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AC London - I Predict A Riot


ToMexico!!

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3 minutes ago, Dexter_Morgan said:

Another good season of progress, nice to see you getting decent money for a player at last

Thanks. We've started this season very well, gone up another level it seems hopefully we can continue the form. 

A few more players have been linked with moves away, our GK is wanted by Arsenal :idiot: and a host of clubs made bids for another youth player but I rejected them all. 

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We've managed to reach the 4th Round of the FA Cup after being Southampton at home, our reward is an away tie against either QPR or MK Dons, so a potential first appearance in the 5th Round is a possibility. We beat Southampton in style winning 4-2 in front of the TV Cameras. 

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Not Happy :mad:

On deadline day in the winter transfer window the board have gone over my head and sold my most promising midfielder for far less than what I could have got if given the chance. Korey Kane was a solid, vastly improving player who was happy to stay, he hadn't battered an eyelid at my rejecting bid after bid for him. There was no option for me to protest the transfer which annoyed me even more. Further more we didn't even really need the money. Fortunately I have a replacement ready to slot in his place. 

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1 hour ago, rodesire said:

Sheesh, that's an unfortunate turn of events.  At least you're well in black now and ready for a League One assault now?

Yeh very unfortunate but trying to turn it into a positive by promoting within. I got a hard brexit so thats why big clubs are chancing their arm at some of my players and i'm struggling to get work permits for any exciting young foreign prospects so i'm scouring the non-league scene for some more young English players. There's gems to be found, like Simmonds who I just signed from Romulus who are in the National League currently. 

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2035 Youth Intake

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An apparent potential Golden Generation :idiot:

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van la Parra rates Watts and King highly, both play in positions I don't use, maybe he has an affinity with them as they're both wingers like he was. They're both rubbish with poor personalities and low determination. The pick of the bunch is, 

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Only rated 4* potential and doesn't have great stats for his natural position but does have decent passing, heading and tackling. Increase that determination and possibly retrain him as a ball-playing centre half. 

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Finally an Affiliate Club

After what seems a decade of asking I've finally convinced the board to find me a affiliate club. I had three options, all based in London area. Two were clubs Dagenham & Redbridge and the other was Woking. The most intriguing option was an Academy who I had never of and had to do a little research and that is who I plumped for as they had the best facilities. 

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Its a bit of a chance for a first feeder club but at 3k per year its a no brainer. 

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48 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Finally an Affiliate Club

After what seems a decade of asking I've finally convinced the board to find me a affiliate club. I had three options, all based in London area. Two were clubs Dagenham & Redbridge and the other was Woking. The most intriguing option was an Academy who I had never of and had to do a little research and that is who I plumped for as they had the best facilities. 

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Its a bit of a chance for a first feeder club but at 3k per year its a no brainer. 

If that club has better facilities than you, you won;t be allowed to improved your own facilities unless you reneg the partnership or cancel it altogether.

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4 minutes ago, rodesire said:

If that club has better facilities than you, you won;t be allowed to improved your own facilities unless you reneg the partnership or cancel it altogether.

I didn't know that but after a quick check we both have the same level of training facilities but they have better youth facilities. Looking at the board request screen I can upgrade the youth facilities but not the training facilities. Thanks for pointing this out. 

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Mark Johnson (YP33c)

He was already in the first team but mainly off the bench but since the sale of Korey Kane he's slotted in and actually outshone him, he a natural AMC but I play three CM, I put him into Kane's Mezzala role and he is doing just fine. So much so the vultures are circling already. Interested clubs are Bournemouth, Brighton, Cardiff, Derby, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Preston and Stoke. I've just offered him a new three year contract which will make him the highest paid player at the club. 

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League One - 2034/35

Transfers

After last seasons play-off place I asked the team have another top half finish, in a bid to not scare them too much. My first priority was strengthening the squad, I tried and failed to get Romone Storrie back for a 5th season so I found Paul Browne, another young striker and loaned him from Barnsley. I used my same tactic of scouring the released players from Premiership/Top Championship clubs and brought in a number of players but only two were first teamers. Luis Fernando Alonso and Victor, both Spanish joined after their release from Man City and Southampton. 

Another Spanish player joined this time on loan from Newcastle. Felix, an U19 international took the RB spot for the season. I also loaned Stuart Gonnella back from Fulham, a player I had sold over my head the season previous. There were two major sales this season in George Lake to Derby for £2m and Korey Kane by the board to Cardiff in a deal which could reach £1.3m. Three other players left for fee's, Ivan Hall had fallen down the pecking order and left for Grimsby, Gernot Ortner and Danny Hobbs both back ups left for just under £500k. 

League

We started the season with a draw away at Chesterfield, with a win and loss to follow. We then lit up the league with a nine game unbeaten streak which including eight wins. A 6-2 demolition of Colchester in their own back yard and a 5-3 home win over Peterborough. Following the Peterborough result we lost away at Portsmouth but that was quickly followed by two wins in three games. A hard fought loss to promotion contenders Walsall was a slight blip but another unbeaten run followed, with five wins and three draws. New Year cheers were mixed with a loss followed by a win, which promoted a winning run into mid-February. 

