Jimbokav1971

Young hotshot. Nov 2055. I tend to not pay much attention to U18 games. I look at the end of the season and of course it's great if they do well, but in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter either way. This bloke continues to catch my eye though. He's made 3 U21 appearances this season, (scoring 1 goal), but he's still only 16 so the bulk of his games will be for the U18's, and that's where he's absolutely excelling. He's scored 36 goals in 30 appearances so far this season, (but it's only November), and I'm concerned that he's playing too much football. He recently went 3 games without scoring for the U18's, but has still managed to score 28 goals in his last 20 games for them. He's been a regular contributor for the U21's too, with 8 goals in 9 appearances. His goal-scoring exploits in aged-group football have even prompted a call-up to the 1st Team, (although he didn't get on). I know he's not amazing and he also only has 4.0 PA, but the number of goals he is scoring is not something I have seen before in this save, so it's making me sit up and take notice. Someone, (I've just checked and it was @BML), asked earlier in the thread if he had been called up for (VGB) or if he had chosen to represent Scotland, and I'm surprised to report that he STILL hasn't been called up by (VGB), despite obviously being plenty good enough even at 16 years old. He's currently a League 2 level player, but I think I might loan him out in Jan because concerned that he's playing too much football for our U18's.

Clauses. Nov 2055. Because our finances are in such a good position, this is an area that I haven't really looked at much in recent seasons, but I need to keep an eye on things so we don't miss out. (45g) McCroary (Merc) 6'4"SELL is a 26 year old centre-half who is playing in the Championship for Falkirk. He's valued at £700k-£1.4M and has 2 years left on his contract. I think it makes sense to leave this clause in place, especially so considering Falkirk are doing well, (2nd in the Championship), and (45g) McCroary (Merc) 6'4"SELL is featuring regularly. (48b) Rodger (IRL) (Merc) * is a 23 year old left winger who is playing in the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen. He's valued at £13M-£16.5M and interestingly has "popped from Merc to Perfect. He has 3+1 years left on his contract and is playing regularly so I think I will leave this clause in place. (50c) Sørensen (FRO) (Fickle) is a 21 year old Faroese International AMC at Ross County in the Premiership, (although he isn't playing). £52k makes no difference to us so I will just leave it there and if we get something out of it then great. (51i) Pascazio (IRL) (F.Pro) * is a 20 year old GK who is playing at Monza in Serie A, and is actually starting for them after his recent move. His valuation is only £150k - £1.5M, but with exposure to the 1st Team so early I wonder if this might change. He's started all their games this season and he is their best GK so that's unlikely to change unless they sign someone in Jan. £150k isn't much so I will hold onto the clause. (52c) Aly (IRL) (EGY) (Spirit) is a 19 year old GK at Torino in Serie A, (although he isn't playing). He's currently valued at £80k-£100k, so £91k for a 50% share would seem to be a very good deal, but he's still a teenager and is on a 4+1 deal so I think I will hang onto the clause and see how he develops. (52k) Weatherston (L.Det) is a 19 year old MC currently playing in North Macedonia on loan from Dundee. He doesn't have a 2nd Nationality so I have no idea what he's doing out there. I don't even recognise this player a little but. He's currently valued at £8k-£85k and is on a 2 year contract at Dundee. I think I'm going to cash in on this clause because he looks rubbish and I can't see anyone paying anything for him ever. I know it's only £33k, but it's £33k more than we had before. (53i) Ślęczka (Res) 6'5" is an 18 year old TM currently out on loan at Albion Rovers in the Lowland League from Kilmarnock. We sold him for just £7,500 (plus add-ons), and I don't think he's completely rubbish, (especially for a teenager). He's scored 3 times in 9 games this season and is a (POL) U21 International with 4+1 years on his Kilmarnock contract. I'm tempted to hang onto this clause but I think that will be a waste so I'm going to cash it in. Those are just the clauses that we have an offer for. We have so many clauses available. (40a) Brass4 (Pro) * SELL is valued at £31M so 25% of that is significant, and while an International cap is probably unlikely at 31 years old, it's also not completely impossible or ridiculous. (40b) Stewart (IRL)(F.Pro) * might have scored against us recently for Rangers, but they're still paying for him. (40o) Banner (F.Pro) * SELL isn't going to get capped, but he's valued at £4.9M by Rangers and is featuring regularly for them despite only being 5'11". I would sell the 25% clause for a decent offer though because he's 30 years old and is just contracted to the end of this season with a +1 available on top of that. 30 year old (41b) Gourley (NIR)(F.Sport)* is playing at West Ham in the Premier League, (and he is actually playing). A Scottish International with 21 Caps and 6 International goals, we're going to get quite a few of these clauses triggered I think. (42b) Potter (F.Pro) * is a 29 year old MC at Atlanta in the USA. He's playing regularly but also being tracked by 4 Middle East clubs. Currently valued at £13.5M, that should be a nice little earner and what the hell was I doing with the instalments here!!! (That's really cheeky). (42g) Niven (Bal) 5'11" * is a 29 year old GK at Livingston in the Premiership, (but he isn't playing). Their 1st choice GK is (41h) Cairney (M.Citizen)6'2"* (who is much better), and I think we will get nothing for the 25% clause because he will probably leave on a free at the end of the season. (45b) Dick (F.Pro) SELL is a 26 year old striker at Dundee Utd in the Championship. He's playing regularly and has scored 19 goals in 2 and a half seasons so not exactly setting the World alight. He's valued at £600k-£1.3M and has 4 years left on his contract so might still generate us some cash. He's a left-sided striker and I really liked him when he was with us. (45e) Brass6 (Fickle) MC * is a 26 year old MC at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. He's playing regularly and I think there is a reasonable chance of him being capped at some point. Currently valued at £24M-£37M and with 4+1 years left on his whopping £145k pw contract, I think there is a decent chance of some of these clauses being triggered. (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" SELL is a 25 year old GK at Motherwell in the Premiership. He's actually playing after his £86k move and as a result is now valued at £300k. is on a 3+1 deal. (48g) Fowler (F.Sport) 6'0" * is a 22 year old GK at Airdrieonians in the Premiership, (but isn't playing). They have a +1 on him after this season and he's currently valued at £65k-£650k. Unfortunately I think it's likely he will be leaving on a free. (49b) Courts (Bal) * SELL is a 21 year old SC playing at Bournemouth in the Premier league. He's valued at £6.2M-£8.8M on a 4+1 deal. He's made 7 sub appearances for them in the Premier League and has started and scored in the Carabao Cup. I've never done a deal with so many clauses that I've had to scroll before. Most of them are for quite small amounts, but they all add up over time. FIngers crossed he can feature more regularly for Bournemouth in the future. (50d) McCulloch (Sport) is a 21 year old MC at Airdrie in the Premiership. he made 1 league appearance last season, but none so far this season. He's signed to a 2+1 deal and is valued at £85k-£275k. (51d) Montgomery(Bal)(NIR) WBR is a 20 year old utility player at Dunfermline Athletic in the Championship on loan from Rangers. HG Lloyd is a player who was poached from our Academy by Aberdeen. He's an 18 year old ML at Inverurie Locos in League 2 on loan from Aberdeen. He's valued at £40k-£425k and is on a 2 year deal at Aberdeen.

