dafuge's FM18 challenge

[themonk9223]

1 hour ago, Jabn said:

I probably reloaded 100+ times.  Finally settling on a team - the mighty Coalville Town.  It had the lowest reputation I could get at 1800.  Also no manager in place so I decided to apply the old fashioned way.  I lost about a week but this seems more 'authentic'.  I also now have to play possession based football and use youngsters from the youth system.  I am going to play this as hardcore as I can.  Hiring staff that actually apply for posted jobs and potentially only signing players that come through scout reports.  Though that last bit may be too hardcore.  

 

good luck mate

20 minutes ago, warlock said:

Congratulations and wild applause. 

thank you very much  

[Jellico73]

Succeeding despite my best efforts....

We've played our way into playoff position, but a string of some tough games are ahead.  And for some reason, we are beating the good teams, but not the bad teams.  Tom Ashton is still on a goal scoring tear for us, but the finances are getting a little worrisome.

Thanks for watching!
 

Jellico73

[themonk9223]

here a little something weird thats happening in my save! lol

 

 

[Jellico73]

1 hour ago, themonk9223 said:

here a little something weird thats happening in my save! lol

 

 

I've seen similar behaviors from other teams, in my Dunkerque save from FM17 PSG bought a M(C) almost every year it seemed, and then they would do things like spend 60M on a striker, when they already have two really great ones...

[themonk9223]

32 minutes ago, Jellico73 said:

I've seen similar behaviors from other teams, in my Dunkerque save from FM17 PSG bought a M(C) almost every year it seemed, and then they would do things like spend 60M on a striker, when they already have two really great ones...

ITS JUST PLAIN CRAZY LOL

[Jellico73]

3 minutes ago, themonk9223 said:

ITS JUST PLAIN CRAZY LOL

The year after I retired in that save, the next manager, who was my long time assistant, brought in €173M in players, 77M of which was for an M(C), when I had two of the best in the game already...ther next year he spent a total of 57.5M for two AM(R)'s.  his only saving grace was that the M(C) he brought in for 77M he sold to PSG for 110M....

[paulskln]

On 17/01/2018 at 18:36, themonk9223 said:

from 1000-1 we did it

i don't know how and i don't care. all that matters is that we did it. and with 4 games to spare!!

i will use the last 4 games for youth players so not expecting any wins haha. 

sighned a lot of free's for the youth team and u23s some good potential players including 2 or 3 that will hopefully feature in the 1st team this year.

financials are looking ok but should get a massive boost when the prem tv and sponsors come in. 

hoping to sign a few bosman deals and find a few really cheap players and go again. 

lets see if we can defy the odds again and survive our first year. 

UP THE GATE!

Good Job Man ..... My effort is less impressive.

[Barnet]

So, finally first season done.

You may remember, I've taken on Kettering with the added challenge of a "Youth Only" save.  Well, Ouch.

The season started pretty badly If I'm honest, struggling to get any form of result.  Only when I switched to a much deeper defensive line and more direct football did I get anywhere.  It all started to go well, including a 9 game streak of wins in all competitions.  Come Christmas I was sitting at the top of the table, however...

With a pretty bare squad and no way of recruiting there were a couple of alarming weaknesses.  The main one was, CB's with an average age of 35 (hence the deep d-line) hitting some poor form, the other, a single outstanding player on the right of midfield and realistically, no cover.  During the festive period, my star man got injured.  This turned games where I'd be scrapping to tactically "mastermind" wins into games where I'd be scrapping to draw.  To cut a long story short, injuries killed the second half of the season and I ended up 11th.  Not bad from being predicted relegation but, oh, what could have been!

On the infrastructure side there is some good news.  Training facilities are Adequate, Youth are Below Average, You Level is 4, Junior Coaching is Adequate and Youth Recruitment is now Above Average.

As for the intake, not too bad considering. 

 Bags of potential, all PA 3.5* or above.  Two 3* CA (a LB and CM) and one 2*CA (an AMR Winger) 

I just need to figure out how to build the talent into a cohesive team over the next few seasons and see if I can claw my way out of National League North.

All in all, some things to be excited about but lots of work to be done in pre-season to pull this lot together.

Cheers.  Barnet.

 

[warlock]

5 hours ago, paulskln said:

Good Job Man ..... My effort is less impressive.

 

Sympathy! Been there, done that. Nil carborundum, as they say.

[Cloondawg]

Another year begins!

 

[StevenStorm]

Lowestoft Town FC - End of Season 2028/29
14th in Premier League

Final League Table | Squad| Transfers | Schedule 1+2 | Awards | Season Review | Finances | Dynamics

 

Lookback

So our first Premier League season is behind us ... and somehow we managed to avoid the drop. In the end it wasn't as close as I had assumed and we could secure another year of Premier League football with 2 games still to go.
As mentioned before I decided to take a rather cautious approach: signing 11 players and only spending around 7.8 million € for them. The fact that most players that would have given my squad a significant boost wouldn't have want to join us anyway just reinforced my position. With Ugo Savi as my main striker I was confident (he finished 3rd in the top scorer list with 29 goals) and Karl Lynch I decided pretty early to keep as my first Goalkeeper. He is from our academy and has the potential to play Premier League - even though he's even after this season considered to be only at Sky League One level. He did however manage to win his first senior cap for Ireland - that made me happy
However the 101 goals that we've conceded this year in unacceptable and hinders us from shooting for a mid table finish.
Due to the bug we were playing in our old stadium the whole season ... it only has 2216 seats. That meant that our gate income went down to 1m + 1,2m season tickets vs 1,7m + 2,6m season tickets in the Championship. In any other league this would have been a huge issue ... but the awesome TV deal in England that gave us 103m made it irrelevant.
Our facilities are still subpar but we're investing next season as well to improve things (Adequate training, average youth, basic youth recruitment).
Additionally we're going to repay our stadium debt of around 18m with the 65 million profit we made from the first Premier League season.
Since this season we also have a U23 team ... even though it only takes part in the Checkatrade Trophy. Also our Youth Team isn't playing any league football and is only participating in the FA Youth Cup - Youth Level is still at 3 and will also be at 3 in the next season.

Outlook

I expect the next season to be thougher than our first Premier League season. From what I've scouted, tried and approached sofar it seems like the players would still consider us one of the last clubs to join in the Premier League and sometimes even prefering Championship teams.
I'll try to invest into the squad however. The TV deal makes this possible and also my tight control on our wage budget. Next season we'll also have a "normal" stadium with 13.751 seats - still the smallest in the League but we should be able to generate some income here as well - additionally it will help us tremendously should we relegate back to the Championship.
If you would offer me the 17th place next season I would immediatley take it
To achieve that we'll need to avoid getting slaughtered by the big teams and in general stop the leak in defense. From what I've seen it's not only the fault of my defenders though. My system is relying a lot on my AM L and AM R that are pretty much excluded from defensive duties.
I'll be looking to change this and maybe signing "true" wingers for those positions as well. Right now I'm opting to sign strikers for the wings and play them as Raumdeuter or Wide Target. However those are not my priorities at the transfer market since those positions usually cost a lot more to fill.
I'll be signing for all 4 defending positions and the 3 central midfield positions mostly. Additionally I've also signed a great Italian goalkeeper talent that will enter the fight with Karl Lynch for the number 1 position.
Some of those decisions will be hard since a lot of my players are close to my heart already ... I guess you never forget your first Premier League team ;-)

 

[Thebaker]

2021/22

Table | Squad | Transfers

 

The team was inconsistent all season but still managed to stay i the playoffs until feb when a run of 5 points in 9 games finished any promotion hopes. Generally the team didn't score enough and lost too often to teams at the bottom. In the cups, the team were unlucky to meet top of L1 Swindon in the FA cup and lost easily. In the FA trophy the team lost to VNS rivals Wealdstone in a match were Harrow were in control until a red card in the 60th minute.

Finances are quite stable with the new stadium leading to a rise in attendances and a record crowd of about 3400 for the first game with only 50 away fans.

