balance is about right though, (even if it's not 100% accurate). You're right. I think it balances the finances of lower league much better than the L12 English database I played a few years ago. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2027. 

West of Scotland 4th Div. We might not be winning them all, but not losing them is fine by me. We're now 12 points clear and the teams trailing us are dropping points all over the place. 

Facilities. We won another Cup last month and are top of the league so now would be a decent time to ask for some upgrades. 

Please remember that the numerical values take about a month to tick over, so expect these to read 1.1.6.6.1. the next time we look. 

Takeover. 

Trophy Cabinet. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 goals this month for (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1".

(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 13/14 from the spot at 93%.

Finances. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Jimbokav1971