Hootieleece

November 2024: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts According to the media and the table everything is great in Conwy. We are at the top of the table, but I am detecting the first signs that the Klopp tactics are beginning not to work. Even though having part-time non-contract players play like Liverpool of four years ago is a little ludicrous. Unfortunately, unless you are a tactical genius, tactical planning is a lot of copy catting so that is why I copied the team I am a fan of since they were successful. I am in the coming weeks make tweaks to the tactics and hopefully we can still reach our goal of promotion. Schedule Highlights The month of November would start out with a trip to Prestatyn Town. We were favored and needed to do a professional job to keep our place at the top of the table. It was a draw against a determined team, but it was an own goal that got them the draw. Even so I was beginning to see that the AI managers had figured out how to beat us defensively. The Unbeaten Streak continues! Porthamadog was the next team on the dance card. The match would be held at the Y Morfa and we were again favored. Match of the Day! We survived a foul fest with a terrible ref and won 1-0 on an own goal! But again I saw how the teams were stopping our attack and I would start tinkering with the tactic in the future if this kept up. Worldwide Super Stars Obviously, none of these players will ever play for Conwy, but I think this is a good way to keep track of the Gameworld. Highlights Pt. Two The team then headed for Bangor 1876 for the next match. Bangor was favored probably because of our recent poor play and being at home. We played just like we did in the last match but this time we were beaten because of it losing 2-0 to Bangor 1876. We just can't expand our lead over Denbigh. Denbigh didn't play until the Next Day. The team returned to Conwy with its tail between its legs, but had another match before long. This time Ruthin. We need to keep winning because Denbigh isn't giving us any breathing room in the race for promotion! The team won but it was another badly refereed match. It's always good to read good press about yourself and your team. The last match of the month was a Cup match versus Holywell. It should be a tough match with the visitors favored by the bookies. I am always upbeat about my chances.....before a match! Especially since we are top of the league! The match was a thriller even though no goals were scored until penalties were taken! Our goalie was the star with the penalty saves for the win! As a result of the match, we will take on this team in the next round: League Table Monthly Analysis Report The Defense is getting better. Over the whole season our attack is great! Recently it has begun to sputter. Player of the Month Management Report Monthly Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

Down with Waffles! Viva La France!

October 2024: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts The team is playing well even though the 4-3-3 gegen press doesn't suit the team, but because we are better than most of the teams in the league it works out ok so far. This month was a fine example as we played several of the "cellar dwellers" of our league and won all of our matches. Schedule Highlights The month of October started with a match against the worst team in the League. The Match would be at the Y Morfa and we were favored since we were in first place. I was upbeat about our chances to win the match against Airbus UK. We were in second because Denbigh finished their match first, before our domination of the lackluster Airbus UK was over. Airbus UK tried to make it a Rugby match, but we were up for it and being bigger and stronger especially across the backline let us set the tone in our favor. Don't know what was "unpredictable" about it the best team played the worst team and thrashed them. During the time between matches I organized mentoring groups to help make our younger players better professionals. The groups are quite large but are organized by position type so that the players will learn PPM's useful for their positions in their training time. Generally, I like to have one mentor type for no more than four mentees. The next match was against old opponents 1879 Rhyl from the back-to-back cup matches. We traveled to Rhyl for the match and were considered favorites. I kept the familiar Starting XI in place because it was working. We are playing well, of course we are going to win the match! It was a tough match played out against a team that knew a lot about our playing philosophy. The winner came from the sub-Jordan Cowan. After the match our next match would be at the Y Morfa Stadium. Hay St. Mary's was next on our dance card and we were expected to beat the team in terrible form. We won the match 3-0. With another good defensive performance. Crossing objectives off the boards list is always a good way to keep a job. As a reward we will take on Holywell Town in the next round. The Y Morfa Stadium was the sight of our next match. It was a match against another relegation threatened team and we were favored. We scored three goals in a row to take a lead before they got one back, but we put together another good performance. We are doing what we were supposed to do this season win matches! With the Denbigh loss we get a little breathing space at the top of the table. And our central midfielder was named player of the week! Griffith's goal was a free kick that Messi would have been proud of! League Table Monthly Analysis Report Our defense is improving after dominating the leagues cellar dwelllers. But over the whole season we have been terrible mostly due to the lack of pace in our back line, but we have the firepower to win most matches anyway. Player of the Month Jacob led the line for us and bagged important goals for us. I won the Manager of the Month again not bad for a novice with no badges! Management Report Monthly Financial Report The team will be in the red by the end of the season no doubt which means we must get promoted. Looking Ahead to be continued:

September 2024: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts The team is playing well as expected even though we are using tactics that don't suit the team. Mostly it is a pace issue on the backline. But since we are favorites in most matches a lot of teams are sitting back and allowing us to press them which leads to goals. Also, since we are substantially taller and good jumpers, we do well on set pieces. Our match against a bigger team went as you would expect we lost. mostly because of pace and technical skill of our opponents. It is something for me to keep in mind for the future if we get promoted. We are on track to do just that, but the season is long. Schedule Highlights September started with me working the contracts of our First team players to keep them on the team. This is a major problem with Non-Contracts. Liam Fish is a decent CB and is probably 3rd best but he is left footed, so he spends time in the Starting XI. The First match of the Month was in the Welsh Cup....and would be the first of a Double Header versus Rhyl 1879. Conwy was the favorite and needed to play like it. We played well but it took to extra-time to seal the deal. Mostly because we couldn't break down their defense. I was pleased with the brace for our new Striker that helps him settle into the side. We then had to ready ourselves to take them on again a few days later this time at Y Morfa Stadium. Another Cup game, different Cup! Still Favored and needed to do the job. Which we won 2-1 with a penalty shot. With that win our cup duties were over for the month, and we looked forward to playing in the League and living up to our billing as best team in the league. Again we would play at Y Morfa Stadium and were the Favorites. It was considered the top match of the week in our league. Gresford gave us their best shot, but we just outscored them. I am worried about our defense mostly because I don't think we have the pace to play the High Line. It shouldn't hurt us too bad in this league but will definitely be a problem at the next level. I will always believe in my team's ability to win a match! The next match would see us travel for the next match and be underdogs even though we are 2nd in the League table. We are still playing the unmodified "Klopp Tactics" and we keep winning! The opposing coach was sanguine about the loss.... On the other hand, I was overjoyed with the dominant DEFENSIVE performance! The last match of the month would see us host Haverfordwest in the Welsh Cup. This would be a tough match against a much bigger team, since they were recently relegated from the Top Welsh League and most of their players were on Full Part-time Contracts much bigger than any player we have makes. I was excited to see how my team stacked up against bigger competition so I could start planning for the future. We were beaten by a better team we were simply outclassed. And the Gengen Press didn't help......It works when you're the favorite but as an underdog that is outclassed you are in for a rough time. Of course, I'm aiming of getting to their level. They had several players on the field that made more than my whole team each! League Table Monthly Analysis Report Monthly Awards Player of the Month Manager of the Month Maybe I have a future in the Football Managing career! Management Report Monthly Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

Make sure you setup mentoring groups in your U-19's if possible. I know you could do it in FM22 and FM23. Most of the time I would forget though.

Great Month even if you dropped points. Rotation is key with teams that play on multiple fronts. Also the fixture list didn't really let you have a "Backup/Youngster" match. You will get your chance to do so before long.

Vanarama North/South at best. You have to remember these are all Semi-Professional teams. There are only four professional teams in Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, The New Saints, Wrexham) Only TNS plays in the Welsh Pyramid. As for the home games in the league we are attracting about 2500! The hardest thing for the team is that I am not allowed Part-Time Contracts for players only staff. Which will make keeping players hard especially if we are promoted. Only one player has left so far.

August 2024: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts The month saw the team lose twice my first two losses as a manager. I am sure there will be more in the future. Some of it because of an injury crisis in the Goalkeeping department. some of it because we actually aren't suited to playing a high defensive line. (Lack of pace) that will become more of an issue if we are promoted but I think that the "Klopp Tactics" are working fine for a team expected to win the league championship. Schedule Highlights The first match of the month saw us get an injury worry. our number one Goalkeeper broke his hand! and could be out as much as 2 months! Gareth Craig was another of the "Gray" players that I signed for the team. He is Edwards understudy at AMR-IF-A but will also be cover for the Left Back. He is an ML by training. In a Friendly against Mold Alex that the backroom staff agreed to......our backup keeper broke a finger. I see the beginnings of a injury Crisis. We need a goalkeeper! We signed one off his couch! Named Callum Roberts. The next match was in the Welsh Cup We lost on penalties while playing the youngsters to give some of our players a rest. Since the league is the boards priority. The next match was in the league and see the team play with a full-strength side. We drew the match 1-1. In the after-match press conference I was asked about tactics. During this month I spent as much time trying to keep our players on the team as I did coaching them. Star Left Back Simon Taylor was offered by numerous teams but decided to stick with us. After getting an updated non-contract offer from us. And it was much the same with Sam Sumpter the linchpin of our Defense and a Set-Piece Star. The team then had to travel to Holywell Town for a match. We played like the expected champions and dominated them. They ended up playing deep and we had to breakdown the bus with Set-Pieces. We are playing as expected with a novice manager......maybe the man management and motivation skills I learned in the classroom are bearing fruit. and we set a team record. We must be doing something right. Guilsdield came calling to Y Morfa Stadium and we were considered favorites. The game started well enough but soon turned sour, especially since the referee was terrible. Of course, I was disapointed to lose and to lose the top spot in the table because that is the goal for the season. League Table I'm sorry that I didn't take the screenshots at the right time in game. Monthly Analysis Report We score more than we give up, but we give up too many some of that is because of our goalie situation but some of it because of our High Line. Player of the Month Management Report Monthly Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