Defensively the additions of Purdy and Dreher led to a better defensive effort. Up front Youngs did well but Murrell was poor. I have high hopes for Bah if i could work out the best role for him.

 

2022/23

Table | Squad | Transfers

Another inconsistent season where the team started badly seemingly conceding 3 a game. It only really improved in Nov when Bove and Warren came in. The team manged to get near the playoffs by mar only to lose 3 in a row to top 4 teams including a 7-0 loss to Southport. In the last game a playoff spot was still possible if Chester lost and Harrow won but a 4-0 win wasn't enough. The defense was the problem this season with mistakes in every game especially away, the team conceded the highest number of goals away. A really top striker could have made a difference as the strikers seemed to miss CCC's when the scores were level but couldn't miss at 3-0 down. In the cups the team were thrashed 0-3 at home by VNN Telford in the FA cup 1st Rd. In the FA trophy the team reached the 4th Rd and dominated the first game without being able to score. Halifax won the replay and went on to win the trophy.

Finances have gotten worse as costs seem to have risen and wages as well. Tanganaga wanted to leave and did a Van Dijk by just playing badly such that i ended up dropping him for quite a bit, if the other defenders hadn't matched his poor efforts he would have not got back in. Warren was fantastic in midfield along with Rowe. Bove did well at the start before tailing off in form. Up front Youngs and Bah just didn't do enough, Murrell made up for it in some way with a club record for games.

 

Season       League            Position       FA Cup           FA Trophy                  Achievements/Notes               
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19   Vanarama South         2nd         1st Round         1st Round                     Promotion 
2019/20   Vanarama National      19th        3rd Round         1st Round                  Avoided relegation    
2020/21   Vanarama National      8th         4th QRound        2nd Round                       None                         
2021/22   Vanarama National      12th        2nd Round         3rd Round                       None                         
2022/23   Vanarama National      8th         1st Round         4th Round                       None                         
   

 

[Jabn]

Well... that was brutal.  A 7% Winning percentage will surely get you the sack by January.  I left Coalville at the bottom of the Vanarama North and thats where they finished. 

Relying on my scouts discovering players and players asking for trials proved a very tough challenge.  I also took only staff that applied for vacant positions which didnt help.  I only hired the Ginger ninja Dave Kitson in October as my Assman.  

My main issue was finding defenders that could defend.  Or teaching the ones I had to mark a player.  So time for a bit of a break.  

Went on Holiday (was only on £300 a week so didn't go anywhere that fancy) and returned in June to see which teams were in search of a new manager.  

Low and behold the only promoted team with a managerial vacancy was Chesham United.  After the interview and about a weeks wait I was offered the job.  

I will stick to my player and staff search challenge and attempt to keep 'The Generals' up.  This being the highest level they have reached in their 102 year history surely anything better than last year will do.  

[thomas_e]

 

Season Review 2027-2028

Premier League Champions

 

Our fifth season in the Premier League and after two consecutive 6th place finishes with a big gap between us and the top teams, we won the Premier League title! I didn't expect this at all for this year, but a combination of a bad run of form from the other top teams and some lucky bounces from us, somehow we made it out on top. For two years in a row now, we end up finishing the season having to play 3-4 games with only a days rest in between (seems like a bug to be fair). That was the case this time as well, and we ended up playing round 36 and 37 over three days, both against Manchester City, the team we were competing with for the title. A thriller, and we made it out on top, drawing 1-1 at home and winning 1-0 at the Etihad, a game that we deserved to lose to be perfectly fair, but we'll take it! 

We've had the golden boot top scorer, Ricardo Vasquez, as our leading man for four seasons. But not contributing anything else than tap-ins, I made a call to bring in another striker last summer, and ended up braking the bank on 22 year old brazilian Antonio Augusto, bought for £48.5 mill from Benfica. Originally a central midfielder, he fitted perfectly into the new complete forward role that we wanted to adapt, and a class player like that really lifted the team to a new level. 

We made it to the final of the Europa League, beating Basel, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille and Tottenham in the knock out stages. The team was obviously fatigued in the final against Chelsea, and even though we controlled big parts of the game, we cant really complain when they won 2-1. 

We got knocked out in the 5th round of the FA Cup against a strong Crystal Palace team in the 5th round, and 1-2 to Everton in the Quarter Final of the Carabao Cup. 

 

Season Overview

 

Key Players

 

Next Season

I don't expect Manchester United having another shocking season as they did this season (finished 5th place), and with the squad they have they will make a strong title run next year. We will focus 100% on the Champions League and hope I can strengthen the team with a couple of players in the summer, but our big spending last summer doesn't leave us a lot to spent. I think I might even get a fine this summer for breaking FFP rules! A top 4 finish would do nicely, as this was a lucky season more than anything! 

 

Season  |        League         | Position  |      FA Cup     | Checkatrade Trophy | Carabao Cup | Europa League 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018-19 |  Vanarama South       |    1st    |     4th round   |      1st round     |             |				 
2019-20 |  Vanarama National    |    1st    |     3rd round   |      2nd round     |             |				 
2020-21 |  Sky Bet League Two   |    1st    |     3rd round   |      2nd round     |  1st round  |				 
2021-22 |  Sky Bet League One   |    1st    |     3rd round   |      3rd round     |  3rd round  |  			 
2022-23 |  Sky Bet Championship |    1st    |     3rd round   |                    |  4th round  | 				 
2023-24 |  Premier League       |    13th   |     6th round   |                    |  semi-final |				 
2024-25 |  Premier League       |    8th    |     4th round   |                    |  4th round  |				 
2025-26 |  Premier League       |    6th    |     4th round   |                    |  3rd round  |				 
2026-27 |  Premier League       |    6th    |     4th round   |                    |  3rd round  |   Semi-final	
2027-28 |  Premier League       |    1st    |     5th round   |                    |  Qtr final  |   Runner-up

 

[col_nufc1]

 

Season Review 2018-19

 

In our first season we won promotion to the Vanarama National League after winning the Vanarama National League South. We were the leagues draw masters drawing 16 of our 42 matches, winning 20 and losing only 6, so if we could of turned some of them draws into wins then we would of won the league at a canter.

In both cup competitions we fielded mainly back up players as my priority was the league and so we went out in the early stages of both competitions.

As you can see we signed plenty of players on free transfers as we only had I think 7 or 8 players at the start in our entire club.

Our finances are shocking we are just over £200k in the red and the board have just taken out loan of £350k to cover the stadium expansion so we adhere to the leagues minimum stadium requirements.

We will need another mass incoming of players next season if we are to at the very least survive but of course I would like us to challenge higher up the table.

 

 

 

[StevenStorm]

Lowestoft Town FC - End of Season 2029/30
13th in Premier League

Final League Table | Squad| Transfers | Schedule 1+2 | Awards | Season Review | Finances | Dynamics

Lookback
As expected this season was going to be harder than the previous one. We started horribly with 7 losses in the first 7 games. We only managed to pick up 4 wins and a draw until the new year. Placing us in relegation territory.
Thankfully we managed to pick ourselves up in January and collected 4 wins in a row against other relegation candidates - with a great defensive performance as well! Only conceding 1 goal in the 4 games.
After 3 additional wins until Mid March (also against Man City :o)) it was pretty clear that we wouldn't go down this year. A strong showing in the final league games pushed us up to the 13th place with 45 points.
Overall that meant we collected 3 more points than the year before! The main improvement was our defense however. "Only" 65 goals conceded was a significat improvement over the 101 goals last season.
However Ugo Savi was having issues with injuries and only featured in 26 league games - scoring only 8 for us. I signed Fran Jozanovic from Dinamo as a replacement at the start of the season for 11,25m €. He's supposed to replace Ugo Savi at some time in the future. But the Croatian Wonderkid wasn't ready yet ... 33 league games 5 goals and 8 assists are his current stats.
The greatest transfers we did in the January window however.
Wonderkid Sebahattin came from Bayern Munich for 17.25m € - he can play any position on the left and is currently our main wing back on the left. 
Mark Simmons came from Tottenham - who never used him and only loaned him to Championship sides - we paid 8 million and got a great Winger! He played 16 league games, scored 9 times and made 5 assists. His average rating of 7.34 is top.
In goal we're still undecided. Cristian Canu who joined from Juventus made 19 apps but was also out for 1/3 of the season. His stats are still a bit better than Karl Lynchs - but the Irishman did catch up. 

