FM13: Lower League Management - For Those who can Only Dream of a Trip to Old Trafford

[Jambo98]

Been a couple of versions since i had really enjoyable english LLM career (had some fun with the youth challenge in holland last year), so decided to amuse myself this year with a slightly different one.

Have started off as Oxford City, but also loaded up the custom San Marinese leagues and took the job as national manager of San Marino. San Marino and Oxford City.........Glad to see the international management doesnt seem to make any difference at club level (no San Marinese interested in signing for me!).

Would give my right arm for a decent keeper. Ranieri went elsewhere, and the latvian lad wasnt up for a trip to Oxford.

[Powello]

Unsure wether L2 counts as LLM but I have just started a save as Fleetwood. Preseason out of the way mostly losses with an 8-0 loss aganst wolves my biggest. Happy with the final one though a 6-3 loss against the Liverpool first team. Finding it hard to find good players, have signed a few on loan, still need a decent WBR though but having no luck

[Powello]

Been a couple of versions since i had really enjoyable english LLM career (had some fun with the youth challenge in holland last year), so decided to amuse myself this year with a slightly different one.

Have started off as Oxford City, but also loaded up the custom San Marinese leagues and took the job as national manager of San Marino. San Marino and Oxford City.........Glad to see the international management doesnt seem to make any difference at club level (no San Marinese interested in signing for me!).

Would give my right arm for a decent keeper. Ranieri went elsewhere, and the latvian lad wasnt up for a trip to Oxford.

How did you get custom leagues? I was desperate to be San Marino manager for a challenge

[psap]

Well I was sacked!!

26 games into the season with 7-9-10 record ; 30 points, 5 points clear of the relegation zone.

I guess i wait around for offers now?

Do i go on Holiday, or just "Continue" along until an offer comes?

********!!

[Jolanthustrel]

Well as long I continue to have results like opening day

I think we might do right, for a little while... Until my squad runs out of legs anyway.

[SRL88]

Well I was sacked!!

26 games into the season with 7-9-10 record ; 30 points, 5 points clear of the relegation zone.

I guess i wait around for offers now?

Do i go on Holiday, or just "Continue" along until an offer comes?

********!!

Go on holiday, and when doing so click apply for all jobs and return when offered a job.

[CityAndColour]

Well as long I continue to have results like opening day

...

I think we might do right, for a little while... Until my squad runs out of legs anyway.

Reeves and Lawrie should score for fun at non-league level.

I've had some issues with my FGR game and started up again with Alfreton Town. Considered started lower but I love managing in the Conference and Town are a good challenge, will take me a while to build up a squad good enough to move up the leagues.

Signed Richie Baker from Barrow to play in the heart of midfield, and also found 16-year-old striker Tom Varney unattached at the start of the game. His technical attributes are a bit lacking but my coaches think he may develop into a good League One striker.

[b00gyman65]

ELGIN CITY FTW :-)

Havent played a footy management for 8 years maybe, always did like the challenge of taking LL teams to the top so i went for my go to team i have always chosen when doing so and picked Elgin City (i think its the black and white strip that appeals to me).

Year 1, team review, unwanted players release, bringing in some proper talent, learning the ins and outs of the new game style.

I managed to get Fergus Bell on free transfer and instantly my tactics were changed from 4-4-2 def to 4-4-2 get the ball to Bell, hit my expectations in the head and finished the year in 7th place but had set my chairman responsibility to renew all contracts so in 1 day i went from having 24 players to having 12 for the next season, as it turned out this was prob the best thing that could have happened to me because all the ones that were left were my first team i had early renewed to reduce the wage cost for the next year.

Year 2, Work on tactics, shouts, mentality play, bring in more talent.

Brought in some new blood from my U19's for my first team due to lack of options, started the game with 2.1k wage budget, same in year 2, played a 16 year old keeper for the first 12 games due to loosing my old one thanks to my chairman, he did surprisingly well until i signed a player/coach to take over. Apparently the other teams had already given up the season early and i went from 7'th to first in no time, stayed there the whole season but was narrowly promoted to second division by an awesome 20 goal difference.

