dafuge's FM14 challenge

[Lenzar]

Into January, I'm pleased with how we're doing so far. 2nd in the Conference North, despite an excellent record as Gateshead had a nightmare and got relegated. Also into the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy.

Definitely had one unusual occurrence: I drew Conference South side in the FA Cup 1st round. Despite many matches that were potential giant killings, the TV cameras came to our match. We got a cool £70k out of it.

Money is definitely less of an issue if you're FC United.

[fcunitedfan]

Hi all. It's been a while. I haven't been around recently, as I moved to a new place and had no Internet connection. Also didn't have a working laptop until recently, as the hard drive failed. I have a new hard drive now though, but the annoying thing is I've lost all my saved games and everything else I had on my old hard drive. It's really frustrating, but I'm not going to let it get me down (I've already swore about it enough). I'm going to be starting a brand spanking new save under Dafuge's rules, so we'll see how things go (And hope this hard drive doesn't die).

[fcunitedfan]

After eight reloads getting the usual teams such as FC United, Cambridge City, and Wealdstone, on my ninth reload I got Hemel Hempstead. So here's Jim Wheato, the new manager of Hemel Hempstead!

Information

Facilities

First Team

[fcunitedfan]

I've been signed off work for a week with back problems, so I should fly through a few seasons this week.

I've only moved forward eight days in my save so far, as I've been trying to find some good players. I may end up sticking with what I already have, as I've inherited a really good squad for the league I'm in. I may sign a few backup players who can play in multiple positions, but other than that I think I'm set to go. There's a lot of maybes floating around right now, but they're all good maybes.

In terms of tactics, I'm going with what I guess would be called a 41221. Four at the back, a DM, two central midfielders, two wide attacking midfielders, and a lone striker. I'm expecting to see a lot of goals from my left attacking midfielder, and my striker setting up as many as he scores himself.

[fcunitedfan]

I took over the club when the chairman was willing to listen to offers, now we're supposedly in the process of a takeover. I've not had anything in my inbox about it, but that's what it says on my club information screen. Margate had a consortium takeover fall through, so I've got my fingers crossed that my takeover will be by the consortium which decided not to buy Margate.

[fcunitedfan]

Uh oh! Nothing said yet about them wanting to bring in their own manager, so fingers crossed I keep my job. I'm 4th in the league after seven games, so hopefully the new owners think I'm good for the future of the club.

Edit: The takeover fell through. Turns out it was the same person who wanted to take over Margate.

Edit2: The consortium just completed a takeover of Margate on their second attempt. I'm glad they didn't take over Hemel Hempstead, as the new Margate chairman is looking to replace the club current manager. Looks like I dodged that bullet, but I'm not completely safe yet as my clubs chairman is still looking to leave.

[G_D_K]

Uh oh! Nothing said yet about them wanting to bring in their own manager, so fingers crossed I keep my job. I'm 4th in the league after seven games, so hopefully the new owners think I'm good for the future of the club.

Edit: The takeover fell through. Turns out it was the same person who wanted to take over Margate.

Edit2: The consortium just completed a takeover of Margate on their second attempt. I'm glad they didn't take over Hemel Hempstead, as the new Margate chairman is looking to replace the club current manager. Looks like I dodged that bullet, but I'm not completely safe yet as my clubs chairman is still looking to leave.

Had the same thing happen to me in season...6? Or so....for weeks, the Manager-assumptive was attending my games....I was getting really nervous there for a bit! That deal fell through though, and the next season another buyer came and bought the team. Kept me around, cleared the small debt the team had, and doubled my wage budget. (Even doubled, I was still in the lower half of budgets for the league, but it sure helped!).

I need to pick this up again....I just lost a half season (pretty good season too...had made another 3rd round of FA cup and was scheduled to head out to Aston Villa....had a windows boot partition failure, after trying everything had to reinstall windows. Most of the programs weren't touched, but when I tried to load the save, it won't load. Last rolling backup was at beginning of current season. Oh well...time to start again...maybe I'll improve my league form slightly (was hot early...even in 1st place after half dozen games, then had bad run of form leaving me in 10th).

