Dong21

November 18, 2021

Really good opening posts Jogo and loving the graphics :applause:

I will, of course, be following with interest.

November 17, 2021

Thanks @Jogo Bonito! Not a bad suggestion :lol:

November 13, 2021

No worries at all @warlock, life comes first mate. Looking forward to the new thread, whenever it’s ready 👍🏼

November 11, 2021

10 hours ago, warlock said:

A masterclass in the use of the loan market

Thanks :brock: Ideally I’d have liked to have operated without the reliance on loan players, but the budget was limited and I can’t tell you the number of permanent deals that fell through with the players choosing other clubs, in both transfer windows. I credit our poor reputation for this - we were recently in League 2 and also the owner refused most of my requests to improve the youth and training facilities, which would have enhanced the club reputation. If I continued the career on longer term then an aim would be not to need loanees.

10 hours ago, warlock said:

I'd be interested to know what role you played RJJ in - that tactic screen suggests he was playing a support role, which makes his scoring exploits even more impressive.

I’m not sure why the report has presented it that way, with RJJ appearing to play deeper than Richards. In actuality they both played an Advanced Forward role. I gave Richards a selection of player instructions that would have meant he was a bit more of a support player, whereas RJJ was left to be an out-and-out goalscorer.

November 10, 2021

Thanks @Punch and @Rikulec - appreciate the comments!

November 10, 2021

So let's take a look at the players who achieved the unthinkable and returned Oldham Athletic to the Premier League in the 2023/24 season:

I don't often share the end of season 'Best Eleven' that is produced, as I often feel it doesn't reflect the team that played most frequently, however in this instance it is suitably accurate.

We played a 4-4-2 throughout the season. I knew that my defence besides Kambwala, and then Strujik from January, were of League One quality so I purposefully went for a 'positve' we'll score more than you approach. We were blessed with pace and talent up front so operated with a high line of engagement. When attacking we passed into space and then ran at the opposition.

Our average possession of 54% was the highest in the division, we took the most shots (844) and scored the most goals (144).

Here is an in-depth review of the squad's performance:

Goalkeepers

Lumley and Smithies fought it out for the number one spot at the start of the season, but I eventually settled on the more experienced Smithies as my main 'keeper. Lumley kept 8 clean sheets, whereas Smithies kept 9. On average they conceded roughly the same amount per game. We conceded 69 goals in all competitions, so clearly our success wasn't build on an impenetrable defence. That said, I thought they both put in solid performances and delivered in line with what was expected of them.

Centre Backs

Kambwala was undoubtedly the star of the show in defence. Ever present at the back, he was named in the Championship Player's Select Team of the Season ('CPSTOTS'). The only criticism that could be leveled at him was that he picked up the most yellow cards in the division (15). Kambwala was rewarded for his form with a call up to the French U20 squad at the French Invitational.

For the first half of the season Kambwala was partnered by Ángel who, prior to his sale made 29 (4) appearances in all competitions with an average rating of 6.85. The partnership was upgraded in January when I signed Struijk who averaged a match rating of 7 across his 19 appearances. Kent and Bolger performed ably in the handful of games they were involved.

Struijk was voted our signing of the season and Butler won the goal of the season.

Full Backs

Considering they are only rated 2.5 stars (and League One standard) by the coaching staff, my first choice full backs Fran and Butler both had stellar campaigns. Both were effective going forward, delivering 11 and 7 assists respectively. The pair were both named in the CPSTOTS. Byram played a key role as he filled in at right back and left back throughout the season. He also contributed a good amount of assists.

Borthwick-Jackson is the only player who was at Oldham before I took over and is still with us as we are promoted to the Premier League. He was not a key player but he certainly made a contribution and I am glad to have still had him around.

Central Midfielders

Vera was the biggest constant in the centre of midfield, playing 40 games. He made a big contribution with 5 goals and twelve assists, which saw him also recognised in the CPSTOTS. Gailbraith and McCann were both in their third years at the club. Gailbraith has been on loan three times and McCann signed permanently after two loan spells. Both did great; Gailbraith with the higher average rating and McCann racking up more assists.

On paper Simons is a better player than Dreher, but Dreher got many more opportunities from the bench due to regulations. With only 5 loanees allowed in the match day squad, I often had to leave Simons out to the benefit of Dreher.

Wingers

Falé was originally signed as a striker but spent the majority of the season operating on the right wing. His 18 assists were a league record and a fantastic contribution to our success. He also bagged 18 goals - some from up front and some from the wing. He was another in the CPSTOTS.

Bello was the first choice left midfielder. He did okay with 6 goals and 6 assists, but given his ability I must admit I expected more. This is made more apparent when you compare his record with Gudmundsson's, who was signed as a squad option but went on to contribute eleven goals and eleven assists. Hill played such a small role as he was injured for most of the season. Experienced heads Pelkas and Welbeck played small support roles.

Strikers

RJJ scored 49 goals in the Championship - for context the second highest scorer got 30. His average rating of 7.65 in the league and his 19 Player of the Match awards were both Championship records. It should go without saying that he was also in the CPSTOTS. He averaged an exceptional 1.15 goals per league game. With all the focus on his goals, his 12 assists should also be noted. I have no idea why Newcastle let me renew his loan for next season, not that I will be carrying on.

