TheLutterworthFox

Thursday at 18:15

Decided, for one final FM24 fling, to give this a go. Wish me luck!

May 21

Life After Hibs!

I've been trying to work out how to write this next update up and eventually think I've worked it out, it'll be very short!

I left Hibs at the end of the 2048 season, no jobs came up for a while but eventually on Christmas Day the offer came that I wanted and that was with Rangers.

The club were struggling in 7th place in the league, we had very little money but a decent squad. After a good end to the season we managed to end 3rd, qualifying for the Champions League

We didn't win a trophy but did get to the semis of the Europa League.

The big news you can see above is we got 5 teams in the Champions League for the 49/50 season as Scotland ended 2nd in co-efficient rankings for this season, 8 teams in Europe as a whole.

So the Summer came and went, I sold, I brought and overall I was happy with the squad. I then made a monumental error!!!!!

This is something I did at Hibs and Barry a few times, make a board request, they say no, I leak to the press and say how angry I am, the board them caves in and I get what I want.........not this time though!

I asked for new youth facilities and when I replied to the press question I was sacked!

So a short time at Rangers, less than 12 months!!!!

Scotland now sit 2nd in the rankings though, way behind England however. I am unsure where to go next, my initial though is maybe return to Wales with someone else to see if I can get them back up the co-efficient rankings, they are currently down to 11th and at the moment will drop below Ireland next season!

May 18

2047/48 Season

My fourth season at tycoon-owned Hibernian and another incredible season!

Total domination in the league, less points than the season before but towards the end I played the kids and we lost a few times.

We also lifted the Scottish Cup, beating Celtic on penalties.

But this period at Hibernian will only be successful if we do one thing and that's win the Champions League, runners-up in 2046, Quarters last season, could we actually lift the trophy?

For me this season was the one, I had built a ridiculously good squad, a squad fit to challenge Europe's elite, I had sold a few players during the Summer but the players I brought in had definitely improved the side.

An insane profit!!!!

So could we do it? Well it was one hell of a run as we got all the way to final once again.

Wins over Juve, Real Madrid, and Roma in the League Phase and we ended in the top 8. We then got PSG in the Last 16, a tough tie and after losing the first leg we had an uphill task in the home leg but turned it around in style to go through 4-3 on aggregate.

Dortmund were then dispatched in the Quarters before we scraped past Inter Milan in the Semis on penalties.

So a second final in 3 years and this time we faced Liverpool. A tough ask but I had confidence we could win.

The game was tight and tense but we had the better of the chances, half time and it was 0-0, could anyone find the breakthrough, yes they could, mid-way through the second half we broke, Davies found Csuzz who drove into the box and slammed it past the Liverpool keeper, now could we hang on? Liverpool didn't make many chances and we defended really well, the whistle blew and we had done it!!!!!

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An absolutely incredible season!

And that Champions League win alongside decent runs by the other Scottish teams in the other European competitions means we will go up to 4th next season, this means 4 spots in the League Phase of the Champions League next season, and looking at it we may eve rise to 2nd the season after!

Also because we ended 2nd in the season co-efficient ranking we get a 3rd team in the League Phase of the Champions League next season. Absolutely no idea though how we're going to catch England!

Now the players, firstly here is the whole Champions League winning squad.

And here is the seasons best XI

The first player I want to speak about is an academy player who has got some game time this season. Striker Dalziel has been brilliant when he's played, mainly in the domestic competitions, he ended with 14 goals in 20 starts, not bad for 17-year old!

He also ended first in the NxGN awards, just look how many players we had in the top 50!

3 in the top 6!

The best player this season by miles was Striker Osvaldo Franco, he ends as the Premiership and club player of the season and top scorer in the League with 24 goals in 18 starts

The other player who came to the fore this season was Right Back Frank van Breukelen, would you believe I signed him for nothing in the Summer of 2047!!! This lad joined on a pre-contract and has been stunning!

A great season, I could talk about so many players but I'd be here forever if I did!

Now I have to work out what I do from here! Do I stay and try and retain the Champions League? Do I move to another Scottish team and try and progress them in Europe? Or do I move to Ireland or Northern Ireland?

I won't lie I have no idea which way to go. I'd love to take Scotland to above England in the rankings but I know how hard that is, I tried in a previous save and never got close and as you'll see from the co-efficient screenshot previously we ended nearly 4 points behind England and that's with us winning the Champions League. I think, for now, I'll stay at Hibs and see what happens, winning the Champions League again would be amazing but if a job pops up that takes my eye I'll probably resign and go for it. Hibs are well set to continue to do well in Europe with or without me in charge but the likes of Aberdeen, Celtic, Rangers, Dundee United, Hearts and Ross County have all had decent runs in Europe over the past few seasons but fell short, usually in the Quarters or Semis, if one of those jobs came up I think I'd jump at the chance!

May 17

10 hours ago, Basschaapje.2 said:

Mate why haven't you been posting this save on your own website.

Been coming back every once in a while to see about a new save or updates on your Scottish kid journey.

P.S. Hope your fingers/hands are well

P.S.P.S. I am busy with finishing up my study so won't be replying.

Thanks for commenting, the blog has been dead for over a year now. I've played numerous saves on FM24. just not on the blog, this save is the first one I've properly enjoyed.