[fcunitedfan]

Had the same thing happen to me in season...6? Or so....for weeks, the Manager-assumptive was attending my games....I was getting really nervous there for a bit! That deal fell through though, and the next season another buyer came and bought the team. Kept me around, cleared the small debt the team had, and doubled my wage budget. (Even doubled, I was still in the lower half of budgets for the league, but it sure helped!).

I need to pick this up again....I just lost a half season (pretty good season too...had made another 3rd round of FA cup and was scheduled to head out to Aston Villa....had a windows boot partition failure, after trying everything had to reinstall windows. Most of the programs weren't touched, but when I tried to load the save, it won't load. Last rolling backup was at beginning of current season. Oh well...time to start again...maybe I'll improve my league form slightly (was hot early...even in 1st place after half dozen games, then had bad run of form leaving me in 10th).

Look on the bright side, at least you only lost half a season. I lost all my saves, and everything else on my hard drive when it bust completely.

[fcunitedfan]

This is getting frustrating now!

[fcunitedfan]

I'm through to the FA Trophy final after a 6-3 aggregate win against Wrexham!

[fcunitedfan]

Hooray! We won the league, and with three games still to play as well.

[fcunitedfan]

That'd suck, if I got the team promoted then got sacked by the new board. Fingers crossed this takeover falls through as well!

[fcunitedfan]

Not my team, but look at this mental FA Cup final score!

[fcunitedfan]

Damn! The consortium has taken over, and although they've injected money into the club, it's still up in the air whether they'll keep me in charge or not. It'll be so frustrating if I get sacked now.

Edit: Wow, that was a nervy week of in game time. Thankfully the new chairman has decided to keep me around. What a relief!

[fcunitedfan]

Hemel Hempstead Town - Skrill South - 2014/15

Club Information | Facilities | Manager Profile | Board Overview | Confidence

It never looked in doubt!

League Table

Past Positions

Results 1 / Results 2

We started off well, winning four out of our first five matches. In the next five though, we lost two, drew two, and won one. At this point I thought our first five games were a fluke and we'd be in for a long and disappointing season. That wasn't to be the case though, as the squad suddenly kicked into top gear and we shot up to the top of the table. We spent the whole second half of the season in first place, and even with a couple of losses along the way we didn't once look like we were going to drop off the top.

FA Cup - Not a bad run in the FA Cup, reaching the 1st round.

FA Trophy - We were so close to a league and cup double, but fell at the last hurdle. We beat three Skrill Premier teams on our way to the final, which is fantastic. Our midfielders and striker played brilliantly in the final, but our defense let us down. I can't be too disappointed though, as I never dreamed we'd even make it as far as the final. Next season I'll make sure we bring the trophy home to Hemel Hempstead.

Squad - I inherited a really good squad, and they played brilliantly together throughout the season.

Staff - Not many staff members, but the staff I have are top notch for the level we're playing at right now.

Transfers - Didn't spend a penny, but made £7K after a surprise bid from Chelmsford for a player I was looking to sell anyway.

Finances - In the red by just over £3K. Good cup runs next season will be essential, to stop us going a lot further in the red.

Key Players

The whole team performed so well, that it was hard to pick a few key players. I've gone with one key player from defense, midfield, and up front.

Connor Taylor - Top goalscorer for the club, and the league. He posed a constant threat to the opposition defense, and he did nearly as well at setting up goals as he did scoring them.

Daniel Wishart - Is was a tough choice between Daniel Wishart and Nathan Rooney for my best midfielder of the season, but Wishart was the leagues player of the season so I had to choose him. As I said at the start of the season, I expected my left winger to score nearly as many goals as my striker, and Wishart did just that.

