[FM24] CDs, BOTs, and Unkindness – FC Isle of Man

[erik45]

February 2037. This is a solid month. Nothing fancy and the only loss was a very even game where we just couldn't find the net for the second time. 

Table. We are anchoring ourselves to the positions around 8th-11th. It's unrealistic to get to the playoffs (but not totally impossible), but we are in an okay form so I don't think there's a real danger of slipping too many positions in the table.

Transfer. A player was bought - with actual money and add-ons!  Hudson 33b has been the starting right back this season, but he hasn't done anything amazing so I was a bit surprised by the offer. He wanted to move and Worthing was willing to offer really nice add-ons, so I accepted the deal. We will keep him for the rest of the season and then we hope that some of the right backs who are out on a loan will come back stronger and take Hudson 33b's place.

 

Upcoming fixtures. The month where the most interesting thing is not the schedule, but the youth intake. If we keep the form we've had this year, we will stay in top half, which is more than enough for me!

[erik45]

Youth intake 2037. Just one player with 5 star PA and three with 1,5 star CA. This tells more about the quality of our current team than the youth intake, but still it just feels a bit boring that there aren't more players with high CA and/or PA. Maybe the feeling of boredom got me while I was taking the screenshots, as I forgot to take one with the players' nationalities, personalities, key stats etc.

But what I did remember were the screenshots from my favourite players from the intake, and they are: Dyer 37a, Joyce 37f & Webb 37g.

 

Youth intake tracking. As said, the numbers on high CA or PA players aren't that good anymore, we've gone down quite a bit from the intake where we had 15 players who had at least 1,5 CA and all the players who had 5 star PA   But as CA and PA are figures that tell about the comparative ability and potential, we don't need to look at them that much, as the actual quality of youth intakes have gone up (but not as fast as the actual quality of the first team).

One thing I like to point out from this intake is the fact there were a lot of neutral or slightly positive/negative personalities. As we have a new HoYD now, maybe he has already made his impact on personalities? The previous HoYD was light-hearted, current is resolute.

[erik45]

March 2037. Another decent month! I feel we are playing... dare I say it...consistently?! The story that results tell is backed up by the xG and my feeling what we deserved from the game. Maybe we should've won against AFC Telford United, in a game where we had over 1,800 spectators, but I really have no complaints.

Table. The playoff spots are gone, but we are getting closer of achieving a very respectable top 10 final position.

Upcoming fixtures. In the last month of the league, we face a lot of teams that still have something to play for. Scunthorpe United is in the playoffs, but they still need to get wins to gain home advantage. Scarborough, Guiseley and Spennymoor are in the relegation fight, so those games are expected to be really difficult. Gateshead is the only one that is just kinda floating in the mid-table, so that will be either the easiest or toughest game for us.  

[erik45]

April 2037. What a way to end the season! Unbeaten in last seven games, and only two losses in last 20 games. The most impressive win was against Scunthorpe, where our 2nd XI showed that they are more than capable of challenging even the best teams in the league. Broe 31d scored a hat-trick in that game, somehow he ended up having the best avg rating in the whole league. 

Table. The draw in the last game of the season meant we fell to 10th, but I'm more than happy with that final position. Teams around us were also in a good form, Winterton winning six games in a row.

Transfer offers. Green 35b is only 18, but he's already our best outfield player. I've promised him that we'll sell him if there are offers north of 10k€, so I won't be accepting these. But I think it's a good indicator of his potential as there are teams from a top division interested in him (although from the Irish top division ). This season he has found quite a good form, getting 8G+8A from the CM(a) position.

[erik45]

Season review. Solihull Moors were the clear winners, but in the playoffs it was a much more close fought contest. In the end, it was Barrow AFC who got promoted. They won Stalybridge Celtic in the playoff final after penalties. Stalybridge did really well to get that far as they were playing with 10 men from 33 minute onwards.

This was the first season for FC Isle of Man in the Vanarama North. I thought we played much better than I was expecting. We had really good defence and good-ish attack. We had a few bad months that made the run for better places almost impossible, but 10th place in the first season is more than respectable.

xG table. We scored and conceded just like the xNumbers suggested, but we were quite efficient and/or lucky with our points tally. But that's the thing: when you look at who are in the playoffs, they are all sides that exceeded their xPts expectations. If we want to be there, we probably need a bit of luck on our side.