So what about RJJ's strike partners? I started the season with the plan to rotate Deeney and Falé alongside him. Deeney did not contribute much in initial games and Falé was effective on the wing, so this led me to Richards who over-delivered on my expectations. Richards has been with us for four seasons (two of which were initially on loan). Last season he only scored 5 goals in the Championship. So his step-up in output was great to see. RJJ will get the headlines but 26 goals, a return of 1.07 goals per 90 minutes, is a terrific return. He was the 6th highest scorer in the Championship.

JHI is another player I have had on the books for several seasons. Considering he has only made 7 starts, his 8 goals and 9 assists showed the quality he still possesses after being our top scorer last season.

November 10, 2021

10 hours ago, warlock said:

That's how it's done

An excellent finish, and a great achievement. You said 'penultimate update'... did you play a season in the PL, or is the final update a save wrap-up? Or, I could just wait and see

Thanks @warlock!

No, no season in the Premier League! I wanted to move on to playing the new game, but also bring this save to an appropriate conclusion. Returning Oldham to the Premier League feels like a satisfactory point to finish up at.

As we both have experienced many times, the gulf from the Championship to the Premier League is huge. So it would take a great deal of time and effort for me to build a squad capable of competing. The side I got promoted was a mixture of League One quality players, Championship quality loanees and a few ex-Premier League old heads. I managed to extend the loans of my two best players, goal phenomenon RJJ and centre back Kambwala, but otherwise I'd be pretty much be starting from scratch. I was given a budget of £32m and wage budget of £400k (currently spending £200k) and I would back myself to build a good enough team to give clinching survival a go, if I were to play on, but as I say it would be a big time commitment.

The final update will be a squad performance review that I like to do at the end of each season.

November 9, 2021

February 2024

February began with positive news, as after beating Preston 5-1 I was informed that I had achieved my goal of 'Becoming an established Championship team' three years ahead of schedule. The game itself saw a rare brace for central midfielder McCann and a first goal for defender Struijk. Striker Richards was the star in my 200th game managing the club, bagging a hat-trick against Derby. McCann went from hero to villain as he was sent off on 13 minutes - so I was delighted we went on to win 4-1 with 10 men. McCann's conduct resulted in a three game ban.

Pompey drew when we beat Derby, so we went two points clear of them at the top of the table. We then played poorly against Reading but struggled to a win to maintain our lead. Despite two goals in two games for Iceland's Gudmundsson, we fell to defeat against Huddersfield and were leapfrogged by Wolves who went top of the table. To top it off midfielder Gailbraith was ruled out injured for a month.

Rodel Richards was voted Championship POTM and young right back Cayetano Fernandez was loaned to Queen of the South to get games.

March 2024

Richards continued his scintillating form into March, scoring 5 goals in 3 games. Against Barnsley, we took a two goal lead within 5 minutes, but then ill discipline struck again and centre mid Simons was sent off in the 16th minute. We held on to win 3-2 but there were hears in mouths when their late equaliser was disallowed.

We pulled off a 'Cupset' when we beat Sheff Utd, 10th in the Premer League at the time, in the FA Cup 5th Round. This was made more impressive considering we were the better team despite having 10 men after 44 minutes, when winger Bello was sent off. At this point, our discipline had gotten out of control. I stopped asking the team to get stuck in and was relieved to see the amount of sendings off decrease. The £400k we received was a club record gate.

Richards' second against Birmingham took him to 20 goals in the campaign - he was really blossoming in the second half of the season. The Birmingham win secured us a place in the Playoffs. Next up was a game against title rivals Wolves. We hit the woodwork three times, so could have felt hard done by, but I would certainly have took a draw before the game, as it meant we stayed top.

A sign of how far we have come is that we were able to go to Anfield and put in a creditable performance in the FA Cup Quarter Final. We took the lead against a side featuring Salah and Haaland, but they went on to overpower us late in the game.

Whilst we were being distracted by an FA Cup run, Wolves had won to go ahead of us into first place (playing a game more). Pompey were hot on our heels, only a point behind in third, so going into the final six games of the season it was still all to play for in terms of automatic promotion and who was going to win the league...

April & May 2024

The end of season run-in turned out to be completely drama free!

We won our game in hand 4-0 against Bristol City and from there onwards it was wins only. We conceded a number of goals against Palace and Swansea, but neither of these games were close and we were always well in the lead when we conceded. Par for the course with the swashbuckling attacking style I elected to go for this season.

The only game that gave me a scare was the Pompey one. Prior to the match I accepted an offer for third choice centre-back Ángel of £600k, rising to £800k, from Seattle (a good deal, I thought, for a 31 year old I'd signed on a free). I delayed the deal a week as Kambwala was suspended and Ángel stepped in to help out against our rivals. We took a 2-0 lead in the game, but were pegged back to 2-2 after conceding a penalty. Unlikely hero Gudmunddson scored our third. Then Deeney, coming off the bench to make only his ninth appearance of the season, scored his first of the season. RJJ (of course) then scored the fifth. This result all but secured promotion, as we were six points ahead of Pompey in third with 33 better goal difference.

