dafuge&#039;s FM16 challenge

Board Expectation: mid-table

Media Expectation: 13th

Finish: 9th

We started really well with three wins from our first three games but we quickly slipped into a pattern of 5/6 good results followed by a run of 5/6 without a win. By February we were sitting in fourth looking good for the play-offs but injuries to 3 key players meant a makeshift team saw out the end of the season and our form slipped. We finished 9th, an improvement, but still short of promotion. It's really hard getting out of this division!

Cup Competitions

We finally made the First round proper for the first time, getting drawn away to Yeovil. We put in a good performance but they were too strong for us.

Play-off semi final 1th leg:

We finally got a decent striker in but struggled when he got injured. Maybe next season I'l get two.

Finances

Still struggling. We needed the board to bail us out twice last season, even though i stayed under the 6k a week wage budget

Notable Players

S tephen Cawley - Another strong season, filled in nicely at striker when injuries wrecked out promotion push

R ene Copeland - ex-Man City youth player from Chile, fitted in nicely as a box to box midfielder. Signed on a non-contract basis, I need to get him on a proper contract

Next Season

Surely the play-offs beckon. We've been slowly improving year on year.

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th

Bartrcm · March 25, 2016

Chesham - Vanarama Conference South - Season 2017-2018

Predicted: 20th

Final finish: 3th

We had an amazing season. We were almost whole season in the play-offs, but never came close to automatic promotion. 3 games before the end of the season, we secured a play-off place. We ended the season in 3th place, but lost our last game of the season against Lewes, our opponent in the semi final of the play-offs

After losing our last game of the season against them I wasn't very sure about our chances. I hoped we could earn a draw and finish it at home, but we were magnificent in the first leg, and we won easily 0-3.

Play-off semi final 2nd leg:

After winnng the first leg very easily I was pretty sure of qualifying for the final. We did our job and won this leg 2-0, and won the semi final 5-0 on aggr. Our opponent for the final was Dartford, the team that finished 2nd in the regular competition, and they had the home advantage.

Play-off final:

We were nowhere in the first half, and were happy only trailing 1-0 at half time. The start of the second half was as bad as our complete firs half, and just after the hour they scored there 2nd. At that moment I was pretty sure that it was over. The only choce we had was full attack. And the unthinkable happend. Suddenly we could play football and with 4 goals in just 14 minutes we turned this game around and we celebrated an unbelievable promotion. In the end we won the game 2-4, and play in the Conference National next season.

Games 1

Games 2

FA Cup: We had a good cup run and earned some TV money. We went out in the 1th round.

FA Throphy: Like last season, didn't care about this cup.

Youth intake: 1 of the worst ever. Didn't sign anyone, and didn't took a screenshot.

Transfers: Made some good transfers

Fabio Saravia won player of the season.

Kabongo Tshimanga won topscorer trophy. A shame he doesn't want to extend his contract.

Finances: lost more than 100k this season. Luckily for us we got 95k for our televised FA cup game, or it would have been a lot worse.

Goals next season:

Stay up.

GreyedOutMan · March 26, 2016

SEASON 2023-24

VANARAMA NATIONAL

League - predicted finish: 1st

Poor Autumnal form saw us never really in with a chance of the playoffs and indeed my job was probably one game away from being lost about four times. An unbeaten run from late March would not even have got us into the playoffs if the six draws out of nine had all become wins. This team needs some serious surgery if we're to go up.

Performance of the season: a virtuoso display from Andre Brown.

FIXTURES 1: you can really see the problem we had from late September through to December.

FIXTURES 2: a lack of consistency at any time in the season meant we were never challengers.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE and positions graph

CUP RUNS: a real hammer-blow in the away game at Bury, with an injury time equaliser conceded when it looked like we were into round two and a decent tie against Walsall. Then, we came back from a 2-0 first leg home defeat to take the game with Darlington to penalties in the FA Trophy semi-final only to lose 13-12, having twice missed the chance to score a winning penalty.

Squad and Club Info

Records Broken

Most Goals in a Match: Andre Brown - 5 v Kettering (A), League, 28th November

Season     Division                        Pos     PPG    FA Cup           Other Comps         Continental Comps    Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10747418&viewfull=1#post10747418]2016/17[/url]    Vanarama National North         3rd    1.60    4th Qual Rd      FAT: 3rd qual rd    N/A                  Lost in playoff semi-final
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10749171&viewfull=1#post10749171]2017/18[/url]    Vanarama National North        10th    1.52    4th Qual Rd      FAT: 3rd qual rd    N/A                  None
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10754210&viewfull=1#post10754210]2018/19[/url]    Vanarama National North        13th    1.26    2nd Qual Rd      FAT: 3rd qual rd    N/A                  None
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10758269&viewfull=1#post10758269]2019/20[/url]    Vanarama National North         5th    1.57    3rd Qual Rd      FAT: 1st qual rd    N/A                  Lost in playoff semi-final
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10759027&viewfull=1#post10759027]2020/21[/url]    Vanarama National North         4th    1.66    3rd Qual Rd      FAT: 1st rd         N/A                  [b]Promoted via playoffs![/b]
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10767984&viewfull=1#post10767984]2021/22[/url]    Vanarama National              14th    1.35    4th Qual Rd      FAT: 1st rd         N/A                  None
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/437642-dafuge-s-FM16-challenge?p=10769395&viewfull=1#post10769395]2022/23[/url]    Vanarama National               9th    1.52    1st Rd           FAT: 1st rd         N/A                  None
2023/24    Vanarama National              11th    1.39    1st Rd           FAT: Semi-Final     N/A                  None

libbyshuss · March 26, 2016

Cambridge City 2019/20

Vanarama National League South

Summary

Board Expectation: top half

Media Expectation: 10th

Finish: 10th

We started the season with a trick away match at St. Albans. After romping to a 4-0 win, followed by a 3-2 home win over Bath, we were top after two games. There then followed 4 defeats and a draw in the next 5. So I didn't really know what sort of season to expect. Slowly though, we started putting a run together, with a run of only 2 defeats in 17 matches taking us first in mid-January. The next 6 league games saw us play the 5 sides directly below us, a potentially make or break sequence. We lost 3, drew 2, and fell to 6th. We kept plugging away but with 4 games to play we were 2 points outside the play-offs. Those 4 games returned 3 defeats and a draw, meaning we finished 10th. The last 17 league games saw us win only 3 times, which is a bit worrying

Cup Competitions

finally put a little run together in the Trophy, getting to the fourth round before being battered by Altrincham. The FA Cup saw us go out to Chorley at home in the 3rd qualifying round, which was a hugely disappointing result.

Best Performance of the Season

Some good signings but we again found ourselves short of experience. The youngsters out-performed the senior players though, so what can you do?

Finances

Still not great, 200k in debt, around the same as last season

Notable Players

Ady Gilmour - Plucked from Maidstone's reserves he was on the losing side more often than not but would still win MotM. Won't sign a new contract as we're not good enough for him now

R ene Copeland - Easily our player of the season. A fantastic box to box midfielder with ridiculous consistency. First name on team sheet.

Billy Bodin - A rare bit of experience, offering a real threat from either wing or as an inside forward.

Next Season

It's looking a real slog getting out of this division. I'm gonna get there eventually though, or get sacked trying! The longer it takes, the sweeter it'll feel if I ever do it. That's what I'm telling myself!

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th

lfc7 · March 28, 2016

Am i able to do this challenge on the fm touch version of the game ? thanks

Terk · March 28, 2016

Vanarama National North

Season 2016/17

Vanarama National North - Expected Finish 21st

After my utter failure with Marine, my second go at this year's challenge saw me try to keep things a bit more simple. We started off with a basic 4-4-2 and picked up two wins and two draws in our first six games. We continued to be inconsistent throughout the season until a change to a 4-1-2-2-1 saw us go on a 12-match unbeaten run in the new year, although with 7 of those 12 games ending in draws, it was still a period of frustration. That run mathematically sealed our place in the division for next season and as soon as that happened the players stopped caring even slightly and we went on our biggest losing streak of the season (five games) before picking up to win our final two matches of the campaign. Our biggest weakness was conceding from crosses. I haven't gone through and studied it, but I reckon we conceded roughly 3,200 goals this season from crosses from deep aimed at the back post. We scored plenty (62), the same as Tamworth who finished 6th and more than Telford, who finished 4th, but our defence let us down and is the main area of weakness which has to be improved for next season.

Position graph

Cups

The biggest success of our season, other than the avoiding relegation thing, was our run to the second round of the FA Cup. We were lucky with the draws, not facing anyone from above our level until we were eventually vanquished by Exeter in the second round, a match which was picked for TV coverage to earn us a bit more cash. The win over Vanarama South side Hemel Hempstead was particularly enjoyable, a 4-0 victory that was only eclipsed as our best performance of the season in our penultimate game. I feared humiliation against Exeter, but frankly a 3-0 defeat against a team who went on to finish 9th in League Two was far from that. The run earned us some significant cash and meant that we were never in trouble financially.