Players by minutes. Our star goalie Parillon 30e was unsurprisingly once again the one who played the most minutes. But this time he didn't play every game as Rother 35a was used for the 2nd XI. Their appearances tell quite exactly the balance between 1st and 2nd XIs' playing time: 36 games for 1st XI and 12 for the 2nd.

I don't have exact data for it, but it feels like that our 1st XI is now a bit older on average than it have been previously. That's okay, but I need to make sure that the most talented players aged 17-18 also get enough playing time in competitive games.

Players by goals. Our target man Dugdale 31c was the top scorer. But he could've and should've scored more: he scored 5 of his 7 penalties and he underperformed his xG by almost 4 goals. This season we had some troubles of choosing the right player for the AF role, but in the end it was Lord 33k who made the position his own and scored 11 goals. He had the second best goals/90 rate, just behind 2nd XI target man Broe 31d. I just can't understand how he scores so efficiently, because he is not a good target man.  He's just there because there is practically no one else to do the job.

Next season I hope we find a way to get attackers in AF roles to score more consistently.

Players by assists. AF as the best assister?! Tells something about the fact that I haven't found the optimal roles for the attacking trio. Lord 33k was the only who really overperformed his xA. There are few players, with quite nice xA numbers but low assists, such as DLF Sweetser-Hawkes 34a (3 vs. 8,43), DL Gould 33i (2 vs. 7,88) and CB Coleman 33a (1 vs. 3,52). So, the chance creation is there, now we just need to find the ways to get the ball back in to the net.  

Best eleven 2036/2037. This is the same as 1st XI, with one change: Sweetser-Hawkes 34a didn't make the cut, Broe 31d taking his place.

International call-up. This came out of nowhere!  Brindle 35h had been on loan at NPL Div 1, playing on an average rating of 7,02, so for me he didn't stand out from the crowd. But Stuart Hamilton saw something in him. Brindle 35h's contract is up in a month, but I think I'll give him one more year just to see if there's some unleashed potential.

 

Competition performance tracking. First season in the Vanarama North, 13th season in total. The cup performances were - once again - a disappointment, but in the league we exceeded the board's and my expectations. 9th in the league, a nice positive goal difference, what's not to like?

 

Manager improvements. Pherick Ramsey is getting some personal rewards from the team's fine form. One year more to the contract and then the coaching course to get the best badge, nice!

 

Transfers. In came Murphy 27d, who had valuable  experience from League 2 and Vanarama, but I had some challenges of finding him the best role. Then there was the loan of Hudson 33b, who was sold to Worthing and then loaned back to us immediately. He was also the only player who we sold, rest were loans out and two free transfers (still sad about losing McMenemy 31f ). We also got a sell-on clause activated for the first time in the club's history as RB Stewart 31a was sold from Stalybridge to Dulwich Hamlet. We actually offered a better deal to Stalybridge and the player, but he preferred in Vanarama National, which I (kinda) understand.

 

Finances and improvements. This was interesting. I feel 1,2m€ is a lot of money, but so far the board has declined all the improvements, saying we are not in a strong financial position. But then out of the blue, this happens:

The board themselves decided that now we need to have youth facility improvements. I agreed and now we put almost 2m€ to the facility upgrade. 

Whooooops!

I don't know if the board are just now understanding how much of a dent the facility upgrade created to our finances, but I think this is just funny!

Next season, a good cup run is a bit more important, it would help us steady the (finance) ship earlier in the season. I'm not worried about the balance, as we make profit consistently, but the situation might tempt the board to accept lowball offers for our star players.

[shd34_216_42]

Good job board members!

[erik45]

Season 2037/2038 preview. Second season in the Vanarama North and I think we have a real possibility of making it the last season at this level. We were really strong last season, especially for the last two months. If we can keep that level, we should be in the playoffs. But there's also the possiblity that we lose some of the key players and then it can be much more of an uphill to get close to the top. I'm feeling optimistic! (and it has nothing to do with the fact that Arsenal is leading 3-0 at half-time in NLD )

Board expectations. Mid-table and being competitive, I'm happy with these. They should be a bit more ambitious with the league, I say minimum is top 10 and I'm happy if we get to the playoffs.

Media predictions. Media has given us better odds than last season (17,00 vs 26,00), and I agree that we've made progress. Morecambe is the favourite and it is interesting to see promoted Avro so high in this table. Yes, they are tycoon-owned and had back-to-back promotions, but I don't see them challenging for the playoff spots. We've faced them already 12 times, so maybe there's a chance of some derby feeling against them?