Daniel Boateng - Boateng had a great season. He was up and down the wing like a yo-yo, and never tired of doing so much running.

Awards

Skrill South Manager of the Season - Jim Wheato

Skrill South Top Goalscorer - Connor Taylor

Skrill South Player of the Season - Daniel Wishart

Aims For Next Season

Avoiding relegation would be a good start. The players think we can finish mid-table, but I'd be happy to stay up. Good cup runs would be great, especially in the FA Trophy. I'd like to win it this time round. The cup runs would help my finances, which need to be sorted out so I don't lose too much money.

Other News

As I've already said in this thread, we have a new chairman. A consortium lead by Ariedo Braida took over at the end of the season, and after a worrying couple of weeks, Braida confirmed that he was keeping me on as the clubs manager. Braida's a former football player, having played for teams such as Parma, Udinese, Palerma, and Cesina. He also worked behind the scenes for AC Milan as their general manager. With Braida working with the club, I can see its future being bright.

A stadium expansion is in place in order to comply with Skrill North standards.

Braida is looking to Upgrade the youth facilities.

Initial budgets have been set, and we've been given £2.5K more wages than the previous season.

FC United won promotion to Skrill Premier via the Playoffs!

Career Overview

Season          League                League Finish     Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15         Skrill South          1st               Skrill South winners, FA Trophy Runner Up

[Gypsum]

Gypsum's End of season update - King's Lynn - 2032/33 - Premier league

League position: 2nd (Position chart)

Media prediction: 3rd

Another strong season, but we couldn't get close to the mighty Man City. But with Klopp's retirement, and a new man in charge, hopefully they will show some vulnerabilities and allow me to complete the challenge! We also won the Club world championship, Community shield and the Super cup.

Champions league: Winners!

Final: King's Lynn 0-0 (5-3P) Man Utd

For all Man City's dominance in the league, we absolutely smashed them in the semi-final first leg. The final was a much tighter affair, with our players not really hitting their stride. But ruthlessness from the spot won us our second straight Champions league title. The perfect send off for the retiring legends Dorey and Neil.

League Cup: Winners!

Final: Chelsea 0-6 King's Lynn

Humiliated Chelsea at Wembley, though they are a shadow of their former selves post-Abramovich.

Squad

Transfers

Finances

Star players;

Emmanuel Leclerc - Another stunning season from the man originally signed only as a backup squad member.

Todd Low - Really hit his peak in the Champions league, winning the best player, top scorer and best goal awards.

Tyler Jones - Our Welsh rock at the heart of the defence.

Jermain Flemming - He continues to develop and impress, finished 3rd top scorer in the Premiership.

Legends;

Ian Dorey (Retired)

Ryan Neil (Retired)

Barry George Bowen (Career stats)

Year                 League                    Position              Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15           Skrill North                   7th
2015/16           Skrill North                   4th                Playoff winners
2016/17           Skrill Premier                 2nd                Playoff winners
2017/18           League 2                       10th               FA Cup 3rd round
2018/19           League 2                       3rd                Automatic promotion
2019/20           League 1                       8th        
2020/21           League 1                       4th                Playoff winners, JPT winners, FA Cup 5th round replay 
2021/22           Championship                   9th
2022/23           Championship                   11th
2023/24           Championship                   8th
2024/25           Championship                   6th                Playoff winners
2025/26           Premier league                 17th               Avoided relegation
2026/27           Premier league                 10th
2027/28           Premier league                 11th               FA Cup finalists
2028/29           Premier league                  7th
2029/30           Premier league                  3rd                FA Cup finalists, Champions league qualification
2030/31           Premier league                  3rd                Champions league semi-finalists
2031/32           Premier league                  2nd                 Champions league winners, FA Cup winners, League cup winners
2032/33           Premier league                  2nd                Champions league winners, League cup winners, Club world champs winners                                                                                       Super cup winners, Commmunity shield winners

[fcunitedfan]

What an excellent season you had Gypsum. Shame Man City went so far in front in the league. Your finances look very healthy. Oh, you didn't post how you did in the FA Cup. Did you go out early so didn't bother mentioning it?