Year 3, avoid relegation at all costs, build up my payers stats, continue with formation "get the ball to bell".

Turns out bell decided to slow up his progress and my top scorer was a home grown "Craig Gunn" pciking up the slack and blasting them in almost every game, continued the same way i had played the previous season and was spent the first half of the year in mid table, until my first team was firmed up and we went top of Division 2 and stayed their till promotion (i actually didnt want this to happen because the club was loosing money hand over fist on gate receipts and crappy sponsorship money) but hey ho.

Year 4, Gain more knowledge on game mechanics, attempt to sign players capable of playing at this level.

So my staff had all been with me from game start and i honestly didnt pay much attention to how this worked, when i realized that the coaching staff were all guff and my scouts were more suited to choosing ladies shoes than players i instantly resolved by sacking all but 2 that were just capable of eating with utensils and not their fingers, same formation as before, get the ball to bell is in full swing and sitting on 5th place in the 1st division.

Issues i have now, i cant keep up with the wage requirements for players at this level, even my home growns that have been with me from day 1 are starting to become diva's and asking for wages i am incapable of giving them (been resolving that by sidelining em for 5 -10 games until they realize i am the boss), wage budget for this season 5.34k WTF, stadium cant support more than a few thousand supporters so cant make money on gate receipts, scouts dont seem to understand we are still very rigid on money and only recommending players that are worth more than the entire team, players and stadium combined, parent club are poop and wont give me any descent players on loan.

I am hoping too continue playing in the first division for 4 or 5 years before i even think about promotion, will be trying to develop my youngsters to take over for my high cost players when i can no longer afford their wage and try to be very restrictive with my money in the hope of banking a substantial cash boost to build up training facilities and stadium, its going to be a slog but i figure i have a better chance of doing it in D1 as opposed to D2 or D3. I just cant keep up with the other teams with much better facilities and money, hell all of the players in the same division i have approached to sign are telling me they wouldn't pee on us if we were on fire.... no fair LOL

[lewis999]

Let's keep this thread alive, after all it is LLM! I'm sure plenty of people are lower league managing.

[brento]

Currently in my 3rd season with Chester fc after back-to-back promotions. First season won Blue square north and second season won Blue square premier and the FA trophy.

Played 5 games in npower league two currently in 6th place expectation is to avoid relegation.

My overall balance is £750.000 all my facilities are still basic with not having the funds. Got Everton and Preston north End as my parent clubs with two players on loan from Everton left winger Connor Grant and center mid Juinor.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Getting into an East Stirling save at the moment, Keegan Ayre and Alejandro Caiaffa have both been quality in the middle of the park for me. Sat in 4th after 15 games, Rangers leading with only one draw and no defeats as you'd expect, however Elgin are only three points behind them to my surprise.

If everyone kept each other regularly updated with how they are doing, this could become a really great thread. When you look at how many people regularly update each other when using bigger teams despite their stories carrying far less excitement and surrealism, I'm sure we could all do a lot better here!

EDIT: East Stirling save won't load, so I'm giving Tonbridge another shot. Cort, Tsovolos, Ranieri and Nsaku are my four real marquee signings. Playing a 4-4-2 with a target man and a poacher, in my opinion the best formation to play in lower leagues. Cort makes a great target man with Frannie Collin, Dali Gomez and Nathan Koranteng all very capable of playing the poacher role. Won all four preseason games without conceding, and have won the first three league games of the season too.

[Jon MUFC]

Does anyone have a tactic to suggest for getting promotion from the BSP? Currently Stockport and we've strengthened well in pre season but we're so inconsistent: win lose win lose win lose, so frustrating. I'm confident we have one of the best squads in the division, just don't know how to approach it tactically?