The board didn't want anything more than the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy, so given that my squad was suffering from tiredness at the time, I sent out a distinctly second choice line up and got the defeat I expected and wasn't bothered by.

After a five-game losing streak, our penultimate game saw us bounce back in style with a 4-0 victory over Worcester. Excellent performances across the board from our players and, given that second half collapses were sort of our thing throughout the season, putting a match to bed by being three ahead at half time was very pleasing.

Worst Performance of the Season

The moment at which I said 'oh no, what have I let myself in for?' Our third game of the season, after an opening day win and a late defeat against Telford, we traveled to Boston and were trounced 6-1. We were three down just after the half hour, with the final goal coming on 61 minutes. How they didn't go on to score more is something of a mystery. However, we bounced back with two draws and a win in our next three games, so it at least didn't have a lasting effect.

A lot in, a lot out, as is standard at this level of the game. There was, of course, plenty of rubbish, but some stand outs as well. Jack Davis, Craig King and Chris Salmon all contributed heavily to the campaign, as did Fortune Ojo, my only loan signing of the season. Unfortunately he has no interest in joining us permanently when his contract runs out this summer.

Top 5 Players

5. Liam Brownhill - A full back who can play comfortably on either side of the pitch. His crossing is outstanding and grabbed him seven assists throughout the season. Kept on for next year.

4. Adam Pepper - Former Liverpool youngster who was a controlling influence as the playmaker in our midfield. Given his finishing ability, could do with adding a few goals to his game.

3. Craig King - Signed in October, quickly became a fixture in the side and a fan favourite. Nine goals and assists over the season, I want both in double figures next time around.

2. Christian Mather - Played very well alongside Pepper in midfield, often used as in a box-to-box role given his fitness to get up and down the pitch. Was crucial in our FA Cup run.

1. Jack Davis - Goals, as they say, pay the rent. He had a slow start as I tried to figure out my best attack, but once he was played through the middle in a 4-1-2-2-1 he flourished and scored plenty.

Other News

Manchester City's long pursuit of Pep Guardiola didn't end well, as he was sacked with them sitting in mid-table. They appointed Jose Mourinho to replace him and ended up climbing to fifth by the end of the season and winning the Champions League (thereby denying Liverpool, who finished 4th, a place in the competition for next season, as Spurs won the Europa League and finished 6th in the Premier League). Just as strangely, Arsenal finally won the Premier League, having replaced Arsene Wenger with Rafael Benitez.

Target for Next Season

A solid mid-table finish would be lovely, along with another decent cup run to bring the money in. To challenge for promotion, this squad is going to have to be significantly better and I suspect we'll have to spend a few years at this level before we can tempt those sorts of players to the club.

Season     Division                        Pos     PPG    FA Cup          Other Comps          Continental Comps    Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Vanarama National North         14th    1.24   2nd rnd         FAT:  3rd qual rd    N/A                  Avoided relegation

Workington AFC 100 Club

This is something I did the last time I attempted this challenge on FM10. Keeping a record of every player who plays at least 100 league games for me. Obviously, with this being the first season, there's no one in the club just yet, but I'm sure it'll get filled over the years.

Name (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating

N/A

libbyshuss · March 29, 2016

I like the 100 club idea - can I steal it?

Terk · March 29, 2016

I like the 100 club idea - can I steal it?

Absolutely. I don't think I was the first to do it, just like it as a way of keeping track of those who've played a significant part on the journey. No problem with anyone else doing it too.

lfc7 · March 29, 2016

Never really done this before but gonna give it a go anyway

New manager of Marine

Terk · March 29, 2016

Never really done this before but gonna give it a go anyway
New manager of Marine

Hope you do better with Marine than I did. Sacked after 11 games has to rank among my worst ever attempts at FM.

lfc7 · March 29, 2016

Hope you do better with Marine than I did. Sacked after 11 games has to rank among my worst ever attempts at FM.

Haha thanks never do lower league so don't expect to be any good any tips ? haha

Vipertitan · March 29, 2016

Blyth Spartans - Vanarama National League- 2020/21

League Positions. After being relegated last season all i was looking for was a fight against relegation not promotion via the play off.

FA Cup- We managed to get to the third round were we got Burnley but they beat us 2-0.

FA Trophy- We Were beating in the second round by Kingstonian 1 -0 after extra time.

Squad-I let a lot of the fringe players go and bought some the kids threw to see how they developed.

Transfers- Started rebuilding the team to try and develop some of the kids so let some of the older players and deadwood leave.

finances- Pleased we had better cup run, and all so had a take over so hopefully the new owners will provide more money in next few seasons to improve the training ground and facilities.

Key Player Profiles

George Maris - played 41 times scoring a total of 29 goals this season was class.

Mukhtar Ali - A new player brilliant first season from him in middle of the park.

Danijel Nizic-New goalkeeper was decent.

Jordan O'Connell-wanted to see how his development was going and played in few cup games we had played well.

Career Overview

Season     Team                 Country    League                   League Finish    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Blyth Spartans           England    Vanarama National League North     4th              
2017/18    Blyth Spartans           England    Vanarama National League North     1st  Champions              
2018/19    Blyth Spartans           England    Vanarama National League             1st  Champions, Manager of the Year
2019/20    Blyth Spartans           England     League   Two                              24th Relegated
2020/21    Blyth Spartans           England     Vanarama National League            3rd Promoted via play off

Next Season

With the new owners at the club im looking to impress them this coming season so avoid relegation by safe distance.

libbyshuss · March 29, 2016

Cambridge City 2020/21

Vanarama National League South

Summary

Board Expectation: top half

Media Expectation: 5th

Finish: 2nd

The first game of the season saw us take on bookies favourites for the title Boreham Wood away so we couldn't have asked for a trickier start. We absolutely battered them 3-0, sparking a 7 match winning run that took us top. Our great form continued all the way through to March where we found ourselves sitting pretty 7 points clear on top. We were confident, in great form and were surely looking at a title win and promotion. Then the wheels. fell off. It's difficult to pinpoint what happened, a couple of close games were drawn, then lost, and suddenly Hayes were 3 points behind us. A couple more defeats followed as we started to panic and suddenly Hayes were level with us with one match left. We had superior goal difference so as long as we matched their result, we'd be fine. Our game was a relatively straight forward one at home to Eastleigh, who were 13th with nothing to play for. We turned in easily our worst performance of the season and meekly lost 2-0. Hayes won their game 2-0 and from being top of the table for 40 of the 42 weeks, we were second when it mattered most. we lost 9 games all season - 5 of them in the last 8. A devastating finish to the season, but one that isn't without precedent. These late season collapses are becoming a real worry.

But not all was lost, as we had another chance in the play-offs. The semi saw us take on Bromley, a team that had finished 9 points below us. The first leg was at their home, and they outplayed us first half and we were lucky to go in only one down. A half-time rollicking saw an upturn in performance and Ady Gilmour scored an equalizer only 5 minutes in. They restored their lead 10 minutes later and although we battled bravely we couldn't get another equalizer. Still, an away goal meant a win at our place would see us through. We played brilliantly, creating chance upon chance, and on 67 minutes Urbancic finally stuck one away. we pressed for a second, missed some gilt edged chances and were sucer-punched with 5 minutes to go. It finished 1-1 and we were out. A season where for 8 of the 9 months we were imperious finished with us empty handed.

Our summary got it spot on - match of the season was the first game of the season, match to forget was the last.

Cup Competitions

we did ok, fa trophy we made the fourth round and lost at home to Lewes, a game we should easily have won. Macclesfield did us in the FA Cup again in the 3rd qualifier. WE did about as well as could be erpected

we bought well, with high wages paid to 3 new signing in an attempt to get us up. In a way it worked as they were our best players by far, but in a more accurate way....

Finances

we got taken over halfway htrough the season. It's tempting to blame our late season collapse on that but it would be a lie - it happened a few weeks after everything was tied up. The new owner originally wanted to being in a new manager but I guess being first persuaded him to keep me on. They cleared the debt, which was nice, so we are now only 10k or so in debt.

Notable Players

Ady Gilmour - re-signed for another season and was a revelation at AMC. pops up in the box at important moments, creates chances out of nothing, a real star

David Popa - Finally, a reliable striker. Started with a hat trick in his first game, by mid-September he had already broken our season goalscoring record. Wasn't as prolific in second half of season and got injured at the worst time, missing our last 4 games, none of which we won. 39 goals from 47 games is a fine return however.

