bestbrother
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Posts posted by bestbrother
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Following this, where did you get all the South American leagues as a mod?
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Great read, is there any reason behind the rise of Mainz? Love seeing the AI put together a team thats unfancied.
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2024/25 : Season 2
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Back in the Championship and a mini rebuild was in order to make us competitive. A mixture of signings saw us snag various foreign imports on a free transfer, whilst we also broke the £500,000 mark in fees twice, with Ukranian Smoliakov signing for a club record £650,000.
Excitingly our star signing would be former Fluminense forward 'Lele' as the Brazilian to a gamble to try ignite his career in Europe with the club. He would be later joined by another in Luiz Henrique, as our only January addition added yet more colour to the clubs squad.
Our eventual annual £2,200,000 salary spend would actually make us a competitive team in the SPL, so although expectation of promotion wasnt high, the reality of the financial side of things would need the club to at least be in and around the playoff mix come the end of the season.
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As expected our start proved to be challenging, losing 2 of our opening 4 fixtures and only having a 5-2 win at home to eventual bottom dwellars Inverness to write home about. We didnt fare much better in September, St. Mirren hit us for 6 and Airdrie also clocked us as we firmly planted ourselves in the middle of the table.
Fortunately we would rally come the winter months. A derby day win over Dunfermline sparked a rally, that saw us win 5 of 6, including another 5 goal haul over the highland side Inverness.
Christmas would become a season of good tidings as December saw us end unbeaten, with key wins over Arbroath and Airdrie to keep us well in the Top 4 places. Unfortunately the new year would begin with a 2-5 loss at Queens Park, but we were now becoming a competent team in the division.
4 draws would slow us down in the midst of February and March, looking back if we had managed to collect wins there, the automatic promotion place may have been on the cards. However we did enough to secure our playoff place with a draw at home to St. Mirren, before winning our final 3 league games as a confidence boost.
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Into the playoffs as our 3rd place finish ensured we would need to do things the long way round. First up would be Arbroath and a 2-1 win at Gayfield, set us up to whack them 6-1 back in Falkirk as we had leaped the first hurdle.
St. Mirren next and the reality was that the ex-SPL side had our number, beating us twice and holding us to a draw in the other 2 league fixtures. We would overcome them in a gritty 1-0 home win to give us some hope heading to Love Street. A couple of days later in the return, the travelling fans could barely believe their eyes when Agyeman put us a goal up. The Paisley outfit would equalise but it proved futile and it would see us advance to face the SPL side St. Johnstone.
Again home for the 1st leg and another 1 goal win was all we took into the return, better than nothing, but the Johnnies would feel happy knowing we had to go there to defend the lead.
Defending was the last thing on our mind though as Smoliakov notched within 2 minutes to give us a cushion. Alas by the half hour, it was wiped out and the tie would be all square thanks to a quickfire Saints double. Then the unthinkable, Lele, our Brazilian superstar would score again in injury time... it proved to be the final goal scored in our season and enough to earn a 3-2 aggregate win and promotion to the SPL.
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Last year we had a mazy run to the Semi Finals, this year our Cup hopes faded early as although we beat Highland side Forres Mechanics, the SPL heavyweights of Hibernian had too much for us, beating us by the odd goal in 5.
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3 penalty shootout wins this year in our Group but not enough to see us make the next round.
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An enjoyable run to the Final of the SPFL Trust Trophy as we beat 2nd sides from Rangers and Dundee Utd, toppled Northern Irish outfit Cliftonville, before falling short against our season nemesis St. Mirren in a one-sided Final.
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2023/24 : Season 1
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Our first year at Falkirk and the pressure was immediately there for all to see, the club have wasted 4 years at this level, twice coming 2nd and 3 times missing out in the playoffs. Its a record that had to end as the club harbour ambitions of returning the the SPL, a position not held for well over a decade.
To achieve this, the club had to invest and although the numbers are not massive, a gamble of £350,000 on the signing of 11 new players had given the club a squad capable of dealing with the rigours of a 36 game league campaign alongside the 3 cup competitions on offer.
Notable signings would include the free transfer deal to bring in ex-Scottish International Robert Snodgrass, whilst the club would shell out £90,000 on Lewis McGratten from Morton as the single biggest piece of business.
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On the pitch things had to start quickly and fortunately we did just that, 3 straight wins helped us head the early standings, before a stumble vs Alloa bought back a dose of reality (Alloa would prove to be our biggest challengers).
Another mini unbeaten run culminated in us thumping Hamilton 7-0, before abruptly slipping to a 3-5 loss at Stirling, the last time we would taste defeat for 15 games. That 15 game run would see us drop points in just 2 games, draws at home to Cove then in Edinburgh, but it was our defensive stoicism that saw 7 clean sheets be the backbone of our form into 2024.
A loss at Cove would prove to be our last before we clinched promotion and the title, as big results saw us stuff Stirling 6-1, Edinburgh 5-2 and then clinch the title with a 5-2 dipping of Cove infront of a full house.
Alas our hopes of an unbeaten home season came to an end in our season finale, with Alloa spoiling the title party with a 1-2 win.