[podunkboy]

I don't really know that my current management position qualifies as LLM (Llanelli in the Welsh "Premier League"), but I figure any semi-professional team that can't practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays because some of the players have to pick their kids up from daycare should qualify. I have a player that earns $6/week, and my starting GK who I picked up on a free transfer didn't ask for a contract, just a $35 appearance fee. Average attendance for games at home is around 400, some of the away games have drawn a crowd of 100. I took over in late June, was fighting the relegation zone through the end of December and had the shadow of termination hanging over my head. My hand hovered over the "resign" option, but I decided to stick it out until the transfer period opened up. Dumped some dead weight, picked up 3 free transfers, shuffled my tactics to take advantage of their skills, and reeled off 3 wins to move from 12th to 8th place. Hope to stay up and hang on for the rest of the year, and then I'll start molding the lads into a lean mean scoring machine. I did discover one bad thing, my "reserve" team doesn't actually play games, so fitness is a problem.

[CityAndColour]

I am currently on a save with Dorchester Town, started after the final match engine update. I holidayed the first season, then finished 5th and lost in the playoff semis in the second (my first). Currently 17 games into the 2014/15 season and sitting on top with a 13-2-2 record.

My DoF has really earned his keep this season too, signing me South African veteran Delron Buckley and Jamaican striker Kevin Lisbie, who are still quality for this level despite their age and declining physicals. I've also got former West Ham youngster Sam Baxter in goal and a couple of handy newgens, so the squad should cope in the Conference if I can get promoted.

[Jogo Bonito]

Playing as Gillingham, and on the final day of my 4th season (2015/2016) I just had a 91st minute winner chalked off for a foul on the keeper. The 0-0 draw and two dropped points means I missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League by one point and now enter the end of season play-off's instead.

I can't believe how this term went as I opted for 'avoid relegation' after promotion from League 1 on the last day of the previous season. As it turned out, my squad was performing so well in this campaign that I only needed to convert one loan signing in to a permanent deal in January 2016 winter window. The rest of the lads deserved their time in the spotlight.

That last gasp drama (at home and in a sell-out against local rivals Charlton would you believe) provided a real bittersweet moment to reflect upon, but I am proud even if I fail in the play-off's because since taking the helm 4 years ago I added self-imposed transfer restrictions upon myself. After my first signing back in League 2 (and even that was a non-league striker), I used either existing players or made sure that all new recruits had South East connections or were from France (reserves mainly). I don't use regens or newgens as I never have done in any FM series.

I have enjoyed this journey so much until now. It's probably a shocking admission but this 4 years has made it my longest FM save of all time, as I normally only do 1-3 years before I find it becomes either boring or unrealistic.

Is this the thread to post more specific details about my progress so far (players signed or ones to recommend, formation and tactics etc) or should it be in the one for clubs with no guides?

[CityAndColour]

Having a blast on my Dorchester save. Managed promotion from the BSS at the second time of asking, behind the pure genius of Delron Buckley, who delivered 23 goals and 13 assists playing primarily as an AMC. We amassed 97 points and scored 90 goals in 42 league fixtures, which was unsurprisingly enough for the title.

Currently 15 games into our Conference season and sitting nicely in 6th, with a 7-5-3 record and 26 points. Surprising given the only addition of note was striker Tom Bradshaw on loan; and while I expect our form to fall away at some point, we're quickly taking relegation out of the equation early on. This will probably be Buckley's last season as a key player, given his age (37) and rapidly declining physicals, but he has still been superb again. In one match he had a hat-trick by the nine minute mark, and was off injured after a quarter hour! Not a bad 15 minutes of work.

[Jogo Bonito]

GILLINGHAM FOOTBALL CLUB - THE PROJECT

I wanted to try and take a lower league club through the divisions, and chose the Kent club because they had a reasonable transfer budget (£150k-£180k) to start with in League 2. They also had a reasonably big (for level) all-seater stadium and a decent squad to start with. I wanted to try and retain some of the original squad on this journey, and after my first signing from non-league (BSP), I decided to self-impose further restrictions on myself. With the idea of trying to make it a community club that would appeal to the local fan base, I decided to only buy/loan only players with South East connections or from our near neighbours in France. Our low status and reputation meant it would only be French reserves supplementing our home grown talent. As usual, I wanted to try and be successful with younger players, so we tried to avoid anybody over 30 (also releasing or selling any hitting that age too). My aim was to give a chance to players who rarely or never feature on these forums. I never have or never will use new-gens or re-gens, so only real players will feature.