[fcunitedfan]

I just noticed in Liverpool's 8-0 thrashing of Arsenal in the FA Cup final, Aleksandar Kolarov scored four penalties!

[Andrew Haines]

Time to get back in the saddle and give it another go.

Going for Rushall Olympic again. profile

[fcunitedfan]

Time to get back in the saddle and give it another go.

Going for Rushall Olympic again. profile

Good luck.

[Tecmo]

Here we go again, this time with Lowestoft Town.

Profile

Club Profile

3000 capacity (466 seated) Crown Meadow is our stadium, seems to be in good condition. Poor training facilities, basic youth facilities. Just went through a takeover, so hopefully finances won't be much of an issue for awhile. Our only staff initially is a Head of Youth Development. Looks like we had several transfers that fell victim to the takeover.

First glance, the defense looks decent. My best player is probably my left fullback. Lacking anything at right fullback though. Goals may be hard to come by, we have one striker on the senior team to start and he's 16 and really backup quality at best.

[fcunitedfan]

Here we go again, this time with Lowestoft Town.

Profile

Club Profile

3000 capacity (466 seated) Crown Meadow is our stadium, seems to be in good condition. Poor training facilities, basic youth facilities. Just went through a takeover, so hopefully finances won't be much of an issue for awhile. Our only staff initially is a Head of Youth Development. Looks like we had several transfers that fell victim to the takeover.

First glance, the defense looks decent. My best player is probably my left fullback. Lacking anything at right fullback though. Goals may be hard to come by, we have one striker on the senior team to start and he's 16 and really backup quality at best.

Good luck with Lowestoft. Fingers crossed you can strengthen your team and your staffing situation, so you can survive your first season.

[Gypsum]

What an excellent season you had Gypsum. Shame Man City went so far in front in the league. Your finances look very healthy. Oh, you didn't post how you did in the FA Cup. Did you go out early so didn't bother mentioning it?

Yeah! I put out a load of my youth players and we lost 1-0 to BSP Cambridge!

[fcunitedfan]

Yeah! I put out a load of my youth players and we lost 1-0 to BSP Cambridge!

You couldn't have lost to a better team (I'm from Cambridge ).

[Gypsum]

You couldn't have lost to a better team (I'm from Cambridge ).

Well, at least someone enjoyed it! I'm in North Cambs, Wisbech to be precise.

[fcunitedfan]

Well, at least someone enjoyed it! I'm in North Cambs, Wisbech to be precise.

Hehe. As much as I love FC United, I'll always route for The U's.

I'm from Impington originally, but I now live in Colwyn Bay with my fiance and son.

[Lenzar]

As I near the end of the first season, I notice that I'm already well past AFC Telford's points total to win the title last year. At the rate Gateshead are pushing me, I'll need to break Chester's record.

I've also just won the FA Trophy, beating Grimsby in the final to continue a nice list of defeated Conference National sides.

[fcunitedfan]

Lucky Cambridge United, having this player come through their youth ranks! He's Premier League potential, and West Ham and Sunderland are interested in signing him. I wish a player this good would come through my youth system...

[Tecmo]

Good luck with Lowestoft. Fingers crossed you can strengthen your team and your staffing situation, so you can survive your first season.

I think I picked up enough help. Added a 22 year old striker who scored 11 goals and 14 assists in the Skrill South last season, picked up two good right fullbacks and found a 16 year old who I think can be an excellent box to box in the future.

We're going with a 4-1-4-1 lineup as our primary formation and 4-1-2-1-2 as a backup as we still lack depth on the outside. Looking at the team comparisons, it looks like this isn't exactly a hard working team so I'm mainly going to try sitting back and hitting on the counter to take advantage of our speed. We're being given 20-1 odds to win the title and predicted to finish 8th. I would happily take that.