We were scoring goals for fun and an amazing run of eight games we scored three or more goals in all of those games which resulted in seven wins and just one draw. By that point we had taken pole position in the league and looked set to romp to the League One title but back to back to back away losses over Northampton, Reading and Millwall rocked the boat. Thankfully, Walsall slipped up themselves but saw Reading overtake them into 2nd. I really targeted the home game against Grimsby as that was the game where the title could be clinched, a team meeting beforehand steadied the nerves and the players duly delivered with a 2-0 win and the fans were sent into raptures as we won the title and promotion to the Championship. The last game of the season was a formality as I played a rotated squad, we lost 3-0 to AFC Wimbledon. 

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Cups

With the league taking precedent once again I took no interest in the Carabao Cup or the Checkatrade trophy despite actually reaching the 3rd Round of the latter competition. In the FA Cup we reached my target of the 3rd Round but delivered well to beat Premiership side Southampton 4-2 at home. We were drawn away at QPR but failed to deliver a second time losing 4-2. 

Squad

Failing to capture Storrie on loan for another season I was a little worried I could score the goals but his replacement Paul Browne on loan from Barnsley really stepped up. All three strikers did. He, Lancaster and Luca contributed a 86 goals between them. For me though player of the season was George Luca, playing as a poacher, not his natural AMC position he contributed so much to the team with his 27 goals and 24 assists. Not bad for a player I signed for £5k, four seasons prior from FC Romania. Unfortunately with his breakthrough season he wanted a new deal which I walked away from as he wanted nearly £7k pw, which is huge considering our highest paid player is now on £2k pw. The three youth intake players had decent seasons with 17 year old LB, Tony Wright playing 51 games, 18 year old Mark Johnson stepping up after the sale of Korey Kane and Danny Lancaster who was brought back in from the cold as such scoring 24 goals and assisting another 22. 

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Club and Finances

With the sale of George Lake early in the season this gave me the opportunity to ask for an upgrade and the board agreed to improve the Youth Recruitment to an extensive level. We also gained a feeder club for the first time in the Pick Up Academy which may have to be renegotiated in the near future thanks to @rodesire's spot about the facilities. 

The other player sales and money from the 3rd/4th Round of the FA Cup saw the finances really grow. With the title and promotion sealed the club has agreed a transfer budget of over £4m for next season but the wage budget will be improved to £50k pw. Our annual youth setup audit see's us at Category Four which will cost us £2.75m which is huge. I can also see the stadium becoming a problem at a capacity under 6k, so expect the board to announce plans for a new stadium or a major capacity increase if possible. 

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Next Season

Survive!!!!!!!!!!......

Season  | League                    | POS  | FA Cup         | Finances | Youth Rec   | Junior Coach | Other Achievements
2017/18 | Combined Counties Div 1   | 1st  | -	            | 24k      | Basic       | Minimal      | FA Vase 3rd Round
2018/19 | Combined Counties Premier | 1st  | FA Cup Prelim  | 56k      | Basic 	     | Minimal      | Lost in FA Vase Final
2019/20 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 6th  | 3rd Qual Round | 8k       | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2020/21 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 1st  | 4th Qual Round | -57k     | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2021/22 | Isthmian Premier Division | 12th | 1st Round      | 1k       | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2022/23 | Isthmian Premier Division | 6th  | 1st Round      | -78k     | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2023/24 | Isthmian Premier Division | 1st  | 1st Round      | -28k     | Basic       | Minimal      | Stadium Expansion 
2024/25 | Vanarama National South   | 7th  | 2nd Round      | 120k     | F. Basic    | F. Basic     | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2025/26 | Vanarama National South   | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 460k     | Average     | Average      | Promoted via Play-Offs
2026/27 | Vanarama National         | 15th | 1st Round      | 350k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | -
2027/28 | Vanarama National         | 6th  | 3rd Round      | 440k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2028/29 | Vanarama National         | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 716k     | Adequate    | Good         | Promoted via Play-Offs
2029/30 | League 2                  | 10th | 1st Round      | 35k      | Established | Good         | -
2030/31 | League 2                  | 2nd  | 4th Round      | -300k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Promoted
2031/32 | League 1                  | 17th | 4th Round      | 535k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Survival
2032/33 | League 1                  | 8th  | 3rd Round      | 400k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | - 
2033/34 | League 1                  | 6th  | 3rd Round      | -210k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Lost in Play-Off Semi
2034/35 | League 1                  | 1st  | 4th Round      | 3.6m     | Extensive   | Excellent    | Promoted as Champions

 

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Other Clubs Managers

Into my 19th Season with AC London now and its been a few seasons since my last look at the current club managers in this save. With pretty much all the real players having retired in the game now more and more are moving into a backroom position. 

