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SkiIIs
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Posts posted by SkiIIs
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Season 2040/41 - Macclesfield FC - Championship
A season back in the Championship was always going to be interesting to see if we were good enough to bounce back. It took a while before we found our groove and were hovering just outside the play offs for the first quarter of the season. We then hit some strong form around the midpoint of the year and hit top of the table however there were a lot of come from behind nuggety wins that werent all that deserved. Once we hit top, our form slowly dwindled and the question was then are we going to hold on to second spot. Our last 9 games of the season went like this LWDLLDLWL which meant we finished 4th. On the final day, we played Sunderland and were second by 1 point over them and West Ham. A draw wouldnt have been enough as West Ham won their game, but we also got smashed 4 - 0.
We played Leicester away in the first Semi Final leg and lost that 2 - 0 and were looking all but out. However the home leg we rallied, with Andrew Rees 31D scoring a brace in the 10th and 14th minutes before getting injured for 4 weeks 5 minutes later. We scored a third just after the break to book ourselves a spot in the final, a remarkable turnaround after a disastrous couple months. A final against a West Ham team that we had lost twice two in the season with an aggregate score of 8 - 4. Make that 3 losses in the season with an aggregate of 10 - 4 as we didnt give the best account for ourselves in the final.
We improved training facilities to reach Superb level, but kept getting knocked back to improve further and we finally hit Youth Rating 1 (after the intake came in). We were also taken over which didnt really impact us at all and the kept me in the top job so no issue there. At the end of the season, we moved into our new 21k capacity stadium, a couple weeks later they decided to expand the stadium by a further 6.5k seats and will be ready towards the start of the season which is great. We also had our first player poached from our youth squad - more upset about not having 'the tickler' in the squad
Spoiler
Youth Preview
Was not overwhelmed by the preview
Youth Intake
Was not overwhelmed by the intake either. Really not getting the talent coming through the club which will impact us soon
Tommy Johnson 41A is the top of his class and hopefully he can develop into a first team player in the future. I will give him the time to develop as he is quite raw still. Fairly Sporting is not a great personality tho.
Luke Ponde 41B is an aggressive tackling defender but is mentally weak with low determination.
Willie Anderson 41B is probably the player that has more of a chance of playing first team football in the future. Lots of pace, good heading and good head on his shoulders for a 15yo.
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Season 2039/40 - Macclesfield FC - Premier League
Our first season in the big league and I couldnt have asked for a better start. We won our first game at home and by our 10th game we were sitting in the European spots in 6th position. The 3 games leading into the 10th match of the season were a 3 - 3 draw at Man City (copped a 91st min equaliser), 1 - 1 draw against Arsenal (copped a 76th equaliser) and a strong 3 - 1 win at Stamford Bridge. We then slumped to 5 straight defeats but against teams that all finished in the top 10 but managed to turn it around for 3 games, beating Fulham 4 - 0 and Villa 2 - 0 and drawing with Newcastle 1 - 1 away. We then crumbled and pretty much threw the season away losing the next 15 out of 20 matches.
With the riches of the TV rights, we managed to improve the training facilities but kept getting denied with the Youth Facilities for some reason until the end of the season they agreed to improve the Youth Rating to 1 which enforced improvements to said YF. The board also approved plans to expand our stadium from 14k which we sold out every game to 21k which is a decent increase. We then were put under a club embargo for a takeover which promoted the fact that Wayne Rooney would take my position. Luckily tho, after months of anxiety that takeover collapsed and I find myself still at the role.
Spoiler
Youth Preview
A much better preview which got me really excited, I had forgotten what the letter A looked like
Youth Intake
Bit of an anticlimax with only 1 elite prospect and that only being 4.5 stars at that
Isaac Umar 40A is the pick of the bunch although im not sure how he's managed to defend in his youth days with 5 tackling.
Faris Tunnacliffe 40B looks ok, is pacy and determined but still very raw.
Dom King 40C might be the one who excels the most as his attributes arent too bad for a playmaker.
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15 hours ago, andershs said:
I am faced with a difficult situation as a newly promoted team in the Championship.
Most of the players that have carried this team are now coming to me asking for new contracts. The problem is, that they are asking for wage amounts that are fair in the Championship, but which I am nowhere near being able to give them on our tiny wage budget.
As a result, a handful of my best players are only on a contract for another year and will leave thereafter.
How do you handle situations like this?
I fear, I have to try and maximize the amount of money from these players and then accept a major rebuild of the squad over a number of years.
