dafuge's FM15 challenge

[Thebaker]

I dont know how to check reps, new to this challenge, but I know that despite getting to the FA Cup 4th round, then 2nd round, play-off SF once and play-off final once, my rep didnt seem to improve in terms of attracting better players. It was a huge grind but I wasnt sure of it because I havent played lower leagues much.

England> clubs > reputation. scroll down the list. For my team Ilkeston sits one below Buxton who at the start are the same rep. This may be just my team or a bug since there should be some change over a few years from winning or losing matches

[Silent Alarm]

Thought I'd give this a shot this year. I tried this a few years back but I fell out of love with FM, hoping this restores it! Here's my manager profile. Billericay purely because of Gavin and Stacey...

[ozzymanborn]

is "disable first window transfer budgets" acceptable...? As It's not for challengers (as we're in holiday) And it's just cosmetic as it probably just keeping other squads balanced...

[darren1983]

Kingstonian - Vanarama South - Season 2015/16

League Table - Ended up being a decent season, after 11 games we were 2nd, we then only won 4 out of our next 20 games! Ended the season in decent form, plenty to build on for next season

FA Trophy - out on first round

FA Cup - out in first round

Transfers - not the usual huge turnover but some good players in, more to come this summer I hope

Squad - need to move on some players this summer

Finances - awful, lots loads this year

Key Players

Dan Woodward - right winger from Gosport, got a 6 month injury on his debut but 8 goals and 10 assists when he returned showed his class

Adam Mekki - 20 goals from the left winger was a great return, doesn't want to sign a new deal though

Solomon Shields - average stats but scored goals and was a key player this year

Lyle Della Verde - was released by Fulham, took some time to settle but got better the more he played, another that wont sign a new deal

Fraser Colmer - ex Southampton RB was a key down my right hand side, only missed 1 game all season

Career Overview

Season    League                     Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Vanarama Conference South  16th       

[benrollo]

Back on the horse with St Neots.

Here's my profile (taken about a month in because I forgot to take the screenie initially!)

[dafuge]

is "disable first window transfer budgets" acceptable...? As It's not for challengers (as we're in holiday) And it's just cosmetic as it probably just keeping other squads balanced...

That's fine, it shouldn't make much difference as there will be another two transfer windows that open before you take on your club.

[G_D_K]

King's Lynn

Season 2016/2017

Table / Position Graph / Squad / Finances / Transfers / Manager / Lg. Records (team) / Lg. Records (ind) / Confidence / Reputation

Season two was a quiet success. At least, we've improved over the previous season, and exceed our expectation by a bit, finishing 14th. It might've gone a bit better, but a long December stretch really tested our small(ish) squad, with two FAC replays and two late November rain-outs causing quite a bit of congestion. We had a run of 6 league matches that ended in draws, sandwiched around a pair of FA Trophy wins. At least they were draws and not losses. Hopefully this latest patch will sort out those late-goal issues that caused the draws in some cases! The season did start slow, with one win in the first four, but I introduced youngster (Top academy grad from 2016) Watson in match 5, and he didn't disappoint, scoring a Hat-trick in his 2016/17 debut (it wasn't his career debut, he featured in the final match of the 2016 season). He would go on to feature in matches throughout the season, and played a large role in keeping us up throughout.

Season One's Star, dutchman John Lesley van Engel featured well throughout the season (missing one 4 week stretch with a twisted ankle). I was ready to let him go at the end of the season, but he convinced me to let him stay by scoring 4 in the penultimate match against rival Boston United. We would complete the season with 16 goals and 6 assists (7.08 AvR and 5 PoM). Part of the reason he scored so much fewer than his 36 of the previous season was the introduction of two academy strikers--Robin Watson and Sam Carter. These two products of the academy class of 2016 would combine for 39 goals (Watson with 17/5 league/cup and Carter with 10/7). All three will be featuring in the coming season.

I introduced young midfielder Jamie Penny last season (signed FA at 16yo). He continued to shine (and grow) this season, featuring in 47 matches (38 league), scoring 4 goals, assisting with 5, and adding 2 PoM. He was a workhorse in his CM(D) role ahead of my DM. HIs 2.95 tackles/game and 80% pass success rate were huge. Unfortunately, they also served to attract the attention of several big clubs. Somewhere along the line, he picked up an agent as well, and when I went to renew his contract in the spring, his agent told me in no uncertain terms that his client wasn't interested. So, I was left to try to negotiate a deal with any interested clubs...and with a value of only £450, I was never going to get what I really wanted. In the end, Birmingham had the highest offer, and I ended up with a deal worth £65K + a 15% sell on clause. A shame to see him go, he was developing very well.

