erik45

They really have gotten their groove on as they won their third title and promotion in a row. The tycoon bought the club in 2026, then it was couple of seasons of spending money without success. In 2031/2032 it seemed everything clicked for them and now they are in Vanarama National with 5th highest budget in that league. As you can see from the screenshot above, their hot prospect is a former player of ours. Stewart 31a was beginning his last year of the contract so I knew if I want to profit from him (from sell-on clause, as I knew his value is very low atm), I need to do it over the summer. There was team in League 2 (maybe Mansfield?) who made an offer, but the board rejected it as it was too low. I didn't care what we get now but what we could profit from the sell-on clause, but I couldn't argue that to the board. We sold Stewart 31a for 1,1k€ to Stalybridge. Even though he's listed as "fringe player" he started the first game of the new season. I hope Stalybridge doesn't continue climbing the league ladders, at least not yet, as I hope to reinstate the rivalry as soon as possible!

Season 2033/2034 review. My 10th season in charge of the team and third time in a row with the highest ever finish! The board is extremely happy, I'm quite happy, so the overall level of happiness is high! Best eleven 2033/2034. This is the first time all the players in the seasonal best XI are youth products! xG & xPts. This season we were lucky with our points, but it barely helped us when looking at the final position in the table. When looking at the xG and xGA, we delivered what the numbers suggested. Season tracking. We were a little better than last season, so there has been progress. In the cups it feels like we just don't have much to give, but it is more about the fact we mostly play our 2nd XI in cup competitions. Player stat tracking. Dugdale 31c was our top scorer, top assister, top average rater, top player Moore and Reddy continued to keep their positions as the record appearance maker and record goal scorer. They will keep those positions for at least couple of seasons, but I don't expect them to play much games. Both have been unhappy with their playing time and it is possible they will leave the team (but it is their decision). Players by played minutes. Parillon 30e played in all of the games and in all of them, full 90s. Why I'm desperate to keep him is not just about his ability but also about his personality. There's "per" in his name meaning perfectionist. At the beginning of this season he was "only" fairly professional. If we could keep him, he would be the perfect tutor for all the keepers to come. From the stats you can also see, that the 1st XI played 37 games and there were five outfield players who played in all of them. I like to keep same players in the XI but this might be too static, even for me Finances. We are back on track of gaining profits. What is funny is the next screenshot: why would we want a transfer budget of over 750k€?!

April 2034. No, no, no. This is not how I wanted to end the season. The first two games were really tricky, but what really grinds my gears was the the AFC Fylde game. We were better in everything, but they scored three goals from 0.95 xG (which is not impossible, just irritating). Table. The end for the season was a bit sad, but we need to look at the positives: we were 9th on our second season in this league. Our wage budget is the lowest of the league and we haven't signed anyone during this or previous season. So, when looking at the big picture, we are doing really well! Last season we were 15th, this season 9th...next season 3rd?

March 2034. It was looking like an amazing month... until Darlington, who are in the relegation battle, absolutely smashed us. What's even worse is the fact that it was a very even affair, our goalie just couldn't catch anything and got a rating of 5.4 We are yet to win Darlington in the league and I don't know if we get a new chance as they still look like relegation-bound team. Table. We have all the chances of making it to the playoffs! We won't win them if we get there, but it's nice to have goals Upcoming fixtures. Last month of the season. I think we need 8+ points to make it to the playoffs. Can we make it? The Stockton Town game is the only one I consider somewhat easy, but no team is impossible to win. I think our chances are somewhere of 20-30 % of getting to the playoffs.

Youth intake 2034. Another golden generation (as all the intakes so far). The high CA + PA players are mostly playing wide positions. But multiple players who already have 2 star CA When looking them more closely, this is not the most impressing intake. Two best players have bad personality combined with low level of Determination. My favourites are Harris 34c, Lewis 34d and Mahon 34g. You can find their and top 3 prospects profiles below this list. Youth intake tracking. As expected, we are not delivering that many high level talents as we used to. That is down to the fact that our current 1st team players are better than the ones before them. Also, all the English players from the intakes so far have been from the Isle of Man. I don't know how much that restricts what kind of English talents we can get. In the light of key attributes, this is the worst intake for 7 years. As we had a youth recruitment upgrade and we are getting a youth facility upgrade as well, we will be fine. This is just one intake. And in the big picture: nine players with 5 star PA, who am I to complain?