Premiership

Arsenal        Diego Simeone (joined in 2028) has former players like Suttner, Arnautovic and Mignolet with him. 
Burnley        Stuart Bannigan (former Partick player) joined this summer from Sheff Weds. 
Cardiff        Emilio Marcondes (former Brentford player) started at Exeter then moved to Reading, Barnsley and Brentford.
Chelsea        Antonio Conte (on 180k pw) won the CL last season, last league title was 2023. 
Crystal P      Patrick Vieira (left Porto in 2034) backed by Iranian tycoons he's spent 280m in the past 2 seasons
Derby          Charabolous Lykogiannis (7th club in as many seasons) Worked his way up from Yeovil via Vill and Middlesbrough
Everton        Gareth Whalley (second season here) Was previously Wolves manager for 6 seasons. Aguero is his DoF.
Leicester      Sadio Mane (thorn in my side biding for my youngsters) Brief stints at Huddersfield and Middlesbrough before getting this job
Liverpool      Oriel Romeu (joined in 2033) Was previously at Newcastle and Palace. Won the EL last season. 
Man City       Massimiliano Allegri (spent nearly 3billion since joining in 2019) Won the PL four times out of the last six. 
Man Utd        Alexandr Khatskevich (joined after Mourinho finally retired aged 71) Started at Kiev then moved to Barca then R.Madrid.
Newcastle      Chidozie Awaziem (Starts at Porto) Joined this summer after leaving Brentford. 
Preston        Graziano Pelle (Retired in 2022, took 6 years to get a job) Joined this summer after PNE equalled their highest finish of 13th
Southampton    Jonny Hayes (Another summer arrival) 8th club since taking up management in 2024. Has Willian (DoF), Oscar (HoYD) and Arter (AssMan).
Stoke          Wilfried Zaha (Joined this season) Left Huddersfield after getting them relegated. Mkhitaryan is his Director of Football
Tottenham      Emmanuel Adebayor (3rd Season as Spurs boss) Iker Muniain is his AssMan. Two 6th placed finishes in a row for Spurs. 
Watford        Jarred Harvey (Starts as Cardiff Reserves Manager) Charlton was his first job, then Sheff Utd, Bristol City and Derby. 
West Brom      Bruno Martella (Joined in 2034 from Watford) Starts as a player at Crotone. They finished 11th last season. 
West Ham       Sam Foley (Retired as a player in 2021) Ipswich, Hull, Leicester and Stoke his previous clubs. Tettey, Hart, Doucoure amongst his staff
Wolves         Paco Jemez (joined in 2034) Previous job in England was Palace. Backed by a Chilean Tycoon spent £174m and £149m in past two seasons

Championship - including former players

Aston Villa         Fabio Borini (HoYD), Kyle Naughton (U23 Manager)
Barsnley            Ben Osbourn (Manager)
Brentford           Casemiro (HoYD), Ben Foster (GK Coach), Rafa Mir (U18 Fitness Coach)
Brighton            Jason Steele (Manager)
Bristol City        Jack Hobbs (Manager)
Fulham              Dedryck Boyata (Manager)
Huddersfield        Luka Milivojevic (Manager)
Hull                Jay Spearing (Manager)
Ipswich             Gabriel Obertan (HoYD)
Leeds               Andrea Belotti (DoF), Nedum Onuoha (HoYD)
MK Dons             Jamie Vardy (Manager), Sean Longstaff (U18 Manager)
QPR                 Thomas Lam (Manager)
Reading             Maarten Stekelenburg (GK Coach), Jeremie Boga (U18 Coach)
Sheff Weds          Arthur Masuaku (U18 Manager)
Swansea             Mathieu Flamini (Manager), Harry Maguire (U18 Manager)

 

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Don't like doing too many in-season updates but I felt I had to as we're going above and beyond our expectations and after 18 Championship games we somehow top the league. Considering some of the teams in this league I expected there to be one or two runaway teams like Bournemouth or Huddersfield who both were in the Prem recently but the division as a whole seems very level. Most of my 11 wins have come at home and away from home I have played more defensively with a BWM compared to a DLP at home whilst also rotating the front three with a trio of P/F9/AF at home compared to P/TM/DF away from home. 

I spent just over 1m on three new players including a absolute dud of a forward from Fulham. Its been the now irreplaceable George Luca who has thrived in a deeper role playing either the F9 or DF seeing as his natural position is AMC. Also a youth player signed from Swansea last season has stepped up to overshadow the signing from Fulham weighing in with 5 goals and 3 assists so far playing more home games rather than away. 

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I don't expect the wins to continue as we step into the winter months and games come thick and fast. But i'm ecstatic whilst it lasts. 

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4 hours ago, rodesire said:

your GD suggests you should end up around playoffs even if the from drops off a bit :) Great effort for first season in Championship :) 

Just reached January and things haven't changed too much. We've lost a few but no more than other teams around me. Thanks :)

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Manager Profile

Nearly 20 years into the save and I haven't posted my manager profile. 