Media outlets think our key player is Green 35b and the hot prospect is Mortimer 36a. I think Green 35b should be both, and even if Mortimer 36a is promising, he's just very short for his position.

Media Dream Eleven. This tells something about the progress we've made. We have two players in the dream XI. 

Top player odds. Our star goalie Parillon 30e is still without a contract, but it seems he is happy with that. He's not willing to renew, but he still staying as there hasn't been any interest in him (which is weird, as he's the best goalie in the league and he's only 23).

 

Injury. Almost exactly after my assistant told about how good Green 35b now is, he got a bad injury that will keep him out for three months. We have alternative options, but they are nowhere near to Green 35b's level.

Transfer interest. Do I have an uncut gem in my hands? I hadn't thought much about Robertson 37l, but this surely made me notice him. Swansea and Everton are good sides in the Championship, so if he's interesting enough for them, he should definitely be interesting for us! I just don't see what makes him stand out  

 

Pre-season friendlies. Oh my, we really got our groove on! The draw against Doncaster (L2) and wins against Bristol City (L1) & Wrexham (L1), whaaaat?! This is the start for the season we want, but I need to make sure that the players are not filled with overconfidence.

Upcoming fixtures. This must be the busiest August the team has had so far, eight league games??!?!?!  Some teams we've faced a lot previously, such as Avro, Blyth and Atherton and then some more "random" teams. Hopefully the good pre-season form carries on!

[Asana Guy]

Great story.  Keep it up.

As a matter of interest, are that Philadelphian pub owner and Deadpool still at Wrexham?  Or did they sell out?

[erik45]

18 minutes ago, Asana Guy said:

Great story.  Keep it up.

As a matter of interest, are that Philadelphian pub owner and Deadpool still at Wrexham?  Or did they sell out?

Thank you!

They left ~5 years ago, but the new chairperson was promoted from within (which I think means the funding stays somewhat the same?). After two years, the new chairperson decided to scale down the funding.

They've been yo-yoing between League 1 and Championship: in the last 10 seasons they've had 7 season in League 1 and three on the Championship (and been relegated straight away each time).

[Asana Guy]

Thanks.

Looking forward to seeing you in Europe soon.

[shd34_216_42]

While we're at it, is Stalybridge Celtic still owned by a tycoon?

[erik45]

On 29/04/2024 at 20:39, shd34_216_42 said:

While we're at it, is Stalybridge Celtic still owned by a tycoon?

Yes they are! When the tycoon took over, the club turned professional immediately. After 10 years and the relegation from the National League, they've turned back to semi-pro. Though, they still have the 3rd largest wage budget.

[erik45]

August 2037. A great start to the season with three wins, but after that the performances and the results started to fluctuate. Avro and Blyth (who IRL just hired a new manager, Nolberto Solano?! What a blast from the past ) are both considered to be our rivals (just by me), so winning them in tight contests felt soooo good! The two draws we got were lucky, but then the losses we had were unlucky. In the Atherton game we were the better team, but just couldn't find the net. The Bedworth game was very even, most just results would've been 1-1, but they somehow won 3-0 - that's football! 

There were a lot of different goal scorers, which is a positive, but there are also negatives. No striker is having a good streak and we couldn't find the net in three games (where the combined xG was 4<). The defensive side of the game has been much better, conceding more than one just once.

Our 1st XI's record from the month is 3-1-1 and 2nd XI's 1-1-1. We're still missing our best player Green 35b through injury, he'll be back around the end of September.

Table. A solid, but not amazing start means we find ourselves in 7th place after 8 games. I think we have the potential to be a bit better. Boston United looks like a real deal, they've already 4 clear at the top.

Upcoming fixtures. A cup game and three games against opposition above us in the table, this month will really test us. Darlington is not the toughest cup fixture we've had, they play in the Northern Premier, but an away cup game is always an away cup game, if you know what I mean

[erik45]

September 2037. Cup win x 2, both in away games!  We absolutely smashed Darlington and Worksop Town! Yes, both play in divisions below us, but there's no way I'm going to underestimate them when they get to play at home in the cup.

In the league we managed to get nice results, somehow the highlight being the 0-0 draw  Boston United are unbeaten in the league, so our 2nd XI drawing against them was an amazing job! The only loss was against Scunthorpe, and they kind of deserved it... when I saw who's managing them, I became just a little bit less sad:

 

Table. A good set of results sees us strengthen our position in the table, we are now where I think we deserve to be. Compared to xPts, we've been a bit lucky, but the rest of the teams at the top have been even more lucky. 