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Well its a competition that the club have won and alongside that have reached 3 Finals in recent history. So when we began our run by thumping a pair of Championship sides 4-0 on their own patch (Dundee Utd & Morton respectively), there was hope of a miracle repeat.
We then bested local rivals Dunfermline 2-0 as a sell-out crowd could finally gloat, before our Quarter Final matchup went all the way to penalties, this time we beat SPL side St. Johnstone to setup a trip to Hampden Park.
With a Final against Celtic the reward, we would start hard and fast to lead St. Mirren after a minute and again after 32. Alas our SPL rivals had too much for us and would force ET before scoring 2 more to finish us off in a thriller. A proud and memorable run to accompany a dream league campaign.
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The League Cup under one of its many naming iterations. Mainly seen as a way to get the team ready for the league campaign with 4 group games to navigate.
These games couldnt have gone much better for us. We wrapped division rivals Hamilton 5-3, then beat SPL Kilmarnock on penalties to give us the edge in the table. Stranraer and Airdrieonians proved to be easy enough to beat, leaving us as group winners and a spot in the last 16.
Arbroath proved to be tricky but beatable on their own patch, as our early season Cup form would setup a dream home tie with Celtic in the Q/F. An early season sell-out saw us put up a fight but invariably come up a little shy, losing 1-3 to the Champions-elect.
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Our final Cup effort proved to be the briefest of them all, we drew Welsh side TNS and they arrived in Scotland to thump us 0-3 and leave us with little excuses.
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Haaland ran riot in the 5th year and we clinched a French domestic treble. Still fell short in Europe and a C/L Last 16 exit left us a little disappointed.
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PSG are mental and honestly i dont think ill be able to fully usurp them until Mbappe either signs for me or retires
4 years at Lyon have yielded:
23/24 - 8th and Cup S/F
24/25 - Champions
25/26 - Runners Up and C/L Last 16
26/27 - Runners Up / Cup Runners up and C/L Last 16
So we have won it once, but honestly you almost need to be perfect as PSG are just a machine that keeps churning.
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Much money knocking around in Scandinavia?
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14 hours ago, John Joe O'toole said:
What are you doing for 8 hours?
I was going to say, 8 hours on pre-season
Thats a full season for me tops.
I think some people over play the game (and each to their own of course) but you dont have to be a full on micro manager to get success in FM. I play it as close to as i would CM01/02 and its just as fun.
Alot of the game is garnish, some people love that with their meal... others will just eat the Chips and Pie.
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Decline every offer of a chat, never prompt any myself either.
Press conference is issued to AssMan.
Any meetings i skip, or just click ive got nothing to say if i have to load that screen.
Dosent seem to do any harm to my team.
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6 minutes ago, kiwityke1983 said:
So has the end of season review that used to come up been removed from the game as I've finished two seasons and not had it trigger either time.
Shame if it has and would fly in the face of this being the most complete FM ever...
Had it every time in my saves
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Any French teams with a few quid lying around? Maybe lesser teams as such?
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On 22/10/2023 at 20:03, Woolly said:
Got £60m out of Al Nassr for Varane, Seemed a shame not to say no considering.
Got a 100m deal for Varane on mine, but no other players would go out there.
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Any of the lower league sides have much money knocking around?
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Season 03/04
Scottish First Division
Pre-Season
The challenge this year was to try and put together a tighter more experienced unit, given the relative ease of climbing out of the 'semi professional' divisions, this year we will face a tougher opponent.
Money was again spent but not as freely, though significant wages were handed out as the vastly experienced Martin Keown came in to become a part of the club on and off the field. Other moves saw experienced defenders Ritchie and Pressley sign as the spending mirrored what was coming in.
A raft of outgoings was headlined by Stephen Pearson joining Millwall for just shy of £2,000,000 as he alongside other young Scot' Stephen Simmons left the club following a lack of game time. Other notable earners left on a free transfer with McSwegan ending a 1 year spell at the club to go to Holland, whilst Montrose saw their chance to snag Lovering and Mooney on contract only deals as they bolstered their ranks.
League Campaign
Well if the previous 2 seasons were anything to go by, expectations were that the club would breeze into the SPL and achieve their goal outset when Mileson took over. Yet those soon dissipated as the defeats came in waves and a lack of goals saw the club scrambling for answers.
A 4-0 win over Inverness would settle the early season nerves, after back to back defeats. However it took nearly a month for another win to come along as the team failed to find any rhythm. A solitary win over Clyde was the highlight of October, whilst a 2-1 win at Arbroath in the middle of November would the our last win until January as the rot set in.
A club record £4,1000,000 was spent on McDonald in order to try and bolster the clubs attacking options, but the club would only score in 5 of their next 15 games, as a run of 4 0-0 draws would keep us just above the drop zone heading into the new year.
Wins over Montrose and Raith (relegation rivals) helped our chances of survival, before a horrendous 5 game losing skid sunk us into the bottom 2, needing a miracle in the remaining 5 games of the season. Arbroath were beaten, before a loss at home to Clyde saw us slip 5pts adrift of safety with 3 to play.