Oct 2055. Scottish Premiership. Our 2nd Team, (midweek), form in the league hasn't been great so far this season. We lost to Kilmarnock and Celtic and then Aberdeen this month, (although the Celtic loss was my fault for screwing up the squad rotation), with just 1 win against Hearts, but then they bounce back from that and go and smash Hibs 3-1 away!!!! The win over Hibs means that we're still in contention, (although they do have a game in hand), and the 3 teams at the top are now 7 points clear of 4th and a little gap appears to be developing. Land of the Giants. The Rangers game was interesting in so much that their 1st goal was scored by our ex player (40b) Stewart (IRL)(F.Pro) * and their winner was scored by Gritti 6'5" who is a left winger and obviously 6'5". It's interesting that they have a 3rd BIG player after I commented about Selfridge 6'5" who was the TM I would have built their team around to get out of the Championship, and more recently Edwards (ENG) 6'6" who is an ageing striker (33 years young), and obviously 6'6". They're not the only big lads at the club though. The suggestion here is that Rangers are playing a very direct style, (eventually), and are completely embracing direct, route 1 hoofball. This is further supported by the fact that they have won the 3rd most headers in the league, but also have the highest Headers won % at 54%. This gives me an idea for a save whereby I'm only able to sign players over a certain height, play a really direct game with a TM and concentrate enormously on set-pieces. I mean proper EXTREME TM stylee! You know, the more I think about that, the more I might really like it and it could be a really fun save. It also might allow me to really get to grips with the set-piece situation in FM25. Champions League. It's interesting that Benfica also employed a big 6'4" TM against us to good effect. We seem to be struggling in that area at the moment. That probably makes sense when our 1st Team DC's are 6'4", 6'2" and 6'0" and our 2nd Team DC's are 6'3, 5'11 & 6'2", so there is certainly some mismatches to exploit there for the opposition. At the same time though there is absolutely nothing we can do about it because I can't just go out and sign new centre-backs. Internationals. Transfers. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 65/82 from the spot at 79%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. (Is no longer at the club). Finances.

Sep 2055. Scottish Premiership. It was almost a brilliant month and I'm afraid I have to take full responsibility for the Celtic loss. I played the 2nd Team in error, and this game was sandwiched in between the Frankfurt and Livingston games, (so they played 3 times in 8 days rather than having a whole weeks rest between games). The players obviously weren't hugely fatigued or I would have noticed, (I think), but at the same time they wouldn't have been as fresh as they would have been will a full weeks rest. Additionally, the Hibs & Celtic games are the toughest games in the league campaign and they're really games that our 1st Team need to play to win. Even our 1st Team aren't good enough to beat Hibs at the moment, but I think they would have had a better chance against Celtic. There's already a 6 point gap between us in 3rd and 4th placed Airdrie. UEFA Champions League. We've been able to register 16 players this season. Everyone else is either under the age that they require registration, or is out on loan. Still, it's a decent start. League Cup. The 2nd Team needed pens to sneak past Livingston. Neil Brock. He's a member of SI staff @Neil Brock, (quite senior), and is a player in my game who is causing me absolute nightmares. He used to play for Hibs and was a thorn in my side there, but now he's at Celtic and he has just torn us a new one in the league game this month. The only thing that gives me any satisfaction here is that I'm guessing Neil is a Man Utd fan in real life, and he spent 2 years at Liverpool in this save and scored more goals for Liverpool than he did for Man Utd. Internationals. We've had 4 players called up to the (SCO) Senior side. 7 of the 23 man (SCO) senior squad are now products of our Academy. The message says we have 5, but you can clearly see that we have 7. (41c) Hogarth (Res) 5'9" * was sold too quickly to be classed as HG at club I think. (51c) Mackie (F.Pro) (IRL) * got injured playing for Scotland against Wales and is no longer in the squad. Transfers. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 65/82 from the spot at 79%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. (Is no longer at the club). Finances.

Aug 2055. Scottish Premiership. I'm relatively happy with how we've started this campaign. We were really unlucky against Kilmarnock and they won 1-0 courtesy of an OG and our 2nd Team strikers just just couldn't put the ball in the net. Ahead of the Hibs game, (who are the huge title favourites and ridiculously strong this season), I was buoyed by the news that their 20 year old Greek striker, (who scored 9 goals in their 1st 4 Premiership games this season), had been sold to Man City for just £24M(£32M) and was immediately worth £175M+ at Man City. We had 3 glorious chances in the opening 10 mins against Hibs, (but didn't take them), and they made us pay by weathering the storm and converting their chances when they came. Really frustrating game. Scottish League Cup. Who cares! They're friendlies in all but name. UEFA Champions League Fixtures. Transfers. Season Tickets. Our capacity is 16,154 so it's good to see a decent increase here. Our average attendance last season was 14, 762 and although we only had 4 sell-outs last season, our lowest attendance in the league was 12,913 so we're certainly moving in the right direction. It's probably time to start looking at a stadium expansion, (before we actually need it). The problem with that is that a stadium expansion usually reduced the stadium capacity while the work is going on. Even ignoring other income, season ticket income leaves us at an enormous disadvantage. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 64/80 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. (Is no longer at the club). Finances.