Hands are a lot better thanks, writing on here, in short bursts is really helping

May 16

2046/47 Season

I actually had this season and the previous one completed over a week ago but due to lack of interest I didn't feel like writing them up, since getting a really nice comment and some new followers it's given me new incentive to post them, hence why there's 2 seasons on here within 24 hours of each other!

It was another really good season domestically as we absolutely dominated the Premiership

We equalled the record for most points in a season and ended with a goal difference of over 100!!!

Absolutely insane!

We also lifted the Scottish Cup beating Celtic 1-0.

After last seasons heroics in the Champions League where we got to the final before losing to AC Milan I expected more of the same, unfortunately it wasn't to be as good as that but we still did really well.

Some great wins in the League Phase, we ended in the top 8 meaning we went straight into the Last 16 where we faced Celtic, we drew the first leg but smashed them in the home tie.

We then faced Bayern in the Quarters and just didn't show up, we lost the away leg before a poor 1-1 draw in the home game, an early exit but I do feel we're heading in the right direction.

Transfer wise it was another busy season, not as busy but still lots in and lots out!

A huge profit as well!

I actually made a couple of stunning free transfer signings, both Ahonen (CM) and van Breukelen (RB) were signed on big wages but massive players for another European push.

I also went back to Barry and stole one of their best prospects, Sean Davies joined for £15.75m, the improvement in him since I left has been brilliant.

Here is the Best Xi for the season

Left Back Luiz Eduardo was one of best performers this season, signed in the previous Summer he has been sensational down the left in a narrow diamond with 15 assists in 38 starts.

Mads Andreasen was brought in after Marincic decided to move on, he ends as the clubs top scorer with 26 goals in 32 starts.

Another great season and now I'm caught up, the next season is going to be huge, with a big push in Europe we could move into the top 4 in the co-efficient rankings meaning 4 Champions League proper spots! That would be massive!

We have lots of spend but as ever our squad is max-ed out with players so I'll need to sell before I can buy.

May 15

2045/46 Season

It's been another busy busy season with lots of players in and out.

The best player in from that list has to be Goalkeeper Jadon Silva, a really cheap fee for a cracking keeper.

In the league we eased to a second straight title.

Celtic actually kept up with us most of the way but they never caught us up.

We also won both the domestic cup competitions.

In the League Cup we took time to get going but 3 second half goals sealed a 3-0 win over Aberdeen.

And in the Scottish Cup final it was second half goals again which sealed a 3-1 win over Motherwell.

But it was the Champions League where things went absolutely mental, I knew we had a good team but a team good enough to win it? I'm not sure! What happened next though will live long in the memory.

Just look at that run and some of the teams we beat. Dortmund 3-1, PSG 2-0, Chelsea 3-1, Man City FIVE NIL!!!!!!

In the knockouts we got past Benfica before an incredible turnaround against Chelsea in the Quarters where we lost the first leg 3-1 but absolutely demolishing them 5-0 in the second leg.

Then came Man United in the Semis, a 3-2 win at Old Trafford before a 3-1 win and we were into the final!!!!

Where we faced Milan, surely we couldn't win the Champions League in only my second season in charge?!

Well no we didn't! It was a terrible game with very few chances, AC grabbed 2 goals before half time and our race was run, we did score in injury time but we lost 2-1! Not a bad run though!

An amazing journey and it's not finished yet!

In ground news we have agreed an expansion with the chairman, an increase of around 6k seats.

Budget-wise the tycoon owner continues to pump the money in, will I spend it? Who knows but with the squad max-ed out we need to sell before we can buy.

Now to the youth intake and it was another belter with 2 quality players coming in.

Defensive Midfield Connor Mitchell looks really good, he needs some work on his physicals but those mentals are top notch, he'll go out on loan next season to get some game-time.

Striker Finlay Dalziel is the best of the bunch, I won't lie I am very VERY excited for this lad! Again his physicals need work but he has good finishing and his mentals are really good.

Finally a look over our key men this season, firstly here is our best XI.

Academy star Scott Adams ends as the club and Premiership young player of the season., 15 goals and 20 assists over the season and he also received his first Scotland cap.

Player of the season went to last seasons signing David Marincic, a wanted man and he may end up leaving if the price is right. Still an amazing season for the lad with 37 goal contributions in 44 starts.

Finally, the top scorer was Osvaldo Franco, my word this lad is incredible!!! 41 start, 30 goals and 17 assists, not bad for £10.75m!!!

Overall a great season, to get to the Champions League final was insane but it was gutting to fall just short, it's given me hope though, with a few more top quality signing I really do feel we can lift Europe,s major trophy sooner rather than later

May 15

On 14/05/2024 at 08:18, MostHammered said:

This has been a great journey so far. It's gutting you never got the new stadium at Barry as it would have been interesting to see how far they could have gone with that extra revenue. Hopefully the save will continue at Hibs. Looks like there's some top talents there. Did you ever raid Barry for any of your old players?

Thanks so much for your comment. I did sign one player from Barry but he wasn't great. There aren't really anyone decent enough to come in, at the moment, a couple of the kids are decent but currently they won't speak to me!

May 7

2044/45 Season - Hibernian

My first season in Scotland is over, it started a bit ropey, I went very very mad in the transfer market but it worked a treat!

We absolutely smashed the league, we ended with 11 straight wins, we started slowly but once the squad settled we were way too good!