[fcunitedfan]

I think I picked up enough help. Added a 22 year old striker who scored 11 goals and 14 assists in the Skrill South last season, picked up two good right fullbacks and found a 16 year old who I think can be an excellent box to box in the future.

We're going with a 4-1-4-1 lineup as our primary formation and 4-1-2-1-2 as a backup as we still lack depth on the outside. Looking at the team comparisons, it looks like this isn't exactly a hard working team so I'm mainly going to try sitting back and hitting on the counter to take advantage of our speed. We're being given 20-1 odds to win the title and predicted to finish 8th. I would happily take that.

They're not bad odds for your first season. I always get 40-1 or worse odds.

[fcunitedfan]

Got a question for you all. I noticed that in my facilities information, it lists my corporate facilities as basic. So, what do corporate facilities do and how can I upgrade mine? I've never seen an option to upgrade them in my meetings with the chairman.

[fcunitedfan]

Not a bad FA Cup draw at all.

Edit: Bolton won! I was expecting to take on Fulham, but either would have been fine with me. At least I'll be getting £120k TV money.

[fcunitedfan]

Half time in our FA Cup game, and we're winning 1-0! We've been the better team so far, so I'm crossing everything that we either keep the score the way it is or score more. I hope posting this doesn't jinx me though!

Edit: We only damn well went and won it! In the second half, Bolton threw everything at us and my buttocks clenched a few times as they came close to equalising. On the 83rd minute, one of their defenders hacked my winger down in the box and we were awarded a penalty. Sean Kinsella stepped up and banged it into the corner, and we held onto to 2-0 lead until the final whistle!

Edit2: We made £360k profit from that match alone! I'm due to bring in a heck of a lot more as well, as we have been drawn away against Man United in the 5th round!

[fcunitedfan]

We lost 6-0 against Manchester United, but made just over £1mill profit! We now have a really healthy balance.

Edit: Well, this is the first time I've ever been apologised to by a manager in their post-match interview.

[Tecmo]

First 3 games, 0 goals. Ouch. Didn't help that I lost my best striker in my first game. Added another striker, hopefully that will help. We're getting chances, but we've put several shots off the woodwork. On the bright side, we've only allowed two goals, so we have a tie and two 0-1 losses to show for our efforts.

[fcunitedfan]

Why is the Steam chat for this challenge not full of people talking and having a laugh? Come on people, get in there and chat! http://steamcommunity.com/groups/dafugechallenge Do it, you know you wanna!

[Lenzar]

The New Noisy Neighbours: FC United 2014-15 Season Review

The Review

As a well known lower league club, it was always going to be easier for us to attract players. Even our title odds of 25-1 and a media prediction of 12th was, in my opinion, a little harsh. My initial squad needed quite a few additions, but thanks to careful scouting throughout England (for now the board won't let me scout anywhere else - surely it's cheaper to scout parts of Wales than Kent or Cornwall?), the majority of my signings added something to the team. Ryan Laville and ex-EPL players Jon Macken and Michael Duberry were perhaps the trio that made the most difference for me, though 'keeper Alex Baird proved vital too - even scoring twice as he had the highest free kicks attribute on the team!

Often, despite being claiming to represent Manchester, I felt like we should claim to be from another nearby Lancashire town, due to the fact we would play like Jekyll & Hyde, often going in at half-time 2-0 down only to bring it back to 2-2 or 3-2. In the end we lost only one league match, a 2-1 defeat to Hyde after a red card left us without our preferred left back.

Competitions In Brief

Conference North (1st)

Generally we were too good for the opposition, though teams as lowly as Vauxhall forced draws out of us. Our total of 101 points, despite not being a record, was an incredible 30 points more than AFC Telford's haul the previous year!