Good spot. I absolutely DON'T need to sell the best players for financial reasons, but there is a problem with the best CA players clogging up the pathway for those with lower CA but seemingly better PA. Of course I could keep the top CA players and loan the higher PA players out, but I've done that, (to a degree), and now is just the time to make the switch. I generally only show you the 5.0 PA and 4.5 PA players, but we have loads with better PA than our best CA and at some point the swap needs to be made. On the other hand, if we keep swapping for higher PA players then we will forever be chasing CA and never actually getting there, so there is a balance to be had there too. This is what our 1st Team looks like now. And if I sort it by CA to make it easier to see then it looks like this. The CA there is reasonable now at best, with just 5x players with better than 3.0 CA. Now compare that to PA. 7x 5.0 PA players. 4x 4.5 PA players. 3x 4.0 PA players. 7x 3.5 Players. So while we only have 5x players with better than 3.0 CA..... We have 21x players with better than 3.0 PA..... My strategy was/is to keep a large bank balance so that El Chieftain does not become involved in incoming transfer bids, and now that we're comfortably over £100M I can complete relax about that. Money in the bank has another benefit though, (other than reputation), and that's because it allows us to be given a higher wage budget. Even 1 year ago I couldn't afford to offer our best players a new contract. We just couldn't afford it, so basically when our best players came to the end of their 5+3 initial deals, (or whatever I managed to sign them on), then they would be leaving on a free if I didn't manage to sell them 1st. Now because we have a much improved wage budget, (only happened in the 2nd half of last season), we can look to break our current wage model and offer significantly improved terms, (If we so wish). The problem with that is that it will affect the demands of everyone and our wages will soon soar. We currently have a wage budget of approx £50.8M per year, but we're only spending £7M per year, so while there is enormous scope for expansion of wages, we don't actually have the guaranteed income to fund these increased wages because the money we have generated has been driven by player sales, so on the 1 hand selling the high CA players means that we can now offer our better players better terms, but in doing so we're effectively committing to selling more high CA players. Does that make sense? At the moment I'm relatively happy with how things are developing and I don't really mind the 4 big player sales at all. 1 of them, (45e) Brass6 (Fickle) MC * was perhaps 12 months too soon, but it was a good deal so I took advantage of the interest. The other 4 deals I was completely happy with because of the replacements we had available.

Jul 2055. Scottish Premiership. A decent start to the campaign. Transfers. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 63/79 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. Finances.

Jun 2055. Season Tickets. Transfers. Reputation. Before the season ticks over. After the season ticks over. 7,016 Hibs. 6'731 Tullibody. 6,708 Celtic. 6,672 Aberdeen. 5,664 Rangers. Job Interview. Nation Club rankings. European Club rankings. Internationals. Finances.