We also won the Scottish Cup....just!

I mean we more than deserved it but it was a little too close for comfort!

In Europe we had a solid run but, just like at Barry, we ran into one of the big boys and just didn't have enough.

A decent run but we need to improve the squad is we are to properly challenge.

Rangers did best out of the Scottish teams, getting all the way to the Europa League final before losing on penalties to Newcastle. Barry managed to get to the playoff round of the Champions League but lost to PSG.

As I mentioned at the start I went very mad on transfers!!

£220m spent, £213m recouped!!!! There was a slight method to my madness, we had way too many players so I shipped a lot of players out, we had 10 or so players over our Champions League limit and we had no homegrown players at all! So I signed a few HG Scottish players to help bulk the CL squad out, I also signed a few players for the future.

Out of those signings here are the best performers from the massive list this season.

Firstly is Striker David Marincic, signed for £10.75m from Dinamo Zagreb this lad is something else, 23 goals in 29 games, what a season!

Right Back Selim Coban was signed from Celtic and was an assist machine, 19 in 44 starts, a great signing for only £16m.

Finally is defensive midfielder Ed de Rooij, signed from Rangers for £18m, a massive outlay but the main thing was he was classed as homegrown, he didn't start in the side but forced his way in and managed 33 starts, he also made his Netherland debut.

But our best player this season was one who was here when I joined, attacking midfielder Farid Boutaleb is an absolute superstar, he managed 28 goals and 18 assists from his 47 starts!! He is being linked with big-money move to PSG, they will need to pay a lot to get him!

Here is the Best XI for the season.

Now we look forward to next season, the squad is pretty much max'ed out when it comes to Champions League registration so I will need to ship a few players out before bringing more players in, I need to continue to try and improve my homegrown contingent but I also need to try and bring some players in who are homegrown at club, that is proving to be very hard!

May 2

Club Number Two

We're off to Scotland!!!

Let me explain my reasons why, I've actually been following Hibs on this save for a few seasons, I noticed in 2037 they won the Scottish Premiership, the first time Celtic hadn't won it, so I looked into why and it turned out in 2033 they had a tycoon takeover!

Things haven't gone as well as their new chairman hoped since then, after that 2037 title win they've won the league twice since, in 2041 and 2043. In the previous season they ended 2nd, their manager decided to leave to take the Bosnian NT job and I dived at the chance

Maybe it's the easy way out but I have high hopes, with a bit of work on the squad, we can seriously challenge in Europe. The furthest Hibs have got in the Champions League is the playoff knockout round and their best season in Europe was when they lost the Europa League final to Man United in 2040. With so much money at our disposal I really feel that within 3 or 4 seasons we can challenging for the Champions League.

£139m in the bank, just under £30m to spend on transfers, I can do great things here.

The other thing that drew me to Hibs a few years back was when I saw them in the top 10 youth facilities!

The new chairman has massively invested in the facilities over the years and has also built a new ground, funnily enough it's named after himself!

A 39k stadium with an expansion capacity of just under 46k. Not bad indeed!

The club vision is also pretty good

Some interesting aims there including "Maintain the best youth system in the country", we are also expected to win the Premiership and the other cups comps. So domestically it could be quite easy but the aim here to win the Champions league

Now with that vision with regard to the youth system you'd expect a load of amazing wonderkids in the side but it's way far from the truth, there's no decent kids in the youth sides and very few players academy players in the first-team squad, our biggest prospect is this lad.

A solid full back who is 5* potential. He will be playing for me this season.

Squad-wise it looks decent but we don't have too many amazing players, the CA and PA of players are lower that I expected but I fully expect these lads to be good enough domestically, we do need to improve if we are to challenge in Europe.

Of those players here are the lads I think are going to be key.

Some superb looking players.

The main aim this season is to win the League and try and challenge in Europe, we ended last season in 2nd which means we enter the Champions League in the 3rd qualifying round, I fully expect us to get to the League Phase.

Player-wise I want to ship out a lot of these players and bring my own lads in, how easy that will be I'm not sure. I'd love to bring a few of my star Barry players in to see if they can do it in a bigger league with a bigger club.

May 1

2043/44 Season

Another season and another clean sweep of all domestic trophies!

Our best league season in a long while, even the kids are hammering most teams now!

We battered Bala in the League Cup final

Cwmbran got a caning in the Challenge Cup final

And Llanelli got leathered in the Welsh Cup final

In the Champions League this was the first time we didn't have to qualify, we struggled at the start but in the end we eased into a playoff spot, we then had an entertaining two legs against Sevilla before coming up against one of Europe's elite in the last 16, losing comfortably to Barcelona.

It's probably been the most successful season overall for the Welsh teams, Cwmbran got through the Champions League qualifiers, the first time two teams have got there, they went out in the League Phase. Llanelli did the best, they got the Quarters of the Conference League before losing to Farense.

The second best season overall for Wales in the save and that bumps us above The Netherlands for next season into 8th, still way behind the rest though.

An absolutely amazing 21 seasons in Wales with Barry Town!!! The progression has been immense but I feel like I've hit a brick wall now, I can't make this club or the league any better without more revenue coming in and that's impossible to do, the TV deal is awful, the prize money is woeful and the ground thing is just down right p*ssing me off now.