2012/2013 – LEAGUE 2 (2nd)

KEY TRANSFERS (Summer): Liam Hearn (Grimsby) £250k, Chris Hegarty (Rangers) £20k, Teddy Mezague (Montpellier) £150k. Loans: Dale Bennett (Watford), Mikkel Andersen (Reading), Danny Green (Charlton), Scott Griffiths (Peterborough), Mark Yeates (Watford), Joe Garner (Watford)

KEY TRANSFERS (Winter): Jack King (Preston) £18k, Valery Mezague (free)

KEY SALES (Winter): Deon Burton (York) £10k, Adam Barrett (Mansfield) £10k

SEASON SUMMARY: The board set a minimum expectation of promotion. Our initial transfer budget was increased to circa £700k by selling transfer clauses relating to Ryan Bertrand but the board would not allow the wage budget to be increased. We added to our three signings by using the non-contributory loan market. The board permitted the transfer revenue percentage to be increased to 75% and allowed me parent and feeder clubs (Blackburn & Dartford). The first summer saw most of my staff upgraded, with only club legends Andy Hessentahler (DOF) and Ron Hillyard (GK coach) retained. New staff recruits were: Brian Stein (Ass. Man), Muzzy Izzet (Res. Man), Andy Barlow (U18 Man), Rob Lee (U18 Ass. Man.), Allan Evans and Iwan Roberts (Coaches), Dean Ashton (U18 Coach), Sean Riley (Head Physio), Alan McLeary (Chief Scout), Glyn Chamberlain (Scout).

Tactics and formation: Traditional 442 with GK, FB (x2) defend, CB (x2) defend, DLP support, BWM (defend), WM (x2) support, DLF (support), TM (support). Using very rigid/counter and occasionally balanced/control. I alternated between a short passing game and direct approach, but latterly the direct style seemed to be more successful. Free kicks were always aimed at best header and corners aimed at six-yard box.

Result: Promoted in second place. Centre-back Teddy Mezague achieved the highest League 2 average rating, most man of the match awards and also won the club player of season award. Target man and captain Danny Kedwell was club top scorer with 24 goals. Additional mentions to Green (assists from the right flank), Jack Payne (DLP) for top pass completion ratio, King who excelled at the heart of the defence after arriving in the winter window, Andersen for reliable goalkeeping and Hearn for a decent scoring return. Transfer expenditure £478k, transfer income £20k.

2013/2014 – LEAGUE 1 (8th)

KEY TRANSFERS (Summer): Jonathan Ligali (Montpellier ) £110k, Nick Arnold (Reading) £10k, Joe Garner (Watford) free, Karim Boutadjine (Pandurii) free, Scott Griffiths (free). Loans: Dale Bennett (Watford) £2k p/m, Dylan Deligny (Lens)

KEY SALES (Summer): Chris Welpdale (Crewe) £200k, Andy Frampton (free), Matt Fish (free), Ben Strevens (free), Danny Jackman (free), Ross Flitney (free), Darren Hawkes (free), Jack Evans (free)

KEY TRANSFERS (Winter): Paulo Gazzaniga (Southampton) £180k, Stuart Moore (Reading) £26k, Aziz Deen-Conteh (free), Mark Yeates (free), Fitz Hall (free), Marlon King (free), Liam Feeney (Millwall) loan £12k p/m, Danny Rose (Tottenham) loan, Leroy Lita (Swansea) loan.

KEY SALES (Winter): none

SEASON SUMMARY: With a focus on consolidation, the board were very restrictive on the wage limit and would not allow excess transfer funds to be converted in to the wage budget. Transfer dealing was low-level again and I was unable to re-sign most of my loans from season 1. A change of mid-season expectations allowed a bit more movement in the winter window. The parent club was upgraded (Tottenham) and I boosted my U18 squad with real youths released from local clubs like Spurs and Southampton. Tony Butler joined the coaching staff and Ade Mafe came in as Fitness coach.

