FM14: The Sky Bet Football League Thread - Sponsored by William Hill

[muhaimin]

Currently doing pompey save. Can't say it has been a smooth ride but somehow still managed to be in 3rd position and now its already feb. Hoping to push my team to be top. But i am struggling to find the roight combinations of tactics and players...

[Jogo Bonito]

@ robterrace: How much did you pay for Fejzullahu? He had a decent season in Sweden for his two clubs but can't imagine he would cost too much? Great attitude there!

@ Vazza: Do you have any way of rejecting these bids for players either before/after the takeover? I'd definitely be wanting to keep Baker and Christie so that's a bit worrying.

@ NF: Well done on another successful 'survival'. Nice timing for those improved results in April/May.

@ mulhaimin: Very good first season at Pompey so far. Do you think promotion will be too soon or is necessary?

[Nottingham Forest]

Cheers Jogo. May come unstuck at the end of the season as a number of key players are out of contract. Already losing a player who did shocking for us in the first season, and again so in the second season apart from the last month or two where he was amazing.

[robterrace]

@ robterrace: How much did you pay for Fejzullahu? He had a decent season in Sweden for his two clubs can't imagine he would cost too much? Great attitude there!

Paid £900k for him, he's currently scored 15 in 16, and is leading the line pretty well.

[muhaimin]

Just ended the season. Finished 2nd and achieved automatic promotion. @Jogo Bonito, yes I do think it's too soon. All I am hoping for now is to at least escape relegations for 2 seasons while trying to rebuild. And I can say the signings I have made played key roles in the hunt for promotion.

This is my team

The transfers done.

And the Final Standing.

The best thing now is that the board expect me to guide the team to promotion from League 1!! Ridiculous.

[MaxeyN17]

PETERBOROUGH UNITED - 2013/14 - SkyBet Football League One

After doing no good with my beloved Posh on the BETA, I decided to give them one last go with the full game. Decided to experiment with a 3-4-1-2 style formation and it worked utter wonders. We go into the 2014/15 as League One Champions, ready to battle bravely against relegation! Stand-out performers were Tommy Rowe and Mark Little who contributed 56 goals between them through assists and scoring themselves. Another highlight was Aaron McLean who finished as the league's top scorer despite joining two months into the season and spending a couple of months on the sidelines.

I don't think the squad is up to Championship standards so I'm hoping that either the board don't expect much or they're going to give me a bit of money to work with. I definitely think I'll need to change the way we play as any Championship team worth their salt will tear apart our three-man defence.

League Table | Transfers | Tactics/Ideal Line-up | Tommy Rowe | Mark Little | Aaron McLean

[Hoarau]

Well I'm all excited as I finally got round to starting last night and I must say I'm most interested. Didn't do much at all, I think I'm gonna take my time with pre season and get things set up probably. All I did was look over the squad and look where we are light and were we have numbers. Wolves are loaded with CM's so I think ill have us play with a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2(i want this trained and kept as we have 4 very good front men. For a minute I considered going with 3 at the back and playing with 3 CM's and WB but at the moment im not confident enough to set it up properly. I think out wide we may be light so I'm thinking of investing in a couple of decent wingers.. Which brings me to my next mission.

Transfer wise I was given a budget of £500k, with perhaps a couple d sale I could maybe get this up to a couple of million, that's more than resonable in this division I reckon. I'm gonna focus my scouting on Scotland & Scandinavia, I've got a few names from these places that could be of use so ill review that tonight hopefully.

Obviously the board want me back up straight away so the pressure is on to get it right straight off the bat. If I can get pre season done tonight ill do a proper update.

[Jogo Bonito]

@ Rob: A great return on £900k!

@ mulhaimin: Congrats on promotion. Some good signings there for L2 level. Gordon, Etheridge and Mpenza all seem to have been 'available' for 2/3 seasons, but along with the likes of Potts, Darbyshire and Byrom they're all good signings for the division.

@ Maxey: Congrats there too: Incredible contributions from Little, Rowe and McLean. Nostalgic returns for him and Etherington - did you try for CMS, Davies and Boyd too?!? Semedo (a bit like Byrom) always seems to be available and offers good attributes that aren't easy to find in L1. I used to take Hanlon a year or two back, is he still adequate at that level? A bit surprised you sold Alcock and Zakuani (on the original BETA, I even loaned in his brother Steve from Seattle before the updates ruined my first test save early on).