Borthwick-Jackson, with us since the League Two days, stepped in to play as an unorthodox CB against Cardiff - with Ángel sold, Kambwala still suspended, Kent injured and Bolger unregistered. There was nothing to worry about; a comfortable win that secured promotion and the league championship.

Founding members of the Premier League, Oldham Athletic, were back in the top tier for the first time in 31 years!!

When I commenced this career adventure, I didn't think that this would be achievable within four seasons.

I finally won a Manager of the Month award for the first time this season in April and RJJ was the league's POTM.

For the last game of the season I dropped all our loan players except RJJ (who delivered a hat-trick), I gave a debut to youth forward Dlamini and game Hector-Ingram his 100th start for the club. Club captain Deeney praised me in the press so I decided to bring him on again and he rewarded me with a goal. A nice end to his career has he embarks on his retirement.

The media predicted we would come 20th, but we won the league with 105 points, 6 clear of our closest rivals Wolves and Pompey.

We did not have the tightest of defenses, conceding 65 goals, but our firepower was unmatched with a record setting 144 goals scored.

49 of those goals were scored by the unbelievable talent Ricky-Jade Jones. He was rightly named Championship Player of the Year, EFL Young Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer.

I was named Manager of the Year and take my place alongside Joe Royle as one of the only two managers to take Oldham Athletic to the upper echelons of English football.

November 9, 2021

On 20/10/2021 at 08:25, Dong21 said:

I am hoping to complete the 23/24 season by the end of the week and post a new update.

This was far too optimistic - I didn't factor in that I needed to move house and then had a holiday in which I wouldn't have my laptop!

:ackter:

So here I am, on the day when everyone else is playing FM22, about to wrap up the save I started on the day FM21 was released.

Penultimate update incoming...

October 21, 2021

Thanks @warlock, @karanhsingh, @Punch and @jackripper for your comments.

On 20/10/2021 at 14:11, jackripper said:

do you have plans to do another career write up for fm22?

I’m certainly up for doing an FM22 career write up, although I haven’t stumbled across a story that has gripped me enough to commit to yet.

My bread and butter over the years has always been resurrecting fallen clubs in the EFL, but I am tempted to try something outside of England. It will need a decent narrative to keep me invested though!

October 20, 2021

I’ve just spotted this has now got over 10,000 views, which I’m pretty chuffed about considering this is my first ever thread in the Career Updates section!

I am hoping to complete the 23/24 season by the end of the week and post a new update.

October 17, 2021

In the January transfer window I made only one signing, but it was significant one. Not only was it was the first time I have paid a transfer fee in four seasons managing the Latics, it was also the most expensive signing in the history of the club. Ian Olney had held the accolade since Oldham's debut season in the Premier League back in 1992 until now, costing £800k.

After player sales totaling over £1m, we had a healthy transfer budget of £4m. I knew I didn't want to spend it all, but with a leaky defence clearly a weakness, I endeavored to find a player who could make a difference.

Arriving for £1.6m (with a further £1m if he reaches 50 appearances for the club) from Leeds, the man I identified as my difference maker was Pascal Struijk. The fee was below his value (you can see above he is already revalued at £3.6m) and he is, in my opinion, a coup due to his ability and age. I am hoping he can quickly form a solid partnership with Kambwala and be the bedrock of my team going forward.

The Ones That Got Away

Before agreeing the deal for Struijk, I had a £1.8m deal in place for Jerry St Juste, however he chose to sign for Sparta Rotterdam instead. On reflection, Struijk is definitely the better player and more reliable due to St Juste's injury record, so everything worked out for the best.

Near the end of the transfer window I identified an 18 year old English winger at Bolton called Joe Chilton who has great attributes and even better potential. After a great deal of haggling I managed to agree a £3.2m deal for him. This would have been all my budget and a little bit more, but the club wouldn't let me move my surplus wage budget into the transfer budget. It was admittedly been a pricey deal, but a great long term investment. The majority of my wingers are loanees so this would have looked to address that. It wasn't to be, but I will continue to monitor Chilton going forward.

Player Outgoings

As referenced above, we made three sales that added up to just over £1m. Raphael Diarra had been around since the League Two days. He returned from his loan at Ostersunds in December and my staff immediately told me he wouldn't be getting a new work permit. I was happy to receive £100k for him from, League One, Crawley. Fellow centre back Sean McLoughlin was not getting a look in (only two appearances all season) so I had no qualms accepting a bid of £220k from Bradford, who are also in League One.

Finally, it is the peculiar case of Jake Hesketh. He had a terrible 2023, albeit a very profitable one for me. I sold him to San Jose for £1.5m in January 2023, they then released him in the draft in the summer, I then resigned him on a free, didn't have room for him in my squad after the Doyle sale changed my budget, so he spent the first half of the season unregistered. I have just sold him for £700k to MK Dons, meaning I have cashed in on him twice in one year!

At the end of the calendar year, Nigerian youth prospect Ole Okeowo returned from his loan spell at Enyimba Aba in the Nigerian Premier League. He developed well so I offered him a new contract, but frustratingly he signed a pre-contract deal to return to Enyimba.