Somehow we scrapped a win over Partick to keep the season alive, before a crucial 2-0 win at Raith sent us into the final day knowing a win would keep us up. St. Johnstone were already on holiday as we scored early to earn a 3-1 win and maintain our place in the 1st division. The romantics out there will be happy to note Montrose found safety on the final day as well!
================================================================================================ 2003/4 Fixtures ================================================================================================ Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.8.03 Dunfermline H First Division 0:1 2200 16.8.03 Montrose A First Division 0:2 3196 23.8.03 Inverness C. Thistle H First Division 4:0 2160 Hartley, Lasley, Tokely, Robson 6.9.03 Partick Thistle A First Division 0:1 5061 13.9.03 Falkirk A First Division 1:1 7332 Roberts 20.9.03 Arbroath H First Division 0:1 2193 27.9.03 Raith Rovers H First Division 2:0 2175 S.Nicol 2 18.10.03 Inverness C. Thistle A First Division 3:3 5030 Tokely 2, McDonald 22.10.03 Clyde A First Division 1:0 4867 Robson 25.10.03 St. Johnstone A First Division 1:3 6961 McDonald 29.10.03 Montrose H First Division 0:0 2163 1.11.03 Dunfermline A First Division 0:1 7035 8.11.03 Falkirk H First Division 1:2 2195 MacDonald 15.11.03 Arbroath A First Division 2:1 4476 Lasley, MacDonald pen 22.11.03 Clyde H First Division 1:0 2189 McDonald 29.11.03 Partick Thistle H First Division 0:1 2199 6.12.03 Raith Rovers A First Division 1:2 6068 McDonald 13.12.03 St. Johnstone H First Division 0:0 2168 20.12.03 Inverness C. Thistle H First Division 0:0 2163 27.12.03 Clyde A First Division 0:0 4891 5.1.04 Dunfermline H First Division 0:0 2165 10.1.04 Montrose A First Division 2:1 3174 R.McDonald, Roberts 17.1.04 Arbroath H First Division 0:1 2167 24.1.04 Falkirk A First Division 0:2 7334 7.2.04 Partick Thistle A First Division 0:3 4787 14.2.04 Raith Rovers H First Division 1:0 2185 S.Nicol 28.2.04 Montrose H First Division 0:2 2187 6.3.04 Inverness C. Thistle A First Division 0:2 4335 20.3.04 St. Johnstone A First Division 0:1 7419 31.3.04 Dunfermline A First Division 0:2 5339 3.4.04 Falkirk H First Division 1:2 2184 MacDonald 10.4.04 Arbroath A First Division 1:0 3681 MacDonald 17.4.04 Clyde H First Division 0:1 2197 24.4.04 Partick Thistle H First Division 2:1 2193 Ritchie, Tokely 1.5.04 Raith Rovers A First Division 2:0 4892 Lauchlan, MacDonald 8.5.04 St. Johnstone H First Division 3:1 2190 McDonald, Lasley, MacDonald ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Dunfermline 36 14 3 1 30 11 6 7 5 18 17 70 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Falkirk 36 7 8 3 24 15 8 5 5 30 25 58 3rd Arbroath 36 8 2 8 22 20 9 3 6 22 19 56 4th Partick Thistle 36 11 5 2 28 10 3 6 9 19 26 53 5th St. Johnstone 36 9 5 4 33 26 5 5 8 29 31 52 6th Inverness C. Thistle 36 8 8 2 30 20 4 5 9 19 32 49 7th Gretna 36 6 4 8 15 13 5 3 10 14 25 40 8th Montrose 36 5 7 6 30 29 4 4 10 19 27 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th R Clyde 36 5 7 6 19 24 4 4 10 16 25 38 10th R Raith Rovers 36 8 0 10 28 37 2 7 9 19 32 37Tenants Scottish F.A. Cup
The league to precedence for us here as our Cup exit came as no surprise given the poor form we were suffering.
31.1.04 St. Johnstone A Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 0:2 4341SKOL Cup
Forget East Fife, we finally got to pit our wits against the best, as Celtic are dominating Scottish football. Sadly we couldnt score and a weakened (but decent) Celtic side did enough en route to another Final for the Hoops.
19.8.03 East Fife H League Cup 2nd Rnd 3:0 2050 Robson, Lasley, Tokely 1.10.03 Celtic H League Cup 3rd Rnd 0:2 2162Bells Challenge Cup
Qos, thanks for being our rivals but thats easy enough.
Stirling, another Cup tie, another thumping.
Arbroath, a decent win in the circumstances.
Stranraer, annoying and a waste of an opportunity to make our 2nd Challenge Cup Final in 3 years.