I know not many people are reading this, I'm only really doing it for my own records, so I'm not going to go into full blown explanations but my time in Wales is over. I think I've taken them as far as I can and it'll be interesting to see how the AI does with the league, clubs and money. That's not to say the save is over, I want to keep it going, just in another country, so let's turn this into a "Building Britain & Ireland (bar England)" save!!!

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland are my next ports of call. Let's see how far I can take each of them before I get fed up!!!!

So my time in Wales is over, let's look at some of the stats.

Firstly, my time at Barry Town.

19 league titles, 13 League Cups and 15 Welsh Cup, we've also won 7 Challenge Cups. Not bad for 21 seasons!!!

Just over 1,200 games at Barry Town, I'm not sure I've stayed at one club that long in any FM version. A win % of 73% is also incredible!!!

It's also nice to see the other clubs reputations increasing, slowly but surely!!!! Now we see how the AI treats them!!!!!

I know I'm doing the right thing, this save will continue on here for those few people who are following along. Let's see where I end up next!

April 29

2042/43 Season

Yes you guessed it, another league title in the bag!

Only one defeat, annoyed really as it came with three games to go and I really wanted that unbeaten season!

And that means we have overtaken TNS for the most league titles

18 league titles! Not bad at all!

It's also been another domestic clean sweep.

It's all getting slightly easy now, I wouldn't say boring as I'm enjoying giving the kids their chance but winning doesn't feel as exciting as it did!

Now to the Champions league and once again it was another incredible season.

We actually struggled in the League Phase, we had some really tough fixtures, especially to start with but we turned it around, winning 4 of our final 5 games to seal a playoff spot, where we then went on another amazing run all the way to the semis before losing the Liverpool. That AC Milan win the quarters was probable one of the best wins of the save so far, especially the 1-0 win at the San Siro.

The other Welsh teams in Europe overall didn't do great, Cardiff Met Uni got to the Conference League but went out in the playoff round after the League Phase, TNS, in the Conference League did absolutely amazingly, the got all the way to the semi's beating Shamrock, Aston Villa and AEK Athens before losing to Real Sociedad in the semi finals. An amazing run.

20 seasons, 18 league titles, 12 Welsh Cups and 12 League Cups! Pretty good going.

It's also nice to see another improvement in our reputation which is now up to 3.5*, still 0.5* behind Cardiff who are now an established Premier league team.

In 20 season I've managed to get Wales from 49th in the co-efficient rankings to 9th, the league reputation has also improved from 107th to 12th! That is massive.

We also had another great youth intake with two elite talents.

Shane Burrows is a decent looking striker, we seem to get a qualify forward in every intake. Good finishing, some good mentals but he does need work on his physicals.

Lewis Morgan is a right back who looks amazing for 15 years old. His mentals are insane for his age.

Player performance-wise, well I wont go through everyone but here are the key men.

Ieuan Roberts ends as the clubs player of the season, he was signed last season from Swansea for £4.3m, he stayed there on loan but this season came in and has been incredible. 39 starts, 15 assists and 4 goals.

Tidjane Junior ends as the clubs signing of the season, I feel like we've really struggled with finding a top quality keeper over the past few season, so I broke the bank, he cost me £14m and has come in and been amazing. 14 clean sheets in 27 starts. He is only going to get better as well

There are still so many academy players trying to break through, once again Gary Morgan, Ryan Roberts, Phil Wilmot and Craig Harrison were ever-presents but another young lad came in and produced the good time and time again.

That lad is AM Ian Mitchell, he made 12 starts and 11 sub appearances, scoring 4 goals along the way, he is improving rapidly as well. Now I just need to find him a spot in the team, Ryan Roberts is my first choice AM, I may need to end up playing 2!

Here is the Best XI for the season, no Gary Morgan or Phil Wilmot which I find odd

And here is the whole squad, so many academy players!

Now I need to decide what to do next. Do I stay here and attempt to win the Champions League? Or do I move to another Welsh club and try and improve them? The other clubs really aren't doing much, yes they're improving but not quick enough. Not one club has improved their facilities and all the clubs I threw money at a few seasons back have spent it all on pretty much nothing and now have a negative bank balance.

Building a nation, for me, cannot be done at one club but do I really want to leave here when we are so close to winning the Champions League? But can I really win it? We aren't good enough and we don't have the reputation or ground to compete with Europes elite season after season.

The lack of a new ground is really getting me down, I wouldn't say it's ruining the save but it is annoying the hell out of me now, maybe I need to go somewhere else and see if I can get them to where Barry are now and then they may give me the new stadium that I want.

I still don't know, I'm 50/50 but maybe, for the sake of the save, I move on and start afresh somewhere new.

April 28

2041/42 Season

Another season down and yes, that's right, another league title, that's 17 in a row and we're now level on titles won with TNS.

Our lowest points tally for around 8 seasons, no real reason to that bar I mixed the team around a lot, gave some of the kids a chance, too many draws for my liking but we end 21 clear of the chasing pack.

Domestically it was an amazing season overall with another clean sweep of all four trophies

We smashed Llanelli Town in the League Cup final.

In the Challenge Cup we scraped past Raith Rovers on penalties.

And in the Welsh Cup we hammered 2nd tier side Aberystwyth Town!

So a great domestic season but could we continue to progress further in Europe after the quarters last season and the semis the season before, well it didn't go as well as that but overall I was happy.