February 2034. Okay, this is not the form for a side that dreams of sneaking in to promotion playoffs. When looking at the xG, these were all very even games. But the results... are something different One thing I've noticed is we've conceded way too many penalties and long shot goals. Two very different goal scoring scenarios, but same outcome... Table. We are still in a good position for a side that was supposed to battle for relegation. I would like us to be in the promotion spots, but 9th is not bad either. Facility upgrade. We've been saving money for a while now and it's time for a new facility upgrade! Finances. The facility upgrade was expensive, but as our finances have been for a positive track for years, I think we can take this dent. Upcoming fixtures. If we want to battle for promotion, we need to win games. In March we have a proper chance for that as we have four home games!

January 2034. New year, unbeatable side - what's not to like?! We are playing well and have just the amount of luck that we don't lose games at the moment. Emley game was total dominance and after that we had four evenly contested games where we could win only against Winterton Rangers. Table. Suddenly we are in the promotion spots! It is very, very even top half in the league and I will be happy if we still get just top half finish. Signing (but not for us). Former player of ours, Murphy 27d was available for free after Grimsby Town released him during the season. He was not interested to join us, which I understand as he had been playing solid minutes in League 2. What I don't understand is 1) why did Grimsby release him and 2) how Trafford sign him???? They play in the same division as us, they battle for the same positions and we could've offered the same kind of wage as they did. Finances. It looks like our newest facility upgrade didn't affect our finances too much (but maybe it happens gradually?). I will be asking for youth facility upgrade as soon as it becomes available. Upcoming fixtures. Usually I just run through Februaries as I'm just waiting for the youth intake. This time might be different as we are surprisingly close to getting to the promotion playoffs.

December 2033. Darlington got 9 points from their first 16 games - and somehow totally demolished us. After that we understood the task: we need points. I'm very happy with the rest of the month, the win against almost-rivals Trafford being the one that warmed my heart the most. Against Stockton Walcott 31k scored one of the goal of the season contenders. This is the first time in this save I've seen our player scoring with a bicycle kick! Table. A solid month of 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss sees us climb to the 8th position. Youth intake preview. We just got our latest improvement, but I don't know if it starts to affect intakes so soon. Our best players are a GK and a RB, so I don't know how I feel about this intake. Maybe it's good to have more good players for those positions as I think the star players are not ready to renew their contracts. Upcoming fixtures. We start the new year against Emley AFC who we won 5-2 in the reverse fixture. Let's hope we get a similar result from this game.

November 2033. Tough start, relieving end of the month. Based on the numbers, it would've been fair for us to win the games against Warrington and Worksop, but on the other hand, we were lucky to win Belper Town and Gainsborough. In the big picture, this month looks very much like I feel we are doing. Inconsistent performances, but our base level is better than before. Table. Now we are very much in the middle of the table, but my feeling is we are closer to going up some positions than down. Facility improvement. As the board was not ready for an upgrade for youth facilities, I asked for upgrade for youth recruitment. Now we need to wait and see how much this affects our monthly expenses. Upcoming fixtures. Another busy month, with some tricky fixtures. I always enjoy facing Trafford who are becoming somewhat of a rival for us (or for me at least).

October 2033. A rare month as we had time for a friendly during the season. Our FA Trophy run ended on 3rd qualifying round, which is fine to me (but not the board). Good wins against Wythenshawe and Alfreton and then a tight contest against Bamber Bridge who are top of the table. Table. Two wins and a loss is an okay month in the league and it means we are solidly in top-half. Potential transfer clause. Fagan 29a is still the only player we have sold for actual money (25k€ in summer 2030). We have an amazing 50 % clause! When Bury bought him they were in Vanarama North. Now they're fighting for the title in League 2. What's even better is that Fagan 29a is now a starting striker. There's yet to be any interest for him but a young player who's scoring 10+ goals a season is something that will be noticed by bigger teams. As long as it is not a free transfer, we will get a nice boost to our finances. Upcoming fixtures. A busy month of six games. We face again Bamber Bridge, this time in the league cup where our 2nd XI will play. I hope we crawl closer to the promotion spots, even though I think we are not yet ready to actually battle for promotion.

September 2033. This was such a tricky month. We were so close of winning against Halifax on their ground. We were leading 3-1 in the 84th minute, but they scored on 85th and 92nd... In the replay Halifax deserved to win against our 2nd XI. In the league we haven't been at our best. We got what we deserved and we were actually very lucky to get a point against Witton Albion who just battered us. Table. If looking at our position in the league, we are where I want us to be. But...our form is bad and we are just missing something in our attack. I won't be making changes yet, but if this form continues, I might need to. New record. The replay against Halifax made us little bit richer. Facility upgrade. Our training facilities are no longer basic, they are now... *drum roll* ... below average! I've been also asking for youth facility upgrades, but as we about 600k€ in the bank I think we can't afford further upgrades yet. I thought this was just funny! Person named Unwin talking about relegation, that is fitting! Upcoming fixtures. As one can see, I already played the FA Trophy game...and lost. The board was not happy at all, let's hope it doesn't affect their overall happiness. In the league we should get back to our winning ways. Bamber Bridge and Radcliffe games will be tough, but maybe we can find a good momentum before those games?

