Constantine

Serbian league has huge issue as well. Per our league rules, EU nationals aren't foreigners in the league yet in the game they are which makes playing with two top sides in the country basically impossible since most of their squads are foreign players. Our community had to issue a fix through Workshop and it was done in two days yet this issue lingers in the official game all the way back in the early access. It was reported, acknowledged long time ago and still isn't fixed, officially.

Blackburn Rovers According to a job board, I could've got into Premier League's Leicester and Southampton, for some reason. That seemed tad unrealistic to me but struggling Championship side... Yeah, I can see them going after me. Blackburn is a team brimming with history and that's why they appealed to me. One of the founders of The Football League, former English League and Premier League champions and they had one of the best footballers England ever had in Alan Shearer. But those are days long past... Today, Rovers are just a midtable mediocrity in English Second tier, finishing between 8th and 15th place (more of the latter) for the last eight years. I'd like to change that... General :: Facilities :: Finances The club is in decent enough shape. Squad is bit too bloated for my taste, finances seems fine but are bit of a mess when you consider debt we have to repay. Board isn't all that ambitious, at least considering this season's objectives. Fixtures :: League Table That was an awful start to the season. Some really winnable games from which they've got nothing. Looking at the schedule ahead... I'm in for a rocky start to life in Lancashire. Squad It seems... Fine. I guess. Goalkeeper Kaminski is class but he isn't getting any younger. I reckon there's another two, three good years in him but we would be wise to look for alternative. Brittain is our best right back while on the opposite side we don't have much of a choice, Pickering will have to do. Phillips is our finest CD and he's still young, with lots of room for growth. Midfield might lack depth but what we currently have is great, with Travis and Buckley being obvious standouts. Our final third... Ummm... Isn't that great. Far from terrible but I think that contending team might look for some better options than what we have in Maina and Dolan. IRL I have some sympathies toward Wood and McBurnie, I used to like both of them and while they could still do the job for us, they're past their prime. Overall, there's some good bones in this group of players. But there's also couple of overpaid oldies, some who don't fit my mold and some who just aren't cut for this level. We'll be doing some wheeling and dealing soon enough...

Brackley Town - May 2026 Sky Bet League Two Came back to our senses and won the league! Had one helluva game as our last one ever at St. James Park as Brackley will be moving places next season and host their games at newly built Brackley Stadium. Got bit more than half a mill for competing in League Two which finally put us back in the black. This is really bothersome, all that for just thousand more seats... Bolton's going to Vanarama National. Their downfall is just... Sad. Back on the bright side, Wildbore capped his fantastic season by winning a Golden Boot. Three of our players ended up in Team of the Year whilst I've got Manager of the Year award. How's that for going out on a high... Squad I've finally fulfilled my promise to Jordan Cullinane-Liburd and sold him to Hayes & Yeading. He's been after a new challenge, there were no takers for him until United showed up. That makes him our one and only piece of transfer business we've done this year. Squad's in good shape, I'd say. Nice mixture of youngsters and established, more mature players. Every single one of them got their moment in the sun, even our third goalie. And as you've seen on our finances tab, new manager will have more than enough money to put his stamp on this team. It's been one fun ride, Saints... I couldn't have wished for a better starting club. I've improved so much, I grew so much... Thank you for giving me this opportunity. And finally... Wish you all the best, Brackley Town. May your rise continue and we meet once more sometimes down the line. Now, let's take a little break... Go for a vacation or two. And then we'll see where I'll end up next...

Brackley Town - March & April 2026 Sky Bet League Two Perfect in March, fell apart during April for no apparent reason at all. And yet, one victory away from League Two title, having already sealed our promotion to L1, along with Salford. Next season's budget is announced and, considering our debt, it isn't that big. Still solid, though. My successor will have enough to bring couple players in. Youth Intake Another decent one. Three players signed. Rebollo. Grayson. Besant.

