LeProfIamNot
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Posts posted by LeProfIamNot
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South Shields FC 2021/2022
League Table Season Review Stats Transfers Awards Profile Finances Promotion Odds
Such an amazing season. By the time I had made some signings, the bookmakers had us coming in 4th. Honestly this club is easy mode for this challenge. The owner continues to dump funds and finance our project. I didn't turn over the squad as drastically as last season, but there was definitely some turnover. When all the loan listings came out, I went after 3 of them. After those signings, the bookmakers had us coming in 1st. I felt this was a tall order because I know it's going to take half a season to get everybody settled in. We bounced around the top 6 the whole season. I remember being 11 points off the leaders at one point later in the campaign and I was trying so hard to manage may way into the top 3 for automatic promotion. With 6 games left, I was feeling very confident we'd be promoted, but the impossible happened. The leader slipped and we had an easy schedule, playing mostly relegation zone sides. Down to the last day of the season, we were 2 point behind the leader, and holy crap we won the league on goal difference that last day. We won, and the leader drew. Unreal. This season was a real slog. I kept playing our worst sides in the cups but we kept advancing and I really needed more rotation during the heavy areas during the season. Everybody was extremely tired and we had stretches were all we could do was draw numerous games in a row. This was one of the most satisfying seasons I've ever had.
Standout Performers
Christian Norton - Really, everything was about this guy right here. We had other great players, but Christian was everything. When I saw him go up for loan I basically had to make room for him. I honestly can't remember how many times this guy scored 3-5 goals in a game. I know he scored 5 goals in a game at least twice. I remember him scoring 4 once or twice also. He easily walked away with the league player of the year. He spearheaded our high press and was just relentless both on and off the ball. I wanted desperately to re-loan him but Southampton aren't willing to let him stay another season. Honestly I don't blame them. He should probably be playing in the Championship. I will definitely be monitoring his progress, though, and see if he's still available later in the window.
Goals Moving Forward
Well, given that my goal last time was a mid-table finish, maybe I'm not so good about gauging my goals. I don't think I have the funds or the reputation to secure players that will allow me to jump to the front of the line this season. The board are already asking for a mid-table finish, however, so the pressure is on. One of my youth intake players has extremely high numbers, though, and I just decided to sell him for 2m pounds and a 30% of next sale clause. I'll have to see if this allows me to get a little more creative in the market before the season starts. Honestly, if I can meet expectations this season it'd be great. A triple promotion is about the best I've ever done. I can't imaging being able to pull off a fourth.
Season Results
Season League Finish Notes 2020/2021 Vanarama National League North 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, Division Champion 2021/2022 Vanarama National 2nd 2 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, Playoff Promotion 2022/2023 Sky Bet League Two 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Division Champion0 -
South Shields FC 2021/2022
League Table Season Review Stats Transfers Awards Profile Finances Promotion Odds
Great season. I turned over my squad again and signed another bunch of youngsters released from big clubs. I completely decimated my dynamics. No leaders, no experience, nothing. After the recruitment, the bookmakers had me at 3rd but with the turnover this bad, I didn't think I could win the league or even come close. That said, we were near the top of the table all year but Aldershot were just too good. With 1/3 of the season left to go, they were 11 points ahead of us. We were doing well but dropping points here and there to clubs near the relegation zone when playing away. We were down to 6th position or so, and we made a few tweaks and I started to manage our squad selection and managed the schedule a bit better. We started to hit a stride and Aldershot started dropping points at the tail end of the campaign. With 5 games left to go, I noticed we were 2 points away from them. I thought maybe we had a shot at taking it, but it wasn't to be. We dropped some points, as did they, and we ended up in 2nd for the playoffs. Playing both playoff games at home, we dominated, as we've done at home all season. A fine campaign that got me 2 manager of the month awards, manager of the year, and promotion via the playoff.
Standout Performers
Kido Taylor-Hart was released from Arsenal and immediately took Harlem Hale's spot as the AML Inside Forward. Hale played well, backing Taylor-Hart up and playing AMR though. Kido was consistent pretty much all year and was a must start every game.