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Key Points

  • I'm wanted - by Northampton and Liverpool. First time a Premiership big boy has been interested in me. I've rejected a host of offers this season including Leeds, Huddersfield, Swansea, Brighton and Bristol City. I will be rejecting any advances from the big boys. Maybe a side save if Newcastle ever offer me the job. 
  • My Defending Stat is higher than my attacking stat, obviously these improve through coaching courses but what determines which goes higher? I've always used an attacking tactic 4-2-2-2 Wide and 4-3-3 Narrow. 
  • You can't see it but Working with Youngsters is just 6. Why? I use youth all the time, more so now than before but average age of my teams is always in the low 20's. Average age of my current squad is 22. 
  • "The Press are used to seeing his assistant" too right, the thing I hate most about this game is the press conferences. Always send the AssMan
  • "Rarely communicates directly with his players" not true, I always deal with unhappy players, at the minute every other week a player wants a new contract to which I always give a reason no for. 
  • Career Stats - 1018 games played. First time in a few years in a save where i've reached that many games. With a 50% win ratio, I'm quite happy how its gone. 
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Mark Johnson Gone

Pre-Season West Ham made a bid for him but I managed to convince him to stay. Come January back come West Ham so I countered and managed to squeeze £5m out of them with £2.5m up front and the rest in instalments. 

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He's not developed as much I had hoped and had become more of a rotation player this season as I had opted to sign an experienced MC to strengthen the midfield. Hopefully he can improve at West Ham and we can take advantage of that next sale percentage. 

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Back come West Ham

And as the transfer window closes in come West Ham with £2.3m for 17 year old left back Tony Wright and the board intervene again to accept the offer. Thanks. Again. :seagull:

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Its decent money don't get me wrong but no sell on percentages is poor. And we don't really need the money after receiving £2.5m a week prior with a further £2.5m to come. Thankfully I have got another first team quality LB that can slot in and will promote a youth player into the first team to sit on the bench. 

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Improvements

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I made the chairman spend the money he felt we needed by improving the Youth Facilities at a cost of £650k, our first improvement of those facilities. I also persuaded him to improve the youth recruitment again to extensive and the junior coaching budget increased to exceptional. Hopefully just in time for this years youth intake. 

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Youth Intake 2036

This years intake snuck up on me and was a week earlier than previous seasons.

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Initial thoughts are meh...no golden generation tag so not expecting much. van la Parra thinks Danny Williams a GK is the best of the bunch

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Two outstanding players here, Danny Williams like my HoYD said and the other Steve Lewis a poacher. Not great personalities and the better players have lower determination. 

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Fairly decent to begin with, good handling, reflexes and aerial reach but needs to improve positioning and anticipation considerably. 

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The star of the intake Steve Lewis. Fantastic finishing, good off the ball and steady composure. Great physicals to start with. I think he could be a monster in seasons to come. 

This may be the last youth intake Rajiv van la Parra has with us, he's under contract with us until the end of next season but the personalities coming through aren't great, he's been here for seven seasons so a change is due. Just need to find an adequate replacement for him. 

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Championship - 2035/36

League

Our inaugural season in the 2nd Tier of English football and we were rightly expected to finish bottom and be relegated back down to League One. We went above and beyond all expectations to finish a magnificent 4th place and end the season with a chance to reach the promised land via the play-offs. We were pitted against Leeds in the semi final and we were uncucky, we lost the first leg at Elland Road 4-2, with them scoring two goals in injury time to break our hearts. All was not lost though and we had two away goals to take back to London. I made a change or two to take the game to Leeds but they dug in for the first half an hour. They then got a red card but managed to hold out until half time. After the break I thought this is the chance but it was Leeds who took the lead against the run of play to put and end to our chances. We did get a goal back to level the score but we bowed our 5-3 on aggregate. Leeds went on to win the Play-Offs over Bournemouth. 

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Cups

Out of the first round of the Carabao Cup to Birmingham and out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round to Derby. Rubbish. 

Transfers

After the two sales to West Ham we brought in just over £7m, all profit as they were both academy products. We spent a little of that money on 5 new faces, new RB and LB options, a new experienced CM, a young Northern Irish CM from Linfield and a dud of a striker from Fulham. Four players joined on loan, a GK from West Ham, Felix from Newcastle for a second season, a tank of a CB from Chelsea and a poacher from West Brom. Interestingly a couple of players joined on frees from Australian academy FFA, I didn't think either got work permits but I was able to play Najdanovic the GK in a few games through the season. Hopefully I can get a WP for him as he has just nationalised as Croatian and is dubbed the next Daniel Dekovic who is first choice Croat keeper with 102 caps and cost Preston £22.5m to sign him. 

Squad

The three stand-out performers for this season were the front three with Luca being the best of the bunch again, 25 goals in 44(1) appearances with 10 assists. We struggled with goals again from midfield this season so it would be nice to change things up next season with some different tactics for the midfield trio. No defenders really stood out but all did well to see us only concede 66 goals this season in the league. We did score the second most goals with 85 behind the 90 scored by Ipswich but they finished down in 17th place. 