I faced something similar the season before. I ended up selling one player which then provided the cash injection to adjust the wage budget and managed to resign others during the season
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1 hour ago, XaW said:
XaW - Marine FC - Season 2033/34 (Season 10) - Premier League
Just all over an excellent season for us. Solid mid-table and not close to a relegation battle. I couldn't ask for more at this stage. The Premier League money makes us financially very happy, and overall everything is going swell. We even finished as the best team from Merseyside after Liverpool had a stinker and we also finished just ahead of Everton! As I posted earlier, we also have our first ever wonderkid, and in the NXGN we had 3 players represented.
James Nash 31a won it and it's easy to see why. He is a physical monster, has amazing mentals for a 19 year old, and even good technical attributes to round out an amazing player. Ceiran Mannion 32a is a bit younger, but still a massive talent that's currently a rotation player for us. The final one is Friday Shehu 31d, a player I'd like to play more, but both wide spots are occupied by two of our best players. Still, he fits in on both wings, and plays quite a lot.
So it grows well at the club, and now we just have to become used to this level, and also let the reputation of the club catch up.
FA Cup: We beat Norwich and Ipswich before we lost to Manchester United in the 5th round.
Carabao Cup: We beat Oldham and Luton before we lost to Liverpool in the 4th round.Best players from the academy:
James Nash 31a - Now a wonderkid and probably the best player at the club.
Kevin Elliott 27f - Excellent season in the heart of our defensive line. Also uses his size to score a few goals too.
Rhain Macready 30a - Is slowly becoming an important cog in the tactical machine.New club records:
Most league apps - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 302 apps
Most league goals - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 158 goalsGot a few more improvements accepted this season.
Also, we are expanding the stadium and will be playing at Anfield next season.
U21s
They finished 7th in the English U21 Division 3 this season.
EFL Trophy: The faced Tranmere, Salford, and Fleetwood in the group stage. They finished 4th and got knocked out.
U18s
They finished 1st in the U18 Professional Development League North this season and then beat Ipswich in the semi final before they lost on pens to Nottingham Forest in the final.
FA Youth Cup: They beat Crystal Palace before they lost to Liverpool in the 4th round.
Around the world
Youth intake:
Trophy cabinet
Sky Bet Championship - 2032/33
Sky Bet League One - 2029/30
Sky Bet League Two - 2028/29
Vanarama National League - 2026/27
Vanarama National League North - 2024/25
EFL Trophy - 2029/30
FA Trophy - 2025/26
(U18s) U18 Professional Development League - 2031/32
(U18s) U18 Youth Alliance League North-West - 2029/30
(U18s) U18 National League North West - 2026/27Player statistics:
Most apps for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Apps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Charlie Rowlands 26c England Wales 2026-Present 348 Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 345 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 305 Lewis Pritchard 26m England Ireland 2026-Present 294 Jason Fitzgerald 27g England Ireland 2027-Present 291
Most goals for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Goals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 181 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 97 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 86 Kevin Elliott 27f Northern Ireland <N/A> 2027-Present 40 Jake Conlon 27i England <N/A> 2027-Present 33
Most assists for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kyle McLean 28b Scotland England 2028-Present 61 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 60 Ben Jordan 26g England <N/A> 2026-2034 44 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 43 Rhain Macready 30a England <N/A> 2030-Present 33
Supporters:
Bingo:
Summary:
Excellent first season in the top league and the talent seems to be coming in thick and fast too!
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On 05/05/2024 at 06:24, HaylingZar said:
Question: If I sell a player am I permitted to sell with the "Loan Back Until End Of Season" clause, or would that invalidate the challenge as it counts as a loan in?
what I have found useful is to delay the transfer date to the end of the season. Especially on players where their contracts are running down and wont resign
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Never done a post like this but thought it was worthy as I'm quite proud of these lads... note im saying this before kicking a ball in the premier league and my view could change very quickly!
In goals we have the one time capped Greek International Theofanis Dalamitras 32A who played about two thirds of the season. He was injured in the middle of the season and our 19 year old German keeper deputised whilst he was injured and did a really good job and kept Theo on the bench. We play an attacking brand of football and we do leak a lot of goals but he will be key for us if we are to stay up next year.
Alex McParland 34E is our right back who has really developed and made this position his own over the past couple years. Still think there is more to come from him as he can sometimes rate poorly even in solid wins.
Charlie Cooper 35A is our first choice left back playing his second full season with us. As an 18yo in League 1, out of necessity he was thrown into the squad early and has done ok. We dont really have much competition for him and so had to play him even when his form was a little off this season. We're working on his forward output and would love to see more assists to his name.