Tómas Ingi Urbancic - i spent a huge chunk of the wage budget on him, bt he was worth it. real class on the right wing, 8 goals and 23 assists. deserves to be in a higher division

Next Season

The longer it's taking me to get out of this division the more determined i am in seeing this challenge all the way through. I'm focusing on 50/60 seasons down the line - it's too depressing otherwise!

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final

100 Club

Name        (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating; Years
Harvey Rodgers (DC)          122        (140)                4           (4)             6.94
René Copeland   (MC)         114        (131)                13         (18)             7.29

Terk · March 29, 2016

1. Jack Davis - Goals, as they say, pay the rent. He had a slow start as I tried to figure out my best attack, but once he was played through the middle in a 4-1-2-2-1 he flourished and scored plenty.

My top scorer and player of the season from last year. Broken ankle in a pre-season match, out for 4 months. I might cry.

libbyshuss · April 1, 2016

Cambridge City 2021/22

Vanarama National League North

Summary

Board Expectation: struggle bravely against relegation

Media Expectation: 6th

Finish: 4th

Our reward for almost winning the league was to be moved to the National league North. We started the season solidly enough but in the first ten games we had lost three and at eighth. we then went on a lengthy unbeaten run, albeit one peppered by a lot of draws. By the turn of the year it was clear we were in r horse race. Our form kept up and wih only two games to go we sat topp, a poit ahead of Altrincham and 5 poinits ahead of Harrogate. our next game was home against already relegated North Ferriby. We battterred them, hit post a but could not get a break through. then, with ten minutes to go the unthinkable happened.. They broke away and scored. we couldn't pull one back and fell victim to the perfect smash 'n' grab. Luckily, Altrincham only drew but it meant we headed into the final game second as their goal difference was much better. We also had to pplay away at Harrogate, who were now only two points off the top.

Bizarrely, our game was postponed while Altrincham drew theirs, meaning we headed into a match on Tuesday knowing a win would give us the title. A win for Harrogate by more than a goal would give them the title. They were superb, we were awful, they won 2-0, they took the title and we headed into the play-offs again with a terrible end of season. Again.

The play-offs saw us against Guisely. We were at home first leg and we played really well, going into a 1-0 lead at half time. They equalized just after half time but still we persevered, playing much better and creating good chances. Then they scored again. We lost 2-1. The second leg saw us 2-0 down after only ten minutes and staring a humiliating defeat in the face. A half-time rollicking saw a much improved second half performance, with goal on 79 and 83 minutes bringing us to 2-2. We had 7 minutes to save our season..... and we just couldn't do it. Out again, with an end of season form guide of LLLX. Again. With our match to forget being the final game of the season. Again.

Cup Competitions

We met minimum expectations but no more

we bought Fraizer Campbell in as back-up for Popa. An ex-England international! he was crap.

Finances

Not great. Still require several bailouts to help with running costs.

Notable Players

Ady Gilmour - 10 goals, 9 assists from AMC. Consistently good, can't believe he's still in national league north

David Popa - Not as awesome as the season before but still got 27 goals in 46 games. A good return that'll keep him in the team

Lewis Saunders - A ball winning midfieder got from the Man City youth set up. Was so good he got snapped up by a league 1 team at the end of the season

Next Season

I will make it out of this division! This is the longest it's ever taken me but I won't give up!

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final

100 Club

Name        (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating; Years
Harvey Rodgers (DC)          122        (140)                4           (4)             6.94
René Copeland   (MC)         114        (131)                13         (18)             7.29

Terk · April 2, 2016

Shame to see you lost in the play-offs again, libbyshuss. Hopefully better next time around :thup:

I suspect I'll be floundering at this level at least as long as you have.

Tecmo · April 2, 2016

2020-2021

Predicted to be relegated, we finished 18th this season. Progress?

This was a more comfortable season for us. Despite our place, we were never in the relegation positions and our goal difference wasn't bad at -10. A bit of a flip for us this year as our offense struggled, scoring the second fewest goals, while our defense was pretty solid. We played around with 4-4-2 and 4-1-4-1 formations before finally settling on a 4-4-1-1 counter that gave us decent results.

We managed to survive despite our leading goal scorer only having 8 goals. It wasn't Jason Williams, who had led us in scoring the previous 3 seasons but, rather, Nicolo Vingo, an 18 year old we signed from Dorchester. Don't think he's a long term answer for us up front but he should be useful in rotation.

Another youngster, AMC Steve Butterfield, paired up with Vingo to help control our attack. He was acquired halfway through the season, signed on a free from Exeter. He only produced 2 goals and 3 assists in 20 games but he's an intelligent passer with a good work rate, perfect for what I want at AMC.

Once again, our best player was MC Ethan Millar as we played him more in a box to box role this season and he ended up scoring 7 goals for us. Unfortunately, he's finally fed up with mediocrity and is unwilling to discuss a new contract so far.

Another emerging player for us is Huw Phillips, who was a big part of the reason for our improved defense playing as a holding midfielder.

Cups

We finally had success in the FA Cup, thanks in no small part to a favorable draw. We drew lower league opposition in our first 3 games, beating Clapton 3-0, Cirencester 3-1 and Needham Market 1-0. Our run came to an end with our biggest game ever at home against League 1 side Swindon Town. We had our first sellout and our first televised game that saw us lose 3-1 in a decent effort.

The FA Trophy saw our usual form, beating Whitstable in our first game before losing a tight game 1-0 against National side Boston Utd.

Youth Intake - Nothing to speak of and last year's best youngster, Robert Vahid, was a major injury prone disappointment.

Finances - Our FA Cup run helped keep our damage to a minimum this season, we only needed one cash infusion. Still ended the season -113,000 euros.

Looking ahead, we're going to have some fairly substantial changes this offseason. The biggest will be the impending loss of Ethan Millar, I'm hoping to find a box 2 box type to replace him. Need to find a dependable striker to replace Jason Williams, help in defense and we're seeking a new goalkeeper as Joe Welch, our keeper the last 3 seasons, is retiring.

Season    |     League          |     Position    |    FA Cup    |    Other Cup         |    Top Scorer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18   |  Conference South   |         12th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Marley Bishop-Wisdom (19)
2018/19   |  Conference South   |         18th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (19)
2019/20   |  Conference South   |         19th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (14)
2020/21   |  Conference South   |         18th    |  1st Round   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Nicolo Vingo (8)

Lenzar · April 7, 2016

Dorchester Town - 2021/22 Season Report - Sky Bet League One

We were often unable to hold onto a lead, even against some of the weakest teams, but our attack was potent enough to see us win the league without too much trouble. Our January signings almost revitalised the team.

FA Cup

After an excellent performance against a fellow League One side, we breezed past lower league opposition, before falling badly to EPL side Leeds.

Other Cups

Coventry ended our League Cup run before it began, but we managed to get as far as the Semis in the Paint Pot before crashing out on penalties to Southend.

Key Players

Conor Coughlan

One of my January signings. Started off slowly but eventually dominated the centre of midfield.

Callum Booth

Provided extra support up the left flank in addition to playing well defensively.

Marc Del Hande

Booth's regular left wing partner cut inside so often that he ended up as top scorer.

Kevin Marshall

With a slew of excellent performances after joining in January, Marshall would probably have been top scorer had he been here all season.

Transfers | Season Best XI | Overall Best XI

Progress

Season  Division  Position Avg. Attendance  Leaderboard Points (Pos) Notes
16-17   VNS        2nd       902               7,101 (133,749th)     Promoted via playoffs
17-18   VNL        5th        1,009             38,997 (227,347th)
18-19   VNL        1st         1,066            621,208 (146,517th) Promoted as Champions
19-20   Lg2         5th        1,774            666,905 (216,035th) Promoted via playoffs
20-21   Lg1         3rd        2,545            754,473 (258,442th)
21-22   Lg1         1st        2,550             1,466,749 (201,280th) Promoted as Champions

Next Year

Expecting a season of consolidation at best. I'm very worried, though, as during this year we 'upgraded' to an all-seater stadium, which was both expensive and cut our maximum capacity from 5,009 to just 2,000.

libbyshuss · April 7, 2016

Cambridge City 2022/23

Vanarama National League North

Summary

Board Expectation: struggle bravely against relegation

Media Expectation: 4th

Finish: 1st

At last! We got off to a great start and put together a great run through September to December. By Christmas we were 10 points clear of our nearest rivals Kettering when we met them at home. We were leading 2-1 with 20 minutes to go but they scored two late goals to take the win and close the gap to 7. They then went on an unfeasible run winning 10 and drawing 3 of their next 13. We didn't do badly but by March we were level on points. Luckily, they started dropping points and with two games to go we were two points clear of Kettering but having to visit them away in the last game of the season. A win for us and a draw for them in the penultimate game meant we went to their place as Champions. Just as well as they beat us 1-0. For once I didn't mind losing my last game of the season.