August 2033. A very nice start to the season. Six points in the league and win in the cup. I have a feeling Emley AFC don't like as an opponent, we gave them a proper beating both in the league and in the cup. I was delighted to win Trafford away from home, they've been a very difficult opponent for us in the past. The only loss came against King's Lynn Town in a very even game. Table. It's early days, but so far so good. I'm after a top-half finish and this is a good start. Upcoming fixtures. The highlight of the month will be the game against Halifax Town. I don't think we have too much of a chance of winning it, but it is not totally impossible. At least we will get some money from the tie.

Season preview. This is my 10th season with FC Isle of Man and 2nd season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. We had quite a bit of problems of getting out of the previous division, I hope we can be more efficient this time. Things have become so much easier as we've been able to offer part-time contracts to our players. I don't think this is the season for promotion, but we could be close the season after this one. Season tracking. I wanted to show this just to show some of the tracking I do. I don't know if there's any logic to anyone else but me. But about this season: our odds are much better than last season, but I think it's mostly because this season there's no superior favourite to win the league (although there is one team with 1.40 odds). Facility tracking. We haven't had any upgrades for five seasons, but that's about to change in a month or two as the training facility upgrade is completed. If we keep the nice and steady cash flow going on, I will be pushing for youth facility upgrade. Manager tracking. I started this tracking in a save many FM editions ago just because I don't understand how managers' skills develop and change. I started with no badges and practically with no skills. Now I have Continental A licence and in my opinion my stats are very good for this level. What I don't understand is why my tactical style is Wing Play? I don't use wingers or wide midfielders. I have only one proper player on the wing, the left wing back. Then I have a mezzala and a right full-back, who can be counted as players doing some "wing play". Pre-season friendlies. We dominated all the teams who were expected to be weaker than us and had good battles against sides who are about as good (Guernsey) or better than us (Bradford, Clyde, Exeter). 1st XI played the weekend games and 2nd XI the Tuesday games. This is the first season that both 1st and 2nd XI is made 100 % out of our academy players. There might be some players who are not youth products getting minutes from the bench. There aren't quality players available (who would be interested to join us) from Crowd Dependencies or British Overseas Territories at the moment, so we are very close of being a "youth only" team. Media predictions. We are expected to finish 20th which is in line with the board expectations of trying to avoid relegation. I would be very disappointed with that, I want us to finish top-half! Our wage budget is the lowest in the league, but we have so much talent and potential that I firmly believe we can be much better than last season (15th). Media thinks our key player is Stewart 31a (I more or less agree), but how it is possible that Armstrong 30d is our hottest prospect?! He's personality is low determination and he hasn't showed any signs of actualy development. He will get his chances in the 1st XI, but he needs to deliver to keep his place. Upcoming fixtures. We start the season facing a new opponent: Emley AFC. I think we are the favourites in this one. Then two games that should be much, much trickier. Six points and win the cup is what I'm after.

Thanks! Most of the players have youth contract (as they are still so young) and then about 10 players have a part-time contract and about as many have non-contract. Of those non-contract players, only one has an important role in the team (Scott 27c). I tried to offer him a new contract, but he asked 675 € per week, he's not that good. So contract situation is really good! I had a small issue with our starting right back Stewart 31a. I triggered his +1 year contract extension and he got mad about it. He was unhappy for a couple of months but now he's gotten over it