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Youth wise with both Mark Johnson and Tony Wright moving to West Ham we only has Danny Lancaster in the first team from the academy. I have a 18 year old LB in Kieron Parr from the 2033 intake which I will probably integrate into the squad. Other possible additions into the squad will be 16 year old Steve Lewis who was signed from the latest intake, he scored 24 goals and 19 assists in 19 games for the youth sides since signing. 

Club and Finances

Money in and upgrades made, junior recruitment is now exceptional whilst youth recruitment is at extensive. Youth facilities are also in the process of being upgraded at a cost of £650k. Like I said last season the stadium may become a problem and we filled the stadium to 100% of its capacity for every home game, maybe something the board could look into with some encouragement. 

We've been given a transfer budget of £5.8m to spend and an £81k pw wage budget, a weekly increase of £30k pw. We had our annual youth audit and next season will cost me just under £4.5m to operate it next season. Luckily at the end of the season we were given just over £5m for competing in the Championship this season. 

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Next Season

I've asked the players for a mid-tabled finish, the minimum expectation I could choose. Its unlikely I'm going to make wholesale changes to the squad and spend beyond my means. A new CB is priority for sure and introducing a couple more U23/U18s to the first team for sure. 

Season  | League                    | POS  | FA Cup         | Finances | Youth Rec   | Junior Coach | Other Achievements
2017/18 | Combined Counties Div 1   | 1st  | -	            | 24k      | Basic       | Minimal      | FA Vase 3rd Round
2018/19 | Combined Counties Premier | 1st  | FA Cup Prelim  | 56k      | Basic 	     | Minimal      | Lost in FA Vase Final
2019/20 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 6th  | 3rd Qual Round | 8k       | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2020/21 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 1st  | 4th Qual Round | -57k     | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2021/22 | Isthmian Premier Division | 12th | 1st Round      | 1k       | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2022/23 | Isthmian Premier Division | 6th  | 1st Round      | -78k     | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2023/24 | Isthmian Premier Division | 1st  | 1st Round      | -28k     | Basic       | Minimal      | Stadium Expansion 
2024/25 | Vanarama National South   | 7th  | 2nd Round      | 120k     | F. Basic    | F. Basic     | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2025/26 | Vanarama National South   | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 460k     | Average     | Average      | Promoted via Play-Offs
2026/27 | Vanarama National         | 15th | 1st Round      | 350k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | -
2027/28 | Vanarama National         | 6th  | 3rd Round      | 440k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2028/29 | Vanarama National         | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 716k     | Adequate    | Good         | Promoted via Play-Offs
2029/30 | League 2                  | 10th | 1st Round      | 35k      | Established | Good         | -
2030/31 | League 2                  | 2nd  | 4th Round      | -300k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Promoted
2031/32 | League 1                  | 17th | 4th Round      | 535k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Survival
2032/33 | League 1                  | 8th  | 3rd Round      | 400k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | - 
2033/34 | League 1                  | 6th  | 3rd Round      | -210k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Lost in Play-Off Semi
2034/35 | League 1                  | 1st  | 4th Round      | 3.6m     | Extensive   | Excellent    | Promoted as Champions
2035/36 | Championship              | 4th  | 3rd Round      | 8m       | Extensive   | Exceptional  | Lost in Play-Off Semi

 

 

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13 hours ago, turnip said:

A great debut season in the Championship, well done!

Thanks. Like I said way more than I expected to have achieved in terms of league position. Contracts have just ticked over so now looking at who I can bring in on free's and ready to promote some players to the first team. 

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First Foreign Affiliation

Asked the board for a new affiliation to help increase the scouting network and after some persuasion they agreed, they even gave me the option to choose the club I want from their long list. We were mainly given the choice of Eastern European clubs; Czech 2nd Division, Serbian First League, Bosnian, Lithuanian clubs mainly and German Third Tier clubs. Looking down the list one club stood out and that was Rostock. 

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We gain their knowledge of Germany first and foremost, in the future maybe we can renegotiate the deal and take advantage of their youth recruitment in Germany. 

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New Head of Youth Development

Its with great sadness that I have decided to part way with Rajiv van la Parra and bring in a new HoYD. He spent seven years with us and brought in many good players that made their way into the first team. The player joining in his place is much inferior stats wise but has a better personality; fairly determined compared to Rajiv's Balanced. 

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Timothy joins with a wealth of knowledge from his playing career including eight years in Italy with Milan and playing in both Turkey and Saudi Arabia towards the end of his career. The fairly determined personality whilst not the best we could get was part of the reason why I signed him. He is also sat at a National A qualification which can obviously be improved whereas van la Parra also on a National A didn't want to improve as a coach. 

So the combination of knowledge + personality + age (38) + qualifications improvement should = better long term youth intakes with potential foreign players

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6 minutes ago, Theodlard said:

Getting caught up and things look great for you!  Nice form last season and wonderful promotion to Championship.  

 

5 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

wow, great work in the championship!!!

Thanks guys, going better than expected for sure. Can't get too ahead of ourselves though. 

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The New Leicester City?!....