Brackley Town - January & February 2026 Sky Bet League Two This was first time of the year where we had our entire starting eleven healthy, playing together. And it shows, they were unstoppable. Wildbore became top scorer in Brackley history, he's very close to breaking Levi Amantchi's record for most goals scored in a season and he was best young player of League 2 in January. Just how good we were at the turn of the year? Two of our players contended for best player award. Ahead of a guy from Salford who scored 4 and had two assists. Nevers won it. Emirates FA Cup Sadly, we aren't there yet... It was a close game once again and they edged us on experience. News and Stuff We actually haven't signed anybody. Had couple of offers for our players from few L1 and Championships sides (West Brom was particularly annoying on deadline day) but, to my surprise, no one was interested in leaving so I just rejected those approaches without a care in the world. Mansfield came to me for a coaching gig but I wasn't keen on moving there. Bolton sacked their manager and I would honestly entertain their offer (because I have soft spot for them) but one never came. Speaking of leaving... If we get promoted, which seems like a real possibility, I think that's it for me at Brackley. We achieved so much and then some. If I stay here, I'd have to do another rebuild and... I'm not sure I can. This group has been together for two, three years now. I don't want to rip them apart. I'd love to leave on a high.

Fair enough... KUTGW. Cheers.

I might've missed it but have you thought or asked the board about turning professional? Since you're loaded and all that money is just sitting there...

Brackley Town - November & December 2025 Sky Bet League Two Some struggles in November only to turn it around and have a nearly perfect send off to year 2025. I don't know how we pulled that off, injuries and tough schedule kicked our ass but the boys kept on going and picking up point after point. Luis Silva was simply mesmerizing, Nevers picked up long term-ish injury and he once again responded masterfully, earning once more a YPotM award. Papa John's Trophy Sneaked past Plymouth thanks to Newport, who did us big favor. We were facing Exeter next and... You wouldn't believe it but, statistically, we were the better team. But we were way too wasteful and they were... Well, the opposite of that. It's a shame but we'll have our chance for a rematch soon enough. Emirates FA Cup Finally we've had some luck at the draws for the FA Cup. Dispatched Carlisle with relative ease and haven't had that much of a hardship at home versus league rivals. I hoped for a big PL away day in 3rd Round but instead we've got, once again, an away day at Exeter. And we're itching to set the record straight.

Brackley Town - October 2025 Sky Bet League Two Pretty decent haul, I'd say, considering all the injuries plaguing us. You can add Thorpe and Cosmos to our long term injury list as they'll be MIA for at least month and a half. It's a bummer but it's also a chance for someone else to pop off. One such is Luis Silva, who used Cosmos' and Nevers' injuries, played his heart out and got himself a Young Player of the Month award. Papa John's Trophy Thoroughly professional job done v Newport. Sadly, Wolves haven't exactly done us a favor and we'll have to beat them to get past Plymouth and go to the next stage.

Thanks. I'd be rather happy with that. Still going strong but injuries are starting to pile up...

Brackley Town - September 2025 Sky Bet League Two Here at Brackley, we had sort of a clean sweep going on. Flawless performances in the league, four wins out of four. Wildbore got himself both Player of the Month award (ahead of his teammate) and Young Player of the Month while I've got it for the Manager of the Month though it is more accurate to say that I shared an award with Crewe's manager, who had same brilliant record as us. It wasn't without the cost... Two horrific injuries to two of our players. Nurudeen was first to go as he suffered shin splits during our first match of the month. Second one was unlucky, as our newcomer, who just started to work his way into our starting lineup, sustained a lower back stress fracture and will be out for two months. Two players, whom will we be without for two whole months. I thought about going back to the market but we'll have to go way over our wage budget to sign anyone decent so I guess this means more playtime for Faye and Cullinane-Liburd. Papa John's Trophy Hopefully we'll get a decent result in our next game vs Newport. Otherwise, we're done...

Brackley Town - August 2025 Sky Bet League Two Our League Two debut went rather smooth, considering we haven't had any new squad additions aside from ones I've already shown you. It was a conscious decision to go with our youth and if it blows up in our faces, I only have myself to blame. Seems to work alright so far... Carabao Cup Did well against our league rivals but, as expected, struggled away at higher tier side. We still scored, had our chances to tie the game but... It's football. Squad Everyone but our third keeper played in at least one game. Usual suspects are playing well though we still wait for Thorpe to kicks in. Really happy for Cosmos and Murombedzi, they showed that they can still have some impact for us, despite maybe being out of their depth (attributes wise). Jaylan has great start to the season. I was surprised to see him on this list, as our players haven't got on bookies radar even once before this so I guess I'm happy he's proving them right. Bell displaced Silva as our youngest player ever. I've finally convinced the board to let me study some more. Other than that, it's been rather boring summer for us... Nothing much happened. Oh, right, one thing happened. My hometown club sacked their manager. I've considered applying and, considering my reputation within the game and competition I would face, I would be certain #1 pick for the role. If only I haven't signed new contract with Brackley two weeks prior. Yes, I could've done it, could've easily resigned but it didn't sit right with me. I guess it wasn't the right time...