@ Hoarau: Good luck with Wolves, definitely a squad with some quality and I'm sure you will make a quick return to the Championship.

I'm still trying to decide whether to go with Wolves or Coventry first.

[MaxeyN17]

@Jogo: Initially I wasn't wanting to sell Zakuani, but his morale was constantly at abysmal and he always seemed uninterested during pre-season matches so I decided to cash in while I could. Alcock unfortunately wouldn't fit into my system and I didn't think he offered enough going forward to justify retraining him for a season. Etherington unfortunately never played for us as he got injured straight away and was going to be out for the whole season so we released him a month into his contract. I would love to sign Boyd but unfortunately I think his wage demands and his price would be out of my range. Looking to go after CMS though, Assombalonga and McLean seemed absolutely shattered by the end of the season. Semedo was probably the best bit of business I've done, apart from McLean. His versatility meant he was pretty much always in the side and despite only getting an average rating of 6.71 I'd say he was one of our best players this season. Hanlon started in all but one of our league matches and was Mr. Consistent really, again despite some low average ratings. He's worth 10x what I paid for him initially and there's a few clubs sniffing around so I might have trouble holding onto him.

[Jogo Bonito]

Thanks for the info Maxey, that all makes sense. Good luck with season 2 and you may see some of those names pop up again in my own saves!

[Nottingham Forest]

How far do you go to keep a player who is massively integral to your side?

[Plainlayzee]

@ Jogo - get a Coventry save on the go mate, you know you want to after last year!!

@Hoarou - good choice with Wolves, they have a very good squad for League One so you should be OK to build with them, be interesting to see how much you get to spend in the second season. I am sure I read somewhere that someone had 7.5m to spend in the first season in January?

I am still lingering between taking Tranmere/Leyton Orient. I will probably go with Tranmere as they are my 'local' team. Got a decent little squad there with James Wallace, Jason Koumas, Ryan Lowe etc, although I do think the board expectations are far too high and I will likely get sacked....

[Jogo Bonito]

Mr. Layzee, good to see you around. I will be doing both, just not sure where to head first.

Good luck on yours when you decide!

[muhaimin]

2014-2015 season with Portsmouth in the League 1 is currently going on very well. Very well that I am overachieving. Currently in October and we are sitting 2nd level on points with the team ahead of us. I do not know how long it would last. In terms of signings, I was not able to get as many as I had wished. I have to settle with Stuart Taylor and Jamal Campbell Ryce on free transfer. As well as Ben Pearson and Joe Rothwell on loan both from Man Utd.

[Nottingham Forest]

Pre-Season 2015-2016

Transfers

Our first aim of pre-season was to tie down some key players to longer contracts and look and trying to find someone who could take the pressure of Francis Massampu and score goals. The first objective has been part way achieved as we've managed to extend the contracts of Kevin Dawson, Anthony Rogie and Luke Ayling amongst other players. Ayling coming at the expense of him now being my highest earner on £8.25k per week with a match highest earner clause. The reason why I say we're half way there is because we still haven't achieved our aim of getting Ed Upson and Marek Stech to sign new deals. Upson at this present moment in time being the more urgent to sort out.

We managed to achieve our second aim of pre-season in signing players who I feel can get us some goals. I felt we needed to freshen the squad up but it was hard as I was already over my wage budget for the season by £8k or so by the time everyone had returned from their loans and the new clauses had kicked in. Overall though I am pleased with the business we have carried out over the summer and I am hopeful of a good campaign.