Crystal Palace won the Premiership last season for the first time to break the Manchester dominance, they're not quite the Leicester City of 2016 though as they're backed by a tycoon. Way back in 2019, Iranian Hadi Heydari took over and invested his millions or billions. First season they spent 60m and from then in on they've spent £1.8billion on players since. With this season so far being their biggest spending, however they did sell a winger to Wolves for 118m so they have a little bit more to spend. 

These are their best three players...

Gottlicher - signed from PSG for 103m

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Botelho - signed from Bayern for 82m three seasons ago, scored 31 league goals in 35 games last season. 

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Nejasmic - signed this summer from Barcelona for 62m

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Will be interesting to see if they can win the league again this season or whether one of the Manchester clubs tries and buy back the league, with both of them having already spent £130m on new players. 

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Championship Getting Tougher

Our last game shows just how tough the Championship is becoming in my save but also shows how far my team have come and that we can compete at all levels.We lost the game 4-3 which isn't great but Cardiff had just been relegated from the Premiership so some of the players they have are ridiculous for this level. We were 3-0 down but managed to bring it back to 3-3 before we gave away a penalty in the 93rd minute. 

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This was their starting eleven...

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Five players alone who are individually on more money per week than my entire weekly wage budget. There are numerous other teams in a similar position, like Stoke and Burnley who were also relegated from the Premiership last season coupled with Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford, Aston Villa, Swansea, Huddersfield and Preston who have all been in the top tier in the past 10 seasons. 

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Great Scheduling

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3 Games in 3 Days? and now we don't have a game for 9 days...I don't get it. It could have derailed us but thankfully we rotated a bit each game and came away with 5 points from 9. We still sit 4th however its got a bit more tight around the top. 

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Youth Intake 2037

Well I didn't take a screenshot of the intake, it wasn't a golden generation anyway. A few players were tagged and this was the best of the bunch. 

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Another decent forward option for a couple of years time. His personality is trash, first time I've seen a low self belief. However some decent stats to work with, I tried to set up a tutor for him to try and get rid of that personality and improve his determination but he said no. Few other bits to work on like work rate and passing especially. 

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U18's

Something I did this season was promote all the previously tagged youth players up to the U23's along a number of the better players to give a chance to the rest of the U18 squad to get a game and the chance to improve and it worked. I also only loaned out players that did fit our formation like MR/ML - AMR/AML, only player that moaned about first team football went out on loan if they were of a position that we used. 

The U18s won the league at a canter without losing a single game from 28. They also reached the final of the U18 Div 3 Cup but lost to Cambridge. They fared just as well in the FA Youth Cup reaching the final but losing to Newcastle in a close two legged final (5-4 on agg)

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This is something I will do next season too, promote the intake from the season before last (2036) and only loan out players not of a position we use. Hopefully we can go one better in the cups and win them. 

Staff wise we have a number of great staff and couple that are the best we could get combined with nationality to improve the scouting knowledge. 

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I'll be looking to replace Sendall, his contract is up at the end of the season and is unwilling to do his coaching badges, considering he is 21 with only a National C qualification he could have become a monster. Also up for replacement will be Zambian, Edwin Mwanza who is unambitious and only has a Working with Youngsters stat of 7. The other option I have is to promote one of the fitness coaches up to the U23s and bring in another general coach. The coach not shown is the irreplaceable Victor Valdes. 

 

 

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Championship - 2036/37

 A much briefer season review...

League - 4th (Lost in Play Off Semi v Bristol City)

Brighton ran away with the league, we managed 4th again, two points worse off, conceded the same amount, scored 98, most in the league. We couldn't hit a serious patch of form where we could even get close to the automatic promotion spots. 

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Carabao Cup - 4th Round (Lost to Arsenal)

Beat Charlton, Cambridge and Norwich on the way to the 4th Round, demolished 3-0 at the Emirates. 

FA Cup - 5th Round (Lost to Everton)

Beat Norwich 3-2 at home, drawn against West Ham in the 4th Round, took them to a replay and won in extra time at the London Stadium. Away trip to Everton in the 4th Round, lost 4-1. 

Squad

Top Scorer - George Luca - 32 (30 in the league, 2nd in the scoring charts)

Most Assists - Danny Lancaster - 32 (28 in the league, topped the assist chart by 11) Made Championship Team of the Season.

Best Player - Nick Hardy - 10 Goals and Assists as a roaming playmaker, signed for 400k from Everton in the summer. We finally have someone contributing from Midfield. Also made Championship Team of the Season plus won Goal of the Year award. 

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Hot Prospect - Sosso Nomogo (GK) signed from Stade Malien for 57k, didn't get a WP but can play still(?). 9 Clean Sheets in 23 games for the 22 year old. I'm hoping Mali can break into the top 50 world rankings, currently 62nd so he can possibly get a WP.