Brackley Town - March, April & May 2025 Vanarama National League We were confirmed as champions after our away trip to Bath (and apparently were still drunk from festivities since we bottled while celebrating it at home next game). Middle of April. I thought championship race would be more exciting but, as it turns out, it's enough to fully rotate your whole team once after every two games and you're cruising while your opponents struggle with fitness and barely run after half time kicks in. It became really noticeable at this tier, where fitness levels of players isn't exactly the highest. Many of those games we've won because we had fresher legs on the pitch. Fixture congestion was nightmare but we navigated it much better than opposing managers. I've got two new deals, first one after clinching the title, as I've decided that I want to remain here at least one more year and second one, fully identical, after we've turned professional. We've got a decent budget for the coming season but I'm sure it'll be slashed once payments for our new stadium kick in. I thought it was unnecessary but the board went ahead with it anyway. Youth Intake Another great one. Five players signed. Bell. Scott. Faye. Due. Nurudeen. Also, I'm loving the fact we're getting lots of international players in these... Transfers Two players out, three players in. For now. As usual, those newbies are just replacements for our first team regulars who left/ are leaving us. Thierry Nevers's coming in place of Callum Stead. He'll start on the right wing while our dear Cosmos assume more of a backup role. Keenan Forson, with Nevers, another former West Ham players we signed, is a better version of Murombedzi. As with Cosmos, youngster will get to star while veteran moves back a little bit and helps from the shadows. Sam Sherring, coming from Lewes is straight replacement for Tobin, whose loan's ending. He might push Blythe our of starting XI. I don't know yet. We'll see. I really like Younger/Blythe partnership so far... Squad It looks little bloated but it'll sort itself out once contracts expire and loans end. We tied up all of our most important players down, some more easily than others (I'm looking at you, Duhaney). Except for Carline. I really wanted to give him one season in L2 but he was stubborn, not willing to loosens his playing time requirements. Wanted to be a regular starter and I don't think we'll be able to rotate as much at this level and I don't want all that baggage that broken promises brings, especially from someone highly respected in our locker room so... I'm sorry, Georgie boy, you have to leave. Luca Murphy is another one to leave. He never quite kicked off with us, despite being regular one season ago. Ali Koiki also requested to be regular starter so he's gone too. Also, couple of kids got promoted, they'll train with first team and jump in as needed. Silva and Ken had great debut seasons so they'll stay in rotation as backups, we won't sign anyone in their place. I wanted to bring in another fullback or two but ultimately decided against it. Frak it, we're giving those minutes to our own kids. Scott and Nurudeen, you're up, boys. Finances are alright. For now. We have a loan to pay for. Stadium to build. No new facilities improvements are made. No new coaching courses approved. We're going to have a word about that, chairperson...

Brackley Town - January & February 2025 Vanarama National League Currently looking Rochdale in the back but we have one game in hand to play. Waterlogged pitch at St. James Park really messed with our schedule during these last two months. We're doing great, what can I say. Goals are coming from everywhere, I'm happy with our defending... Except in the Bromley game. That one was shambolic, reminded me of our last year's shenanigans. Isuzu FA Trophy One of those matches, man... They had three shots, one on target and they've scored two. We were just so damn wasteful in the final third. News and Stuff We've sold another player, this time to Millwall. Peanuts, sure, but we have 30% of his next transfer. And we've brought in, I'd argue, even better replacement. More experienced, at least. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful transfer window for us. We're doing scouting for the next season but no approaches were made.