July 2024 Manager's Thoughts It is exciting to take a job in Football after all those years of teaching and to do it in another country such as Wales is wonderful. I had to take a salary cut to accept the job, but I was glad to do so. Then the Owner/Board let me know that even though we are a newly promoted team it is expected that we win the League and get promoted to the top league in Wales this season. After reading the media expectations I began to believe that also then I met the squad, all 13 of them. So, this is going to be a building job while under pressure to win. I think we can do it by adopting Liverpool tactics and eventually adapting them to our situation. The reason I am doing this is because I am a Liverpool fan and know just about nothing about tactics. I am going to start with the 4-3-3, but might move to a 4-2-3-1 Wide because I know it well from FM. Schedule The Team The team is in a good place for a newly promoted team and has good facilities for this level. Highlights (Preseason) I tried to be humble and still inspire confidence with this answer especially since I have no background in Football/Soccer. Shortly after the interview was my first match a friendly and I got to see the team put my "Liverpool" tactics in action. It wasn't the best performance, but it was a win without much practice. The team had only 13 players and no staff so I tried to bring up the numbers a bit. After some cajoling the President/Owner said yes but ended up calling it off due to lack of responses. This was a "gray" player that was on the team he was the best of them, so I gave him a job. I would also later give jobs to Scott Smith and Gareth Craig as well to build up the number of players in the team so I can rotate a bit and or provide cover for injuries. The next friendly match showed how good we COULD be...... We had another Friendly and the team didn't play so well..... After a few preseason friendlies it was obvious that the team had only to really good players. He was named Captain and given the Mo Salah role os AMR-IF-A in the 4-3-3. Lee Ellis was named Vice Captain and was to be the runner from the Midfield Three. Near the end of the month applicants started coming in for the open Staff roles and I conducted interviews. I hired the best of the Goalkeeping coaches. I hired a Chief Scout so that I could at least get reports on the opposition. I hired a physio, and he would be busy soon. Season Preview The team is expected to win the league and be promoted even though we are a newly promoted team. This is in line with the Board of Directors objectives for the season. No Pressure! Even though we are expected to win the league only one player is a preseason pick for player awards. Regular Season Highlights Heading into my first game in charge there were some nerves. Even though we are favorites to win the league we are not favored in this matchup. Even so I expect a win.....then again I expect to win every match! I signed a Head of Youth Development even though we really have no u-19 players right now this is more for next season and the future. I also hired an Assman before the first match. He is more capable than me and has a badge. Mostly I picked him for his Set Piece Preferences that reflect mine. The Owner/Board reminded me of the objectives for this season. Finally, the first match came, and it was a win completed by our Captain Edwards! I am focusing on Conwy because I need to worry about getting us promoted by being the best we can be! The Owners secretary got back to me that we sold 105 season tickets for a 1,000-seat stadium! We will officially be moving into our new stadium with this next match. Hopefully it will be our fortress on the way to the championship! We were expected to win this one...... and we did emphatically. The Captain continued his good play leading the team to victory! Player of the Month and I came in second for Manager of the month! Looking Ahead to be continued:

Thanks for the follow. I should have 1 or 2 months of updates up later today.

Thanks. This Avatar is one that is closest to actual me.

Consider me signed up as well.

Congratulations on your Victory! What other parts of the Challenge do you have to finish?

Probably, but enough Welsh people understand English.

The Job Search begins: There were four jobs open. I only applied to Conwy Borough because it had biggest payroll. Of course I took the interview! I needed a job! I was sent an offer letter and I accepted. Considering my lack of credentials, I thought the offer was more than fair. Yes, I make less than I did teaching but I will now be on an exciting adventure in Wales. I am taking over the biggest team and favorites in the Cymru North! It has a small fanbase but I will work to make it bigger and better with success. Tactical Direction As a Liverpool fan I will try and emulate Jurgen Klopp's Success wherever I go in this save so I created the following tactics. They are all "Out of the Box" Gengen Press TI's 4-3-3 Formation will be the main formation. with a 4-2-3-1 Wide Variant which I am most familiar with and have had the most success with in FM. and finally a 4-2-4 because it was a suggested formation for a Gengen Press. to be continued:

I know but I didn't. I used to add French, but didn't bother this year.

You got this! I didn't last long on "Break" darned FM24.