First off I shall discuss the outgoings as there have been quite a number of players leave the club for one reason or another. I'll start off with players who have left the club for free or at the expiration of their contracts. Sam Foley has left the club and joined Cheltenham Town. He's been a good player for us but never really provided us with the goals or the assists that we required of him. For most of last season I was having to tell him he would get game time and whilst he still managed to play twelve games for us last season, around March when he expressed to leave again I agreed that he could go at the end of the season. Immediately two offers came in for nothing upfront but with a sell on fee percentage of 25%. I happily accepted these offers as he would have been due to leave at the end of the season anyway. Next up we saw Robert Earnshaw leave the club. Earnie had only managed to play fifteen games in an injury hit one and half seasons with us and when he announced his plans to retire at the end of his contract with us in 2016 I felt we'd allow him to leave now as I couldn't afford to keep him on his £2.5k a week contract. Terry Skiverton was given the tasked of informing him of my decision and he left by mutual termination for £75k. Jonathan Page was the third player to depart the club to my at the time feeder club Torquay United. He'd never really got a look in due to injuries and poor form at the start of the season and when he finally caved and moaned about his lack of first team football I granted his request. We didn't receive a fee for him but getting another £2k off the wage bill was a good bit of business. As I said, Torquay were my feeder team but that was cancelled due to them being promoted to League One and me being odds on to be relegated. They felt it was time to terminate that link now. Vincenzo Iaquinta, Liam Davis, Nathan Ralph, Joel Grant, Kieffer Moore, Julian Kelly, Oscar Ewolo and Papa Bouba Diop left the club at the expiration of their contracts with the only person I would have liked to have kept being Papa. However his wage demands for his age didn't reflect his worth so he departed. Paddy Madden left at the expiration of his deal with us but immediately joined a new club in divisional rivals Tranmere Rovers. He'd not been consistent enough for me but had a good end to the season. However he wanted too much in wages so I felt it was best he was to leave. Alex Pederzoli also left the club on a free transfer and moved back to Italy whilst Bruno Simao also went back to his homeland, Portugal. Charles Houla moved back to France after complaining about his lack of first team opportunities. Much like, Page, Simao and Pederzoli. There were no takers for Prince Buaben who has also moaned about his lack of first team football so when Mansfield offered the most percentage of wages paid to take him on loan for the season I happily accepted.

On young players front we have seen a number of young players go out on loan due to them being no longer needed or to aid their progression with first team football. Transfer listed Joey Jones, Garry Buckley, Victor Nocente, Brendon Daniels, Assad Zetrenne, Junior Panebang, David O'Leary have all joined clubs on season loans. The other youngsters who have joined clubs to aid their progression are David Syme, Paul Pugh, Jon Bird, Dean Hopkins, Mark Barnett, Kyle Chambers, Harold Nardiello, Jimmy Bernadine, Rian Carroll and Thomas Lebon.

The board have also allowed me to select a new feeder team and that club I have chosen is Mansfield Town. If it comes back successful then I'll be looking to move Sargis Adamyan and Vahagn Militosyan on loan to them. Dorian Kouame, Lee Desmond and Lucas Libbra are in talks with clubs about loan moves. I'm also trying to get transfer listed Nail Merhouni to join a club on loan but he's currently injured. I'm also going to be looking at loaning out Sam Hoskins as well so he can get some first team football.

We were active enough with incoming transfers over the summer as we have so far seen six players join the club with a potential for a seventh soon. Spurs are currently my parent club and last season there weren't many players who were interested in joining or that I felt could improve the squad. This season however that all changed. I made a number of bids for some of their youngsters with some bids being successful and other being less so. I'll talk about those we failed with to start off with. I tried to sign Max Clayton, Harry Kane and Zeki Fryers. Unfortunately they chose to join Millwall, QPR and Burnley respectively on loan deals. I was successful in persuading Souleymane Coulibaly, Connor Ogilvie, Shaquile Coulthirst to join on season loans and six month loans. I'm also in the process of signing Alex Pritchard on loan who will provide cover for my midfield and attack.

There have been three permanent signings at the club this summer and they are Vahagn Militosyan, Marcus Pedersen and Jack Thomas. Here are the players;

Connor Ogilive

Souleymane Coulibaly

Shaquile Coulthirst

Marcus Pedersen

Jack Thomas

Vahagn Militosyan

Results

We got off to a great start in pre-season as we comfortably beat AFC Wimbledon 1-0. We managed to have twenty-four shots and seventy-six percent of the possession. Our next game we drew 1-1 against Luton in a game where we were marginally the better side. Our third game of pre-season saw Spurs travel to Huish Park. We were 3-1 up at half-time but as I swapped all players around for the second half we were lucky to draw 3-3 as Spurs had an incredible thirty-nine shots. Our final game of pre-season saw us travel to Basingstoke as we were lost 2-1 as we conceded in stoppage time of the second half. We played the last thirteen minutes of the match with Jordan Adeoti in goal as Jerome Idir was injured.

Other Information

We're still under our wage budget just but that could all change if I can persuade Ed Upson and Marek Stech to sign new deals. I've also managed to persuade the board to improve the youth and training facilities which should be completed by the 5th October 2016. For the first time during my team here we've managed to get the finances over the £3m mark.