My preferred formation for the season was a 4-1DM-3-2 (narrow)--again--and I used it almost exclusively throughout the season. In fact, I only went to another formation once, and that due to two injured strikers among my starters. It seems solid if unremarkable with my players, and I ended up 8th in scoring (73) but 16th in defense (74 allowed). I had the most problems with top-5 teams early in the season, conceding 4 goals or more against top-5 competition at least 3 times early on. The defense solidified much better later in the season (lost 1 of last 9, won last 5 away matches, outscored opposition 22-13).

The big scare of the season came when we had a board takeover (just another event in the November/December timeframe which served to unsettle the team). Once the board finally took charge, they indicated that they were planning on bringing in their own manager. In fact, for 3 of the next 4 matches, the would-be replacement was in attendance scouting the team. 3 draws and a win (3-3, 2-2, 4-4, and finally 3-1) convinced the board to leave me be. They brought in £200K, and with no debt that went straight to the bank. Financially we're doing well. I kept nearly £3K/wk under wage budget (again), keeping an eye out for upgrades to fill existing needs. We had two come in during the summer break, had a trio of short-term loanees, and only signed 2 more during the season -- a decent fullback(L) and central defender which will help in the coming season. With a decent cup run (1st round proper of FA Cup), we actually made a profit of nearly £35K on the year, and ended with a positive bank balance. Of the £200K the new board brought in, £180k went right back out to improve youth facilities (though it took some persuasion on my part!)

I've got two coach of any note --- my U18 manager (studying for his first badge) and my only coach (who just completed his NatB licence which bumped his GK coaching to 15!!!). My Head of Youth Development should serve me well for a few years as well.

.

PROMOTION/PLAYOFFS

Not even close!

Cup Competitions

My FA Trophy run went much better this year (I played more than one match!), and we beet Stafford (3QR) and Mickleover (who?) 4-1 and 3-0 respectively, before facing Conference team Gateshead and crashing out. Carter ended up with 5 goals in the competition for the best showing of my team (Watson added one in this comp). Gateshead would go on to finish 2nd in the Conf...so it was always going to be a tough ask to get anything out of, but I was disappointed in the 4-1 defeat.

The FA Cup run once again went well, and we ended up with another 1st round exit. I was much more disappointed this year. Three of our four matches went to replays, which really cost is in the middle part of the season. First was Skelmersdale (fellow Vanarama North team) who forced a replay at my ground with a late equalizer to end 1-1. We dominated the rematch at his ground though, running out with an easy 3-1 victory. Next in the 3QR was Belper, and the Nailers put up a good fight at Chrstchurch Meadow, but ended up short in our 3-2 victory. That win pitted us against Ilkeston. This team matched surprisingly well against our team, and a decent crowd were treated to as entertaining a....0-0 draw as you could find. That meant a replay at home, and two early goals looked promising for the Linnets. However, a tenacious Ilkeston nabbed one back in the 79th minute, before scoring a very late equalizer (90+3) to force extra time. 30 minutes later, and it was left up to a shootout, with the first 10 shots being put in the net. Then came the first of 5 penalty saves for goalkeeper Ashley Timms (the only in a shootout), and fullback Ramm ended the match with a calmly executed finish to send us back to the first round proper.

Round One pitted us against bottom of the conference Macclesfield, and after last year's heroics against L2 Carlisle, I had some hope. The two youngsters Watson and Carter each managed to score (with Carter getting the 2nd to equalize the game) but we couldn't break down the third, despite several excellent chances late. That sent us to The Moss Rose in Macclesfield, where a very busy ref (produced 8 yellows in the match) refused to let the match play out smoothly, and where we ultimately fell 2-1 with Macclesfield getting a late winner. A shame, as I felt that Macclesfield was a very beatable team at that point...but we still performed well above expectations on the season.

Additional Details

Team of the Season Youngster Watson topped the list in his first year, with his 22 goals and 7.09AvR wowing crowds!

Best XI Inductees -- Three new players this year, new signing MC Hutchinson, Fullback Griffin, and academy grad Carter

Historical Best XI

Fans Player of the Season: Jon Lesley van Engel made the honors again, garnering 66% of the vote. He ended with 35 appearances, 16 goals, 7 assists, and 6.98 AvR. I very nearly though of dropping him at the end of the year in favor of the two academy grads, but with this honor, and his late production, I decided to resign him. At 27 he'll still be very useful, and I'll have the pick of 3 strikers to choose from next season (and that'll give my new academy star a chance to grow-- see below). Midfielder Everington w/ 1 goal and 11 assists took second with 13% of the vote, and DC Sinclair netted 12% as well. Surprisingly, neither Watson nor Carter made the top 3.

Top Academy Graduate:

S1: Robin Watson looks to be someone who will be useful in the coming years. Already potential starter material, the coaches figure that he could be useful late into our Varana Conference campaign.