FA Cup (2nd Round)

After brushing Hitchin aside, Grantham gave us some trouble, before we played Rushall (a fairly standard win). Next up were Conference South side Stortford, with the TV cameras deciding our match was worth £140k. After needing a replay, we went out against League Two Aldershot - I wasn't too disappointed, as the 3rd round draw was only against League One Cheltenham.

FA Trophy (Winners)

I went into the first few matches believing we could perhaps make it to a point where we would draw a top Conference National team. Only after we beat Southport did I think we could go a little further, but I did not expect two easier ties (the loss to Whitehawk was still unacceptable) before being the better side at Wembley.

Winners & Losers

Premier: Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal (CL), Southampton, Cardiff (EL) Relegated: Everton, Nottm Forest, Sunderland

Championship: Leeds, Reading, Derby Relegated: Wolves, Preston, Blackpool

League One: Birmingham, Bristol City, Peterborough Relegated: Burton, Oldham, Leyton Orient, Cheltenham

League Two: Swindon, Northampton, Shrewsbury, Dag & Red Relegated: Plymouth, Exeter

Conference National: Bristol Rovers, Kidderminster Relegated: AFC Telford, Workington, Boreham Wood, Woking

Conference North: FC United, Gateshead Relegated: Gloucester, Corby, Solihull Moors

Conference South: Chelmsford, Eastleigh Relegated: Weston-Super-Mare, St. Albans, Gosport

Promoted from Level 7: Barrow, Billericay, Hampton & Richmond, AFC Fylde, Dorchester, Cambridge City

FA Cup: Tottenham (v Man Utd)

League Cup: Chelsea (v West Brom)

JPT: Franchise FC (v Crewe)

FA Trophy: FC United (v Grimsby)

Champions League: Barcelona (v Arsenal)

Europa League: Wolfsburg (v Shaktar)

English European Progress:

Chelsea: Champions League Quarter Final (lost to Man Utd)

Man Utd: Champions League Semi Final (lost to Arsenal)

Man City: Champions League Quarter Final (lost to Arsenal)

Arsenal: Champions League Final (lost to Barca)

Liverpool: Europa League First KO round (lost to R. Sociedad)

Tottenham: Europa League Second KO round (lost to Monaco)

(Swansea were in the EL too, but I said English )

Best Eleven - Facts & Figures

Progress

[Tecmo]

Well, the increased expectations were not a good thing, we're at 20th in December and canned.

Fired!

Think I'm heading off to Scotland next.

[G_D_K]

They're not bad odds for your first season. I always get 40-1 or worse odds.

20-1? 40-1? My *BEST* odds have been 50-1 (that's this season too -- season 10). Mostly I've been 2000-1 and 1000-1!

[G_D_K]

Why is the Steam chat for this challenge not full of people talking and having a laugh? Come on people, get in there and chat! http://steamcommunity.com/groups/dafugechallenge Do it, you know you wanna!

I'd been there for months...last couple it's been dead, so I've not even bothered. I'll be around a bit though if people are there!

[fcunitedfan]

Well, the increased expectations were not a good thing, we're at 20th in December and canned.

Fired!

Think I'm heading off to Scotland next.

That's a shame. Good luck in Scotland though. At least you can't get relegated out of the bottom division.

I'd been there for months...last couple it's been dead, so I've not even bothered. I'll be around a bit though if people are there!

Lenzar was in there yesterday with me. We should try and breath some life back into it. Seems a shame to let it die, when there's still plenty of people doing the challenge.

[fcunitedfan]

20-1? 40-1? My *BEST* odds have been 50-1 (that's this season too -- season 10). Mostly I've been 2000-1 and 1000-1!

Lol! You must be a terrible manager with some terrible players, to get those odds.

[Gypsum]

Don't do a Wenger, don't do a Wenger...

[Andrew Haines]

Rushall Olympic - Season 2014/15 - Skrill North - 10th

A decent first season. The team should be in a good position next season for the top half of the table and hopefully have a shot at promotion.