Some really good wins in the League Phase, beating Bayern probably the best of the lot, unfortunately though we were dumped out in the Last 16 by Dortmund, 2 really poor performances overall.

The other Welsh team in Europe also did pretty well, we had 5 teams and, including us, all 5 got out the qualifiers with Bala, Cwmbran, Cardiff Met and Holywell all getting into the Europa Conference League. All 4 of them ended in the playoff spots with Holywell and Cwmbran getting through the playoff round but went out in the Last 16

Overall though probably the best season and I can now see progression in all teams.

With Wales moving up to 10th in the co-efficient this now means we are guaranteed a League Phase spot in the Champions League with a total of 6 teams in Europe this season.

In fact, with our good performances over the past few seasons we will move up to 9th in the rankings.

We will go above Greece but there is a big gap to Netherlands and then a huge gap to the rest.

Some really pleasing progression overall.

Now to the youth intake and once again it was pretty good, this time though there were no elite talents but we did get 6 top talents. Not all of them are brilliant but here are the 3 I am excited by.

Alberto Espinoza - Central Midfield

He needs some work in a lot of areas but overall he looks solid, good passing and technique but he will need to massively improve to become a first-team player

Wayne Rodgers - Striker

Probably the best player of the lot, 15 for finishing is brilliant and he has some good mental's, he's also pretty quick, he does need some work though in some of his physicals. I have high hopes for this lad.

Javier Marques - Attacking Midfield

This is what I love about FM, we get a Azeri player in our youth intake!!! He actually looks really good, I like the fact he has good flair but all-in-all he looks a really good-looking player and I have hope he can improve enough to become a first-team regular.

Player-performance wise there's only one place to start.

And that's Gary Morgan, this lad is something else, another sensational season, he also wins the Welsh Player of the Year as well. 35 starts, 25 goals and 18 assists!

You may have seen a new name in some of the cup final wins and that lad is Ryan Roberts, he came through the 2040 intake and hasn't really progressed as well as I hoped, his potential ability has dropped rapidly but that hasn't stopped me giving him game-time and he's repaid me in bundles. 31 starts, 13 goals and 7 assists, not bad at all!

The final player I want to speak about is Summer signing and signing of the season Oliver McDonagh, the central defender joined from Birmingham for £5.25m and slotted in seamlessly.

And here is the Best XI. 4 academy players in there!

Now we look forward to next season, one more title win to overtake TNS for most wins. It will be more of the same, I don't foresee too many signings, our squad is absolutely massive, full of wonderkids, who I hope to give more game-time to next season. What I want next season is to continue to progress in the Champions League and to hopefully help the other Welsh teams in Europe progress as well.

Financially we are also really comfortable now, £75m in the bank, it's actually £15m down from last season but that's mainly because I did spend a lot of money on players.

The board are clearly backing me once again with a solid war chest of money to spend, whether I spend it all I'm not sure, I do need to trim the squad down first!

And a final piece of news, yes you guessed it, for the 4th time the local council blocked our new ground application! I am getting really annoyed with this now, absolutely no way can we progress any further as a club without a new ground. Maybe this will be my last season at Barry Town, winning the most League titles will be a nice end, whether I decide to resign is for another day, for me it depends on if I see a new opportunity at another Welsh club.

April 20

2040/41 Season

Another incredible season, our 16th league title was expected

We also managed to win all the three other domestic trophies, only the second time we've done this in the save.

A relatively easy win in the League Cup against Bala

We needed extra-time to beat Dundee in the Challenge Cup but eased to a 3-0 win.

And in the Welsh Cup we absolutely battered Haverfordwest!!

In the Champions League we once again had an amazing run but only managed to make the Quarters.

A decent run again though with some brilliant wins including beating Barcelona in the League Phase and getting past Dortmund in the Last 16, this was the first time we ended in the top 8 of the League Phase as well, absolutely brilliant!

The good news is the other Welsh teams are also improving. Of the 5 teams, 4 qualified for the League Phase. Cardiff Met Uni went out in the League Phase of the Europa League, Bala Town went out in the Conference League but Llanelli managed to end in the top 8 of the Conference League and went on one of hell of a run, getting all the way to the final where they eventually lost to Manchester City! Insane!!

What this has done is massively bump up our co-efficient, we started this season in 12th, next season we will move up to 10th and that means a guaranteed league phase spot in the Champions League!!

Player performance-wise it's been the season where the kids have really come to the fore!

Andy Langford, who spent last season on loan at TNS came in this season and has been a revelation, he came through the 2036 intake and has massively improved, he ends this season as the clubs top scorer and player of the season! 37 goals in 33 starts!

It's also been an incredible season for Winger Gary Morgan who ends as the clubs young player of the season, top assister, highest average rating and most POTMs.

But the biggest news was he ends as the Welsh Young Player of the Year ahead of Langford and Harrison, the future is bright!

We've also started seeing more Barry players get Wales call-ups, I decided to leave two season ago as I really wasn't enjoying the international side of FM. Well this season Morgan and DM Wilmot both got callups! It's nice to see them getting the recognition they deserve

Here is the Best XI for the season.

5 academy players in there!!

Now we come to the annual youth intake and my word, just when you think things can't get any better we get a 5* intake with 6 elite talents!!! Not all of them are amazing but these 2 lads look like stars.

Absolutely incredible!