S2: Arran Harding should excite fans for years to come, and he will make an excellent target man. I need to work on his pace a bit to get him ready for real action, but hope to feature him in a season or two!

Promoted from the Regional Premier Division Teams:

FC United, Gainsborough, Weymouth, Tonbridge, Bognor Regis, Corby

League Winners (relegated)

EPL Man City (Blackburn, West Ham United, Watford)

Championship Derby (Bristol City, Barnsley, Blackpool)

League One Portsmouth (Scunthorpe, Morecambe, Fleetwood, Port Vale)

League Two Southend (Grimsby, Newport Co)

Vanarama Conference Lincoln (Welling, Eastleigh, Aldershot, Macclesfield)

Vanarama North Altrincham (Ashton Utd, Skelmersdale, Redditch) --

Vanarama South Sutton Utd (Dulwich Hamlet, Dorchester, Farnborough)

Cup Winners

English FA Cup Arsenal (interesting note --- Tom Collins from Bognor Regis was top goal scorer---related to my Tom Collins from Bedford from Dafuge 14?)

Capital One Cup Chelsea

Jonhstone's Paint Trophy Bradford

English FA Trophy Wrexham

Euro Qualifcation

Champions League Group Stage: Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd

Champions League Best Placed Playoff: Tottenham

Euro Cup Group Stage: Arsenal, Liverpool

Euro Cup Playoff:

Euro Cup 3rd QR: Newcastle

Euro Cup 1st QR: None

Continental Achievements

Everton -- Won European Super Cup (vs Man City)

Man City -- Eliminated from European Super Cup (by Everton)

Liverpool -- Eliminated from Champions League Best Placed Playoff (by Zenit)

Man City -- Won World Club World Championship (vs Sao Paulo)

Fulham -- Eliminated from Euro Cup Second Knockout Round (by Tottenham)

Everton -- Eliminated from Champions League Quarter Final (By Leverkusen)

Liverpool -- Eliminated from Euro Cup Quarter Final (by Tottenham)

Man City -- Eliminated from Champions League Semi Final (By Man Utd)

Tottenham -- Eliminated from Euro Cup Semi-Final (by OM)

Arsenal -- Eliminated from Euro Cup Semi-Final (by AS Monaco)

Chelsea -- Won Champions League (against Man Utd)

Man Utd -- Eliminated from Champions League Final (by Chelsea)

What's Next?

I'm content with the way the season played out, as we have met or exceeded all expectations. I've picked up a couple very nice academy grads, and will feature them (along with maybe two other year 1 grads) in the coming season. The challenge will be replacing MC Penny, who is off to Birmingham. Hopefully my scouts will pick up some useful talent. I would ideally like to push for playoffs this season! Another strong cup run (at least Rd One of the FA Cup) is also my goal.

Career Overview

Season            Team                 League        Position(Predicted)         Achievements
2015/16	        Kings Lynn	     Vanarama North	19(21)
2016/17	        Kings Lynn	     Vanarama North	15(19)		

[Thebaker]

My save game was corrupted, which is annoying but less so if i had gone anywhere with the save.

I've restarted in 2016 as St. Neots Profile

[Dons]

Skelmersdale United

Season Summary 21/22

League Two

Final Position 1st

Squad - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Board Review - Commercial Summary

39 games into the season we were in the top spot and was comfortably ahead the competion. 3 losses in the next 4 games saw us drop to 3rd place. On the 43rd game it continued to look bad as Blackpool scored in the 90th minute to take a 1-0 lead. With 2 goals in overtime we broke the bad run and went for a 3 win streak to take home the title. Last game of the season was in particular really thrilling, as 3 teams could take the title. Only 3 points seperated top three, with 87, 86 and 85 pts.

It was also a season that saw poorly playing Port Vale break the record for most goal conceded in a season and for Swansea to win both Capital One and FA Cup.

We had a really good cup runs. In the FA Cup, we beat both Ipswich and Wolves before succumbing to a sad 5th round loss to West Bromwich. Capital One cup saw us exit in the 2nd round to our boogey team Wrexham and finally we had a good run in the JPT, where Wigan knocked us out in the Semi Final.

Was really comfortable with the players from previous season and didn't need to get many replacements. Did get a couple in all 3 areas though. The attacking department was our poorest, but we are covered really good for now. Naturally, there should be a few better players available in L1, but I also believe these current lads, can go on and compete there. Our weakest department is still the goalie.

Notworthy players:

Paddy Forrester: Been playing mostly 4-2-4 this season. Paddy didn't get that many games, but was really good in the ones he played. Mostly as DL.

Frank Mapes: DL was very convincing in that position and the reason why Paddy didn't get as many games.