Outlook
We're going to aim for a mid table finish ... I think the potential is there to move into a single digit table spot. We occupied the 9th spot taking only the final 19 games into account.
I'm not going to do a major revamp to the squad since I'm quite confident that the current lads have what I takes. If all my players stay that is.
Good news from the youth front: We've been upgraded to Youth Level 2 and U23 and U19 are both playing regular league games in the next season.
Additionally we're going to increase our stadium to around 20.000 seats and will be playing in Norwichs stadium for the next season.
Finances are looking okish - though the next years wage budget is still only around 40m € ... but with 80m € transfer budget. Not looking to spend that much next season ... but hey who knows whom my scouts discover

 

[G_D_K]

Season 4 (2021/22)

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

Season Four saw us stake our claim as a force in the VNL early.  Though newcomers, and given 550-1 odds at winning the title....and predicted 24th....we proved to all that we belonged....somewhere above the VNN/S level, at any rate.  We actually occupied the playoff spots for a 3-week period early in the season, though, for the bulk of the season, we were outside looking up.  With a few signings, we  managed to put together a very solid defense, while managing to keep enough of an attack threat to push back the weaker opponents.  Against the stronger opponents, we still managed to acquit well, with home wins and away losses more often than not.  Certainly, we did enough to keep in the top half of the table.

Playing my normal 4-1DM-3-2 narrow, our defense was about as solid as I've seen.  Lithuanian GK Nicholas Lidakevicius put up a team record 21 clean sheets, good enough for 2nd in league  and in individual clean sheets.  He was aided by DC Ousman Saidy (the same one I inherited with the team--and perhaps the only player of the original squad left), and 2nd year DC Toby Rennie, along with a handful of rotational centerbacks.  Together, the defensive grouping managed to put us joint 3rd in total goals allowed (58), and gave us a chance to win each and every match.  In particular, DC Saidy and Rennie were solid, with Saidy coming in 2nd and Rennie 6th in key tackles league-wide (48 and 44 key tackles respectively).  

With the defense playing solid, we had many chances to score, although we only finished mid-league in overall goals scored.  Notably, Matt Mayes reclaimed the team historical league-goals record for Gosport Borough, netting 26 league goals, adding 7 goals in the cup matches, and netting key goals in the playoffs (including the walk-off final penalty kick sealing our win at Wembley).  His 26 league goals was enough to make him joint-fourth in the league leaderboard.   Meanwhile, last season's hero Ebbutt found less playing time (partly due to injury), but managed 14 goals (11 league) and 10 assists (8 league), doing enough to be my 3rd choise/rotation striker.  We played 4-3-3 on a few occasions as well, so he found plenty of time to play...but is not likely to gain his goalscoring record back.  My 3rd striker turned out to be my #2 choice, as I moved AMC/ST Jake Charles to be the primary strike partner to Matt Mayes.  Charles managed 16 goals and 9 assists in his role as either strike partner or the AMC in my 4-3-1AM-2 formation, and is likely my #2 striker going forward.

To assist the attack, we brought in MC Ollie Norburn (7 goals, 5 assists, 7.08 AvR) and MC Reuben Duncan (2 goals, 8 assists, 7.01 AvR).  Together with 2nd season James Boote (6 goals, 7 assists, 7.07 AvR, and a favorite find of mine from my FM17 Chippenham save), we had plenty of attack/playmaking options.  

 

 

PROMOTION/PLAYOFFS

The playoffs.  For most of the season, we stood just outside the playoff spots, looking up (in fact, we occupied the playoff spots for 4 weeks total.  A 3-week span in the 1st 3rd of the season...and after the final match of the season.  And while we'd had some success against the other playoff teams (we had 1 win and 1 loss vs each of the 3 teams we would eventually face), nothing was certain at this point.  Other than the fact that we had managed to just scrape in, thanks to a last match win vs 4th Rochdale, coupled with a Leyton Orient loss.  Well, we were here, and I meant to at least make a game out of it!

The good news was, we were riding a 9 match unbeaten streak for our first match, while our opponent, Oldham,  had gone 5 without a win.  Confidence was high.  It was Oldham that struck first, however, with one of a deluge of shots finally penetrating our defensive barrier in the 23rd minute.  Oldham would end up taking 17 shots, but our 2nd best defense of the league would ensure that the shots were not of great quality (conceded 1 CCC and 3 Half Chances).  That would give our attack a chance to equalize....though it would take until the 78th minute for MC Ollie Norburn to finally find a shooting lane and net from the edge of the box---an unstoppable rocket shot down low to the keeper's right.  While Oldham was still sorting themselves out, we struck again, and it was hero Matt Mayes that scored the game winner in the 80th minute and put us through!

And to the semifinal, another away match vs Barrow.  If the first match brought much nail-biting, this semi-final was even worse.  That's right.  We managed exactly one shot.  Not a CCC.  Not a half-chance.  Not even inside the 18.... a long shot from the edge of the box by striker Charles was all it took.  In the meantime, our defense (did I mention we had a good defense???), led by Lithuanian GK Lidakevicius, managed our 21st clean sheet of the season...and the most important clean sheet of the season as well.  Barrow gave it all, creating 2 CCC/2HC on 15 shots...but our bend-but-not-break philosophy was enough....and we were thru to our first ever Wembley appearance!

Wembley.  Every (English) footballers' dream...and we were here.  With us, were 36K adoring fans (well they adored football, if not precisely some obscure club from some obscure town on the channel, managed by some obscure American who claimed some small English ties).  A 1-0 away win and a 1-0 home loss...that was how we had fared against Morecambe in the season.  And, here we were.  Our first ever appearance...and Morecambe's 2nd (they won promotion via playoffs in the 2006/7 season in front of 40K fans against Exeter).  They had experience...the question was...did we have enough desire???  

An animated team talk prior to the match calmed the players a bit, and it was obvious from the opening whistle that the poor attacking performance of the previous match would not be repeated.  Still, it was Morecambe that opened the scoring on the 29th minute and set us back into catchup mode.   The first half would end 1-0, with Morecambe enjoying a slight advantage in shots, possession, and chances.  However, it was FPoY Matt Mayes that inevitably netted the equalizer in the 54th minute (his 33rd of the season, and 95th career senior goal for the team), making it a brand new game.  It was, inevitably, our defense, that stood tall, with DC Saidy and DC Rennie sacrificing their body time after time, and with GK Lidakevicius making several acrobatic saves, allowing us to extend the match into extra time...and, ultimately, the dreaded penalty shootout.  In the end, Morecambe would end with 19 shots (10SoT), 4 CCC, 4 Half-chances.  They maintained 53% possession, earned 7 corners, had a team AvR of 7.09.....but could not score a 2nd. (By contrast, we had 11 shots (3 SoT), 3 corners, and a team AvR of 6.94).

Our record in PK shootouts to date has been dismal...but I was happy enough to get to this point.  Yet....we still had a chance.  MC Norburn took our first kick, and did not miss, putting us up 1-0.  Morecambe stiker Ken Clark (31 goals on the season) had his shot tipped onto the crossbar, and the advantage was ours.  Unfortunately, DM Poku put his shot too close to the opposition GK, and we couldn't improve on our advantage....score, 1-0.  Up stepped Morecambe stiker De Giorlamo (27 goals on the season), but his shot was saved by Lidakevicius!!!!!   1-0 up, and perhaps a real advantage here...if MC Boote didn't choke.  Boote stepped up, and calmly slotted home low to the keeper's right, and we're up 2-0!!!!!!  Can we possibly do this????  Next up for Morecambe, AMC/MC Alfie Lewis, who'd only managed 3 goals on 13 appearances...but this was a penalty shot....and, biting my nails....we watch......Lidakevicius save a THIRD penalty shot!!!!!!!   2-0, and Matt Mayes...the hero of the season....the leading scorer of the season....the 6th top league goalscorer in the VNL.....the Gosport Borough's overall career league goal leader (having reclaimed that title from Ebbutt this year)....to.....................SCOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE  GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!  