Cup Competitions

4th qualifying round in the FA Cup, 4th round in the Trophy, our best performance yet.

Some really good deals done this season, Gyasi, Nightinglae and D'ath making the difference to the side from last season

Finances

120k in debt with the board still chipping in to help running costs.

Notable Players

Ady Gilmour - player of the year again! by far our most consistent performer

Emmanuel Gyasi - My tactic works best with one inside forward and one winger and Gyasi is the first real IF I managed to find. He got 15 goals in his first 17 games, finishing top scorer with 22

Tómas Ingi Urbancic - really benefited from a proper IF on the other wing. Urbancic crossing to Gyasi at the far post was a common sight.

Next Season

It'll be interesting. I have a fairly strong squad so I don't think we'll struggle but we'll have to see just how strong it is

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final
2022/23   Vanarama National League North      1st        Champions!

100 Club

Name                (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating;        Years
Harvey Rodgers          (DC)         122        (140)                4           (4)            6.94               2017 - 2022
René Copeland           (MC)         171        (202)                16         (23)            7.26               2017 - 
Tómas Ingi Urbancic    (AMR)         121        (144)                23         (27)            7.24              2020 - 
Ady Gilmour             (AMC)        139        (163)               31          (40)            7.60               2019 - 
David Popa               (S)         121        (145)               80          (92)             7.26              2020 -

Tecmo · April 12, 2016

2021-2022

Progress!

New highs for position at 11th and points with 59 but actually a bit of a disappointing result considering we were in first place after Match 23 thanks to winning 8 of 9 games leading to that point. Unfortunately our offense disappeared at that point and we only won 3 games the rest of the way.

Key Players:

AMC Steve Butterfield was our player of the year, his loss to injury for a few games in the second half contributed to our offensive slump. Finished with 6 goals and 9 assists. He refused to negotiate a new contract for most of the season, but luckily finally relented at the end so he'll be back.

Ben Clark was our new lead striker and our team form went by his. It took Clark several games to score his first goal after coming over from Loughborough Dynamo but once he started scoring, we were unstoppable. And his scoring slump coincided with the team's. Finished with 16 goals and 3 assists.

Callum Cross came to us on loan from Stevenage and played primarily as an attacking wide midfielder from the right side where he was our second leading scorer with 12 goals. Hoping to bring him back next season again.

Giogos Nikolaou is my new goalkeeper from Cyprus via QPR. I broke him in slowly, splitting time with our previous goalkeeper but he took over down the stretch and finished with 8 shutouts in 19 league games. Very excited about him.

Our cup play was horrible and brief. A disappointing 1-2 loss at a Welling that finished 17th behind us and then a humiliating 2-5 loss at home to Cirencester in the midst of our hot streak. I have my eye on a couple of their attackers to poach.

Nothing to speak of for youth intake and finances continue to be supported by frequent board injections.

Really looking to make a playoff push this upcoming year, especially since I know this is likely the last season I'll be able to hold on to Butterfield. Need to find help at central defender, someone to play box to box midfielder who can contribute on offense, an inside forward from the left side and striker insurance in case of another Clark slump.

Season    |     League          |     Position    |    FA Cup    |    Other Cup         |    Top Scorer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18   |  Conference South   |         12th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Marley Bishop-Wisdom (19)
2018/19   |  Conference South   |         18th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (19)
2019/20   |  Conference South   |         19th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (14)
2020/21   |  Conference South   |         18th    |  1st Round   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Nicolo Vingo (8)
2021/22   |  Conference South   |         11th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 3rd Q       |   Ben Clark (16)

Rick87 · April 12, 2016

Hi everyone;

I'm a late comer to this party but after losing a long term save due to laptop failure recently I thought I would give this challenge a try. I was lucky enough to get Sutton Coldfield Town, Whilst I now live in Leicestershire, I was born and grew up in Sutton Coldfield which is the Northern most district of Birmingham. 'The Royals' were something of surprise because they had only just won promotion to the Northern Premier League after years of trying to escape step four so the back-to-back promotion was a nice shock.

Full name Sutton Coldfield Town Football Club

Nickname The Royals

Founded 1879

Ground Central Ground

Capacity 2,000

Chairman Nick Thurston

Division Vanarama Conference North

Predicted Finish 22nd

My Profile No coaching qualifications and Sunday league experience as in real life.

Squad Some key signings are needed if this squad is to have any chance of staying up, After only a brief look I can see that we are very week at the back in particular in terms of both quantity and quality.

Lenzar · April 12, 2016

Great determination from the lads (and lasses?) who keep going even after years of staying in the VNN/S.

libbyshuss · April 12, 2016

Cambridge City 2023/24

Vanarama National League

Summary

Board Expectation: reach the play-offs

Media Expectation: 13th

Finish: 1st

Well, this was unexpected. I knew I had a strong team but wasn't quite sure how strong. The first ten matches returned 9 victories and i started to think it was quite strong. We maintained that form through to christmas when we went ten points clear. Our form dropped slightly but we were still grinding out wins to keep us clear. With 4 games left we were 6 points clear of our nearest rivals, Maidstone. We then promptly lost two routine home games but, luckily, so did Maidstone. So with two games to go, a draw was all we needed. We managed it in the next game and were crowned champions with a game to spare. Still, our end of season form curse continued as we failed to win any of our last 4 matches.

Cup Competitions

we were looking good in the FA Cup, a home draw in the fourth qualifying round against Marine, two divisions below us. We were top of the league and flying, confidence sky high. We lost 2-1. We made it to the second round of the Trophy but were undone at home against FC United. All in all, another poor showing in the cup competitions.

Managed to get some real experience in with Forster-Caskey. Made a real difference in the big games.

Finances

Debt has risen to 250k and counting. a little worrying. Hopefully league football will help.

Notable Players

Ady Gilmour - player of the year again! By a long way again! I can't wait to see what he can do in the league.

Ivan Toney - Bought as a back-up to Popa, he got his chance when Popa was ruled out for the first 4 months of the season. By the time he was fully fit Toney had 25 goals in 25 games and was not going to be dropped. Finished with 39 goals in 49 games, with Popa playing once and being released at the end of the season.

René Copeland - Along with Gilmour, ranks as one of my best ever signings. I originally brought him in on a non-contract basis as a back up midfielder. About to play in league two in his seventh season at the club.

Next Season

Full-time professional club! Our squad is nowhere near strong enough as promotion was really unexpected. As a result, aything other than relegation will be a real achievement. I'll be happy with 22nd!

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final
2022/23   Vanarama National League North      [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2023/24   Vanarama National League             [b] 1st [/b]       Champions!

100 Club

Name                (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating;        Years
Harvey Rodgers          (DC)         122        (140)                4           (4)            6.94               2017 - 2022
René Copeland           (MC)         208        (242)                22         (30)            7.26               2017 - 
Frazer Hampson         (GK)         214        (246)                                              6.84               2019 - 
Tómas Ingi Urbancic    (AMR)         121        (182)                23         (35)            7.27              2020 - 
Ady Gilmour             (AMC)        139        (211)               31          (46)            7.60               2019 - 
David Popa               (S)         121        (145)               80          (92)             7.26              2020 - 2024
Elijah Adebayo           (DC)       129        (147)               7           (8)              7.01              2021 -

]

libbyshuss · April 17, 2016

Cambridge City 2024/25

League 2

Summary

Board Expectation: battle bravely against relegation

Media Expectation: 23rd

Finish: 12th

We turned professional before the season which was a lovely touch but it meant staying up was imperative. The squad was improved but pre-season wasn't entirely successful so there were a few nerves when the season started. After 9 games we sat 21st with only one win but I wasn't unduly worried. We had been playing well and got two great results in the cup so i felt confident we could get similar results in the league. We then went on a really good run, losing only a couple of games up until March. We were 3 points off the play-off but injuries to our two best strikers meant we lacked the firepower to keep the momentum going. Still, a 12th place finish counts as a success. The only worry is we didn't win too many, drawing 20 games.

Cup Competitions

Two really good results in the Johnson's Paint trophy really kickstarted our season and we were unlucky to go out in the q-final. FA cup saw us battered at home by league 1 Peterborough which showed quite how much more work this squad still needs.

New Stadium finally on the way.

We managed to increase the squad depth without improving the team too much. A couple of new signings exceeded expectation though, which was nice.

Finances

Another stadium renovation means another large loan. Hopefully it remains manageable.