Tactics and formation: Identical to previous season.

Result: Always hovering around the play-off places, eventually we finished eighth. Key man Teddy Mezague achieved the highest League 1average rating and most man of the match awards, and again won our club player of the season award. Hearn (DLF) was our top scorer this time. Mentions also to Ligali (making my inability to re-loan or sign Andersen less significant), Rose for excellent performances on the left side of midfield, Bennett for remaining solid again at right back, whilst Payne (DLP) and King (DC) maintained their good form. Transfer expenditure £316k, transfer income £260k.

2014/2015 – LEAGUE 1 (1st)

KEY TRANSFERS (Summer): Ryan Hall (Southend) £80k, Dale Bennett (Watford) £80k. Loans: Kenneth McEvoy (Tottenham), Dominic Samuel (Reading), George Moncur (West Ham), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)

KEY SALES (Summer): Adam Birchall (free), Marlon King (free), Fitz Hall (free), Stuart Nelson (free), Mark Yeates (free), Myles Weston (free), Jack Parter (free)

KEY TRANSFERS (Winter): Steve Sidwell (free), Gabriel Zakuani (free), Jamie O’Hara (Wolves) loan

KEY SALES (Winter): Valery Mezague (Accrington) £5k

SEASON SUMMARY: Despite targeting a play-off spot, the board reduced the wage and transfer budget. Most of the signings were purely as back-up to add depth to the squad and I was not happy with the quality compared to the previous year. Dannie Bulman joined the coaching staff. Charlie Lee took over the captaincy from the ageing Kedwell.

Tactics and formation: Identical to the previous season, more often than not we used direct passing but occasionally using short passing.

Result: A terrible start saw us in or around the relation places in the early months and I feared the sack. I was frustrated that the board didn’t seem to match my ambition to build season-by-season, although I secretly admired their financial controls. We battled on until an unexpected 5-0 win against an in-administration Leicester seemed to signal a change in fortune. We gradually rose up the league - thanks mainly to our miserly defensive record. On the final day of the season and well-placed in third, a surprising set of results saw us take the title by one point. Centre-back Teddy Mezague who was now valued at over £3 million, achieved the highest League 1average rating again and won our club player of season award for the third consecutive year. Remarkably he had now been a league ever-present now for his three seasons with us. Hearn was club top scorer again (18). Mentions also to Hall for his consistent supply line and set-piece deliveries, Woodrow for a fantastic scoring return, whilst Payne (now valued at £1.9 million), and King continued as normal. Transfer expenditure £160k, transfer income £5k.

2015/2016 – CHAMPIONSHIP (Play-off winner)

KEY TRANSFERS (Summer): Mathieu Deplagne (Montpellier) free, Sorel Chemin (PSG) free, Marcel Essombe (Chateauroux) free, Louise Parfait (free). Loans: Gaetan Fallempin (Valenciennes) loan £3k p/m, Gaetan Charbonnier (Montpellier) loan £24k p/m, Adrian Mariappa (Reading) loan £10k p/m, Pierre Bourdin (PSG) loan £4k p/m

KEY SALES (Summer): Lewis Montrose (free), Gabriel Zakuani (free), Danny Kedwell (free)

KEY TRANSFERS (Winter): Adrian Mariappa (Reading) £250k - conversion from loan

KEY SALES (Winter): none

SEASON SUMMARY: Content to simply avoid relegation and having no idea how the French signings would settle in to their key roles, transfer activity was again kept to a minimum. I also decided - with a heavy heart - to move on Gills legend Andy Hessenthaler from his DOF role, putting my faith in the unknown Tom Vernon. I also decided to bring in Paul Groves as my number two, replacing the out-of-contract Brian Stein. Owen Hargreaves joined the coaching staff, Massimo Biffi became our second GK coach, Salif Diao came in as a Scout because of his French knowledge, and Scott Bartlett finally filled the vacant Head of Youth Development role.

