TheLutterworthFox

January 2031 This save just gets better and better! Firstly, we lift another League Cup with a lucky 1-0 win over TNS It was an awful game with very few chances settled by a penalty, that's four successive League Cup wins! But this result was by far the best result of the month, dare it say it, the best result of the save so far! WE BEAT DORTMUND!!!! Unfortunately it wasn't enough to qualify for the next round by 7 points is our best points total in the League Phase of the Champions League so far. In the league, even with that TNS defeat, we still sit way clear at the top. A game in-hand and 9 points clear!

December 2030 Wow what a month! Absolutely tonnes of goals, some great football along the way. Just a shame we decided to screw up in the Welsh Cup, I did pick a rotated team in preparation for the Roma game but we played awfully against a team in the division below us to go out on penalties. The Roma game however was brilliant, a 3-3 draw sealed with a last minute own goal. What a season so far!

November 2030 A great month ruined by our first domestic defeat of the season. Really frustrating but I have to be happy, we managed to win our first Champions League game of the season, giving us £2.4m more to add to the bank balance. We've dropped to second in the league with that defeat to TNS but we have 3 games in hand! We also find ourselves in the League Cup final again, where we play TNS. In other news, I've just finished the Nations League campaign with Wales and it went very well! Some great wins along the way, this seals promotion to Division A.

October 2030 Rinse and repeat 25k fans watched the Real Madrid game at the Cardiff City stadium, we really need a new ground even if we aren't filling it for the domestic games.

September 2030 Domestically it's going as well as expected, unfortunately we've lost both our Champions League games, I really expected to beat Kobenhavn but we really didn't play well enough

August 2030 What a month!!! Let's start with Europe, in the 3rd Qualifying Round we faced Lech Poznan and after drawing the home game 0-0 we looked to be heading out, queue an amazing away leg where we dominated and won the tie 2-0! Into the playoff round, win this and we're in the League Phase for the 2nd time, ironically we faced Dinamo Zagreb who we beat in this exact round the last time we qualified for the Champions League proper, well just like the last round we played at home first and didn't play well, scraping a 0-0 draw, surely we couldn't do it again? Well Zagreb scored early but in the 2nd half we grabbed a leveller, it looked to be going to extra time before Steven Allan, just back from injury, came off the bench to score a 92nd minute winner!! WE'RE INTO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PROPER!!! And with that nearly £13m in prize money! The fixtures though are once again really tough! There's maybe two games there that I'd expect us to have a chance of winning! The other Welsh teams in Europe once again failed to make it to the League Phase of a competition with Haverfordwest losing to Sevilla in the Conference League playoff round. Still, bar TNS in season 2, that's as far as any Welsh team has got in Europe so far. Domestically it's also started well, I've had to rotate with the qualifiers going on but we've managed to only drop points in 1 game. In other news I've used some of our prize money to upgrade the training facilities once again. Weirdly enough I cannot seem to request anything else to be improved, the youth recruitment and junior coaching is max'ed out but the youth facilities are only at good so they should be able to be upgraded. We've also made a huge player sale as goalkeeper Aaron Taylor moves to Wolves for £2.4m, not bad for a £61k signing. He is a huge player for us though and with it happening late in the window I added a loan-back clause to the deal so he'll stay with us this season..