Hello again! With the Beta out I didn't get much of a break from FM. (about two days) Premise: I usually start a save as myself every year with the Beta to learn the new features before delving into creating Career Updates. This year I decided to record my travels in that save for posterity. The Title: On the Road is a novel by Jack Kerouac an author from a city I live near in Massachusetts. Hootie is my nickname because I love "Hootie and the Blowfish" a 90's Band. The Manager: I don't know why it gave me basic Spanish.......It does it every year. (I would have picked French since that is what I studied at the University. The Skills: (or lack there of) The Game World: (Leagues playable or on View) Due to a screwup when setting up I only had MLS Leagues available on my original start date (October 19. 2023) So I vacationed again until the playable leagues started loading. (I vacationed till 6/18/2024, the day AFTER the School Year ends for me). to be continued:

In my Schalke Thread it was always England and Italy by a large margin in the Coefficient. I think it has to do with having a lot of teams from a league do well in Europe and it becomes a self-fulfilling thing more teams more chances.

I have decided to put this save on Hiatus for Now. With the ability to move saves to FM24 may mean I pick up Jester's Career. Mostly I need a break from FM and Updates for a while. I am a schoolteacher and finding the time for both is tough. With FM24 imminent I might come back......as a JOURNEYMAN. Since that is the first save, I do every year. I am thinking of doing that as a career update. Just a lot slower. But for NOW, I will take some time away.

I hate to disappoint you but my guess is October 24/25 as release date for the Beta.

Congratulations! You have now earned a chance to rest before FM24 comes out. Use the time wisely.

Thanks. I am torn with going forward fearing I am in the same cul de sac that I was with Preston. Stuck in the midtable to top and always worse than the champions without ever really challenging them due to finances. I must say that AI Preston has been "Best of the Rest", just outside the top 7 most seasons since Jester left. With FM24 coming I think I want a clean slate even though I have the option of continuing this save.

Always good to give aging stalwarts contracts to retire if they are still good enough to make the bench and get some substitute minutes.

May 2038: Regular and Post Season Manager's Thoughts The team played well like it had all season. It finished with a flourish with an amazing DFB-Pokal win in Penalties that went to the tenth round. After the win, a board meeting, and after hearing about Bayern's Victory in the Champions League. Jester went on vacation to think things over. Had he made Schalke04 relevant? and would they ever be able to topple FC Bayern in the near future? Those were just some of the questions that were on Jester's mind as he went as far away from Football as he could think of to spend some time NOT thinking about and what he wanted to do in the future. Schedule Highlights The month of May would see Schalke04 finish up the Regular season and play in the DFB Pokal Final. The first match of the month was versus Paderborn who was threatened with relegation. Jester would play a half-rotated squad to give some backups match time and some starters rest. It was a professional victory made easier by their red card sending off. The win should secure 4rth place in the Bundesliga. Our AMC AP-A had quite a day willing the team to victory! The Youth players inducted to the u-19's look like a talented bunch. Schalke04 should be in a good place in a few years. Even if Jester doesn't see it. Borussia Dortmund is still in the Europa League so the DFB-Pokal Final was rescheduled. Jester's penny pinching is allowing the team to remain solvent in face of its debts. Luckily, we are playing well, but eventually we will have to pay more for our players. Schalke04 travel to Leipzig for the final day of the Bundesliga with nothing really to play for than assuring 4rth place and a Champion's League place. Teams are worried about Schalke04 that is a good thing. We played a tough match neither team wanted to lose but neither team really wanted to win.....so a draw ensued. The draw secured Champion's League Football for us again. Since we are in the Champion's League we are only playing the DFB-Pokal for Glory and a trophy of course..... The Prize Money in the Bundesliga is incredible! This was enough money to pay for our player payroll and transfers. We had several unbeaten runs that were key to our qualification.' Seasonal Analysis Report DFB-Pokal Final The Board is getting excited as the hype for the Pokal Final begins..... Berlin for a Neutral ground Final. Both BVB and Schalke04 have been in good form it should be a tight match with BVB favored. We haven't won it since 2011! The usual media driven "War of Words" to Hype up the final. rumors are already starting about players leaving.......will it ever end! Then finally came the match on a Sunday afternoon. It was a tight match between two teams that wouldn't give an inch and it went to penalties and our GK Toshav won it for us! Bordoni played his heart out for us! Season Review These are the players that we added to the roster, and all made a contribution to our success. The finances aren't in bad shape. Fan's Player of the Year Young Player of the Year Signing of the Season! End of Season Board Meeting Bigger budget than this year. We are still gaining fans on Social Media! Just under 50% of our fans are our core. These are the board's Expectations for next season all do able with our track record. The Team is ready to follow Jester. Highlights #2 It is good to get recognition, but we have a long way to go. Our Rivals FC Bayern on the other hand are the best team in the world! Management Report Financial Report to be continued: (I think) Las Vegas, Baby!