Tactics and formation: Identical to previous seasons, except my balanced formation was scaled down to standard from control. I alternated between direct and short passing again.

Result: After a good start, familiarity with the formation and tactics saw a high level of performance maintained throughout. The team had surprised me and the board, and had been on the edge of the play-off zone until the last month, until some consistent form eventually took us in to the top six. Starting the last day in third, at home in a sell-out (11,000 capacity) to local rivals Charlton, we faced anguish when we saw a stoppage time winner ruled out for a foul on their keeper. The 0-0 draw and subsequent two points dropped saw us miss out on automatic promotion by a single point, and the play-off’s beckoned. Facing Brighton away in the semi-final first leg, I was undecided whether to choose my very rigid counter attacking set up, or my balanced standard approach. Feeling brave I went for the latter and despite (or maybe because of) inadvertently mixing up my two strikers to play the ‘incorrect’ roles, a hat-trick from Essombe saw us come away with a shock 3-0 lead. In the second leg, leaving these roles the same, a first-half treble from my other striker Charbonnier put us 3-0 up before a late consolation for the battered Seagulls. In the final we faced a much harder challenge, as Huddersfield took us to extra time before a late winner clinched a 3-2 win and an amazing Premier League promotion. Centre-back Teddy Mezague won his fourth consecutive player of the season award, but missed one game before Christmas and a handful in the run-in due to injury to end his incredible appearance record. Charbonnier (DLF with Essombe, or TM if paired with Hearn) was top scorer with 21 goals. Mentions to Essombe, who notched 13 after an early injury and slow start, and Hall who netted a further 12 goals (many of them direct free kick’s) and assisted a similar number. French full-backs Deplagne (RB) and Bourdin (LB) cemented their places with consistent displays, and Fallempin did well on the left of midfield as Hall switched to the right. Payne, King and Ligali maintained their level of performance again, Hearn was only one short of ten-league goals for the fourth time in a row, and card-magnate Lee enjoyed a fourth solid season in midfield (BWM). Transfer expenditure £250k, transfer income £22k.

Remaining original players

Jack Payne and Charlie Lee are still first team regulars in central midfield and will get games in the top flight

Charlie Allen played a little in season 1 only and will be sold for a nominal fee

Callum Davies and Connor Essam have developed well on loan and in the reserves but are unlikely to make their debuts unless we are relegated

Joe Martin will be released after never appearing for the club

Danny Kedwell (3 seasons), Myles Weston (2), Adam Birchall (2), Chris Welpdale (1) all served the first team adequately before being replaced by better players

Teddy Mezague, Jack King, Chris Hegarty, Liam Hearn and Dale Bennett were all signed by me in our League 2 days and remain in our first team squad, but Joe Garner will now be sold and Scott Griffiths will be released

7 of the youths recruited at the end of our first campaign remain in the reserves, and one or two may feature if we get relegated

Transfers, values and other recommendations

• Our record transfer fee in my tenure remains a mere £250k (Hearn and Mariappa)

• Our most valuable assets are Teddy Mezague (£4.6 million) and Payne (£3.5 million)

• Essombe and Charbonnier (who will be re-joining on a Bosman for next season) are both now valued over £2 million

• King, Hall, Parfait, Deplagne and Bourdin (also re-joining on a Bosman) are all now valued in excess of £1 million

• Woodrow (a teenage reserve when I spotted him) is worth £3.5 million now, scores for fun and is highly recommended to any LLM if you can bag him early on (loan or sign)

• Ex-Gill Luke Freeman has not played for me but has been excellent elsewhere

• Ex-Gill Craig Stone starts in non-league but I saw he averages over 8.0 in four seasons there

My game was started before the January transfer window update so please do be prepared for differences, although hopefully any would be minimal. Jack Payne should need to be replaced if you do this on the new update, as he is now at Peterborough

I do see a lack of interest in this club but the transfer budget to start, with a bit of a legitimate tweak makes them a unique LLM option. Failing that, some of the names mentioned, or ideas, may just come in useful for other LLM's, in which case this post will have at least served some purpose:thup:

[m4tTy~B~]

Is anybody able to help me regarding my first LLM save? I am Hinckley..Have a remaining wage budget of £142. Most players are Non Contract except a couple.. I need players urgently as my squad is easily the worst in the league, I also need a half decent formation..Oh yeah and an Assistant Manager lol. Really want to do well with these.