Skrill North

The Team

GK Joe Anyon - Once first choice for Port Vale. Signed on a free at the close of the season.

RB Jimmy Sangare - French rightback who has done the rounds in the English non-league. Due for release.

CB Dominic Collins - Ex Preston centre-back had a good end to the season.

CB Ismail Yakubu - Nigerian centre-back, has done a decent job but may be released.

LB Kane Owen - Young Welsh left-back was released by cardiff.

RW Robbie Sinclair - Playmaker now deployed on the wing. Lacks pack so is moved into the centre to cover any injuries.

AP James McQuilkin - Irish creative midfielder, played for Walsall in league 1.

DLP Connor Dimaio - Young Irish Defensive midfielder, released from Sheff United.

LW Anthony Bell - 19 year old winger released by Cardiff.

AF Matt Godden - Ex-Scunthorpe striker, scored 5 goals in the 6 games he played after signing in March.

DLF Steven Gillespie - Striker released by Bristol Rovers, scored 10 goals in his 22 games.

[Craig_R.U.F.C]

Wealdstone F.C

Sunday league manager signs..

Profile | Club Overview | Squad

Wish me luck. First time doing this on this years let's see how far I can get..

[fcunitedfan]

Not a bad first season Andrew Haines. How did you do in the cups?

Good luck Craig_R.U.F.C. Fingers crossed you can go all the way! You've got a big squad there to start you off.

[Craig_R.U.F.C]

Good luck Craig_R.U.F.C. Fingers crossed you can go all the way! You've got a big squad there to start you off.

Cheers mate. Most of those will be leaving anyway, already 5 of them are leaving on pre-contracts. Got like 1k wages left should be about 2k when some leave going to be a long pre-season. I do have Watford as a parent club am I right in saying I can loan players from them(but only if offered to me)?

[Lenzar]

I got Bristol City as a parent club, and they still reject loans with the snooty 'want him to play with better players' rejection.

[fcunitedfan]

Hemel Hempstead Town - Skrill Premier - 2015/16

Club Information | Facilities | Manager Profile | Board Overview | Confidence

Doing the double!

League Table

Past Positions

Results 1 / Results 2

Well, that was totally unexpected! We started off the season with a loss, but then the squad starting playing brilliantly. Aldershot were playing even better though, and for a while we sat in second because Aldershot just kept winning. Match thirteen turned out to be unlucky for Aldershot, but very lucky for us as we finally overtook them. From that point on, we didn't ever look like dropping off the top. Aldershot on the other hand, fell down the table and didn't even make the playoffs come the end of the season.

FA Cup - We had a fantastic run to the 5th round, even beating Bolton 2-0 in the 4th! Manchester United were just too good though, and they really outclassed us. The money from reaching the 5th round and facing Man United was really helpful.

FA Trophy - After the disappointment last season when we lost in the final, we were determined to win it this time round. We did just that, and I couldn't be happier with the teams performance throughout the competition.

Squad - The first team squad didn't change that much from the first season.

Staff - Made a fair few additions to my backroom staff.

Transfers - I strengthened the squad here and there, and brought in a couple of younger players with a lot of potential.

Finances - Looking very healthy following the the cup runs and the league title win.

Key Players

Daniel Wishart - Another incredible season for Daniel Wishart, this time ending with him as the clubs top scored and Skrill Premier Player of the Season.

Wes York - York scored was second highest goal scorer for the club this season, and was a great addition to the first team on the right wing.

Ted Bishop - Signed at the start of the season, and played well throughout. He didn't score as many as I hoped he would, but made up for it with a lot of assists.

Nathan Rooney - Rooney couldn't have done a better job in the middle of the park. His passing was precise in every match.

Ayrton Baines - Signed for free at 16 years old, and made an immediate impact. His defensive work was excellent, and he played like a seasoned footballing veteran. Baines' future with Hemel Hempstead will be a bright one.