Season 2032/2033 review. 15th in the league and getting to the quarter finals in the league cup - I'm happy! When looking at xPts we should've been a bit higher, but I'm not complaining. In the spring second half of the season we played very close to the level numbers suggested so maybe next season we can finish higher, maybe even top-half? Best eleven. I wanted to show this as it shows we still have four players who played here before I started managing the team. Next season I will push them out of the 1st XI. We have better options waiting in the line, but so far the older players have had the upper hand as they've been more consistent performers. Also, there won't be another season where a player with 6.5 average gets to the seasonal best eleven, I promise! Most minutes played. Parillon 30e played in all the games of the season! He signed a new contract right after the season ended and it will keep him in the team until summer 2036. For the upcoming season, I want to try new players for DLP (McCaffrey), CB (Moore), WBL (O'Reilly 27i) and CM (Doyle) as the current players are getting "old" and haven't been performing too well. Most goals scored. We didn't have a prolific goalscorer this season, but I don't know how much I can expect as our strikers are still very, very young. 14 goals by Adigun 32a is good for his first full season and Walcott 31k's 12 goals is fine as well as he mostly played for the 2nd XI. Reddy is going to be the club's record goal scorer for years to come but this might be his last season in the 1st or 2nd XI. My only worry is the DLF position as Scott 27c only got 8G+1A from that position. He should be creating much more, but he only got 1,71 xA?! Most assists. Somehow the advanced forward from the 2nd XI got the most assists. As mentioned, DLF Scott 27c was a disappointment, but so was WBL O'Reilly 27i with three assists. Our strikers robbed Stewart 31a who got 6,88 xA but only one assist. Players debuts. Seven players made their debut this season, Adigun 32a getting the most minutes. According to my assistant manager, he's now the best player in the team! The number on the left tells how many players have debuted and the numbers on the right are CA and PA of the player at the moment of debut. As our teams quality is getting better we don't need to push players to the first team right after the youth intake. Only one player from this year's intake, Coleman 33a, got some minutes in the last games of the season. Next year there might be even more debutants as I'm pushing the old guard out of the starting elevens. New contract. After a somewhat succesful season I felt I could ask for a contract extension. Board agreed with a 2+1 deal where +1 would be activated by promotion (which I think won't happen).

April 2033. This is as boring end to the season as it can be. We should've won the games against Warrington and Stafford, but just couldn't do it. Doesn't matter, we stayed in the division and that's the important thing! Final league table. We couldn't rise in the table during the last month, so our first season in the Northern Premier League sees us finishing 15th in the league. Stalybridge Celtic had the chance of creating the new point record, but they lost second game of their season and ended up with 104 points (same as the record). Stafford ended up winning promotion playoffs... and then their manager resigned?! He didn't have a new job waiting, he's now unemployed.

March 2033. We are safe from relegation! Only in the game against Radcliffe we conceded more than once. As we've conceded almost 2 goals a game so far this season, this is an important improvement. We also have a new goalscorer as midfielder Mandic 32d scored his first goal. Table. 45 points from 38 games is quite good for a first season at this level. If we can keep this form we can get past 50 points. Facility upgrade. As we have some money in the bank and we are making small profit every month I thought it was time for a training facility upgrade - and the board agreed with us! I could've asked for youth facility upgrade but I chose this instead as our players are not developing too much at the moment. First fine. Adams 30c got the honour of being the first player of fined actual money! Before this season we haven't had players with part-time contracts, so this is the first time fining players actually means something. New contract. Our best prospect, Adigun 32a, will stay in the team! He was unsure about the new deal as we were in the relegation fight but as we are now safe he was ready to negotiate a deal. He signed a 2+1 contract and I'm sure we will use the extension. Finances. The facility upgrade created a dent to our finances. Nothing to worry about. Upcoming fixtures. The last games of the season are tough! Couple of playoff bound teams and then Bishop Auckland who reeled theirselves away from relegation spots with their good spring form.

Youth intake 2033. This looks promising! Less 5-star PA players than in the couple of earlier intakes, but this is still a very good intake. The best player of the bunch, Coleman 33a, has 2,5 CA and professional personality! He's CB, and we are in a real need of a good centre-back. We actually got two proper prospects for the position as Hudson 33b, who is 2m tall , is also a centre-back. I also like the look of Gould 33i and Nduwimana 33n, the player profiles can be found below. The only player I won't be signing is Letheren 33p as he doesn't have high CA or PA and he has a bad personality (unambitious with low determination). Youth intake tracking. Not as high potential or ability as before, but I think it is because the level of players already in the team has gotten better. The key stats are not great, but it doesn't mean we couldn't get some really great players from this intake.

February 2033. Oof, this is not ideal. Our league cup run is over, but that's a small issue. In the league we just can't find our form... or the opposition goal Matlock Town fully deserved their win, but the rest of the games were very even. We were very close of winning Bamber Bridge, but then their goalie decided to do something unheard of (check the previous post). In the game against Darlington, a former player of ours, Lonsdale 28b scored his first goal for his club...in his 46th appearance - and he's a striker. Table. Five points from five games is bad, but not that bad that we would be in the relegation zone. Ten games left and seven points separating us from the relegation spots. Bisshop Auckland has found their form, let's hope other teams below us won't do the same. Upcoming fixtures. It's the month of youth intake, which should happen quite close to the Wythenshawe Town game. The games against Bradford PA and Alfreton Town are the ones I'm looking to win, and for the rest I just hope we get a bit lucky.