Club

The Youth Facilities were improved and now sit at Below Average, another upgrade should be imminent I feel, although the Poor Training Facilities will need investment soon enough. The board have announced plans for a Stadium Expansion as such, they're installing seats to make the ground fully seated but that will reduce the capacity. Just give me a new stadium :seagull:

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Finances

Some improvement, new sponsorship deals brings in 900k for the season ahead but our annual Youth Audit threw up a shock as it estimates the cost of running our setup will now be over £5m per year. Good job I don't spend much on transfers. We've been given a budget of £8m to spend on new players and £88k p/w on wages for the forthcoming season. 

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Next Season

More of the same, another play-off spot would be great, maybe we could make it 3rd time lucky and reach the finals. Another good FA Cup run as we received nearly £2m in gate receipts from the two away games against West Ham then Everton, always handy. Sort the defence will be my main priority, a new CB and RB for definite. 

Season  | League                    | POS  | FA Cup         | Finances | Youth Rec   | Junior Coach | Other Achievements
2017/18 | Combined Counties Div 1   | 1st  | -	            | 24k      | Basic       | Minimal      | FA Vase 3rd Round
2018/19 | Combined Counties Premier | 1st  | FA Cup Prelim  | 56k      | Basic 	     | Minimal      | Lost in FA Vase Final
2019/20 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 6th  | 3rd Qual Round | 8k       | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2020/21 | Isthmian Division 1 South | 1st  | 4th Qual Round | -57k     | Basic       | Minimal      | -
2021/22 | Isthmian Premier Division | 12th | 1st Round      | 1k       | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2022/23 | Isthmian Premier Division | 6th  | 1st Round      | -78k     | Basic       | Minimal      | - 
2023/24 | Isthmian Premier Division | 1st  | 1st Round      | -28k     | Basic       | Minimal      | Stadium Expansion 
2024/25 | Vanarama National South   | 7th  | 2nd Round      | 120k     | F. Basic    | F. Basic     | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2025/26 | Vanarama National South   | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 460k     | Average     | Average      | Promoted via Play-Offs
2026/27 | Vanarama National         | 15th | 1st Round      | 350k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | -
2027/28 | Vanarama National         | 6th  | 3rd Round      | 440k     | Adequate    | AboveAverage | Lost in Play-Off 1st Round
2028/29 | Vanarama National         | 3rd  | 3rd Round      | 716k     | Adequate    | Good         | Promoted via Play-Offs
2029/30 | League 2                  | 10th | 1st Round      | 35k      | Established | Good         | -
2030/31 | League 2                  | 2nd  | 4th Round      | -300k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Promoted
2031/32 | League 1                  | 17th | 4th Round      | 535k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Survival
2032/33 | League 1                  | 8th  | 3rd Round      | 400k     | Well Estabd | Excellent    | - 
2033/34 | League 1                  | 6th  | 3rd Round      | -210k    | Well Estabd | Excellent    | Lost in Play-Off Semi
2034/35 | League 1                  | 1st  | 4th Round      | 3.6m     | Extensive   | Excellent    | Promoted as Champions
2035/36 | Championship              | 4th  | 3rd Round      | 8m       | Extensive   | Exceptional  | Lost in Play-Off Semi
2036/37 | Championship              | 4th  | 5th Round      | 11m      | Extensive   | Exceptional  | Lost in Play-Off Semi

 

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3 minutes ago, dllu said:

Third time must be the charm!

What is your stadium capacity now? Will it be big enough for the PL after the current renovation?

Lets hope so!! 

Capacity was 5750 with 1972 of those being seats. They're installing another 1750 seats so that will be 3722 seats in total and the rest terraced which I don't know what that will add up to but will be less than original. Theres been no option to request a new stadium since this one was built back in 2020. We've filled this stadium for every game for 2 seasons straight now, that's including 4663 of those being season ticker holders. 

We've just had a board takeover with my existing chairman taking a back seat and semi-retiring. So hopefully there new guys will see some sense and just build a new stadium with 20000 seats or something. 

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31 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Lets hope so!! 

Capacity was 5750 with 1972 of those being seats. They're installing another 1750 seats so that will be 3722 seats in total and the rest terraced which I don't know what that will add up to but will be less than original. Theres been no option to request a new stadium since this one was built back in 2020. We've filled this stadium for every game for 2 seasons straight now, that's including 4663 of those being season ticker holders. 

We've just had a board takeover with my existing chairman taking a back seat and semi-retiring. So hopefully there new guys will see some sense and just build a new stadium with 20000 seats or something. 

Normally you can't build a new stadium within 20 (or 25?) Years of your last one. It's hard coded into the game. I think there is an exception though and that's when your stadium doesn't and can't meet league requirements. Once you go to the premier league I imagine your board will build a new stadium after the 1st or 2nd season! I could be wrong though. Either way, you're nearly at 2040 and should be able to get a new stadium anyway. Take it as a blessing in disguise, the longer before they build the new one hopefully the more demand, reputation and money and the stadium they build should be bigger.

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Didn't know that was the case, with it being hard coded. Yeh its not long to 2040 nor the Premiership, not sure which one will come first though. If we get promoted then I can see us ground sharing, plenty of big clubs around me. Thanks for the info. 