12.8.03 Queen of Sth. H Challenge Cup 1st Rnd 4:1 1846 Tokely 2, McDonald, Lasley 27.8.03 Stirling H Challenge Cup 2nd Rnd 6:1 1831 Nicol 2, Lasley 2, Roberts 2 10.9.03 Arbroath A Challenge Cup Qtr Final 1:0 3814 Robson 17.9.03 Stranraer A Challenge Cup Semi Final 0:1 3067The Boys
================================================================================================ 2003/4 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Boyce, Scott 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.80 - Douglas, Robert 43 0 44 0 0 0 0 0 6.98 - Finlayson, Kevin 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Fotheringham, Kevin 0 (3) 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 6.00 - Grady, James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Hartley, Paul 38 1 0 0 5 7 0 0 6.84 - Keown, Martin 42 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 7.05 - Lasley, Keith 39 7 0 0 3 3 0 2 6.79 - Lauchlan, Martin 7 (1) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.38 - MacDonald, Peter 17 6 0 1 (1) 3 1 0 3 7.35 - McAllister, Jamie 14 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.79 - McDonald, Raymond 27 7 0 0 1 0 0 2 7.00 - McEwan, Craig 40 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 6.70 - McGovern, Jon Paul 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.50 - Meji 29 0 0 0 1 3 0 3 6.93 - Nicol, Scott 18 5 0 0 3 3 0 3 7.22 - Pressley, Steven 25 (1) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.85 - Ritchie, Paul 10 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.20 - Roberts, Christian 23 4 0 0 4 1 0 0 7.22 - Robson, Barry 38 4 0 0 4 1 0 2 6.95 - Tokely, Ross 38 7 0 0 5 5 0 0 6.76 - Webster, Andy 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00Transfers
================================================================================================ 2003/4 Transfers ================================================================================================ Date Player In From Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.6.03 Christian Roberts Bristol C £250K 12.7.03 Craig McEwan Ayr £500K 26.7.03 Martin Keown Free Transfer Free 26.7.03 Steven Sidwell Free Transfer Free 20.8.03 Scott Nicol Morton £16K 22.8.03 Paul Ritchie Man City £825K 22.8.03 Steven Pressley Hearts £650K 28.8.03 Meji Dundee £775K 8.11.03 Peter MacDonald St. Johnstone £4.1M Date Player Out To Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.6.03 Paul Lovering Montrose Free 22.6.03 Ian McCaldon Livingston £180K 9.7.03 Gerard Mooney Montrose Free 29.7.03 Stephen Simmons Hearts £525K 12.8.03 Matthew Naylor Released Free 19.8.03 Andy Harris Released Free 20.8.03 Stephen Pearson Millwall £1.9M 22.8.03 Kevin Mackay Released Free 26.8.03 Scott Young Southampton £50K 6.9.03 Gary McSwegan Go Ahead Free 10.3.04 Steven Sidwell Peterborough £45K0 -
Season 02/03
Scottish Second Division
Pre-Season
Promotion almost assumed investment with the clubs foundation relying on a quick rise through the divisions, however it was more tempered with over £3,000,000 being raised via player sales to balance the books a little with Brooks Mileson wary following the spending spree to get here.
7 players who played various roles in last seasons success would all move on, notably £1,000,000 was raised via Iain Nicholson, whilst defensive pairing of Dods and Cleland also left to join SPL side Aberdeen with him.
However there would be signings and again the £1,000,000 mark was spent again on a player with Gary McSwegan signed to hopefully score the goals, alongside a gaggle of players with more experience in Scott Crabbe, Andy Goram and the midfield experience of Ross Tokeley.
Overall the squad felt more rounded as the pressure of back to back promotions would begin to sink in.
League Campaign
On the pitch things needed to start well, but they didnt with a loss to Hamilton on opening day, seeing us fail to win any of the opening 3 games of the season. Fortuntely Berwick Rangers were on hand as we dished out a 5-1 drubbing to our fellow Borderers to kickstart our campaign.
A loss to Cowdenbeath would prove to be a rare sight as we racked up the wins and the goals, besting Montrose 4-1 before scudding QoS 6-0 in Dumfries to rattle the locals who vehemently oppose the Gretna project.
Experienced Keeper Rob Douglas would sign in October to shore things up, with more money going on the exciting strike duo of McDonald and Mooney to give us an edge in the winter months.
Yet Montrose would clip our wings as they beat us at Links Park, joining us in looking at back to back promotions with both having double digit points advantages (over 3rd) going into the new year.
Stranraer and Stenhousemuir slowed us down as we failed to score in back to back defeats, however it proved to be a rare stumble as Alloa were rattled for 5, as another 5 game winning streak (culminating in another big win at QoS 4-2) would clinch promotion going into the final weeks of the season.
We were again locked in a title race with Montrose, confirmation of which was secured as win stuffed Cowdenbeath 3-0 at home, as the club could now look forward to joining the more professional ranks of the 1st Division after just 2 seasons in the Scottish game.