Joe Hardy was a beast. We went into the campaign with last season's star, Murkendie, at striker, who had a minor injury early on and couldn't regain his previous year's form. Hardy was my 3rd choice striker that just started to click and became a scoring machine.
Goals Moving Forward
Squad building again, except this time I have to avoid mass turnover. I believe this squad, as it stands, can keep us up in League Two. We had a financial windfall selling a transfer clause on a teenager that got us about 500k. That and the board provided roughly 450k so we have a lot of money in the bank. I want to try to be frugal this year by spending big in some key spots if possible, and saving some ammunition for next season. We'll see how that goes.
Season Results
Season League Finish Notes 2020/2021 Vanarama National League North 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, League Champion 2021/2022 Vanarama National 2nd 2 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, Playoff Promotion0 -
On 15/12/2019 at 06:37, tremor said:
After all these years of playing I never knew you could do that! Amazing... Much much easier
Word of advise, don't wait until June. Get reports on all the youngsters on the last year of their deal a number of months before June. Lots of them will start getting set for release way before June. Even the ones that aren't set for release can be brought in on trial way before June. By the first of June, I usually already have most of my targets trialed with 100% knowledge, shortlist ready. I start offering contracts and get them signed before the end of June. Once you get into July, competition becomes much tougher.
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South Shields FC 2020/2021
League Table Season Review Stats Transfers Awards Profile Finances Promotion Odds
Such a crazy first season. I started like I always start lower league management. Dump the players that won't fit into my system and sign as many youngsters released from the big clubs in the country. I maxed my trials out and signed a lot of teenagers from the who's who of academies. I started out picked for 20th and when my signings were done, the bookmakers had us coming in 3rd. I felt there was no way we wouldn't win the league. Given my past history, I was sure we would dominate and win the league by 15-20 points. Boy was I wrong!
I forgot how difficult managing in England is. The last few years I've moved around Scandanavia, Russia, staying out of England completely. The intensity as far as fixture congestion goes is so hard during the first half of the season. We did fantastic but had 2 stretches where our form dropped. Towards the end of the season I was sure we wouldn't win the league. We were dropping points against teams in the relegation zone. But luckily, Kidderminster slipped a bit in the last 3 games and it allowed us to slip ahead and take the league.
My plan for next season is exactly the same. Take as many trials as I can and continue with free transfers from the large clubs. With only 2 scouts and low player knowledge, you just can't make headway going that route. Taking 30-40 trials at a time is the best way to go. I've been keeping tabs on the players I didn't sign last summer though, so I have a nice catalog of players now. I have lots of dead wood at the end of the season so I'll probably be making a lot of signings again. I'm confident we'll hold our ground and stay up, but I really don't think we'll be winning the league again.
The other thing to add is the advantage managing this club brings. Our wage budget was 2nd in the league which gave us a great jumping off point. And with a professional status, we have a huge advantage. I believe National is going to be difficult, though, so we'll see how it goes. Our wage budget isn't that much larger than last year. I really maxed the budget and, in fact, went over it by a bit.
Standout Performers
Harlem Hale is a Southamption release. HIs physicals and flair was too good to pass up. I played him as my AML inside forward and he just tore up the league. He was voted our player of the season and was runner up goal scorer in the league.
Jeremie Mukendi is a Tottenham release. His physicals and determination was a must sign. He lead the line as my pressing forward for the second half of the season. He started the first chunk of games and did very well, but his excellent starting form dropped off a ledge and he had to sit on the bench for a while. My other striker was playing quite well but when his form dipped, Jeremie got another chance and hit the ground sprinting. He scored hat tricks like they were going out of style. He had 17 goals in our last 13 games and established himself as a powerhouse. My staff is telling me that he's League Two level right now and I have him signed for another 2 seasons.
There were a few other nice signings but nothing as excellent as these two. I'll be looking for both these players to contribute heavily if we're to make a dent in National this season.
Goals Moving Forward
Squad building. I need more youngsters with great physicals and I need more of them to have high determination. I'm not sure how well we'll be able to keep our pressing game going forward, as the board is now expecting that from us. Playing pressing, attacking football in National is going to be tough but we're sure going to try. I'm no going to worry much about finances. The board are very liberal with wages and they have shown that they will back the club financial when needed. They provided cash injections 3-4 times during the last year so they seem like a stand up bunch when it comes to putting their money where there mouth is.