Notable Players

J ohn McCafferty - Brought in as a back-up to Ady Gilmour but really impressed when given his chance. Kept impressing and ended up being first choice. 3 goals and 8 assists from 33 games is ok but I could have done with more

G eorge Lapslie - A really good, consistent box to box midfielder, has pushed club legend Rene Copeland out of the first team

H arry Goode - Consistency was the key, never let me down in the centre of defence

Next Season

The team needs an overhaul to challenge for promotion. Some of the old boys will have to move on, no room for sentimentality in this game!

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final
2022/23   Vanarama National League North      [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2023/24   Vanarama National League          [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2024/25   League 2                            12th

100 Club

Name                (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating;        Years
Harvey Rodgers          (DC)         122        (140)                4           (4)            6.94               2017 - 2022
René Copeland           (MC)         208        (242)                22         (30)            7.26               2017 - 
Frazer Hampson         (GK)         214        (246)                                              6.84               2019 - 
Tómas Ingi Urbancic    (AMR)         121        (182)                23         (35)            7.27              2020 - 
Ady Gilmour             (AMC)        139        (211)               31          (46)            7.60               2019 - 
David Popa               (S)         121        (145)               80          (92)             7.26              2020 - 2024
Elijah Adebayo           (DC)       129        (147)               7           (8)              7.01              2021 - 
Emmanuel Gyasi        (AML/S)   130                              57                                               2022-2025

Marchena · April 19, 2016

Colwyn Bay FC - Sky Bet Championship - 2025/26

It’s been a while since my last update, but here goes!

We managed to get a very good first year in the Championship. Fourteen points clear of relegation shows that we weren’t really feeling the danger of relegation towards the end. Our squad is young and hopefully they can develop – even with our poor training facilities. Our on-loan players from Everton are still an important core and since Everton didn’t manage to receive a promotion we might lose some important players for next season. I might have to put a few club legends on the transfer list to keep on improving.

League Table

Very good first season in the Championship

FA Cup

Chelsea were too good.

Capital One Cup

Aston Ville got the extra time win.

Notable events:

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17   Vanarama North               5th         Loss in play-off finals
2017/18   Vanarama North               1st         Promotion
2018/19   Vanarama National            13th        FA Throphy winners
2019/20   Vanarama National            1st         Promotion
2020/21   Sky Bet League Two           10th         
2021/22   Sky Bet League Two           5th         Loss in play-off finals
2022/23   Sky Bet League Two           1st         Promotion
2023/24   Sky Bet League One           5th         Loss in play-off semi-finals, JPT winners
2024/25   Sky Bet League One           1st         Promotion, JPT winners
2025/26   Sky Bet Championship         13th

Next Season

Keep improving and maybe try to get a better cup campaign going.

libbyshuss · April 22, 2016

Cambridge City 2025/26

League 2

Summary

League

Board Expectation: battle bravely against relegation

Media Expectation: 24th

Finish: 5th

A strong start to the season saw us go top by October. Two victories against 2nd place Wycombe and 3rd place Forest Green saw us 6 points clear as we headed into November. Vertigo set in and we promptly lost 5 games in a row in November and the start of December. By the time we picked up another point we were 9th. Resigning myself to another season in League 2 we then started putting together another good run of results and byMarch we had taken top spot again. And again, Vertigo set in and we lost the next three league games. We managed to maintain some for through to the end of the season finishing 5th and qualifying for the play-offs.

The semi-final saw us head to Cheltenham for the first leg. A narrow 1-0 win gave us the advantage and a 2-2 draw at home,despite completely dominating the game, saw us qualify for our first trip to Wembley. The opponents were Southend, who we'd beaten and drawn with in the league, so we felt fairly confident that we could get a result. A close contest was settled by a solitary scrappy goal in the 74th minute and we had done it, promotion to League 1!

Cup Competitions

Not very successfu, 2nd round exits in al competitions. Beating league 1 Brentford in the johsntones paint trophy was the highlight.

Still scrabbling around the bargain basement for free transfers and loan signings. One day I may actually spend money on a player.

Finances

A bit of a worry. The trip to Wembley meant a nice profit and bank balance but we head into League 1 with a 2000 capacity stadium, with the council rejecting expansion plans. We already had lowest wage bill in league 2 by far, it will be same again in league 1. By much more.

Notable Players

J ohn McCafferty - League 2 player of the year, as well as our player of the year. 18 assists but goals are still scarce, only 6 in 47

John Lundstram - brought in as a free in January, was the catalyst to a run of form that took us to the play-offs. Scored the winner at Wembley, earning himself a contract extension.

Alan Thompson - Ex-Celtic youth player, exceeded expectation with 23 goals in 46 games

Next Season

survival would be a miracle on the face of it.

Career Overview

Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final
2022/23   Vanarama National League North      [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2023/24   Vanarama National League          [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2024/25   League 2                            12th
2025/26   League 2                            5th          Play-off winners

100 Club

Name                (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating;        Years
Harvey Rodgers          (DC)         122        (140)                4           (4)            6.94               2017 - 2022
René Copeland           (MC)         208        (242)                22         (30)            7.26               2017 - 
Frazer Hampson         (GK)         214        (246)                                              6.84               2019 - 
Tómas Ingi Urbancic    (AMR)         121        (182)                23         (35)            7.27              2020 - 
Ady Gilmour             (AMC)        139        (211)               31          (46)            7.60               2019 - 
David Popa               (S)         121        (145)               80          (92)             7.26              2020 - 2024
Elijah Adebayo           (DC)       129        (147)               7           (8)              7.01              2021 - 
Emmanuel Gyasi        (AML/S)   130                              57                                               2022-2025

Tecmo · April 22, 2016

2022-2023

Progress was lacking this season, but no regression at least as we pretty much finished in the same spot this year as last.

We got as high as 5th place at one point but settled into midtable and finished 10th. Scoring was not a problem this year, we netted the 2nd most in the league. Unfortunately the defense was almost as bad as the offense was good. Spent the entire season rotating centerbacks, trying to find to find a good combo and ended up going out during the winter window and spending transfer money for the first time bringing in Riccardo Martini from Cirencester to give us one hopefully sure starter moving forward.

We ended up with 2 excellent strikers that I had to play together, as well as an elite young winger, so that saw a shift of tactics to an unbalanced midfield diamond for most of the season.

Key Players

Ben Clark was once again our leading goal scorer, this time netting 26 for us as he kept good form most of the season until a late injury derailed him a bit.

His striker partner was Bryn Jacobs, on loan from Gillingham, adding 23 goals and 11 assists. Outstanding player who is only getting better, I'd love to bring him back for another season but I don't foresee that being possible.

Feeding these two was 19 year old right winger Matthew Whitbread, signed on a free from Derby. He set a team record with 21 assists while chipping in 6 goals. Unfortunately, he's showing no interest in returning to the club next season.

And, after a one year hiatus, we managed to lure back fan favorite Ethan Millar to control the midfield.

Cups

We used a favorable FA Cup draw to get back to the first round. 3 home games against lesser sides Oxford City, Dunstable and Gloucester saw us move on with a combined 10-3 scoreline. We then go crushed 0-3 at 2nd League side Notts County.

We fell on our face in our first FA Trophy game, starting a number of backups and losing 1-2 at relegated side Hampton & Richmond.

Youth Intake

Nothing much to see here although Kwame Diallo has some potential as a winger.

Finances

The cup run helped a bit but we're currently sitting at -150K. Was a bit worried about a potential board takeover at the end of the season but that fell through so we're still status quo.

Onward

Hopefully we can challenge for the playoffs next season, outside of Jacobs and Whitbread we have everyone important resigned for next season. Stabilize the defense, find a new striker partner for Clark and I'm eternally optimistic.

Season    |     League          |     Position    |    FA Cup    |    Other Cup         |    Top Scorer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18   |  Conference South   |         12th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Marley Bishop-Wisdom (19)
2018/19   |  Conference South   |         18th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (19)
2019/20   |  Conference South   |         19th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Jason Williams (14)
2020/21   |  Conference South   |         18th    |  1st Round   |  FA Trophy 1st Round |   Nicolo Vingo (8)
2021/22   |  Conference South   |         11th    |      2nd Q   |  FA Trophy 3rd Q     |   Ben Clark (16)
2022/23   |  Conference South   |         10th    |  1st Round   |  FA Trophy 3rd Q     |   Ben Clark (26)

G_D_K · April 22, 2016

Sutton Coldfield

Season 8 (2023/24)

Table /Position Graph /Squad/ Finances / Transfers / Manager / Facilities /Annual Injury Report / Confidenc e / Competitions / Reputation

The main talking points of Season 8 (second in League 2) was once again injuries. An incredible 158 weeks of injuries (team wide), to be precise! Thankfully, we had cover enough this year to handle it, the whole season was still frustratingly injury filled. The only good news was that the longest injury was only 2 months (we had 3 of those)...but the counter point was that only accounted for 24 of the 158+ weeks of total injuries!