================================================================================================ 2002/3 Fixtures ================================================================================================ Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.8.02 Hamilton A Second Division 0:1 5488 17.8.02 Queen of Sth. H Second Division 2:2 2170 Gaughan, McSwegan 24.8.02 Forfar A Second Division 1:1 2625 Tokely 7.9.02 Berwick A Second Division 5:1 2028 Webster pen, Crabbe 2, Tokely, Lasley 14.9.02 Stranraer H Second Division 2:0 2126 Hartley, Tokely 21.9.02 Cowdenbeath A Second Division 1:2 2418 McSwegan 25.9.02 Montrose H Second Division 4:1 1988 Tokely 2, Webster pen, Crabbe 28.9.02 Alloa H Second Division 1:0 2097 Gaughan 19.10.02 Hamilton H Second Division 3:0 2191 Webster, Tokely, Grady 26.10.02 Queen of Sth. A Second Division 6:0 2843 Duffy og, Hartley, Grady 2, McSwegan 2 30.10.02 Stenhousemuir H Second Division 3:1 2000 McSwegan 3 2.11.02 Forfar H Second Division 3:2 2077 Grady, Lasley, Tokely 9.11.02 Montrose A Second Division 1:2 1990 Grady 16.11.02 Cowdenbeath H Second Division 2:2 2141 Crabbe, McSwegan 23.11.02 Alloa A Second Division 1:0 1759 Crabbe 30.11.02 Berwick H Second Division 2:1 2127 Tokely, McDonald 21.12.02 Queen of Sth. H Second Division 2:2 2192 Hartley, Lasley 28.12.02 Forfar A Second Division 2:1 2622 R.McDonald, Webster pen 1.1.03 Stranraer A Second Division 0:3 2607 6.1.03 Stenhousemuir A Second Division 0:2 1363 18.1.03 Hamilton A Second Division 3:1 5494 R.McDonald, Robson 2 25.1.03 Alloa H Second Division 5:2 2098 McDonald 2, Gaughan, Hartley, Tokely 8.2.03 Berwick A Second Division 3:0 1891 Tokely, Lasley, McSwegan 15.2.03 Montrose H Second Division 1:2 1999 McSwegan 26.2.03 Cowdenbeath A Second Division 3:1 2035 McSwegan 2, Webster pen 1.3.03 Stranraer H Second Division 2:1 2098 McDonald, McAllister 5.3.03 Stenhousemuir H Second Division 2:1 2001 R.McDonald, Robson 8.3.03 Hamilton H Second Division 2:1 2193 R.McDonald, Webster pen 15.3.03 Queen of Sth. A Second Division 4:2 2809 Tokely, McDonald, Lauchlan, Lasley 29.3.03 Montrose A Second Division 2:3 2047 Tokely, Lauchlan 2.4.03 Forfar H Second Division 3:1 2076 Lauchlan, Pearson, Tokely 5.4.03 Berwick H Second Division 1:1 2153 Tokely 12.4.03 Alloa A Second Division 2:1 1790 McSwegan 2 19.4.03 Cowdenbeath H Second Division 3:0 2133 McSwegan, McDonald 2 26.4.03 Stranraer A Second Division 1:3 2787 McDonald 3.5.03 Stenhousemuir A Second Division 0:1 1799 ================================================================================================ 2002/3 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Gretna 36 13 4 1 43 20 9 1 8 35 25 71 2nd P Montrose 36 12 3 3 39 22 9 2 7 31 29 68 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Alloa 36 8 5 5 28 19 7 5 6 31 29 55 4th Berwick 36 8 3 7 27 31 6 8 4 23 24 53 5th Cowdenbeath 36 9 5 4 27 23 5 2 11 30 37 49 6th Stranraer 36 6 7 5 27 21 5 4 9 19 23 44 7th Forfar 36 6 4 8 27 26 4 7 7 23 28 41 8th Queen of Sth. 36 7 4 7 38 45 3 7 8 29 40 41 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th R Stenhousemuir 36 6 4 8 26 34 5 3 10 22 35 40 10th R Hamilton 36 7 4 7 27 28 2 4 12 26 39 35Tenants Scottish F.A. Cup
Another decent effort in this competiton, again sparked by a humping of Stirling in the early rounds. Comfortable wins over lower league opposition would set us up with a chance to make the Q/Finals against Falkirk. We would lead there, but fell short late on and missed out on a date at Parkhead.
7.12.02 Stirling H Scottish Cup 1st Rnd 6:2 2196 Tokely, Webster, Lasley, McDonald 3 4.1.03 East Stirling A Scottish Cup 2nd Rnd 2:0 1584 Hartley, McSwegan 1.2.03 Annan A Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 3:0 1087 McDonald, Hartley, Young 22.2.03 Falkirk A Scottish Cup 4th Rnd 1:2 4568 YoungSKOL Cup
In and out here, we were not match fit and lost comfortably in our trip north to Ross.
3.8.02 Ross County A League Cup 1st Rnd 1:2 1480 RobsonBells Challenge Cup
Hopes of going one step further were crushed early on as East Fife shocked us infront of 300 fans.