Einion "bad boi" Wilkinson: Rock of the defense again, but oh my 20 yellows cards over the season.

Robson Brown: Can't wait to see what he willl turn into, played really well in defense again this season.

Paul Tinkler: New striker and seems quite interesting. Isn't a star and probably won't be it, but was a needed signing for the offense.

Steffan Griffiths: Doubled his goal score from previous season and looks stronger and better. Top scorer this year.

Derek Kelly: Our amazing left winger. Scored a decent amount in comparison to last season, but had amazing 30 assists and 10 mom over the season. Our best player by far.

Would love start see the balance grow, so we can upgrade facilities and hopefully create a few minor stars from our youth setup. So far the balance has pretty much gone even up with the wages I have bribed players to the club with.

Year	League	Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	FA.Cup	Cap.One	JPT	FAT 	Achievement
15/16	Van N	11th	None	None	3d.Qual	None	None	3rd Rnd	None
16/17	Van N	1st	None	None	1st Rnd	None	None	4th Rnd	Promoted!
17/18	Conf	18th	None	None	1st Rnd	None	None	1st Rnd	Survived!
18/19	Conf	9th	None	None	2nd Rnd	None	None	1st Rnd None
19/20	Conf	1st	None	None	3rd Rnd	None	None	4th Rnd	Promoted!
20/21	L2	12th	None	None	4th Rnd	2nd Rnd	1st Rnd	None	None
21/22	L2	1st	None	None	5th Rnd	2nd Rnd	Semi F	None	Promoted!

[streety]

Rushall Olympic Friendlies

The club had four pretty easy friendlies in pre season, As manager I was busy getting the squad up to scratch buying a few players and setting up my two formations for the season which will be a 4 -5-1 that has been recreated from my games in FM13 and a 4-4-2

[yugo23]

@Dons:

Amazing number of assists for Derek Kelly considering his crossing is only 7.

[Bonzo1]

11 league games in and only 1 win and 2 draws and out of the FA cup. Gonna be a long hard season getting to grips with a a game that I feel has changed so much since 13.

[deadfncat]

Dons why Isnt Rimmer in every screenshot you post?

[Dons]

Dons why Isnt Rimmer in every screenshot you post?

The amazing Rimmer! I'll post a screenie with him

[Dons]

@Dons:

Amazing number of assists for Derek Kelly considering his crossing is only 7.

I play both wingers as inside forwards, don't know if that has anything to do with it?

Actually his finishing is 7, his crossing is 16.

[Dons]

Josh Rimmer was really great during the lower leagues and since then more or less became a pet project for me. deadfncat and I both use him and on steamchat quite often is heard - Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmerr, when he scores. His stats aren't amazing, but he has scored some quite important goals in many matches during the seasons. Stats Career

[dan_simmonds]

What's the Steam Chat called? Presume it probably has something to do with Dafuge's Challenge.

[fcunitedfan]

What's the Steam Chat called? Presume it probably has something to do with Dafuge's Challenge.

Dafuge Challenge 12

[Bartrcm]

Playing my second season at the moment with Hendon, and it's going much better than my first season. 4th place after 10 games and allready more points this season than halfway last season. I don't think that I can stay in the playoffs, but having fun at the moment.

I've only done 5 transfers but I don't leak goals at the moment.

So for all new starters with this challenge, just try to survive the first season, and everything will turn out OK.

[Abaddon879]

Looking forward to completing my first season when I get home. Need to screenshot profile at start of season with Kingstonian also when I get back.

Just hit January and time to try out this new match engine. How are people finding it in the lower leagues with the recent changes? Any better?

[yugo23]

I play both wingers as inside forwards, don't know if that has anything to do with it?Actually his finishing is 7, his crossing is 16.

Don't know why I saw that wrong. 16 crossing at this level is amazing.

[Dons]

Don't know why I saw that wrong. 16 crossing at this level is amazing.

You didn't see it wrong, I posted a wrong screenie :o

[G_D_K]

What's the Steam Chat called? Presume it probably has something to do with Dafuge's Challenge.

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/dafugechallenge#

[dariuszelvys]

Grantham

In what may be seen as a surprise appointment the Grantham board have named Darius Želvys as their new boss.

First season's task - SURVIVE!!!!! Board agrees with me.

My Profile | Information

Come on you GingerBreads!!!

[Abaddon879]

Kingstonian FC

Profile - Information

Doing this in memory of a friend of mine and a former player of theirs, Ian Dickens, who sadly passed away a few years ago, aged just 29.

Let's take them on to glory!

(currently in January so will update further once season is over)

[Abaddon879]

Ok so that went badly. A dreadful run of form seeing us only win a handful of games all season resulted in several unpleasant meetings with the board, and eventual relegation on the last day of the season...

