mannojunior

Depends how quickly you play and also, just go for what makes you enjoy writing! I really enjoy quick snappy updates but equally, a detailed season update when doing a long save is also a good option.

September 2023 ------ An inconsistent start to our Serie C campaign. Two poor defeats to kick off the month but we hit back with an emphatic 4-1 win over Cerignola. Our run would have continued had corrupt officials not cost us against Messina. Firenzi's winner for Messina was incredibly allowed to stand, despite him being clearly offside. Looks like I'll need to get used to this! We then finished the month in good fashion as we snuck home a 92nd minute winner at home to Picerno. Six foot four centre back Vincenzo Di Somma thumped a header in from a De Francesco corner to send the home fans into raptures! ------ Five games into the Serie C season and we are sat in 11th. Not much that we can read from this as there is a long season ahead of us but to have two wins under our belts already is one small step towards survival. ------ We've had some really good and some really bad individual performances so far. Alberto De Francesco has been the standout so far, with 2 goals and 4 assists from CAM. 17 year-old Domenico Musella has taken his chance up top and has hit two goals, albeit in the same game. Ciro Loreto from left wing back has got forward well and has contributed two assists. Hopefully more to come from him given that the left wing back has more attacking freedom than his counterpart on the right. ------ We have to give a lot of credit to this man who I reinstated after the first two defeats. He's made some big saves and has demonstrated that he will be our number one for now. I started off with Del Sorbo between the sticks but two really awful performances told me that he wasn't ready. At 26, Albertazzi still has time to improve and come into his own.

The home kit has been on my wish list for a while now! May as well get some use out of Ravasio whilst he is here.

Looking forward to following this mate!

Pre-season 2023/2024 ------ Pre-season results Six games and six wins. A really positive pre-season, although we shouldn't read too much into it. It gave me a chance to finalise my best eleven and the tactical shape for the season. ------ Tactical Approach With the players at my disposal, I have opted for a diamond, to incorporate the many central midfielders at the club. It might be ambitious, but I'm looking for a high press, pass and move system. I am trusting the technical ability of the players to deal with this tactical approach. We aren't going long, which many might favour in our position. Instead, I'm looking to move the ball quickly, keep the passes shorter and press high out of possession. I have also trained a 4-3-3 to flick to if needed. ------ I am confident that this man will score goals for us this season. He's only a loan player, so I can't get too attached but he scored 10 goals in pre-season. ------ Finances Things are looking okay and with no players coming in (obviously) it means we aren't spending an awful amount. Will be keeping a keen eye on this. ------ Having taken inspiration from @Punch I am going to be channelling my inner nerd and keeping track of progress with spreadsheets. One thing to note is that we are actually ground sharing with Potenza this season, before returning to Stadio Italia for next season.

Cracking season mate and one hell of an achievement to stay up! Finances are looking rosy and fingers crossed you'll actually play at home again soon

Best of a bad bunch really! I’m hoping as our rep increases better options become available. Not set on a shape yet as I’m still assessing the squad but we have a good spread positionally. I’m trying to focus on ensuring that I find my best eleven without the loan players so that I can try and give the contracted youngsters some time and then I can fill the rest from there. Initial thoughts are likely to be either a 4-3-3 with a DM dropping in between the 2 CB’s or potentially a 4-4-2 diamond.

July 2023 ------ Head of Youth Development Given the premise of this challenge, it was only right that the first thing to do was to hire a new head of youth development. We've brought in Maurizio Schiavon who will certainly do the job for now and I hope he will bring through some solid players in our first full season. I think year on year I will review the intakes alongside who is available and may well end up chopping and changing the head of youth development quite frequently. ------ Squad We've got a very good looking squad to start with. The first thing I noticed is how young the squad is and I think it may be the youngest in the league in terms of average age. Lots of loan players as you'd expect and I will certainly try and get our money's worth out of them! A really well rounded squad, especially in terms of positions which means that we will have the ability to play more formations if we need to. ------ Players of Note Alberto De Francesco seems to be the pick of the bunch. For Serie C, I think he will be a very solid creative midfielder. Likely to be deployed in either an AP or DLP role for me. Another midfielder, this time a more defensive one in the form of Angelo Bonavolonta. By no means a world beater but certainly our best defensive midfielder and I would imagine he will end up playing as a BWM. Finally, we have a very exciting prospect in the form of Ludovico Del Sorbo. He will certainly get game time this season to progress and at 18 he's got room to improve and become our number 1 in Serie C. ------ Season Preview Bookmakers have us down as being relegated. Slightly harsh I feel, especially considering the squad we have. Let's see how pre-season goes before we make any predictions.