I think this goal sums up our luck. The opposition goalie has gone up for a corner in the 90+1 minute. He starts to run back as we clear the ball but their player passes it to him and he decides to score an absolute worldie from almost 30 metres. Can't be mad to goal as amazing as this.

January 2033. After an awful end of the year we turned things around by winning four and losing just one of our seven games of the month. Stalybridge was too strong, as expected, but we played consistently well throughout the month. The away win against Redcar put a smile on my face as it was one of the few games 2nd XI has got play in the league. Table. Six points above relegation zone. If things stabilise, we will end up being somewhere between 13th and 17th at the end of the season - and I would be pleased with that. Stalybridge is after an unbeaten season! Expected goals. I don't know if we actually can stabilise anything as we truly are the agents of chaos in this league. Third most nPxG and xGA, I love it! Finances. We are continuing profiting almost every month. This means it's time to ask for facility upgrades. I think I might go for the training facilities. My guess is that the cost could be somewhere between 600,000 - 900,000 €. Upcoming fixtures. Our 2nd XI continues their league cup run against Redcar who they won earlier this month. This is the furthest we've got in this cup! In the league we have mostly games who I predict to be very even, although Bamber Bridge and Worksop Town will be clear favourites against us. Seven points and I'm satisfied at the end of the month.

December 2032. Well... this is just disastrous. We are not this bad, we just can't score at all and we concede way too easily. Our defensive line constantly gets ratings below 6.4. The only positive thing came in New Years Day as I forgot to take screenshots before the Ashington game (that we actually won!!!) Expected stats. If looking at xG, xGa & xPts, we should be 10th in the table. I feel that's fair, but we are also so inexperienced at this level that we just don't know how to handle the games with better quality and tempo. Table. One point between us and the relegation zone. We actually were below the line but the win against league bottom Ashington helped us a bit. Youth intake preview. Good goalkeepers (we already have good starting and back-up keeper) and good wingers (not used in our formation)... this is not what we need. We need quality in CM and CB positions, maybe the B grade will surprise us! Upcoming fixtures. One in done, hopefully many more to com! I'm eagerly waiting to meet Stalybridge who are cruising to the title. The games where we have the best potential to gain wins are against Basford, Stockton and Witton.

November 2032. Our 2nd XI is cruising in the league cup, and our 1st XI is doing well enough in the league. The away win against Winterton was a big one as their wage budget is over 1 m€/year and their top earner is on weekly wage of 3,3k€! Table. Five points from four games is not amazing outcome, but it is enough to keep us above relegation spots. As long as we keep getting 1< points/game, we will be safe. Upcoming fixtures. Three games against sides around us before we face two teams from the promotion spots. Wins from home, something from the away games?

September 2032. Well... I was aiming for six points, got two in the end. We are not playing badly, we are just not taking our chances. Last season we couldn't stop scoring, this season the same players can't find the net. There has also been multiple red cards and penalties conceded. The team seems to be a bit more...nervous? In FA Trophy, Trafford, our rival from last season, got the better of us as they rightfully won 0-3. Table. Three points between us and the relegation zone. We are in a bad form but so are the teams around us. Injury. Scott 27c injured his ankle, again. I was slowly giving him more playing time each game, listening to physios, but he still twisted his ankle. He is a big loss, again. Upcoming fixtures. Can we change our luck in November? We need to find our scoring boots first (and maybe the defensive line needs to have a chat about defending). My full focus is in the league, but I don't mind if the 2nd XI gets through in the league cup - more games for them!

September 2032. Out of the FA Cup, but seven points in the league is a good return. The best game was against Stalybridge who seem to be aiming for back-to-back promotions. The heavy midweek defeats were not really that heavy, opposition was just way too efficient. But I admit, our defence has been horrible this season. We've also been playing without our best DLF Scott 27c and I feel our current attacking trios are a bit out of sync. There was whopping 4,920 spectators at our cup loss against Barrow. The loss hurt, but we got quite nice pile of money from it (but I forgot to took a screenshot about our finances). Table. 5 points between us and the relegation zone, I'm really happy with that! Upcoming fixtures. We face Trafford in the FA Trophy., the team we won in the promotion playoff final last season. They'll sure be hungry for revenge! In the league we have four games. I would be happy with two wins, anything better would be amazing!