[CityAndColour]

What sort of advice are you after?

Anyway, finished my first season in the Conference with Dorchester, and it was a successful. We snuck into the final playoff spot, and despite going 3-0 up in the first leg against Chester, we ended up losing 4-5 on aggregate. So a tough loss but a very successful season overall.

Delron Buckley retired on a high, taking out the league player of the season award at the ripe old age of 38, with 21 goals and 21 assists. I've kept him on as a coach now, but his are massive shoes to fill as he was so talismanic in his two seasons at the club. I am finding player recruitment to be a real challenge - it seems our reputation doesn't match where we the club is currently at, which creates the silly situation of released players from other Conference clubs (and even the level below) not even being prepared to discuss terms with a club that was two matches away from league football. Hopefully another strong season will fix that.

[CityAndColour]

Just starting out my second season in the Conference now (4th overall), and have a bit of a tip for those playing with lower reputation clubs. If your scout tells you a player is not interested, or filters them out of searches, it's worth going to offer a contract anyway. Some will flat out refuse to talk, but a lot of players will just give you the "I'm not that interested, but if you make me an amazing offer..." line. Just signed Eliot Richards and Lee Frecklington despite my scouts telling me no chance, and on pretty reasonable contracts too. They are both top class for my level.

In other exciting news, our junior coaching is now at an excellent level, and work is underway to push our academy to the next rating level (currently four).

[Rothira]

Do you guys set yourself certain thresholds for mental attributes since those seem to be lacking for most players in the lower leagues?

[liamgriffiths85]

Would you class the Welsh Premier League in this or are they below the standard of all them?

[Heggarty]

Hi All. Long time forum watcher first time poster.

Love my LLM, been doing it since CM4. I love the challenge. I have been doing Vauxhall the last couple of years but this version decided to have a crack with Maidenhead. Tipped near the relegation zone I knew it would be a good challenge. I picked up a good young Irish target man, Ethan Manion. I started off shockingly lost the first 7 games but slowly got the tactics right and with a couple of games left I am comfortable in 11th spot.

Looking to continue to rebuilt next year and get rid of the deadwood. There is certainly plenty of it. I have been using a 3-1-3-1-2, Not something I have used much before but it seems to be working pretty well.

Would be interested to hear peoples views on training for part time clubs and the best way to approach it??

[Griffo]

I am currently playing as Truro City and I continually go above the boards expectations but I am still yet to gain promotion heading into my fourth year. I find it hard finding quality players when I don't know anyone by name, I scout every free agent in the position I'm looking for and then choose out of the five star options after looking at their abilities. Does anyone do anything different that has been successful for them?

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome Heggarty, good to hear about your challenge there with Maidenhead. I don't think they have much history except that Alan Devonshire (of West Ham fame) was manager there for quite a few years. I usually do LLM myself but just between L1/L2/BSP so have never done an amateur club before but might give it a go. I don't know about the training for PT teams but I have a feeling that it may be easier because you can sign/keep players on PT and NC basis. Once the club rise (promotion) they will possibly demand FT contracts and wages, and the finances may take a hit (especially if ground improvements are needed).

Budgetwise, I know that Eastleigh are supposed to start with about £60k transfer kitty in BSS (next season I believe Ebbsfleet will have a decent sum of £100k-£150k if the takeover is reflected accurately) which is great for that level. I might try Hayes & Yeading as before the merger in 2007, Hayes had supplied a few legends of the game (Robin Friday, Cyrille Regis, Les Ferdinand, Jason Roberts - and, erm, Wally Downes) but I'm not sure that history is relevant to the merged team in game.