Backroom Staff

Our backroom staff is continuing to improve as we search to improve all aspects of our club. My current backroom staff looks something like this;

Terry Skiverton - Assistant Manager(2019) - Defence Coach

Darren Way - Coach(2019) - Attack Coach

Mickael D'Amore - Coach(2019) - Shooting Coach

Brian McGorry - Coach(2018) - Tactical Coach

Domenico Giampa - Coach(2019) - Technical Coach

Brad Jones - Goalkeeping Coach(2019) - Shot Stopping & Handling(Senior) & Shot Stopping(Under 18s)

Steve Black - Fitness Coach(2018) - Strength & Aerobic(Senior & Under 18s)

Alessandro Capone - Under 18s Manager(2020) - Defence Coach

Tommy Miller - Under 18s Assistant Manager(2020) - Attack Coach

Filippo Medri - Unders 18s Coach(2020) - Tactical Coach

Julian Monks - Under 18s Coach(2020) - Technical Coach

John Robertson - Under 18s Coach(2020) - Shooting Coach

Ximun Duhour - Under 18s Goalkeeping Coach(2020) - Handling

Simon Baker - Head Physio(2018)

Mike Micciche - Physio(2018)

Scouts

Jay Blake - 2019

Glyn Chamberlain - 2018

Malcolm Crosby - 2019

Cris Gilioli - 2019

Paul Haverson - 2018

Andy Hughes - 2018

Gennaro Marasco - 2019

Ades Oubella - 2018

Gabriele Scandurra - 2019

Antonio Secchi - 2020

Gavin Tait - 2018

[Vazza]

@ Vazza: Do you have any way of rejecting these bids for players either before/after the takeover? I'd definitely be wanting to keep Baker and Christie so that's a bit worrying.

Nope

Board automatically negotiate

[Gunner 101]

Wow.. So many posts to read, jesus!

Welcome to all the newbies that have joined in today and good luck with your SkyBet careers!

Good work Forest, things were looking shaky but you managed to turn things round, good stuff!

[Gunner 101]

September 2013/2014 - League One

2nd September

We made our third signing of summer on deadline day with the arrival of young Leeds United striker Dominic Poleon arriving till the end of the season for a 50% wage contribution (£600 p/w).

22nd September

The board inject £190k into the club to help with running costs as the clubs financial position begins to deteriorate.

Sky Bet League 1

MK Dons 1-0 Swindon

McLeod

A brilliant display saw us claim the victory as McLeod scored on the counter on 74 minutes. It also saw us break the drawing sequence that had us without a win in 3.

MK Dons 3-0 Notts Co

Bowditch, McLeod, Williams (pen)

Things really came together in this match as we outplayed our opponents. 2 goals in 4 first half minutes gave us the control of the match before Williams sealed victory from the spot on the hour mark.

Peterborough 1-4 MK Dons

McLeod (2), Chadwick (2)

A big game as we took on rivals Peterborough United. An even first half ended all square after we had dominated. The second half started and we was under the cosh, a big boot from Martin though saw McLeod race through to slot home his and our second, route one. Two minutes later, and Chadwick smashed through a crowd of players to give us a two goal cushion we needed. The Posh had a goal disallowed before Chadwick volleyed home following Lewington's headed knock down. This impressive victory saw us extend our unbeaten streak from the seasons beginning to 8 games. It wasn't all good news though, as in form Luke Chadwick sustained a damaged elbow and will now miss 3 weeks.

MK Dons 3-0 Stevenage

McLeod (2), Potter

Things were made easier for us in only the 7th as Stevenage went down to 10 men. McLeod was then gifted a tap in to give us the lead. Another mistake gave McLeod his second before Williams hit the bar from 35 yards and Potter made it to the rebound first to turn into an empty net. The unbeaten streak moves to 9 games.

———————————————————————————————————

The month came to an end with us sitting pretty at the top of League One. After 9 games we had amounted 21 points (6W, 3D, 0L) with a +14 GD having already faced 2 of the other top 6 sides too.

Izale McLeod leads the goalscorer charts with 10 league goals in 5 starts and 1 substitute appearance. He's also the highest rated player in the league with an average of 8.38. Lee Hodson (7.44), Shaun Williams (7.62) and Darren Potter (7.28) are the other players to have impressed this month. At the other end third choice centre back Anthony Kay and forward Patrick Bamford have both failed to impress and are both currently sitting on the bench due to poor performances.

Izale McLeod was rightly rewarded with the Sky Bet League One Player of the Month award, hitting 6 goals in 4 games in the month of September.