Our best centre back is Leighton Truffas 31C. Somehow we've managed to keep him on the books having to fight back numerous offers over the years. His rating isnt great but thats a bit of a result of how we play. Was just about ever present over the season and is quite versatile if required.
His main partner in CB is Tommy Malone 31E who has remained as unambitious which is probably why his physicals just havent developed over the years. Both my centre backs came in the same youth intake and have a great partnership in the heart of my defence. Tommy is usually the one sacrificed when I play my third rotational defender hence only starting 34 league games.
I rotate my B2B midfielder as I have two equally as good players for this position, however Luke Harvey is my more defensive workhorse. Only league 26 starts is symbolic of how i try to rotate the team where I can but bobbed up with a few crucial goals and assists as well. Luke really came of age in his loan to Hyde as I never really had him earmarked for the first team before that even tho he was top of his class in 2030.
Our Mezzala is probably pound for pound our best player. Can play both behind the striker and in our Mezzala role and really drives the team forward. He is also our penalty taker and does miss more than he scores which really annoys his coach and does hurt his overall rating (not at home in time of writing this so can state the figures but its not a good record). 30 goal contributions in 39 starts is an amazing season averaging almost a goal every third game out of midfield over his career for us.
Our right wing is one of our weakest positions and is currently filled by Josh Hamilton 35F. Gave this kid a lot of game time this year as we really do lack depth on the right and when available, he did quite well. Started the season strong but then was injured and never really found the form that we know he's capable of after that.
Andrew Rees 31D is our left wing and came out of that amazing intake of 2031. Started his junior days as a striker however I've retrained him as a left wing as we've generally had good depth of talents up front. His pace on the left is crucial in the way we play and broke the record of assist in the Championship this season with 26. I'd say he's not too far off being called up to the Wales national team if he can continue to perform well.
Our Shadow Striker is Leighton Dorney 33A who replaced Cole Hay this year. Similar to Rees, his best position is up front and you can tell by his attributes below that he's made to be an Advanced Forward but we had a hole to fill and he filled it well. Was virtually ever present and definitely had his best ever and most consistent season for us to date. Had previously played him up front and never really scored as many as you'd like when you play with 1 striker.
Our record break and man of the moment is definitely Kyle Wood 34A. What an absolute breakout season he had. Scoring 40 (no penalties) in his first full season as a starter was an absolute stellar performance scoring many crucial goals and winners along the way. They were rarely in big batches but more spread out evenly just about every game which is what you like to see in this game. His goals will be crucial for us if we are to stay up next season.
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Season 15 - Macclesfield FC - Championship
The past few seasons it's been consolidate the first season in the new league then the second season in that league would end with promotion. This was our second season in the championship and it would be rude to ruin that trend wouldnt it? You're damn right it would be! An unbelievable season where we really grew into the season. After 13 games, we were sitting in 19th spot coming off 4 straight defeats and headed towards a real dog fight to stay up. just kept getting stronger and stronger and results just kept coming and coming. But that would be our lowest point as we won 8 out of the next 9. We would then only lose 4 out of the next 24 games with the majority of those results being wins to put us in a nervy battle for the automatic play spots. In the last 5 games we had QPR, Brentford and Palace and managed to beat both Brentford and QPR but lost to Palace which put them 3 points ahead of us. Going into the last game, we had already secured promotion thanks to our healthy goal difference but the cherry on top was Palace losing away to Bristol City which allowed us our second ever league title. I seriously didnt expect this and we are by no means ready to play premier league football, but i will make use of the riches that comes with.
We had another international debut for our young Bulgarian who at that point only appeared once off the bench for us. He did get a little bit more game time towards the end of the season and even notched his first goal playing as a mezzala.
Youth Preview
I really need to understand what is going wrong here. It cant be that our senior players are getting better only cos these really suck
Youth Intake
Only one decent player again and just wait till you see his stats...
One of my bug bears is having an attribute of 1 and Georges Ewington 39A has it for the most important attribute in Determination. Seriously!
Here are B and C who arent worthy of having their names typed.
I will post a complete squad write up tomorrow when I get a chance, showing the Macclesfield names who will go down in history as the ones who got us to the top flight!
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Season 14 - Macclesfield FC - Championship
First season in the Championship i honest thought we would struggle to stay up. In Cup games against this level we have fought strong but struggled however the season surprisingly started off well and we were sitting second after beating eventual champions Everton after 5 games. We then continued to hold our own and by the time the transfer window opened up in Jan we were sitting comfortably in 10th spot only a couple games away from play offs. We then had a poor transfer window which ill touch on in a sec and post January, we hit the type of form that would get a team relegated and hence dropped down to 18th, 10 points above the relegation zone. That dip in form is really ominous of what next season could potentially be for us.
