smp20 Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 St Pats Athletic: Closest to the Guinness Brewery At just 1.2 miles away, St Pat's Richmond Park is the closest ground to the famous St James' Gate Brewery. Closer, in fact, than St James's Gate F.C. in Ireland's 6th tier who are the original workers club. My aim is to build up the club and eventually compete among the best in Europe. However, I will be doing this with only the current crop of players born in Dublin and also only players in future youth intakes also born in Dublin. As Guinness states, good things come to those who wait, and while it's going to take a long time to build up the academy, it's important that we keep close to our roots. My Irish nationality is stretching the truth a bit, and I wasn't born in Dublin like I've setup here, but I do have Irish heritage and it would be wrong to be anything other than a Dubliner for this challenge. I'm starting with Sunday League Rep, but my true to real life Continental B licence. Despite a strong history, the 5th most successful side in Ireland, St Pat's have been on a downwards spiral since last winning the league and have come close to relegation the last two seasons. We need to ensure that we are a top half top tier side and that will be the aim this season. If we achieve more than that, fantastic, but we have a small squad to start with. This is the 16 man squad I have to start with. Several players, including star striker Jake Keegan, have been demoted to the u19s and I will be looking to sell them as they don't meet the criteria. According to St Pat's website Maher, Toney and Lennon are all Dublin-born so I've kept them on. From now on we won't have that ambiguity as regen players will have a clearly defined birthplace. I'm not looking forward to cutting potential stars not born in Dublin, but that's the rules I've set. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timetxu Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Good luck and cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 10 minutes ago, Timetxu said: Good luck and cheers! Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 It has been pointed out to me that Kevin Toner is from County Meath, not Dublin as per St Pat's website. Consider him gone and we're now down to a 15 man squad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Good luck! Hopefully it will take you less than 259 years (the age of the brewery) to achieve world dominance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 8 hours ago, dllu said: Good luck! Hopefully it will take you less than 259 years (the age of the brewery) to achieve world dominance. Cheers, I hope so Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Step 1: Revamp the backroom staff. As you can see everyone (bar the bloody doctor who I can't sack ) was born in Dublin. We've got international experience coming in with Duff, Kavanagh and Fahey - the latter had 3 spells as a player for St Pat's too. Paul Osam is a club legend and record appearance holder, so he's great to have around. Our new assistant manager was the manager of Cherry Orchard and spent some time at Man Utd as HOYD so he comes with a pedigree of developing young players, while our HOYD is a model pro . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 I wanted to get the most out my attacking full backs, creator Owen Garvan and poacher Chris Fagan so i've gone 4-3-3 attacking. Inspired by the way the team I coach play . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Well that's about as mid-table as you can get! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 2018 Mid-Season Review Irish Premier League 6 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses....living up to our mid-table prediction. Cork City are running away with the league, Dundalk their only challengers 11 points behind. Domestic Cups We got to the Leinster Cup final but we were demolished by Dundalk, who also knocked us out the league cup Player Stats Fagan has been banging in the goals, while our wide forwards Clarke and Byrne have also got in to double figures. Club-captain Garvan has been the creative spark we need in midfield. 2nd string youngsters, Markey and Doona, are not at the level needed so it's difficult when we have injuries/suspensions or unfit players - they just have to play! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunvamos Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 8 hours ago, smp20 said: As you can see everyone (bar the bloody doctor who I can't sack ) was born in Dublin. Clonmel is where the Magners brewery is, so you could say he maintains his spot as doctor as he's close to a brewery Good luck with this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 12 minutes ago, shaunvamos said: Clonmel is where the Magners brewery is, so you could say he maintains his spot as doctor as he's close to a brewery Good luck with this! Haha I didn't know that - good enough reason for me, cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Ooooh, a repeat of the semi-final but the final this time. Interesting. Unfortunately Ireland didn't qualify Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Youth Intake 2018 One very good prospect followed by a load of dross, but given our lack of players I'm just happy to have a bit of depth! I've Tagged 3; of course our non-Dublin born players will be released immediately. Tierney is ready to go straight into the team and will provide competition for our midfield. Very excited about him Nothing special at all, but will sit on the bench as understudy for Fagan given our lack of striker options. He's going to be our cover cb, decent decisions, positioning, jumping make him a reasonable option. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 New deal signed, and considering we're in quarter-million in debt it was the only way the board were going to agree a JC increase. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Tierney looks very tidy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 And our youth recruitment is improved, wasn't expecting that but after causing a fuss the board agreed with my 'laboured point' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blah_1123 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 19 minutes ago, smp20 said: And our youth recruitment is improved, wasn't expecting that but after causing a fuss the board agreed with my 'laboured point' You may find you'll get less Dublin youngsters with higher youth recruitment. Regens will come from further away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 2 hours ago, Blah_1123 said: You may find you'll get less Dublin youngsters with higher youth recruitment. Regens will come from further away. Yeah we will probably get less Dubs, but hopefully the ones we do get will be better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 2018 End of Season Review Irish Premier League After a very average first half of the season, we went on an outstanding winning run and pushed ourselves right up the league. We finished with 3 straight defeats, but by this point we had secured 3rd place. Extremely happy with finishing 3rd this season with a minimal squad. Senior Challenge Cup Our first Silverware as a fully Dublin club . The key game was Dundalk - they beat us in the other two cups so revenge was sweet. Player Stats A fairly consistent team throughout. Youngster Tierney became first choice ahead of Lennon, pushing the experienced Owen Garvan back as a holding DLP. Our front 3 of Fagan, Clarke and Byrne were the most prolific in the country. Managed to sign everyone onto new contracts which is great news as at first Desmond and Fagan didn't want to re-sign. Finances We were down to -£250k at one point but we're not looking too bad now. Finances are tough though, very difficult to make money as a pro club. Facilities A couple of upgrades puts us in a decent position for our youth intake next season. Will upgrade again if I can, but we may not be able to while in debt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 8 hours ago, Deisler26 said: They certainly do Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 We need to find a HOYD replacement next year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 15 hours ago, smp20 said: One very good prospect followed by a load of dross, but given our lack of players I'm just happy to have a bit of depth! I've Tagged 3; of course our non-Dublin born players will be released immediately. Kilkenny (the beer) is a subsidiary of Guinness, right? So if only Cawley had been any good... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 33 minutes ago, dllu said: Kilkenny (the beer) is a subsidiary of Guinness, right? So if only Cawley had been any good... I think the links are getting a bit loose now nope unless they're born in Dublin they're a gonner. This could mean a few headaches and upsetting releases later on in the save... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adineen98 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 A long term career in the LOI isn't often seen, so I'm very interested in seeing how this pans out. Best of luck (except when you come against Cork City, of course )! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 19 hours ago, adineen98 said: A long term career in the LOI isn't often seen, so I'm very interested in seeing how this pans out. Best of luck (except when you come against Cork City, of course )! Cheers - we've had very mixed results against Cork City who have won back-to-back titles so they're the team I'm aiming to overcome Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 2019 Mid-Season Review A decent first half of the season, much better than last year's 6-6-6. Derry have massively improved since last season thanks to some quality loanees from Malmo, while Cork and Dundalk are strong as always. I'm hoping to push on and catch up with one or two of those. We've made it to two cup finals that on paper we should win - always nice to grab some trophies. Bar the genius of Shaun Tierney and the goalscoring appearances from Mark Egan, it is clear that are youngsters aren't quite up to the standard required. If we can keep our best 11 fit (though Madden has just been injured for 3 months) we have a chance of catching the big boys, but we could struggle if we need our u19s to fill in. Irish Premier League Domestic Cups Player Stats Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Ouch! Very tough draw for the first round! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Our 2nd cup and our first as best of the Province Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Take that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finchbox Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Hello sorry if I'm spamming the thread but I'v just created a slack channel dedicated to Irish FMer's and/or players who like playing in Ireland (north and south on both accounts). The channel is called @fmireland, if anyone fancies jumping in to chat about current/future saves and other fm topics please feel free to check it out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 28 minutes ago, Finchbox said: Hello sorry if I'm spamming the thread but I'v just created a slack channel dedicated to Irish FMer's and/or players who like playing in Ireland (north and south on both accounts). The channel is called @fmireland, if anyone fancies jumping in to chat about current/future saves and other fm topics please feel free to check it out. Got a direct link? searched google but it came up with Francesca Ireland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Wowzer, 96th equalizer screamer!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 1 hour ago, smp20 said: Good gawd, Derry were relegated first season in mine. 5 minutes ago, smp20 said: Wowzer, 96th equalizer screamer!!!!! Geebus H! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Oh beggar it, barely helped us financially either still 100k in debt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Oh but its enough to convince upgrades Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 7 minutes ago, smp20 said: Oh beggar it, barely helped us financially either still 100k in debt. Europa's crap for money until you hit the groups. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finchbox Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 2 hours ago, smp20 said: Got a direct link? searched google but it came up with Francesca Ireland Haha You need to install Slack and create a profile. It's a great platform for FM discussion and general banther Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Youth Intake 2019 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timetxu Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 What are you doing with Devine? Since he's not a Dubliner.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 There once was a lad named Devine, Who could score with a ball made of twine, But since he came from Munster, His coach, being no funster, Said, "Get out, you're no player of mine!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Timetxu said: What are you doing with Devine? Since he's not a Dubliner.. See below 1 hour ago, dllu said: There once was a lad named Devine, Who could score with a ball made of twine, But since he came from Munster, His coach, being no funster, Said, "Get out, you're no player of mine!" Devine is a gonner! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Tight finish between 4 sides! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 We're the cup winners for the 2nd year in a row, to add to our Leinster Cup and President's Cup earlier in the season . Could we make it a quadruple? Season update to follow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 League Table ~ PL Results ~ Cup Results ~ Club Info ~ UCD Feeder ~ Facilities ~ Finances Unfortunately a defeat against Dundalk made it pretty much impossible to catch the league leaders, but Cork managed to leapfrog to the top after beating Dundalk away in the final game! We've finished 3rd again, but this time with more points so I'm happy with our progression. We've built a link with University College Dublin which enables us to use their Great training facilities Garvan, Desmond, Leahy, Bermingham and Markey all managed to make over 50 starts each this season providing the spine of the team. After the rapid decline of Conal Byrne, Markey has been a revelation as our right side IF option, while Dean Clarke was the star of the season on the other flank. Darragh Doherty scored his first ever goal for the club in the cup final and he's sure to be Fagan's long term replacement. Shaun Tierney has continued to impress in his early years with solid performances as our advanced playmaker. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Our model pro HOYD has retired and I'm struggling to find a decent replacement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 Quick 2020 Mid-Season Review Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 What a result!! We won the first round on penalties vs Ruzembok from Slovakia so we're scraping it. 94th minute winner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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