July 2030 A new season and as planned a lot of players left on free's after their contracts expired Out of that huge list the big names are Oliver Cooper, Max Woltman, Isaac Jeffries, Aled Thomas and Mark Davies-Parry, all first-teamers but the squad now has space for me to bring in better players without exceeding the squad registration rules in both Europe and the League. I ended up making more signings than I planned but that seems to happen every Summer! Steve Singleton - Right Wing - Free from Linfield Just another option on the right wing after losing Jeffries. A solid backup with some great physicals. Dean Davies - Left Back - Free from Sheffield Wednesday I needed new players at left back, he is young and Welsh so helps with the HG rule. James Jarman - Central Defence - Free from Swansea A young, highly rated CB joins to add some depth to the defence. Sam Stewart - Left Back - Free from Cardiff Another option at left back, I really like the look of this lad. Malik Mothersille - Striker - Free from Bristol City During the Summer there have been numerous bids for Steven Allan, so far I've rejected all bids and he hasn't complained but I decided to bring in two new strikers just in case he goes. Malik is one of those, he has pace to burn and looks quality for this level. Chris Waters - Left Wing - £20.5k from Llanelli Town Signed to help with the HG rule, he also ended last season as the 2nd highest assister in the Cymru Premier. Mark Harris - Striker - Free Transfer The second striker signed just in case Steven Allan leave, not highly rated but, as you'll see in a moment, he's started amazingly! Some great signings and now we're set for a shot at getting into the League Phase of the Champions League And boy has it started well! We eased past Maltese side Flamrun and then dominated Slovan Bratislava but just look at the scorers! Mark Harris played as Steven Allan got injured in a pre-season friendly, he's played 3 games and scored 10 goals!!!! What a start! Finally, some rankings updates and once again there's been a big jump in all areas This has suddenly started going really well. We now need other Welsh teams to progress in Europe to help with the co-efficient, currently, we're expected to jump about 7 places in the co-efficient rankings next season and there's plenty more football to play to increase that even more!

2030 World Cup Here we go! Only a matter of months after taking the Wales job we're in the World Cup in Türkiye! Firstly, here is the squad. I'm still unsure who I should be picking, we have a lot of newgens and I need to spend time scouting them and researching how good they are. For this I decided to let me assistant manager pick the squad, Some recognisable names there including Rabbi Matondo, Neco Williams, Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu. We have a decent group with Iran. Ghana and Brazil in it, I fully expected to end 2nd and that's exactly where we ended. A couple of good wins before the inevitable defeat to Brazil. We had made it to the knockouts and we were drawn against hosts Turkiye, a game I expected to lose but we put in an amazing shift to nick the game 1-0! A brilliant performance against the hosts and we were into the Last 16! Where we faced Poland, ranked more than 20 places above us in the FIFA rankings but I expected to give them a game, we didn't! A really poor performance and a disappointing end to what was a promising run! Our best performer was definitely Rabbi Matondo, the Winger put in a couple of really good performances and managed to grab 2 goals including the winner against Turkiye. I was also very impressed with forward Paul Kelly who also grabbed a goal in the tournament, could he be the man to lead the line? Young midfielder Harrison Hughes also put in a couple of really good performances, I expect him to be a key man moving forward.

2029/30 Season Review What an amazing season, the domestic treble and an amazing run in Europe! Fantastic! We even beat our highest points tally in the league. The good news is, with our great run in Europe, the co-efficient has had a big bump up, even if no other Welsh team seems good enough to help us out! We started this season in 32nd but with our great season we should rise to 29th and that means we will get a team in the Europa League qualifiers for the season after next! Financially we're also looking really good, helped by our run in Europe we now have a bank balance of £11.6m, a rise of £1.4m from last season, not bad seeing as we've spent nearly £2m on training facility upgrades. The big one though is out youth setup costs which have jumped to nearly £2.5m, that is the biggest expenditure at the club. We need to keep winning that European prize money to keep the balance on that upwards trend. The good news is the board have once again backed me with decent budgets. A lot to spend! Next season we need to improve this side to get into the Champions League proper! Player-wise it's been another great season and once again Steven Allan has been incredible! He scooped every award possible for club and in the league! His best goal-scoring season yet with 44 in 44 and 7.55 average rating! It's only a matter of time before a bigger club comes in for him. Summer signing Samuel Agbo ended with the most assists at the club. 18 in 39 starts and 3 goals, not bad for a right back! And here's the whole squad. So many players averaging over 7!!! Next season we will be losing quite a few players as their contracts are up and, as you can see above, we have some players who's CA is dropping. A lot of players will go but I won't be replacing them all. I mentioned at the start of this season we struggled to register all the players in the European and domestic squads so it needs a trim down. Lots of money to spend though so expect some improvements in certain areas, particularly out wide and in defensive midfield. Maybe another striker in case Steven Allan leaves!