New Contracts

Youth prospects Ronnie Webber and Morne Dlamini were rewarded with three and two year deals respectively. On transfer deadline day I loaned Webber out to Salford (League One) to further his development.

Jamal Hector-Ingram's (JHI) contract was due to expire at the end of the season. JHI has fallen down the pecking order this season, going from starting striker to impact sub. But he has still been contributing where needed and I didn't like the idea of losing him for free. I therefore gave him a new four year deal, dropping his expected playing time down to 'squad player' and resigning him on the same wage he was already on (£7k per week).

It is also worth noting that I also signed a new four year contract to continue on as manager (although I can't guarantee I'll see that out with FM22 on the horizon!).

Finally, probably the biggest piece of business is that I managed to persuade Newcastle to allow me to renew RJJ's loan for the following season. So, whether I am in the Championship or the Premier League, I will once again have my prolific marksman to call upon.

October 17, 2021

Thanks @john1 and @Rikulec!

Loving the warm reception from the community 🤩

October 17, 2021

October 2023

After a unexpectedly strong start to the season, the end of September had trailed off with three draws on the bounce. A spiral down the table did not materialise though as October started with two wins. The win against Huddersfield was a feisty affair - we were fined £5k for picking up seven yellows.

We suffered our first defeat of the season at the hands of Birmingham, putting an end to a run of 21 games undefeated.

I was pleased to come away from Molineux with a draw - Wolves have a squad full of quality and I was without my suspended centre midfield pair McCann and Vera.

I turned down a job interview at Crystal Palace and was surprised to see Kenny Jackett, who was flying high alongside us with Pompey, jump ship for the role. Jackett was succeeded by Darren Moore on the south coast.

The month ended with Miguel Falé being named the Championship's Young Player of the Month (YPOTM).

November 2023

Takeover talks had been rumbling along since the start of the season but my morally bankrupt owner halted talks in early November, with there being no movement since. This was a huge disappointment as one of my major hopes for this career was to see the club rid of Lemsagam. My hope is that I can make the club successful enough that it is attractive to prospective owners.

With Lemsagam staying put and a lot of money in the bank from the £10m sale of Doyle, I decided to chance my arm and request improvements to our facilities that have been holding us back in the transfer market reputationally. To my shock, Lemsagam accepted my request to upgrade the training facilities (currently average) and the youth facilities (currently below average) for a total cost of £2.5m. This should not be mistaken for generosity, this is money I have generated through player development.

In terms of results - this month depicts the highs and lows of management. A commendable draw against Palace, big wins against Swansea and Rotherham and crushing defeats at the hands of Pompey and Cardiff.

The Portsmouth result was the most disappointing and not just because we are battling it out at the top. We were 3-0 up after 20 mins and capitulated to lose 5-3! There were a few unfortunate circumstances - our best defender Kambwala was suspended, Lumley conceded a comical own goal and Falé went off injured with 10 mins to go, after I'd made all my subs - but simply we should not be losing composure like that. That result saw us fall 7 points off 1st and the Cardiff drubbing didn't help matters.

The Rotherham win sort of sums us up this season. Extremely dangerous up front, but sloppy at the back (two of the goals were avoidable errors).

Ricky Jade-Jones (RJJ) won both the Player of the Month (POTM) and YPOTM awards; hardly surprising after he delivered ten goals.

December 2023

The Christmas Season really was The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Oldham Athletic, with five wins, two draws and 22 goals scored. Depressing, no more!

It was also fairly typical that we conceded in seven out of eight. But, the we'll score one more than you approach was proving successful!

RJJ continued in scintillating form. Quite incredibly he breached 30 goals in mid-December and retained December's POTM and YPOTM awards with seven goals in seven. However the surprise star of the month was my experienced pro Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who stepped up to score four and assist four.

Our form this month saw us climb the table. The win against Sheff Wed saw us only three points behind Pompey in 1st, although they had a game in hand. Our huge 4-1 win away at Villa Park coincided with a slip up for Pompey, so we went top on goal difference. They then lost their game in hand! We drew with WBA, so I thought we'd fallen back to 2nd, but they lost again and we stayed top by a point at the end of the year. It's worth noting that Wolves have been building up steam during this time, and are hot on our heels in 3rd.

The highlight of our 5-0 win to end 2023 was two identical goals scored by right back Sam Byram - short lay off from a corner and rifled into the net.

January 2024

January was surprisingly fixture free, with only five games to complete. Two of which were in the FA Cup; firstly we made 10 changes and still delivered a resounding win against League Two Orient (18 year old winger Ronnie Webber was the star with a goal and an assist) and secondly a win against divisional rivals Sheff Wed whereby Bello got his second in the competition.

In our three league games we scored 12 but conceded eight - you could say we are entertaining for the neutrals! Against Millwall my strikers were clinical and my defenders laughable. Forest was a bad day at the office (with the only silver lining being Butler's Goal of the Month winning strike) that took Pompey back level with us at the top. Brentford was extremely satisfying.

Winger Thomas Hill, on loan from Liverpool, finally made his debut against Millwall after missing the entirety of the season up to that point with a torn calf muscle.

On January 25th I was notified that our 97 league goals were a club record - there are four month left of the season!

