Staveley Miners Welfare - how far can we go?

[ajcardall]

Hi, all.

I've been spending a lot of my time in this subsection, and the quality and detail of the career updates, and the successes members have achieved, has been giving me a notion to have a go at chronicling my own efforts in FM2013. I'm currently 5 seasons into a long-term career with my (very) local side, Staveley Miners Welfare, and rather the restart (I've enjoyed a lot of success thus far!), I decided to merely use this new season as my starting point. However, I'll use the first post (not this one!) to briefly tell the story thus far, so you've got a feel for where I am and what I've done so far.

Before I start with the usual wikicopy club intro, I'd like to thank you for reading this, and feel free to leave any feedback (even criticism is welcome, where constructive ) as this is my first attempt at such a thread, and while you can learn much from reading the stories of others, there is no substitute for your own experience!

Without further ado:

Club Introduction

Staveley Miners Welfare F.C. is an English football club based in Staveley, Derbyshire. The club are currently members of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division and play at Inkersall Road.

The club was established as a Sunday league team in 1962, and initially played at Barrow Hill under the name Nags Head. They played friendly matches for three years, before joining the Mansfield League. In 1968 they joined the Chesterfield League. In 1989 the club started playing Saturday football in the Chesterfield and District Amateur League. In 1991 they moved up to the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League, winning Division Three in their first season, and Division Two in their second.

In 1993 they joined the Supreme Division of the Central Midlands League. After finishing third in 1996–97 they were accepted into Division One of the Northern Counties East League.

The club finished second in their first season in Division One, and were promoted to the Premier Division. After three seasons of struggling, they were relegated back to Division One in 2000–01, having finished bottom of the table. They finished bottom of Division One in 2002–03, but avoided relegation. In 2010–11 the club won Division One to return to the Premier Division.

At the start of my career, the club were in the Northern Counties East Premier Divison

NB: To add "spice" to the game, I used the editor to provide the club with a few rivals as it had none initially. I went for four local teams: Derby County, Chesterfield, Matlock, and Sheffield United. (Being a fan, I "overlooked" the mighty Wednesday....! )

The Stadium - Inkersall Road

Note, please, the garish blue-and-white stripe paint works

Inkersall road has a surprisingly large capacity of 5,000 (500 seated), which should serve us well enough during the first few promotions (this happens - as I said, I'm 5 seasons in alrady!). I've been to the ground a fair few times over the years, and the surface and conditions are generally good.

Game Info

I'll be using the English lower leagues DB expansion, along with the French, German, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, Spanish and Dutch leagues all added to the lowest possible (default) level, with a large database. This is causing some slow loading times, so I'll be trimming leagues as I rise up!

[ajcardall]

Catch Up to the Present Day:

I want to keep this part very brief as, well, it was consecutive promotions. Yes, that is nice, but my current season is far more interesting with wins and losses and really testing how I perform at such a (relatively!) high level. So, with that in mind, I've dug through the history books and provided screencaps of the final league tables to this point. As you can see, the first 4 years were extremely successful. I find managing this low down (>> BSP+) to be relatively straight forward. It's when 'things get real' that my wheels fall off!

SEASON ONE:

SEASON TWO:

SEASON THREE:

SEASON FOUR:

Star Man (former):

As you can probably deduce, my thinking for the non-leagues is to simply whack the ball into the net as many times as possible. It worked this time! Thankfully, I had (he has since left) this little gem come through the intake during my first year, and he was a star for me. I wasn't surprised when a larger club came calling.

He left for his current club Charlton following our promotion to the Blue Square North. I was very sad to lose him. He spent last season in the U-18 squad for Charlton, but I'm happy to see he is now breaking into the first team and still finding the net!

NB: He wasn't quite as good stat-wise during his time here. However, he was plenty good enough for the non-leagues, and I'm a little surprised I kept him for 2 years! I'm pleased he has improved, though - hopefully he'll keep on goin'!