Season Results
Season League Finish Notes 2020/2021 Vanaramal National League North 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year0 -
Did this a few years ago with Kingstonian and had fun. Gonna give it a go this year with South Shields.
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dafuge's FM20 challenge
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments
Posted · Edited by LeProfIamNot
South Shields FC 2021/2022
League Table Season Review Stats Transfers Awards Profile Finances Promotion Odds
Another promotion by taking 2nd place in the division. Just... wow! That's 4 in a row. Best I've ever done by far. It really goes to show what can happen when you have the financial backing of a board committed to getting to the top. I was fortunate to get a 2mil bid for a kid we got in our youth intake, but honestly I probably shouldn't have taken it because the board will just keep injecting any cash needed to keep the train rolling ahead. We burned through that 2 mil by the end of this season and they immediately dumped 970k into the bank. That said, I have been very fortunate with injuries, as well as ROI on players brought in. I have numerous players that have been with the club for 3+ years and continue to impress with each new challenge. I started out thinking, as always, just avoid relegation. But the board was expecting a mid-table finish. The bookmakers have us at 8th. I just knew we had a chance to make the playoffs but coming in 2nd was not on my radar at all. I brought most of the core squad into the season to hold our cohesion. I even brought in 2 loan players again, and signed another loan permanently. We have something really special going right now but there's just no way I could expect to gain promotion to the Premier League next season. I just don't have the budget and although so far I've defied the odds with the money provided, getting through the Premier League caliber clubs at the top of the Championship is going to take some work. I fully expect the real work to start now, although I've said that the last 2 seasons.
Standout Performers
Arianit Ferati - Brought in this year to provide danger from the AMR position. He looked perfect given his playmaker qualities and flair, exactly what I expect from my AMR role. He delivered on everything and then some. I haven't yet seen the league player of the year result yet, but he should get it. I always expect creativity and assists from this role in my system but scoring 14 goals was an amazing return. I usually expect the bulk of the wide goals to come from my AML but he was best of both. Unfortunately he was insisting on only a 2 year deal and I'm stuck extending him right now due to wage and release clause demands. I may just have to bite the bullet because I think he could put up decent numbers in the Championship.
Victor Adeboyejo - I had brought in 3 strikers this season. One was the loan player that crushed last season, Christian Norton. He played very, very well, don't get me wrong, but he went through a lull in the beginning of the season and so I tried my other striker, who did well, but not enough to make my head turn. During this time, I was playing Victor off the bench pretty much every game. When I looked at his per 90 minutes stats, he was really crushing it, slightly better than Norton. I decided to give him a run of games starting and he became the first name on the team sheet every game. I really hope he can make an impact at Championship level though. If I can't acquire Norton on loan again this season, I'll have to bring somebody else in that can give Victor competition.
Goals Moving Forward
It's pretty simple really. Bring a few players in to replace my current crop of deadwood, but focus more on contracts and not letting contracts expire any more. I tend to do that a lot while I'm ramping up divisions because there just isn't time to build value and sell everybody that goes out the door. At this level, however, you can't afford to let people leave for free, so I need to do good contract planning and good selling. That said, the sugar daddy board will probably make this less of an issue but I'm going to do my best to do a good job of it. We just need to hold our own in the Championship, stay up, and see where we stand in comparison to everybody else. We're severely behind regarding stadium. The end of the last season we were selling out our 5750 seat stadium consistently. The board has started to expand by another 3-400 seats, but that's just not going to be enough. It's going to take years to build the facilities that will be required to get to the premier division and have a chance to win the champions league. This club definitely has what it takes though. No doubt.
Season Results
Season League Finish Notes 2023/2024 Sky Best League One 2nd 1 Manager of the Month, Automatic Promotion 2022/2023 Sky Bet League Two 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Division Champion, Automatic Promotion 2021/2022 Vanarama National 2nd 2 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, Playoff Promotion 2020/2021 Vanarama National League North 1st 1 Manager Of The Month, Manager Of The Year, Division Champion, Automatic Promotion