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Welcome to the Dragon's Den - the Chairmen's battle to the top of Scottish Football


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Welcome to the Dragon's Den

With money burning a hole in his back pocket and keen to give something back to Scottish Football, the Dragon invited ambitious young hopefuls to try and persuade him to part with his cash to fund their dreams of owning and running their own Scottish football club. He might be wealthy but he's not inclined to throw money away; therefore, the Dragon went through a rigorous selection process to choose which applicants would be worthy of spending his cash for the purposes of buying and rejuvanating a 3rd Division team.

Each had to come up with a solid business plan, spending money on improving their club's reputation; a new stadium; advertising to persuade people to come and fill the stadium; improving the desirability of the town; training and youth facilities; a donation to charity to 'prove' their quality as chairman and finally spending money to recruit a manager. The business plans (and revisions) can be viewed in this thread.

Scottish Division 3 - season 2007/08 - the clubs

Here is an introduction to the clubs funded by the generous Dragon and run by the young entrepreneurs:

Albion Rovers - Chairman: NepentheZ

Club info

Paul "Warlock" Wallace - Club manager - this guy looks the best talent in the division and the best thing ever to come from Coatbridge. Can they hang onto him?

Media prediction: 9th

Arbroath - Chairman: ~Ian~

Club info

Matt Skiba - A big fan of Arborath smokies, he can spot a player, but not so much potential; lets hope he gets good backroom staff if he's to develop the club long term.

Media prediction: 1st

Berwick Rangers - Chairman: glennuk

Club info

Josh Crane - Has a lot of talent. With the chairman's backing could really do a job for the English team.

Media prediction: 3rd

Dumbarton - Chairman: Robbo3d

Club info

Nikon Jevtik - Named after a make of camera and looks like the weakest manager in the league. His team might struggle to fill their massive 20,000 stadium if hee doesn't impress.

Media prediction: 6th

East Stirling - Chairman: rlipscombe

Club info

Archie McFergus - Looks distinctly average. Will be hoping to do well though and avoiding the locals going back to watch the erstwhile biggest team in Falkirk, Falkirk, instead.

Media prediction: 7th

Elgin - Chairman: Arkitekt88

Club info

Carl Vasquez - Appears to be a better coach than manager, but has bags of potential. Might be one for the future. The media think so - predicted to finish bottom.

Media prediction: 10th

Forfar - Chairman: paulhartman71

Club info

James Hartson-Harris - Again this guy doesn't look the best, but might well improve in future. Not great at spotting players, which is a drawback for a team with no players.

Media prediction: 5th

Montrose - Chairman: 5ergio

Club info

Mengana - 2nd only to the Warlock in terms of managerial talent, should be able to bring in a good mix of established players and younsters.

Media prediction: 2nd

Stenhousemuir - Chairman: bermybhoy

Club info

Henke - The legendary Swede will be hoping to get the fans flocking from all over the Stenny and Larbert metropolis to watch his side. Looks a well above average talent.

Media prediction: 4th

Stranraer - Chairman: Walcott's Wonderkids

Club info

Brucie Bonus - This guy looks like he has a bit of talent. If it doesn't work out might find himself on the first ferry out of town.

Media prediction: 8th

So there we have it. At this stage, none of the teams have any players, so there's no point showing squads. It also means the bookies predictions are pretty arbitrary. The key this season is likely to be which teams can fill their squad with a decent standard of player.

How are they going to get on? Now you know how the clubs are set up and how good the managers are, let's have some predictions....

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don't agree with Archie being 'average'!! ha ha :D good to see he's a fan of attacking football. can't predict too much at the moment, as pretty level playing field. all i will say is it's going to be interesting!!

let the games begin!

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No players at all? OOOH gunna be tough, i thought a few youngsters may have turned up.

Ahh well.

I think the top 3 will be

1.Montrose (Good manager, Decent chance of getting top)

2. Berwick (I am biased)

3. Stenhousemuir (Based on the great manager)

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No players at all? OOOH gunna be tough, i thought a few youngsters may have turned up.

No they all have newgen youth players. You wouldn't want to be seeing out the season with them though, obviously.

Will do an end of transfer window report to start with and see who's managed to bring a few players in...

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Why do i get the feeling this could all go wrong? Without suggar daddy in charge, we need to make sure we fill the stadium. Otherwise we could be heading for a financial crisis.