Now we look forward to next season and it will be more of the same, players will leave and I will look to either bring the kids in to fill the gaps, signing will be made, mainly bringing in younger players on free's but if the right deal comes up then I have the funds to spend.

Nearly £40m! The bank balance looks really healthy now, just over £80m, a £5m profit on last season, this season we've chucked nearly £10m on upgrading the youth and training facilities after they dropped in the Summer. We've also spent around £5m more on transfer fees than we recouped. Still the bank balance is heading the right way, you never the council might eventually let me build a new ground!!!

Total domination! The rep is still stuck at 3* though, even if we are the 22nd best team in Europe, we are still some way short of Cardiff, who after having a tycoon owner (now left) have massively improved and now sit at 4* rep, they are still bouncing between the Premier League and the Championship.

It's just nice to see everything slowly improving, unlike my Gibraltar build a nation where a massive TV deal 5 seasons in completely changed the save and made things much easier, this has been slow going, gradual improvements but it's good to see it paying off and even more-so now that the other Welsh teams seem to be improving and doing better in Europe! Lets keep it going!

April 18

2039/40 Season

Another season down and as expected it was as dominant as ever domestically.

A 15th straight league title but only our 2nd unbeaten season, not bad seeing as I heavily rotated!

We also won 2 of the 3 domestic trophies lifting both the League Cup and Welsh Cup.

But it was the Champions League where things got slightly crazy!!! Our best run so far has been to the Last 16, this season we went even further!!!

All the way to the Semi Final!!! It was an absolutely incredible run, our highest points tally in the League Phase alongside out joint highest finish of 12th. We did get easier ties than usual in the knockouts but to get past Roma, Brentford and Porto was insane. We then came up against PSG and our run was over but what a journey and just over £60m in prize money!

An absolutely incredible season overall and things continue to improve.

The League rep is now up to 16th, just shy of the English Championship, the co-efficient is also rising quickly, this season we have been helped by the fact both TNS and Bala qualified for the Europa League and Conference League respectively, both of them also got out of the League Phase but lost in the playoff round. The best season so far and we end with record high of 11.8 points. We will also move up to 12th in the co-efficient ranking, this removes a Conference League spot but adds a 2nd Europa League place.

Player performance-wise it's once again been a great season for a couple of the academy lads but once again it was Steven Allan who won the player of the season award. He's now into his 13th season at the club and has become, not only the record league goalscorer for the club but also the record league appearance holder.

Stunning!

Academy star Gary Morgan ended as the clubs young player of the season, he also won the Welsh young player award

And our signing of the season went to GK Vahe Minasyan, signed from Reading for £8.25m, we needed a new star keeper after losing Oakley Sherring and this guy fitted the bill, 23 clean sheets in 40 games!

And here's the Best XI

As you can we switched to a 424 this season, mainly in the domestic games and due to the fact we have so many good Strikers!

And here is the whole squad.

As you can see there are numerous academy lads in the squad who played their part this season, DMs Kennedy and Wilmot, CB Harrison alongside RW Morgan played nearly all the games, next season the likes of RB Pierce and LW/ST Owen will get a lot more game-time as they seem to be improving rapidly.

With our massive prize money gained this season our bank balance ends on £73m, a £37m profit from last season, as you can see the prize money is needed just to keep the bank balance stable. We are getting bids in for some of our players but the offers are rubbish compared to how important they are to the team.

Now to the youth intake and yes we had another sensational one, we actually had 4 elite talents but only 2 of them look good enough to make an impact in the first team.

Ryan Roberts - Attacking Midfield

Now obviously we've moved away from the 4231 but if this lad comes in I may have switch back, he looks amazing!

Paul Stokes - Right Back

Again really good, he does need some work on this mentals but he could be a useful player in the future.

And finally, bad news again with regard to the ground, for the 3rd time the local council have blocked it!

This is driving me mad now, we cannot continue to play in a 5k stadium, it does not bring enough money in and every time we play in Europe we have to go to Cardiff! It's driving me mad if I'm honest!

April 16

2038/39 Season

Apologies for lack of updates, got so engrossed in this season that I didn't want to stop, so here is an end of season update!

As expected we claimed another league title, the 14th in a row! Probably the most dominant one yet even if we did end with our lowest points tally in 7 seasons.

25 points clear of the chasing pack!

In the other domestic cups we went out of the League Cup in the Quarters and the Challenge Cup in the 4th Round but we did manage to win another Welsh Cup.

A tight game against TNS but we well deserved to win.

In Europe it was another decent season, we once again qualified for the League Phase of the Champions League and managed to get through the playoff round where we were given one of the toughest draws and succumbed to defeat against Manchester United

Some really good wins though including battering Celtic away and Rangers at home!

The other Welsh teams once again pretty much failed with only TNS getting through the qualifiers of the Conference League, they did manage to qualify for the knockouts but lost to DInamo Zagreb in the playoff round.

Overall though decent enough and it should be enough to rise another place in the co-efficient to 13th, the highest of the save so far.

I'm absolutely loving this save so far, everything is still on the rise even if it is real slow going! Our reputation has also increased to 3*, this means that only Cardiff have a higher rep than us (3.5*), Swansea are on 2.5*.

Player performance-wise it's been nice to have a few more academy players break through this season, both Winger Morgan and Defensive Midfielder Wilmot broke into the first XI and have performed really well, especially Morgan who has been a revelation.