Part of me puts this down to poor tactics and the match engine still not behaving how I would expect. There were several high-scoring games still (5-2, 6-1, 4-3 etc) and several screamers going in from 30+ yards. Perhaps I will wait for another ME update to try this again.

[Mooping]

Mooping's Dulwich Hamlet 2021/22

Season in review:

After reaching the play-off final last year, we entered this season with the board demanding promotion. Things started a little shakily, and we were sitting 9th after the first 10 games or so. At this point the players started to revolt, and overall team morale was very low. The board demanded that I attend an emergency meeting about this problem (if I refused to attend I would have been sacked), and I told them that I would handle the situation. I held some team meetings to address the problems, but I'm not sure how much it really helped. Fortunately we went on a nice winning streak that moved us into automatic promotion places and this caused the players to drop their concerns about the club's underachieving and my supposed lack of managerial ability. Our good form continued from there, taking us to the top spot in League 2, a position that we did not relinquish for the remained of the season as we finished as comfortable champions.

In the cups we won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, beating Lincoln 2-1 in the final. We also reached the FA Cup 5th round before going out away to then Championship leaders Stoke.

Key players were the ever present Curtis Woods and Rob Walsh. Also right winger Marc Crimmen.

Squad

League Table - 11 points clear at the top

Competitions

Transfers

Finances

Career Overview

Season    League                     Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Vanarama Conference South  1st         [b]Promoted as Champions[/b]
2016/17   Vanarama Conference        16th
2017/18   Vanarama Conference        3rd         Lost in Play-Off Final
2018/19   Vanarama Conference        5th         Lost in Play-Off Final
2019/20   Vanarama Conference        5th         [b]Promoted via Play-Off[/b]
2020/21   Sky Bet League 2           5th         Lost in Play-Off Final
2021/22   Sky Bet League 2           1st         [b]Promoted as Champions, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Winners[/b]

Next Season:

My ambitious and demanding board want a mid table finish. Hopefully we don't disappoint or I may be out of a job.

[Dibond]

Tonbridge - Dibond

Season in review:

Had a decent starting team, and picked up a few players that didn't really make too much of an impact. Fortunately, the striker I did start with, Tommy Whitnell, got me a ton of goals. Sat around mid-table almost all season until the last 5 or 6 games of the season and went on a run to jump into the playoff places in the last game of the season. Won the first round, but was dropped out in the final in a 5-1 thrashing by Dartford. Also had a couple of good cup runs so the finances don't look too bad....yet.

Squad

Competitions

Transfers

Finances

Career Overview

Season    League                     Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Vanarama Conference South  5th        None

[Fletchdt]

Well done Mooping, your flying!

[dan_simmonds]

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/dafugechallenge#

Cheers, I've joined the group but for some reason can't join the chat. I'll have a look when I'm on my computer later, but it'll be nice to rant about the inability of my team to step it up to Conference level.

[ozzymanborn]

Starting with Rushall

Info - Info2 - A Team (U21-U18 Not included) - Facilities - Transfers made by us..

Our Wage buget is in Very RED now... And not good Frendlies

As It is not my only save I am just hoping to have fun enough. And not get sacked

[deadfncat]

Stourbridge - Vanarama Conference - 2019/20 - Twentieth

Ugh Tough season.

We struggled a lot and just leaked goals like crazy. Finding it really tough to pick up good players as well.

Ended up winning the FA Trophy but we didn't really have much of a challenge. The Semi final which we won on penalties was a lot more difficult than the final itself which somehow we breezed through.

League Table

Games

Finances - Lost a bit of cash this season but still in the black for now.

FA Cup - We played pretty well, but Exeter scored two injury time goals on us and sunk our season

FA Trophy - Disappointing loss in the semi final

Squad - I signed way too many players this season looks for quality. Our defence was pretty bad, but we scored enough goals to keep us going

Key Player Profiles

Yan Klukowski - Experienced midfielder who started the season well but has been in decline

Player of the Season

Neil Hall - Had a good second season and moved into our top scorer position.

Youth Players

nil

Career Overview

Season       Team                       Country                  League                 League Finish             Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17       Stourbridge               England            Vanarama Conference North         5th                  Playoff Final Loss
2017/18       Stourbridge               England            Vanarama Conference North         2nd                  Playoff Final Loss/FAT Loss
2018/19       Stourbridge               England            Vanarama Conference North         1st                  Champions
2019/20       Stourbridge               England            Vanarama Conference                 20th                 Survival/FA Trophy Win

Next Season

Earn some money to get the board to go pro

Mid Table

FA Trophy shot

Facility News

nil

Major Competition Winners

Vanarama Conference - Chester, Forest Green

FA Cup - Liverpool

FA Trophy - Stourbridge

English Premier League - Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man Utd, Fulham, Man City, Hull, Norwich

Championship - West Brom, Cardiff, Stoke

Champions League - Barcelona

Euro - Arsenal

Hyundai A-League - Victory/Victory

FFA Cup - Melb City

[Dons]

First time I have noticed they included social media in the game. I love it!