 

LEAGUE FOOTBALL.....HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cup Competitions

Perhaps our best cup run to date saw us fly by Bath in the 4QR with a 3-0 victory, young Striker Duncan Greenwood netting one time, while Matt Mayes contributed a pair to round out the socring.  That led us to a home match vs 20th VNL Solihull Moors.  In a much closer match, it took Matt Mayes again, breaking the 1-1 deadlock with an 89th minute strike to put us thru to our first ever round two matchup.  This pitted us away vs  L2 Bristol Rovers, and the final score of 2-1 really flatter us, as we were dominated in almost every category.  MC James Boote gave us a glimmer of hope with his 81st minute strike, but that was one of only 4 shots we managed, and we were never in danger of advancing.  On to the FA Trophy!

Our FA Trophy run was also our deepest ever, making itall the way to the 4th round.  It all could have been ended in our first matchup, as it took a replay after a 1-1 draw vs Torquay (and another 89th minute equalizer by Matt Mayes).  The replay was another tight match, and it was left to Ollie Norburn (MC) to net the only goal of the match and send us thru.  The 2nd round saw Matt Mayes net once again in the 12th minute, but it was DL Rents' 15th minute free kick goal that was the ultimate game winner, as Chorley managed a 90th minute consolation goal.  Thankfully, we only had to endure 3 minutes of stoppage time (though Rents very nearly doubled his tally in that time) before we could safely breath a sigh of relief and advance.  That win saw us exceed our expectations and advance us to our first ever 3rd round matchup.  This saw us in a relatively easy matchup vs a Hungerford team eventually relegated from the VNS...and we easily handled them.  Matt Mayes earned his 3rd goal of the competition, while fellow striker (and last season's hero) Cameron Ebbutt netted a brace and DC Saidy also contributed, giving us a 4-0 win and advance to our final match of the competition.  

Unfortunately, this set us up against one of our nemesis teams, Leyton Orient, who was, at the time, occupying the playoff spot we were looking to eagerly claim.  We started positively, with Matt Mayes scoring his 4th of the competition to open the scoring.  One might be pardoned for thinking that we were set for the win when MC Duncan doubled our score in the 31st minute.  Unfortunately, that was the end of our scoring....and the second half saw us concede 3 in a complete meltdown, and a fall out of the competition.  Our revenge was made complete later in the season, however, as we claimed the final playoff in the final match of the season, at the expense of Leyton Orient.  I'll take league football over an FAT 5th round....every day of the week!

 

Additional Details

Team of the Season

Best XI Inductees -- 2nd year fullback Andrew Camilo-Tayaco heads the list of 5 players new to the overall best XI.  Joining him are GK Lidakevicius, DM Poku, MC Norburn, and AMC/ST Charles.

Historical Best XI

Fans Player of the Season:  Matt Mayes reclaims the fans glory (and also becomes a club Icon, garnering 55% of the vote.  Fellow Striker/AMC Charles (20%) and newcomer MC James Boote (15%) finished the voting.

 Signing of the Season: Isaiah Bazeley-Graham (Free), strangely, was the signing of the season, despite coming back to the team in February (after being let go of in July) and playing only 11 matches (1 goal, 2 Assist, 1 PoM, 7.04 AvR)

Young Player of the Season: Matt Mayes

Other awards: 

Top Academy Graduate

1. Season 1 Academy Class:  Josh Romain looks almost ready to start in the coming season with just a little improvement over the summer.
2. Season 2 Academy Class:  George Asamoah is another grad that could feature in the senior team immediately.  More so after his bump in ambition (see his new profile above!)
3. Chris Tilley is a 4-5* Potential midfielder that I hope will crack into the senior team in the future!
4. Jason Winterton An only decent striker that probably won't ever crack the first team here, as he is only 2* potential.  There are a couple of 4-5* potential players in the class I would expect to do better!

 

Team, Individual, and league records

A host of records were set or broken this year: (* denotes ongoing record-bold indicates record broke current season)

Gosport Borough FC -- Team

Highest League Position -- 7th in Vanarama National Lg (2021/22)

Most points in a Season -- 89 (2020/21)

Most wins in a Season -- 28 (2020/21)

Most League Goals in a Season -- 80 (2020/21)

Highest Attendance -- 2615 (vs Rochdale, VNL, 30 Apr 2022) (previous record: 2372 (vs Woking, VNS Playoff 1st round, 8 May 2020))

Highest Gate Receipts -- £30.35k (vs Rochdale, VNL, 30 Apr 2022) (previous record: £24.55K (vs Woking, VNS Playoff 1st Rd, 8May 2020))

Average Attendance -- 1334 (2021/22) (previous high: 852 (2020/21)

Biggest Win -- 5-0 (vs Eastbourne Boro, 22 Apr 2019)

Highest Scoring Game -- 6-4 (vs Concord, VNLS 11 Aug 2018)

Most Games won in a Row -- 8 (5 Oct - 13 Nov 2021) (previous high: 6 (24 Oct -18 Nov 2020))

Most Games Lost in a Row -- 5 (23 Mar - 20 Apr 2019)

Most Games without Losing -- 12 (12 Mar - 15 May 2022)* (Previous high: 10 (30 Jan - 3 Apr 2021))

Most Games without Winning -- 7, (9 Mar - 20 Apr 2019)  (Previous high: )

Most games without conceding -- 5 (12 Mar - 2 Apr 2022) (Previous high: 2 (5 Sept - 8 Sept 2020))

Most games without scoring -- 3 (28 Aug - 8 Sept 2018)

 

Gosport Borough FC -- Individual

Top Goalscorer -- Cameron Ebbut -- 38 (2020/21) (previous record: Cameron Ebbutt -- 29 (2020/21))

Top League Goalscorer -- Cameron Ebbut -- 33 (2020/21) (previous record: Cameron Ebbutt (2019/20))

Most Goals in a match -- Matt Mayes -- 3 (26 Jan 2019 vs Hendon) (Previous record: )

Most Cleansheets -- Lukas Lidakevicius -- 21 (2021/22) (previous record: Nick Jordan 10 2018/19))

Most Assists -- Cameron Ebbutt -- 12 (2020/21) (previous record: Matt Mayes -- 11 (2019/20))

Highest AvR -- Cameron Ebbutt -- 7.46 -- 41 app (2020/21) (Previous Record: Kaidyn Michael 7.26 (36 app) (2019/20))

Most Player of Match awards -- Cameron Ebbutt -- 10 (2020/21) (previous record: Cameron Ebbutt -- 6 (2019/20))

Most League goals for club -- Matt Mayes* -- 80 (previous record -- Cameron Ebbutt(62))

Most League Appearances for club -- Ousman Saidy (DC) -- 197* (previous record: Nick Jordan (GK) (88))

Youngest player -- Danny Mahon (WBR), 15y255d (previous record: )

Oldest player -- Jamie Brown (DM/MC), 37y244d (previous record: )

Youngest Goalscorer -- Josh Romain (ST), 15y317d (previous record: )

Oldest Goalscorer -- Sam Rents (DL), 35y297d (previous record: Alek Przespolewski (AMC/ST) 30y31d))

Fastest Goal -- Matt Mayes, 59 sec (3 Apr 2021 -- vs Poole)  (previous record: Matt Mayes, 1 minute 11 sec -- 25 Jan 2020 vs Chelmsford)

The Rest of England

Promoted from the Regional Premier Division Teams:

Lowestoft, Altrincham, Havant & Waterlooville, Hereford, Ashton Utd, Eastbourne Boro

League Winners (promoted/relegated)

EPL Arsenal (Norwich, Burnley, Brentford)

Championship Swansea (Swansea, Crystal Palace, Brighton//Oxford, Milwall, Scunthorpe)