Transfer window - so all the talk was about Cole Hay who i touched on in the prior update. I was really trying to renew his contract and he was willing to sit down and talk however we just couldnt offer the 20k weekly wages he was demanding. I gave myself until the last week of Jan to twist his arm before offering him out and at that point, a few of the clubs from his hometown in Scotland had offered to sign him on a free. He had accepted Heart's contract however I managed to negotiate an early sell from them of 3m which is better then nothing i guess. Not well played on my behalf and a definitely learning curve for me! Funny that he only wanted 100 a week to play for them which is friggen frustrating! Our club form really did dip without him....
Other News
We got another international cap in the form of our Greek goalkeeper. Theofanis Dalamitras 32A finally got some game time for Greece as he's been called up many times. Unfortunately for him it was a 3 - 0 loss to Denmark.
We have our first affiliate in FC United for us to loan our players to. Not sure how useful this will be but they are professional and ply their trade in the VNL. Was looking for an affiliate to help our youth academy but I think this is the wrong type of partnership.
I was also offered an interview with Chelsea who are struggling in the premier league which is a nice compliment.
And we also played in the final match of the Moss Rose stadium as our new stadium is finally complete after two years of patiently waiting. Really cannot wait for the financial benefit to come through with capacity now at 14k.
At the end of the season we were given a bit of cash through league standings and season tickets and whilst my attempt to improve the youth facilities was denied, a week later they approved my request to move to Youth Category 1 which meant we improved the youth facilities anyways. And a week later the board approached me and asked to improve training facilities, again a week after they rejected us so that was good.
Spoiler
Youth Preview
Another really bad preview with no good prospects.
Youth Intake
Much to my delight, there's a really talented lad and a couple of others that might develop into first team players.
One Scott to replace another. Peter McJannet 38A has the potential to make Cole Hay a fond memory. He has the making to be a great behind the striker player where his lack of speed and physical presence can be hidden. No doubt he will be locked into gym for a few years.
Matt Ellis 38B is another who could be vying for that Advanced Playmaking role. Let's see if they can really push each other to develop into the best players they can be.
Darragh Girdwood 38C needs a bit of work and could be a squad player in years to come. Lacks pace, crossing and dribbling so wont be holding my breath.
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On 28/04/2024 at 06:35, djsterry said:
not done an update for ages but just thought this was funny, the financial constraints are brutal
4th season in the championship and still losing money with a 66k a week wage bill 
I'm feeling your pain! I cant remember previous versions being this difficult financially once you got to League 2
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On 26/04/2024 at 20:13, XaW said:
XaW - Marine FC - Season 2030/31 (Season 7) - Sky Bet Championship
We avoided relegation, so we did what we set out to do. And we even stayed away from the dog fight for survival too, by hovering around lower mid-table for the entire season. On a very positive note, we are no longer losing money, but we aren't really making much either, so improving the club will not be very easy unless we get a magical cup run or something, as we are currently quite far away from going up into the Premier League. Looking at the players, I'd say we currently have a good batch of top League One players, and some that are rated as Championship ones, so we are clearly doing well based on the actual skill level of the players. So I think I just need to wait for more development or more talented players in the intake. In the mean time, we'll just keep cruising here in the Championship, at least I hope we can continue to stay up.
FA Cup: We beat Crystal Palace and QPR before we lost to Leicester in the 5th round.
Carabao Cup: We beat Stockport County, Sunderland, and Derby before we lost to Chelsea in the 4th round.Best players from the academy:
Ben Jordan 26g - Was meant to be 2nd choice left back, but does so well he plays a lot for us.
Isaac Dean 28a - Is starting to really grow into a good attacking midfielder for us. Would like to see a bit more creativity from him though, but he does pop up with a fair amount of goals.
Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - Still leads our line well and scores quite a lot of goals, but does have some goal draughts now, as his finishing has started to let him down at times.New club records:
Most league goals - Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e - 113 goals
I did get one upgrade approved this season, to get us out of the horrid facilities we had.
U21s
We created a U21 team for this season and they started in the English U21 Division 3 where they finished rock bottom.
U18s
After winning the U18 Youth Alliance League North-West last season they turned up in the U18 Professional Development League this season where they finished 2nd in the North group. Then they lost in the champions playoff semi final to eventual winners Cardiff.
FA Youth Cup: They beat Sheffield United before losing to Leeds in the 4th round.