[rGade]

Cannot for the life of me get my team to defend. Conceding unbelievable amounts of goals (I do score quite a bit too though), but it's gotten to the point where if I'm up 2-0, I can already start to prepare my self for throwing it away. Just lost yet again (alright, only the 2nd time in the league in 14 games, but I've drawn 6 times, in 5 of which I had the lead until late on). I can play well and be 2-0 up by 40 minutes, and then BAM, it takes 2 corners between 40th minute and 45th minute for the opposition to equalise. My team refuses to do anything on corners, they just stand like dummies and let even the other team's midgets score.

Are any of you guys having succes in defence in season 1?

[gedro2]

I was going to start a journeyman game but thought this would be just as good, I`ve picked Hereford and used the saved game available. here is my profile, updates to follow

,

[Tuddur]

Good luck with Marine mate. I have just started with them as well.

Cheers, how are you getting on?

Been a rough start here, struggled badly first games. By the end of november and 18th now , 6 points above relegation.

Made the classic mistake of signing way too many players.

This one have potential though:

[Quavis]

@rGade - you are not the only one struggling to defend for sure. Late goals and goals from corners have been a very common complaint in the chat. Corner defense on default settings seems really bad this year, but it can be dramatically improved by changing a few of the marking settings in the set piece wizard. There are a couple different solutions people have found here and I'm not sure how much detail you want, but altering these slightly can make a big difference. Feel free to hop on chat or google/forum search on here for corner tactics if you prefer more detailed settings people are using.

[DizzyIzzyB13]

2016/2017

22nd in League 2 (pred: 24th) | Transfers (Cash, Free, Loans) | Finances | Graph | Player Stats (1, 2)

The League

We got off to a poor start, in part thanks to my mis-management of the playing squad. I was convinced we'd go down without a fight and my challenge would be over. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so that's what I did - in other words, I offered trials every free agent international (including U-21 and U19s) in Europe. Most rejected me, a few accepted the trial but wouldn't negotiate with me, but a few signed on to join the fight against relegation. In particular, former Spurs and Sunderland 'keeper Márton Fülöp, Latvian international Kaspars Dubra and Juventus cast-off Elvis Kabashi became key members of the side. It didn't happen over night, but after a few games together, the side started to click and we started on the road to recovery. Thanks in part to our own hard work and in part to the atrocious form of Torquay and Cheltenham, we managed to survive. Job done.

The Cups (FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy)

Compared to last season, our cup experiences were pretty disappointing, although we did out-perform expectations in the FA Cup and League Cup. The victory over Peterborough was probably the highlight of our season (other than surviving), and the money was useful, but otherwise, not so good.

The Players

Highest Average Rating (Min. 10 starts): Elvis Kabashi, 7.00

Top Scorer: Achilleas Georgakopoulos, 11

Most Assists: Elvis Kabashi, 8

Worst Discipline: Jim Horn, yellow cards

Ever-Present: None

The Finances

The financial picture is concerning. We need to stabilize this over the next season if we're too keep progressing.

The Future

I'd like to make the jump to finishing in mid-table this season. Otherwise, keep on keeping on. Our youth category has been improved to Category Four, so hopefully, developing some players is also on the agenda.

[b][u][color="black"]CLUB HISTORY[/color][/u][/b]

[b]SEASON	LEAGUE	POS.	Notes[/b]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[b]15/16[/b]	VCS	[url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2015-2016/VanaramaConferenceSouth_zps810f278b.png]1st[/url]	Champions, Promoted
[b]16/17[/b]	VC	[url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/VanaramaConference_zps9c8b72de.png]1st[/url]	Champions, Promoted, FA Trophy Winners
[b]17/18[/b]	L2	[url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2017-2018/LeagueOne_zpsd18195c7.png]22nd[/url]

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[b][u][color="black"]TROPHY CABINET[/color][/u][/b]

Vanarama Conference

Winners - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/VanaramaConference_zps9c8b72de.png]2016/17[/url]

Vanarama Conference South

Winners - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2015-2016/VanaramaConferenceSouth_zps810f278b.png]2015/16[/url]

FA Trophy

Winners - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/FATrophy_zps6d47620c.png]2016/17[/url]

Isabella Bianchi (Profile)

[b][u][color=purple]MANAGER AWARDS[/color][/u][/b]

Vanarama Conference Manager of the Year - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/ManageroftheYear_zps899b1c2b.png]2016/17[/url]

Vanarama Conference South Manager of the Year - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2015-2016/ManageroftheYear_zps7cce6013.png]2015/16[/url]

Vanarama Conference Manager of the Month - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/ManageroftheMonthSeptember2016_zps8d086474.png]September 2016[/url], [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2016-2017/ManageroftheMonthApril2017_zpse779d988.png]April 2017[/url]

Vanarama Conference South Manager of the Month - [url=http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee69/DizzyIzzyB13/Tonbridge%20Angels/2015-2016/ManageroftheMonthAugust2015_zpsa90c3461.png]August 2015[/url]

[Vipertitan]

Margate - Vanarama Conference - 2016/17

So after securing a play off win last season we set about trying find the right squad balance to avoid relegation.