It will be no surprise that my MVP to date has been RJJ with his 37 goals in 33 games. He has been ably supported by Falé who has also provided 17 goals and 13 assists. They are the predominant reason why we are breaking goalscoring records. My defence is clearly my weak spot - it is manned by League One to lower Championship players with the one shining light being Willy Kambwala. The 19 year old, on loan from Man Utd, has been a one man defence at times.

At the end of January we are top of the table, albeit with Pompey on equal points and Wolves breathing down our necks. There is a long way to go still, but I am already feeling pleased I jumped back into this passion project of a save.

October 17, 2021

Thanks @Jogo Bonito, good to be back!

Yes events at Oldham IRL have only become even more depressing since I started this endeavour on FM. The one positive is there seems to be a lot of media attention on the club’s plight lately. Hopefully for the fans sake they can find a way forwards (preferably with the owner lowering his asking price and stepping away).

October 17, 2021

Thanks @warlock, always appreciate your messages!

October 17, 2021

Football Manager 2021 very much got me through the lockdown at the start of the year - a combination of this project with Oldham and an online save with my mates kept me preoccupied when there wasn't much else to do. When things opened up again earlier in the year, normality resumed and my life got a lot busier, the appeal to play slipped away. I guess I managed to get burnt out. All in all, I didn't load up FM for 5 months.

In recent weeks however, with FM22 on the horizon, the desire to play has come creeping back. I'm aware that by not posting in this thread for some time, interest has probably waned as memories of the journey so far have become distant. But the completionist in me wants to finish this save somewhere near a conclusion before the release of FM22. So, with that in mind, look out for an update coming soon!

October 17, 2021

Having rarely frequented these forums since I last played my FM career save back in May, I have only just stumbled upon your thread @Jtomsett11. The fact I have now just read every single post is testament to how well written and interesting your career updates have been!

As I am from Jersey, this particularly captured my interest! I have often thought about doing a career save like this, although I am a very slow player (I got FM21 on release day and have only completed four full seasons!) and it would take me forever to get through the football pyramid. I see you have tackled this by doing instant result which seems a wise move - are you tempted to play the games now you are established in the Football League? Since you have done such a good job of writing this up, it saves me the job of attempting the same challenge!

On 01/10/2021 at 15:55, Jtomsett11 said:

I get rid of first names as I find I run out of room otherwise. The letters are (JER) - jersey born, I.e. born in St Helier which is the capital of Jersey and the only town from the island in the game. Then I also add second nationalities or foreign nationalities to anyone from the youth intake. It's something I just enjoy keeping track of.

Just a little bit of Jersey info for you - we only have one hospital on the island which is in St Helier, which is why all players that are generated are listed as being born there. :brock:

May 3, 2021

July 2023

Pre-seasons that I oversee tend to always consist of morale boosting wins over lesser opposition. For me, building confidence and cohesion is more important than testing ourselves against the upper echelon of football. I will also often play a decent number of games, which is because I usually take a large number of players on trial and I wish to run my eye over them, whilst also building the fitness of my contracted players.

The 2023 pre-season took the form of the above, with the obvious exception being the game against our parent club Chelsea. This fixture goes against my pre-season ethos but puts essential funds in our coffers. We performed respectably, scoring twice against a strong side that even had Donnarumma in goal.

As detailed above, there was a lot of comings and goings in the summer. Last season our squad was constructed on a shoe-string and was propelled forward mainly by loanees. This season, after the £10m sale of Callum Doyle to Norwich, we had a budget to spend on improving the depth of my squad. I was pleased with our summer business; we added experience in key areas of the pitch, added pace and depth to our roster of strikers and brought in wingers (of which we had none last season!). We somehow finished 8th last season, despite it being our first in the Championship, and so even though I felt we had improved our squad it would still be a massive challenge to finish higher than we did last time round.

We had finished last season with seven games undefeated, scoring bags of goals on the way, but even with that in mind I did not anticipate we would start the new season so strongly...

August 2023

We started the season with what I thought would be a tough away day in Stoke, but after they took the lead we then scored five in a row and the season was off to a flier. Ricky-Jade Jones scored on his debut, in what would be the first of nine he would score in the month of August (just five games). His scintillating form saw him named as the Championship's Player of the Month for August. I signed him for his electric pace and with the likes of Gudmundsson and Falé providing him quality service, he was not disappointing.

The Stoke game was exciting, but we did concede three goals so I had reservations about the quality of my defence, in comparison to my attack. That concern was eased when we delivered two clean sheets in dominant displays against QPR and Luton. As the month went on, it became clear that Angel and Kambwala were a partnership that really clicked - Kambwala even came third in the Player of the Month awards.

After selling 7,000 season tickets, I was delighted when we pulled in a crowd only 155 away from full capacity against Luton. We had 30 shots, an xG of 4.00 and no shots conceded - not much more we could have done to persuade the fans to come back every week!

With four Championship wins and a League Cup victory in which Falé was the star (I decided to play him up front rather than right wing for this game, and it paid off), a stern test arrived in the form of recently relegated Aston Villa. Their team was star studded (as noted in a prior update) and the game came before their deadline day fire sale. I left Villa Park very pleased with a respectable draw, as I had been expecting that game to be the end of our run of form.