Around the world
Youth intake:
Trophy cabinet
Sky Bet League One - 2029/30
Sky Bet League Two - 2028/29
Vanarama National League - 2026/27
Vanarama National League North - 2024/25
EFL Trophy - 2029/30
FA Trophy - 2025/26
(U18s) U18 Youth Alliance League North-West - 2029/30
(U18s) U18 National League North West - 2026/27Player statistics:
Most apps for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Apps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 225 Charlie Rowlands 26c England Wales 2026-Present 220 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 193 Lewis Pritchard 26m England Ireland 2026-Present 190 David Overton 25a England <N/A> 2025-2029 175
Most goals for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Goals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 132 Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 56 Jamie Adams-Fisk 28d England <N/A> 2028-Present 41 Isaac Dean 28a England <N/A> 2028-Present 26 Rosario Capasso 27b Italy England 2027-Present 20
Most assists for the club
Name Nation 2nd Nation Time at club Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Gallagher 27a Ireland England 2027-Present 42 Ben Jordan 26g England <N/A> 2026-Present 35 Kyle McLean 28b Scotland England 2028-Present 32 Rakeem Hughes-Mason 26e England Antigua & Barbuda 2026-Present 21 Lewis Pritchard 26m England Ireland 2026-Present 18
Supporters:
Bingo:
Summary:
getting a ready made player in the youth intake at this point is gold!
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On 26/04/2024 at 17:50, glennuk said:
@SkiIIs - can you offer him a lower wage with bonuses or a ridiculous signing on fee (like most of your transfer budget which you don't need anyway) - May be worth it as he looks a REAL talent.
ive been trying to but no luck. I thought going up a division would help but i can only offer 7k when he wants 20k. Almost 5 months into the season now so getting to the point of no return
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Season 13 - Macclesfield FC - League 1
It took us two years in League 2 to get out and we witnessed a similar pattern for League 1. We played in the playoff last year but this year we didnt need to as we finished atop of the league to win our first ever league title. Quite remarkable that we will find ourselves in the Championship next year with only 1 league title in our trophy cabinet. Nevertheless, it was one that was truly deserved. It took us until round 24 to hit 1st but once there, we were never going to relinquish it and clinched the title with a few games spare.
Promotion really has come at the most opportune time cos we are haemorrhaging cash each month to the tune of 500k. We are 4m in the red at the end of the season and still have to wait for the end of next season for our new stadium.
Hopefully TV money next year helps out cos im afraid we would have to lose a player of value or two to balance the books. . Especially with clubs circulating around Cole Hay who has been getting paid less than the rubbish that is coming through my youth ranks since day 1 lol With one year to go, i cant offer him what he wants even though he's willing to stay so my hands might get dealt. He also just became a Scottish international scoring on his debut.
Youth Preview
This is getting worse and worse and I have no idea what to do.
Youth Intake
So frustrated that I forgot to take a pic of these. I only signed 5 or 6 of them.
Hugh Sibbick 37A is probably the pick of a bad bunch. Every club needs a fair few GK's floating around.
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Season 12 - Macclesfield FC - League 1
First season in League 1 i was worried we would struggle as we were pretty much rolling with the same team as last with not many new prospects nearing the first team. We started the season quite well and were sitting 3rd after 5 games but then reality set in losing 5 out of the next 6 games to sit a few spots above the relegation spots. We then turned the season around winning 8 out of 10 to put us into contention for the play off spots. We lost a few games towards the end meaning we were 3 points away with 2 games left. Going into the last game we were 8th and 2 points away from 6th but with a better goal difference, so we needed to win and results go our way. That's exactly what happened as Walsall drew with Carlisle who needed a win to stay up, but a draw was enough for us and Torquay draw with York City at home meaning we would play Reading in the play off with the first leg at home.
In the first leg at home, we managed to overcome an early goal by scoring twice in the second half and with the tail behind us, were pushing for a more comfortable lead into the second leg. We then copped a scrappy goal with 5 minutes to and made a really bad decision of going attacking to find a goal which we then copped 2 injury time goals to pretty much end the tie. Lets just say the second leg didnt go to plan.
We did however win the club and manager's first ever silverware in the EFL Trophy beating Wigan, Man City and Arsenal u21's then Carlisle in the semis and Colchester in the final 3 - 1. Im uber proud of the players achieving our first trophy together after 12 seasons!
Finances arent great and alsost hit 1m in the red despite the trophy win and also making it to the 4th round of the FA Cup, so there were no improvements. After the season however, the board did announce that we will be building a new stadium with a capacity of 14,177. Our current stadium capacity is only 5,907 which we fill just about every home game. Looks like a juicy loan to build it so lets see how that goes for us...