Brackley Town - November & December 2024 Vanarama National League Couple of mixed results as fixture congestion and injuries caught up with us. Slipped down the table but we have every intention of getting back up. We were without striker for a good chunk of November, Wildbore got injured and Ken got called up for Austrian u19 NT. Yeah, that happened... Fortunately for us, Sonny Hilton stepped up and gave me bit of a headache. He played really, really well and when they're all healthy, I have tough choice ahead of me. Emirates FA Cup Forced Wigan into a replay. Pushed them all the way through. I know it's an empty phrase at this point but there's really not an ounce of shame in this defeat. We were marvelous. Isuzu FA Trophy Sailed past Kettering. Kidderminster's next... News and Stuff Calder's out. He wanted more playtime and I obliged. Intake preview seems promising. I've got a call for an interview at L2 club, Northampton. While I am conflicted about staying here, unless I really like the club approaching me, I'd rather wait for an offseason to make a move.

Brackley Town - August, September & October 2024 Vanarama National League As it turns out, I was worried for no reason at all... We're at our level, finally. We're not dismantling everyone left and right, au contraire, we've got quite few punches in the face ourselves. It's more fun this way. Couple of those games were proper squeaky bum time... Currently at the top but we're not guaranteed to remain there. Haven't been in Vanarama Prem in a while so I'm genuinely surprised to see some of the teams in here. Rochdale, Southend, Oldham, Scunthorpe, they don't belong, man... Emirates FA Cup Made it harder for ourselves than it had to be but we went through. Only to find out that Lady Luck still don't fancy us in these Cup draws. We'll be facing Wigan in Round 1. Bummer... News and Stuff Luca Murphy went out on loan to Maidenhead. Too many mouth to feed and sadly, he's the one to pay the price. Our finest prospect from last years intake made rather impactful first impression, having become our youngest player ever, as well as Vanarama Prem's youngest to score. I've got an offer for a contract extension in late September. I was still kinda conflicted about it, considering new board's noncooperation so I've rejected it. I'd like to think that my rejection moved some needles around here since they were much nicer when we met at later time, approving upgrades to junior coaching, recruitment and finally letting me take another course. Not without fight but they did cave in at the end... One last thing, we've met a nice milestone. First of many, I hope...

Brackley Town - Preseason 2024/25 News and Stuff In hindsight, our signings during last season's end were the best thing we could do. Since we got embroiled in takeover talks. And those, of course, brought upon us transfer embargo. We were the target of a fan takeover. And while they pushed it through... So far, I can't say I'm a fan. In theory, fans buying their own club is a wonderful thing. In this case, that's just making things worse for me, personally. I had fantastic relationship with previous chairperson. Whatever I asked for, he provided. Sure, we had our push-pull moments but I could make him see reason. So far, I'm really disliking this new board. They've rejected my approaches for coaching, recruitment, training facilities using obvious bs as an excuse (we have zero debt). They wouldn't even let me take another course because they fear someone would snap me up. What kind of backward nonsense is that?! If anything, it'll only push me away from the club. Mr. Oliver, please come back... Transfers I assumed correctly, Adams leaving did broke club's transfer record. And by some margin... What I didn't expect was Middlesbrough coming for Tobin. Negotiated it up to 35k + 50% of next sale whilst Boro themselves offered us Tobin back on loan. Still, we brought in another defender. Ben Blythe. Tall, left footed, former Swansea player will take Josh's place in starting XI and star alongside Ollie Younger. That's about the only change we made this summer. Squad is looking rather nice. Silva and Ken(dlbacher) got promoted from u18 side and will get their debuts soon enough. We've had decent preseason. Fitness levels are up, morale's good, no one got injured. It's a win in my book. Now, let's see what we can do in matches that matter... Last board was tad more ambitious, asking us to get into play off. This new one expect mid table finish. It seems like the bookies agree too... Have I made a mistake, not strengthening this side during the summer break? Oh, well... We'll see soon enough...