13.8.02 East Fife A Challenge Cup 1st Rnd 0:2 318The Boys
================================================================================================ 2002/3 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Boyce, Scott 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Douglas, Robert 31 0 37 0 0 0 1 0 7.29 - Finlayson, Kevin 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Fotheringham, Kevin 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Goram, Andy 0 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.00 - Grady, James 10 5 0 0 1 0 0 2 7.40 - Hartley, Paul 42 6 0 0 29 2 0 8 7.86 - Irving, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Lasley, Keith 42 6 0 0 7 2 0 0 7.12 - Lauchlan, Martin 9 (1) 3 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.40 - Lovering, Paul 23 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 6.57 - McAllister, Jamie 42 1 0 0 3 5 0 0 6.76 - McCaldon, Ian 11 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 6.82 - McDonald, Raymond 22 16 0 0 3 2 0 4 8.00 - McGovern, Jon Paul 16 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.56 - McGuffie, Ryan - - - - - - - - ---- - McSwegan, Gary 33 16 0 0 5 1 0 5 7.73 - Mooney, Gerard 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Pearson, Stephen 1 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 7.00 - Robson, Barry 35 (1) 4 0 0 14 1 0 4 7.47 - Roulston, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Simmons, Stephen 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Tokely, Ross 40 15 0 0 6 2 0 5 7.40 - Webster, Andy 36 7 0 6 (5) 0 2 0 0 6.36 - Young, Scott 14 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.64Transfers
================================================================================================ 2002/3 Transfers ================================================================================================ Date Player In From Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.6.02 Kevin Fotheringham Brechin £45K 2.6.02 Scott Crabbe Alloa £95K 2.6.02 Scott Boyce Queen's Park £275K 4.7.02 Gary McSwegan Kilmarnock £1M 6.7.02 Jamie McAllister Aberdeen Free 8.7.02 Kevin Gaughan Stranraer £45K 14.7.02 Andy Goram Queen of Sth. £50K 22.7.02 Ross Tokely Inverness C. Thistle £850K 7.10.02 Robert Douglas Free Transfer Free 19.10.02 Raymond McDonald Queen of Sth. £250K 8.12.02 Gerard Mooney Stranraer £500K 27.1.03 Jon Paul McGovern Celtic £500K 29.1.03 Scott Young Cardiff £250K Date Player Out To Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.6.02 Darren Dods Aberdeen £500K 14.6.02 Alec Cleland Aberdeen £250K 17.6.02 David Preece Nottm Forest £250K 22.6.02 Iain Nicolson Aberdeen £1M 23.6.02 Chris McGroarty Dundee £750K 25.7.02 Ian Paul McShane Inverness C. Thistle £350K 5.8.02 Grant Murray Ayr £400K 13.2.03 Mark Campbell Stranraer £85K 2.3.03 Kevin Gaughan Dunfermline £100K 14.3.03 Scott Crabbe Falkirk £45K 15.3.03 David Craig Falkirk £220K0 -
Season 01/02
Scottish Third Division
Pre-Season
The simple fact was, the squad is not good enough, not just for the 4th tier but for a quick rush through the divisions. Money had to be spent, the wage bill had to increase and to that end 18 players signed from all over Scotland.
4 players joined from St. Johnstone including Paul Hartley and Darren Dods. 3 came from Ayr as the 1st division players took money over prestige, with James Grady the notable deal circa £1,000,000. The SPL wasnt immune from the Gretna attraction either as both Stephen Pearson and Keith Lasley chose to ply their trade in the lower reaches, whilst another youngster in Stephen Simmons left Hearts as Gretna continued to bolster their ranks.
League Campaign
Things started in a funny fashion as although we would win on opening day at East Stirling, a 1-3 thumping at home to Elgin soon put us in our place and thoughts of romping away with the title being questioned. However we maintained a steady pace and it soon became a 3-way race for the 2 promotion spots with Montrose and East Fife pushing us all the way.
It wasnt until November that things really kicked on for us, we would beat the aforementioned East Fire thanks to a Grady header, a result that was a part of a 10 game unbeaten spell that gave us a bit more breathing room going into the final stretch of fixtures.
Turmoil would hit however, as a defeat at Morton sparked a 4 game skid that allowed Montrose to take the lead in the division and East Fife to close the gap. Things had to be re-assessed and with youngsters Pearson, Simmons and Lauchlan put in the midfield, the newly energised lineup began to click again. We qould continue to spend as Andy Webster and Barry Robson signed on in the hope that a fresh face or 2 would change things up as the pressure for success mounted.
A huge home win over East Fife saw us come from 2 down to win 3-2 and pad our cushion a little more. A draw at home to Montrose slowed us a little, but the effects were minimal as 3 away wins at Elgin, Albion and Peterhead secured our promotion, whilst we would celebrate the title on the final day with a 1-1 draw at a full Raydale Park, putting to bed any notion that the Gretna project was wasted money.