Would anybody be happy to ping over a template spreadsheet they are using to track progress year on year?

Going to need it mate! Your inbox will be filled with expletives when it’s all going wrong 🤣

I seem to be having an issue in the match engine where the left and right hand panels are blocking the view of the pitch. Has anybody else had this?

The Amalfi Academy Welcome to another FM24 save of mine. I am currently blogging my save with Spartans FC (Scotland) over on the FM Library website but since the winter update I've had the itch for a new save and after reading through the forums I stumbled across the Youth Academy Challenge thread. After reading through the updates I was hooked and well, here I am! The only change I am making from the official challenge thread is that I have decided to take charge of Sorrento Calcio 1945, instead of holidaying through a season and managing a newly promoted club. Sorrento are newly promoted into Serie C in Italy so it's close enough! ------ The Rules For those interested, you can find the official Youth Academy Challenge thread here. No transfers in are allowed, including loans - we can only sell players Staff signs are allowed If we are sacked then it is game over ------ The Aim To win Serie A To win the UEFA Champions League ------ The Club Sorrento Calcio 1945 are based in, you guessed it, Sorrento which is on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The club was promoted to Serie C in the 2022/2023 season and play at the Stadia Italia, located just off the port of Sorrento. Having visited the city last summer, I seem to have grown a fondness for the club and did I mention how nice their kits are? ------ The Manager Meet Luciano Mancini, a 27 year-old Italian with no management experience. His plans? To win it all with kids!

Thanks! I may well take a closer look at Norway and Hungary for inspiration,

Would be really grateful for some suggestions for a league/nation to do this in. Would prefer a league with less games (rules out Brazil) as I am a slow-ish player.

I have moved save updates into blog form moving forward. Season Three has just been completed and it sees us in with a shot at promotion to the top flight! You can find the blog here - https://thefmlibrary.com/2024/02/24/game-of-thrones-rise-of-the-spartans-vol-2-part-2-three-in-a-row/