Squad Depth. Jun 2055. GK. 1st Team. (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * 2nd Team. Loan. (44f) Gordon (F.Pro) 6'1" * Loan. (45c) Paskowski(POL)(Bal)6'0 * Loan. (49h) Broughton (USA)(F.Det) * Loan. (53l) King (F.Pro) 6'3" * Loan. (52j) Brass. (Pro) 6'2" U21's. (51i) Pascazio (IRL) (F.Pro) * U18's. (55e) McLean (Pro) 5'10" * U18's. (54k) Weir (Unamb) 6'0" Sell/Release. (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" SELL WBL. 1st Team. (51b) Kirkwood (F.Det) PPM * 2nd Team. (46d) Bentley (AUS)(F.Pro) * Loan. (49f) Clark (Res) PPM * Loan. (50f) Knudsen (FRO)(DEN) 5'5 * Loan. (53b) Cowie (Unamb) 5'3" U21's. (51f) McGrandles (L.Det) 5'10" U18's. (55g) Kingsley. (Bal) Sell/Release. (52p) Grady. (L.Det) SELL WBR. 1st Team. (43a) Quinn (F.Pro) * 2nd Team. (47i) Anthony (Unamb) 6'0" WBR Loan. (50e) Taylor (Unamb) Loan. (54p) Costello. (Bal) U21's. (51h) Smith (Sport) WBR PPM * U18's. (54b) Reid (Bal) * U18's. (55a) Heaver (Res) * U18's. (53f) Stewart. (F.Det) WBR PPM Sell/Release. (52g) Duncan. (F.Pro) SELL Sell/Release. (53h) Tosh. (Unamb) SELL Sell/Release. (52n) Reid. (SCO)(AUS) (Unamb) SELL DC. 1st Team DLC. (44e) Henry (F.Pro) 6'0" * 1st Team DC. (53a) Brownlie (Dri) 5'11" *** 1st Team DRC. (50b) Wilson (Unamb) 6'4" * 2nd Team DLC. (46p) Weir (Driven) 6'1" * 2nd Team DC. (46a) Savoury (Real) * DC 2nd Team DRC. (44h) Lemetti (F.Pro) 6'3"PPM* Loan. (52f) Dorrans (Pro) 5'11" Loan. (53k) Dunne (F.Pro) 6'0" * Loan. (54a) Hopkin (Temp) 5'11" * Loan. (52e) Davidson (F.Sport) U21's. U21's. (53e) Rossiter (Spirit) DC 6'1 U21's. (53o) Moffat (F.Pro) U18's. (55n) McBride (F.Pro) 5'11"DC* U18's. (54j) Hall. (F.Loyal) 6'0" U18's. (54c) Ferguson. (L.Det) 6'2" U18's. (55m) Adams. (Bal) 6'3" Sell/Release. (45g) McCroary (Merc) 6'4"SELL MC. 1st Team MLC. (52a) Fraher (IRL) (F.Det) * 1st Team MRC. (44b) Harvey (Spirit) * 2nd Team MLC. (48c) McKee (L-Heart) * 2nd Team MRC. (49d) Sutherland (Merc) * Loan. (53d) Romanis (F.Pro) * U21's MLC. (51a) Maley (F.Det) (IRL) * U21's MRC. (52b) Hastings (Det) 5'9" * U18's. (53c) Robertson (L.Heart) U18's. (54i) Herron. (Temp) 6'0" U18's. (55d) Gordon (Pro) * U18's. (55h) Erskine (Bal) * U18's. (54l) Morrison. (Bal) PPM Sell/Release. (43b) Bradley (F.Det) * SELL SC. 1st Team SLC. (51c) Mackie (F.Pro) (IRL) * 1st Team SC. (50a) Donald (F.Det) 6'0" * 1st Team SRC. (52d) Porojan (ROU)(Spirit) * 2nd Team SLC. (48a) Edwards (F.Det) 5'5" * 2nd Team SC. (47b) Smith (Det) * 2nd Team SRC. (47a) Currie (Bal) 6'1" * Loan. (47d) Warnock (IRL) (Temp) * Loan. (52o) Stapley (ENG) (Resil) Loan. (54e) Hilson. (Bal) 5'11" U21's SLC. (53m) Koloušek (CZE)(Merc) PPM U21's SC. (50j) McMullan (Unamb) * U21's SRC. (52i) Glass (F.Det) U18's SLC. (54d) Lochhead (Loyal) 5'8" * U18's SC. (53i) Ślęczka (Res) 6'5" U18's SRC. (54b) Reid (Bal) * U18's. (55b) Dunn (Unamb) * U18's. (53m) Koloušek (CZE)(Merc) PPM Sell/Release. (49b) Courts (Bal) * SELL Sell/Release. (46f) Weir (F.Sport) * SELL Sell/Release. (52l) Dunn. (Unamb) SELL Sell/Release. (52m) Butterworth. (Bal) SELL

May 2055. Scottish Premiership. We were running on empty towards the end of the season. Loads of niggly little injuries that seemed to disrupt us in every game. The 2nd Team were not match fit and that's why we lost to Hearts. Celtic slipped into the last European spot. Rangers avoided relegation via the playoff. Scottish Cup. (The Big one). It's great that we won this, but we did so with me on holiday because of the 2 GK issue that I've mentioned. Internationals. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 63/79 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. Finances. Having £58M for transfers doesn't mean much if you can't afford to pay the wages they demand. Although we're only spending £135k pw on wages, we now have a budget of £978k pw. That's us spending £7M on wages in a season when we have an annual budget of £51M. There is no way we're spending £51M on wages in a season.