================================================================================================ 2001/2 Fixtures ================================================================================================ Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.7.01 Rangers H Friendly 0:2 2171 4.8.01 East Stirling A Third Division 2:0 1614 Grady, Lauchlan 11.8.01 Elgin City H Third Division 1:3 2198 Pearson 18.8.01 Montrose A Third Division 4:1 1079 Lasley 2, Grady, Simmons 25.8.01 Stirling H Third Division 3:1 2052 Lauchlan 2, Grady 1.9.01 East Fife A Third Division 3:3 1983 McShane 2 (1 pen), Grady 8.9.01 Peterhead H Third Division 2:1 2166 Grady, Simmons 15.9.01 Morton A Third Division 0:2 3413 22.9.01 Albion Rovers H Third Division 2:1 2178 Finlayson, Pearson pen 29.9.01 Queen's Park A Third Division 2:3 2193 Grady 2 20.10.01 Stirling A Third Division 3:2 2072 Lauchlan, Pearson, Grady 27.10.01 Montrose H Third Division 1:1 1962 Lauchlan 3.11.01 Albion Rovers A Third Division 1:2 2445 Lasley 7.11.01 East Stirling H Third Division 2:1 2178 Lauchlan, Dods 10.11.01 East Fife H Third Division 1:0 2141 Grady 17.11.01 Elgin City A Third Division 1:1 3503 Grady 24.11.01 Morton H Third Division 0:0 2160 1.12.01 Peterhead A Third Division 2:1 2469 Campbell, Finlayson 15.12.01 Stirling H Third Division 2:0 2056 Pearson, Grady 26.12.01 East Stirling A Third Division 1:0 1627 Finlayson 31.12.01 Queen's Park H Third Division 1:0 2000 Lauchlan 12.1.02 Montrose A Third Division 1:0 1164 Hartley 19.1.02 Albion Rovers H Third Division 3:1 2152 Lauchlan, Pearson, Cleland 2.2.02 East Fife A Third Division 1:2 1960 Simmons 9.2.02 Elgin City H Third Division 2:0 2183 Webster pen, Cleland 23.2.02 East Stirling H Third Division 2:0 2024 Lovering, Webster pen 27.2.02 Morton A Third Division 1:2 3594 Webster 2.3.02 Queen's Park A Third Division 0:1 1828 9.3.02 Peterhead H Third Division 0:1 2088 16.3.02 Stirling A Third Division 0:1 2091 27.3.02 East Fife H Third Division 3:2 2128 Webster pen, Grady, Pearson 30.3.02 Elgin City A Third Division 2:1 3494 Lauchlan, Grady 6.4.02 Montrose H Third Division 1:1 1907 Webster 13.4.02 Albion Rovers A Third Division 2:0 2487 Pearson, Robson 20.4.02 Morton H Third Division 0:1 2177 27.4.02 Peterhead A Third Division 2:0 2453 Campbell, Pearson 4.5.02 Queen's Park H Third Division 1:1 2020 Hartley ================================================================================================ 2001/2 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Gretna 36 11 4 3 27 15 9 2 7 28 22 66 2nd P Montrose 36 10 3 5 32 28 9 5 4 28 22 65 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd East Fife 36 6 6 6 31 30 10 3 5 31 18 57 4th Queen's Park 36 10 5 3 33 24 5 3 10 22 32 53 5th Morton 36 7 5 6 27 26 7 4 7 25 26 51 6th Elgin City 36 6 5 7 22 24 7 3 8 27 26 47 7th Peterhead 36 8 5 5 24 20 4 6 8 25 34 47 8th Stirling 36 9 3 6 28 24 3 7 8 25 31 46 9th East Stirling 36 7 3 8 26 25 4 6 8 17 24 42 10th Albion Rovers 36 6 0 12 19 28 3 0 15 16 34 27Tenants Scottish F.A. Cup
We had a wee run in the Cup this year, thumping Stirling 4-1, before thrilling the fans with a 4-3 win at QoS in our first matchup against the local rivals.
Things came to a halt as St. Mirren toppled us in a replay, after we held the 1st Division side to a draw at a soggy Raydale.
5.1.02 Stirling H Scottish Cup 2nd Rnd 4:1 2198 Lauchlan, Dods, Finlayson, Hartley 26.1.02 Queen of Sth. A Scottish Cup 3rd Rnd 4:3 2157 Finlayson 2, Lauchlan 2 16.2.02 St. Mirren H Scottish Cup 4th Rnd 1:1 2153 Lovering 20.2.02 St. Mirren A Scottish Cup 4th Rnd Replay 0:1 4267SKOL Cup
We stunned Raith with a 3-0 win at Stark Park as our first competitive game couldnt have gone any better, however SPL giants Dundee United soon crushed any hopes of a fairytale cup run by rinsing us 4-1 at Tannadice.
14.8.01 Dundee Utd A League Cup 2nd Rnd 1:4 7877 CaldwellBells Challenge Cup
Almost a dream double for us as we went on a early season cup run, cruising to the Final by edging out 1st division sides such as Clyde and Inverness, before the challenge of St. Johnstone was too much to overcome, as we lost 4-2 aet in a thriller.