I also was handed the managers equivalent, winning the Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month award as we won all 4 games, conceding just once and notching an impressive 11 goals.

[G-Man11]

So I got taken over after a couple of weeks by Eddie Mitchell (is this pre-determined??) but not before Baker was sold off for £300k and Christie for £250k

Chairman took out a £25m loan from the bank to help with running costs and then a week later the club has restructured debt to just £6.5m through a CVA.

Thing is irl the club aren't in admin as they exited in late July. So I really don't know why they are in administration in game, raised it in the cov data thread so hopefully it'll be updated come the new database.

Eddie Mitchell certainly has nothing to do with the club irl either.

[G-Man11]

@ robterrace: How much did you pay for Fejzullahu? He had a decent season in Sweden for his two clubs but can't imagine he would cost too much? Great attitude there!

@ Vazza: Do you have any way of rejecting these bids for players either before/after the takeover? I'd definitely be wanting to keep Baker and Christie so that's a bit worrying.

@ NF: Well done on another successful 'survival'. Nice timing for those improved results in April/May.

@ mulhaimin: Very good first season at Pompey so far. Do you think promotion will be too soon or is necessary?

In my Coventry save Murphy and Christie both demanded to be transfer listed straight away, but I've kept them around unhappy atm as I have no way of bringing in any sort of replacement. Nobody taken me over yet either (though I'm only in early September).

[Jogo Bonito]

Cheers Vazza/G-Man, I don't know whether to delay the start or risk losing some of the genuine assets - I would be a bit disappointed to have that happen.

Gunner, great update - McLeod is on fire for you.

Good luck muhaimin and NF in your new seasons, and to everyone else enjoying the FL.

[MaxeyN17]

Eighteen games into my debut Championship season and we're sat in 2nd place, only behind the leaders Crystal Palace (who I beat 4-1 in the second match of the season) on goal difference. After losing a few players to Bosman transfers and only being offered a small budget with the minimum expectation that I finish mid-table, it was key I made some very good transfers during the summer. Eight players joined with only one player costing a transfer fee (Tom Pope for 235k). Scott Allan, Bongani Khumalo and Abdi Ibrahim were amongst the other transfers and they have all started their Posh careers off well, especially Scott Allan as he's had to fill in for Lee Tomlin who was unfortunately sidelined for three months with a torn groin muscle. Pope has done extremely well so far, netting twelve times in seventeen league appearances.

[dubby151]

So... quick update from my Wolves career.... You might want to sit down for this.

I've won the JPT - as maybe expected from the fans.

I'm 7 points clear with 5 games left.

I've just got into the FA Cup final to play Man City. So come next season I'm playing Europa League. Oh dear. I must say I had a very favourable route. Playing 2 mediocre premiership teams, 3 championship teams too. All after having a replay against Kidderminster.

Just a quick note on players. Sako is just as good as IRL on here. So many assists from corners. And Griffiths has finally started scoring on a regular basis although his penaltys are to be desired. He has a 15 rating but has only scored 7 in 12.

[dubby151]

I went 2-1 up in the FA cup final after 74 minutes. And low and behold I score an own goal in the 93rd minute (Only 2 were due to be added)

In a way I dont mind, as I was getting embarassed thinking my League 1 champions could conquer the Premier league champs.

Oh well. Won the league by 8 points in the end, after going easy the last 4 games. Roll on the Championship

[muhaimin]

Cheers Vazza/G-Man, I don't know whether to delay the start or risk losing some of the genuine assets - I would be a bit disappointed to have that happen.

Gunner, great update - McLeod is on fire for you.

Good luck muhaimin and NF in your new seasons, and to everyone else enjoying the FL.

Thanks Jogo! I will make a proper update when I have the time. Which I have actually. Its just that I am lazy. Btw what does NF stands for? Sorry I noob.

[Jogo Bonito]

Great stuff Maxey and dubby! Both clubs are so strong for L1 level and I would expect both should be capable of survival in the second tier.

@ muhaimin: no worries but Plainlayzee won't want you to beat him at laziness! NF is for another poster called 'Nottingham Forest'...who may now have to be called 'Forest'...or to really make him angry....Notts!

I'll post an update on my own Shrewsbury 'test' season later. We did well in Cups and our improved form in the League has put us in amongst the other relegation battlers. We're off the bottom and now have a small chance of survival.