The manager is poor as expected so the sooner he is replaced, the better. I dont expect us to challenge for the title in the first year.

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Cool no rush but any ideas when it will be up?

Will try and get an update or two done tonight.

I've run it on and from what I see there's been a number of signings, but they're struggling to spend big. The problem there is probably the league they're in, as it's reputation is a massive 2 (/20).

Astute loan signings might be the key in season 1.

just a note my training and youth points are the wrong way round than what i put in my business plan :s

predicted last???? omg, my club needs to look long term :) Rome wasnt built in a day

Arrghhh. I knew I'd mess something up. Really sorry mate. If it all goes pear shaped at elast you can blame someone else now ;)

Why do i get the feeling this could all go wrong? Without suggar daddy in charge, we need to make sure we fill the stadium. Otherwise we could be heading for a financial crisis.

The manager is poor as expected so the sooner he is replaced, the better. I dont expect us to challenge for the title in the first year.

My understanding of how it works is that your stadium is guaranteed to have approx your average attendance figure, so no worries there - initially. If they do poorly though, this will drop over time.

I like your long term thinking too. All of these clubs are already on a par with a few Div 1 or clubs, I would estimate. With the funding they have, they should all, in time, make progress. The main restriction is the single automatic promotion spot and lottery of the potential second one through the play offs...

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I'm 75% sure there's a grammatical error in the title of this, but can't quite put my finger on it. The 'Chairmen's' bit just doesn't look quite right.

Anyway, if anyone has preferences for any specific screenshots they want to see later, let me know. I'll do transfers and results so far at least.

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I think the screenshots I would find interesting are:

Squad list with positions and also wage amounts.

The clubs fixtures page showing an overview of our results.

Transfers.

The league table graph screenie - quite like this one as it gives you an overview of how our team has gone up and down the league for each round of matches.

Oh and ofcourse the basic league table screenie. :)

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All good ideas; will try and incorporate them as best possible.

So we have:

  • squad with stats
  • squad with wages
  • transfers
  • key player (will probably restrict this to highest average rating or top scorer)
  • club results
  • league table
  • league progress graph
  • rich list (probably makes sense jut to do this for Scotland)

If there's anything else I'm open to requests.

I'm glad I restricted this to 10 :)

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End of first transfer window update

The prediction of almost everyone involved is that success in the first season is probably largely dependant on each team ability to get in some decent players. All have started out with no senior players, only newgen youth players, so the need is urgent.

With the in mind, how did the transfer window go for each team?

Taking them in alphabetical order, Albion Rovers were also very active, the Warlock splashing £69k of Nep's money. Most expensive signing is Chris Fahey, the manager taking the view that a solid keeper is the base to work from.

Arbroath signed a team worth of players including loans at a cost of £51k. Again the most expensive player is a keeper, with the money going on rockstar Tommy Lee. Think Pammy has moved to Arbroath as well?

Berwick are maybe taking the quality over quanitity approach, with only 8 players in, costing £80k. They made the biggest transfer, spending £70k on Murray Davidson. The fans will be hoping he's better than the stats suggest.

Dumbarton were very active, with 14 coming in, decimating the Queen's Park squad in the process. All this at of course no cost because they ain't got no money. Still, I've picked out Richard Bowers, who is maybe pick of the bunch.

The Shire managed to spend £81k on just 7 players, casting their net as wide as Australia. Biggest signing at £45k is defender Mark Baxter, who looks a prospect.

Elgin were strangely quiet, with boss Carl Vasquez perhaps taking the media's predictions of last place to heart, by spending only £1k on 7 players to his chairman's bemusement. That money was spent on veteren defender Alex Burns.

Forfar managed to bring in 13 players, raiding Brechin, Stirling and poor Queen's Park repeatedly. William Dyer cost a whopping £28k to fill the left back role, but it's hard to see why.

Montrose splashed the most cash, with £155k going on 8 players, Stirling being the main beneficiaries, providing 3 players including top signing Scott Christie, a quality looking keeper.

My own Stenhousemuir, brought in 13 players at a cost of £94k. The biggest signing was Calum Smith a decent striker who's made a good start to the season.

Stranraer boss Brucie Bonus was another who was quiet, signing only 7 players for all of £5k. The 'biggest' was journeyman centre back Chris Robertson.