Not exactly a crash, but I've just had the unable to select a 2nd GK issue again and had to holiday the Scottish Cup FInal. I think this is happening because I'm initially picking only 1 GK, and then I only realise that I have to change it when I get a pop-up message telling me that I need to select a 2nd GK. From that point on though, even if I select a 2nd GK, (or leave a blank space for a 2nd GK), then it doesn't seem to trigger and I'm unable to proceed and nothing I do seems to change it. It's frustrating having to holiday any game, but it's especially frustrating having to holiday a Cup Final. I really just need to be more on the ball and select the 2nd GK in the match day squad at the 1st time of asking and.

Apr 2055. Scottish Premiership. We're just not as good as Hibs. There's just no point pretending otherwise. Rangers are off the bottom of the table because Dundee are appalling. Celtic have missed the split, (as we knew they would), but they are now top of the bottom half, and I expect them to finish 7th and qualify for Europe. Scottish Cup. (The Big one). We play Falkirk in the FInal and they're 4th in the Championship..... 14 points off Motherwell. For the benefit of the FM Gods who see everything, I am sure they will give us a stern test and it's a game that could go either way. Transfers. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 63/78 from the spot at 81%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. Finances.

It takes a while after the intake for International Managers to become aware of the new intakes I think. Maybe I just haven't progressed far enough yet. My game date right now is 2nd Apr 2055 and (55c) Fahie (VGB) (Res) * is still 15 years old, (not 16 until June). He's been an unused sub for our U18's a couple of times, but he hasn't even made his debut for them yet, so it can't really be a surprise that he's not being called up to an International squad. I will keep an eye on him and let you know if and when he gets called up. He's still very much from (VGB) 1st and (SCO) 2nd.

I completely understand it. I remember in a previous save thinking there was a decent chance that something like this was a bug, but until I know for a fact I always have hope.

Mar 2055. Scottish Premiership. How have we dropped 5 points against bloomin Rangers of all people? I'll tell you how! By disparaging them here in the thread and falling foul of the FM Gods. That's how! Scottish Cup. (The Big one). We have a decent chance of making the Final because Partick Thistle are 5th in the Championship. Internationals. Injuries. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 63/78 from the spot at 81%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. Finances.

NxGn 2055. Of course I've won this award before in FM, but I'm almost positive that I have never had #1 & #2 and also pretty sure I haven't had 3 players in the Top 10. We've got 8x 5.0 PA players at the club currently. 4 were on the NxGn list this year. 1 was too old to get on the list this year. Last season we had #8, #10, 20 & #41 (51c) Mackie (F.Pro) (IRL) * was #10 in 2054 and #2 in 2055. (52a) Fraher (IRL) (F.Det) * was #20 in 2054 and #22 in 2055. (53a) Brownlie (Dri) 5'11" * was #8 in 2054 and #9 in 2055 and ridiculously has 2 more years on the list. You might notice that 3 of the 8 players are currently injured, and I'm starting to worry that I am playing them too often, too early and this is taking a toll on them. We've been absolutely smashed with injuries this season.