Transfer offer. I think this is the biggest starting offer we've had for a player. Gould 33i has been quite solid LB, but now he's been dropped from 1st to 2nd XI. So it kind of would make sense to sell him, but as we don't have too many "old" (he's 20) defensive players, I want to keep him. My reasoning is that older player tend to be more consistent performers (just my hunch) and Gould 33i has a relatively positive personality, so he can soon start to mentor younger players. He's also our vice captain.

Finances. After two cup games and three home league games, we get a nice boost to our finances. We should be about even at the end of the season. If we get further in the FA Cup, this might happen sooner.

Upcoming fixtures. Another team from the divisions below us, another away draw. I think we still have to be favourites. If we win the game against Chatham Town, we will make it to the proper 1st round of FA Cup for the first time! In the league it is very much a "basic" month.

[erik45]

October 2037. We are still in the FA Cup!!!! We did it at very last minute as Dugdale 31c found the net on 95th minute  But we really did deserve it, the xG of the game was 0,55 for Port Vale, 2,04 for us. The league performance wasn't that exciting. Of course we lost to the bottom of the table, but then we just demolished Southport.

Table. Still in the promotion places. Boston United isn't unbeaten anymore, but they still look like the strongest contender for the title.

Finances. Two cup games means a lot of extra money for a club this size. We've already halved the negative deficit, in just 4 months!

Upcoming fixtures. The biggest game so far in this save is happening soon! In the list it says it's on Wednesday but as it will get televised the FA moved it to Tuesday - and that means 60,000 € for us!  I will continue the rhythm where 1st XI plays during weekends and 2nd XI in the midweek games, so they will be the ones to host Port Vale. We also start our FA Trophy run when we face Winterton away from home. I would like to say something about the league games as well, but my focus is too way too much in the FA Cup right now.  

[shd34_216_42]

TV money and a likely sellout, what's not to like?

(Stalybridge Celtic, that's what.)

[erik45]

FA Cup. This time my monthly post looks a bit different. I just needed to have these games showcased before going back to my usual business.

In the replay game against Port Vale it was our 2nd XI who got the chance to take us to the 2nd round. The game was really tight and in the end it was substitute, Lord 33k, from the 1st XI who did the unthinkable and scored a hat-trick between minutes 71 and 84!!!! 

The game broke some stadium records as well as it was the record high attendance and gate receipts for us.

We didn't get the best or the worst draw for the second round. Home draw =  against a side who are 2nd in League 1 =  

We fought brilliantly, but we did concede couple of good chances and Bolton didn't waste those. We on the other hand couldn't find the net until the game was practically over. There's no shame losing to them, I made it absolutely clear to my players that I was proud of their fighting spirit against a much bigger side!

November 2037. Back to the usual stuff. FA Cup this year was a great success, but it still left more hunger for us for the seasons to come. I'd really love to make it to the 3rd round against PL sides while we are so low on the English footballing pyramid.

In the league we were unbeaten this month. Great draws against Stalybridge and Morecambe and two closely fought wins. As a bonus, we also made it through in the FA Trophy!

Table. 2 wins and 2 draws keeps us in the promotion battle. We have 1 game in hand compared to other top sides. I really want us to make it to the playoffs. I feel that if we want to be serious about getting promoted, we need to be 2nd or 3rd so we skip the first round of playoffs (and get a home advantage).

Finances. Cup games = cup money = stabilising our finances  We've made almost +600k€ from the beginning of the season!

Upcoming fixtures. A tricky and busy month, just what we want!  I estimate Winterton, Blyth, and Avro games to be the toughest. The rest of the league games should be easier, but you never know. And cup games are always a mystery to me, so I have no expectations against Hereford.

[shd34_216_42]

I think an away draw against Bolton would have technically been better, but at least you got money (especially some TV money, which is always nice). Also you didn't lose against Stalybridge Celtic, which is important against the unofficial rivals.

Your real goal is probably top five to guarantee at least one home playoff game.

[erik45]

12 hours ago, shd34_216_42 said:

I think an away draw against Bolton would have technically been better, but at least you got money (especially some TV money, which is always nice). Also you didn't lose against Stalybridge Celtic, which is important against the unofficial rivals.

Your real goal is probably top five to guarantee at least one home playoff game.