[dubby151]

After my epic season I am the 64th best manager in Sky Bet League 1! In the world lol. God only knows what the number 1 manager has done. Probably won everything. Fair play

[dubby151]

I feel like I am monopolising this thread and my updates are nothing compared to NF's. So I apologise, but here we go again

Starting my pre-season with Wolves, after winning the league, JPT and qualifying for the Europa after losing to Man City in extra time in the FA Cup.

I have been given a budget of 4.5m and 400k to get top half of the table. Having sold a few players I am now up to 8m to spend.

Transfers Out.

I have sold Richard Stearman who played brilliant last season for 3m. He was worth 1.6m and Premiership new boys Watford came in for him and I had no choice.

Stephen Ward has also gone for 2m. He could've played a big part I reckon this season after a decent loan spell to Brighton, but top and tail, I'm a Wolves fan and it is personal

Transfers In.

I have replaced Stearman with Danny Wilson. 750k and a fifth of Stears wages. Stats are better except for pace and jumping so I'm happy.

So I need a backup striker for Griffiths and Cassidy.

I need a good goalkeeper who hopefully can grow with me.

I need backup players for Sako and Forde (Wingers basically)

A fullback or two.

Also anybody had any good experiences with training and backroom staff?

Many thanks.

[laneystain]

Started as Wolves yesterday as I'm a supporter of the club. I'm playing on a slightly edited database where I've put the short-term loans in, so Johnson and Hennessey are at Sheff Wed and Yeovil respectively and I've got James Henry in until January from Millwall. The only signing of any note I've brought in so far has been Liam Davies from Tranmere (£82,000) and I've loaned him back to them for 6 months. I'm still having trouble shifting O'Hara, who is attracting no interest when offered out, and I had to talk both Doyle and Stearman round after they wanted to move to a bigger club. Batth has signed a new contract, which I considered a matter of importance. Also for anyone starting as Wolves please make sure you renew Kevin McDonald's contract. For some reason he's just got his Sheff Utd contract so it expires in 2014, when in real life he signed with us until 2016.

August 2013 results:

Preston 0-3 Wolves (Sigurdarson, McDonald, Griffiths)

A thoroughly impressive, and unexpected, performance away at PNE. We made it look relatively easy with two lovely goals from Sigurdarson and McDonald before Griffiths added a third in the dying moments.

Exeter 1-4 Wolves (Batth, Griffiths x2, Evans) *COC R1*

We strolled through the first round of the Capital One Cup despite rotating the squad and giving a few more of the youth prospects a chance. Not a lot else to say here really.

Wolves 1 (Doyle) -0 Gillingham

A hard-fought win at home to the Gills, with Kevin Doyle (returning to the starting line up) grabbing the only goal of the game. Centre backs Stearman and Batth were stand-out performers here as we resisted any attacks from Gillingham. Possession stats were interesting here as we finished up with 70% of the ball, and knocked it about really well.

Bristol City 0-0 Wolves

A bore draw. We underperformed and only came close when Ismail hit the bar late on.

Wolves 3 (Sigurdarson, Sako, Doyle) -0 Crawley

Probably our best performance of the season as we never looked like losing. Sako ripped the defence to shreds and we moved joint top of the league with 10 points.

Bolton 3-0 Wolves *COC R2*

The score line flattered Bolton somewhat; they scored 2 goals in stoppage time. Our performance wasn’t fantastic with the 5-man midfield getting over-run but the cup wasn’t really priority. Debut for loan signing Gael Bigirimana who joined from Newcastle the week before until January.

Port Vale 1-2 Wolves (Griffiths x2)

Two first half goals settled this game, as we took our foot off the gas after the break. Griffiths just knows where the net is at the moment and we’re top of the league going into September.

I'm hoping to provide monthly updates throughout the season. Enjoying everyone else's updates and good to see people playing with a range of different teams.

[Plainlayzee]

Great stuff Maxey and dubby! Both clubs are so strong for L1 level and I would expect both should be capable of survival in the second tier.

@ muhaimin: no worries but Plainlayzee won't want you to beat him at laziness! NF is for another poster called 'Nottingham Forest'...who may now have to be called 'Forest'...or to really make him angry....Notts!

I'll post an update on my own Shrewsbury 'test' season later. We did well in Cups and our improved form in the League has put us in amongst the other relegation battlers. We're off the bottom and now have a small chance of survival.

Wo wo wo, me, lazy....your kidding.....I used to write 3 page essays on here and will be back to doing that shortly . I am pretty much certain I am going to go as Tranmere, but I want to wait for the next update to fix some of the minor issues and then I will be up and running, you lot won't be able to get a word in edgeways when I come back to reclaim this thread .....or something....

