mannojunior

August 2023 Quite the up and down month. Our season started with two losses which left me questioning whether this was a good idea or not. With a few tweaks to our tactical approach and formation we were then able to win three out of the next four games. Despite a heavy 5-1 loss to Eastbourne where we had to play with an outfield player in goal as Will Buse dislocated his shoulder after 20 minutes, we were pretty convincing. Elliott Frear playing wide left and James Alabi operating as a Target Forward up top appear to be forming a very nice partnership. Alabi leads the way with 3 goals and Frear is top of the assists chart with 4 assists. 6 games in to a very long National League South season and we are sat in 9th and hovering around the playoffs. We really can't read anything into this right now as we are only a month into this campaign and there is a lot of time for things to go wrong...or right! Our aim from here will be to maintain within touching distance of the playoffs or even sneak into a playoff place. The board want a top half finish so that's the bare minimum required to keep our job. An impressive August from Elliott Frear who has notched 3 goals and 4 assists in total. He finishes 3rd for POTM behind the winner Bradley Barry who scored two free kicks against us earlier this month. Interesting. Not sure much will happen but something to keep an eye on.

A Roman Regionnaire --- So here we are, we have taken up our post as manager of the Romans as we replace the outgoing Jerry Gill. Things are going to be tough as after setting up the player search filter we are currently only attracting around 40ish players who would be interested in talking to us. Oh and that includes players that are already at the club. This is certainly going to be interesting! --- After some extensive trialling of various players and searching the player search filter with a fine tooth comb we have managed to make four additions to our squad. F First through the door is Joseph Wragg who joins on a free transfer following his release from Bideford. The 19 year old winger was born in Exeter and was on the books at Exeter for three years as a youngster before he was released. He's not elite by any means but he's young enough to improve and he is fairly quick. With virtually no wingers at the club he is a much needed signing for squad depth. Next up we welcomed Josh Leslie-Smith to Twerton Park after he was released by Weymouth. A very solid centre back who has spent the last two years playing in the National League so he adds huge quality to our back line. The 23 year old was born in Bournemouth and came through the ranks at Poole Town. A surprise signing of sorts as we were able to finalise a loan deal for Jack Endacott. When he eventually showed up on the the player search as being interested I could see he had huge interest from National League clubs but both Jack and Plymouth were keen for his development to be with us and we were able to secure a one year loan deal. Endacott was born in Plymouth and he adds more squad depth as he's able to play at both left wing back and left attacking midfield. He will get plenty of game time for us. Our final signing of the summer was the arrival of Jack Carter on a season long loan deal from Forest Green Rovers. More of a depth signing as we didn't have a replacement right back but he will do a job. Born in Swindon the 18 year old has come through the ranks at Forest Green and spent last season out on loan at Melksham Town. --- With our summer business seemingly done here is how our squad has taken shape. Plenty of options in all positions but the squad is still quite small which means that if we start piling up the injuries we could be in trouble. I'll be looking for the likes of Elliott Frear, Jordan Dyer and Cody Cooke to put in some big performances for us this season. Ignore George Dowling being in the squad, he has been on trial with us but he wants £900pw and that is not happening. --- Just before we round off this post, here is the system we will look to play. Nothing special and certainly nothing complicated given the level of football we are operating at. We will look to use the width and play balls in behind with some quick wingers. Cooke is quite a physical presence up top which means that we can use mixed crosses to vary our delivery.

It's going to be tough! Only about 40 players interested in playing for me at the moment and that includes all players at the club!

A Roman Regionnaire --- The Romans must rise again. King Bladud will see to this. Here we are, the start of another FM24 save and not one I thought I would be embarking on so soon. For those unfamiliar with a 'Regionnaire' save then I cannot take any credit for it. It has recently been brought to the forefront of FM blogs and saves by 5StarPod member MaddFM who has written this very handy piece on what it is and how it works. I'll save the characters (wait this isn't X?) and you can check out MaddFM's written guide here. Throughout this save, I won't be going for a complete overhaul of the squad from day one. The restriction will be that any new signing must be from the region of choice and we will slowly phase out the non-regional players at the club. For those looking for a TLDR the premise is simple, we can only sign players who are born in the South West region of England. Why the South West you may ask? Well, I am not mad as I am fully aware that of all the regions in England, the South West appears to pose the stiffest challenge of all when it comes to the Regionnaire challenge. I am based in the South West and a season ticket holder at Bath City FC, which is the club we will managing throughout this series. Hang on, I don't get the Roman reference?! Well, Bath's nickname is the Romans giving the historic significance of the Romans in Bath in times gone by. Let's get one thing straight from the off, I am a slow player of FM and often don't have a lot of spare time to play. Updates will be short and sharp and may we be sporadic, we will see. Oh and if things don't go well then posts will be non-existent. On with the show! ---

Enjoyed following this so far. Terrific job done at Dartford and hopefully you can push for promotion next season at Charlton.

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.