Yeah, I agree, the financial benefit would've been better with the away draw, Bolton's stadium capacity being almost 29,000. I don't think they've would've sold out, their average attendance is about 18,000, but the money would still have been very good. 

And the draw against Stalybridge was really nice! I dream of getting past them in the league table, but they're such a strong side that it might be very difficult.

[erik45]

 

Youth intake preview. Where are all the As and Bs?! Another excellent intake with no excellent individuals  Actually I feel happy with the intake, even if the most promising player might be a winger. We have loads of players for wingbacks and cm/cam roles, that's a real positive. I don't know what to think about the letter grades.

One reason for my slight optimism is this message, which came just days before the intake preview:

[erik45]

December 2037. This must be the best month we've had at this level!  28 goals in 7 league games is impressive! After the penalty win against Hereford we demolished everyone else but Avro, they've could've won us by a bigger margin. But I have already forgotten that game, I just remember the attacking power of FC Isle of Man!

Table. After the free-scoring month we've now scored 10 goals more than any other side in the division!  Our form is very strong, but it's the same story for sides above us. My goal is top 3, but as long as we finish in playoff positions, we have had a successful season.

Team of the Week. I put this here to show how well our team has played. Every position has at least one player shining in the spotlight!

700 games. The milestone was celebrated with style as the team scored 5 goals in the game against Rugby Town

Transfer out. Scott 27c had been playing as a non-contract player for years with us. There had been contract offers for him but he had rejected all of them in the past. This time I hadn't even noticed that Spennymoor Town offered him a transfer, so I was very surprised to see him move. This is the second time he left the team and I think there won't be a third. He is a solid player, but he was playing for the 2nd XI which meant that if there was a player for his DLF position with high potential, that player would push Scott 27c out of the team.

In a way I feel sad losing him as he played over 300 games in all competitions for us. He didn't even get a better contract from his new team. 

 

Finances. After a relatively short spell in the red we're back in black! 

Upcoming fixtures. What a quiet month after the busy Christmas time. All the games should be winnable. It is quite common for us to lose our form somewhere between December and February, I hope we can skip past that trend this season  

[erik45]

January 2038. After an amazing December we have a very, very frustrating January. We are the highest scoring team in the league, but this month we scored more than one goal in the league just once (but then we put five past Bedsworth). We weren't as good as we were at the end of last year, but we still should've gotten more points. Draw against Telford and win against Hereford and the results would've been much more in line with our performances.

Table. We were not the only top side struggling this month. Our almost-a-rival Stalybridge had a terrible month, gaining just 1 point! I'm still aiming for top three but I feel the top 2 places are already decided.

Transfer out. This is a big blow for us, softened with the loan back. Green 35b has been ready to leave for quite a while. Over a year ago I promised that he can leave if someone offers 12k€. After that there were about 25-30 offers, most of them below 1k€ from Irish top division sides. But this January three different teams offered over 12k€ and I just tried to negotiate sell-on clause, friendly and loan back to the deals. I did manage to do that and I'm happy Green 35b chose Shrewsbury as I got 50 % sell-on clause to that deal!

 

After a week or two, his valuation jumped up quite nicely! If Shrewsbury sell him some day we will be rich!  This is not the only sell-on clause we have, the Fagan 29a deal being another where we could actually gain some significant amount of money. He's been with Bury for 8 seasons, but is still just 24. They're fighting against relegation from League 1 and I would guess that if they get relegated, they would sell Fagan 29a.

50 % of Fagan 29a's value would boost our finances massively! Give me 2,4-4,1 m€, thanks!

Upcoming fixtures. January was a real low point of the season, let's hope it is the only low point! Not an easy month as we face teams in positions 1st, 3rd, 6th and 19th.

[erik45]

February 2038. A weird month. Firstly, we seem to be very strong in penalties! Secondly, red cards don't ruin games, inefficiency does.   We got a red card against Boston AND Scunthorpe. In both games we started to play better after the red card, but only in the latter game we got rewards from our effort. Against Boston United it was a different story, more about it in the screenshot below. After that our 2nd XI fought bravely against 3rd placed Chester, but it was a direct free kick that caught us off guard. We ended the month with very dull and unspectacular 1-0 win against Gateshead. 

Table. The Chester loss really hurt our chances of making it to top 3, but there are still 9 games left to play. I need to remember there's only 4 points between us and the teams outside of playoff positions.  All the teams at the top are somewhat struggling and it looks like Boston, who I considered clear winners of the league, are really challenged by Stafford!