Thanks for the reply @twocutepenguinsbut I don't actually think you're correct because I've recent managed to do it. I think it's restricted by a number of hidden factors and in my case I think the... "Financial weighting" in Scotland, (I'm not sure what the accurate term is in the game), but the suggestion is basically that a really big club in Scotland is able to spend significantly less money on infrastructure than in comparison to Scotland, so this is somehow factored into the game to make it harder. Other areas that will be of consideration are finances and/or reputation and I think these all play a part. This is our current facilities. And this shows that the Youth Facilities upgrade will be completed in 5 month. I think sometimes, because we can't see the inner workings of the game, we just assume that something is a bug simply because we don't know why it's working as it is. In this case I don't know your situation so it could well be a bug, but from my point of view I was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt for a while and see if I could improve in areas which might make an impact, (if a bug didn't exist). In my situation at least this has worked ok and at least for now I have been able to request an upgrade. WHat I would expect is the next level to take some more improvement to "unlock". Do you mind if I ask a few questions about your save? What year you are in. What club/Nation you are managing at/in? What is you club reputation, (in stars and numerical value if you have the editor)? How successful has your club been? What are your Facilities, (words and numbers if you have the editor). How long ago were you last able to request an upgrade? What is your club bank balance?

Rangers are a shambles. Their squad is plenty good enough to finish in the top half if they were being managed by me. Their 6'5" TM should be running riot. They've even got a 6'6" backup TM who is reasonable so they don't even have to change tactic. Celtic is even more ridiculous. They got to the last 16 of the Europa League, (losing to Lille), but are struggling at the moment because 3 of their best 4 players are injured and they have lost 5 on the bounce in all competitions right now, (scoring just 1 goal over the 5 games). Their problem is that their 3 main goal-scorers are injured at the moment. They have scored 33 goals between them, and the next highest goal-scorer in the squad has scored 3. When they get their goals back on the pitch I expect them to be fine. In any case, while Celtic might be 3rd from bottom at the moment, Rangers are 2nd bottom but have exactly half their number of points. That's ridiculous. There are 8 games to play and although Celtic aren't going to finish in the top half, I still think there's a decent chance that they finish 7th and qualify for Europe.

Yeah, we had games in hand I think.

Youth Intake day. Mar 2055. The intake doesn't look great.

Feb 2055. Scottish Premiership. We've been absolutely smashed to bits by injuries over the last 6 weeks or so, and it all came to a head in the Celtic game, when after we lost 2 more players with a virus in the build-up, and another during the game itself, we just ran out of steam and got turned over comfortably. We've still got 11 games to play though and although we're 4 points off Hibs and 2 points off Aberdeen, there is still plenty of football still to be played. I fully expect the league to go right to the wire, (and fingers crossed we're still involved at that stage). UEFA Champions League. We took Villarreal to extra time, but we just couldn't hang on for pens. We had started with a 17 year old debutant in midfield and we were hanging on for most of the game if I'm honest. We were just missing so many players and couldn't cope with 3 more games in 8 days. There is such a fine balancing act between making sure you have enough players that you can cope with the demands of so many competitions, and keeping too many players at the club which involves stunting their development. I think I've done it pretty well across this save, but I definitely got it wrong this season. The biggest mistake I made was thinking 1 midfielder is like any other other midfielder, and that's just not the case when you're replacing an experienced player in his prime who is used to making 40(ish) appearances, (including subs), every season, with a teenager who is very much untested in professional football. Every day is a school day as they say. Scottish Cup. (The Big one). We've won this and been Runners Up before. I really want to win it again. St Mirren play in League 1 so we should be able to to overcome them. Debuts. Transfers. Facilities. We haven't been able to request this for a while, but I checked again and there is was so I was straight in. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 62/77 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). (46e) Hunter (Res) 6'0" * is 1/1 from the spot at 100%. Finances.

Crashes. Feb 2055. I've had a few crashes here and there throughout the save, but nothing significant or regular and nothing that worried me about the long-term stability of the save...... until now. While I was selecting the team for the Villarreal game, (and promoting players from other squads because we have quite a few injuries at the moment), I kept getting crashes when I was moving players into the Senior squad after already picking them on the bench, but in the end I saved it day by day and moved the players at different times when not selected in the match day squad and it worked fine and I was able to get through the game. I think there were either 4 or 5 crashes during this period. The next game though was the Scottish Cup game against St Johnstone and this time the game didn't crash, but it also didn't allow me to progress to the actual game because it told me we only had 2 GK selected, (and we needed 2), but we had a 2nd GK on the bench, (which isn't usually the case). Although it didn't crash, I was unable to fix this and in the end I had to just holiday through the day and let the Ass Man do the job. We won the game, (on pens), but my concern is that there are quite a few issues that keep happening and it's obviously on my mind. I'm just thankful we don't need a GK on the bench for league games or I would be really worried. Fingers crossed this isn't the beginning of the end, but it's certainly given me a scare.