Perhaps most surprising, but thrilling, of all was our 8-0 demolition of West Brom. This was made more shocking by the fact I rested my exhausted strike partnership of RJJ and Deeney. Their replacements certainly staked their claim to start up front more often with Falé getting a hat-trick, and a 10/10 match rating, and Richards getting a brace.

We ended the month with a Carabao Cup game against Premier League Burnley. With the form we were in, I fancied us to get the upset but it wasn't to be. Maintaining our unexpected league form is the priority so this result was quickly forgotten.

September 2023

As you can see, our form has continued into September. After the Brentford win was the first time I properly took notice of the league table - Villa, who had been leading the pack alongside us, drew with Wolves and we went two points clear at the top of the table.

Our form has dipped somewhat, with three score draws to round off the month, but at least we aren't losing.

Preston was a stressful game. We were guilty of being too attacking and left no players in our own half, allowing Alan Browne to run the length of the half and score an easy goal to take the lead. We had two goals disallowed when chasing down a 2-1 loss (a recurring theme for my side who have bags of pace but are often caught offside). Eventually they had a man sent off and we were able to bag a late equaliser. Villa and Pompey both won so we all went equal on points at the top.

We went top again after drawing with Derby, but only by virtue that the other sides didn't play. We rested our tired centre-back pairing against bottom side Reading. I don't think that can be blamed, we just didn't play that great and drew again. Luckily both Pompey and Villa drew their games so we remain top at the close of the month. Dale Taylor, who disappointed for me last season, scored a brace for Swansea against Villa and has therefore gone some way to redeeming himself!

After two months of the season, we are far exceeding expectations and sit top of the table, albeit having played a game more than our rivals. There is a long, long way to go and if I'm honest I think our squad is not in the top 10 strongest in the division. But we will keep going and see if a shock season of success can be delivered - we are currently on a run of 19 league games undefeated. Firstly though, we need to get back to turning draws into wins.

April 8, 2021

I wanted to take a moment to provide a brief update on the new hires appointed to my non-playing staff this summer. My restrictive owners mean that we can't upgrade our facilities, but one thing I can control, within reason, is the quality of my staff. When moving up the divisions, or even moving up your level of ambition within a division, managers can often forget this is an opportunity to upgrade personnel. As budgets and reputation grow, plus staff become available when contracts expire just like players, there are plenty of opportunities.

After a quick check to confirm that there would be candidates of suitable quality to replace them, I let the contracts of many of my key staff expire at the end of the last season. Thanks to Brexit I had to do the first few weeks of pre-season without an Assistant Manager and several other key team member as we were waiting for work permits to be granted. This took a frustratingly long time, although eventually I got the majority of my targets.

Assistant Manager

Forget Ricky-Jade Jones and Miguel Falé, Rubén Uría may well be my signing of the summer. I think his key attributes are phenomenal for a small Championship side. With Assistant Manager roles at Valencia, Villareal and Sevilla on his CV, among other clubs, this feels like a real coup for Oldham Athletic. I just need to hope Marcelino doesn't come calling for his usual right hand man.

Director of Football

As someone who does all their own transfers and contract negotiations, a Director of Football is perhaps not essential. I do though value the option to request transfer targets to see if there are options I'm yet to consider. There is value, therefore, in ensuring this advice is as good as it can be by hiring the DoF with the best stats available. This will be Jamie Bentley's first role in football.

Coach

Another appointment I am very excited about is that of coach David Lowe. Very capable in nearly all coaching disciplines, Lowe has a great deal of experience having fulfilled the role of Coach, Assistant Manager and Head of Youth Development at Blackburn during his career.

Chief Scout

Anybody who has been employed by Man United for five years has pedigree. Although Kei Tamura's knowledge of Japan might not be that relevant, he has great awareness of England and has a talent for spotting talent.

I also hired a newgen scout, Pablo Soler, to support Tamara's player acquisition department after my Colombian scout Juan Mauricio Echeverria was poached by Brighton

Goalkeeping Coach

I ventured out to Sweden to poach goalkeeping coach Jonas Bohlin from first division side Orebro SK. He is a big upgrade on my former 'keeper trainer.

I also brought in Frederic Petereyns as my new U18s GK coach. Petereyns had spent the prior 20 years as a first team GK coach in Ligue Un and the French National League so I was pleased to persuade him to coach my goalkeepers of tomorrow.

Finally, I also hired a talented young Dutchman named Tom De Wit to be my new Sports Scientist, after previous incumbent Tom Bromley was bought out of his contract by Brighton.

Along with all the new faces, I was also pleased to offer new contracts to physio Matt Brown and scouts Vicente and Erwin Vandenbergh, men who have served me well since the start of this adventure in League Two.

April 7, 2021

4 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

You sign some great and experienced players.I would like to see Pelkas progress in your team.

Thanks @Sheriff7!

4 hours ago, warlock said:

Sounds like my every transfer window ever . But it looks like you managed to do some very good business. Good luck

Cheers @warlock - at least my struggles are relatable :lol:

April 6, 2021

Central Midfielders

One of the key contributions to last seasons over-achievement was the relationship we brokered with Chelsea - we were able to take on a number of talented youngsters with no cost to ourselves. I returned to Cobham again, this time persuading them to lend me Argentinian playmaker Fausto Vera. A product of the Argentinos Jrs academy, he spent last season (yes you guessed it) on loan at Vitesse. I thought they would reject my offer and send him somewhere more prestigious, but was pleasantly surprised.