League One  Bristol City (Bristol City, Colchester, Wigan  // Charlton, Ebbsfleet, Exeter, Port Vale)

League Two Plymouth (Plymouth, Carlisle, Boston Utd, Blackpool  // Forest Green, AFC Fylde)

Vanarama National Tranmere (Tranmere, Gosport // Torquay, Chester, Maidstone, Chelmsford)

Vanarama North St. Albans (St Albans, AFC Telford // Darlington, Buxton, Cambridge City)

Vanarama South Billericay (Billericay, Dartford // Grays, Hungerford, Canvey Island)

Cup Winners

English FA Cup Man City (vs Tottenham)

Carabao Cup Man City (vs Leicester)

Checkatrade Trophy Man Utd U23s (vs Chelsea U23s)

English FA Trophy Gloucester (vs Chelmsford)

Euro Qualifcation

Champions League Group Stage: Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City

Champions League Best Placed Playoff:

Euro Cup Group Stage: Chelsea

Euro Cup Playoff:

Euro Cup 3rd QR: Wolves

Euro Cup 1st QR:

Continental Achievements

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

Man City -- European Super Cup runner-up (against Man Utd)

Man Utd -- Won Club World Championship (vs FLA)

Chelsea  -- Eliminated from European Championship Lg First Knockout Round (by R. Madrid)

Arsenal  -- Eliminated from European Championship Lg First Knockout Round  (By Barcelona)

Everton -- Eliminated from EURO Cup 2nd Knockout Round  (By A. Bilbao)

Man City -- Eliminated from European Champions Lg Quarter Final (By Arsenal)

Southampton -- Eliminated from EURO Cup Semi Final (By Liverpool)

Liverpool -- Won EURO Cup (against Gelsenkirchen)

Tottenham  -- Won European Champions League (against Arsenal)

Arsenal  -- European Champions League Runner-up (vs Tottenham)

Extra detail

 

What's Next?

First off...we are ecstatic at earning promotion in our first chance.  Immediately, the board agreed to go pro...which was a necessity....I've several 4* and 5* potential players that just are not developing on part-time contracts----hopefully this will give Boote, Asmadoah, and some other youngsters a real chance at improving.    We've also had our scouting upgraded -- UK & Ireland...and, for some strange reason "our close ties to".....Poland.  <shrug>  Somehow, 3 of my coaches and 3 of my scouts all have about 25% knowledge of Poland....though I cannot for the life of me figure out how!  Whatever the reason...we'll at least take a look!  My goal for this first season of L2 is not to be one of the two worst teams!  Should be able to pull that off....but I really need to consolidate and pull in some new figures on a very limited budget...enough to stay up.  Despite a good Wembley crowd, we're still £140K in the red...or thereabouts...with no new funding yet from the board in 4 seasons.  They did start a stadium expansion (1250 new seats) costing £1.4M....for which we had to take a £700K loan...not as bad as it could be.  Now, if only I can avoid the 5 or 6 construction overrun delays that hit me in FM17 with Chippenham........

Meanwhile.... taking a look at the reputation list.... we're in for a long, uphill climb.  There are still 3 VNN/S teams with a higher rep, and 15 of the 24 VNL teams still have a higher rep as well.  Getting new players in might hinge on the fact that we've gone professional and can offer a few full-time contracts.  It might be a year that I will rely on a couple of solid loanees...we'll have to see if we can swing that.

Career Overview

Season      Team                 Division          League Position(Predicted)     FAT       FAC    JPT      LC      Euro     CL               

2018/19     Gosport Borough    Vanarama South               19(20)                4QR       3QR     -       -        -       -     

2019/20     Gosport Borough    Vanarama South                4(22)(P/O 2nd Semi)  4QR       4QR     -       -        -       -

2020/21     Gosport Borough    Vanarama South                1(20)                3QR       2R

2021/22     Gosport Borough    Vanarama National             7(24)                4R        2R

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Drundrige]

Finally completed a season - my first two attempts lasted 39 games before I resigned in disgrace - so very much third time lucky. I don't have any screenshots but I ended 15th (maybe 16th) after a solid run of form around Feb to April time, including 5 wins in a row which was enough to pull me clear of relegation.

As always my team at the end of the season was unrecognisable from the team that started it, and most of my squad will be released over the summer. A Structured, hard tackling, short passing 4-4-1-1 system that seemed to get the best of our better players was the key to survival.

Financially we are about 120k in the hole so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Onwards and upwards though!

[Bruce Drundrige]

Here we go, final league table and transfer overview. Too many free transfers to show on one page...

 

 

[warlock]

6 hours ago, Edinton said:

Finally completed a season - my first two attempts lasted 39 games before I resigned in disgrace - so very much third time lucky

Congratulations. A step forward is better than the alternatives, and I'd guess that Salisbury is a tough gig - not seen them mentioned before.

[themonk9223]

On 20/01/2018 at 23:24, Jabn said:

Well... that was brutal.  A 7% Winning percentage will surely get you the sack by January.  I left Coalville at the bottom of the Vanarama North and thats where they finished. 

good luck!

On 20/01/2018 at 23:53, thomas_e said:

 

Season Review 2027-2028

Premier League Champions

 

congratulations mate!

8 hours ago, Edinton said:

Finally completed a season - my first two attempts lasted 39 games before I resigned in disgrace - so very much third time lucky. I don't have any screenshots but I ended 15th (maybe 16th) after a solid run of form around Feb to April time, including 5 wins in a row which was enough to pull me clear of relegation.

As always my team at the end of the season was unrecognisable from the team that started it, and most of my squad will be released over the summer. A Structured, hard tackling, short passing 4-4-1-1 system that seemed to get the best of our better players was the key to survival.

Financially we are about 120k in the hole so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Onwards and upwards though!

keep it up, hopefully find some money somewhere.

19 hours ago, StevenStorm said:

Lowestoft Town FC - End of Season 2029/30
13th in Premier League

 

well done, good luck next season!

[thomas_e]

Cheers @themonk9223! 

[themonk9223]

a little update before the end of my season just because i'm excited

we won the cup!

looking ok in the league but no matter what happens we got EUROPE!

[tajj7]

@thomas_e Congrats on the title, made the step up from 6th to 1st.  Currently sitting 2nd in my save but like 4 points covers the whole top 6 and I'm still struggling to get results against the big teams, especially away. Just lost 4-2 to Man City away, they scored 4 goals from 4 shots, 3 of which directly were basically GK errors.

Also do you notice in your save that middling clubs have amazing players? Stoke in my save have never finished higher than 7th since the game started, 9th last year, but bought an Italian striker from Fiorentina in the summer for over £50 million who attributes wise is pretty much the level of Dybala at the start of the game, basically 17-18s in every attribute you'd ever need in a complete forward. 

Similar players exist at every club, Swansea have been relegation threatened since I've been in the league, but have a striker that would easily be a started for a top 4 club at the start of the game.

The regens are basically insane. Mid table Premier League clubs seem to have players you'd expect only Madrid or PSG to have, 

[themonk9223]

tense end to a season!

been on a good run of form but not expecting to much success since 4 of 5 of my last games are placed 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th. 

unless there is a miracle for united it is most like likely that their 4 year dominance has come to an end. thou it it is interesting how a team who won 4 consecutive titles is currently 8th hahaha

 

 

on a side note as an arsenal fan i got great delight out of this freak result this year..

[thomas_e]

1 hour ago, tajj7 said:

@thomas_e Congrats on the title, made the step up from 6th to 1st.  Currently sitting 2nd in my save but like 4 points covers the whole top 6 and I'm still struggling to get results against the big teams, especially away. Just lost 4-2 to Man City away, they scored 4 goals from 4 shots, 3 of which directly were basically GK errors.

Also do you notice in your save that middling clubs have amazing players? Stoke in my save have never finished higher than 7th since the game started, 9th last year, but bought an Italian striker from Fiorentina in the summer for over £50 million who attributes wise is pretty much the level of Dybala at the start of the game, basically 17-18s in every attribute you'd ever need in a complete forward. 