Rise of the Spartans - Vol.2 - End of Season Review As the dust settles on the 2024/2025 season, Stuart Davies ponders what has been yet another outstanding season for The Spartans. --- Welcome back to Rise of the Spartans and you join us as the curtain comes down on season number two in Scotland. At the end of the last update, we had the League One title in our sights and we had an SPFL Trust Trophy Final to prepare for. Let's start with the SPFL Trust Trophy. We headed into the tie as huge underdogs as we took on Dunfermline but we were runners up in this competition last year so we were no pushovers. Our table topping position in League One also showed that we meant business in this competition. We approached the game with no real injury concerns but we were a couple of first team players light due to various domestic suspensions coming in to play. Bloody Scottish referees. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Back to back defeats in the SPFL Trust Trophy final. Last year it was TNS, this year it is Dunfermline. It looked like loanee Jack Kingdon has won it for us as he smashed the ball home in the 81st minute. Sadly we were soon sat back down as Kane Ritchie-Hosler equalised two minutes later and then Matty Todd won it for the Championship side in extra time. This one was particularly hard to take as we dominated the game in terms of possession and chances created. Although, as they say, the only stat that matters is the scoreline. A sore one for the club, the fans and the players but we will be back again next year. --- With attention turning back to the league, we knew that the title was in our own hands and we just had to stay focussed on our own game. I made a slight tactical switch in February with our wide players set to wingers rather than inverted wingers and in honesty, it didn't have a noticeable impact. We continued as normal and picked up some impressive wins. What was noticeable was that our results were a lot closer. We weren't battering teams anymore. Maybe it was nerves? We will never know. Despite our dominant scorelines disappearing we remained consistent in terms of picking up points and we won the games that mattered. The 3-1 win over Kelty Hearts at the back end of February felt particularly significant as they were on our tails and dropping points there would have cut the gap to four. The loss at Montrose in early March could have sparked the collapse but we hit back with 6 games undefeated in the league and this saw us over the line. League One champions. Two league titles on the bounce. Little old Spartans into the Scottish Championship. It really doesn't get much better does it? The boys have performed magnificently this season and we cruised over the line in the end to lift the trophy. Sadly, we won the title whilst we weren't playing which meant there was no formal trophy lift, just a guard of honour. That will do I suppose. In the end, it was a 9 point gap between us and Kelty Hearts, meaning Hamilton and Montrose join them in battling it out in the playoffs. A goal difference of 44 is reflective of just how dominant we were this season, especially during the first half of the season. The goals did tail off as the season went on with Robbie McDaid hardly netting in 2025. Job done, onto the next. --- Wonderful, thanks Aidan. A second takeover has been completed in our tenure and once again, no investment is being made into the club. Can't say I am surprised but at least this one didn't drag on for months. Whilst on the topic of money, this is how our finances look after we claimed the League One title. Lots of money generated from our various cup runs and this helps keep us in the green. There is clearly no money available from the owners which means we are going to have to generate funds ourselves if we want to spend anything. Attendances have been good this season with an average of around 1,400 for our home games. A decent increase on last season but still some way short of filling our our 3,500 capacity stadium. It will be interesting to see what attendances we get next year as we head into the Championship. Now that we've overtaken Edinburgh City, maybe we will get a few exiles? --- This season has been a better one for youth development, although that was hardly difficult considering the intake we had last year. During the second half of the season I was able to blood 16 year-old central midfielder, Dylan Phillips. He slotted in at DLP and was able to rotate nicely with James Craigen. At one point, I was starting him over Craigen which goes to show how well he was performing. A goal on his debut and he managed 2 goals and 2 assists from 5 starts and 6 substitute appearances. Sadly, he did miss the final part of the season with a dislocated shoulder and he missed 5 weeks of action. Certainly one to watch next year. --- Lot's of very good performers of the course of the season but there was only one man who could take home the player of the season trophy. That man is Robbie McDaid who bagged himself 18 league goals and 3 assists in 30 starts. He also picked up the golden boot for League One and cements himself as a club legend for his impact since joining. He did fall off quite a lot during the second half of the season but the damage was done early on. Will have lots to consider in the summer window as I certainly need competition for him. Robbie McDaid I feel like I would be doing Jack Kingdon a disservice if I didn't mention him. We brought him in on a season long loan after failing to sign him on a free over the summer. I am still fuming on that point as he is a talent. However, even if he doesn't play another game for the club, his contribution will be remembered by the fans for a long time. A 7.18 average rating in the league from 33 starts and a huge 8 goals scored. I will be trying my hardest to keep him around but I suspect Wycombe will be reluctant to let him leave. Jack Kingdon On the whole, attacking contributions were very good this season, despite my panic about roles for our wingers to play. Fraser Murray topper the assists with 11 from his central midfield position. Solid contributions from our wingback with Waters claiming 9 assists and Cesay with 8. Both have potential to improve and they should hit the ground running next season. Matt Everitt had a good season out on the wide right with 12 goals and 9 assists. He blew hot and cold throughout the season but like McDaid, he started the season on fire. McDaid tops the goalscoring chart with 26 in all competitions and he was closely followed by Fraser Murray who picked up an impressive 16 goals from central midfield. --- And with that, the curtain has well and truly come down on the 2024/2025 season here in Edinburgh. Make no mistakes, next season is going to be tough and I need to get things right over the summer. The board have given us a decent budget to work with and I am going to have to rely on loans again to help add quality and bolster the squad numbers. I've got a lot of planned departures as players have run down their contracts and wages will be freed up from that. All key players have either committed to next season or were on two year contracts having joined last summer. I had been doing some scouting prior to the end of the season, especially in the goalkeeper department and we do have an agreement in place to bring in a new number one. But more on that next time!