Well, that's all they have to work with til January when reinforcements can again be brought in. As might be expected, those who were least active have generally made the worst starts. Fastest out the blocks though, was the mighty Stenny! Get in there! With just 4 games gone, the league table looks like this.

The cups start early in Scotland, and there's little to write home about. Only 2 clubs made it to the second round of the CIS cup, Arbroath and East Stirling crashing out to Motherwell and Dundee respectively.

In the Challenge Cup, Montrose had a brilliant 3-2 win a D1 Stirling, Albion Rovers saw off Sranraer on pens and Arboath slaughtered in-debt Dumbarton 6-0, each making it to the second round, all our other team falling at the first hurdle.

There's a long, long way to go this season......

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Fantastic effort Bermy. I'm far and away the best manager there too :D

A nice cup win. ;)

If the league has started, would it be possible to see monthly tables?

I ran it onto the end of December already, so I'm afraid not. I can do it in future though.

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Good update Bermy.

Not a bad start in the league but what happened in the cup!

We have let in 7 in the league and 6 in the cup so it looks like we are struggling in defence/in goal.

My prediction was that quantity may be more useful than quality and it looks like i've brought in the most players so i'm happy. Bowers looks ok, obviously i cant tell about the others. I'll be happy as long as we have signed players for each position.

What are my attendances like? Do i actually fill the ground?

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Looks like arbroath are a cup team then. Haven't made a great start in the league but getting through the first rounds of both cups was good, especially the thrashing off Dumbarton. My apologies to the Dumbarton manager. ;)

KUTGW Bermy. :thup:

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KUTGW

Any chance of seeing the leagu table how it stands now?

Asyou said you holidayed up to December.

Hopefully Berwick find some more players from somwhere!

Also any chance to post out full squads? Including youth players, i jsut mean the kind of Squad Selection screen.

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Update - 1 Jan 2008

By now, half the season has come and gone. Here's how the teams have fared so far...

Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)

Results 1

Results 2

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Nikon Jevtik)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Henke)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)

Results

Squad ratings

Squad contracts

Cups

Challenge Cup

Arbroath went on a great run, beating 1st division Dundee 2-1 away, before falling at home to Airdrie Utd, the eventual winners in the semi-final. None of our other teams made it past the 2nd round.

Scottish Cup

The 4th round is where the big boys come in, and three of our teams have made it through that far. Berwick secured the best result, thumping D2 East Fife 4-1 and will travel to Stirling (who Montrose have beaten this season) for the next round. Also through are Forfar and cup specialists Arbroath who take on D2 sides Raith (h) and Ayr (a) respectively.

Division 3

This is what really matters. Although this is long-term, promotion in the first season could be key to rapid progress up the leagues. With 19 games played, the league table looks like this. Again, GET IN THERE! But it's tight at the top, only the bottom 3 are too far out of the picture to be promotion/play off contenders. Biggest win so far has been the top v bottom mismatch, with Stenny drubbing Dumbarton 6-1 away.

Dumbarton's gamble on taking on massive debt looks decidedly dodgy now, as they sit rooted to the bottom. Their poor results mean that their massive stadium is far from full each week, although they are still well out in front in the average attendence stakes. On Dec 15, boss Nikon Jevtik became the first managerial casuality of the campaign, sacked by the ruthless David Robinson. In his place came the hugely experienced Alex Smith (screenshot to follow later).

Division 3 players stats - Calum Smith of Stenhousemuir is looking like the top player of the year contender, sitting out in front for average ratings and top scorer. Other top performers are Wood of Montrose, Kelly of Forfar and Templeman of Arbroath. The strikers are on top in this division.

General

Rich list - Division 3 dominates the list, after the Old Firm, the big two from Edinburgh and Queen's Park. Is it inevitable that our clubs will begin to challenge at the top end in future?

Manager job security - Anyone else hoping their manager's for the bullet better not hold their breath...

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Hmm not too bad only 2 points from playoffs, and a good away draw with stenny at their ground.

I think Janurary is going to be a big month for Berwick Rangers and will be interesting to see the next update :)

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About to do another sneaky little update. Trying to come up with a template for these to cut down the time it takes, these might be a bit bland but hopefully allow more frequent updates. That said, not sure how much I'll do over the weekend so don't hold your breath.

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Update - 1 Feb 2008

Transfer update

With another transfer window, the clubs have had a chance to try and improve their fortunes or secure their lofty positions...