Similar players exist at every club, Swansea have been relegation threatened since I've been in the league, but have a striker that would easily be a started for a top 4 club at the start of the game.

The regens are basically insane. Mid table Premier League clubs seem to have players you'd expect only Madrid or PSG to have, 

Thanks @tajj7! A big leap forward, a great season that had its share fair of lucky results in it! But we played well, and our £52 million signing of Antonio Augusto made the difference.

I've noticed the same thing as you, and the aforementioned Augusto was one of them, even though he played in Benfica. Absolutely sensational skills, one of the best players in the world probably, sitting in Benfica with a £52 million release clause (just bought another wonderkid from then actually, for something like £14 million, which was the release clause). 

I just bought an England international from Southampton, a CD for £32 mill. World class attributes, 50 or something caps for England at 25 years of age. Some of the regens these teams have are amazing, and I do a thorough scouting of the teams at the lower end of the table after each season, because they always seems to have fantastic players. Surely a higher attribute average compared to when you start the game, as you pointed out. 

I get on average one, two or three players for free on a bosman each summer, with no competition from other clubs. When they arrive at the club they are valued at something like £40 million pounds and have 4 out of 5 stars... 

[themonk9223]

Margate finish 4th 

1st season in the premiership was again well above expectation. overcoming 1000-1 odd to qualify for Europe! maybe next year we can do won better and aim for a top 3 finish. 

 

 

with a significant increase in wages and transfer budget along with the lure of Europe i will making some decent transfers (hopefully) and get the little extra strength in depth i need.

also managed this feat, although i had a pretty easy run at the cup. 

last but not least... ronaldo has decided to retire at the age of 39. and still looks like he would be the best player in my squad!

 

roll on next year!!

[Tecmo]

Well, started out well with Lancaster, had 11 points after 10 games. Then we started drawing everything, 8 of our next 9 league games. Then the defense collapsed and we 11 games in a row before I finally called it quits. Think my next try will be with Slough or Merthyr T.

[thomas_e]

Really impressive @themonk9223. And only a win away from 3rd place even! 

[tajj7]

19 hours ago, thomas_e said:

I get on average one, two or three players for free on a bosman each summer, with no competition from other clubs. When they arrive at the club they are valued at something like £40 million pounds and have 4 out of 5 stars... 

My star signing of this season, the AMC I have needed since I came into the league (we've had two Chelsea regen youngsters on loan the last two years) who cost me £90 million (eventually, about £50 million up front and all my budget) from Everton, was signed by them on a free transfer the year before from Gladbach, yet the guy is Kevin De Bruyne at his peak levels of attributes, but only 22. 

He is also driven personality, has pace, dribbling, finishing, first touch etc. all in the 17-19s, and easily could be a world class complete forward he is that good. 

It's just insane that a player like that is on a free transfer and just goes to a middle of the road club.  These are players who are like Bale, Lewandowski, Pogba etc, levels of attributes, so easily in the 170-185 CA range I reckon and they are turning out for Stoke, Swansea, Everton and now Billericay! 

I'll have to get a screen shot up, he is insane to be honest, only downside is he is bit injury prone.

@themonk9223 Well done on the 4th place, great first season, very impressive 

 

[thomas_e]

Totally agree @tajj7, and it also becomes a great way of making money. Signed an argentinian national team player on a free last season, used him as a rotation/backup player, then sold him to Arsenal for £45. Pretty good business...

Signed a striker from Man City on a bosman now, no competition for his signature whatsoever. Played to 7.3 average rating for them last year. Valued now in Billericay at £50 million. 

 

Btw, put up a screenshot of that £90 mill signing! 

[tajj7]

37 minutes ago, thomas_e said:

Totally agree @tajj7, and it also becomes a great way of making money. Signed an argentinian national team player on a free last season, used him as a rotation/backup player, then sold him to Arsenal for £45. Pretty good business...

Signed a striker from Man City on a bosman now, no competition for his signature whatsoever. Played to 7.3 average rating for them last year. Valued now in Billericay at £50 million. 

 

Not benefited yet myself, but I suspect I might soon, a few of my players are wanted by various clubs. My star winger who I signed from a Japanese club (also the one that came out as gay) for just £1.7 million, is now worth over £55 million and is wanted by Monaco and Arsenal. He got 20 assists in the league last year but my formation seems to make wingers over perform a lot, so I think he is replaceable, so I might cash in as we could do with the finances. With the rise in wages of all my players and players coming in, we are struggling to make money now, my balance is being topped up by winning champions league games at the moment.

I've also noticed that there are a huge amount of very talented young players available from Portugal at cheap prices, every scouting meeting my scouts highlight a new 5 star potential player from the Portuguese league, most of whom you can buy for sub £1 million. I have 3 arriving in January, carefully scouted by multiple top scouts and still 5 star rated, but also teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Man Utd etc. were looking at them so I usually find that if a big AI club is looking at a player he is very likely to have high PA so I try to snap them up.

But yeh as well the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd are just overloaded with talent, some very good players just sit in their U23s for ages and often get transfer listed for low values.

The 18 year old wonderkid I had on loan from Chelsea last year, an English AMC, scored 17 goals for me in the league, similar amount of assists and was young player of the year. Still has barely played a game for them beyond some cup appearances. 

 

[Bruce Drundrige]

On 22/01/2018 at 10:38, Edinton said:

Finally completed a season - my first two attempts lasted 39 games before I resigned in disgrace - so very much third time lucky. I don't have any screenshots but I ended 15th (maybe 16th) after a solid run of form around Feb to April time, including 5 wins in a row which was enough to pull me clear of relegation.

As always my team at the end of the season was unrecognisable from the team that started it, and most of my squad will be released over the summer. A Structured, hard tackling, short passing 4-4-1-1 system that seemed to get the best of our better players was the key to survival.

Financially we are about 120k in the hole so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Onwards and upwards though!

 

Just started the next season - media prediction is for an 11th place finish (gulp) so I guess they like my preseason signings!

[thomas_e]

36 minutes ago, tajj7 said:

 

Not benefited yet myself, but I suspect I might soon, a few of my players are wanted by various clubs. My star winger who I signed from a Japanese club (also the one that came out as gay) for just £1.7 million, is now worth over £55 million and is wanted by Monaco and Arsenal. He got 20 assists in the league last year but my formation seems to make wingers over perform a lot, so I think he is replaceable, so I might cash in as we could do with the finances. With the rise in wages of all my players and players coming in, we are struggling to make money now, my balance is being topped up by winning champions league games at the moment.

I've also noticed that there are a huge amount of very talented young players available from Portugal at cheap prices, every scouting meeting my scouts highlight a new 5 star potential player from the Portuguese league, most of whom you can buy for sub £1 million. I have 3 arriving in January, carefully scouted by multiple top scouts and still 5 star rated, but also teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Man Utd etc. were looking at them so I usually find that if a big AI club is looking at a player he is very likely to have high PA so I try to snap them up.

But yeh as well the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd are just overloaded with talent, some very good players just sit in their U23s for ages and often get transfer listed for low values.

The 18 year old wonderkid I had on loan from Chelsea last year, an English AMC, scored 17 goals for me in the league, similar amount of assists and was young player of the year. Still has barely played a game for them beyond some cup appearances. 

 

Same here, Portugal has some serious talent! Same with Brazil and Argentina as always, as well as Czech Republic in my save. Many wonderkids coming out of there, and they are very, very cheap! 

But I do find it harder to loan out players in this version. I've always tried to adopt a bit of a Chelsea-style transfer strategy, bringing in several young players that I never really intend to use as first team players, but loan out for two-four years, and then sell for a profit (of course, some of them develop enough to become first team players). But in this save, I've had several youngsters, including wonderkids that I haven't been able to loan out. I try and try, but dont get any offers. I find that really strange, why wouldnt clubs be interested in loaning a wonderkid striker that they don't even have to pay anything to get! 