April 2030 Can we keep our amazing European run going? Well the first leg was away and we played really well, unfortunately we couldn't find a way through and lost the game 1-0 Then in home leg chaos took over! Wolves took a lead mid-way through the first half but we got a goal back just after, then half way through the second 45 we scored twice, one of those courtesy of 2030 intake star Tom Torr, to take a 3-1 lead on aggregate. Wolves scored soon after to level the tie on aggregate. The game ended and went to extra time, we then ran out of legs and Wolves showed their class to score twice and knocked us out. What an amazing run though, we've held our own against some of Europe's elite and got the to the last 6 of the Europa League! That is a massive boost to the nation co-efficient! The league games this month I didn't pay much attention to but we managed to beat TNS away but lose to Llanelli. The final game of the season would be the Welsh Cup final against Aberystwyth Town, well we absolutely hammered them but somehow struggled to score!! 28 shots to 1, you'd expect a battering but we somehow only won the game 2-1! Fair play to their keeper!!! What a season though overall!

March 2030 What a month! Even though the league is wrapped up we still have the Welsh Cup and the Europa League to play for, this European run is just getting crazier by the minute! In the first leg we went to AZ and came out with a solid 1-1 draw courtesy of a second half penalty. Then in the home leg we played really well, we had the lions share of the chances but AZ scored early, it looked like we would be going out before two late goals from Allan and Gordsmark-Ford to seal a 2-1 win and progression to the quarter finals!!! Where we will face Wolves, a team we beat in the League phase but I fully expect a much tougher task this time around. So a great month but its been even better than that! I've played the kids in the league and we've won both games, we also won the Welsh Cup semi, just look at the goal scorers though!! Tom Torr has managed 3 goals, 2 of those on his debut for the club, this lad is going to be an absolute star! In other news we've had the 2030 World Cup draw and we have a tough-ish group, I do expect to be challenging for qualification to the knockouts though.

2030 Youth Intake The preview wasn't great, everything was "E" rated but we did have one "A" rating and my word we may have a star here! Yeah not the best and none of those "good" talents are actually good! BUT........ OH YES!! Tom Torr looks amazing for this level, the only issue? We don't play an AM. Maybe it's time to change formation for the first time in the save?

February 2030 Well that was easy! Title wrapped up with 6 games to spare! We did however lose to Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup but managed to get through the Welsh Cup Quarters. MILES AHEAD! Now we have the Europa League knockouts to look forward to and, after our great results in the League Phase I am confident we can get past AZ

January 2030 I mean this is getting a little bit mad now, domestically, yeah I expected to dominate but our European run is just getting crazy now! We only flipping drew Atletico Madrid away from home!! The win over Olympiakos means we end the League Phase unbeaten and guarantees a top 8 finish meaning we go straight into the last 16! That is utterly insane and a huge bump up to our co-efficient! We also managed to win another League Cup, beating Cymru North side Abertillery Bluebirds And in the league it's all but over, 12 clear and a game in-hand. Its going to be hard to talk about everyone at the end of the season so I just want to highlight two academy players who have come to the fore this season. Firstly is Johnson Fernandes who came through last seasons intake, he's only 16 but is already a fixture in the first-team, he's made 15 starts, 8 as a sub and scored 9 goals! Not bad for a midfieler!!! Secondly is Aled Carroll, he came through the 2025 intake and has been a first XI player for the past 2 and a half seasons. This lad is an absolute superstar and I'm seriously considering giving him a Wales callup in the next friendlies. He's having his best season so far with 3 goals an 10 assists in 31 starts and an average rating of 7.13 I'm especially pleased with Carroll as he's stayed in the side and continued to improve even when the other academy lads have fallen away as I brought in better players

December 2029 Another great month even if there have been a few draws A busy month and I'll take those draws looking at some of the wins we've had! We even beat Wolves in the Europa League, what a run we're on in that competition! I wanted to win two games, we've qualified for the playoff round with two games to spare and are now looking to end in the top 8!!! Even with those draws in the league we've stretched our lead at the top We've also had the intake preview, overall its not great but for the first time in 2 season we have an "A" rated player hopefully coming through.