15 assists and 9 goals over the season, his improvement has been incredible, he is now wanted by quite a few English clubs, fingers crossed I can hang on to him.

Wilmot also had a solid season even if his average rating doesn't show it. 8 goal contribution from DM in 26 starts, he has also improved massively and is also a wanted man, I turned down a bid in the Winter of just over £1m from Leicester, hopefully he can stick around.

Player of the season once again goes to AM Tudor Mendel-Idowu, 31 goals is just incredible!

And the signing of the season goes to Right Back Graham Lewis, signed on a free in the Summer from Rotherham, he has been top quality with 15 assists from 37 starts.

And here is the Best XI

Some brilliant peformances.

Now we look forward to another season, more of the same to be honest, I need to continue to improve the squad but also try and help the other Welsh teams improve even if I am finding that a real struggle, clubs are beginning to improve their facilities and we've even has two clubs build new, but small ground. Bala Town moved into the new Maes Tegid Stadium in 2033, a 1,756, 504 seated ground, Pontardawe Town moved into Ynysderw Park in 2028, a 1,000 capacity, 250 seated ground. So not amazing if I'm honest but it's something!

What we need is these clubs to start building up their squad, money has been spent but nothing spectacular.

So once again it's down to me to try and ship players out, either permanently or on loan to the other Welsh clubs, something I've struggled with in the whole so far.

As for my squad, a few players will leave with Summer when their contracts expire, the main ones being LW Waters and Defenders McAllister and Malham, I'm hoping I can keep transfer costs down if I need to replace them, hopefully some of the kids can step up, I have enough of them!

April 15

On 12/04/2024 at 11:16, naterr said:

Well done on this, looks like it has been a success so far, I have just read through the entire thread today.

I did the same with Wales in FM 23 (The mighty Conwy Borough) and had great fun with it but ended it before I had reached our end goal as the other teams in Wales always let me down in Europe!

Hope you have better luck!

Thanks for the kind words and spending time reading the thread, means a lot to know you're enjoying. The other Welsh teams are really annoying me now, I keep throwing money at them but they do nothing with it, plus, like you, they are all letting me down in Europe!

April 11

2037/38 End of Season

Another season down and our 13th straight league title! Unfortunately though our unbeaten season ended with 3 games to go, I did mess around with the team, gave the kids a go and we fell to defeat to TNS.

A really good league campaign overall.

We also lifted the Welsh Cup, only just though.

We managed to win but went down to 10 men a third of the way through the game! Another trophy lift though!

In the Champions League we managed to get to the Last 16, we beat Roma in the playoff round before being battered by AC Milan

A decent run though, a good boost to our co-efficient, next season we move up to save-high position of 14th in the rankings.

Academy star Craig Harrison was one of our best performers this season, he came through the 2035 intake and is now an integral part of the side, from central defence he managed to score 13 goals, not bad!

Now for the youth intake and it wasn't great this year, no elite talents, a few top talents but only one player that stands out.

Central Midfielder Conor Potter comes in, he needs some work and he will need to retrain as a DM to fit into the side, a good base though, he could become a solid first-team player in the future.

With regard to the players loaned out this season here are the players that averaged over 7 during their period away.

Kirk William by far the best performer, expect to see him and a few others in the first-team next season.

Charlie Mawford is one of those, he ends as the Cymru South player of the season with Newtown, a great season with 23 goal contributions in 31 games. Not bad for a free transfer signing from League Two Walsall!

A really good season, this Summer will be more of the same, I need to keep improving the side but also trying my hardest to help the other Welsh clubs out, whether what I'm doing is working is another story! I'll continue to loan my players out to other clubs in Wales to see if it helps them, especially those that are in the European qualifiers, the problem is I need these clubs to actually bid for them! I need to make sure I improve the first XI this Summer, we have £25m to spend, a new Striker is needed as is a new DM and CB.

April 10

September 2037 to January 2038

Domestically it's been another dominant season bar one result!

We got knocked out of the Challenge Cup in the 3rd round to Inverness, that has been our only defeat of the domestic season so far, so we still have the chance of winning three domestic trophies. One trophy has been ticked off and that's the League Cup.

Only just though as we needed penalties to win the game.

In the League we're 8 games away from a 2nd invincible season.

Still need a few wins to claim another league title but it's 99% in the bag.

In the Champions League we've a really good League Phase, some cracking results.

After 5 games it looked like we were going out, queue 3 amazing results including a win at the Emirates against Arsenal, one of the best wins of the save so far.

We did FM them slightly but defensively we were brilliant.

That win sealed a playoff spot and 14th place in the League Phase.

So a brilliant first half of the season so far, one thing we've struggled with is goals from our forwards when Steven Allan doesn't play, the kids just haven't done it so I've dipped into the transfer market to bring a new forward in.

In comes Japanese international Shinichiro Minagawa from Hiroshima for £3.5m, a top quality player who, attribute-wise is better than Allan.

Performances wise our best player has been Tudor Mendel-Idowu, he's been playing as the Mezzala in a midfield 3 and has been incredible, 20 goals and 13 assists in 33 starts, not bad!

With regard to the players out on loan one player has really stood out and that Right Winger Kirk Williams, signed last season from Wrexham for £400k he's had an amazing season at Cymru South side Pontardwe with 12 goals and 13 assists overall, he may be one to come into the first-team next season.