Jogo, update is needed my friend, I am intrigued by the Shrewsbury test.

[Jogo Bonito]

That's very true, Mr. Layzee! Essays are good though so we look forward to your reports in due course.

Good also to see the updates from you pack of Wolves fans!

After the previously confessed 'slow' start, I was determined to see if I could achieve survival at Shrewsbury. We had a great run in the FA Cup before a convincing loss in Round 5 at Everton, but the club is sustaining a profit partly because of it. We also had a great string of results in the JPT, before throwing away a great opportunity and slumping to a poor defeat on home turf.

In the League, our form since November has been dramatically improved - but we have recently become a bit indifferent and the last six games will see a real scrap as we fight for safety. Given the resources, and media expectation of 23rd, I'd be delighted to finish this one-season test outside the drop zone. I've had a good return of 12 goals each (including Cups) from my new strikers (Holman and Gregory) but Tom Bradshaw has been the most surprising success with 17 goals from 30 appearances (25 starts) across all competitions.

Following the New Years Day arrivals on free transfers of Jermaine Grandison and Matt Watson, the only other newcomer is Gary Sawyer. Loaned from Leyton Orient on deadline day, he has gone on to deliver some very impressive performances at left-back since then, and has relegated Joe Jacobson to the bench because of it.

The L1 table shows we are likely to finish anywhere between 18th and 22nd place. Wolves and Brentford are clear at the top of the tree (despite our recent good results against them) and Peterborough, MK Dons, Bristol City and Sheffield United are in the chasing pack. Coventry were on fire earlier on, and placed in the top six before losing to us. That prompted a dip in form and it looks like I may have killed their hopes of making the play-off zone.

[Nottingham Forest]

Daly Resigns!

It is with great regret that I announce my resignation as Yeovil Town Manager. After two successful seasons I was hoping that this season would be the season that we would kick on and look to cement our place as a Championship. Unfortunately things haven't gone to plan and having not won in seven games I feel now is the best time to resign before it's too late. I feel that me resigning now gives the new man a chance to get things back on track and hopefully keep the club in the division.

I can't fault the chairman who has been great over the past couple of seasons and even this year allowing me to stretch the budget further and keep players here whilst also signing some quality players in the process. I will look back at my time with fondness here but feel it is best for all parties to move on.

I don't know what the future holds but I will take time to assess my options and see where I should go from here.

[Nottingham Forest]

Rotherham United FC

So, here is my next stop after a number of discussions with other clubs. I have to say I am pleased to be here. As much as that sounds clichéd. The club have a great stadium which is new and should meet all our requirements for the near future.

The board have offered me a deal until the summer of 2016. They have offered me a deal worth £700 a week.

The board expectations in the interview was to finish in the top half of League One but now it appears to be that we must achieve a respectable league position. The club are currently position 23rd in League One at the end of October. I have been given a transfer budget of about £611k and a wage budget of about £59.7k per week. Of which I am spending about £53.5k per week.

[MaxeyN17]

PETERBOROUGH UNITED - 2014/15 - SkyBet Football League Championship

Safe to say this is the most amazing season I have ever had on any FM installment to date. Despite being given an absolute pittance of a budget by the board who at the very least expected a mid-table season, I managed to finish up as Champions, securing back-to-back promotions and a first ever Premier League appearance for Peterborough! Along with this, I also managed an incredible cup run in the FA Cup, knocking out Liverpool and Manchester United before beating Derby County 3-1 in the Final, giving us Europa League football next season.

Without doubt, next season is going to be a struggle. Hopefully with the added money of Premier League and European football, the board will give me a bit of money to spend and won't expect huge things to happen.

League Table | FA Cup Results | FA Cup Final | Transfers

[krosotv]

quick update on my birmingham save.just coming to the end of october and we are lying 2nd in the table and have knocked man city out of the league cup.on the transfer front elliott,mullins,ambrose and robinson have all left with jay simpson,ebanks blake and mihelic joining on free transfers.We have had a takeover happen with adam pearson becoming chairman ,replacing the muppets that were yeung and pannu:).the new chairman has given me 5.25m to spend but i wont spend silly money i have players in mind to come in but i want to build the club long term.

[MichaelBrown]

Suprised that you resigned Nottingham Forest, a couple of extra signings to boost your team could have made the difference!