Youth Preview
Will give the new HOYD a pass being his first intake.
Youth Intake
The only good thing about this intake is the amount of colour of the flags. Very diverse group of players!
Keelan Crabtree 36A (love the name) looks more like a forward than anything but might come in useful as a backup if he can develop.
Zakaria Bader 36B is my first Bulgarian. I'd be surprised if he gets any caps in the senior team at any point
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My new HOYD
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Season 11 - Macclesfield FC - League 2
After getting a taste of play offs last year, I was hoping to push on and challenge for the auto promotion spots. Thats exactly how the season played out with us sitting in either 3rd or 4th position for the majority of the season. We did hit top of the table at the midway point but we were never really that consistent to challenge for the title. We also were relatively successful in the cup competitions apart from the League Cup which we were knocked out against Watford from the Championship away from home in our first game. In the FA Cup we made it to the 3rd round where we got a premiership team away in Leeds, we battled hard but two second half goals was enough for Leeds to win. In the EFL Trophy we made it all the way to the semi final knocking out several League 1 teams along the way. I was playing heavily rotated squads for this comp but we kept on winning. The Semi Final was a real turning point of the season for us.
Leading up to the EFL Semi Final it felt like we lost focus on the league with form of 3 losses and 2 draws mostly against teams from the bottom which was super frustrating. But after the semi which was lost to Stockport from League 1, we then won the remaining 7 games to pip above Notts County for 3rd spot.
Nothing overly exciting off the field, I did get a couple of interview opportunities in Preston and Everton. After seasons completion, the board did announce they are going to explore options to build a stadium so will wait and see what they come back with but our tiny 5,907 capacity is just too small for us. Finances have been tough even from the windfall from our Cup adventures. We also had another international player, this time for Jamaica!
Spoiler
Youth Preview
Ive seriously had enough of this HOYD, another poor preview.
Youth Intake
Will not be renewing this guy's contract which ends this year. Our last few intakes has really hampered the squad.
Kyle Wood 34A is the best of a bad bunch but could potentially be a good player for us in the future, perhaps on the left wing
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11 hours ago, Perre8 said:
Question for the "England" boys, are you guys playing your matches or with Instant Result? The length of the seasons is an obstacle for me but i want an England save so it is something for me to think about.
I instant a lot but play key games and cup matches
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Season 10 - Macclesfield FC - League 2
Our first season in League 2 and surprisingly we werent the favourites to automatically go down. From experience, I know the rise from VNL to League 1 or Championship can occur quite quickly and that's what I was quietly hoping for. After a decent start the season we became quite mediocre in the middle of the season and were sitting midtable. We hit some for towards the end of the season and for a minute were in with a shout for the automatic promotion spots but a draw and a loss in the last two games of the season meant that we finished 6th. Into a 2 legged play off against Colchester with the first game at home. We dominated but didnt really reflect it on the scoreboard only winning 2 - 1 on the night with a disallowed goal in the 78th minute to give us a deserved two goal cushion for the away leg. The away leg was the complete opposite, they scored early and then again late in the 80th minute to get the advantage. We went all guns blazing and forced the tie into extra time thanks to a 92nd minute goal from Cox 27C. In extra time we couldnt handle them and they eventually scored to go through to the final where they lost to Wimbledon 1 - 0.
At the start of the season we had a planned stadium expansion approved to get around an additional 1000 capacity however that was unfortunately scrapped cos we couldnt get our council permits. This is really hampering us cos now that we are Youth Level 2, we are for the first time haemorrhaging money. So additional improvements will be few and far between now. It doesnt help that our training facilities were downgraded at the end of the season either! I did though get approval to be fully licensed which will finish next season.
Spoiler
Youth Preview
Average at best with only 1 A in defence
Youth Intake
Anyone seen my Elite defender? Anyone? Im giving this HOYD one more final chance to deliver something next season!
Only one player worth mentioning and I think i got a decent striker out of this intake in Kyle Wood 34A. He should develop along nicely and at 15 has a lot of time on his side with decent physicals and a couple important technicals for an advanced forward
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6 hours ago, glennuk said:
Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 30 - Mid Season Review
Champions League - WINNERS - CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!!!!
After getting to last years final and being outclassed, we got back to the final and completely deserved the win against another team from Saudi Arabia in Al-Ittihad
1st Leg
In the 1st we dominated. I thought everything may come crashing down when our keeper Naoto Sakai (YP23A) went down with an injury just before half time. Our replacement is ALOT worse and got a 5.9 in the last cup match I started him! However we barely gave them a sniff at goal and finished with a deserved 2-0 victory with goals from both of my wingers.