November 2029 TOTAL DOMINATION! Domestically it's expected but my word out Europa League run gets more and more insane!!! That is just incredible, we now are pretty much nailed on for getting through to the knockouts! Two games in hand and two points clear! What a season so far! I've also managed to persuade the board to improve the training facilities again, bank balance still is over £10m

BIG BREAKING NEWS I felt it was the right time with the job coming up, I have been offered and taken the Wales job! We don't have any Barry Town players ready to take the national side by storm but I did feel it was the right time, my reputation is at 3.5*s and they've been doing awfully so far in the save. They currently sit 50th in the FIFA Rankings, really not great and, until now have failed to qualify for a tournament!!! Here is the Best XI, some original players still there including Brennan Johnson, Ethan Ampadu and Daniel James. Lots of newgens in there, it'll be interesting to see how good they are! I say "until now" because they have just qualified for the 2030 World Cup in Turkey!!! An odd time for their manager Phillip Cocu to leave, he decided to move to take over the Romanian national side! A really good campaign

October 2029 We only went and beat bloody Ajax!! Probably the best result of the save so far! And we fully deserved it! An absolutely brilliant month, one draw, loads of wins and a shed load of goals!!!! We've also progressed in all cup competitions. Amazing!

September 2029 A brilliant month, bar one result, but with our amazing start in the Europa League I'll ignore that one loss! Those two Europa League games were just brilliant! We're not top, yet, but we're not far off!

July/August 2029 A new season begins and this Summer has been a little more difficult, mainly because, for the first time in the save, I have a full squad of players who I have to register! So I've had to be a bit more careful with how many signings I've made. I have, once again, let a few players leave. Out of those players the first-teamers were Alcock (DM) and MacKay (GK), the rest were backups Now to the in's. Samuel Agbo - Full Back - Free from Everton Full backs were a priority this season and Agbo is a big upgrade on what we currently have, he is also only 20 so lots of time to get even better. Renny Muggerdidge - Winger - Free from Brighton Another one with a view to the future, he also adds a new option out wide. Jaheim Headley - Full Back- £31.5k from Motherwell A new left back and again a massive upgrade on our current options. Harvey Godsmark-Ford - Central Defender - Free Transfer Signed on a hefty wage but a cracking looking players who upgrades our central defensive options. Tyler Roberts - Winger - Season loan from Barnsley A late addition just to add some extra depth to our attacking areas. Some good deals and now we're set for another good season. The European qualifiers opened the season and I was determined to once again make the Champions League proper, unfortunately we failed in my objective. Really disappointing if I'm honest, we did the hard work in the 3rd round, drawing Craiova away before falling apart in the home leg, mainly due to an early red card. This meant we dropped into the Europa League and had 1 qualifying round to get through to get into the League Phase. And as you can see we eased past Celje. A pleasing end to our qualifying adventure. So we go into the Europa League proper, not where I wanted to be but it's better than nothing. Some tough games but I'd like to win at least 2 of them Domestically we've also started well with only 1 draw and the rest wins. Finally, rankings updates. In the co-efficient rankings we've moved up 3 places and although it doesn't say this above it means we have a team that gets into the Europa League qualifiers instead of the Conference League. We've also had another big jump in the European club rankings And the league ranking has also had a decent jump