Finances at present:

Yeeeeeah, despite the rapid climb up the ladder, our finances our awful. Shifting to Semi-Pro hurt us (due to paying wages!) and our "fans" have been slow to get themselves into the ground. Last year we averaged ~500 per game, which is measly 10% of the capacity. This year things are looking a little better, and attendances have shot up to +1,000 per home game, which is really helping bring the cash into the club that we really need at this point.

Again, apologies for this being a very short and brief catch-up. As I said, I'm really wanting to get into the present day and more detailed updates of my progress (or lack thereof!) in the Blue Square Premiership. Future posts will carry more detail and information, and will probably be provided every 3 months (in game). Should a cup final ever beckon, I'll do a dedicated post for such an event. However, it'll be 3-monthly for the most part.

[JackJCFC]

Good Luck with this, looking forward to hearing about your first few seasons!

[ajcardall]

2016/17 Season :: 15 League Games Update

Expectations for the Coming Year:

So far, we've dominated the leagues and shot up very quickly. I seriously doubt whether that will continue this year. I fear our rise may have been too much, too soon, and we'll end up being found wanting at this level. So, for my first season in the Blue Square Premiership, I'm going to be looking to avoid relegation first and foremost, with a view to pushing towards mid table depending on how the season ebbs and flows, and how we manage to react to the step up.

Financially, I want the attendances to continue to rise, as they really are all that is keeping us afloat so far. We're not overspending on wages, but prior to this season, our gates haven't been high enough to bring in a profit on a monthly basis, and for the past few years, this has hurt us badly.

I'm going to have to stick with much the same squad in the BSP as I did in the BSN. However, given our run-away promotion, I feel the lads may have enough about them to keep us up this year, but time will tell.

Fixtures:

Fixtures and Results thus far

Not been a bad start by any stretch to life in the BSP. I have concerns about how leaky we appear to be along the back, and I will look into that and try and see if there is a particular fault that I can patch up and fix.

The Gateshead match was both frustrating and pleasing, as you may see. To be 4-0 down at home made me very angry, but the late rally showed the spirit and dogged determination in the team. Sadly, we could not pull it back, but -1 GD from the game is a lot better than -4, and who knows, that could be vital come the end of the season!

League Table:

Current League Standings

Sitting pretty comfortable at the moment, and pushing for one of those lovely play off positions. If we can nail down the defence and stop conceding quite so many goals, I have a very positive feeling about this season. However, it is still very early days, and I don't want to jinx the season and end up free falling down the table.

Past positions:

Past Positions

Hard to gauge where our natural position should be right now. However, I'm going to cautiously put forth that we should be at least looking for a top-half finish in this season. It is feeling like a kick in the teeth, giving our domination in the first four seasons I've overseen. However, I always expected difficulties at this stage.

Star Men:

Ryan Crump - Goalkeeper

This is the only guy I think deserves a mention at this stage. I snapped him up on a free after he was released from Liverpool, and I have hopes he can be a solid player for me. The reports section suggests he could become a leading League 2 goalkeeper in the future. He is my #1 choice right now (despite conceding a fair few thus far, but I don't blame the keeper himself), and will be so for a while, I imagine.

You may notice his appearances are only at 9 - this is because this is a slightly older screenshot, and as he hasn't turned into Casillas over the past few weeks, I didn't bother taking a new one!

Cup/Continental Performances:

N/A at this stage.

Round Up:

Over all, I am pleased with the start we have made over the first 15 games. If we continue this way, we'll have no trouble staying up this season, with playoffs even being a very real possibility. In many respects, though, I'd almost prefer to remain in the BSP next year, as a promotion to League 2 would be, I think, disastrous. It is weird, not wanting to get promotion, but I feel consolidation would be a lot better for us than yet another promotion.

[JackJCFC]

Flown up the leagues, good to see. How much did you get for that great youth player?

[ajcardall]

JackJCFC: Sadly, I got nothing for him. His contract was due to expire and he had no interest in penning a new deal. I tried monthly to see if he would change his mind as the renewal date approached, but it wasn't to be, and the went on the join Charlton. I may have gotten a pittance of compensation for him, I can't remember! However, it definitely wasn't a regular transfer, and in the history it is listed as a free.