Performance review. Even if I'm somewhat critical of team's performances, the board is not! A+ from them (and A+ from the fans), it feels nice to have so solid support from the board.

Transfer out. Well... this might be a disaster for our promotion hopes.  Parillon 30e has been our 1st GK for years. He's been out of contract for a while and he's not been willing to negotiate a new one. So I knew this day might come, but I'm still stunned. Why would a keeper, who should be able to play for top teams in National League take a step down from National North?! Yes, he's getting good money from Punjab United, but it really doesn't make sense, because money was not the problem when negotiating with me, our low reputation was.

We have a quite good back-up for the rest of the season, but he's only 179 cm tall... next season there's no problem as we have two good goalkeepers who come back from loan at the end of the season.

We've now lost two of our best players in space of 5 weeks...

Upcoming fixtures. 2nd XI needs to keep our promotion fight alive in the first two league games of March as our 1st XI faces Fleetwood Town in the FA Trophy. After that it is two fixtures that are so, so, so important. Stafford are in great form and it looks like they might actually go all the way and win the league. Stalybridge and we are on same points at the moment, this is going light up the rivalry once again!

[erik45]

Youth intake 2038. Excellent intake but with no standouts players was to be expected (based on the preview), I don't know if the expectations were fulfilled.

We have better team than before, but still this intake feels a bit...boring? I just don't see any players to excited about. Gilroy 38a can definitely be useful in ~2 years, and I really like his personality, but other than that, this intake just doesn't say much.

The positives: not too many players with bad personalities; couple of surprising nationalities (GER, NGA, KEN, POL); possible new target man for 2nd XI (Okumbi 38h).

The negatives: no players where I can say "there's a future star"; low average potential (just 4 players with 4 or more PA); low-ish average determination

My favourites are players labeled as best, ABC (boooriiing ). Here are their profiles + the potential new TM.

I wanted to highlight Okumbi 38h because I think it is very difficult to get any suitable target men from the intakes. Why I see him as target man? He's tall and brave and his heading isn't that bad. He also has quite good attributes for teamwork, aggression and passing. What he is lacking is strength and balance. His jumping reach needs to be better, as does his "attacking mentals".

Intake tracking. This year was the first year we had no players with 5 star PA.  When Green 35b leaves the team at the end of the season, the story might be different as the best player in the team will be someone else (probably LB Lewis 34d). But that's not the only issue. The number of players who have 1,5 or more stars for their CA has gone down. These trends are very much expected, but I'm worried how quickly this have changed.

I think I need to put more money to youth facilities and training...again

[erik45]

March 2038. After two months of struggle, we found our form once again! The only loss came against league leaders Stafford Rangers, and in that game we conceded two penalties... that's not the winning formula.  But that game was not the most interesting one. Even with a record-breaking 7-0 win this month, I think the most exciting game was the one against our "rivals" Stalybridge Celtic. They led 2-0, we led 4-2, they drew to 4-4 and in the end we won 5-4. This has to be the most action-packed match I've had in this save! It was also so, so important win as Stalybridge is fighting for the playoff spots with us.

On top of our great league performances, we once again go and win a cup game at penalties!

Table. A strong, strong month in the league, but we don't go up in the table as the teams around have found their form as well. We are guaranteed to finish at least 7th - so we are officially in the playoffs! 

Form. Our target men are the best! Well, they are really average as players, but somehow the role just fits them so well that they're average ratings are among the best in the league. Dugdale 31c I consider as a decent TM, but Broe 31d doesn't have much skills for the position, he's just tall.

Vision objectives passed. These announcements came less than a week between them. The board is delighted with top-half finish and the fans think we have now established ourselves as a National League North team. 

Junior Coaching Budget. I got frustrated with the latest intake so I went to the board and asked for budget increase for junior coaching. They hesitated but after I pushed them hard, they agreed with me. I don't know if this makes sense financially, but I just want to have really good youth players - and I want to have them now!

Upcoming fixtures. A weird rhythm with the games: Saturday, Friday, Monday, and Saturday. It would be cool to make it to the FA Trophy final, but we are against a side in the league above us. In the league we need to continue winning so we keep our chances of skipping the first playoff round alive.

[sam@ashbyz]

Still in the hunt for a trophy and promotion?! Best season yet!

Genuinely slightly addicted to seeing these updates every weekend, keep up the great work!

[erik45]

4 hours ago, sam@ashbyz said:

Still in the hunt for a trophy and promotion?! Best season yet!