2028/29 Season Review Another fantastic season, three more trophies in the bag as we add the Challenge Cup to the League Cup and Cymru Premier trophies this season. The first time we've won this in the save and we've beaten some much better teams along the way. A top quality season, I'm really enjoying watching the progression, on and off the pitch. With the Champions League money I've managed to persuade the board to another training upgrade and another youth recruitment upgrade. This puts the youth recruitment to exceptional and, when complete, the training facilities up to good. The stadium expansion has also happened putting the capacity to just over 3,500, it can still be expanded to 5,000 so I will be asking for that sooner rather than later. Finances are also looking really good, it's obviously helped that we got just short of £14m in Champions League prize money but, even with the facility upgrades and stadium expansion we've still made an £8m profit this season and the bank balance sits at £10m. And the board have gone absolutely mad! The wage budget more than doubles from last season and we have nearly £5.5m to spend on transfer! I still need to be careful, another European run is required to keep the finances heading upwards because we would be losing nearly £500k a month without that. Squad-wise it's been a great season, so many players stepped up, what is worrying though is how quickly the apparent star intake players potential ability is dropping! I guess this just shows how much I've improved the playing squad. It was a foregone conclusion on who dominated the awards this season, Steven Allan had another sensational campaign, ending as the clubs player and young player of the season, the Cymru Premier player of the season and top goalscorer. 40 starts, 28 goals, 21 in 18 starts in the league. Amazing! Summer signing Julian Gordon ended with most assists, overall he got 30 goal contributions in 38 starts. So another brilliant season, now we need to keep progressing, improvements in the squad are needed if we are to once again qualify for the Champions League proper, it is going to be tough to do it again but I have belief we can do it! Our reputation is now at 2*, this put us level in reputation with Newport and Wrexham, Cardiff and Swansea are both still at 3*

2029 Youth Intake The intake preview had this one as a really poor intake but my word it looks good! One very VERY highly rated player, please let him be good! Johnson Fernandes - Central Midfield OH YES!!!! I really like the look of this lad, straight into the first-team squad! Unfortunately that's it, the 3 "top talents" really aren't great, Brandon Jones is probably the best of them. But my word we have a gem there in Fernandes!

February 2029 A tiny little wobble! Dumped out of the Welsh Cup on penalties and we then lost only our 3rd league game of the season, that win over Connah's Quay though was enough to wrap up the league title with 4 games to spare! Total domination!

January 2029 Its been a busy month, I may have signed a load more players, I really needed to strengthen, some of the key men we'd used over the past couple of season had really fallen away and were complaining about lack of game-time, so I decided to release them all to save the wages. Hurlock (LW), Mpadi (RW), Fox (CB), Foulkes (CB) and Griffiths (GK) had all been great servants to the club but had fallen way down the pecking order. So new players had to come in, I even spent a bit of money! Peter Taylor - Central Midfield/Right Wing - £500k from Crewe My plan here was signings who would add good depth but also with a view to the future, Peter Taylor fits that bill, a top quality player already and only 20 Josh Brennan - Central Defence/Defensive Midfield - £90k from Everton 5* potential and already as good as our other CBs at the club. Oliver Cooper - Attacking Midfield - Free Transfer Not a young signing but he helps with the HG rules and adds good depth and experience to the squad Lee Blackwell - Striker - £18k from St Albans A good backup Striker to Steven Allan, he needs some work on his physicals but I have high hopes for him. David Peters - Central Defender - £170k from Arbroath One with a view to the future, he's not ready for first-team football yet but he has a good personality and some brilliant mental attributes. Result-wise it's been another great month domestically, not-so-much in Europe though! A couple of draws in the league but I've played lots of the reserves, in Europe though it was a disaster, an absolutely hammering by Villa and Sociedad. Not good! We end with 1 point from 8 games. We did however lift our 2nd successive League Cup with a 1-0 win over Llanelli, an awful game to watch though. The league, even with those draws is all but over. 7 games left, 14 points clear!

December 2028 Smashing it! One draw, the rest wins, domestically it's now getting very easy but I don't mind, the aim now is to win the league as early as possible then give some of the kids a chance, even though they really aren't good enough ratings-wise.