After being rejected by a number of free transfer targets, I realised I would need to once again dip into the loan market to bulk up my central midfield options. Xavier Simons had been on loan at Boundary Park last season, but when I asked to keep him for another year he rejected me. I decided to try again a few months later, and was pleased to find he'd changed his mind. I'd made him club captain for a few months last season, so he was a player who already has my trust.

Conscious that we'd exceeded the amount of players on loan you can play in one match, I knew I needed to bulk my squad out with players who we actually owned. Luke Dreher is not a flashy signing, but the former Crystal Palace prospect does give us depth.

Three loanees is more than I would like in one position, but I am at least pleased with the quality. It is worth noting this is less on loan CMs than last time around!

Carl Winchester is a player I like but who couldn't hold down a starting berth last season. When Montreal Impact started showing an interest I decided to cash in and sell the Northern Irishman for £1.4m.

Wingers

I intend to be flexible with which wings my wide players play on, switching from wingers to inverted wingers to suit their needs - I am therefore grouping them together for this squad round up.

Gudmundsson really suits my tactical intentions as he is best suited as a right or left midfielder in a 4-4-2, rather than a winger in a 4-2-3-1, which is predominantly what was available. A Premier League player up until this point, the Icelandic international brings a touch of class and experience to what was a very young squad last season.

With the flexibility to play anywhere across the midfield, Dimitris Plekas will really prove his worth if he we need to mix up our tactics mid season. In the meantime, the creative Greek with serve as a capable option for either of the wings.

Obviously capable of playing up front, local lad Danny Welbeck was recruited because of the work rate I think he will bring to the wings. A slight luxury as I fully intend the former-England international to be a utility / squad option. I think it is a sign of how far we have come that this is the case.

I like to think the youngsters I signed early in the transfer window blend nicely with the more experienced players I signed when there was a little more cash to spare, to form a diverse and capable squad.

Thomas Hill tore his calf muscle in pre-season, ruling him out for four months, which is part of the reason I stocked up so much on wingers.

I toyed with the idea of loaning out young prospect Ronnie Webber but in the end decided to keep him around. I hope I can give him enough minutes to progress his development.

Jake Hesketh was an unfortunate victim of our change of circumstanes. Signed when we were poor, he has since become surplus to requirements and didn't make the cut for our 25 man squad. I intend to sell him in the winter break, just as I did last year!

Strikers

Earlier in the summer I have already signed one rapid forward, when I brought in Ricky-Jade Jones on loan from Newcastle. I added another pacey loan man, recruiting Miguel Falé from Leicester. My original intentions were that he would play as a right midfielder, but after testing him out up front I found his electric pace was very valuable there too. As an indicator of his quality, it should be noted that the press identified Falé as sixth favourite to finish Young Player of the Year in the Championship.

A completely different type of forward to all my other options; I must admit I fell in love with the idea of signing a leader like Troy Deeney as soon as I saw his mental attributes. Admittedly his wage is steep, but it is a one year deal and we are well within our budgets. I don't expect him to start all games, but I hope he will be a great option. Upon his arrival, I made Deeney captain and this has gone down well with the squad.

We are simply stacked when it comes to forwards. I will be shocked if goals are hard to come by.

The victim in all of this will likely be JHI who has contributed phenomenally in recent seasons but whom I can see slipping down the pecking order behind RJJ, Falé and Deeney.

I sold striker Sam Smith to Hull for £575k as we are clearly overloaded up top. I will likely sell another forward in January but for now we start the campaign with options.

Wish us luck for the season ahead!

April 6, 2021

In advance of the 2023/24 season commencing, I will now run through what my squad looks like after another busy transfer window. I have already profiled the signings made before 30 June when Doyle was sold, so all signings highlighted are in the AD era (after Doyle).

After ending last season in form, with five wins and two draws in our last seven games, following a tactical switch to 4-4-2. This will once again be the approach that we primarily take. Signings have been made with this system in mind.

Goalkeepers

Joe Lumley remains my number one, but I wanted to upgrade the quality of his competition if possible. Alex Smithies has a great deal of experience and a lot of quality attributes. Rated 3 stars, the same as Lumley, I was pleased to bring this stopper in on a free from Cardiff.

I tried to loan out 23 year old Canadian 'keeper Thomas McGill but there were no takers. I need him to play to develop, so he has been dropped to the U23s. I have a big squad for the season ahead, so unfortunately he was unable to be registered. I believe though, that I have two goalkeepers capable of being my number one.

Right Backs

An experienced player with good all round mental attributes, Sam Byram provides competition for Fran. My Spanish right back hasn't put a foot wrong over the last two seasons, but I hope Byram will put the pressure on him to keep it up. Byram's ability to play left back also appealed to me, as you can never have too much versatility.

In September, well after the transfer window had closed, I spotted a player with good potential to add to the full back ranks. Developed in Middlesbrough, the young Uruguayan Cayetano Fernandez is certainly one for the future.