[Nottingham Forest]

Suprised that you resigned Nottingham Forest, a couple of extra signings to boost your team could have made the difference!

I'd already done that. APG on a free took me way over budget.

[MichaelBrown]

I'd already done that. APG on a free took me way over budget.

APG?

I take it that you felt relegation was a real threat despite being 7 games in charge.

I've started a new game as Hartlepool, I'll keep you updated on pre season once it's done.

[MaxeyN17]

My Europa League group. Well, ****.

[MichaelBrown]

My Europa League group. Well, ****.

Should win that....

[Nottingham Forest]

Andre Pierre Gignac. I did yes so felt it was best to go.

[Vazza]

So got promoted via playoffs with Coventry, am in the Championship but 2 games in and 2 heavy defeats. Wasn't able to retain most of my out of contract players such as Moussa etc. and now only have 11 first teamers. Worst of it is no one half decent wants to join me on loan either and the board have given my a wage budget of £51k (currently spending £41k) and transfer budget of £400k :(

[MichaelBrown]

Andre Pierre Gignac. I did yes so felt it was best to go.

Good luck with Rotherham!

[D0bi]

I've got a good save going on at the moment with my hometown Bolton, having a nightmare with injuries though. It's bad enough that Holden, Mark Davies and Joe Riley start off with Cruciate injuries and are out for between 8 and 15 months, but I've picked up long term injuries all over the place such as Lee breaking his leg and is now out for 9 months.

Really fun save though, i'm enjoying that I've been forced to play some youth players in key games due to my main 3 midfielders being out with injuries and quite a few players have surprised me.

I'm currently sitting 5th after 34 games so still in the hunt for the playoffs, although my squad is threadbare. Due to finances I've had to sell a good amount of first-team players such as Ngog, Pratley and Mears for a combined £5.89m whilst I've only brought in Larnell Cole for £400,000.

[Jogo Bonito]

D0bi, nice start with Bolton and good luck for the rest of the season.

Vazza, that was promotion in season 1? Quite an achievement! It looks like you'll have a battle to stay up in season 2 - what's your current squad if you don't mind?

[MaxeyN17]

My save game corrupted seven matches into the Premier League season and all I have from before is just after the end of the Championship season. Annoyed as I was doing quite well in the BPL having only lost once in the seven and won the Community Shield against United. Oh well, here's hoping we do just as well!

[muhaimin]

Here's my update in february with Pompey in League 1.

Standing:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I am very surprised with my team's standing at the moment my defence have been solid. If you look at the standing pic, we are 3rd in the goals conceded. Even though we are top at the moment, I hope that we will somehow miss out on the promotion as I do not feel the squad I have would be ready to fight in the Championships. I do not wantto be promoted and be relegated straight away. But I know it is a challenge which I should not shy away from....

Squad:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Almost the same squad as what I had when we were in the League 2. I am not surprised that these players were able to handle the pressure in League 1. I feel they are players which are in the calibre of the League 1 players. Not championships material though. Except for Simon Ferry and maybe Craig Gordon.

Transfers:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Transfers done this season were good except for Joe Rothwell. He wasn't able to perform and I cut short his loan period.

The others that came in played at a good level.

Ben Pearson avgs 6.89 per game

Jamal Campbell Ryce avgs 6.78per game

Stuart Taylor avgs 6.8 per game and he has been given away to Spurs for free... He just was not happy to be at Pompey and wanted to go... I do not understand why though. Maybe I used Gordon too much...

Tim Payne and Mats Daehli just joined.

[MichaelBrown]

Scrap what I said above, I started with Leamington in the Skrill North instead

[muhaimin]

And I have just signed Lindgard on free!! What a coup!

[Aleynasdad]

TBH Ive always been a non-league FM gamer but after starting with Whitehawk I got fed up with the match ratings for fullbacks and had a few days rest. Now Im back with the new patch and have found a 3-4-3 tactic that doesnt need full backs that I like. So where to go? Although a Brighton fan I never play them as its just not good for my health so I thought back to the seventies and thought about clubs that were big then when we played them but have now fallen on hard times and my eye fell on......BRISTOL ROVERS..... oh my are they in a bad place. Expected to just avoid relegation, the club seemingly falling apart around them and an awful injury list there is lttle good to say for them...... so what a challenge!!

So played a couple of hours last just going through the motions. Ill provide an update once the season proper starts. However dont get impatient cos I have a huge workload now and wont be able to play too much.

Onwards and upwards for the Gas!