Brackley Town - March, April & May 2024 Vanarama National League North Confirmed as champions way back in final days of March, which made a lot of people happy. Such a stupendous season for us, we were Man City of Vanarama North. Best team in division, it wasn't even close, which became even more clear when new season's expectations popped in. We're to aim for the play offs as newly promoted side. Ballsy... Transfers Our backup's GK backup finally left the club. Alaistar had quite few clubs asking for his services, he rejected all of their advances until Nuneaton came knocking. On the other hand, incomings... Since we knew Adams, Kirby and Collar will be leaving us, we decided it was the right time to sort out succession business. And we basically formed our team for next season. Before this one even ended. Ryan Stirk is our Kirby replacement. Nya has an edge, he's physically better but I really like Ryan as an all around player. He played in six matches for us, had one goal, one assist and can only be better next year. Sonny Hilton will slot in for Will Colllar. Will is obviously much better player but Sonny is brimming with potential. He's bit of a set piece maestro in the making, having already scored an absolute stunner from a FK versus Merthyr. Ronan Curtis is our new left inside forward. Irishman already played five games, scored three goals and I think he'll make rather lovely successor for Adams. Ali Koiki will fight it out with Maguire and Calder for LB position while Demeaco Duhaney seems poised to start on the opposite end. Carline is getting older, he's slowly losing his legs and having recently torn his hamstrings, signing Duhaney seemed like a no brainer. I'd love to sign another CB, if possible and that's about it. I'm really happy with this squad. It's got rather big... But it'll be trimmed soon. Adams is leaving for Preston, Collar for Solihull Moors. Kobei Moore signed with Torquay. He had rather nice first season with us and I wanted to resign him but he asked to be Important player. I didn't think he was there yet, Cosmos has been ridiculous for us down the right and I wasn't ready to drop him for Moore. For the same reason, we will be letting out top scorer go. We didn't see eye to eye during contract negotiations. I like Levi, he scored plenty while Wildbore was injured but between those two, I'll always pick Jaylan. I thought about hitting the market again to sign backups for Cosmos and Wildbore but... We found solutions close to home. Youth Intake. Luis Silva. Joaquim Santos. Niklas Kendlbacher. Jacub Dyche. Haydn Flitton. Bailey Walker. Rather nice crop of players. Silva is obvious standout and together with the Austrian fella will get the nod and quite few minutes of football off the bench. Financially, we're really stable. We have transfer budget, some maneuvering space where wage budget is concerned. Chairperson pumped some money into club after stadium expansion was announced and we're still waiting on Adams money. We'll be fine... Bring on next season. I'm excited!!

Brackley Town - January & February 2024 Vanarama National League North Yeah, we're running away with it. My boys even stopped bothering with defense. We were never exactly Atletico Madrid when it comes to it but these last two months we kinda don't bother with it. Score two or three, let one in, score another, let one in, rinse, repeat. Personally, I don't mind it for now, since we're winning easily and breaking records left and right but it might become a worry when we get into higher tier. Transfers Kirby out, Kirby in. Now, in February, we had some development. It won't kick in till June but... Adams is out. Arguably, our best player, same as Kirby and Collar, kicked up a fuss about exploring his options. We had him for another year and a half but Preston and Sunderland started an all out war for his signature which resulted in what will be, I assume, record transfer for our club. That's two year's running budget for Brackley. No way board will be rejecting that. Or let me reject that. In other news, I've refreshed our coaching staff a bit. Got even a famous name in. New HoYD, since we had some improvement done with recruitment. And another badge for myself. Man, I couldn't wished for a better board for my personal development. They've got my back every time...

Brackley Town - August til December 2023 Vanarama National League North It might be the high from all these green goodies and victories speaking but it seems like I've got my FM bug back. I knew I should stop and report back here couple times til now but I just wanted to keep playing. What can I say, we're spectacular. Cruising the league, despite having few difficulties in first two months due to fixture congestion. But when we're fresh off our feet, we're just blowing everyone off the pitch. Which is a good thing. Because I could easily end up in trouble and have a mutiny at my hands should we fail to deliver... Luckily, we're all in sync and pulling in the same direction. Though I really should consider not making that many promises. This is Morale Manager 23, after all and even one small thing could snowball into something disastrous... Emirates FA Cup We did well to go past the qualifiers but Lady Luck wasn't our friend at the first round draw and, while we did put up a good fight, Lincoln was simply way too much for us at this point. And one thing I forgot to mention, they snapped a player, a really, really good player from us. We actually had Ben Cottrell at trial. Rather tidy player. No one apparently wanted to touch him. But as soon as we put our offer forward, all hell broke loose, dozen upon dozen other clubs sent theirs and... I knew he was never gonna choose us but I was nice to dream that he might. He would be a game changer, player to build around. Isuzu FA Trophy I was hoping for another cup run but Spenny cut those hopes short... Only the league to focus on. It's ours to lose... News and Stuff Nya Kirby is leaving us for Burton Albion. One day, literally the same day, he and Will Collar just woke up and jumped me with notes that they'll be exploring their options as their contracts run down. Since both were expiring at this season's end, I thought it would be best to try and offer them out. Collar had no takers but Nya did. There were some negotiating, they offered us insignificant amount of money but I thought it would be best to sell him for nothing, keep him til the end of the season and maybe make some money down the line, as we have 50% of profit from his next transfer. Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment have had another upgrade. Had to fight the board a bit for Recruitment but they conceded at the end. And I've extended my stay at St. James Park for another year. I'm rather easy to please, give me Youth Recruitment, pay for my studies and I'm yours, 100%.