2016/17 Season :: December Update

Fixtures:

Fixtures and Results thus far

After the pathetic 6-2 defeat to Kingstonian, I decided to alter my approach to this league. Thus far, I've been playing a straight 4-4-2 with strong emphasis on fluidity and attacking intent. This served me well in the lower leagues and I was able to simply overpower almost all opposition within the leagues, leading the a rapid rise of the leagues. However, this season the defensive frailties of such an approach have been laid bare for all to see. Yes, we had a good record and league position, but when we leaked 6 goals against the bottom club, I decided to change things up.

Now, we play a 4-5-1 with a DM sitting between the two lines of four, with a very defensive outlook and rigid positioning. This is has caused our goals to dry up somewhat, but it has also had a huge impact on our goals against column. We went on a good run without conceding and winning games by the odd goal or two. While the style of play is not something I enjoy, it is working for us, and we've had a very good run of results since October.

League Table:

Current League Standings

As you can see, we now solidly occupy a playoff position as we approach the turn of the year. I would like to catch Altrincham as another championship trophy would be very nice. However, I'm happy to be in our current position, and if we are there or there abouts come May, I'll be delighted.

Past positions:

December 2016 Past Positions

We've levelled out and seem to have found our "place". I hope to continue the run and maintain our lofty position.

Cup/Continental Performances:

FA Cup Fixtures/Results

FA Trophy Fixtures/Results

FA Cup: The 6-0 drubbing of Hereford came after the 6-2 loss to Kingstonian, so it provided a nice tonic. I'm delighted with our progress and also very happy with the draw for the next round, where we travel to White Hart Lane to face Spurs. I'm under no illusions - we're going to get a pasting, but the money such a tie will bring in to the club will be fantastic.

FA Trophy: We're still alive in the competition. Winning the FA Trophy would be nice, but it certainly isn't my main focus and priority!

Transfers:

In/Out Transfers

Due to our financial state, I've refrained from signing any players what so ever. The long list of departures were either on somewhat high wages and an advanced age, or youth products who never looked like cutting it.

Star Men:

Peter Aylmer - DM/MC - I signed Peter at the start of the BSN season on a free after he was released from Liverpool. He was originally a MC, but I've retrained him to also play happily as a DM. He is the guy I use to sit between the two lines of four, following the tactical changes. He has an 82% pass completion success rating (1731/2087) and an 80% tackle completion rating (150/187).

Matt Smith - DC - He's been playing very well, and was another free transfer picked up during an off season. His average rating was ~6.50 during the first part of the season when I was bleeding goals, but since the tweaks it was risen to just over 7.00. His tackle success rating is 87% and he is yet to make a mistake that leads to a goal. The coach reports indicate he could become a League 2 star in the future, so he'll definitely be in my plans for the next couple of seasons.

Youth Development:

Trevor Savage - DC - I've not played him yet, but I'm keeping an eye on him. He isn't brilliant - more, one of the best of a bad bunch. He is currently out on loan to Frickley where he is pulling an average rating of 6.60, which is respectable enough.

Cameron Dawson - GK - I really hope this chappy will be in the starting XI next season. His stats are ok - nothing spectacular, but I am non-league! However, 22 Apps and only 15 Conceded is a very good return, and he has a clean sheet percentage of 36% (8/22). What does trouble me is that face he's managed to pick up three yellow cards!

Finances:

December 2016 Financial Picture

Looking healthier. Yes, we are still in the red, but we have been turning a profit every month, and I have the 3rd Round tie vs. Spurs at WHL to come.

Round Up:

Following the tactical changes, I've been very happy with how we've performed and responded. I'll keep things the way they are for the time being as I fear a return to the old, more attack minded tactics will cause us to start leaking goals once again.

I'll provide another update around March 2017!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Lots of league wins.

How low can you go?