Awards and Achievements

Skrill Premier Manager of the Season - Jim Wheato

Skrill Premier Player of the Season - Daniel Wishart

(Click for video of the goal) - Irie-Bi, Bristol Rovers vs Hemel Hempstead

Skrill Premier Overachievers

Skrill Premier Most Team Points - 110 points by Hemel Hempstead!

FA Cup Overachievers

FA Trophy Top Scorer - Ted Bishop

Aims For Next Season

After back-to-back promotions, I think we'll struggle to survive in League 2. With that said, Avoiding relegation is a realistic target. I'd love to repeat our FA Cup run of last season, or better it. Good runs in both the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and Capital One Cup would be nice, although I don't see us getting far in the Capital One Cup.

Other News

I've already posted a fair bit about the Chairman takeover, but incase you missed it (No idea how anyone would miss all those posts ) we got taken over by a consortium, fronted by Ariedo Braida. In total over two seasons, eight clubs from League 2 downward have been taken over by consortiums. These people must see something in the lower leagues which everyone else is missing!

The board have decided to upgrade our youth facilities, and we're also having a terrace conversion so that our stadium is up to Football League standards. While the stadium is being worked on, we're ground-sharing The Hive with Barnet.

Due to our chairman having some cash to splash and us performing so well in the league and the cups, Braida has thrown £500K our way and we've been given rather large transfer and wage budgets.

Final small bit of news is that we now have Lewes as a feeder club. I've asked more than once for a parent club, but Braida can't find us one. I would have thought with his contacts, he may have got us AC Milan...

League/Cup Winners and Losers

Premier League: Winners - Manchester City, Relegated - Cardiff, Leicester, West Ham

Championship: Winners - Stoke, Others Promoted - Hull, Everton, Relegated - Sheffield United, Millwall, Blackpool

League 1: Winners - Bradford, Others Promoted - Crewe, Shrewsbury, Relegated - Notts County, Burton, Chesterfield, Stevenage

League 2: Winners - Oldham, Others Promoted - Plymouth, Colchester, Bury, Relegated - Kidderminster, Northampton

Skrill Premier: Winners - Hemel Hempstead, Others Promoted - Gateshead, Relegated - Eastleigh, Dartford, Margate, Staines

Skrill North, South: Winners - Lincoln, Woking, Others Promoted - Boston United, Whitehawk, Relegated - Whitby, Bradford PA, Tamworth, Dorchester, Weston-Super-Mare, Concord Rangers

FA Cup: Winners - Cardiff, Runners Up - Manchester United (That could have been us! )

Community Shield: Winners - Chelsea, Runners Up - Liverpool

C1C: Winners - Arsenal, Runners Up - Manchester United (The nearly men of the season, thanks to Moyes...)

JPT: Winners - Crawley, Runners Up - Doncaster

FA Trophy: Winners - Hemel Hempstead, Runners Up - Newport County

Champions League: Winners - Chelsea, Runners Up - FC Bayern

Eupora League: Winners - CSKA Moscow, Runners Up - A.C. Milan

Super Cup: Winners - Barcelona, Runners Up - F.C. Porto

Career Overview

Season          League                League Finish     Achievements
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[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363732-dafuge-s-FM14-challenge?p=9521037&viewfull=1#post9521037"]2014/15[/url]         Skrill South          1st               Skrill South winners, FA Trophy Runner Up
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363732-dafuge-s-FM14-challenge?p=9529702&viewfull=1#post9529702"]2015/16[/url]         Skrill Premier        1st               Skrill Premier Winners, FA Trophy Winners, FA Cup 5th round

[fcunitedfan]

I got Bristol City as a parent club, and they still reject loans with the snooty 'want him to play with better players' rejection.

Wish I could get a good parent club. My chairman has search four or five times over the past two seasons, but can't find one worth having. Maybe now we're a professional club, he'll be able to find us one.