As to the season itself, the team was amazingly competitive, and with 3 to play there was still an outside shot of the playoffs. (At least by the points---I'm not sure enough teams could lose to move us up from 14th into the playoff picture, despite the point totals indicating we had a shot). Our final position of 16th belied our 61 point total, and our 9 point gap between us and the playoffs were the narrowest in this save's history. With a little more success in the run-in to the end (only 3 wins v 7 losses in our final thirteen matches) we could have made more history.

Offensively, new signing Jack Marriott showed he could fit right in, and was the only real star of the attacking squad, making 26 goals and adding 5 assists. Returning for another 26 appearances was Devante Rodney who did manage 10 goals in his 2nd season; however he only managed 38% SoT and needs to improve if he is going to have a long-term contract awarded.

Defensively, I've started grooming GK Toni Soderlund to replace Paterson in the coming year. He is training very well, and his 20 appearances has really helped propel him along; a 1.7 goals conceded/game is a bit high, but I think that he'll be ready by the next season for a full-time role. The surprise of the season was likely newcomer Nicky Ross; signed after being dropped by Villa in early June. He managed 2 goals and 7 assists (7.20AvR) in limited appearances, and will be my starting D/WB(L) for the coming season. Also new to the team, 21yo DM John Winters was solid, if unspectacular, in his first season with Sutton. Hopefully he will develop into a huge asset in the coming years! Finally, DC Joe Ferguson is my heir apparent for the outgoing Ben Askins (who has been with us since the first season, but has finally found a new home after limited appearances this season). At 22 years of age, he's already proven to be a capable (and intelligent--only 17 fouls made in almost a full season) defender. He's also one of the few that remained injury free for me this year!

PROMOTION/PLAYOFFS

Not quite as far (or as near) as it seemed leading into the final stretch; aiming to make a run at the playoffs this coming year.

Cup Competitions

Our 2nd appearance in the league cup was much more thrilling than our inaugural appearance last year. In fact, our match against L1 Torquay very nearly became an upset. Torquay took the lead in the 29th minute through their young striker Robert Shepherd, but Sutton Coldfield kept up the pressure and AMC nailed a free kick over the wall and passed a flat-footed keeper in the 40th minute, sending the teams into the locker room tied 1-1 at the half. A cage 2nd half then ensued, with Jack Marriott netting his first League Cup goal in the 66th minute, silencing the home crowd and giving us a 2-1 lead. The lead only lasted for a dozen minutes, however, as Torquay's Shepard capitalized on an Askins missed header to draw the two teams level once again. This scoreline would hold, sending the two teams into extra time. And, once again, a miracle ensued, as Marriott netting his 2nd of the match just 6 minutes into the 1st extra time period, an easy tap in of a cross at the far post. Goalkeeper Paterson then appeared to be the hero, as he blocked a shot at 119:59:47; however, the followup clearance was blocked back into the box, where Torquay's Thomas Byrne knocked in the equalizer and sent us to penalties. The shootout started badly, with Sheerin's shot too close to the keeper saved; the next 9 shots were all on target and Torquay came away with a win; despite being outplayed by a fired-up Sutton Coldfield team. Better luck next year!

The team did manage its first ever JPT win, a 2-1 victory over Newport County (Sheerin making up for the missed PK in the C1C shootout with a pair of goals (73, 79) to claim the priceless victory. This set us up for a home tie vs Plymouth, where Marriott's 2nd minute goal was erased early in the 2nd half by Plymouth's striker Murphy; and another last second goal saw the Championship-bound Plymouth safely past Sutton and beyond.

That saw Sutton face to League One teams and do very well---giving me great hope for the coming season.

Another good run in the FA Cup saw us through to the 3rd round for the second consecutive year. Along the way we bested Northampton (5-2, Marriott with a hat trick) and Yeovil (2-0). This set up an away exursion to face Newcastle, where expectations were for a heavy loss. Newcastle came out firing on all cylinders and took an early 18th minute lead, from which they never looked back. In all, the Magpies managed 27 shots in a very lopsided contest. How lopsided? Sutton managed....0 shots. Yep...not a single time did we challenge the Newcastle defense. The 3-0 scoreline was very misleading! The gate receipts, however, were enough to keep us afloat another season!

Additional Details

Team of the Season

Best XI Inductees -- Three new players this season-- MC Lynch, DC Ollie O'Dwyer, and fullback Rian O'Sullivan were inducted into the Historical Best XI

Fans Player of the Season : Lewis Turner was a Threepeat winner of the Fan Favorite this year, garnering 37% of the vote, midfielder Ryan East grabbed 26% and newcomer Nicky Ross Frank Harper grabbed 23%. A bit baffling, as Turner only made 16(8) appearances (6.95 AvR) while his replacement made 30(1) w/ a 7.11 AvR.

Signing of the Season: Nicky Ross (MC) (free)

Young Player of the Season: Nicky Ross (MC)

Other awards: Manager's Player of Year choice: newcomer Jack Marriott, who managed 26 goals and 5 assists w/ an overall 7.00 rating. He was the single player who showed any consistency in front of goal.

Top Academy Graduate

S1: Fullback Dave Clarke -- Potential to be useful in the lower leagues...perhaps he'll backup current starting fullback Hatch next season

S2: Matthew Rogers (AMC) -- looks to be a decent playmaking option already...I may have to adopt a tactic that uses an AMC and see if he can develop.

S3: Michael Mitchell (MC) -- good mental and okay physical stats to start -- if he develops he might be useful in the VN division. Time will tell.

S4: Michael Davies (AM(RLC)) -- not a position I'm currently using, but a 4-5 star potential youngster with great determination/teamwork.

S5: Royston Thomas (AM(R,L,C) -- I'm getting a lot of AM top graduates....I really need to come up with a tactic to use these guys!

S6: David Bedwell (AM©) -- Yet another AM© graduate. Decent starting physicals + teamwork...needs work on the rest in order to earn a spot.

S7: Callum Scott (MC) Decent technicals and great Mental stats for a 16yo --- some improvement in physical attributes and he might break into the 1st team soon. Starting 4.5* potential!

S8: Kyle Bell (DM/MC) 3.5*+ potential --- might have a chance to make a splash in the coming seasons

[b][i]Team, Individual, and league records [/i][/b]
A host of records were set or broken this year: (* denotes ongoing record-bold indicates record broke current season)
[b][i][u]Sutton Coldfield-- Team[/u][/i][/b]

[b]Highest League Position --[/b] [b]9[/b][b]th[/b] [b]in Sky Bet League Two (2023/24[/b])
Highest Attendance -- 2715 (vs Cheltenham, VNL playoff semi final, 7 May 2022) (previous record: 1561  vs Altrincham, VNN playoff S/F, 11 May 2019)
Highest Gate Receipts -- £41.16k (vs Cheltenham, VNL Playoff semi final, 7 May 2022) (previous record: £23.66K vs Altrincham, VNN playoff S/F, 11 May 2019)
[b]Average Attendance -- 1100 (2023/24)[/b] (previous high: 756--2022/23)
Biggest Win -- 5-2 (vs FC United, 31 Dec 2016)
[b]Biggest Defeat 6-2 (vs Bury (L2) 18 Nov 2023)[/b] (previous biggest defeat:  5-2 (vs Tranmere, 25 Feb 2020)
Highest Scoring Game -- 4-6 (vs Hartlepool, 17 Dec 2022) (Previous high: 4-3 (vs North Ferriby, 20 Aug 2016))
Most Games won in a Row -- 5 (20 Apr - 8 May 2019) (previous high -- 4:  28 Oct - 25 Nov 2017)
Most Games Lost in a Row -- 5 (28 Feb - 25 mar 2017)
Most Games without Losing -- 13 (23 Feb - 8 May 2019) (Previous high--8:  28 Oct - 23 Dec 2017 )
Most Games without Winning -- 8, (1 Dec 2020 - 2 Jan 2021)  (Previous high: 7 (23 Aug - 20 Sept 2016)
Most games without conceding -- 7 (1 Jan - 1 Feb 2020) (Previous high -- 4:  11-25 Sept 2018 )
[b][i][u]Sutton Coldfield -- Individual[/u][/i][/b]