April 9

Pre-Season 2037

Apologies for lack of updates lately, been away and just taking a break whilst being pretty ill at the same time!

Its been another busy Summer bringing in younger players on low fees to then send out to other Welsh clubs, I've also decided to chuck all my transfer budget to a few of the Welsh Premier clubs to try and improve their finances and hopefully help them improve their facilities or turn professional.

Out of this massive list of players there are three that will be in the first-team this season.

Leonardo - Striker

Signed for just over £1m, he is a young and talented and will provide good back-up to Steven Allan

Jonathan Rowe - Winger

A bit of experience was needed and Rowe fits the bill, signed for just over £1m

Jason Haines - Winger

A top quality signing on a free from Chelsea, we really needed more option out wide.

And here is the list of players I've sent out on loan.

LOTS!!!!!

It'll be interesting to see how these all do.

We also say goodbye to a few first-team players.

All of these had fallen out of favour, not massive fees but there was no point in keeping them about, taking up space in the squad.

Result-wise it's been another really good start.

Another breeze through the Champions League qualifiers. Batumi and Shamrock were dispatched with ease, we then faced APOEL in the final qualifying round and smashed them in the first leg, this meant I could rotate for the second leg, we lost the game but we were never in trouble of going out.

It looks like a decent set of fixtures, we should be able to do enough to get a playoff spot.

The good news is TNS also managed to navigate the qualifiers in the Conference League, beating some decent teams along the way. They were the only ones, with Cardiff Met narrowly missing out of a Conference League spot, losing in the final qualifying round.

April 9

On 08/04/2024 at 17:03, Samth said:

How do you mange the squad and registration rules in Wales?

Its been pretty easy to be honest, mainly because I've relied on the intake/academy players who come in at 16. I'm not sure I've had a single season where I've had too many players.

April 5

The next best thing I guess, a 600 seat increase in capacity, we can get it to a maximum of 5k before it's max'ed out

April 5

And for the third time the council blocks the new ground AGAIN! Fuming!

I can keep improving the squad but without a huge increase in our revenue we will never EVER be able to invest in the club properly. I'm not sure what to do now as this is getting really annoying!

April 5

2036/37 Season Review

Another title win! That's now 12 in a row, it wasn't as easy as previous season though, we only clinched the title with 3 games to spare!

A season of contrasts, we have our best Champions League run of the save but only end up with two domestic trophies and end with our lowest points tally for 6 seasons. A title win is all that matters though and I have spent the season rotating the team to give some of the kids a chance.

Overall though everything is still improving, the league rep is up to 23rd, our co-efficient is slowly climbing again, and because of ours and Holywells runs in the Europe we will move back up to 15th in the co-efficient rankings for next season, meaning an extra spot in Europe for the 38/39 season.

Above is the current squad, some really good performances this season and it's nice to see a good mix of older, non-Welsh players and academy lads who are more than holding their own.

Keith Kennedy is one of those players who's come in this season and been really good, even in Europe.

38 starts, 11 sub appearances, 6 goals and 8 assists with an average rating of just over 7. Not bad, he is also improving rapidly so I expect him to be even better next season.

Financially we're also looking really good as we end the season with just over £60m in the bank, helped by £40m in prize money and £12m in player sales. This Summer it will decline though as I will be chucking money at the other Welsh clubs, stupidly high fees for half-decent players to try and give the clubs with no money the cash to be able to turn professional and improve their squads.

The board have given me the budgets to do this as well.

So their are two aims this Summer, the first is to throw money to Welsh clubs, the second is to bring in young players who cost nothing or very little to bring in, send out on loan or give game-time to, to then look to sell for a profit.

April 5

2037 Youth Intake + Champions League Results

Firstly, for the first time in the save we got past the playoff round of the Champions League!!

And we did so in style against a quality Roma side.

A cracking draw away before a stunning display at home!

Into the Last 16 and we were drawn against Real Madrid and as expected it was a step too far.

We got absolutely smashed!

A good run though, our best so far in the save and a nice chunk of prize money to boot, unfortunately Holywell went out in the playoff round, losing the FC Copenhagen.

Now to the youth intake, the preview has it as a 2.5* intake with the best rated position a "C". I've seen from the past intake that a "C" is pretty good so I expected at least one decent player and that's exactly what we got.

It actually ends up a 3.5* intake with 1 elite talent and 1 top talent.

Mike Pierce is the "elite" talent and he looks pretty good.

Does he need work? Yes, but overall he looks really good and will go straight into the first team as my back-up RB.

The "top" talent is another right back!!

Again he look OK, good aggression and determination, I like the fact he can cross and has decent pace, my thoughts are I may retrain him as a RM or RW.

April 5

December 2036/January 2037

A solid few month with a couple of defeats towards the end, unfortunately the defeat to Larne means we can no longer do another domestic clean sweep.

We did however lift the League Cup once again

Steven Allan the match-winner! This lad is a legend of this save.

The league is still going well, we're 7 clear of TNS with 2 games in-hand. We've also got into the playoff round of the Champions League, 13th is our highest finish in the League Phase so far in the save.

Holywell, the only other Welsh team in Europe did amazingly in the Europa League to qualify for the playoff round after ending 20th in the League Phase,

Some really good wins there!

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