Brackley Town - Preseason 2023/24 News and Stuff Our finances are sorted out. We were slightly in the red near the end of the last season. Nothing scary but our employer injected lots of money (for our level, that is), sorted out couple of sponsorships and we actually had transfer budget!! It wasn't that much, 19k but it's better than not having any... Some of that money got rerouted toward Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment. Still at borderline basic level but I'll keep funding it. Always love having at least one academy prospect in the first team. Our reputation took bit of a hit in the last year. We'll sort that out... Oh, right... Chorley got promoted... I'm still bit sour about that... Hopefully, they'll wait for us in Vanarama National. Squad Couple of changes here and there but the core team from last season is there. Most of the players renewed their contracts. I think we released just three players. Plus our 40 years Model Citizen goalkeeper, who decided to retire. Rest of the lads are still here. Two players got released, two left (Fabio, who you can see here, and Flanagan). Our number 1 suddenly decided to retire and we're chasing another keeper. So that's five players that I had to replace. Number six, loanee, was brought in as a stop gap measure, after both Dowling and Kirby got injured in the same match, one week ahead of season' start and... We needed another body in there. Media predict us to finish in Play off zone (3rd). That lines up with what the board is expecting from us. Personally, I want us to win this bloody thing. I think we're more than capable of doing that. We have great group of players. See for yourself. I've bolded names of the guys we signed in this window. Just so we can differentiate them from the ones who were already here last year. GK Roco Rees, Aaron Bott DF George Carline, James Horsfield, Ollie Younger, Luca Murphy, Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, Josh Tobin, Joe Maguire, Riccardo Calder MD Nya Kirby, Shepherd Murombedzi, Jordan Richards, George Dowling, Gene Kennedy, Elliot Thorpe, Will Collar ATT Cosmos Matwasa, Kobei Moore, Joe Adams, Callum Stead, Levi Amantchi, Jaylan Wildbore Preseason fixtures doesn't mean anything to me. I have a habit of arranging matches only against lowly opposition. The goal is to build up fitness and morale. We'll have enough hard games this year. Let's see what we can do...

Heartbreak! It turns out history do repeats... We took the lead, looked like the better team... We had all the statistical parameters on our side, except for one that matters the most, goals scored. This sucks... This hurts...

We'll be facing Chorley... We won in our first encounter but they did beat us back in rematch at our place so... Our form is encouraging but this is just one game. Anything can happen in one game.

Brackley Town - April 2023 Vanarama National League North Unbeaten for two months straight! We've caught fire right on time, for the play offs. And our historic victory v Alfreton caused them to concede the top spot to Fylde, right there at eleventh hour, in the final round. I know I would be mad had that happened to me. I would be carrying some grudges... I'm pleased. To rise up to 3rd, after the start they had, to close the gap from the league winners to just three points... These guys are special. Bring on the play offs. We're ready. And, whatever happens, I'll be here next year. Board offered me a contract extension, which I gladly accepted. And they funded another coaching course for me. What can I say, these people are really supportive.

Brackley Town - March 2023 Vanarama National League North What are those weird yellow circle thingies? Oh, right, those are for draws. It feels like forever since we had one of those. And one of them is a goalless one. Anyhow, we're up to the third place, four points off from the cut off line for the play offs. Double that off the top. Our schedule is mixed, we're facing Fylde and Alfreton with Hereford and Buxton also in the mix. I think we're staying in the zone but one never knows for sure with the football. That's why we love this game so much...