Game of Thrones - Rise of the Spartans - 2024/2025 Mid-season Update ------ Welcome back to Rise of the Spartans! It's been a while since I updated this thread but in truth, I've not really had the time to play FM over the last few months. We are now back in the hot seat and we are halfway through the 2024/2025 season and it is time to check in and see how Stuart Davies and The Spartans have got on as we enter into February and the second half of the season. ------ Stuart Davies ------ Transfer News Since the last update we've made a further three signings. We firstly welcomed Fraser Murray to the club in September as he joined on a free transfer following his release from Kilmarnock. A young and gifted attacking midfielder who will add real quality to this squad. We then welcomed two new faces to the club during the January window. First up, David Harrington who joins on an initial 6 month loan deal from Fleetwood. Really excited to have made this deal happen and he will come in as our first choice keeper. Scott Fox was outstanding last season but he has made too many errors this season and I felt it was time to freshen things up. Finally, we needed to strengthen in central defence following Lawlor being recalled by Cardiff City. Mitchell Robertson is the man who comes in on a 6 month loan deal from Celtic. ------ SPFL Trust Trophy For the second season in a row, we have made it to the final of the SPFL Trophy. Last year we were defeated by TNS and this year we will face Dunfermline in the final. A really positive cup run with a huge 7-1 demolition of Dundee United. ------ Scottish Cup More cup success for us as we remain firmly in the Scottish Cup. A massive 6-0 win over Falkirk sets us up for a Fifth Round tie away at Motherwell. Huge test lies ahead for the lads. ------ Cinch League One We've taken to League One like a duck to water it seems. Some incredible performances thrown in there and we really are holding our own. Robbie McDaid has certainly played his part with a LOT of goals. 7 points clear after 23 games, although Kelty Hearts do have a game in hand and they can slash that lead to four points. For a newly promoted team to be dominating this league after 23 games, it is simply sensational. I knew that we had recruited well over the summer but I didn't think we would be performing this well. We've still got a long way to go but it is in our hands at this point. If anything is going to hold us back, it will be our defensive record. I am hoping that David Harrington in goal will have a positive impact in that respect. I am a huge fan of Scott Fox and he was immense last season but he is 37 and he has made a large number of errors this season. ------ Player Performance There is one man that we really have to thank for our campaign so far and that is Robbie McDaid. The Northern Irishman has bagged an incredible 22 goal in 24 starts and has been the main man for us. We needed a goalscorer and now we have one. ------ Youth Development We haven't really had much to shout about in terms of youngsters so far, but Dylan Phillips has emerged as a real talent in central midfield. It took me until January to blood him into the first team squad and he has taken the opportunity with both hands. 3 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist and a 7.33 average rating. Yeah, he's a good one.

Game of Thrones - Rise of The Spartans - August 2024 Update ------ With the Viaplay Cup and pre-season out of the way, it was time to embark upon our first season in the Cinch League One. With the signings we've made I really do think we have put ourselves in a strong position to perform well in the league this season. I certainly don't expect us to win the league or gain promotion, but a solid mid-table finish will allow us a platform to build up. Of course, nothing is a given and we may find ourselves in a relegation fight, but I truly believe we are building something special here in Edinburgh. ------ Transfer News Just the one piece of business to tell you about and this transfer happened right at the end of the month. The one area that concerned me the most was up top and I felt we needed an experienced head to lead the line for us. We have good young talent who will have a big role to play but I managed to bring in Robbie McDaid on a free transfer after he left Linfield. The 27 year-old brings experience and quality and I am hoping for a good return in terms of goals. ------ Cinch League One No cup competitions to deal with in August and we faced four tough league games. We opened up at home to Forfar, who came up from League Two with us and we comfortably saw them off. Debut goals for Alan Judge and Matt Everitt got us off to a flyer before Rhys Bennett sealed it with a curling effort from outside the box. We then travelled to city rivals, Edinburgh City for our first local derby of the save. Meadowbank was a sell out and our travelling fans were sent home jubilant. An emphatic 4-1 win against our rivals. The first of many I hope! We then followed this up with a disappointing result at home to Alloa. We dominated possession, with 68% overall possession but we failed to create any meaningful chances whilst the visitors caught us on the break. Disappointing. We rounded off the month with our biggest win over Stirling and look who bagged himself a hat-trick on debut. That's right, I chucked McDaid in for his first appearance and he repaid me with a hat-trick. I have a good feeling about Robbie. So with 4 games played we sit in second, just a point behind the leaders, Cove Rangers. As always, you can gain nothing from so little games but it is certainly a positive start. ------ Injury News Sadly we have lost Alan Judge for at least the next three months with a hip injury. Hugely disappointing for us as he had made the number 10 role his own. ------ Player of the month With so many good performances, it was difficult to choose a player of the month. However, Kallum Cesay has been emphatic at right back and his output in terms of assists and goals is hugely impressive. Not bad considering he is naturally a central midfielder and I have decided to re-train him as a RWB. Let's keep a close eye on his progression.