Top Goal scorer -- Liam Sayers --36 (2018/19) (previous record: Liam Sayers -- 21 (2017/18))
Top League Goal scorer -- Liam Sayers -- 29 (2018/19) (previous record: Liam Sayers -- 19 (2017/18)
Most Goals in a match -- Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson  -- 4 (10 Sept 2019 v AFC Telford) (Previous record: Aaron Knight -- 3 (20 Aug 2016 v North Ferriby)
Most Assists -- Lewis Turner -- 27 (2021/22) (previous record: Lewis Turner -- 23 (2020/21))
Highest AvR --Lewis Turner -- 7.42 (41 app) (2020/21) (previous record: Ben Drenna -- 7.31 (35 app) 2018/19)
Most Player of Match awards -- Liam Sayers -- 11 (2018/19) (previous record: Liam Sayers -- 7 (2017/18)
Most League goals for club -- Liam Sayers -- 119* Previous Record Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson (72)
[b]Most League Appearances for club -- Nathan Ben Askins (330*) [/b]Previous Record Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson (138)
Youngest player -- Jack Cooper (Striker), 16y227d (previous record: Dave Clarke (D(RLC)), 16y264d )
Oldest player -- Phil Trainer (DM), 35y272d (previous record: )
Youngest Goalscorer -- Dave Clarke (D(RLC)), 16y271d (previous record: Liam Sayers (Striker) 18y296d)
Oldest Goalscorer -- Jordyn Sheerin (ST), 33y236d (previous record: Anthony McNamee (AML) 32y213d)
Fastest Goal -- Devante Rodney: 24s  (previous record: Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson (35s)
Highest Transfer Fee Paid -- Martin Paterson (GK) -- £16K 1 Jan 22
Highest Transfer Fee Received -- Jon Sephton (DC) -- £3K 3 Feb 22

Promoted from the Regional Premier Division Teams:

Salford, Basingstoke, Farnborough, Nuneaton, Wealdstone, Canvey Island

League Winners (relegated)

EPL Chelsea (Derby, Stoke, West Brom)

Championship Hull (Birmingham, Swindon, Gilingham)

League One AFC Wimbledon (Colchester, Exeter, Rochdale, Coventry)

League Two Burton (Accrington, Yeovil)

Vanarama National Lg Dulwich Hamlet (Colwyn Bay, Gosport, Grimsby, Bolton)

Vanarama North AFC Fylde (Marine, Darlington 1883, Southport)

Vanarama South Dartford (Whitehawk, East Thurrock, Dag & Red)

Cup Winners

English FA Cup Chelsea (v QPR) *Domestic Treble for Chelsea **3rd consecutive FAC for Chelsea

Capital One Cup Arsenal (vs Reading)

Johnstone's Paint Trophy AFC Wimbledon (vs Oldham)

English FA Trophy Gateshead (vs Boston United)

Euro Qualifcation

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

Champions League best placed playoff:

Euro Cup Group Stage: Aston Villa, Liverpool

Euro Cup Playoff: Tottenham

Euro Cup 3rd QR:

Euro Cup 1st QR: Cardiff

Continental Achievements

Q.P.R: Eliminated from Euro Cup Group stage

Man Utd: Eliminated from Champions League Group stage

Liverpool: Eliminated from Euro Cup Second Knockout round (by SLB)

Arsenal: Eliminated from Champions League Quarter Final (By Man City)

Tottenham: Eliminated from Euro Cup Quarter Final (by Man United)

Chelsea: Eliminated from Champions League Semi-final (by Man City)

Man United: Won Euro Cup (vs LOSC)

Man City: Eliminated from Champions League Final (by R. Madrid)

Extra detail: none

What's Next?

We are slowly getting there --- despite our 16th place finish, the table was so tight this season that we still had a chance to make the playoffs w/ 3 to play, and ultimately finished only 9 points out of the playoffs (looking at past seasons, 61 points has been an average of 14+ points away from the playoffs --- so there was really a chance down the stretch). Looking at the league stats, what I thought was my strength (scoring) was actually well off the mark (we finished 22nd), while my defence was a bit more solid than I had thought (finishing 12th w/ 64 conceded). What I really need is some playmaking midfielders --- and a whole lot more team health (we had a whopping 158+ weeks of team injuries this season! {tbf, this included both youth and senior teams, but still!}) Also I need to be able to tap some of the extra wage budget my board has allowed...£32K/wk available, but to comply w/ FFP, I couldn't spend more than £20K/wk. Hopefully a boosted attendance will get me most of that reserve available...I can't afford the wage demands of the good players I'm finding....most of my players are still playing at VN level, with only a couple being rated "good L2" or better. I've got my sights on a pair of midfielders and a striker --- I only need to shed enough salary to be able to meet their demands atm....I really want to push for a playoff spot this coming season!

Career Overview

Season             Team             League          Pos(Predicted)            Achievements
2016/17    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama North        16(19)           Survived!        
2017/18    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama North        10(20)           Solid-mid table finish
2018/19    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama North         2(20)           Promotion via Playoffs!, VNN Overachiever
2019/20    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama National     15(24)           VN Overachievers
2020/21    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama National     11(24)           VN Overachievers
2021/22    Sutton Coldfield    Vanarama National      3(24)           VN promotions (via playoffs), overachiever.  FAT Winner (overachiever)
2022/23    Sutton Coldfield    Sky Bet League 2      22(24)           Survived! Lg 2 Overachiever
2023/24    Sutton Coldfield    Sky Bet League 2      16(24)           L2, FAC Overachiever

AllyJoseph · April 24, 2016

In my 4th year in charge of Blyth Spartans, haven't posted an update or my screenshot as I'm more of a lurker. In the Vanarama National and I was wondering how people attract such top class players to their teams. Screenshots all seem to be better than I can get.

The good players we DO get are non-contracted and get pinched or refuse to sign new deals a year or two years into their deal.

Does League Two see a significant rep increase?

Lenzar · April 24, 2016

In my 4th year in charge of Blyth Spartans, haven't posted an update or my screenshot as I'm more of a lurker. In the Vanarama National and I was wondering how people attract such top class players to their teams. Screenshots all seem to be better than I can get.
The good players we DO get are non-contracted and get pinched or refuse to sign new deals a year or two years into their deal.

Does League Two see a significant rep increase?

Get the best scouts you can. That saves you a bucketload of time when you're looking for new players.

As soon as possible, scout Ireland. A lot of my best League 1/2 players were Irish.

AllyJoseph · April 26, 2016

Our scouts are good enough, we could find players but not attract them to the club.

I managed to bring in 2/3 players which saw me promoted to League Two which changed everything.

I made a comically bad signing, James Wallace was a League Two/One standard player. He joined and got injured for 8-9 months with cruicate ligaments making him our highest paid player who was missing for most games. During the run in he finally got back to fitness, brought him on for 20 minutes in a dead game to get match fitness. The NEXT DAY he did his cruciate ligaments AGAIN, 8-9 months. In his two years at the club he was the highest paid player, club captain, he played for 20 minutes and retired at the end of his contract aged 28.

Brewer · April 26, 2016

I don't know how you guys all take the time to make such detailed posts about the game and also have the patience to stick with such an awful team for so long Having watched them when I was a kid, I know playing with Sutton Coldfield would destroy my soul.

Enjoyed reading through the couple I have done so far :thup:

AllyJoseph · April 28, 2016

I survived my first season in League football, really proud of my team, I'm going to win the League next year. How can I make such good progress going from just avoiding relegation to winning the league in one year? Please note my goals scored and goals against column in this screenshot.

2nd highest scorers in the League, but conceded a staggering 104 goals. All I need is a new defence and we'll walk the league.

tse1231 · April 28, 2016

Anyone got a Poole town save? As a bournemouth fan I want to give our cousins a go. Been re-loading for hours now with no luck!

libbyshuss · April 29, 2016

Cambridge City 2026/27

League 1

Summary

L eague

Board Expectation: battle bravely against relegation

Media Expectation: 24th

Finish: 5th

Another good start saw us go unbeaten for the first 9 games, with some great performance belieing our lowly status. The momentum couldn't quite be kept up at that pace but we still put in plenty of good performance. By March, with 11 games to go, we were sitting comfortably in a play-off position, 10 points off top but 12 points clear of 8th. We then went on an inexplicably bad run, losing 7 and drawing 3 of the next ten. With one game to go, 1 point clear in the play-off positions, we had to go to 2nd place Chesterfield and get a result. We somehow managed to upset the odds and a 3-2 win saw us qualify for the play-offs for the second season running.

Sadly, a home and away defeat to Bolton meant our meteoric rise was halted but it was nevertheless an excellent first season in League 1.

Cup Competitions

For the first time ever we made it to the third round of the FA Cup! we promptly went out away at Huddersfield

Transfers

A focus on experience over youth seemed to pay off this season

Finances

I stayed a good 3k under the wage restrictions set by the board but still managed to break FPP. Another ground expansion was rejected and we finished the season with 20k in the bank. Selling players to survive may become a necessity soon. Not sure how I can make the jump up with only a 2k stadium.