2nd Leg
In the 2nd leg it was a much more tense affair. We were already nervous as Naoto Sakai (YP23A) had broken his hand in the last game, so we had our sub keeper playing the full 90. Things started with a scare as the first highlight was a goal for Al-Ittihad. However our chances went up massively when the second half started and the they got a man sent off for a vicious tackle. A late goal by Masayosha Takahashi (YP23F) settled our nerves and then Takayuki Ohara (YP25B) put the icing on the cake with a finish to not only win the Champions league, but to win both legs!
Champions League - How we got to the final
Funnily enough this year we were much less dominant in the knockout rounds of the Champions league, with TWO of our games being decided in our favor due to the Away goals rule. The Sapporo game was actually relatively comfortable, until they scored two goals in the last 9 minutes, luckily both of those goals were home goals!
Ulsan seemed to always come up against us, but again the away goals rule saved our skin. After a 1-1 draw at home, we went away and drew 2-2 the first goal for Ulsan being scored by one of the Youth Players we sold a good 7-8 years ago.
Champions League Dream Team!!!
In my mind we should have all eleven players in the dream team, but thankful that 7 of our starting 11 were named in the Dream Team.
The Final Squad
The final team that took us over the line. Pretty good squad depth overall with some VERY strong strikers and some amazing youngsters waiting to burst into the first team.
A couple of my KEY Players!
We have a full team I am very proud of but a few key players that I wanted to highlight are:
Naoto Sakai (YP23A) - Our Goalie who is just solid. Once we lost our first choice to Ajax, Naoto then stepped in and performed admirably. He has not got the best attributes but is solid overall and is consistently good.
Haruhiko Ninomiya (YP14K) - He is one of our oldest starters and has been a great left back ever since he has got into the team. I like having one full back more attacking and overlapping and even though he does not ALWAYS start anymore, when he does he plays fantastically and is our most played LB this year.
Hiroshi Yamada (YP21A) - An amazing little winger who consistently performs well, he gets plenty of assists and despite his unambitious personality he has become one of the first names on the team sheet.
Kyota Shimokawa (YP20A) - A brilliant midfielder who has recently got into the National team. As the playmaker in the heart of midfield everything goes through him. He pops up with important goals and rarely has a bad game.
Masayosha Takahasi (YP23F) - Our most capped player with only 13 caps. He plays as my advanced forward next to a poacher. The poacher gets more goals, but arguably the advanced forward is more important. A great personality has seen him develop fantastically and while the poacher position is rotated, Masayosha plays every game he is available.
Takayuki Ohara (YP25B) - still only 20, but seems like he has been with us forever. His goals per game speak for themselves. A great poacher who can do everything well. Finishing and Heading of 16 for a poacher is a dream. He doesn't always start and has had his head turned a bit by other clubs. He is however just superb, with all of the attributes that matter being 13+, he still has room to grow and I am tempted to play further in the save just to see how far he can go.
Final Facilities
After all this time I still only have Adequate youth facilities which I think did impact the length of the save, as I just struggled to get really good players for a while. Even some of my key players above are playing above their station so to speak. We also rarely fill our stadium despite now being rated as the best team in Japan by reputation! Doesn't help we are quite far away from any MAJOR cities.
congratulations buddy!
what holds next??
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Season 9 - 2032/33 - Macclesfield FC - VNL
After just missing playoffs last year, I wanted to improve on that and challenge for promotion. We started off well but Maidstone started off better winning their first 12 games and put a sizeable gap to the rest of us. That remained for the majority of the season until with 11 games to go, they started dropping points and with 3 games to go we had caught them and sat first on goal difference. We played against Eastleigh away and didnt really turn up and lost 2 - 1 with Maidstone winning which put us 3 points behind. We both won our next game meaning they would need to lose away to lowly Chelmsford and we were home against Rochdale. Maidstone copped a 96th minute goal to lose, however we also crumbled at home losing 3 - 1.
The semi final was at home against Leyton Orient who we had drawn and won during the season. We undeservedly went behind just before half time but fortunately we equalised before halftime. Second half we blew them away winning the game 4 - 1. That gave us my first trip to Wembley and with only Sutton Utd in between us and league football. We had beat them twice in the league so we went into the final with the mental advantage. Both teams had chances but we made the most of ours and won the game 3 - 1 with two goals in 3 minutes in the second half which gave us a comfortable lead.
Promotion has come at a really good time as there's lots of Premier League teams and others in higher divisions sniffing around our talent so hopefully I can keep them away for a little while.