Griffo, that must be tough down at Truro. I think part of the challenge at that level is what you are doing - to identify your own future stars or take punts on players you see. It's a shame Stewart Yetton had to leave on a sour note, he would have been a great player to have in your squad. Or is he still there in FM13? I guess you can look at your rivals to see if you can pick any of their better players up, or check other amateur teams (those in Scotland, Ireland, Wales are often amateur). Also you could try for a feeder club etc.

[fare dale]

what is the suitable tactics when playing bss/bsn?

[Griffo]

I started in the Blue Square South and I have been unable to get a feeder club, I had Plymouth n my first year but they didn't give me anyone on loan then cancelled the link.

Yetton is still in the squad on FM13, he is currently my captain and has scored 73 goals in 123 games with an average rating of 7.48 while I have been at the club. I am listed as his preferred personnel but I feel that now that he has reached 30 he is on the downside of his career as he isn't producing ridiculous performances like previous years but despite this he is still a very good player.

Got through a few games tonight and I am in 6th position after 11 games so hopefully I can find myself in a position to compete in the play-offs otherwise I feel I might move clubs and start fresh outside of England.

[Jogo Bonito]

I started in the Blue Square South and I have been unable to get a feeder club, I had Plymouth n my first year but they didn't give me anyone on loan then cancelled the link.

Yetton is still in the squad on FM13, he is currently my captain and has scored 73 goals in 123 games with an average rating of 7.48 while I have been at the club. I am listed as his preferred personnel but I feel that now that he has reached 30 he is on the downside of his career as he isn't producing ridiculous performances like previous years but despite this he is still a very good player.

Got through a few games tonight and I am in 6th position after 11 games so hopefully I can find myself in a position to compete in the play-offs otherwise I feel I might move clubs and start fresh outside of England.

I'm not sure why you couldn't get any Plymouth Reserves or Youth when they were your parent club (not feeder as I wrote above!) - that wasn't much help to you. Have you tried to get another link with any other team?

Yetton has a fantastic record at that club and it's good to see he performed so well for you. I was confusing myself on dates, he has only recently been released due to a training ground assault on a team-mate (April 2013) so of course the game won't know about that until FM14 comes out.

Good luck for your play-off push this season.

[Griffo]

To say I have had an entertaining season would be an understatement... I managed to make it to the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in a streak which included victory over League 2's Southend and then draw a match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane! Even though I lost 3-0 it certainly helped my financial situation. I also finished 2nd in the league and managed to gain promotion through the playoffs to the Blue Square Premier, I have no idea how I am going to top the excitement of this season!

[Chip1310]

Started a save with Boston United

going quite well, lying in 3rd place but only 1 point behind the leaders.

Had a decent FA Cup run, got into the 1st round where I came up against Bournemouth. Lost 5-2 but I was pleased with how we attacked and dominated parts of the game.

Trying to get the side playing my possession based style of football and trying to bring younger players into the club.

My best players are this guy I signed called Jimmy Rogers and my striker Newsham. He is an outstanding finisher.

Only problem I'm having is that I'm conceding far too many goals so my goal difference looks poor, which could be a problem come the end of the season

[liamgriffiths85]

Do most of you go for 442 tactics?

I really want my Bangor City side to play some swift attacking football, But getting it to the wings and crossing it for my target man is the only tactic i need to win the league! But once i'm in europe i struggle!

[ANUBUS]

Started My LLM Save today with Bishop Stortford using a 5-1-2-1-2 Works really good for me so far ill post pics after my first season is over.

[ANUBUS]

in lower leagues i tend to not use wingers until i get up a few levels as there not technically gifted i pay more attention to GK Def and Mids for the first few levels.

[ANUBUS]

Do most of you go for 442 tactics?

I really want my Bangor City side to play some swift attacking football, But getting it to the wings and crossing it for my target man is the only tactic i need to win the league! But once i'm in europe i struggle!

in lower leagues i tend to not use wingers until i get up a few levels as there not technically gifted i pay more attention to GK Def and Mids for the first few levels.