Game of Thrones - Rise of The Spartans - 2024/2025 Pre-Season Update ------ Transfers So the summer was...busy. I did my best to keep the spine of the team together but with the quality of players available in the window I decided to act on that. Not a penny spent, as you can imagine at this level. Our wage budget was increased by £5k which also influenced the change of approach. We've added a lot of experience, with the signings of Alan Judge, Aaron Muirhead, Josh Todd and Calum Waters. We complimented that with some young talent in the form of Max Williamson, Kallum Cesay, Matt Everitt and Ben Cushnie. Lots to be excited about going into the new season. I won't go through everybody, but Josh Todd, Alan Judge and Ross Matthews arrive to form a new look midfield. Kallum Cesay, Waters and Kingdon add good depth in midfield. We bolster the attacking ranks with the likes of Ben Cushnie, Matt Everitt and Fraser Mackie. --- Calum Waters - Free Transfer ------ Jack Kingdon - Season long loan from Wycombe ------ Josh Todd - Free transfer ------ Alan Judge - Free transfer ------ Ben Cushnie - Free transfer ------ Squad With the transfer business done and dusted, for now, we have a pretty strong squad heading into our second season. We have pretty much 2 players per position, which is something I always look to do to provide adequate cover. ------ Tactical Shape If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Last season we were absolutely rampant with this formation and I have no plans to change it now. Of course, we will look to setup differently against better opposition but this will be us for now. The one big dilemma for me is to get our striker firing. Last season we didn't have much with our number 9's and I am hoping that this year we can change that. I am rotating between an Advanced Forward and Pressing Forward and seeing how they compare. ------ Viaplay Cup This bloody competition ensures you don't need a pre-season and ruins your players before a ball has even been kicked in the league! A mixed bag with good wins over Airdieonians and Stranraer. Disappointing to get nothing from the Hamilton game as we were largely the better wide. St Mirren continue to be our bogey team, although they are a top division side... Sadly 6 points wasn't enough to qualify us and we miss out on progression. Until next year.

Takeover complete. Stevie Brown takes over as chairman and pumps £50k into the club. Finances looking healthy as we head into season two.

Game of Thrones - Rise of the Spartans - 2023/2024 End of Season Review Stuart Davies ------ Welcome back to Edinburgh where the 2023/2024 has been wrapped up and our first season in Scotland is complete. So, how did we do?! ------ Cinch League Two As expected, we wrapped the League title up pretty quickly with an emphatic February and March. As the season wound down I was able to blood a few of our new youngsters who joined as part of the first youth intake, namely Kieran Ross. April and May saw a few more losses than normal but this was to be expected as we had won the league at a canter and it was time to experiment with the team selection. An absolutely outstanding league campaign. In cup competitions we exited the Scottish Cup in the Fifth Round away at St Mirren and then in our first final of the save, we lost out to TNS in the SPFL Trust Trophy on penalties. Gutting. ------ The league trophy is lifted by the boys. ------ Competitions A simply fantastic season in general. It saw magical cup runs, agony in both a semi-final and a final and then a resounded league title triumph. Onwards and upwards. ------ Youth Intake Our first youth intake was pretty poor, however we did get a Scottish striker named Kieran Ross who looks like he has something about him. He made 5 appearances at the back of the season, netting once which was on his debut. ------ Squad Overview It is hard to pick out individuals as this season has been such a team effort. Nobody has run away with assists, goals or other key metrics. Notable mentions must go to James Craigen, Cammy Russell and Jordan Cropper, all of whom have signed new deals. ------ Summer Window Heading into the summer I have decided that I want to give the core of the team the chance to impress in League One. With that in mind, I've removed players from the positions where I feel I need to strengthen this summer. Quality over quantity. Initial budgets have been set which allow me a decent stab at a couple of quality players. The only thing that stands in my way is a transfer embargo which is currently in place as a potential takeover happens. If it does, I am promised a new stadium!