Albion Rovers (NepentheZ/Paul "Warlock" Wallace)

Transfers - Among the busiest in the tranfer market, but no real inspired looking signings as yet. Screpis coming in from Hearts should improve the midfield once he starts playing.

Arbroath (~Ian~/Matt Skiba)

Transfers - Brought in a couple of youngsters on loan and some more cash found itself heading to Stirling, including £22k on left back Ross Forsyth. Brought in 2 defenders, a winger and striker.

Berwick (glennuk/Josh Crane)

Transfers - Biggest signing was the veteran striker James Grady who still looks more than capable of doing a turn at this level. Evans is another 33 year old midfielder and Campion a young defender.

Dumbarton (Robbo3d/Alex Smith)

Transfers - Like Albion's boss, new man Alex Smith is trying to get them out of trouble by signing a whole squadron of players. Unfortunately, none of them look all that good at all.

East Stirling (rlipscombe/Archie McFergus)

Transfers - Only one more permanent signing, midfielder Cairney looks pretty decent.

Elgin (Arkitekt88/Carl Vasquez)

Transfers - Vasquez has been steadily bringing players in despite his slow start. Matt Somner looks the pick, he was released by Notts Co.

Forfar (paulhartman71/James Hartson-Harris)

Transfers - Just a couple of signings this time, being a young striker, Wilkes and the very adaptable Danny Hall

Montrose (5ergio/Mengana)

Transfers - Biggest signing was Thompson for £80k. He's adaptable and looks equally good on the right wing or up front.

Stenhousemuir (bermybhoy/Henke)

Transfers - Only two more signings, both young centre backs. Look decent though, Henke knows what he's doing.

Stranraer (Walcott's Wonderkids/Brucie Bonus)

Transfers - Brucie Bonus still resolutely determined not to spent cash, and it could hurt them. No screenshots as you don't want to see these guys, trust me.

Scottish Cup

In the 4th Round, Berwick were beaten 2-0 at Stirling and Forfar went down 1-0 to Raith. However, Arbroath again showed great cup form, thoroughly outplaying Ayr Utd to win 2-0 at home. Their reward is a visit from Hearts.

Division 3

League table - With another 4 games played, it's still tight at the top, Montrose keeping Stenhousemuir well in their sights. It's starting to look like a two horse race, but things can change quickly. Poor Albion and Dumbarton are now well adrift at the bottom.

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What is going on! Looks like my gamble isnt paying off. At least the manager has gone, i always intended on him only being a short term measure. It will be interesting to see how good the new man is, although with none of his signings even warranting a screenshot, i am not getting my hopes up. Roll on next season.

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It surprised me how many signings clubs made. From past experience, i have seen clubs starting with no players struggle to sign more than 5/6. This hasnt happened here and it has meant that a couple of quality signings can win you the league. The first season was never going to be my year with such a poor manager in charge at the start of the season. I'm just hoping that i dont suffer the embarrassment of finishing bottom.

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Wahey, still going great in the cups. Hearts is going to be a very tough game, would be a huge accomplishment to beat them though.

Sixth in the league is a bit disappointing, but there's still time to improve on that. Forsyth looks like a good new left-back, and if Templeman keeps firing in the goals we could grab a play-off spot.

Good updates Bermy, KUTGW.

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Second as predicted by the media. Lowest on the average attendances, maybe the only downside of Montrose at the moment. I really hope that we can hold on to Mengana, he is a great talent and a possible replacement could hamper our chances of improvement in the next year. Awesome updates bermybhoy. KUTGW mate.

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Update - 1 Mar 2008

Scottish Cup

Arbroath's big game in the 5th round against Hearts would end in heart break, going down 0-3 at home but coming out with a lot of credit, pressing against 10 men but going out after 2 late goals.

Division 3

League table - Stenhousemuir are going through a sticky spell, allowing Montrose to deplace them at the top. Elgin briefly hit the top and Forfar are hanging in there. Any for those 4 can realisically win it. At the bottom, Albion Rovers are putting together a decent run, too late for this season but it looks like condemning Dumbarton to bottom spot.

Team stats - Forfar hitting form at exactly the right time for a late push.

Player stats - Smith and Wood still well out in front as top performers.

Forfar's Hartson-Harris took manager of the month. The history of past winners looks like this.

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