Genuinely slightly addicted to seeing these updates every weekend, keep up the great work!

Thanks Sam, really appreciate the comment! This save has been very difficult, but I think that's the reason why it has been so rewarding for me

[erik45]

April 2038. Not a full month, but I had to do an update at this point. The cup runs are over and so are the league games. There will be no trophy for us.  Stevenage was freakishly efficient in the FA Trophy semi final, scoring three goals from 0,5 xG in the first 40 mins. The game was practically over after that, we couldn't find same kind of efficiency.

In the league, the draw against Winterton cost us the 4th place in the league. It doesn't really affect our playoff path as we first get an home draw and if we win we will need to travel for the playoff semis.

Table. I'm very proud of the team. We lost our starting keeper and we don't have much depth in the squad. On top of that, we had good runs in both of the cups, so we needed the 2nd XI throughout the season. We scored the most goals and had the joint-best GD, veeeeery nice! I was hoping to get to the third position, but both Chester and Scunthorpe were too strong during the last games of the season.

Playoff 1st round. Well, well, well - it is our favourite rival! This is going to be a tough battle but I'm very confident we have a real chance of getting through. In head-to-head record Stalybridge Celtic is ahead of us, but when looking at the games during our time in National League North, we have the upper hand. The last game was the crazy 5-4 win. If that's the style we need to win, I won't mind. Win is all that matters, we don't care about style at the moment.   If we win the game then it is semi final at Boston United.

Edited May 11 by erik45

[erik45]

Playoff 1st round. This is just...unbelievable.  Once again it was a crazy game. We converted an early penalty before conceding two in the second half. It looked like they're going to win it, but our backup left back Gould 33i came from nowhere to take it to extra time. There we scored the first goal, but after that... I don't know what happened. All their chances went in, ours didn't. Somehow they scored three extra time goals... The goalies had very different kind of games. Our goalies rating: 6.1; their: 7.5.

They will definitely lose the next round as they play against a fresh team and AI is notoriously bad at rotation.

This isn't how I wanted the season to end, but it is what it is... season review next.

[erik45]

Playoff semis. This system is so stupid... the 1st round is on Wednesday and the semi on Sunday - but then there's a whole week between semi and the final.

Now both the teams winning the 1st round did it through extra time. So a lot of very tired legs against very fresh legs. Results: unsurprising. I don't understand why the rhythm is Wed-Sun-Sun. Wouldn't Wed-Wed-Sun be more fair? Then it would be somewhat the same for everyone, no matter where you started your playoffs.

[erik45]

Season 2037/2038 review. This was the season I was expecting us to fight for promotion. We did fight bravely, so bravely, but in the end it wasn't enough. Still, I'm very proud of the team as they finished 5th in the league, made it to the 2nd round of FA Cup and the semis of FA Trophy. 

Final league table. The two best sides in the league got promoted, that's fair.  I didn't notice earlier, but we actually weren't the highest scoring team. There's Gloucester City in 11th place who scored whopping 115 goals! Next year I want to keep the scoring record, but with just a little bit better defensive effort.

xG table. This story is very similar to the story league table tells us. What is amazing to me that our xG was over 100.0, that's just insane. We were efficient/lucky, but not that much above expected numbers. Belper Town must be kicking themselves as they gained 26 points less than the xPts suggests, resulting in their relegation.

Best eleven. This is the same as 1st XI, but with one change. DLF Sweetser-Hawkes 34a misses out as TM Broe 31d takes his place.

Players by minutes. This season games were shared much more equally. The reason for this is clear: two good cup runs that resulted a lot of league games moved to mid-week. Defensive players got a little bit more minutes than the attacking ones. I think that's quite natural, I feel it is easier to make changes to attack than to defence during the game.

Players by goals. Our TMs dominate this, especially when looking at goals/90mins. Maybe it's a good thing we don't have one or two monster goal scorers. We scored over 100 goals, maybe it helps that the burden is shared throughout the team.

Players by assists. Left back assisting the most, that's the real stuff! My happiness has nothing to do with the fact that I used to left back for years.  (Also happy that the right back also got to double digits )

U18 league. We won it! There are some serious team in this division. We were 2nd last season but this season our youth went all the way and secured the title in the last round.

Finances. We started the season with about -800,000 € in the bank and now we are back on black. What was even better is the fact that the youth facility upgrade, that took us to red, started this season. So even if it looked like we made hefty profit, the youth facility upgrade of 1,6m€ made sure that we didn't need to pay taxes from "profits".