Less transfer embargo's

Sad to see Tait go mate, what a hero he has been! But wow, Markovic looks like the real deal. Excited to see how he settles in!

Game of Thrones - Rise of The Spartans - November 2023 to January 2024 Welcome back to another installment in the Game of Thrones save. You join us at a very good time as things are looking rosy on all fronts. Let's get into this shall we? ------ Viaplay Cup Heartbreak. Our Viaplay Cup run comes to an end at Hampden Park in the semi-final. We came up against a strong St Mirren side and put up one hell of a fight. Sadly former Liverpool player, Steven Caulker settled the tie with his strike in the 52nd minute. What a run it has been for us as a club. The run has generated a lot of additional funds that are very much needed at the moment. We should not have made it this far but we defied the odds. ------ SPFL Trust Trophy Another huge win in cup competition as we dump out our senior affiliate in the SPFL Trust 4th round. A really disciplined performance and Dundee never got going. We met Kelty Hearts in the quarter final and another solid performance put us into the semi-final. Can we just take some time to appreciate Kevin Waugh, who as a central defender has 17 free kick taking. Anyway, who's next? We get drawn at home to Arbroath in the semi-final. Is there a final on the cards?! ------ Scottish Cup How many domestic cup competitions do you need in Scotland, seriously?? Relative plain sailing in the Scottish Cup so far. It feels strange saying that as a League Two side. 13 goals scored and just two conceded across the three games. Some nice draws have also helped. Our first real test came in the Fourth Round as we were drawn against higher division Annan Athletic but that really didn't matter as we dismantled them 5-1 in front of just 431 people. This team is incredible! We now face a trip to St Mirren who broke our hearts in the Viaplay Cup semi-final. Can we get some revenge? Maybe, but the money will also be nice. ------ Cinch League Two Finally we can get down to the business end of proceedings. Our priority is the league and making sure we get out of this division. I think it is safe to say that we are going to do that. Just one league defeat in the past four months and that was at the start of October. We have been on an incredible run since then and the boys have been fantastic. There really is no stopping us right now. When you look at the last few months we have started to turn on the style with a 5-1 win over Elgin City, a 5-2 win over Stranraer and most recently, a 7-2 win at home to Stenhousemuir. Simply fantastic. I would suggest it is safe to say that if we don't win the league from here, it will be the biggest bottle job in recent footballing times. We have opened up a 25 point gap between us and Clyde in second. 25 points! Okay, Clyde have a game in hand so it may be cut to just 22 but that is insane. I have no words for how good this team are. We are simply too good for this division. ------- Club News The board have seen the light and have given me a new deal, keeping me at the club until 2025. Transfer News There is always a high turnover of players in the lower leagues and this is no exception. Not ideal as St Mirren recall Ethan Sutherland from his loan deal. He was a great option down the left and has just started to come into form. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, our senior affiliate, Dundee United, have recalled Craig Moore as they want him to play at a higher level. This one was tough to take as he has been a mainstay in the team playing as the ball winning midfielder. I wish him well as he has a great career ahead of him. With two key players being recalled it was time to dip into the transfer market. This was not going to be a simple task as our board had cut our scouting budget to £0, meaning our scouts were unable to do anything. How lovely. First through the door is a replacement from Dundee in the form of 16 year old Scott Constable. A very talented youngster who can operate at both central midfield and right back. He's probably better suited to right back in his current form. With Sutherland departing, this left a gap to fill out on the left hand side. Up steps Danny Rowe who has joined on a free transfer and will add experience and quality to our attack. He's not got any pace about him so I may have to bring on fresh legs early into the second half if needed but he is technically excellent for this level. Extremely delighted to have this signing wrapped up. Last up is Ali Shrive. I still wanted another DM in the squad and I think he will do a job for us for the rest of the season. ------ Player Stats Our dominance this season means that it is hard to even find somebody who has underperformed. Midfield maestro James Craigen leads the way for assists with 10. Delighted to extend his contract recently for a further two years. Cropper and Russell continue to form a formidable partnership down the right hand side. Cammy Russell has returned to form in front of goal and he is top of the charts for goals with 15. James Wilson has also continued his upturn in form and has 13 goals to his name. ------ It's safe to say things are going well. Let's crack on with the rest of the season shall we?

Sadly, Mr Henderson left the club 👀