League Table

Past Positions - I was pleased with the teams early start to the season but some how we got bought back into the relegation battle due to poor form from the players.

FA Cup- we reached the forth qualifying round and got beat by Paulton Rovers.

FA Trophy - knew we were not going to win this we got beat in fourth Leamington 3-2.

Transfers - a made few signings this season to improve the squad some of them were good and some were well below par.

Squad1

Squad2- the players took a while to get used to the standard of football that i wanted to play they are still learning to.

Finances - I stayed within the wage budget this season witch i was surprised by but we are still in the red by £216k.

Key Player Profiles:

Simeon Akinola - top scorer this season he was just a brilliant.

Nikki Bull - he was pritty poor this season.

Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz -bought in to give Nikki Bull some competition did ok but could do better.

Brett Johnson - probably our best Defender had solid season.

Javlon Campbell - took a while for him to settle in but looks decent.

Career Overview

Season    League                     Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Vanarama Conference South  3rd     play off winners 
2016/17   Vanarama Conference          19th     None 

Next Season

this season was a tough battle to avoid relegation so i will be looking to avoid relegation again next season and do well in the cups to try and generate some income to de crease the balance of the finances.

[Fletchdt]

Cheers, how are you getting on?

Been a rough start here, struggled badly first games. By the end of november and 18th now , 6 points above relegation.

Made the classic mistake of signing way too many players.

This one have potential though:

I accidently deleted my Marine save. So just about to start Stamford AFC instead.

Crank looks a player and half. Did you sign him or did he come through your youth setup?

[Wlv]

Congrats on staying up izzy. Always tough after two straight promotions

[Mushtaq]

@rGade - you are not the only one struggling to defend for sure. Late goals and goals from corners have been a very common complaint in the chat. Corner defense on default settings seems really bad this year, but it can be dramatically improved by changing a few of the marking settings in the set piece wizard. There are a couple different solutions people have found here and I'm not sure how much detail you want, but altering these slightly can make a big difference. Feel free to hop on chat or google/forum search on here for corner tactics if you prefer more detailed settings people are using.

I would like a few tips around defending set pieces if you are willing to share. Last time I tried tweaking them on FM14 it turned into a shambles.

[rGade]

@Quavis - Could you perhaps point me towards said threads on this forum about corner tactics? Just had a search, and I could only find people moaning at corners (like myself lmao), couldn't really find anyone coming with any possible solutions to lower the amount of corners conceded.

[GreyedOutMan]

They are listed, they just don't have a reputation from FM14 since they were promoted last season. When the editor is available for FM15 I'll be able to fill in the gaps and update the rest of them.

Daf, do you know which other teams were promoted last season? None of the teams on here really tickle my fancy this year, to be honest. I miss Tooting and Mitcham (I owned a season ticket for a year there, you know ;-) - purely because of your exploits on there and living literally 2 minutes from the ground!).

[Dons]

Skelmersdale United

Season Summary 22/23

League 1

Final Position 3rd

Squad - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Board Review - Commercial Summary

Board decided to up the expectations and was expecting mid table. Media placed us at 13 and Bookies gave us a 25-1. As the season progressed it was a cat and mouse run with Fleetwood (who also were promoted from L2) in regards to having the top spot. A 7 game crisis with only 1 win dropped us to 4th with 2 rounds to go. Had us in second going into last round where Exeter was waiting. With a morale breaking 1-0 loss Fleetwood moved past us and we finished 3rd. Exeter however, moved just into the playoff zone. Being our boogey team this season we had to play them in the playoff semifinal and we had our best game vs them with a 1-1 away. Unfortunately they won 1-0 at in front of our fans, destroying our promotion dreams.

The Cup run was decent, 4th round in the FA where we lost to Cardiff. Capital One had us exit for the 3rd time in second round and finally in the JPT we lost in the quarter finals. Not. Forest went on winning both FA and Capital One.

Was pretty content with the squad and mostly needed a few extra players for injuries/fatigue, after releasing quite a few players. Keeper is good enough for this level, I am very pleased with the defense and offense. Our only weak spot is the midfield.