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21 minutes ago, dllu said:

You can always play at Wembley... :p 

I had a Reading save where that happened 😂 I know not quite the same as bringing a club from the lowest reaches of English football up 😯

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2037/38 Pre-Season Transfers

Budgeted just over £8m to spend I transferred some into the scouting budget first and foremost, got to be scouring them top 50 ranked nations for some decent players that I can afford and get a work permit for.

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Our first piece of business was to sell Danny Killie, another dud of a player for me that could play too many positions so he was always a back-up rather than set in a focused position, we made a small profit. Next up was a loan out, McQuillan never tied down a first team slot but was an adequate back up this give him the opportunity to improve with first team football at Grimbsy. Soon after another player left, John Ward, would be first choice left full back had a release clause I forgot about, I tried offering him a new deal but he wanted close to 20k a week, he joins Sheff Utd in the Premiership. 

Our first signing was a new GK as we couldn't get a WP for Najdanovic so he was released. Jason North was someone I scouted during last season and he was willing to come, I went back and re-scouted him and he was available for 165k, a snip. Four freebies joined, young players released from Liverpool, Man City, Palace and Cardiff all into the U23s. Another player signed from a Premiership club as Ash Burns-Cawley signed from Everton for a minimal fee of 115k, he will rotate at RB. A few days later we absolutely smashed our transfer record by signing Dylan Lawlor from Burnley for 2.8m. 

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At 20 years old he's far from the finished article with the potential to reach 5 stars. He's quick, agile and has decent stats to work on in off the ball and finishing. Straight into the first team and let him blossom from there. Two things to work on will be anticipation and probably lose the PPM of 'Comes Deep to Get Ball' as we have Luca in the F9 position to make that link play from midfield. 

One more player joined and thats Lake-Woolley from Wolves on loan to partner Steve Freeman who's loan I extended at the end of the last season. I'm probably a little light at LB so will continue to look at that. Another CM wouldn't go amiss either with a young option from the bench. 

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Around England

Another bit of an update of whats going on around England.

Starting with England, 6th in the World rankings, led by Paul Tisdale, who joined in 2034 after Danny Cowley was sacked, he then retired after not getting another job. They finished runners up in the 2036 European Championships losing to Spain in the final. Their best at a world cup is losing to finishing 3rd in 2022, beating Brazil in the 3rd Place Play-Off. The only piece of silverware an England side has won is the U19 Championships on six occasions, in 2021, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2034 and 2037. 

Back to back Premiership titles for Crystal Palace with Arsenal runners up again. They spent a massive 220m on their way to their 2nd title. They're tipped for a 3rd title and with newly appointed Diego Simeone at the helm I wouldn't bet against it. He left Arsenal after 9 years and was replaced by Sergio Conceicao at the Emirates. Conte was finally sacked by Chelsea in May and was replaced by Philippe Cocu who left PSG. Conte won the league twice and 14 cups in his 20 years at the club. Unai Emery finds himself in charge at Man Utd after Luis Enrique was sacked back in March, Enrique went back to Barcelona. 

No new clubs in the Championship as promoted sides Notts County, Northampton and Walsall have all previously been at this level. Just under 200m spent by Championship clubs this season, Fulham being the biggest after their relegation, spending 51m with 22.5m and 21.5m of that on two mediocre English players. 

Forest Green find themselves back in League 1 after a 10 year absence, they're joined by yo-yo club Birmingham who had been relegated and promoted twice in the past 5 seasons, they're hoping Tommy Rowe can keep them up this time. In League 2, Doncaster are back in the football league for the first time in 11 seasons having dropped out back in 2026, then all the way down to the Northern Premier Division before three promotions in four seasons under the control of manager Curtis Nelson. Gateshead were the other team promoted to the football league their first time at this level. 

Peterborough find themselves in non-league again having been relegated previously in 2031 but were subsequently promoted back to League 2 two seasons later then made an immediate promotion to League 1 then two relegations in two seasons for The Posh. The lowest ranked starting team at this level is Loxwood, they began life in the Southern Combination League but were relegated to level in 2025 before making waves through the leagues with five promotions in five seasons. 

Three former football league teams compete in the Vanarama North, Scunthorpe, Accrington and Macclesfield have suffered a couple of relegations each. Its Tycoon backed Tuffley Rovers who are favourites for the title having just been promoted from the Southern Premier League. They are joined by Hallam who after back-to-back-to-back promotions find themselves at this level for the first time. Founded in 1860 they're the 2nd Oldest Football Club in the World behind Sheffield FC. 

Two more football league teams find themselves in the Vanarama South but Aldershot and Stevenage are both favourites to go up to the National League. A few smaller teams have reached this level, Penn & Tylers Green and Rayners Lane both started life at Level 10 with Brantham Athletic and Sun Postal Sports starting in L9 before being relegated to L10 then up to this level. 

Cheltenham Town still find themselves down in non-league in L7 having previously been lower in the Southern League 1 West. Blackpool are also in L7 in the Northern Premier Division, they were relegated to this league two seasons ago and don't look likely of making the step back up any time soon. 

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