[tajj7]

2 hours ago, thomas_e said:

Same here, Portugal has some serious talent! Same with Brazil and Argentina as always, as well as Czech Republic in my save. Many wonderkids coming out of there, and they are very, very cheap! 

But I do find it harder to loan out players in this version. I've always tried to adopt a bit of a Chelsea-style transfer strategy, bringing in several young players that I never really intend to use as first team players, but loan out for two-four years, and then sell for a profit (of course, some of them develop enough to become first team players). But in this save, I've had several youngsters, including wonderkids that I haven't been able to loan out. I try and try, but dont get any offers. I find that really strange, why wouldnt clubs be interested in loaning a wonderkid striker that they don't even have to pay anything to get! 

Not had too much issue loaning players, most of mine that I bring in as hot prospects seem to be wanted straight away. Even if I haven't loan listed them and don't even intend to. 

Also seems a lot of these regens come in with very high CA, most players I am finding are leading Championship players at least if not 2 1/2 to 3 star already, even at like 17-18, seen the same with other clubs.

Everyone seems to be producing Wayne Rooneys 

[Bruce Drundrige]

On 22/01/2018 at 19:10, themonk9223 said:

keep it up, hopefully find some money somewhere.

 

Thanks - of course we went even further into the hole over the summer with no gate income, but it looks like i've now got a better squad with lower wages* so hopefully I can chip away at the deficit and maybe get a cup run together.

*That being said, do non-contract players count in your wage bill if they are essentially only paid when they play??

[Faramir]

It hasn't been a particularly easy first half of the season, but we have managed to keep our heads above water in League 2- despite our miniscule payroll compared to the rest of the league. Our offense has been surprisingly good and Kevin Hudson has been our best player (I expected him to be), but our defense has been troubling and leaky all season. We lost our #1 keeper Deren Ibrahim to injury for much of the first half and replacements were not consistent. Nor was our central defense consistent as Alex Penny has been disappointing. I am trying to keep us on the even keel of play- as of late- and will try to build more going into next season (though if we can find some good free signings in January, we have the payroll room to add a couple quality players).

[tajj7]

Here is my star signing, who somehow hasn't been near a top club -

[13-gigi]

Season is over for our best striker ever just the day he started in partnership with the new loanee which should be his replacement as he struggled little with injuries this year.

The new man is one I put my eyes on him last year in L2 where he was the top scorer with 2 more goals than Hatton.

[thomas_e]

A quick update from the start of the 2028-2029 season. Being defending champions of the Premier League and competing in the Champions League for the first time we have a challenging year head, but of course one that we welcome. 

We got a really tough fixture list for the start of the season with Chelsea (A), Newcastle (H), Man Utd (A), Leeds (H) and Tottenham (A). On top of that our Champions League group, where we were seeded as nr.1, saw us up against Barcelona, Napoli and Rijeka. 

What is obvious this year is how defensive our opponents line up against us on account of our success last season. This is a big change for us, and even though we managed to get victories against Newcastle and Leeds at home we really struggled against them both, as they played super defensive. We might have to alter our formation a bit, or just the player roles, as our fast paced 4-2-3-1 is not doing a lot when we are facing a brick wall of defenders. 

We lost the Charity Shield 0-2 against a strong Arsenal team. Following that we lost 0-2 to Chelsea in the season opener. After a scrappy win against Newcastle we took our regular beating at Old Trafford, losing only by a goal, but not really creating any chances. After beating Leeds, I had high hopes for our game against a weak Tottenham, and even though a draw is an okay result, we missed a one-on-one with the goalkeeper in stoppage time, leaving a bitter taste! 

We beat Rijeka 3-0 away in our opening game in the Champions League, fielding a team of our backup players, but against opponents that weak we should win no matter what. 

Overall I was really optimistic going into the new season, having signed some quality players. But even though we've had an extremely tough fixture list and we have plenty of time to pick up points I'm not happy with what I've seen from my team. We have very creative players but seem to be out of ideas when teams drop low into their own box, with players often firing away hopeless long shots from 35 yards out. We also haven't been able to really figure out our midfield duo, still lacking a top class "central midfielder <defend>" player. 

Next game is Stoke at home and after that we have a pretty easy fixture list, so hopefully we can build some momentum going forward. But being favourites in most games this year (compared to last season) brings its own set of challenges and we need to find a way to break down defensive teams, otherwise this could be a tougher year than expected. 

A consortium is looking to buy the club these days, lets hope that if they do, the new board will realise what a limitation our 12,000 capacity stadium is... 

[tajj7]

1 hour ago, thomas_e said:

A quick update from the start of the 2028-2029 season. Being defending champions of the Premier League and competing in the Champions League for the first time we have a challenging year head, but of course one that we welcome. 

We got a really tough fixture list for the start of the season with Chelsea (A), Newcastle (H), Man Utd (A), Leeds (H) and Tottenham (A). On top of that our Champions League group, where we were seeded as nr.1, saw us up against Barcelona, Napoli and Rijeka. 

What is obvious this year is how defensive our opponents line up against us on account of our success last season. This is a big change for us, and even though we managed to get victories against Newcastle and Leeds at home we really struggled against them both, as they played super defensive. We might have to alter our formation a bit, or just the player roles, as our fast paced 4-2-3-1 is not doing a lot when we are facing a brick wall of defenders. 

We lost the Charity Shield 0-2 against a strong Arsenal team. Following that we lost 0-2 to Chelsea in the season opener. After a scrappy win against Newcastle we took our regular beating at Old Trafford, losing only by a goal, but not really creating any chances. After beating Leeds, I had high hopes for our game against a weak Tottenham, and even though a draw is an okay result, we missed a one-on-one with the goalkeeper in stoppage time, leaving a bitter taste! 

We beat Rijeka 3-0 away in our opening game in the Champions League, fielding a team of our backup players, but against opponents that weak we should win no matter what. 

Overall I was really optimistic going into the new season, having signed some quality players. But even though we've had an extremely tough fixture list and we have plenty of time to pick up points I'm not happy with what I've seen from my team. We have very creative players but seem to be out of ideas when teams drop low into their own box, with players often firing away hopeless long shots from 35 yards out. We also haven't been able to really figure out our midfield duo, still lacking a top class "central midfielder <defend>" player. 

Next game is Stoke at home and after that we have a pretty easy fixture list, so hopefully we can build some momentum going forward. But being favourites in most games this year (compared to last season) brings its own set of challenges and we need to find a way to break down defensive teams, otherwise this could be a tougher year than expected. 

A consortium is looking to buy the club these days, lets hope that if they do, the new board will realise what a limitation our 12,000 capacity stadium is... 

New stadium, after you have already had one is hard coded to 20 or 25 years I believe, silly rule but if your game was like mine and you built a new stadium to get into the football league, then that is it for a while.

Have the same issue it's capped to 13250. 

[thomas_e]

Just now, tajj7 said:

New stadium, after you have already had one is hard coded to 20 or 25 years I believe, silly rule but if your game was like mine and you built a new stadium to get into the football league, then that is it for a while.

Have the same issue it's capped to 13250. 

We only expanded the stadium with a couple of thousand seats I believe. So then it shouldnt be a cap in place? 

[tajj7]

3 hours ago, thomas_e said:

We only expanded the stadium with a couple of thousand seats I believe. So then it shouldnt be a cap in place? 

The original stadium I don't think meets league standards so pretty sure they build a new one, unless you have the original stadium? 

[Rien102]

I decided to give this challenge a go after getting fired 4 times in a row by Bognor Regis (once on the 1st season and 3 times after promotion to National league and being relegated).  I don't chose the most difficult since I have taken Altrincham (6th spot on the reputation scale with 6 others).  Why Altrincham? Mainly I grew tired of having 550 and less people in the seats even while fighting for 1st rank in National South (biggest crowd was FA cup 2nd round againt Bristol Rovers: 765 peoples attending!) and under 700 in VNL ...