Jan 2055. Scottish Premiership. Only 1 league game, but a win sends us back up to 2nd in the league. now just 1 point behind Ross County, (although Hibs and Aberdeen do have a game in hand). UEFA Champions League. Scottish Cup. (The Big one). Transfers. Goal-scoring GK's. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 62/77 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). Finances.

Dec 2054. Scottish Premiership. It was frustrating to lose to Aberdeen because I would have loved to keep our unbeaten run going. That's the way it goes sometimes though and it was just a close game that could have gone either way and went theirs. We were 2nd before we played Aberdeen, and although we have dropped to 4th it's still pretty tight at the top with 4 points separating the top 4. Strangely, both Celtic and Rangers each have up to 5 games in hand on some of the other clubs, and I don't really understand why. We're still in Europe so they shouldn't have played many more games than us. Celtic had to play 4 qualifying games in the Europa League, so that goes some way to explaining why they might have missed fixtures. but although Rangers played in Europa Conference qualifying, they didn't actually qualify so they have got no excuse for missing fixtures..... They're currently on a run of 17 games in the league without a win and in my opinion the manager is having an absolute shocker and needs to be shown the door immediately. There is no way they should be struggling like that with that squad. They have failed to score a goal in 8 of their matches this season. 6'5" Selfridge is doing his bit with 9 goals in the 1st half of the season, but the rest of the squad have been performing poorly. UEFA Champions League. We had a player sent off after just 2 mins in Croatia, but still managed to smash 6 (SIX) goals past them. With 2 games left to play, we probably need at least 1 more point to qualify, and with us having to face Barca & Milan, that's not guaranteed at all. League Cup. This might only be a collection of friendlies...... but still. Internationals. Goal-scoring GK's. We were awarded 0 penalties in the opening 29 games of the season, and then we were awarded a penalty in each of the 30th, 31st and 32nd. (23) Brass (Bal) 6'2" is 5/8 from the spot at 63%. (Is no longer at the club). (23) Ewing (Bal) 6'1" is 17/20 from the spot at 85%. (Is no longer at the club). (25c) Christie (F.Sport) 6'1" is 46/52 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (26p) Marsh (CAN)(SCO) 5'10" is 15/17 from the spot at 88%. (Is no longer at the club). (30a) Ogilvie (Fickle) 6'2" * is 47/64 from the spot at 73%. (Is no longer at the club). (31k) Lawrie (Unamb) * is 23/29 from the spot at 79%. (Is no longer at the club). (33a) Black (Fickle) 6'0" * is 2/3 from the spot at 67%. (Is no longer at the club). (37b) Niven (F.Loyal) 6'4" * is 24/41 from the spot at 59%. (Is no longer at the club). (39c) Telfer (F.Pro) 6'2" * is 29/44 from the spot at 66%.(Is no longer at the club). (40e) Qurbonov (UZB) (Res) * is 0/2 from the spot at 0%. (Is no longer at the club). (43n) Welsh (F.Pro) 6'4" * is 62/77 from the spot at 80%. (41h) Cairney (Unamb) 6'2" * is 7/12 from the spot at 58%. (Is no longer at the club). Finances.

Nov 2054. Scottish Premiership. We had lots of injuries, (especially up front), for the Airdrie game so that possibly explains why we didn't manage to score. Celtic have started to pick up a little, (as you would expect), but Rangers look like are in trouble, (again). UEFA Champions League. Rangers have a new manager this season, and it appears that he's not doing very well. I'm guessing he's playing a short passing game rather than lumping it at Selfridges or whatever the big bloke up front is called. It's really not hard. Smash it up at him and then win the 2nd balls! Transfers. Internationals. Goal-scoring GK's. 24 games played now this season and 0 pens awarded for us. We have faced 4 however, (saving 2). FInances.