With the addition of Byram to the first team squad, Josh Hare was surplus to requirements and therefore sold to St Johnstone for £180k.

Left Backs

I had a £245k deal agreed for Arsenal left back Joel Lopez, however he failed to gain a work permit and ended up signing for Girona instead.

After some reflection, and despite my reservations about the performances of CBJ last season, I decide to stick with him and Butler for the upcoming campaign. The flexibility of Byram means I do have another option for this side if needed. Young left back Jamie Davidson, who I gave a debut to on the last day of the prior season, was loaned to Hereford for experience.

Centre Backs

At the point of signing Willy Kambwala we had already taken five players on loan, but I just could not neglect the opportunity to sign a player of his quality once I'd discovered him. Quick and strong, great anticipation and positioning, and strong in all the key defensive attributes. The Man United loanee could turn out to be my most important signing.

Kambwala will partner Angel, who I signed much earlier in the transfer window from the MLS. I have high hopes for them as a defensive pairing.

With no need for six centre backs on the books, I decided to sell Robert Costa to Grimsby for £115k. He had done nothing wrong, the club had just outgrown him. Had it not been for an eight week injury, sustained in August, then Costa's former partner Bolger may well have joined him through the exit too.

In the update to follow I shall introduce you to my midfield and attack.

April 6, 2021

When I last wrote an update it was brimming with optimism. We had just sold Callum Doyle to Premier League Norwich for £10m and I was excited to spend some of the cash on improving my squad. What followed was a long, long summer. Although we now had riches we'd never experienced before, our reputation was still smaller than some League One clubs. This meant that there were many players we were interested in but they simply were not interested in us. Perhaps crueler were the players who expressed interest only to go elsewhere. There were nine players who we had on trial (the pick of the bunch being striker Rafa Mir), offered them contracts, they seemed willing and then at the last moment they went elsewhere. It felt like we were being used as a fitness building centre, over and over again. All in all, a demoralising process.

Poor Facilities Impact Reputation

With some of the Doyle sale proceeds going into my transfer budget and some going directly into the club's coffers, our financial standing had never been better. In fact the overall balance was £16m. I approached the owner to see if we could improve the training facilities and, disappointingly but in no way surprisingly, the request was rejected.

Whilst we continue to have poor training and youth facilities, we will continue to struggle to recruit players. And, as long as I have owners who refuse to support the growth of the club, I will always have an uphill battle on my hands.

It's The Hope That Kills You

You can imagine my delight when I saw reference to a potential takeover on 11 August, 2023. The news article wasn't the most positive about the probability of this happening, but I have seen many takeovers start this way over the years. When I went to the general info page it said that we were in the process of a board takeover. Perhaps the one thing that was keeping Latics fans depressed, even after the success I have brought, would finally be eradicated.

17 September, 2023, was a sombre day in Oldham when the news broke that the takeover had been shut down by the owner. There has been no speculation since. I continue to live on with hope that we can one day escape the Lemsagem brothers.

Shark Infested Waters

Competing in the Championship as a small side is already a challenge, but it is worth mentioning that things were to get a lot more competitive this season thanks to the quality of the team's relegated from the Premier League. In quite a surprise, both Aston Villa and Wolves came down. Completing a Midlands treble, they were also joined by Birmingham.

Aston Villa sold five players for a total of £125m on transfer deadline day. Despite that, they remain a daunting threat as they are managed by Luciano Spalletti and kept hold of the likes of Jack Grealish, Nick Pope, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Xherdan Shaqiri and Billy Gilmour. Meanwhile Wolves still have quality players such as Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore, Conor Coady and Nelson Semedo, despite being in the second tier.

Incremental Improvements

Despite the challenges outlined in this update, I have managed to put together a squad that I am excited about. I believe I have improved most areas of the pitch and am particularly excited about my selection of wingers and pacy forwards. After so many deals, where I was going to up the wage bill to bring in quality, fell through - I have treated myself to a few short term deals. By that I mean, I have signed a handful of experienced players who will add quality but likely will only be of use for a season and will have no resale value. We didn't spend a penny on transfer fees and when the window closed we still ranked 21st in the League for wage bill, so I can sleep easy knowing I haven't troubled the clubs accountants!

The transfer window closed with over £3.5m still in the bank. Given our struggle with reputation, this was more of a necessity than a cautious decision. This gives me something to fall back on in January if needed or, if my prayers are answered, we get a better owner in the future.

My next two posts will preview the squad going into our fourth season.

April 4, 2021

On 31/03/2021 at 00:13, Rikulec said:

Oldham retain their status of the most depressing team in recent history - @Dong21 probably won't like the fact that they got relegated!

Just seen this as I haven’t been on the Forum or played any FM for the last couple of weeks. I’m back in the office after a year working from home which has cut into my FM playing time! (Pleased to be back though as it feels like a step towards normality).

Sad to see Oldham go down! Not entirely shocked though as there really are a tonne of issues at that club. I guess the positive is that it makes my success so far look good :brock:

I’ll follow your Southend save with interest @Rikulec. Seems like you’ve started strongly! Losing in the Play-Offs is always disappointing but you exceeded all expectations to get there. Louis Barry seems like a coup of a signing for your second season!

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