Since money will be flowing and signings should be easier, I decided to put myself some restrains:

1. No loans of any kind.  So, players I want to develop, I'll need to do it in house and should never ease up my wages by signing loans for myself
2. All the players on my roster will have a real contract (full or part time) so, no non-contract signings
3. As for transfer budget, it will be like this: under 50k for VNN, and add 50k/division up to L1, after that, no limitations.
4. Scouting budget will be significant though because after the 1st season, I will forbid myself any trials. For 1st season, I'll give myself trials up to September 1st (trial offers). All the signings will have to be on scouted players (70% knowledge will be minimum)
5. Finally, no signings of any kind after September 30th of each year except for ONE disgruntled player/year from a team that need to be at least 2 divisions higher (the day I'll be Championship, that rule will change ofc but it remains to be seen that I ever achieve that) [this mean I will keep a pretty big roster at all time because of injuries and should miss some players because of the time stamp I impose on myself]

So, here is my screenchot:

Quick note about the screenshot...  the managers face is blurred because I always use a real pic of my daughter (I always do that ).  She is the one that made me discover the game.  That said, I wonder how many here can say that quality daddy/daughter time is playing online seasons with a daughter (even if she always wins, handing my butt to me every single time so far.... ).

[cmaddict21]

Dulwich Hamlet season 2021-2022    

Another awesome season. Better loans this year due to a switch from Ipswich to Man City for parent club. Finances are crap but at least I'm still getting promoted.

[dkouv]

King’s Lynn dafuge Challenge
 

Season 9 – 2026/27 – Premiership

TLDR: I did it, challenge complete!

Transfers: Quality over quantity, and we managed to find several very good upgrades in defense and midfield. The main signings were world-class midfielder David Martins Cardozo and center back Gordan Veladzic. Cardozo had a low minimum release clause, and was signed straight from Brazil, and Veladzic looked to be one of the very best center backs in the game – I had him on my shortlist, and he was stupidly transfer listed by Leverkusen, so we snapped him up. I missed out on a few targets who chose to join bigger clubs, but overall we did well.

League: Won it! Man Utd and Chelsea were going strong to start with, but I gradually caught up and overtook them. We were behind Man Utd on goal difference until we beat them 5-2 at home in mid-February, and we never let up after that, securing the title with two games remaining.

Domestic cups: With focus on the league and CL, I didn’t pay much attention to these, and went out in the League cup quarters (to Spurs), and FA cup semis (to Swansea).

Champions League: Monaco and Barca made for a tough group, but we made easy work of it and only dropped 2 points, beating Barca 7-1 at home. Celtic were an easy last-16 opponent, and were easily dispatched. A hiccup against Schalke at home in the quarters meant we lost 1-0, but we roared back with a 6-2 away win. A solid display beating Inter home and away in the semis, and Atletico await in the final. It was a nervy affair without many clear chances, but we edged it 1-0 thanks to a far post volley from our Italian complete forward Francesco Mirto. So, CL won at the first time of asking, and challenge complete!

Best players: My two best players are still the strikers Francesco Mirto and Bastien Auclair, with Auclair playing on the wing this season due to me switching back to a one-striker formation.

But two of the new signings made a hell of a lot of difference. David Martins Cardozo hit 14 goals and 12 assists from center mid, and is just an all-round brilliant player. Gordan Veladzic was fantastic, achieving a 7.4 average rating at center back in a rather attacking formation – still can’t believe Leverkusen transfer listed him, but here we go...

And the prize for the player of the challenge goes to Ashley Pope, who has been with us since League 1 and continued to be part of the squad, going on a great scoring/assisting streak in the Autumn before being phased out by the better players. He’s top of the all-time appearance stats, and is rightly a King’s Lynn legend.

Here are some stats for the end of the challenge:

All-time Best XI | Club profile | Manager profile

And a career summary:

Season  |  League     | Pos.  |  FA Cup  | FA Trophy |  CL      |   EL       |  Top scorer        |  Top assists        |    Top rating        | Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |  Van Nth    |  5    |  R3      |  R1       |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Abioye (36)       |  Limb (17)          |    Limb (7.4)        | Lost in play-off final
2019/20 |  Van Nth    |  1    |  R3      |  won      |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Obiero (34)       |  Hmami (18)         |    Doughty (7.8)     | Promoted
2020/21 |  Van Nat    |  1    |  R4      |  R4       |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Keaveny (48)      |  Keaveny (25)       |    Keaveny (7.9)     | Promoted
2021/22 |  League 2   |  1    |  R3      |  n/a      |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Pashen (31)       |  Keaveny (18)       |    McDonagh (7.9)    | Promoted
2022/23 |  League 1   |  1    |  R4      |  n/a      |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Pope (51)         |  Pope (31)          |    Pope (8.1)        | Promoted
2023/24 | Champ-ship  |  1    |  R4      |  n/a      |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Pope (52)         |  Pope (43)          |    Pope (8.4)        | Promoted
2024/25 | Premiership |  7    |  R4      |  n/a      |  n/a     |  n/a       |  Pope (27)         |  Narita (15)        |    Narita (7.6)      | Europa qualification
2025/26 | Premiership |  2    |  R-up    |  n/a      |  n/a     |  Winner    |  Auclair (38)      |  Pope (24)          |    Mirto (7.8)       | Europa and Carabao cup winners
2026/27 | Premiership |  1    |  Semi    |  n/a      |  Winner  |  n/a       |  Mirto (36)        |  Frolov (22)        |    Auclair (7.6)     | League and CL double

Season  |  Finances  | Training Fac.  | Youth Fac.      | Coaching     |   Recruitment    | Stadium
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19 |   £82k     |  Poor          |  Poor           | Adequate     |   Limited        | 8200 
2019/20 |   £392k    |  Basic         |  Poor           | Average      |   Limited        | 8200 
2020/21 |   £447k    |  Below Average |  Basic          | Average      |   Basic          | 5700
2022/23 |   £1.5m    |  Adequate      |  Basic          | Adequate     |   Average        | 5700
2023/24 |   £5.9m    |  Average       |  Below Average  | Adequate     |   Average        | 5700
2024/25 |   £107m    |  Average       |  Below Average  | Good         |   Above Average  | 5700
2025/26 |   £142m    |  Good          |  Adequate       | Excellent    |   Established    | 5700
2026/27 |   £214m    |  Great         |  Average        | Exceptional  | Well Established | 13000

 

PS Congrats on winning the league @thomas_e, and on everyone else's progress! Will keep on following your progress; might give the youth challenge a go myself next.

[Bruce Drundrige]

On 17/01/2018 at 16:21, warlock said:

That's my experience, too. My solution has been to keep match preparation high throughout the season, and focus exclusively on match tactics or teamwork, which seemed to work well in the first season.

 

It might have been a complete coincidence, but around about February I changed all my training to be Match Tactic and Teamwork/Team Cohesion only and the next two months worth of matches I went on the run of form that took me clear of relegation and haven't look back. In fact, I won all five matches in March and won MOTM. I slipped a bit in April due to injuries but finished with a 2-0 win away to one of the eventual Play-Off contenders in my best performance of the season.

As such, after pre-season finished I went back to this combination and I've (miraculously) started with six wins out of six. I definitely have better players now than when I started with Salisbury but I've also now got consistency of tactics and team selection, and thanks to this training setup there's a cohesion to everything so fingers crossed it continues.

[thomas_e]

Absolutely brilliant work @dkouv. 2026/2027, finishing the challenge this quick must be some kind of record? 

Hopefully I can do it soon myself. Sitting 3rd in the PL, but having won that already, its all about finishing within the top 4 and focusing on the CL.

Won my CL group over Barcelona, Napoli and Riejka, before being drawn against a strong AC Milan side in the first knock out stage. Played 1-1 at the San Siro, second leg will be played tonight. Fingers crossed! 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Edinton said:

I've also now got consistency of tactics and team selection, and thanks to this training setup there's a cohesion to everything

Sounds like it worked for you - congratulations! You still need the right players and a decent tactic, but I think this kind of training works better than the constant changing between defensive positioning/attacking movement/setpieces that your backroom staff suggests.

Hope it keeps working for you!

[dkouv]

@thomas_e - thanks, and good luck against Milan in the CL!