Notable Players

J ohn McCafferty- League 1 player of the year now, a stunning season from our AMC. 13 goals and 17 assists in 46 league games

John Lundstram - Another important season, shame he's now 33, I could do with a younger version

Guiseppe Panico - Experience Serie B striker, brought in on a free. Hit 29 goals in 42 matches

Next Season

I really need to focus on sorting finances out and getting a new stadium built, or even an expansion. I'm kinda stuck without it.

Career Overview
Season    League                       Position    Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016/17   Vanarama National League North      13th       
2017/18   Vanarama National League North      13th
2018/19   Vanarama National League South      9th
2019/20   Vanarama National League South      10th
2020/21   Vanarama National League South      2nd       lost in play-off semi-final
2021/22   Vanarama National League North      4th        lost in play-off semi-final
2022/23   Vanarama National League North      [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2023/24   Vanarama National League          [b]1st [/b]       Champions!
2024/25   League 2                            12th
2025/26   League 2                            5th          Play-off winners
2026/27   League 1                            5th          Lost in play-off semi-finals
100 Club
Name                (Position); League Games (Overall Games); League Goals (Overall Goals); Average Rating;        Years
Harvey Rodgers          (DC)         122        (140)                4           (4)            6.94               2017 - 2022
René Copeland           (MC)         208        (242)                22         (30)            7.26               2017 - 
Frazer Hampson         (GK)         214        (246)                                              6.84               2019 - 
Tómas Ingi Urbancic    (AMR)         121        (182)                23         (35)            7.27              2020 - 
Ady Gilmour             (AMC)        139        (211)               31          (46)            7.60               2019 - 
David Popa               (S)         121        (145)               80          (92)             7.26              2020 - 2024
Elijah Adebayo           (DC)       129        (147)               7           (8)              7.01              2021 - 
Emmanuel Gyasi        (AML/S)   130                              57                                               2022-2025
i will add more one day

AllyJoseph · April 30, 2016

Great job on League One play offs, such a rapid rise after all your years in north/south shows how close the lower leagues can be!

dafuge · April 30, 2016

Salford City have won promotion to the sixth tier, they won't be available for the challenge next year

buachuta · April 30, 2016

Can somebody upload a logo of Darlington 1883? I have a metallic logopack but it doesn't appear in my game

ID of the team is 29130446

Swindon69 · May 1, 2016

Well getting ready for yet another go at this - just waiting to see which teams get promoted.

Any suggestions on other leagues to load?

And here we go - off to Stourbridge

Quite a few players refused new deals leaving me with 1 CD.

I now feel a bit guilty as the manager had been there 13 years.

tse1231 · May 1, 2016

Weymouth First season preview

After many re-loads to try and get Poole Town I have given up and instead gone for the town of my birth! I intend this post to act as both my entry submission and the start of my journey log.

League expectations

The press expectations as with many of the other teams to come up are for us to battle valiantly against relegation but ultimately fail. However due to the majority of my clubs recent history being in and around this division I am hoping for a respectable mid-table finish to lay the ground work going forward.

Cups

This is not the year to push for a cup run with the league being a major priority however with financial projections showing us deep in the red in 3 years time it would be wise to try for something in the FA cup!

Club news and overview

A new manager in myself!

Aside from that the club facilities seem adequate for the next few years at least with the Bob Lucas Stadium holding 6.6k and in good condition. This should be plenty right up until league one. The training and youth facilities will however need a lot of work as they are nearly non-existent currently.

We currently have two parent clubs who are well placed to help us grow, Yeovil will provide a rival friendly each year with us keeping the moneys and Plymouth can loan us players. Due to the state of the finances I have asked the board for one more which has been accepted. I am hoping for someone like AFC Bournemouth (who unfortunately were relegated this time around) due to the proximity.

Key Man

Chris McPhee - Lots of experience at a conference level and has played as high up as the championship with a decent scoring record at this level. He takes a hefty 10% of my wage budget though so I need to see a lot from him!

Goals for this season

Mid-Table Finish
New parent team
Make a Profit!

[size=1]Season       Team                       Country                  League                 League Finish             Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will update here as I go!

[/size]

Tecmo · May 3, 2016

To get Poole you'd probably have to sim forward a few seasons. Think I got them last year by doing that.

Swindon69 · May 5, 2016

Oh and wishing you good luck in your save.

tse1231 · May 7, 2016

Weymouth First season preview

League expectations

My pre-season target was a safe mid-table finish, which turned out to be a little bit of an underestimation of the team! We came out of the blocks firing, placing 1st after five games. Unfortunately we couldn't keep that up and between the 1st October and 1st January we only managed two wins in the league slumping as low as 14th!

With the new year came an improvement in form for us, spurred on by our cup success that I will come on to shortly, with 5 to go we had an outside shot at the playoffs needing to win all of them to make it.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be winning 5 from our last 7 (drawing the other two) leaving us in 7th with 63 points, 4 points short of the playoffs.

Cups

Well where to start?!

We had all kinds of luck this year with our cup draws we didn't play anyone in form or above our league in the FA Cup until we drew Posh away in the first round who promptly dumped us out.

The Fa Trophy was a similar story we drew our league or below all the way to the semi-final where we found ourselves up against an out of form Eastleigh. A fine rearguard action helped us to win both legs 2-1 (4-2 on agg) placing us with our first Wembley appearance in the FA Trophy!

It wasn't to be however, we came up against an in form Dover who beat us 4-1. The total of £95,500 in prize money for both cups however has been a god send, not to mention our slice of the 20k attendance ticket money!

The reputation from this run however will be critical for us long term in this challenge.

Club news and overview

After two attempts at getting a new parent club I have nothing to show for it!

£100k profit giving me more budget for next year and a health bank balance for another year.

I also won 2nd Place for Manager of the year.

Key Man

Ryan Moss - Signed by chance, we had an injury crisis with 4 strikers injured in October so I signed him on a whim. 25 goals, 9 assists and 7 POM later what a signing!

Goals for this season

[X]Mid-Table Finish - Top Half!
[ ]New parent team - Failed
[X]Make a Profit! - £100k profit!

Goals for next season

[ ]Finish Top Half
[ ]New parent team
[ ]Continue to make a Profit!
[ ]Build the core of our promotion squad

[size=1]
Season       Team                       Country                  League                            League Finish                 Cups                                       Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17     Weymouth                England          Vanarama National League South                  7th                FAC 1stRnd  FAT Runners Up!                       Wembley final!

[/size]

Swindon69 · May 7, 2016

And fired - might sim through the year. Hired by Billericy.

QSF25 · May 8, 2016

Kettering Town

It has below average training and youth facilities.

Press thinks I will end up on the 18th position.

The board wants me to develope young players.

I found out why that guy hates me now: He is the manager of a rival team (Corby Town) that just lost his spot in the Vanarama North. Which Kettering town just took.

This is their record before me. Lets improve that.

Tecmo · May 8, 2016

2023-2024

Past Positions

I honestly don't know what happened. We were sitting in 4th place 16 games in, 1 point behind the leaders. Then I left town for a week and, when I got back, we couldn't do anything right. Couldn't score, couldn't keep a clean sheet.

Peter G · May 8, 2016

What team would you guys recommend for a guy looking to try this again?

libbyshuss · May 8, 2016

Cambridge City 2026/27

League 1

Summary

L eague

Board Expectation: mid-table respectability

Media Expectation: 18th

Finish: 1st

We got off to a really solid start and found ourselves fairly comfortable in the play-off positions without really threatening top spot. 5 straight win in October took us to top but in November mid-table Yeovil came to town. At half-time they were 5-0 up. A half-time rollicking saw an improved second half display but we couldn't change the result and dropped down to 2nd. I was a bit worried after such a hammering how our confidence and morale would take it but we bounced back with three straight wins to reclaim top spot. Our form held and the last 20 games saw us lose only twice, meaning we ended up champions having led from February, an unlikely end to the season after that 5-0 home defeat

Cup Competitions

League 2 Oxford beat us in the first round of the League Cup, Gillingham saw us off in the Johnstones quarter-final, so when the FA Cup started I wasn't expecting anything particularly exciting. A first round victory over non-league Woking saw us travel to League 2 Coventry in round 2. We were poor and were lucky to get away with a draw. A better performance in the replay saw us into the third round hat. Hoping for a plum draw, we promptly drew Stockport away. Stockport were top of League 2 at the time so we weren't expecting an easy game. We drew 2-2 and managed a comfortable 3-0 win in the replay. The fourth round saw the plum draw I was after, home to Spurs. They had a man sent off halfway through the first half and we were able to take advantage, scoring twice. They pulled one back just before half time but could not get through our defence in the second half. We had our first proper scalp in the Cup! Another home draw in the 5th round saw Manchester City visit. They battered us 3-0. The only complaint I had was neither game ws televised so we missed out on a much needed windfall