After promotions, the obligatory conversation occurred on turning professional but we also needed to install a grass pitch as part of the league rules next year. That's how well Im going thinking we had been playing on grass already?!?! That set us back a little but we still made a profit this year and also got 50% of Jevaun Morgan's transfer from Lincoln to Oxford which was 77k. Another lovely surprise after gaining promotion was Robbie Savage approaching me and asking if I would like to improve our Youth Level to take us to a Level 2 setup.
Spoiler
Youth Preview
This again might be due to last year's change of HOYD but I wont be keeping him around if this is what he's promising.
Youth Intake
I forgot to take a snapshot of the whole intake, but as you can see only two players worth noting. Both of them light hearted isnt strange.
Leighton Dorney 33A is probably the best prospect. Good physicals and good front three technicals in dribbling, finishing and first touch.
Martin O'Neill 33B is the other player that might have a future. Pacy, flairy with good technique and passing gives him the attributes that might make him exciting, but we'll see if he develops further.
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4 hours ago, Padders said:
Season 93 - 2115/16 - PL
We managed to stay up, by winning the last game of the season 4-1 away at Leeds, staying up by 1 point
We really aren't a good side and have a lot of players who are not good enough for PL level
thats what you call a great escape!
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1 hour ago, glennuk said:
Rein Meer AKA ReinBerg - Season 28 - Japan J1 League - End of Season Review & Youth Intake
League - 1st
We were actually a lot more comfortable than it looks, but we had a terrible last few games of the season (while we were trying to rest players for important Champions league group stage games). Title winners again and the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
New Stats from FM24?
I have never seen this news item before, thought it was cool and hope it's here to stay as a new feature
Champions League
We were a bit worried by Ulsan in our group as they are the current holders of the competition, however we beat them home and away. Maybe this will be the year!?!?!
We will play Sydney FC in the first knockout round.
Squad
We are very impressive now, with multiple leading players for the league and good depth in almost every position. We started playing Hirotake Kumagai (YP19K) at CB, even though by attributes he is our 3rd or 4th best centre back. However he is 6 foot 7, which in Japan is HUGE! The 10 goals he has scored have been very important. We also have three strikers in Daisuke Fukuoka (YP22C), Takayuki Ohara (YP25B) (who won Young Player of the year) and Masayosha Takahashi (YP23F) who are very very good.
Our defense was almost entirely in the Team of the Year too which is nice to see.
Youth Intake
A poor intake, but it is Mustapha Njies first intake.
Top
32 - Youth Intake 28Not even 3 that could make the first team. Unless of course someone surprises me. BUT here are the top two.
Hajime Umezu (YP28A)
Actually could easily be a first team player and potentially a starter. Some great attributes in the physicals combined with great finishing is the sign of a good striker. His strength is woeful though, so hope that can improve.
Riku Kondo (YP28B)
Another from the famous 'ReinBerg Centre Back Factory'. Could be a squad player for us in the next few years and potentially even start.
Other News
Look at this. The future is bright indeed!
you're so close, any season now!
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On 05/04/2024 at 22:31, Stekalo said:
What personality does your HOYD have? You have a lot of young people unambitios. Luckily Cole Hay has a great personality.
was in the midst of a change in HOYD but seems to be a common issue for me tho
Old
New:
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On 05/04/2024 at 11:24, glennuk said:
Hey @SkiIIs you are getting SOME players in those Youth Intake. Cole Hay looks like a STAR!
the following year was a bit of a disappointment but i think we have the talent coming through to start challenging multiple promotions
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4th season in the championship and still losing money with a 66k a week wage bill 
The FM24 Youth Academy Challenge
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments
Posted · Edited by SkiIIs
Season 2041/42 - Macclesfield FC - Championship
The pattern of promotion every other season is back. The lowest we ever spent on the league table was in 8th position back in round 7 but we generally spent the season in the top two spots then remained 1st from matchday 30. Hopefully we can have a better premier league campaign next year.
We're still not maxed out in our facilities but did improve our training facilities to be start of the art. Havent been able to get the board to improve our youth facilities for some reason. We also had our first Scotland call ups for two of my youngsters but neither of them were given any game time. I suspect that will happen very soon.
Youth Preview
The preview is better than the past few years.
Youth Intake
forgot to take a snapshot of the intake but took one of the best prospects.
Patrick Ejofor 42A is a 178cm with decent starting attributes at only 15.
Javanne Sucharewycz 42B is a mouthful and hopefully can become a handful on the pitch. Good technically but low determination might not help his cause.
Ourdy Mbemba 42C looks more of a winger than a front man.