7.8.01 Arbroath H Challenge Cup 1st Rnd 2:1 1847 Simmons, Grady 22.8.01 Albion Rovers H Challenge Cup 2nd Rnd 1:0 1854 Hartley 29.8.01 Clyde H Challenge Cup Qtr Final 3:0 2005 Lauchlan 2, Pearson pen 5.9.01 Inverness C. Thistle A Challenge Cup Semi Final 1:0 8238 Campbell 14.10.01 St. Johnstone N Challenge Cup Final 2:4 17982 Pearson, LauchlanThe Boys
================================================================================================ 2001/2 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Campbell, Mark 44 4 0 0 1 7 0 1 6.41 - Cleland, Alec 47 2 0 0 3 2 0 2 6.79 - Craig, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Dods, Darren 24 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 6.38 - Finlayson, Kevin 27 (1) 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.89 - Grady, James 43 14 0 0 9 3 0 4 7.19 - Hartley, Paul 40 5 0 0 11 5 0 2 7.03 - Irving, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Lasley, Keith 43 3 0 0 5 4 0 1 6.93 - Lauchlan, Martin 38 15 0 0 6 0 0 6 7.16 - Lovering, Paul 43 2 0 0 2 7 0 2 6.91 - McCaldon, Ian 36 0 36 0 0 0 1 3 7.36 - McGroarty, Chris 20 (1) 1 0 1 (1) 6 0 0 1 6.86 - McGuffie, Ryan - - - - - - - - ---- - McShane, Ian Paul 6 (1) 2 0 2 (1) 1 2 0 0 6.86 - Murray, Grant 10 (2) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.83 - Nicolson, Iain 7 (3) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.40 - Pearson, Stephen 36 10 0 2 (2) 7 2 0 2 6.97 - Preece, David 11 (1) 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 6.83 - Robson, Barry 6 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.33 - Roulston, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Simmons, Stephen 15 (1) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.81 - Webster, Andy 16 5 0 3 (3) 0 2 1 0 6.38Transfers
================================================================================================ 2001/2 Transfers ================================================================================================ Date Player In From Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.7.01 Paul Lovering Ayr £225K 12.7.01 David Preece Aberdeen £250K 13.7.01 Martin Lauchlan St. Johnstone £300K 13.7.01 Grant Murray St. Johnstone £850K 13.7.01 Mark Campbell Ayr £250K 13.7.01 Alec Cleland Free Transfer Free 15.7.01 Stephen Simmons Hearts £1M 16.7.01 Darren Dods St. Johnstone £750K 16.7.01 James Grady Ayr £1M 17.7.01 Paul Hartley St. Johnstone £1M 17.7.01 Chris McGroarty Dunfermline £500K 24.7.01 Iain Nicolson St. Mirren £600K 26.7.01 Ian Paul McShane Grindavík £50K 4.8.01 Ian McCaldon Oxford £220K 10.8.01 Stephen Pearson Motherwell £1.2M 13.8.01 Keith Lasley Motherwell £1.2M 22.9.01 Kevin Finlayson Stranraer £75K 20.11.01 David Craig Elgin City £240K 20.1.02 Andy Webster Hearts £500K 30.3.02 Barry Robson Inverness C. Thistle £325K Date Player Out To Fee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.7.01 Kyle May Doncaster £18K 16.7.01 John Hore Portsmouth £55K 22.7.01 Adam Thwaites Crystal Palace £300K 2.8.01 David Mathieson W.B.A. £22K 8.8.01 Geoffrey Patterson Plymouth £18K 9.8.01 David Milne Kilmarnock £26K 29.8.01 Bryan Caldwell Dunfermline £55K 20.11.01 Micky Waller Released Free 20.11.01 Tommy Turner Released Free 20.11.01 Paul Heritage Released Free0 -
Mini Intro:
Hopefully a 01/02 update is allowed in here, arguably one of the greatest games made and definitely one that holds many memories for me.
Anyway I will be using the .68 update and the database that came with that, no mods, ARSE mode enabled via the editor.
Rules:
Well I dont like calling these rules, but with the potential for 'downloading' super tactics (on all CMs etc) I always restrict myself to game created setups. So to that end, every game no matter what will be using the default tactic 4-4-2 in game, never changing for any situation / game or division.
Edits:
I have dabbled in the editor and added Brooks Mileson as the Chairman/Owner and made him as 'Sugar Daddy' as possible, to try and replicate the Gretna situation. I also gave the club £5,000,000 as this is a commonly associated figure that Mileson invested (albeit via loans).
Other than that I will use my standard bestbrother approach and hope it all works out
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Thats it, if we didnt have Stewards, either capacities are limited OR clubs have to spend a fortune on the police.. thats if there is the numbers there.
Its a simple thing of respect, we want nice things like football, then we respect those helping us achieve it. Club or country, final or end of season dead rubber.
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Ivan Toney, thats the wildcard.
He will notch 38 this year, but Brentford still go down.
Makes his England debut in some sort of game, hits a treble.
In the following summer signs for Chelsea, 74.5m.
Is it what 10-12 games before Qatar? He scores 12, with the Blues likening him to a young Mark Stein.
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Well run @Sons FC
I tactically chose not to enter the Final, as every other time I predicted an England game.. they succeeded. So my abstaining ensured Italys win
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16 minutes ago, Baptista_8 said:
And just because we've got to a final, I'd still put at least four sides in Europe ahead of us.
Italy
Spain
Portugal
France
I think thats fair, I dont think Holland are far off and id expect Germany to have a rebuild ready to go again though im not sure what state those coming through are in.
Flick may get a tune from the squad though.
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3 minutes ago, Vynal Seven said:
Ha you couldn’t be wider of the mark.
I don’t begrudge Italy at all, but gunman trying to suggest football doesn’t reward ****housery it’s just nonsense.
It didnt reward England last night... so maybe it dosent all the time
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Just now, Baptista_8 said:
Not sure what your point is here.
Same as yours, thanking Jack for clearing it up
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7 minutes ago, Baptista_8 said:
Cheers Jack,
Can we ask Italy for another shootout now we know this?
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It's Tottenham Mate- the Ange revolution
in Good Player & Team Guide
Posted
10th then 6th, hoping to nick a trophy this year.