Next season I really need to start looking at our wages. At the end of the season many players came to me asking for a new contract. Most of them got one - and a big pay rise.  

 

Manager. New contract  Continental Pro Licence 

I think these stats are really good for a manager. The adaptability is just funny  Would it change if I would change team I manage every now and then?

Season tracking. This was my 14th season with the team, second in Vanarama North. Next season is going to be the season for us, believe me!

[sam@ashbyz]

I'm sorry, I feel like I jinxed that 

[erik45]

Season 2038/2039 preview. It is our third season in the National League North. Our final positions have been 9th and 5th, so it is more than logical that we will be 1st this season.  

 

Board expectations. Mid-table would be worse than we've done in the last two seasons, the board is definitely underestimating the team. But it's fine for me, because high expectations would mean that if thing don't go to plan I might get sacked.

My personal targets for the season: promotion and getting to the third round in the FA Cup (this is only possible if we get favourable draws).

Media predictions. Last season we were expected to finish 11th and we finished 5th. This season expectation is 7th (or to be more precise, we are the 7th favourite for the title), so again, it is very logical that we will be 1st at the end of the season!  I like that there's no heavy favourite, although it is clear that top four in the list are a bit above the rest.

1st XI. Some changes to the 1st XI. We lost Green 35b from the CM spot, but Dyer 37a has progressed really well and should be ready to cement his place in the 1st XI. We also changed one of our CBs as Wilson 36b came back from loan and is now considered good National League North player. Aaaand same goes for the goalie! Mortimer 36a had a good end of the season, but I just can't have starting goalie who's not even 180 cm tall. Rother 35a kept clean sheet 14 times in the league below us during his loan, so I think he should be ready for this level.

2nd XI. This team is just pure potential. The only player who should be playing at this level is the goalie Leigh 34e. I think many of these players will challenge for the spot in 1st XI later this season. I have high hopes for Gaul 35e, Robertson 37i and Bremser 36c.

Youth improvement. Another improvement! This doesn't make a dent to our budget now, but it adds to the monthly costs of our youth setup (~23k€/month). Our youth setup is now simply exceptional!

Player leaving. Reddy had an amazing career with us, and became our record holder on both appearances and goals scored before I released him from the team. He was also the last player from the bunch of players I inherited when I started managing FC Isle of Man.

Manager development. The manager just bagged the Continental Pro license so it is to check how the stats have changed through the seasons. I started with no badges and Sunday league experience and after that it has been a relatively quick development to a manager who's stats wouldn't look out of place in the Premier League. In the characteristics section there's one thing that always is on the way down: Media Handling. The same thing happens to me in every save. I think it is just because I give all the media duties to my assistant.

Finances. After the financial recovery from youth facility upgrade last season we are back on a strong positive track. The youth setup is getting more expensive, but I think we will be fine.

Pre-season games. Tough games against oppositions above us in the league pyramid, but nice games against Shelbourne and Crusaders. After that it was mostly against easier opponents to get team atmosphere as good as possible.

Upcoming fixtures. Oof, another very busy start to the season. Let's hope other teams didn't have as positive pre-season as we did. The most difficult games might be the ones against Avro and Chester.

[erik45]

August 2038. I would say this is "good enough". We've definitely should've won the opening game against Hereford, but we...didn't. After that the results matched our performances quite well. We are conceding way too many goals, but at least we are scoring even more.

I think we might have found our new starting AF with Gaul 35e who scored 5 times this month. The most impotant goals were off the bench in the games against Gateshead and Chester (76th, 97th and 95th minute).

Table. A steady start, but we are already 8 points behind the leader Scunthorpe 

Transfer out. This transfer can look a bit weird. Only 450 euros for our starting goalkeeper?! The reasoning behind this is about the combination of three things: sell-on clause, having three somewhat equally good keepers, and QPR being a Championship team. I don't know if they're ever going to sell him (I rarely see GKs getting sold, but I think I just have some kind of blind spot for it), but I think it is realistic to let him go.

Although I think we still have two good keepers, the recent numbers do not back that up. In the 6 games before Rother 35a left, we conceded seven times. In the next two...seven times 

Upcoming fixtures. Cup run starts! We just one Radcliffe this month so we should be the favourites for the game. In the league it is a very average month. We can't afford two losses like this month if we want to keep us close to the top of the table.