Noteworthy players:

Jack Mills: GK - His third season with us had a great season, averaging "only" i goal per game.

Tom Laskowski: DC - Purchased from MK Dons and easily took Einions place in the team, mostly due to not being as dirty and getting as many cards.

Paddy Forrester: DL/DM - Just keeps improving. Was mostly used this season, as a fatigue mender.

Derek Kelly: AML - Yet again our best player. 10 goals and 29 assists. Also was voted player of the year!

David Doyle: SC - Finally started to score alot of goals and was second highest scorer in the league with 23 goals.

Steffan Griffiths: SC - Had another good season tallying 21 goals.

Finances are still suffering from rubber band effect, with the "non football cost" taking its toll. Hopefully a higher attendance next season and more tv money.

Year	League	Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	FA.Cup	Cap.One	JPT	FAT 	Achievement
15/16	Van N	11th	None	None	3d.Qual	None	None	3rd Rnd	None
16/17	Van N	1st	None	None	1st Rnd	None	None	4th Rnd	Promoted!
17/18	Conf	18th	None	None	1st Rnd	None	None	1st Rnd	Survived!
18/19	Conf	9th	None	None	2nd Rnd	None	None	1st Rnd None
19/20	Conf	1st	None	None	3rd Rnd	None	None	4th Rnd	Promoted!
20/21	L2	12th	None	None	4th Rnd	2nd Rnd	1st Rnd	None	None
21/22	L2	1st	None	None	5th Rnd	2nd Rnd	Semi F	None	Promoted!
22/23	L1	3rd	None	None	4th Rnd	2nd Rnd	Qtr F	None	None

[Fletchdt]

I accidentally deleted my Marine save. Luckily i was only at the end of the preseason. So I have decided to start again with Stamford AFC.

Managers Profile

Stamford General Information

Stamford Profile

Stamford Facilities

Somehow i have managed to sign this scout and assistant manager

[Superowl90]

I'm gonna restart my challenge with the new patch, I will let you know how i end up getting and post a screenie

[heyhowie]

Just conceded 5 first half goals to set pieces(2 corners, 3 long throws). I also have (had?) one of the best defenses in the league and for match preparation I was defending set pieces. Has anyone else been having issues from corners/ long throws?

[Superowl90]

Right started again as FC United here is my profile pic :http://imgur.com/zHXKJmU. I will update at the half way point of the season.

[OnTheLevee]

Blyth Spartans AFC

Season 2015/2016

Competitions:

League: (1) (2)

We started rather slowly and picked things up slowly before settling into some solid mid-table mediocrity. Our form towards the end of the season was promising and I'm hopeful we can push on next year and maybe look at getting a playoff position.

F.A. Cup

Nothing special as we got past two non-league sides in Frickley and Ramsbottom (lol) rather easily. We then came up against fellow Vanarama North mid-table opposition in Stalybridge in a match we lost 3-2.

F.A. Trophy

Once again we beat two non-league opponents in Tividale and Norton rather comfortably in the first two rounds of competition. We were then belted by the mighty Billericay 5-1 in what was probably our worst performance of the season.

Transfers

Just my usual garbage in - garbage out approach. There is promise in young Australian centre-back Tom Beadling and young English winger Jordan Blinco. Other than that; grafters.

Squad

The squad is probably a bit bloated and I'll be looking to get by with a smaller squad next season. Fingers crossed everyone stays relatively healthy because injuries could be a worry.

Finances

Nothing to say really. I stayed under budget on the wages and I'll look to do so in the future too.

Key Performers:

Dan Maguire: App: 47 Goals: 18 Avg: 7.02

The player in our squad with the most quality pacy English striker Dan Maguire had a good season but I'm hoping for more from him next year. He had a few patches of poor form but finished the season off nicely with the player of the month award for April.

Neal Hooks: App: 35 Goals: 5 Avg: 6.89

Our club captain and longest serving player at the club was an important player for us in the centre of midfield. Re-signed for next year he will be important again.

Alex Nicholson: App: 47 Avg: 6.88

Pacy young right-back Alex Nicholson had a good year and was a constant threat on the overlap down the right. Refusing to sign a new contract with us and he'll be on his way at the end of the season.

Keiran Weledji: App: 48 Goals: 6 Avg: 6.88

Ever present young centre-back Keiran Weledji had a solid season. I'm hoping he can develop further and form a solid partnership in defence with Tom Beadling going forward.

Next Season:

I'm hoping we can make a couple of quality signings in the off-season and make a playoff push next year. Here we go.

Year	League	Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	FA.Cup	Cap.One	JPT	FAT 	Achievement
15/16	Van N	14th	None	None	4th Qual None	None	2nd Rnd	None